10. The truth and a new job

Percy POV

I opened my eyes to find all fourteen Olympians looking at me in shocked silence.

I looked over to my father and soaked in his appearance. I saw Poseidon sitting on his fisherman throne staring at me with wide eyes. When I entered the throne room, I was shocked to find him looking like he did in the Titan war; an old weathered white beard and a slouching form. I could already guess what made him look like that.

After a few moments of deafening silence, the gods erupted into shouts of disbelief and relief. The only exception was Apollo, who was sitting on his throne with a small smile looking at his freaking-out relatives.

Suddenly, Zeus threw his master bolt into the air, making a thunderous boom that shook the throne room.

'Silence!' he thundered.

Before he could continue, Poseidon vanished into a sea breeze and reappeared three feet in front of me in his human form.

My father cupped my face with his hands and before my eyes, his hair turned back to the normal raven-black it was and his form straightened.

'My son.' he whispered, tears forming from his eyes.

I smiled softly at him, 'Hi Dad.'

'My son.' he repeated smiling, his usual smile lines returning to his face.

I looked down in guilt, 'I'm sorry for disappearing on you, Dad. I should have told you where I was.'

'Do not fret, son,' he said, finally letting go of my face and returning back to his throne 'You are here now. That is all that matters.'

Zeus cleared his throat from his throne, 'Not that I am not glad to see you, nephew, but I think the council would like to know where you have been for the past four years.'

My eyes went wide. Zeus, the King of the Gods, had just called me 'nephew'. I didn't know whether to be happy or to get Dionysus to check on his mental health.

'Uh...sure.' I said carefully.

'What happened to your eyes?' Aphrodite blurted out.

I looked over at her. I felt a pang of pain enter my heart when I saw her. Whenever I looked at Aphrodite before I left, I would see Annabeth.

I guess my perfect image of love hadn't changed over the years.

Feeling rather bored, I decided to mess with the gods a bit.

I grinned evilly, 'I am hosting part of Kronos' essence.'

I bit back a laugh when I saw all the Olympians tense, except for Apollo who was busy holding back his own laughter.

Before the gods could pull out their symbols of power and blast me to pieces, I laughed and waved a hand in the air.

'I'm just kidding. You should have seen your faces!' I said between laughter.

The tension in the room visibly deflated as the gods breathed a sigh of relief.

'I have contact lenses on. So people would recognize me.' I said after I calmed down.

The gods nodded at the explanation but I could see my dad looking at me worriedly, 'And your face? Who gave you that scar?'

I winced remembering the cause of that wound. It had been a hard and painful battle.

'A long story we won't need to get into.' I said a little too quickly. Thankfully, nobody caught it.

'And where have you been staying all these years, Perseus?' Zeus asked surprisingly politely.

I am so not used to this version of my uncle.

'North.' I said cryptically. It was a few seconds before realisation dawned on the gods and their eyes widened in surprise.

'What?!' Poseidon bellowed, standing up from his throne 'Why were you there? You could have been killed!'

I waved my hand dismissively at him, 'Nothing happened to me, dad. Nothing could have happened to me.'

My father looked conflicted but sat back down hesitantly.

'So you have been the one sending demigods the camps,' Artemis said with narrowed eyes 'Why?'

I looked at her calmly but inside, I was freaking out. Artemis was one of the Olympians I was genuinely afraid of and the only goddess I never want to piss off. I don't think anyone would want to be a furry bunny with antlers.

'I was sent to retrieve them and help them get to camp safely.' I replied casually.

'Who sent you?' Poseidon asked.

Before I could reply, a voice spoke up.

'Apollo,' Artemis said while looking at her brother 'He was the one who sent you.'

The throne room, once again, descended into silence, the only sound being the crackling hearth in the middle of the room.

'You knew where my son was.' Poseidon spoke, breaking the silence. His tone was dangerously calm as he looked at Apollo, his eyes a churning dark sea green I was too familiar with.

I had seen it in myself multiple times before.

'Yes, I did,' Apollo said warily 'I knew where he was.'

My father narrowed his eyes, 'And you didn't tell me.'

Before I could cut in and interrupt, my dad's trident appeared in his hand and he pointed it at Apollo. A jet of high-pressure seawater blasted out of the prongs of the trident towards him.

Instinctively, my hand shot up and I felt the familiar tugging in my gut whenever I used my powers. The feeling used to be pretty noticeable but after almost ten years of using my powers, the pull in my gut toned down a lot and I would only usually feel it when I controlled large bodies of water or did it for too long.

I could feel the water fighting against me, trying to reach Apollo and drown him but I stood strong. I have never tried to wrestle control of water from my father before, and it was a really dangerous experience.

I was just a demigod, a demigod trying to stop the power of an Olympian. Stopping the water was so straining that my vision started to go blurry. It must have only been seconds but to me, it felt like minutes. All of a sudden, I could feel my dad's control on the jet of water disappear and the tug in my gut lessen.

I was gasping for air as I made the water evaporate. My vision cleared and I saw my father looking at me in shock.

'Don't,' I took several deep breaths before I continued 'It's not his fault. I made him swear on the Styx not to reveal my location.'

All the gods still had wide eyes, though I suspected that it was not because of Apollo's oath not to tell anyone where I was.

'Why?' my dad looked at me sadly 'Why did you leave? You have no idea how much I and everyone else worried.'

The guilt emerged in me again. Only recently did I realise my mistake. I should never have gone to Alaska. I should never have left my friends and family. I had wanted to protect everyone by leaving, but me leaving only hurt them more.

'I made a mistake, I see that now,' I said 'I promise, I won't ever leave again.'

That made my dad smile. I looked at each god and goddess of the Olympian council. Almost everyone was smiling at me. Ares and Dionysus weren't smiling but I could see something shining in their eyes. I didn't know what it was but I knew it was something unusual for them.

I looked over to Hestia's throne to see her smiling at me warmly. I smiled back and that made her smile grow. Something told me that she already knew the truth.

'Good.' Poseidon grinned before leaning back on his throne and crossing his arms.

'Where will you go now?' Hermes asked. He had his caduceus hidden so I couldn't say hi to George and Martha 'Are you going back to Camp Half-Blood?'

I thought for a moment before coming to my decision, 'I don't think it's the right time yet. I want to go back but not now. I'll just go back to Alaska. I have a place there.'

I waited for Zeus to make his decision since he is the King of the Gods. My uncle looked at me before looking at Artemis. My gut told me I wouldn't like his decision, and I always listen to my gut.

'I have a solution,' he finally spoke up 'It is your choice, Perseus. If Artemis would allow it, I suggest you be the first official male member of the Hunt.'

My brain had taken a few sweet seconds to process the information before I raised my eyebrows, 'You want me to what?'

I looked over at Artemis in panic, expecting her to blow up and transform me into a jackalope but she just looked thoughtful. That made me more uneasy.

'You were the one to save the Hunt twice, were you not?' Zeus asked smiling 'Artemis told me you were the one that made sure she still had her Hunters. You can join as some sort of guardian. What do you say, daughter?'

Fourteen heads turned over to Artemis, waiting for her answer. I honestly didn't know what I wanted her answer to be.

'I think that is a good idea, father.'

That simple sentence made fourteen pairs of eyebrows shoot up. I don't think anybody thought Artemis would agree with the idea. I was a boy after all. It was a well-known fact that Artemis didn't like boys.

After composing himself, Zeus stood up from his throne. 'If that is all, then the meeting is adjourned. Remember your oaths to keep Perseus' identity to yourselves. You are all dismissed.'

With that, most of the gods flashed out of the throne room. I looked around to find a few of the Olympians had stayed behind, most likely to talk to me.

To my surprise, Zeus was the first one to approach me. I stood there awkwardly. This was the first time I had ever talked to him alone and I had no idea what to do.

'Lord Zeus,' I said with a slight bow.

He waved his hand dismissively, 'Oh, stand up, Perseus. You of all people do not need to bow to me.'

I froze.

Was this really Zeus? The previously egotistical and paranoid god that would make anyone, even other gods, bow to him just because he was the King of the Gods? What happened to the old Uncle Zeus?

I didn't know how long I stood there with my head bowed but I gathered myself and stood up straight again.

'You really changed, Lord Zeus.' I said with a smile.

Zeus chuckled at my reaction, 'No need to call me 'Lord' either. You have done too much for the gods already.'

I guess he really had changed.

'What did you want to talk to me about, uncle?' I asked after I got over my surprise.

Instead of answering me, Zeus surprised me once again by pulling me into a man-hug.

I didn't return the hug at first. Zeus surprised me so much in such a short period I felt like my head was about to explode.

Slowly and carefully, I responded by wrapping my arms around my uncle.

We stood there for a little while before Zeus leaned down towards my ear and whispered, 'I never got to thank you for the wish you made at the end of the war.'

I pulled back surprised and looked at him shocked. Zeus was thanking me? What?

He must have sensed my shock because he started chuckling again.

'Your wish allowed me to see my children a lot more. Hera didn't like it at first but even she talks with demigods now,' Zeus explained smiling 'I have never seen Thalia so happy. You unknowingly changed the lives of all demigods with your selfless wish.'

I smiled. That was part of the reason I made that wish. I had thought back to the Titan War and how many demigods changed sides to Kronos just because they didn't get any recognition from the gods. I also knew some of the gods do love their demigod children, but could not get in contact with them in fear of breaking the Ancient Laws.

'That's good then,' I exclaimed happily 'It's good that both you gods and the demigods are happy.'

Zeus nodded before stepping back, 'It is nice to see you again, Perseus. You have no idea how much you were missed.'

'Please, uncle,' I said 'It's just Percy.'

Zeus nodded again, 'Very well, Percy. I hope to see you again soon.'

With that, Zeus vanished in a bolt of lightning, filling the throne room with the smell of ozone.

I heard soft laughter coming from behind me and I turned around to find my father looking at me with mirth shining in his eyes.

'You should have seen your face when your uncle hugged you.' Poseidon said.

I shrugged, 'Don't get me wrong, dad. It was rather nice but a bit unexpected.'

My father nodded, 'You changed a lot of things, son. Zeus hasn't been like this since the first Titan War.'

We stood in the middle of the throne room, just enjoying each other's company. We didn't even notice until Artemis walked up to us and waved her hand in front of our faces.

'Sorry, niece,' Poseidon said sheepishly 'I'll be off then. Try not to let your Hunters kill my son.'

Artemis chuckled, 'You and I both know that's not going to happen, uncle.'

I was confused but I shrugged it off.

I watched as my father disappeared into sea mist. I inhaled the familiar smell of the sea breeze, remembering the days when I would relax by the beach at Camp Half-Blood.

'Are you okay with this, Perseus?' Artemis asked me 'You don't have to agree to this.'

'Percy,' I said offhandedly 'I don't really mind but I don't know how your Hunters are going to react to a male being in their camp.'

Artemis smiled, 'They would be fine with it, especially if it is you.'

I cocked my head to the side, 'Why is that?'

'You'll see,' was the only answer I got.

'Where will I meet you and your Hunters?' I asked Artemis.

'Central Park,' she replied 'How are you going to get there?'

I smirked, 'I have my ways.'

With that, I teleported myself to Central Park, hopefully without getting killed by arrows and to finally see Thalia again.

A/N: I'm BACK!

So exams are over. I can update a lot more often now. Hope you like this chapter.

Holidays are nearly here, so updates would most likely come almost once every day, maybe more. I plan on finishing this by the end of the year.

Enjoy this chapter and I'll see you in the next one.

~Sacai2005