Seeing Olympus from above, with lightning clouds surrounding the majestic palace made the demigods sigh in amazement. The pegasi landed safely on the palace grounds. They got off and went into the throne room, led by Suzy. The others who hadn’t seen the room were awestruck. And they were even more awestruck at seeing the gods in their 5-metre glory. They even saw their friends from camp.

All of them knelt on the ground in respect to the Olympians who smiled proudly at them. “Arise, children.”Zeus said. They got up and stared at the gods. “I am proud of you all for risking your lives and fulfilling the task so easily with absolutely no causalities. You’re some of the most tactful heroes I’ve ever seen.” he continued. Poseidon and Hades nodded in approval. All of them blushed at the compliment.

Then their eyes turned to Tao. He shifted uncomfortably. “You’re the son of Ares, aren’t you?”Zeus asked. He nodded meekly. “That’s my boy.”Ares said a little too loudly. Everyone looked at him inquiringly. “How did you do that, boy?”Hades asked, turning his gaze back on Tao. “Do what, s-sir?”He stammered. Krystal held his hand for support. “Time control. No one except Kronos can do that.”Poseidon said.

“I-I actually don’t know, sir…”he trailed off. “Now, now. The boy is Kronos’ great grandson. He must’ve inherited the ability from him.”Athena said matter-of-factly. “So it is. It’s rare but my boy; you have done us a great service.”Zeus smiled. “Thank you, Lords.”Tao blushed furiously at the comment. “And I thank you, Huang Zitao for saving my daughter. Well, all of our children really from Kronos’ wrath. I never expected a child of Ares to have a heart of gold.”Athena praised.

Ares glowered at Athena who glared back at him. He bowed politely to both gods and shared a smile with Krystal. Athena turned to Krystal and stared into her daughter’s eyes. They were cold and gray, like hers. Everyone looked amazed at the two’s resemblance. “You are a great warrior, child. As well as a loyal friend. I am proud of you.”Athena smiled. Krystal smiled back and looked down, trying not to cry. Suzy wrapped her arms around her friend’s shoulder, giving her a comforting smile.

“Thank you.” the younger girl whispered. Suzy nodded. Zeus glared at his nephews. He was about to murmur a Greek curse and blast them to smithereens but his brothers, wife and daughter looked at him and told him not to. He stopped and cleared his throat. “Well, to thank you, we have arranged a ball in our honor. Aphrodite shall help you dress in the proper attire.” he said, still glaring at the two.

 Aphrodite approached the group, excited. “Oh, I can’t wait to play dress up.” she clapped her hands and giggled. She ushered them to two different rooms. And in a few moments, almost all of them came out, dressed to the nines-well all of them except for Suzy. She was still struggling with her grandmother over her fervent request on making it simple.

Tao gaped at Krystal. She was wearing a strapless black gown with a sweeping train which accentuated her well built and toned body. She stared at the older blonde-haired guy who looked dashing in a grey suit and gave her hand to him, signaling him to take her out to the ballroom and to dance with her to a waltz. That he did and they walked hand-in-hand and started to dance to a waltz, with all the gods smiling at their match. (Even their parents, Ares and Athena who could never get along.)  

“I am so happy, oppa.”Krystal sighed dreamily. “Me too, Soojung-ah.”Tao replied. “I thought you liked Suzy, oppa.”She admitted. He looked at her incredulously. “What?”He laughed. “I admire Suzy as she’s the greatest warrior I’ve ever seen. But I don’t like her. I like you.” he whispered ily into her ear, making her giggle.

-

Yerin yelped in pain as Namjoon stepped on her foot…again. “Oppa, I love you but you’re going to have to stop stepping on my foot.”Yerin said, but then she immediately regretted it. Their relationship was still fairly recent, so saying I love you was still early. But Rap Monster smiled. “I love you too, my chic little pabo.”He smiled and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She giggled.

-

Jimin looked at the happy couples waltzing around the room. She sighed as she drank her nectar. She was jealous. She looked at her pretty black cocktail dress and sighed again. “What’s the use of looking pretty when you can’t even get a guy, Park Jimin?”She thought to herself. Just then, she saw a cute guy munching on a spring roll. He had pointy ears, cute brown eyes and an adorable smile. He looked familiar. She stared at him until the guy snapped her out of her daze with a goofy grin.

“Hi, I am Leo Valdez.” he smiled as he extended his hand to shake. She shook back, trying to recollect the name Leo Valdez in her mind. She then remembered. “Ah, you’re the guy who asked Krystal for the fireworks show.” she exclaimed, then regretted it as he stared like a lost puppy at Tao and Krystal who were oblivious to him.

He then turned to Jimin who popped a grape into . “Yeah, I am. I like her…but she looks happy.” he smiled sadly. Jimin felt sorry for the guy. “You wanna go dance?”She offered. “I am not really a good dancer…”he said with hesitation. She grabbed his arm and gave him a reassuring smile. “But I am a dance master. I learned it from the great master, Eric Nam.”She giggled. He then broke out into a smile.  “Okay, then. Let’s burn down the floor.” he exclaimed. They then ran to the dance floor and danced like idiots to an upbeat song. It was honestly the most fun both of them had in weeks.

-

Everyone gasped in awe as Suzy got out of the room after a long time fighting with her grandmother. Her light brown, wavy hair was curled. She wore a white mermaid dress with matching white shoes. A silver circlet rested on her head, making her look like a princess. Her sword, Lightning Bolt which was disguised as a hairclip was pinned on the back of her hair.

She shifted uncomfortably with all of the attention given to her. Nevertheless, she went to the snack table with grace. Lay and Kai went up to her to ask her for a dance, but Zeus whisked her away, giving a glare at the two. They sighed. Zeus was a good dancer. Father and daughter glided across the throne room. “So the two bozos over there like you?”Zeus asked, jerking his head towards Lay and Kai. She nodded and sighed.

“I don’t know what I am going to do, dad. Both of them are my best friends.”She said wistfully. “Just say the word, sweetheart. And I will blast them with one of my thunderbolts.” he joked. She giggled softly. “No, appa. It’s okay.” she said. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you about the prophecy before hand, my child.”Zeus apologized. She shook her hand and smiled at her father. “It’s okay. What’s done is done.

But don’t worry, dad. I am willing to give my life for Olympus.” she said bravely. Zeus smiled. “That’s my brave girl.” he whispered as he kissed her forehead and patted her head. Just then, Kai came up to them and interrupted. “Um…Sir, may I have the honor to dance with your daughter?”He asked, scratching his head. Suzy laughed. “Daddy, why don’t you dance with Hera? She looks…pissed.”Suzy said, jerking her head towards a pissed off Hera.

“Oh, Styx. I need to go. Enjoy the party, sweetheart.” he smiled at her daughter and glared at Kai before he left to pacify and dance with Hera. She then turned to face Kai. “Let’s dance, Suji-yah.”Kai said, placing his hand on her waist. She blushed slightly but she held his hand and they started to dance to some emotional ballad. He held her closer.

Suzy felt his hot breath on her neck. She felt flushed. As he was a gifted dancer, he danced with fluidness and grace. Suzy tried her best to keep up. “So Bae Suji, is it a yes or a no?”He asked, whispering in her ear. His soft lips grazed her neck as he pulled back. She became even more flushed. “I…I…I...” she stuttered. Just then, they heard a loud scream. They turned around and saw Yerin on the ground, screaming in pain and then she fainted.

They immediately ran to her, worried. “Yerin-ah, wake up, wake up.”Suzy cried, shaking the girl to wake up. Yerin suddenly opened her eyes. All of them were taken aback. They had changed. They were now eerie green like that of the Oracle’s. Green mist surrounded her as she said:

Go back to the Land of No Mist,

For there, chaos will ensue,

If the heroes fail at what they do,

The whole world will be screwed.

Yerin then blinked her eyes and became normal. “What happened?”She asked, confused when Rap Monster hugged her tightly. Apollo giggled. “You have the gift of prophecy, my child. This is so exciting.” he squealed, making everyone look at him like he was crazy. Suzy turned to Zeus. “Dad, we need to go back now.” she said in urgency. He nodded. “But I suggest you all change. I don’t think you’ll be able to fight in dresses and suits.” he said.

They nodded and went back into their rooms to change. After a few minutes, they were ready for action. “We’re coming with you.”Annabeth said. “No, this is our fight. Our country. We thank you for your help but we’ll need your help only when the war starts.”Krystal said to her sister. “No, Soojung. Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Similarly, we won’t stay divided until the very end. We must stay united from the start.”Annabeth countered.

Krystal smiled at her sister. “Alright, then. Let’s go.” she said. The gods looked at them proudly. “My dearest daughter, the Spear of Triam will be ready only after a fortnight…”Zeus trailed off. “Father, its okay. With friends, I think I’ll manage.” she grinned. “Well, you’ll need transportation.”Poseidon said, letting out a whistle. Then they heard neighs. A whole team of pegasi appeared before them.

“They are the fastest in our cavalry. Now go and make me proud, kids.”Poseidon smiled. They got on the pegasi and they flew back to Korea. They reached Korea before dawn. No one stirred outside. The pegasi landed on the banks of Han River where they got a very nasty surprise waiting for them. Kris, Naeun and their whole army were waiting for them.

“Welcome, godlings. I see you brought reinforcements.”Kris laughed evilly. “Kronos, if you want a war, let’s start right now.”Percy said bravely. He laughed again. “Patience is key, my boy. I do want a war, but not right now. First, I want to see the carnage of this disgusting nation. Then I want a war.” he grinned.

“What are you talking about?”Krystal asked. “Well, we’ve planted bombs and explosives in each and every embassy Seoul has. So, if you want to avoid a World War, I suggest you start right now since the bombs will detonate in three hours. Tick tock, godlings.”He laughed, and then gradually his whole army dissolved. The demigods were all frozen.

“Bombs in every embassy? This will start World War 3.”Krystal yelled. “We know, Krystal. He just said so.”Hazel retorted. “Don’t start with me, Levesque or…”Krystal got her bronze knife out while Hazel took out Spatha. Suzy got up. “Stop it, both of you. We need to stop fighting right now and figure out a way to stop these bombs from detonating.” she yelled. Hazel and Krystal glared at each other. Suzy breathed the fresh air as a last memory before her possible death.

“We need to split up.”Suzy said as she then looked at Krystal. “Krys, how many embassies are here in Seoul?”She asked. “Nine, maybe.”Krystal said. “And there are about 55 of us.”Suzy calculated inside of her head. “Six people for eight embassies. Seven for the biggest one, which is China.” she divided the teams. She was with Hazel, Kai, Krystal, Percy, Lay and Frank. “Alright, let’s go.”Suzy exclaimed as they again got up on the pegasi and flew to their respective destinations.

The prophecy was right. If they fail at preventing the bombs from exploding, the whole world was going to be totally screwed.