[Edited July 30, 2022]

Gaea's POV

Now, don't misunderstand me, child. Your race has been interesting to watch grow. I almost liked you when you were small and powerless. I cradled you like my own children before Prometheus gave you the tools to burn my gifts to the ground.

I will never forget the first forest fire. Thousands died that day from the carelessness of a select few. I knew then what destruction man was capable of. From that point forward it only got worse. They needed wood for their fires and their homes so they harvested the trees. This brought about deforestation, the destruction of ecosystems, and erosion.

Then villages were born and they brought more humans to the same areas where they used the same resources. They were no longer hunter-gatherers who had a minimal impact on their environment. Instead, they became farmers and captured animals for domestication and slaughter. They took the wheat and corn that grew wild and forced them into unnatural rows.

The humans expanded, cutting down trees, killing animals, and burning the underbrush. They didn't have any respect for the gifts I provided them. They took my wilderness for granted and used its benefits without giving anything back. Many didn't even know my name, much less think to thank me for the fruitful world they were inhabiting.

As humans took over more of the planet and started to form societies, I discovered what they were truly capable of. War, genocide, extermination, murder for money, and pollution. A human could be more wicked than any monster from the pit of Tartarus. They had goodness in their nature and still chose to do evil. They were destroying everything I'd made with my love in their petty hatred.

This is how I know that humanity is unworthy of my Earth. I gave them a chance and they squandered it. How can I be expected to sit idly by when so many other lives depend on this planet? Do I forsake the many animals, plants, insects, and birds for the human race? How can I let this destruction and still be called Mother Earth?

No, humanity had its chance. I will save what is left of my planet and pass it on to my other children. I hope they will restore order and treat this planet with the respect that it deserves. As a mother, I am only doing what is best for my children.

The Earth mother watched on as her children and their followers marched across her surface. Soon they would converge on Camp Jupiter and rip the demigods to shreds. With the gods incapacitated, Thanatos still imprisoned, and the Doors of Death at her husband's command, her victory was a foregone conclusion.

Maybe watched wasn't the right word. She didn't see in the way mortals did, with the gelatinous and fragile eyeballs they had lodged in their skulls. Her sight was more broad and more complete than any being that was less than a primordial. Their perception of the whole that was the world they lived in was infantile compared to the depth of her understanding.

This war would be no more than an exterminator wiping out an ant colony. The ants had put up more of a fight than she had anticipated, but it was all for naught. They would fall easily as if she had poured water into the nest.

With Nico di Angelo in the care of her twins, no one else knew the location of the doors. Or, if they did, they weren't foolhardy enough to take the plunge into the pit. He truly was stronger than she had anticipated, but in the end, even he failed to complete his mission.

Now all she had to do was slow down the demigod's preparations for war. Even that was more of a precaution than a necessity. Hera's plan to try and unite the two demigod camps had only served to render both pantheons useless. Her eidolons had seen to make sure that the first contact between the camps only served to deepen their hatred for each other. Hera's plan had failed spectacularly.

There was no way now that the demigods would work with one another now, even if the gods could be stabilized long enough to fight. She knew she had taken all the precautions she could this time around. She wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating Percy Jackson again.

Though her influence was limited while in her slumbering state, Gaea had been taking steps to secure her victory. She started by picking apart the seven from the inside. She knew who the seven were long before they had ever met. Her expanded sight gave her the ability to see everything that appeared on her surface at once. She knew about both quests as they occurred. Those were the six and that meddlesome daughter of Athena made seven.

While she had underestimated Hazel, Frank, and Percy on their quest to free Thanatos, the primordial felt that steps had been taken to secure their victory. She'd made the son of Poseidon afraid of drowning, forced Frank to use up some of his life force, and reminded Hazel of how much she had to lose. Though it had cost her Phineas and Thanatos, she knew the scales had begun to tip back into her favor.

There were more trials awaiting each of them if they made it as far as the Mare Nostrum. To enter the ancient lands, they would have to first pass Heracles, a Ghost army, and a certain son of the sea. There was little chance that they all made it to land alive, but if they did, she had surprises waiting for them all over the continent. Plus a rather nasty surprise for the Daughter of Athena that would be sure to end her mission. The demigods would have quite a journey ahead of them, she would make sure of it.

[Hey, y'all! Here is a little bit of a teaser for you! I know it's short, but life has been hard lately. I didn't want you all to go too long without anything so here are some crumbs until I can get out a full chapter. Please comment and tell me what you think!]

Please help me continue the story by completing a short survey:

Would you rather I:

Create an alternate event for the cupid scene.

Or

Leave the cupid scene as is, but change it to Nico being Asexual.

Before you all get upset, let me explain. I don't like the tension between Nico and Percy on the Argo II after the Cupid scene. It is completely understandable, but it gets in the way of some of the conversations I want Nico to have with Percy. I want to be able to show the pair bonding over what happened in Tartarus and how Nico kept his word to get the rest of the seven to the doors on the surface in time to save them. I think that there is so much opportunity for growth between these characters that we don't get to see because Nico is too busy hiding from Percy because of his repressed crush.

Another reason is that I am not sure that I could do the relationship or the feelings of attraction justice is because I am asexual and do not understand that aspect of attraction. I don't understand how it feels or why it makes people act the way that they do. I've never had problems talking to people that I found visually attractive, even when they were the opposite sex or didn't reciprocate.

I understand the visual and aesthetic attraction, but I don't understand sexual attraction. I don't understand why it makes things awkward because Percy wasn't aware of the crush. Why can't Nico just pretend everything is fine? That's what I do and I usually don't have any issues doing so. Because of this lack of understanding, I don't think I could do Nico's awkward interactions with Percy on the ship justice. I don't think the thought processes I would write would be done well or be satisfying to read.

I can always make an attempt and do the Cupid scene the way it is written if that is how y'all really want it. I could also just make Nico pretend that everything is ok while his panicking internally if that is really the way you guys want the scene, but I can't promise that it will be done in a way that will do it justice.

Discuss in the comments.

[July 30, 2022]

[I have read your comments and made my decision. I will be doing the Cupid scene, with ace Nico! Don't worry, though. I will be leaving his romantic orientation undetermined so you are all free to headcanon whatever you want. I think that this is the best way for me to do it because I know so many of my readers are aces like I am and we don't usually get representation in mainstream media. This way we can get some representation and Nico remains part of the LGBTQIA+ community and the impact of the Cupid scene isn't going to be lost.

I would also like to remind you all that this story will end before Solangelo ever became a thing so there is no need to be upset over that.]