The Masked Legend (PJO Fanfic)

His Talk with Athena

He froze at his former name. He then sighed and look up at her. He closed his book.

" No truth really gets away from you huh, Lady Athena?" He said admitting he was the former hero of Olympus.

" I'm guessing that's why Annabeth started wondering again. Because you found out about time in Tartarus goes differently." He said. Athena nodded smiling slightly.

" Well If that old barnacle beard could find out your former identity then I should be able to as well don't you think. But then again it would be harder for others since they aren't your dad." Athena spoke.

"How did you know that Poseidon knows?" Sal questioned slightly.

" He may be secretive with his emotions but if it overflows, you can tell just by looking at the sea. Sometimes, there is a storm or a tsunami raging across the Pacific Ocean. So it isn't hard to tell that he had found out about you." Athena said shrugging slightly like it was the most obvious thing ever. Sal just sighed slightly.

" Like I said before nothing get past the goddess of wisdom. So what is it you want to know? I can't have the great goddess of wisdom and warfare to be talking to this kind of lowly servant so speak faster." Sal said. Athena rolled her eyes.

" I want to know your plans." She said. Sal looked confused.

" Annabeth didn't tell you?" Sal questioned. Athena shook her head.

" She was very busy with her work as an architect and also she was rushing to Hephaestus's forge on Olympus," Athena told him.

Sal just nodded and then looked around.
" Let's talk in your palace or somewhere else other than here. It is too weird for if you're talking to a servant of Artemis. Plus, who knows if there were traitors here." Sal whispered into Athena's ear.

Athena agreed and flashed the two to her palace. She sat down on her boss chair.

" Speak everything in your brain that's full of water and kelp. It has to be about the plan of course." She added in the final part making Sal pout slightly.

" You're no fun. But then again you and your children rarely do jokes. And if you guys did, it would be like watching a monkey doing yoga." Salomao said which earned him a weird look.

" Weird right? That's the point." He said grinning slightly under his mask. He then proceeded to tell Athena his plan that is probably suicidal.

Athena nodded.

" So you're planning to sacrifice yourself to give us more time to prepare? But don't you think it is also giving them more time to examine us and spy on us.  There are many ways we could do this without you go killing yourself." Athena said. However, Sal shook his head.

" I thought about it but other methods might also reduce our own army. This is the only way to reduce their army and limit the casualties for our army. Lady Athena I think you know in war there are not many benefits. There are many negativities and harm in war and especially after it. But I don't want people to suffer so I have to use this plan." Sal said softly.

" Remember What I said before. If you look carefully, there is always another way." She said.

" But there ain't time left. This is the only best way. So please hold this secret till the end. I don't need Thalia or some others trying to stop me. I know it is ridiculous and absolutely stupid. But hey.............." he stopped and took a breath.

Sal then took his first layer mask away. Revealing half of his face and half of his face still covered. His yellow eye looked into Athena's stormy gray eye.

" I'm an idiot." He said grinning. His grin for once in a long time could be seen. Athena smiles slightly but was curious about what happened with his eye, his hair, and basically everything.

" Why are you helping us? If it weren't us, you wouldn't be trapped in Tartarus. If it weren't us, you wouldn't feel heartbreak. If it weren't us gods, you could have lived a normal life. So why are you helping us? You could watch us trying to destroy them and maybe failed miserably. I'm the wisdom goddess and I know how low our chances of winning. So why help when you can watch us be destroyed?" Athena asked.

Sal looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
" Isn't that obvious? Cause I care. I want to protect camp because it is home. Even though it is the former home of mine but it is still the home to many demigods. Forgive but do not forget or forget but do not forgive and I chose to forgive but do not forget." He said.

Athena tilted her head slightly.
" What's the difference?" She asked smiling mysteriously. As the goddess of wisdom, she held all knowledge of the world and here is this former son of Poseidon telling her something about relationships between each other.

" Forgive But do not forget is forgiving others and also not forgetting the pain that was caused by them. While forgetting is ignoring the pain caused by others but every time when you see them, you put a fake smile up just to keep telling yourself that everything is in the past and shouldn't be brought up. Long story short, one is the truth and one is just a lie. I assume Lady Athena you know which one is the lie and which one is the truth." He said smiling. Athena sighed.

" In summary, you defend us only because of family." She said. Sal shook his head once more.

" It's also because I doubt they allow blue cookies once they take control. They probably won't let me run freely in the wild too or get my daily tea every day. So in summary, I want to be like a bird and soar freely and not be locked up in a cage." Sal said.

Athena chuckled.

" Acceptable answer. You know Salomao if you were like this 500 years ago, I would have accepted your relationship with my daughter. But I guess my daughter wouldn't be falling for you if you were like this smart and slightly philosophical." She said amused. Sal just saluted.

" Good to see you finally approved of me!" Sal said with a grin. He put on his mask.

" Why do you wear a mask anyway. From what I see, you're not that ugly." Athena asked curiously.

Sal's eye flashed with pain for a slight moment.
" I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly.

" You could talk to me. I hold secrets in." Athena said. Sal shook his head and then laughed bitterly.

Athena was quite shocked at the sudden change of mood. For one second, he was happy but the other second he was not. Was he hiding in pain all along? Sal coughed. He then pulled down his shirt slightly revealing his back.

There was small red spots and lots and lots of scars.

" What happened with the scars and why aren't you accepting treatment!" Athena asked. She knew Sal had leukemia. The red spots were a symptom of leukemia and the scars were probably from battles.

" Tartarus happened! And no, I'm a dead man already. No use for treatments." He said. Athena stood up and traced the scars on his back.

" You could talk to me. I have a degree in therapy." She said. Sal rolled his eye.

" We humans always have secrets. Tiny secrets that we only share with ourselves. So please Lady Athena, these scars from Tartarus..........don't tell anyone. Not right now at least and when the time is right I'll tell you everything." He said before mist traveling back to the Hunt.

" Secrets that we only share to ourselves huh....? Secrets......................" Athena said. Her eyes held with pain. Others come to her for advice and help.

But who will she go to for advice and help?

End.

" There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told."
- Edgar Allan Poe