Percy woke with a start, with the feeling of wrongness. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he glanced around at his surroundings. His pack was on the grass next to him, and Alexios had been sleeping with his muzzle on Percy's chest. However, he startled as Percy awoke.
Stroking his hand down his wolf's head, he struggled to come up with the reason for why he felt so wrong. Something had disturbed him, was it something in his dream? Gods, he can't remember. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes with one hand, trying to think.
Through his eyelids, a bright light filled his vision. He slowly opened them, not willing to deal with whatever god felt like disturbing him this time.
"Poseidon," he said flatly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Percy," Poseidon stated grimly. "I understand that you are angry with me, but there is something I must tell you. It is extremely urgent."
Percy raised an eyebrow and made a motion with his hand that said get on with it.
Poseidon shook his head. "Anybody could be watching," he whispered softly. "We must go where no one can see."
"Atlantis?" Percy questioned, a hint of doubt in his voice. He didn't want to go to Atlantis and be all buddy-buddy with his father, but he started to realize that maybe this was the feeling of wrongness he was experiencing.
"Yes," Poseidon said simply. "It will not be for long, you have my word."
"Fine." Percy relinquished, holding out one of his arms for Poseidon to grab onto.
"Your pack and wolf will be here when you return." Poseidon promised, before latching a hand onto his son's wrist. "Shut your eyes."
"Yeah, yeah, get on with it," Percy muttered angrily as he closed his eyes.
Behind his lids, he saw the same burst of light as when Poseidon first appeared. When it faded, he opened his eyes, and saw that they had appeared into the throne room at Atlantis.
Poseidon wordlessly motioned for any servant in the room to leave, and Percy saw no sign of Amphitrite or Triton. Poseidon waved his hand again, and two plain chairs materialized into sight. He looked at Percy and motioned for him to sit down, as he did the same.
Percy frowned, noting that Poseidon chose not to sit on his own throne, but instead chose for them to be seated as equals.
"What's going on?" Percy asked, dryly. The gods were fickle things. Annoying. Even his own father, and he didn't want to spend anymore time with any one of them then he had to.
"Before I tell you, I must start at the beginning." Poseidon began. Percy rolled his eyes, but stayed silent, allowing him to continue.
"When I… warned you at Camp Half-Blood to leave, I want to emphasize that it was not my decision. A majority of the Olympians had agreed that it was best for you to leave Camp Half-Blood while you healed and allowed the other demigods to also heal."
Percy snorted, "To heal? Yeah, sure I totally believe that the gods have my best interest at heart."
Poseidon pressed his lips together. "I agree that some of them may have been motivated by… other factors, however it was said that this was supposed to be temporary."
"Temporary," Percy repeated flatly. "But then I didn't leave." Poseidon nodded at his words. "So, the gods lifted the border to allow in a bunch of monsters when I wasn't nearby." Percy pieced together, narrowing his eyes. Poseidon hesitated, but also nodded. A stormy look crossed over Percy's face. Logically, he knew something powerful had allowed the monsters through the border, and he couldn't think of a single camper who would have been able to do so.
"So, the gods are, what, scared of me? And they would rather kill their own children than find any sort of other solution?" He asked angrily.
Poseidon stared sadly into his son's eyes. "Yes," he whispered. Then, he cleared his throat. "But, then… yesterday." He paused to sort his thoughts into words, looking at Percy's waiting face. Poseidon took in a deep breath before he spoke. He was many millennia old, and had walked the Earth a million times, yet he couldn't recall a time where he was more nervous. "Zeus called an emergency meeting on Olympus a few hours ago." He paused, but at Percy's look, kept speaking. "He showed everyone a scene that occurred yesterday, a scene of you… controlling the blood of a squirrel."
Percy's face schooled into stone, but his eyes hardened. "So, what?"
"He said you are becoming too powerful, and we were to do something about it." Poseidon replied. A stone settled into his heart as he watched his son, feeling absolutely powerless to help him.
A small flinch came over Percy, "What? Do what?" He said, fear creeping into his voice.
"That was what the Olympians were gathered to decide." Poseidon sighed, briefly shutting his eyes. "The council was split in two, but Zeus was the deciding vote." He opened his eyes to look at his son. "They voted to kill you, Percy."
"What?" Percy jumped to his feet, betrayal filling his features. Poseidon winced at the heartbroken look he wore. "First, I- I save Olympus from being overthrown. Twice! I fix their mistakes, not mine, mind you. I do their bidding, all of it! Whatever they asked! And now I am rewarded with a death sentence?"
Poseidon rose and placed a hand on Percy's shoulder, "Percy," he started.
Percy shrugged it off, "No, what the hell? What the hell is that?" He took a step back, his eyes wild with rage. He clenched and unclenched his fingers into fists, his nails digging into the soft flesh of his palm.
"PERSEUS," Poseidon shouted, and Percy immediately stilled. "I know you are angry, please, I know. I am absolutely furious. But I can not change his mind. I can not hide you here. I can only warn you. I can only tell you that Artemis and her hunters have been sent to find you."
Percy looked up at his father, and he was absolutely terrified to find that his eyes were glistening. "What do I do now?" He whispered, a broken man.
"You must run, fight, you must get away." Poseidon whispered back. "You must survive."
Percy clenched his eyes shut as he refused to let any tears slip through. "I must take you back, it has been too long, and Zeus may realize I have warned you." Percy felt a hand grab his wrist once more, coupled with a blinding light through his closed eyelids.
He opened his eyes as the glow disappeared. "I'm sorry, Percy," Poseidon whispered sadly. Percy clenched his jaw as he turned around, not wanting to watch his father leave him. Leave him alone, with assassins tasked to find him, and kill him.
He looked down and saw his pack right at his feet, but as he glanced around the trees that surrounded him, his heart officially turned to coal.
Alexios was gone.