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Chapter 5 - Grover Loses his pants

Taking the book back with him to his seat, Ottar fixed Freya's bag chair. Only after making sure that his Goddess Freya was comfortable, did he finally sit down in his own bag chair. Sinking to the floor due to his immense weight, the chair miraculously held up. 

Even after sitting in it for so long, it never popped. Truly, he half expected it to be destroyed when he first sat on it, but no, it still held strong even now. He didn't know who invented these chairs, but they must have been blessed by a God of wisdom to make such sturdy yet surprisingly comfortable marvel. 

He could tell that Freya liked it as well, he needed to remind himself to get the artisans in the Familia to make her one when they got back. 

Maybe one out of golden thread, maybe with some harpy feathers for extra comfort. 

Taking a peek at Freya out of the corner of his eye, Ottar checked to make sure that she was alright. He'd have to be discreet about it. She wouldn't like it if she found him hovering over her like she was some delicate flower.

Oh, sure, she'd play it off. She'd giggle and thank him for his concern, saying something along the lines of "I'm glad that I have you to protect me" or something like that. But he knows her well enough to know that it'd be a lie.

People forget. Freya is a Goddess of War as well as Beauty. She doesn't need petty little mortals looking after her. The only reason that she lets them is that it appeases to their insignificant pride of looking after the one they love.

Freya, the kind and graceful Goddess that she is, accepts all their love, no matter what kind, even if she doesn't need it.

That's why he can't help but worry about her anyway. 

It's blasphemous and arrogant to think that he had any right to worry and protect his Goddess, but even he could tell that this book is affecting her. And…there wasn't anything he could do.

 Kronos, The Fates, Perceus. Each one weighs on her mind, and it burns him that he couldn't take the load from her.

He had no information on the Titan, no knowledge of how to fight him, or even if he exists. He couldn't even tell why it was affecting his Goddess, though thankfully it wasn't affecting her nearly as badly as the other gods. If he just had some information on him, then he'd go out, sword in hand and fight this Titan, even if he was just an idea he'd still fight him.

The Fates…that was something that he at least knew was real, and yet it's weight on her was one he could never even touch.

Fate was in the realm of the heavens, and one that mortals could never comprehend. But even then he'll fight them with all his might if it meant that his Goddess could sigh in relief. 

Thankfully, Perceus was something that bothered her in a good way. Ottar knew that as a Goddess over souls Freya had the ability to view into the souls of mortals and judge them on their qualities. For some reason, this ability still worked even through this wall in front of them, showcasing Perceus's life.

She sees something him, something that has lifted her spirit in away. If he were to be so bold as to say, she looked at him nearly in the same manner as she looks at Bell. Though Bell still seems to rise above him in a way.

Reading these books are the only thing that he can do to lessen the burden on his Goddess. And, if in the process, he should happen to learn of someway to combat these forces, then all the more reason that he should move these readings along

Opening the book, Ottar started reading.

"Grover unexpectedly loses his pants." …On the other hand, maybe these books had now knowledge whatsoever.

The theater erupted in laughter.

Ottar paused to let everyone control their reactions. 

Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.

"Idiot" 

"What the hell is wrong with this kid?"

"Leaving behind his one protector, foolish," Garet massaged his head with his hand.

"Come on guys, I love the kid, but Grover, a protector?" Loki looked around, seeing if anyone agreed with her. Unsurprisingly, a few did.

"I'd leave that spineless weakling the first chance I got." Bete said.

It was rude, but Grover was creeping Percy out. Saying "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?" So when Grover's nervous bladder went to hell Percy took his chance and left him as soon as the bus stopped. 

"...Ok, I kind of get it." Lunoire conceded. What kind of protector got more freaked out than the person they were supposed to be protecting? A protector was supposed to be cool and calm in the face of danger. Not…whatever this was.

"Who the hell put this kid in charge of Percy's protection?"

Taking the first taxi he saw Percy told him the address and was off. A word about my mother, before you meet her. Her name is Sally Jackson, and she's the best person in the world,

"Ohh, that's sweet. At least the boy loves his mother." Hestia cooed.

Welf thought of his own mother. He didn't know he long, before she died, but he knew she was kind and loving. Always trying to feed him something and bandaging his cuts when he came to her. He'd like to think that she'd have supported his decision not to forge for the Ares, but who knows? At the very least, he'll hold on to those memories for as long as he could. 

 which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. 

"..Eh?"

"I-It's probably nothing, Hestia-sama." Bell grabbed her shoulder, keeping her steady.

"Y-Yeah, probably just an exaggeration." Tsubaki chimed in.

Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, 

" A pla-what? I don't know what a plain is but that sounds bad." Biting her nails, Hestia tried to stay calm. It's ok, surely she was more family, it's sad but loss is part of life..right?

and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. 

"Ghe." That was like an arrow to her heart. Loss was part of life, it could break a home, but you could always build a new one. But abuse... that was a poison that warped a home into something dark and insidious. 

She wanted to go to college and be an Author, she even had a full scholarship and everything. But then her uncle got sick, cance wouldn't you believe it, so she dropped out to care for him. 

"Ohh, shtop." Hestia started curling into herself. 

Bell looked at the rest of the Familia, but they didn't know what to do. They'd never seen Hestia like this.

After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma. 

"Phlease Shtaap!!" Now she was crying.

The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad. 

"That's a good thing, right Hesta-sama." Bell said.

"Bellululu hold me." Tears running down her face, Hesita jumped into Bell's arms. She couldn't stand any more bad news.

Percy never knew his father. He was gone before he was born. Sally never talked about it because then she'd get sad. Apparently, he was someone important, and no one knew their relationship. Then one day, he went boating in the Atlantic and never came back. Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.

"Man, this mortal life just keeps getting worse and worse." Loki stared wide-eyed at the screen. Percy was just staring wistfully out the car window, but his words were more than enough to destroy any good feeling that was there.

"Che~"Bete scoffed. He didn't know why all the women were acting this way. This wasn't even that bad compared to some of the stories told by people from the dungeon.

"Shut up, Bete, you wouldn't know what it's like to raise someone on your own." Tione shot back at him. Mothers were greatly revered under the Amazon Goddess Kali. They were the ones to go out searching for a mate and had to leave them to raise the eventual child with the rest of the Amazons.

Such a decision broke lesser Amazons as the thought of leaving someone they loved tore them up. To not even speak of the difficulties of birth inside their primitive village and then the constant fights to increase their childs levels. Many mothers had their minds broken from the experience.

So to have a woman, without the strength of an Amazon, fight for her life, all while caring for a child, earned the respect of Tione.

 She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. 

"Ohhh, I wish I could bless this woman, she's making a wonderful home." Hestia felt like she was getting her strength back. Maybe things would look up for Sally.

But I knew I wasn't an easy kid. 

"No brat is easy, kid. Most of the mothers that I see come are worked to the bone and exhausted, just be glad that you're a good kid with a good mom." Mama Mia said.

Asfi learned over to Anya. "What's her problem with kids?"

"Eh~ One time, a group of mothers wanted to have a birthday party for their kids there at the same time. Meow." Anya shuddered just by remembering the weeks spent cleaning food stains off the walls and ceiling. 

That's not even speaking of what they did in the restrooms, she's permanently put those particular memories in the deepest part of her mind never to be seen again.

"The sheer amount of mess those kids made kind of put her off the whole 'children are cute' thing. Kind of sad really, I just loved having those kids there." Syr learned over and whispered

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. 

"NOOOO!The darkness is back!"Hestia screamed, throwing her hands in the air.

Smelly Gabe Perc called him. Mean but true, like old pizza and Gym shorts. They both made Sally's life hard. He treated her bad and he wasn't nice to Percy either. When Percy got home he wanted to see his mom, but all he got was Smelly Gabe playing poker with his friends.

"What the hell, I thought this woman loved her son. Why is she with him?"Lefiya shouted. 

As an Elf and a lady, she was disgusted by the amount of mess in the apartment. She didn't even want to imagine his smell, she almost threw up just by hearing the description. 

"Uhh I don't even need to be a Goddess to see the trickery in that man's eyes. There's no way Sally didn't know what kind of man he was. What the hell is she thinking?" Loki scoffed. She'll never understand mortal minds.

Ottar was reminded of his own father. He was a drunk just the same. A sad, angry man that never amounted to anything. Entranced by strength, he sought after a Boaz female, hoping that if he could control her then she could be his strength.

Too bad for him that she never fell for his pathetic attempts at control. The only reason that she ever laid with him was that female Boaz have an innate desire to have as many children as they can with as many men as they can. Leaving the children with their fathers after they were born and on to the next one.

Thankfully, Ottar quickly grew in strength and was able to show his father the error of his ways at the young age of six. From there, he traveled to Orario where he met his Goddess and learned about love for the first time in his life.

"Uhhh this isn't a hoooommeee~ that man is ruining everything."Hestia cried.

Not even looking up, he asked, "You got any cash?" That was it. He didn't care that he was back. A fat man home alone with his friends, barely had any hair, and went to work even less than the amount of hair he did have. It's a miracle that he even had a job, but somehow he just kept getting paid, which he then spent on cheap cigars that stunk and beer, lots of beer. 

"Truly the worst representative of mortals we have ever seen." Hephestus crossed her arms in disgust.

"That brings up an interesting point. Mortals nowadays are more influenced by the Gods, especially the evil ones, like Evilus, Thanos, and Ishtar. But how much did they truly affect them? Certainly, mortals carry darkness in their hearts, but of all the ones that we have seen, their darkness was only stoked by false promises from their Gods." Hermses stroked his chin.

"Makes you wonder if they would have been that bad if the Gods hadn't interfered in their lives." Loki said.

"Well, this man certainly didn't have any help." Freya snorted.

Finn stayed silent as he listened to the Gods debate on the Gods' effect on humanity. He thought it was arrogant for the Gods to think that they had any sway over man's heart. To him, that darkness had always been there, and it was instead the people that took advantage of the Gods to perform their dark deeds.

People don't need an excuse to do bad things, the Gods just make it easier.

Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.

"GAAHHH THIS IS NOOO HOOOMMEE!" Hestia had had enough. Jumping on the sofa, she let out a bellowing cry that shook the room. Covering their ears, they watched transfixed as Hestia held out her hands, weilding globes of fire, her eyes molten pools of red-hot rage and hair flying in all directions.

 She looked as if she were ready for war.

"Hestia-sama, calm down!!" Bell tried to shout over the noise.

"Bell, hold her in your arms, that'll calm her!" Welf cried.

The Hestia Familai trieste o grab on to Hestia, but she just screeched louder, ignoring their pleas. She didn't even notice Bell grabbing her around the waist, she was so out of it. No one else knew what to do, they just stood off to the side, scared at the might of the usually homely Goddess.

While all this was going on the Gods just sat back and watched the chaos.

"Well, there she goes," Loki muttered, resting her head on her hand, she watched unconcerned. 

"It's been a while since I've seen her like this. In fact, it's been so long that many Gods have forgotten just how scary our little Goddess of the Heath can be." Freya said.

"Yeah, I think the last time was when a group of Gods led by Apollo and Ares swarmed her temple for her hand in marriage, and they wouldn't leave until she chose one of them. Ha, they stayed there for over a century before she finally lost her legendary patience and just went berserk. They sure learned that day." Loki laughed. Just remembering that day always brought her joy, seeing those pathetic Gods screaming and crying as they ran from a 4'7 shortstach spewing fire. 

Freya turned to Loki with a deadpan stare. She was pretty fast to forget that she was one of the few female Goddesses who were part of the group seeking her hand in marriage. Whether it was out of genuine feelings, no one will know, but she was with them all the same as she ran out of her temple with her long hair on fire. 

In fact, that was the reason that Loki had kept her hair short ever since. So short in fact that many mortals had mistaken her for a man. The fear of watching her long, beautiful hair disintegrating into ash became a deep-rooted scar for her.

One that not only cemented her decision to never grow her hair out again but also her long-standing rivalry with Hesita.

"Ok, that's enough," Finally, Hepheastus got tired of watching Hestia throw around her Famila. They needed to finish this book and go back home. Getting up, she walked over to the sofa that Hestia had turned into her battle altar. 

"Hestia….3 billion." She said. 

"Ghe" And like an arrow to the soul, she went down. Her fire puttering out with a whimper as she crumbled back onto the smoldering sofa.

"Hestia-sama!" Everyone screamed, rushing towards her as she fell.

"Catch her," Ryuu screamed.

"What happened? She just fainted!" Haruhime cried.

Walking back to her seat, Hepheastus left them to clean up the mess.

"What was that about?" Her vice-captain asked.

"Nothing, just a little debt she owes me."

Well, now that that was taken care of. Ottar went back to reading, conveniently ignoring the mad scramble to wake up the fallen Goddess from her deep coma.

 "I don't have any cash," I told him. But Gabe didn't believe him. He could smell out money like it was his BO. He correctly guessed how much he had and spent on he way here. 

"Man, he reminds me of some of the merchants that you see out of Orario," Hermes said.

"Like Bloodhounds after a steak." Asfi agreed.

"Bastard" Liliruca grumbled. There were a few adventures like that back at the Soma guild. No matter how she tried to hide her ill-gotten gains, they still somehow always found it. Taking it after giving her a few extra bruises only to waste it on Soma wine. Stupid drunks. 

Eddie, the super of the apartment building, tried to help him, but Gade wouldn't have it. Not wanting to go against Gabe Eddie stayed quiet as the three other guys farted in agreement. Percy threw the money on the table. "Hope you lose." "Don't get smart boy. Your report card came in, you're not doing so good, brain kid."

"Disgusting," Reveria muttered. Her nose scrunched up at he offending noise echoing through the theater.

"Huh…Men." Lefiya agreed with her.

"Hey! Not lump us with them." Finn jokily said.

"What's a rebprot card?" Syr asked.

"Well, if I had to guess I assume it's a report on kids and how they're performing in school. Whether they're doing well or poorly in classes." Ryuu said.

"Yeah, well, you're not so smart yourself dumbass, leave the kid alone!" Tiona screamed at the screen.

 Percy slammed the door to his room. Where, over the summer, Gabe turned into his man cave. Leaving old magazines the floor, boot prints on the wall and a smell of cheap cologne and beer permeating throughout the entire room. Home sweet home. 

"That is not a home." Hestia darkly muttered. She had woken up a little while ago in Bell's arms, so she wasn't about to go Fire Goddess on everyone again, but she still wasn't happy. No matter how comfortable and lovely it felt, Bell's arms wrapped around her.

A few people still looked at her worriedly, though, as even Lili scooted away from her.

Gabes' smell almost drowned out his fear of Mrs Dodds and the old ladies. But then he remembered them, and it all came back. Grover's look of panic flashed through his mind. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.

"Oh no did they follow him!" Harumhime clutched the hem of her dress in worry. 

"Hurry kid, Meow get out of there!" Chloe yelled at the screen.

"Damit, where is Grover? Doesn't he know where the kid that he's supposed to protect lives?" May asked.

 Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"

"O thank the heavens." Haruhime held her heart. She didn't know if she could handle this tension. 

"Man, that kid needs to relax." Mama Mia looked over at her in concern. If she acted like this the entire book, she just might hurt herself.

When she opened the door, it was like all the worry spilled out of Percy. Sall was a beautiful woman with light streaks of grey in her brown hair and a few wrinkles on her face. She was kind too, never showing anything but love to Percy. She never even raised her voice, even to Gabe.

Hermes whistled. "Now, isn't she a beauty."

"Hermes-sama!"Asfi couldn't believe what her God was saying, especially in front of a room of her peers. 

How was she supposed to hold her head up high in public as the Captain of the well-renowned Hermes Familia when everyone learns just how much of a degenerate, no good, lazy, horn dog her God was?

Does he even know just how much time and money the Famila has put into never letting anyone outside of Orario know just how bad he truly was? If this got out, the sheer amount of money lost from foreign deals and contracts would be astronomical.

"What I'll admit is that she's not young, but her age adds a certain charm to her."Loki rubbed her chin as she looked on in appreciation. Mna, why couldn't she have a momma like this in her guild? 

All she's got is a cranky elf that never wears anything but that long robe, always covering up, never letting her see the goods.

"I think I see what you mean, Hermes, though you got it wrong. It's not her age, it's her kindness. It's so rare to see such love and kindness in mortals, more so now that we know her history…But there's something else that I haven't seen before." Freya studied Sally closely. Something about her just didn't fit.

"I see it too, it looks like Falna, but at the same time it looks completely different," Hepheastus said.

"What is that?" Now Loki was seeing it.

Then, from the back, they heard.

"Its called a Blessing… She's been blessed by a God."

Everyone turned toward the back where Ouranos sat. Frowning he looked at Sally, studying her and the light coming off of her. And whatever he saw, he wasn't pleased. 

"Blessing?" Bell asked. " What's a Blessing?"

" A precursor to the Falna, given by gods to their favored mortals as a form of reward or sometimes showing that they cared. It generally gave a passive effect on their lives, something connected to the God's domain. A Goddess of love could bless a mortal with beauty, while a God of war could bless a soldier with strength. It stopped being used in the early days as it was found that such a sudden change in a mortal's life threw off the balance." He explained.

"What about Falna is that like a Blessing?" Finn asked.

"Yes and no. While Falna can improve a mortal through their God's blood it's something that happened over time. Not only that, but Falna requires you to improve yourself as you dive into the dungeon."

Ouranos could see that some of them still didn't get it, so he tried another way.

"Think of it this way, Falna is like a staircase case, while Blessings were pillars that Gods could place mortals on. On stairs it's up to the climber to reach the top while also knowing when to stop while if someone was just grabbed and placed on a pillar, their body might not be able to handle the new height, and in some cases, they might die."

Nodding along some of them still didn't get it, but they were willing to leave it and carry on.

 "Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!" She was wearing her work uniform that she got from selling candy. She even had some samples that she gave him. Not caring about all the bad things that happened at school, she only asked him if he was ok. Was her little boy doing all right? I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.

"Che~ Momma's boy" Bete scoffed

"Don't disrespect a mother's love, mutt." Freya glared at him. Disrupting a mother's, ot any kind of love in front of her was a sure-fire way of finding your Familia home invaded and destroyed when you woke up.

"Yeah, mothers are important for homes." Hestia cheered.

"Bete..shut up." Even Ais felt like chiming in. She still remembered her own mother's loving gaze, and she refused to hear anyone make fun of such acts.

Bete just scoffed as if he didn't care what they were saying. But Ottar could just make out the sudblte sweat dripping down the back of his neck. Good, maybe next time he'll learnt to watch what he says in front of Goddesses.

 From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?" I gritted my teeth. 

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

"HESTIA-SAMA CALM DOWN!"

"Something needs to be done about that waste." Tsubaki muttered.

Peryc tried to be positive, though he wished she didn't have to deal with Gabe. Talking about school, he left out all the bad things..until he got to the museum."What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?" "No, Mom." He didn't want to lie, but it all seemed silly out loud. 

"A woman like her, carrying around a blessing that strong, wouldn't think it's silly, boy." Ouranos said. He had been pretty silent throughout this whole reading, but even he couldn't help but be moved by this mother's love. 

One so great that even one such as he, without a domain of love within him, could feel it.

"Do you think so? What if she didn't know that a God put a blessing on her?" Lefiya asked worriedly. She would battle with herself as well if she had to talk about something so strange. 

"What would be the point in hiding it. Really, I'm surprised that her God isn't with her right now, with a blessing that strong, you'd at least think that they'd want to stay close to her." Loki said.

Freya stayed silent, something else that had been bothering her. 

Her eyes allowed her to see into the souls of people, even Gods, letting her gaze upon their essence, personality, and emotions. But the one thing that never really stood out until now was that it allowed her to differentiate between mortals and Gods.

In Orairo, this was just a minor application of her skill, and not one that carried any importance either, because anyone could tell if a God was standing in front of them. It was the weight.

 A God's soul was unique because of the size and weight that it carried. If a regular mortal's soul was the size of a small plate then a God's soul was like a mansion. Some were bigger or smaller than others, but still distinct from a mortals.

But throughout this entire book something had felt wrong. 

Everything seemed fine at first. She enjoyed looking at all the unique souls. Brunner, Grover, Percy, Mrs. Dodds, all of them had unique and interesting souls. But something was missing, she just couldn't place her finger on it.

She tried going back over the souls that she had seen. Dodds were the first ones that she suspected. Really, she had never seen a monster with a soul, especially one that looked like it was made for torturing others, but if she thought of it like an adventure or a spirit's soul then it wasn't all that strange. 

Same with Bruner and Grover, though they more aligned with spirits than monsters. She still didn't know what they were, but besides the few questions they brought they weren't important.

She thought maybe Percy might be the problem, but he too, wasn't all that unique if she put him through the lens of an Adventure. Just that, instead of signs of his soul steadily building itself up, his soul looked as if it were born equal to that of a Level Two.

And it wasn't until she saw that Bellsing that she realized what it was. The Gods, she wasn't seeing any Gods. 

Orario has hundreds of Gods within its city. All of them running around, living amongst the mortals, and with souls so large that Freya could see them even from the top of her tower. Always there, standing like trees in her Garden. 

It was a comfort of hers. Her standing above a hundred Gods when, before those bastards Zeus and Hera had made her feel so small. 

But at some point, that comfort must have turned into just another routine for her. After a while, gazing down at those tall trees became boring. They became an afterthought in her mind, background color for the real prizes.

But this new world didn't have that same background color. 

In a city like New York, a metropolis larger than any city on Genkai, there should have been thousands of Gods swarming the streets. Blotting the sun with so many Godly souls that she shouldn't have even been able to see through the screen. 

But there was nothing. Why was she not seeing any Gods? This question unnerved her, it clawed at her very core and she demanded answers. 

She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me. "I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach." My eyes widened. "Montauk?" "Three nights—same cabin." "When?" She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."Finally, he's been wanting to go for two years, but Gabe's never let them, no money, he said. "Sally is said to be dipp. Didn't you hear," He came in.

Everyone looked as Hestia thrashed between Bell's arms. He was sweating, he didn't know how long he could hold her. 

Looking around the room, he searched, like a dying man in a desert, for salvation. But everyone turned away. The only reason that he's lasted this long was because he was him. If they tried to contain her, she'd burn them to a crisp in seconds.

 I wanted to punch him,

"Do it then. You got the strength, kid. If I were there, that man wouldn't even be alive anymore."Bete raised his fist in the air.

"I don't want to agree with Bete, but why doesn't he just fight him?" Tiona asked.

No one had an answer. In Orario, if something like this happened a woman would just go to the Guild or the Denatus and leave her husband. It was easy because the Gods could tell if either one was lying and set everything straight. 

They didn't know what kind of system Peryc had in his world, but obviously, it was one where he felt like he couldn't stand up to this abuse.

 But he could see it in Sally's eyes. Just until we leave, she was saying. "I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip." Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?" "I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."

"He'd better," Hestia growled, sparks flying from her mouth.

"Meow. Come on, he's not so evil as to stop a mother and her son when they're just reunited…is he?" Anya asked.

Good thing that Sally had a plan"Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works." 

"She's working on his gluttony smart." Finn praised

"She shouldn't have to, though." Lefiya said under her breath. This was sad. She came from a good family where such acts would never happen. Her family loved each other, not…whatever this was.

Did stuff like this really happen? Did kids and mothers really have to put up with such terrible behavior? She'd have to think about this more when they got back. 

Gabe was easy to sway if nothing else. Really, the only thing that he was worried about was money and his car that they'd be using, "-And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game." Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week. 

"Well then, do it then, stand up and do something, you weakling," Bete said.

"What's wrong Finn?" Ignoring the vulgarity behind her, Riveria focused on Finn, who was being unusually quiet.

"Nothing, I guess. I just think it's kind of depressing that not only does she have to know how to work around her husband just ot spend time with her son, but that she has to."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call that man her husband." Riviera scowled at the screen, wishing that she could make her displeasure known to this man. If she were not such a proper lady, she would have spat on he ground in disgust.

"And isn't that worse?"Finn sighed defeatedly.

But Sally's eyes again said to just go comply. He wanted to scream, why did she put up with him. But he could only do what he wanted. As sarcastically as he could, he apologized. Gabes small brain tried to work it out but eventually he decided to just let them go.

"It's like he doesn't even care about them. He just wanted to be mean." Haruhime said sadly.

"Men like that, it's never personal. They just want to have power over them and to make them know that they do." Ryuu said.

"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?" For a second he thought she looked scared, like Grove was. Like there was a shadow hanging over them.But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken.

"See, she does know more than she lets on." Loki exclaimed.

"But why doesn't he know then. If she knew this stuff, shouldn't she have taught these things to Percy?" Garet asked.

When they were ready to go, Gabe stood by the door watching them. Not even helping his mom place the bag in the car."Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch." Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe.

"Ugh can this guy get any worse?" Tione threw her head back in exasperation. It was almost getting old seeing just how bad this one man could be.

Someone else was noticing something odd, though.

"Interesting."

"What is it, Hepheastus-sama?" Tsubaki asked.

"Well, going by what Percy said, unlike for our wagons, there seems to be an age limit for these cars. Where not even young adults like Percy can drive them." Crossing her arms under her chest, Hepheastus thought about just how different these two kinds of vehicles were. 

"Oh yeah, that is weird. I mean, I've been driving carts since I was ten and there's never been any trouble." Tsubaki thought back. Even back then, she was kind of late learning, as she knew kids as young as five could drive a cart.

"That must mean that these cars are more important than carts in a way."

Percy watched him go back inside. I don't know why he did it he decided to do that weird hand thing he saw Grover do, the one that wards against evil. Pointing it at Gabe Peryc did the motion only to then feel a gust of wind that slammed the door on Gabe's large behind, cannonballing him inside the house. Not wanting to stick around and figure out how that happened, Peryc jumped in the car and told my mom to step on it.

"H-Hold on, what was that?" Yamato asked.

"How did he do that?" Lefiya asked

"T-That was a spell." Even as she said that, though Riveria still couldn't believe it.

 

"Impossible."

"Yeah, don't you need Falna to do spells?"

"Well, unless you're an elf." Finn said.

Everyone knew that. Elfs were the only ones that could learn magic before they got their Falna, that's why they were one of the few adventurers that could have all three spell slots filled. 

"Not... necessarily." 

"What do you mean, Loki-sama?" Tione asked.

" During the dark ages…before the Gods descended a good number of mortals found out a way to learn magic on their own, most notable were the elves as they had the long lives required to learn such a difficult act…but.."

At this point, Ouranos took over.

"But such knowledge throws off the balance of the world. Mortals used the power of their own souls to command the forces of nature. Not only that, but this endeavor was taking too long. The forces of darkness were growing, and Genkai didn't have the time to fully utilize what they were trying to achieve. So the Gods stepped in and created Falna as a way to not only keep the balance but also to… speed up the process, so to say."

Ottar frowned. That explanation didn't sit right with him. 

If the Gods descended to help Genkai during the dark ages, why then did they come only after mortals started unlocking the secrets of magic? Also, what about mortals learning magic threw of the Balance, and for that matter, whose Balance was it? Theirs or the Gods.

Ottar felt a delicate hand land on his arm. Freya looked up at him as she gently rubbed his arm, her eyes subtly telling him to let it go. She always seemed to know what he was thinking.

Ottar went back to the book. Fine, it didn't matter anyway. The only thing that mattered was Freya.

 They arrived at an old, beaten-down beach with sandy dunes and a rickety old Cabin that was never warm, creaked in the wind, and had critters and spiders everywhere.

"GROSS! GROSS! GROSS! GROSS! I HATE SPIDERS!!" Lefiys screamed. She could handle monsters and dangerous dungeons, but spiders, she drew the absolute line at spiders.

"Hey, stop that. Can't you see what a beautiful home this is?" But Hestia cut in, not wanting to hear this slander against a home.

"W-What." LEfiay asked, not knowing if she heard her right.

"Yes. The care and love that has gone into this place, oh, I can practically feel the years that Mrs. Jackson has put into turning this into a home for her son. It reminds me of the Chruch that me and Bell used to share…Before all those hussies started clinging to him."

"What was that Hestia-sama?" Lili asked deadpanned

"....Nothing."

 I loved the place. 

"HA! See." Hestia pointed at the screen in vindication.

This beach was special. Mom used to always take him, and he was pretty sure that this was where she met Dad. As they got closer to the sea, Sally seemed to get younger. Her eyes gained a blue color and wrinkles started fading away.

"Is that the Blessing you guys were talking about?" May asked.

"Yes, and it appears that whatever God gave it to her was a God of the sea." Freya noticed.

" Looks to me that the blessing connects a part of her to the Ocean. Allowing her to gain strength, vitality, and even protection as long as she is close to the water." Breaking it down even further, Ouranos picked apart each part of the Blessing with surgical precision.

"Woah!"

"I see it now." Hermes exclaimed after studying the Blessing himself.

"What is it Hermes?" Loki asked

"Whoever gave that to her loved her." He said

"You got that just from seeing a Blessing."

"Oh, please, no God gives out a Blessing that strong unless they're in love, especially a Blessing that makes the recipient younger."

The Female Goddesses(excluding Freya) didn't know what to say. On one hand, they wanted to feel disgusted. Wasting that much power just to make a mortal pretty, seemed wasteful and full of male shallowness. 

But on the other hand, the Blessing seemed like it was geared to making Sally live longer. Hestia could understand that, if she could make Bell live longer, she would. It's hell watching the ones they love grow old and die when they can't.

In the end, they decided not to even dignify Hermes with a response, they just motioned for Ottar to continue.

Freya didn't know what all the fuss was about. So what if a God loved beauty? It was just a natural thing to want to preserve it after all. But what did she know, she was the only Goddess of Love and Beauty here.

Spending time on the beach, they had a great time and eat blue chips and candy and whatever other blue food she had. The Blue food came out when Gabe argued with her that there was no such thing as blue food, so now she went out of her way to make as many things blue as she could. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me. 

"She really is a great mother," Syr said.

"Also, how stupid is that Gabe fellow..Meow hasn't he seen blueberries?" Chloe asked.

"....Arnet those purple." Asfi wondered.

"Their Blue!" 

"Just drop it, it's a whole thing with her." May learned over and whispered to Asfi.

Asfi, not knowing what to do in front of a foaming cat, angry at the thought of purple blueberries, decided that it was better to just go along with it. 

"Ugliano..Egh, I wouldn't want that name even if I loved the guy." Yamato whispered to Harumhime, making her nod in agreement. 

At night, they made a fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. Talking to his mother about her life, Peryc finally decided to ask again about his father. So, with tears in her eyes, she started talking."He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes." She said that he would be proud of him. Yeah right, dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years. 

"Oh Sweety, love doesn't care about any of those things. Love only needs to know that you're happy." Freya always felt that people misunderstood love. Real love, and not liking someone, was strong enough to ignore all your failings and love you for who you were.

"Yeah, those stupid schools stuff doesn't matter, you just need to know how to stand by yourself." Garet said. He's never been very smart and look where he is now. Leader of one of the top Familias in Orario

Peryc wanted to know when his dad left. And it broke his heart to hear that he hadn't even been born yet. I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile. I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. 

In front of their eyes, they watched as the campfire scenery on the sands shifted. Bringing up Percy's old baby memories, they watched as little Percy lay in his crib at night. Then, they gasped as they witnessed a man appear from nowhere. Seemingly just to shift into the room on a sea breeze. 

They couldn't fully see him in the light, but just like Percy, they could see a soft smile grace his face, and then he was gone, and they were back at the cabin.

Clatter

Everyone jumped. Turning around, they saw Ouraons, the head God of Heaven. Staring wide-eyed at the screen in shock. In his shock, he had accidentally thrown his drink on the ground, but he didn't seem to notice the mess as the liquid stained his robes. He was only looking at the screen. 

"What…What was - that?" He finally gasped out.

"What's wrong Ouranos-sama?" Fels, his dutiful servant, was already cleaning the mess when he asked.

"It-That was a God!?" Not only Ouranos but even Freya couldn't believe her eyes. Alone, only they appeared to have seen something from that memory.

"...Ok, I can kind of see that, kind of weird for a God to be staring at a baby, but whatever. Why are you two so worked up?" Loki asked. She didn't get what all the fuss was about. They already knew that the family had been touched by a God.

Ignoring Sally's blatant Bellsing, Percy was way too strong to be a regular mortal. He must be carrying his own Falan on his back. But why were those two acting as if they had just seen the Fates? 

Freya and Oruanos glanced at each other. Neither of them said anything for a while before Oruanso finally said. 

"Nothing..Its nothing." And left it at that.

Ottar looked to Freya, but she just shook her head. Knowing that he wasn't gonna get anything out of her, he continued reading.

Percy got angry. So he just left and left them all alone with Smelly Gabe. Percy then asked if she was gonna send him away again. She said that she had to do it because it was the only way to keep him safe. "Because I'm not normal," I said. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe." "Safe from what?"

"Agrh! Just tell him already, women." Mama Mia screamed, tired of all this back and forth.

"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot. Percy's still being hunted." Syr gasped.

"If not by monsters then by the Fates." May said.

"There's no time to lose then. Percy needs to explain to his mom what he saw as soon as possible, maybe she knows what to do." Tsubaki said.

"..Kind of sad that his father left him." Lefyia clutched her staff. What must it be like, never knowing your parent? It must mess you up inside.

"Eh who cares? I've never met my father." Bete scoffed at the idea. Who needs both parents, hell he didn't even need the one.

Lefiya silently stared at Bete before turning back to the screen. It must really mess you up inside, maybe in the head.

"I wish I hadn't." Welf growled.

 But then Sall looked at him, and Percy remembered all the times in the past that weird things had happened. The time a large man in a coat showed up at his school, where Percy swore he saw that he had only one eye. Or the time when he was in preschool and he strangled a snake in his sleep. All those times when he moved schools for no reason came rushing back to him.

"What the hell is going on." Lili asked.

"Monsters," Ais said darkly. Hand back on her hilt, ready to attack.

"Why are these monsters targeting him?" 

"Who would dare target such a pretty little boyo Meow?" Chloe hissed.

"Forget about that, you see how that little baby strangled that snake man that was awesome."Tiona cheered from the floor.

"I want to know that was the mostner with one eye, I've never seen one like that before." Finn said, studying the image on the screen.

"Maybe there's one on the deeper floors,"Riveria suggested.

"...But why was it dressed like a human?"Lefiya asked

"And it was walking among them no problem, in fact, it didn't attack anyone or anything."Tiona said.

Fels looked at Orauns. HE could think of one reason, the Xenos. The race of human-like monsters grown out of the dungeon with the desire to see the sun. They and the Ganesha Familai have been working for years to subtly bring them up to the surface, unknown to many of the Guilds here today. 

Though he wouldn't doubt it if Hermes knew of them, but everyone else was certainly in the dark…Maybe it was time to clue them in on such details… if this book was showing them such monsters then it might come out either way, but Oruanso refused to budge, so for now he would keep his silence. 

 Percy wanted to tell his mom everything. But he felt like if he did then the trip would end.

"Stupid boy, tell her and save your life." Mama Mia said.

"But - he just wants to spend time with his mother." Syr defended.

"And that's gonna be the death of not only him but also his mother if his enemies are still tracking them down."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that he has any enemies." Finn interjected, throwing in his two cents.

"What? Of course he does." Mama Mia waved her hand dismissively. 

"No. All he knows is that a monster attacked him on a school trip, and then his friend and teacher proceeded to mind-control everyone around him to forget about it. Remember, until that morning, Peryc had lived in relative safety for months after his attack. He has no way of knowing if he is still being tracked or if his friend is even on his side to begin with."

"What? Of course Grover is on-" Haruhime tried to speak up before Finn interrupted her.

"Why? Because he was nice? Because he looks weak? For all we know, Grover is there to watch him and make sure that he doesn't do anything that his watchers wouldn't like. Right now, Percy is having the first real moment when he feels at peace. Where people aren't trying to kill him or control him. And I don't blame him for wanting to have that for as long as he can." 

Finn wished he had more time with his family. But Pallums rarely ever get that choice, that's why he needs to be their beacon, to show them that they can be strong too, that they have a choice.

 "I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it." "My father wanted me to go to a special school?" "Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."

"Ok, more information. Whatever group is watching over Peryc, they have been in contact with his mother as well." Hermes started noting all this down, maybe they could make more sense of this as they went along.

"And it's all connected to his father."Tsubaki said.

"Do you think his father was part of a Familia?" Tione asked.

"Mabye. And this summer camp is some sort of gathering for them." Riviera added.

"Ok, but then where is his father. Why didn't he take them with him?" Garet asked.

"I don't know. Usually, a family is taken care of by the Familia, even if the mother never joins, they still remain close to their God." Finn sighed. Why can't things just be simpler?

"Maybe she didn't want her son to be an Adventurer. We see a few parents like that." Loki suggested.

"Maybe…"

 Percy tried asking more questions but then his mom started to cry so he dropped it.

"Gah Women..Using their female wiles against us." Welf scoffed jokingly.

"Hahaha, well it works." Lili giggled.

"How can a summer camp last that long. It's in the name, right Summer."Ryuu asked.

That night I had a vivid dream. It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. They were getting close to finishing each other. All the while a force beneath the earth seemed to be egging them on, forcing them to fight. Percy tried to shout at them to stop, but then he woke up.

"Woah!"

"What was that."

"Weird dream, right Heph-Hepheastus-sama!"Tsubaki screamed as she turned toward her Goddess. Hepheastus was staring at the screen, frozen in fear. Tsubaki watched as all the color drained from her face.

And she wasn't the only one. 

"Freya-sama!" Ottar dropped the book as he picked up his trembling Goddess.

Loki was clutching her arm, shivering as a cold feeling went down the back of her neck. Thankfully, for whatever reason, she and Freya seemed to be the least affected by whatever that was, unlike the rest.

Hermes was frozen with fear, his hat covering his eyes, while Ouraons stared wide-eyed at the wall, unresponsive to even Fels. But Hestia…Hestia was almost catatonic. Tears were streaming down her face as she heaved for air. Bell and the rest of her Familia tried to comfort her, asking her what was wrong and wrapping her with blankets and feelings, but nothing was shaking her out of it.

Freya was the first to speak up, though,

"That…was a vision."

"A vision?"

"A view of time. Whether past, present, or future. They are gifts given to some Gods, most notable to you would have been Apollo, he was a God of prophecy. And though he couldn't use his abilities on Genkai in heaven, he was able to predict events from the future and avoid disaster. Part of the reason that he had such an easy time on Genkai was that he used this ability before leaving Tenkai to give him an..edge over the competition."

"Bloody cheaters."Loki weakly muttered, mostly out of habit than anything. She had long argued against such Gods from cheating, but she got outvoted.

"Some mortals awaken the gift of sight, but even then, what they view is warped and shifted so that their minds don't break. Percy seems to be one such individual."Hermes said.

Freya continued.

"Those animals. I believe they were Gods, or at least a representation of them. I could see hints of their soul peaking through the vision, enough to see that they were Gods of the Sea and Sky."

"Ok..We already know from the title and the storms that a God had their lightning stolen.."Finn said.

"Still crazy to hear," Riviera muttered.

"Its harder to say - and that they were fighting a God of the Sea. We already knew that. What it seems to be is that Percy's father seems to be part of the Sea Gods Familia. Which helps clarify why Mrs. Dodds was watching over Percy. She must be working with the Sky God, they, for whatever reason, believe that Percy might have it, or at the very least knows where it is."

"And Brunner and Grover work for the Sea God so they're protecting Percy." Lefiya suggested.

"But none of that explains why the secrecy or-"

"Why are you all like this? I mean, just look at Hestia."Syr pointed towards the sofa.

Sitting upright, Hestia was doing better already. She had stopped crying and was starting to calm down, but signs of her earlier panic attack were still visible. Her children, trying to help her, covered her in like ten blankets. 

She looked like a hill of fabric with a tiny head poking out. It'd be funny if they couldn't see just how broken she looked. What could do that to a Goddess, especially one so usually happy and cheerful like Hestia? 

 "It was… whatever was down there." Oruanrs finally said.

The other Gods shivered. Just remembering that made them feel dirty. As if they had been dunked in the foulest, darkest liquid imaginable.

"What God was that?" Someone asked.

"That wasn't a God." Freya said darkly.

"What?"

"That wasn't a God. No God has a soul like that, nothing is that dark or twisted. Its shape wasn't even right."

"If it's not a god, then what was it?"

"Nothing."

"Oruanos-sama-"Fels tried to say something, but Ouranos wasn't having it.

"No. Let's move on."

Ottar looked at Freya in his arms. She smiled and nodded as if she wasn't still shaking. Getting up, she returned to her seat. Hepheastus went over to Hestia. Taking Lili's place next to her she held her as he whispered into her ear. Seeming to calm down, Hestia relaxed her grip on the blankets.

Seeing everyone ready to move on, Ottar grabbed the book again.

When Peryc woke up a storm was happening. A hurricane. But there shouldn't be any hurricanes that early. Sally got up, worrying about whether to leave the cabin or stay. They suddenly heard frantic knockings on the door. 

"Who is it now!" Tiona screamed.

"Did they already find them?" Haruhime was getting scared. Were the monsters already at their door? How could they get out? 

But then the door swung open, and it was Grover, except kind of not? "Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?" My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come. "Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?" 

"Whoa! What's wrong with Grover?"

"I knew it! I knew he wasn't human!"

Everyone screamed when Grover came through the door. It was a surprise for them, they had never seen anything like him before. A man with the bottom half of a goat.

Finn got up and walked closer to the screen.

"Has anyone seen a monster like this?"He asked.

"No."

"Never."

Riviera got up next to him. "Its weird. I don't think he's a monster..morr of a-"

"A what?" Ais asked. She was interested too. Mainly because she also didn't believe Grover was a monster, her instinct to kill monsters wasn't acting up for him after all.

"Like another race maybe?"Riveria said.

"Maybe."Finn said.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled."It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"

"...What did he say?"Tiona asked her sister.

"I don't know."

"Zeus and all the Gods." Ouranos translated. They didn't know the language either but as Gods they had the ability to hear and speak in all tongues so it wasn't difficult to translate.

"Oooh that makes sense."

"Hold on, why Zeus, what's that old bastard got to do with this." Loki shouted, jumping to her feet.

Freya wasn't happy either, but she remained calm, unlike her fellow Goddess. "Who knows, maybe he's part of his Familiar, either way, I believe this chapter is almost down, so let's hurry through it." 

 Percy, with no choice, now had to tell his mother everything. The museum, Brunner, Dodds, and the three old ladies. The entire time, his mother just waited, her face blank of any emotion. When he was finished, she grabbed her keys and send "Lets go". Following after her Percy and Grover jumped into the car and sped off into the night, the storm overhead heralding their leave.

Ottar closed the book. "That's it."

"And now the chase begins."Hermes said morbidly

"Who wants to read next." Ottar asked.

"I will."

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A/N: Hey sorry for the late update. I wanted to keep these updates at least once a Month, but I ended up taking longer than I thought.

Yeah, I wanted this Fanfic to be a sort of vacation from writing Magic and Chaos between chapters, and I wanted it to be a simple thing, but then I looked back and found that I added way more than I should have. I kept making it bigger than it should be, and so I just went with it.

So again sorry and thank you for your patience. I'll try updates to keep it within each month, but I can't be sure that's how it'll go.

Ps. Make sure to check out my original Novel Magic and Chaos. I got it here as well as on Fanfiction.net so please check it out.

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