The Betrayed Hero

Chapter 5

Every direction was sending campers down to the pavilion for lunch. The lunch went down easily, or as smoothly as it can go for a person when hundreds of other people are watching their every move, once everyone had sat down at their respective tables and scraped a bit of their food to their godly parents and

had completed their meal, Chiron cleared his throat to draw attention. "I have a very important announcement to make," he said. Even the earlier-capering Stoll brothers straightened their backs and sat up.

"The gods have decided to host the meeting today, and everyone is required to attend the meeting at Olympus." Chiron's voice was melancholy. Percy's head was empty; he felt nothing. He was emotionless; his actions were mechanical, relying totally on his muscle memory.

Nico sent him a puzzled look, and Chiron said, "Even Percy and Nico are asked to join," as if sensing Nico's uncertainty. At that moment, everyone's attention was focused on the two of them. Nico was glaring at everyone who even gave him a sidelong glance, while Percy was trying not to notice the looks.

Percy could feel the frown from Annabeth and the troubled look in Piper's eyes, but he ignored them both. He was tired and simply wanted it all to be over.

Malcom Annabeth's brother raised his hand and asked, "Um, Chiron, how are we all supposed to get to Olympus?"
"No need to worry; Lord Hermes will be here to take us up in ten minutes."

For the next 10 minutes, everyone held their breath, waiting for the said god to spring out of thin air and transport them to Mount Olympus. After over fifteen minutes of waiting, Hermes finally appeared. He flashed everyone to Olympus without uttering a word.

The campers stood in the room awkwardly, not knowing what to do or how to react. The tension in the room was heavy; no one spoke; they just kept staring at the gods or their godly parents.

The throne room appeared gloomy, even though it usually sparkled and blazed with pride. The room's atmosphere seemed tight, even though the hearth was burning as it normally did. The only source of happiness that radiated was from Bessie, who mooed and swam happily in her pool of water.

Percy looked at Poseidon; he looked just like Percy, even at this moment. His eyes, which usually had a spark of mischief, were dull and lifeless. Instead of the crooked smile, lips were pressed into a thin line, and a mess of jet black hair had streaks of grey marrying into them. It took a moment for Percy to snap out of the daze and realise that the meeting had started and Zeus had started speaking, that all seven members of the prophecy except Leo were also present, that even the hunters had come, and that he was called in front along with the other members of the prophecy and cabin counsellors. Everyone started when Percy moved forward and stood beside Nico, who was standing at the very end away from others.

Zeus said, "The war has ended, and we have decided to give the seven members of the prophecy and the cabin counsellors partial immortality for showing great courage and fighting along with the gods." Everyone was taken aback by the sudden announcement of the gift. "Anyone want to voice an objection? None at all." Zeus continued without allowing anyone an opportunity to speak.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." Zeus boomed out loud, and Annabeth stepped forward, towards the God of Sky.

"Do you accept immortality?" Zeus asked.

Percy was confident that she would deny and say 'no', but Annabeth nodded and said 'yes'. He was shocked to the core; he could not believe that she would say yes after Percy had said 'no' to immortality. Years ago, Percy felt betrayed; he always felt that they were supposed to build something permanent together. One by one, everyone was made immortal, and the only one remaining was Percy, who stood at the end of the line. Percy was still sure that, if asked, he was going to deny the gift.

Before anyone could even say a word, Poseidon yelled, "You cannot do this, brother," and then an argument started. Percy and Nico were confused. Everyone was shouting at one another and talking over one another, screaming and putting their opinions forward, and then Zeus thundered (pun intended) "enough."

Everyone stilled down. No one dared to even whisper, "The decision is final. Perseus Jackson would be executed." Nico's eyes widened, and Percy's world stilled. He could not breathe. He was afraid his heart was going to burst out of his ribcage. He felt numb. He just stood there blankly, and then the shouting match began. Percy could hear Grover, Chiron, and some others whom Grover had earlier mentioned to him, along with the Romans who were part of prophecy and Thalia, fighting for him while he stood still.

Percy turned towards Annabeth and asked, "Why?"

Percy had noticed that Annabeth was not arguing with others like his friends were; she had stood still.

Annabeth just plainly answered, looking straight into his eyes, "Because you are too powerful. Percy, I've seen you. You can kill a god if you are angry. Anyone can use you against gods and against us; you can kill us. You are too powerful. and anyone with some power could easily manipulate you, and you may be the powerful hero of Olympus, but you could be too much for us, the gods. I love you, Percy; I really do, but you will be dangerous for us." Annabeth whispered the last part.

Percy felt his whole world crushed, his heart broken, and his loyalty broken, and he felt weaker than he felt after holding the weight of the sky. He just numbly stood there, looking lost like a kid separated from their parents in a carnival, staring down, his shoulders hunched.

The Hero of Olympus was finally broken because he was too strong.

He left his life flash in front of him—all the quests he had done, the days he spent in Tartarus, his mom, Paul, everyone—it came and went like a wave washing down on a shore. Suddenly, Poseidon was standing in front of Percy, looking at him sadly. Everyone stood still, looking at father and son. By now, everyone knew Percy and Poseidon shared a great bond between them; even Triton had confirmed it today. Many campers had envied their bond. Poseidon forced Percy to look at him and say, "Water will never betray you, my boy, and you will always be my favourite son." He smiled sadly, ruffled his hair, and pulled him in a big bear hug. Poseidon had tears in his eyes. Percy was still in his arms for a moment, but when Percy hugged him back tightly, clutched his orange Hawaiian shirt, and murmured a quiet 'Dad', Poseidon felt a lone tear slip his eye. Percy felt safe, well, as safe as he was going to feel when he was moments from being executed, but Percy made up his mind that he was going to fight for his life, but before he could even pull out of a hug, the ground started to shake as if a big earthquake was hitting the grounds, and he heard his dad whisper in his ear, "Run."

And then there was a flash of light.