Poseidon clenched the armrests of his throne, his trademark trident nowhere to be seen. He was in a council meeting. He dreaded them. Even more so, because the topic of concern was his only demigod son, Percy.
It had been a week or so since Poseidon had issued his warning to Percy to leave Camp Half-Blood. Despite telling Percy it was concern for his well being, it had been a unanimous decision between the Olympians to remove Percy from the camp. It had been delegated to Poseidon to deliver the message.
All of the campers noticed the change in him, and it was causing a disruption. Gone was the light of camp, the fearless leader. In its place was a broken hero, not knowing what to do next. It left a terrible sight that ruined their reputation as mighty gods. It left a nasty black mark on their record. Many of the gods feared another rebellion from the demigods was inevitable if they didn't remove Percy from Camp Half-Blood. Percy was a legacy amongst demigods, and if he started to outright speak out against the gods, many feared that he could adopt a mass following, and march upon Olympus to raze it to the ground. Many feared that he could win. No, it was better for everyone if they forced him into the mortal world, away from anything godly for a while. Restore the balance of peace, and then maybe he would be allowed back (doubtful).
(Even though the Olympians didn't exactly have a perfect track record. Perseus would soon just be added to the ever growing list of mistreated heroes, eventually falling from the top, as the gods just stared on. They would sigh in pity, and move onto the next. Mortal lives were but a fickle thing.)
Their star warrior, left yelling at the skies until he was black and blue from lack of breath, cursing their names on his lips. Their prophecy child, so war-torn and broken. What did it say about them? That the powerful Olympians could not even save the soul of their beloved demigod? He needed to leave.
But he hadn't left. The other gods were growing restless. Paranoid of another storm brewing, they were itching in their seats to have Percy removed. Which is what they were discussing currently.
"We need to make Perseus realize it is time for him to leave. He needs to be driven out." Athena said calmly, settling into her throne.
"How would you suggest we do that, Athena?" Poseidon tried to keep his tone even. Pushing their rivalry aside, he knew that Athena was heartless. Especially towards his demigod children. She lacked compassion for them, and she could devise a plan so evil that would break Poseidon's heart. He loved Percy. (With his whole heart, just as he loved Sally Jackson. His heart broke into two in seeing what his son had been reduced to. His beautiful, little boy.)
"What about an attack?" Ares suggested, lazily. He lounged on his throne, appearing bored. He never liked Percy much anyway.
Athena perked up, as the other gods frowned. "Yes, yes, that could work beautifully." She murmured under her breath as she thought, her forehead creasing. She looked back up at the gods next to her. "An attack on Camp Half-Blood, when Perseus is not able to be there right away. One that will convince the demigods that Perseus should leave, after he fails to protect them."
Immediate chaos broke across the throne room. Well, sort of.
"Absolutely not." Poseidon glared at her, barely holding back a roar. Athena glowered back at him.
"Would you put your precious demigod son's life before the rest of all of our children?" She snapped.
"Yes!" He exclaimed, wanting to stand up, his trident materializing in his hands. For while he would never attack Athena, he needed to remind her he was part of the Big Three, and what better way than his weapon of power? His power twitched at his fingertips, and even the gods could hear the crackle of lightning in the distance. For he was the god of storms, and lightning was still a byproduct of his powers.
"Perseus has saved the lives of all of us, many times over. And he will continue to do so. He is loyal to Olympus, even though it appears that he is going through a rough patch. Forcing him to leave camp, and making it look like it was his fault will only serve to drive him apart from us." He ranted, a wild look appearing in his eyes. Emotion does not do well with Athena. To convince her, and ultimately convince the rest of the council, he needed to use strategy. He needed to use Athena's own domain against her. "Is this not the whole point of your plan?" He spat out. "To prevent an uprising?"
"Heroes come and go," She said, uninterested, not even bothering to look him in the eye. She inspected her battle spear. "Perseus cannot live forever. He already turned down our offer to become a god, which should prove to you how loyal he is to us. So disgusted by the fact of becoming one of us, that he turned down the biggest opportunity of his life." She turned her head to look at him, her piercing gray eyes meeting his. "There will be a new demigod, a new hero, one that will be stronger than Perseus. His time has passed with us, and he is no longer of use. It is best to get rid of him while we still can."
Poseidon was taken aback. "Are you hearing yourself?" He boomed. "Perseus is one of the most powerful demigods to ever have existed, and he will be of use to us for as long as he lives." His fingers clenched around the handle of his trident. "If you do not believe Perseus is loyal to us, which is his fatal flaw, must I remind you-" He spat, "and turning down godhood for your daughter!" He exclaimed, "then we should be helping him in his time of need. Show him that we care for him, and we will earn his unbreakable trust. If we can support him when he most needs us, he will be indebted to us."
Athena gazed at him, tilting her head. "There is nothing we can do for him. His time is up." She spoke slowly, a glint appearing in her eyes.
Poseidon snarled. Athena had an ulterior motive, passing it off as concern for Camp Half-Blood. She has always hated Perseus with a fiery passion. The son of her arch-nemesis, and now the past lover of her favorite daughter. She didn't care about the demigods. She never did, and never will. She was trying to get rid of him.
"I agree with Athena." Zeus finally spoke. He looked contemplative, deciding to speak after the two had duked it out. "Perseus will not change. We must remove him from the rest of the demigods. Tonight, Perseus will be distracted, and a large attack will take place on Camp Half-Blood. It is necessary to convince Perseus to leave."
Poseidon flew to his feet, outraged. "Brother!" He yelled. "Think about this," He pleaded. He looked around to the other gods and goddesses that were refusing to meet his eye. "Are you all willing to let this happen? To let your own children die to force our best hero out of camp- something that would only harm him, and not help?" They all refused to meet his eye.
He laughed harshly, a storm raging in his eyes. "Despicable." He spat. "One day, you'll see. You'll live to regret this decision. One day, we will need Perseus, and he will turn his back on us. Because of all of you, and your actions."
The anger simmered, and was replaced by desperation and sadness. Unwilling to let the other gods seem him weak, he spoke one last time. "When that day comes, do not dare come running to me. I will not answer, and watch as you suffer."
With that, he disappeared with a flash to Atlantis. He needed to warn his son.
Zeus sat in his palace, on his throne. He stared blankly forward, lost in his thoughts. His chin rests on a closed fist.
Zeus wasn't dumb. While his daughter was indeed the goddess of wisdom, he knew she had her faults. Hubris and pride was one of them, and she would not pass up an opportunity to get rid of Poseidon's child. Neither would he, to be honest. Most people knew he didn't really care about demigod lives anyway. They were meaningless.
Except for Perseus. He disliked the boy, sure, the spawn of his brother. Yet, he was important to them. With his fatal flaw, he laid his life down many times to save them, even though he made it clear that he didn't do it for them. It was for his friends. But he still did it.
With Poseidon's warning, he wondered if he was making the right decision. Normally, he went with his gut. Whatever made him feel good. But the last two wars made him just a little more pensive than usual. While currently, there were no prophecies that could warrant needing Perseus to come save them, and he could very well be useless until his inevitable death, Zeus still thought. He thought about if this would be their ultimate demise, getting rid of this child.
The truth was, Perseus scared him. Deep in his heart, he was truly terrified of this mere mortal. The one who showed amazing strength and power. He was afraid that Perseus could easily overthrow him one day, as it was already shown that he cared little for the gods, and protected them out of mere obligation. He thanked the Fates over and over again that Perseus has declined the offer of godhood. While he claims to be insulted by this fact, he could not imagine the powers that this boy would develop if he were truly a god.
Perseus was something that the gods have never experienced. He was unprecedented, and Zeus didn't know how to handle that. Combined with Poseidon's love for the boy, he wondered if this would fracture the gods. He didn't truly know how many Olympians supported Poseidon and the boy, as they didn't dare speak up once their king made up his mind.
This one action could cause a civil war. That thought scared him.
While notoriously arrogant, Zeus could sometimes recognize threats when he saw them. Sometimes. Usually, he acted without thinking, and did whatever he wanted. But now, as he stared into the open air, he wondered. He wondered if this would be the last of peace as he knew it. If he tipped one domino, the rest would fall.
Zeus closed his eyes, and sunk into his chair. Whatever will happen from the actions that take place tonight, will happen. And he's going to live with the consequences.