Summary: It's been ten years since Gaea fell. Most of the Seven have recovered, but Percy Jackson never recovered from his stint in Tartarus, and he disappeared. Now a new threat emerges, and Percy is still missing. The search for the errant demigod begins.
Prologue
"PERSEUS JACKSON!"
Zeus' bellows thundered around the Throne Room of Olympus. The applause of the gods and spirits fell silent as all eyes turned to the Son of Poseidon. Percy stepped forward once, twice, and stopped at a third step. He leaned heavily on his crutch, his left leg locked in place by a thick plaster cast, and his once vibrant sea green eyes were almost a deep, swirling green. Gone was the happiness that had been so clearly present the last time he'd set foot on Olympus for a reward ceremony. Bright red, angry scars cross his face, carving deep gouges into his very bones where he hadn't quite dodged the claws of an Empousai. His hair had grown to touch his neck, and the dark beginnings of a beard had begun to show across his jaw. His shoulders were tense, his back ramrod straight as he stared up at his uncle.
His uncle's eyes lingered a moment on the fresh scars on his face before he made eye contact.
"None in this room can deny your valor or loyalty. We offer you, as we offered the rest of the Seven, godhood once more."
Perseus' lips parted and he began to speak, but fell silent as Zeus held a hand up. The King of the Gods stood from his throne, and shrank down to a human size. He strode over to Percy, and clasped his hands around his shoulders. Percy tensed, one of his hands going to his pocked on reflex, only for Zeus to let go of him and step back.
"Previous experience tells me you would deny this gift again, so I give you three wishes to ask of this council. We cannot give you what it is you truly desire, but we can always go for the next best thing. Speak and it shall be so, Perseus, I swear it on the Styx."
Thunder boomed and Perseus' lips twitched but a moment. Zeus knew what he would have asked for originally. He could see it as clear as day. The most powerful demigod to walk amongst mortals had been utterly broken in Tartarus, and the will that had once driven him on had been shattered.
"Lord Uncle... I request that Hades and Hestia be given back their thrones on Olympus... That the peaceful titans will go free... And that I be allowed to disappear and be left alone..."
Zeus cringed inwardly, but he saw the pleading look in his nephew's eyes. He nodded slowly and looked around the room. Two thrones rose out of the marble floor at his silent command. The five demigods that had been gifted with Godhood and immortality(barring two that were given simple mortality without any strings attached) were tired. They huddled close together, even as their forms shimmered with an inhuman radiance. Amongst the Olympians, few faces were anything but forlorn. Hades and Hestia sat in their newly raised thrones, and both wore a look of sadness. His wife Hera, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus were impassive, but Aphrodite and Artemis were as dejected as the former demigods seemed to be. Athena was glaring at Perseus with puffy, bloodshot eyes, her hand gripping her spear with white knuckles, and the similarly teary eyed Poseidon was eyeing her like a shark, his hand loosely clutching his trident in his off hand.
"Will you allow Apollo to check your injuries one more time, Perseus?"
Zeus' voice was as soft as the whisper of the wind, but Perseus shook his head. The God of Lightning nodded once, and with a wave of his hand, Perseus Jackson disappeared from Olympus.
A decade would pass before he was seen again.