Mask of Sorrows

Chapter One

He bowed before the gods in front of him. He'd been call to Olympus- surprisingly, alone. Percy had never had to face the gods solo before- Not without the help or comfort of his friends. The marble floors and clandestine high arches his girlfriend had designed no longer felt safe without them by his side. 

 He doesn't want to risk irritating the gods, so he spoke cautiously. "May I ask why I'm here?"

Despite having lived on this Earth for hundreds of thousands of years, they still haven't mastered the art of subtlety. They look furious- lips twisted, brows furrowed. Hestia and Hades seemed to be the only ones who looked pitiful. 

He searched his brain, trying to figure out what he might have done to irritate the gods. They weren't exactly what one would consider 'cool and collected', so it could really have been anything- but typically they wouldn't summon him to Olympus for something like getting too close to a cabin that wasn't his or insulting them under his breath whenever something went wrong.

"Perseus Jackson," Zeus looked down at him, hands grasping the arms of his chair tightly. "You have been proved... Very powerful. Too powerful."

Percy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't understand what you're telling me." His voice wavered, and he internally cursed himself out. 

Weakness isn't something you should show. It led to the death of all the heroes that you know of- reluctance, hesitance. It festers, lingers, until you make your weakness worse by worrying about it. And Percy can't afford that. He has too many to protect; too many to keep on their feet.

The gods all exchanged a look, Percy following their gaze cautiously. His right hand twitched- the look in their eyes reminded him of the monsters he encountered in Tartarus. 'You're in our territory now. There's nowhere to run.'

"So we think it's time you... retire," Zeus continued, his voice slow.

The blood drained from Percy's face. He knew what 'retire' meant in Olympian- It meant you're dead. Few got to hide away like Pan, lounge away until forgotten and peacefully fade from existence. 

"You'll cause an uproar," Percy spoke, his voice level. "We're the only reason you lot aren't thrown in Tartarus, being used for the Titan and Giant's amusement doing goddamn circus tricks for their simple-minded entertainment."

"And we appreciate that," Zeus spoke, "but that... Arrogance you have. It tends to go to heroes heads- they start thinking they're better than us. Then follows the attempted overthrow, joining the enemy side- and we can't have that again, not after Luke. Look at how many died? We can't risk that again."

Percy's lips twisted into a sneer. "My fatal flaw is loyalty, you dim-witted fool. I couldn't betray you if I wanted to. No disrespect meant, but do you really think it's a good idea to kill me? You wouldn't have won those last two wars without me, and you know it. Don't you? Camp would be in an uproar."

"Well, no one has to know we killed you," Athena spoke, her steely stare making him feel worthless and obsolete. "We can just say... Oh I don't know, that you went missing again? Never to be found?"

"He'll need some... incentive... to keep his mouth shut, should he escape," Ares cracked his knuckles and Percy involuntarily took a half-step back. This had to be a prank. Some sick dream. A test.

"Good idea, honey," Aphrodite smiled sweetly at him. Hephaestus huffed from his seat. While he didn't hold the same sadness that Hestia and Hades did, he looked uncomfortable with the situation.

"Lady Hestia? Lord Hades?" Percy tried weakly. "Why..?" 

The panic of the situation started to settle in. They were going to kill him, and no one would know. What if his friends went out to look for him and got killed in the process?

"Why would you kill your own son?" He turned to Poseidon, his voice desperate. When he avoided looking at Percy, he turned to the others, his anger response settling in. "I may have been a simple pawn that you don't care about, but I cared about you. You're all horribly ill tempered, cruel, and unforgiving, but I still considered you family. And now you're going to, what, torture me to death?"

He found that Hestia and Hades had disappeared. Just because they didn't support it, doesn't mean they're going to help him. It is two against twelve.

Two pairs of hands roughly seized his arms, and, for the first time since the giant war, he felt something stir. A familiar, almost nostalgic feeling- Broiling in the pit of his stomach, making it almost impossible to even hold up his own head. Weakness.

Despite that, he looked up, staring directly into the eyes of Zeus. 

"Kill me if you want. But you'll regret it. I promise."