So, since I don't have my next chapter of Mermaid Swapping ready, I decided to post this.
I've never written for Percy Jackson, and this idea came to my head, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I hope it turned out well!
This takes place during The Mark of Athena, when all the kids are on the ship battling "Squidzilla" and Percy gets knocked down the stairs. I always wondered what happened while he was down there... Just my thoughts on what might have.
Because I love Percy and Paul's relationship and we hardly see any of it. Just a simple one-shot.
Anyway…I don't own Percy Jackson. Duh. I mean, come on.
GENERAL POV
Paul stood still for a long time, staring anxiously at the cabin in front of him. A cool ocean breeze ruffled his hair, but he ignored it for the moment.
He stared at this cabin. Montauk. Percy and Sally came here often, and they had taken him a few times too…well, before Percy had gone missing anyway.
Paul hadn't been here for months, and he had only returned now because Percy had called to say he was all right about a week ago, and because Sally didn't know he was here. She was writing for her novel, though Paul doubted she was actually getting anywhere with it.
Chiron had come over personally from Camp Half-Blood to tell the Jackson-Blofis family that Percy and Annabeth, along with a few other demi-gods, were on a quest and that they were ok for now.
Paul had been stunned to officially meet Chiron, if only because he was half horse. But he had been more stunned to learn that Percy wouldn't even be home for a day before leaving again. In fact, he hadn't even come back to New York.
Paul swallowed the lump in his throat. He missed Percy. Gods he missed him. Probably not as much as Sally missed him, of course, but it still hurt to think about him not being there.
He stood staring at the cabin and a strong breeze picked up some of the saltwater from behind him and blew it in a gentle mist across his face.
To Paul's surprise, the wind didn't die down after a few moments. It stayed steady, and the mist came easily, creating a rainbow from the reflected sun. It gave him an idea.
He gulped and reached into his pocket, slowly pulling out what was in it. He had thought of doing this a million times, but he had never even thought that it would work on him…because he was mortal.
Paul frowned at the word and fingered the golden drachma in his hand that he had taken from Percy's room. There was some god on one side, and something else on the other. He had never thought to ask Percy what or who they were. Now it might be too late.
He had seen Percy and his friends do it several times of course- send an Iris-message. He knew what to say, and how to say it. But that still didn't solve the mortal problem. Could he send a message? He had never seen Sally try it, and she was related to Percy.
Paul studied the drachma again, and made up his mind. If it didn't work, the coin would just fall into the sand. If it did…Paul wasn't sure how he would react.
"Oh…oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow," Paul said in a shaky voice, "please….please accept my offering."
Taking a deep breath, he tossed the drachma gently towards the misty rainbow.
To his utter astonishment, the drachma vanished and the mist rippled, as if waiting. Paul gulped back his disbelief and said softly, "Thank you. Please show me Percy Jackson."
The mist rippled again and a scene showed up in the mist.
What Paul took in first was the swaying of the picture, the portholes lining the walls. Ok, so Percy was on a boat. No big surprise there.
Then Paul glanced down and stifled a cry. His step-son was out cold on the floor at the bottom of a set of stairs. His sword, Riptide, lay next to him, giving off a faint golden light. From up the stairs, Paul could hear yelling and he realized that he had called during some kind of fight. This meant that as much as he hated it, Percy was probably needed.
"Percy!" the man said firmly, the way he did on school mornings when the boy refused to wake up.
Percy groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his head. "Five more minutes, Paul," he grumbled.
A split second later, his head shot up in astonishment and he stared at Paul as if he were seeing a ghost. "Paul?"
Paul bit back his tears and gave Percy a shaky smile. "Hey," he said, waving awkwardly.
Percy didn't seem to know how to respond. His free hand gripped the air as if it would give him an answer, and his mouth was hanging. "You…you sent an Iris-message?" he finally spit out, his hand clenching his sword.
Paul nodded. "I guess Iris was feeling sentimental today."
Percy stumbled forwards, his hand reaching out, and his face drawn in pain, as if just realizing that Paul was right there. "Oh, gods, Paul I miss you guys so much. I'm so sorry that I couldn't come back."
Paul's heart ached at the look on the boy's face. "I think…I think you're needed upstairs."
Percy's head whipped around and Paul saw the indecision on his face. "I…give me a minute. I need to talk to you just for a second Paul."
He turned back to his step-father, his black hair swinging out of his eyes just enough for Paul to see the tears in them. "I'm sorry I left, Paul."
Paul held up his hand. "Chiron explained."
Percy gave a small smile. "You met him? Never mind, it's not important…Paul, we're fighting this monster…I don't know if we can beat it, Paul," he said, a tremble in his voice.
Paul winced. He felt so bad, seeing his step-son feel this useless. "Percy, I honestly don't know what to tell you," he said softly.
A loud voice screaming "FRANK!" was heard from above, and Percy whirled around and sprinted up the stairs, only to get thrown back down as the ship rocked.
He stood up, clutching his chest and trying to hide his weariness. "Shrimpzilla just got Frank," he whispered hoarsely. "Paul, what do I do?" he asked desperately.
Paul looked at his son for a moment. He couldn't believe he was asking for his help. "Percy, I….just try your best, Percy. I don't have any other solutions."
More screaming was heard from above and Percy groaned, burying his head in his hands. "I can't do this Paul. I couldn't sense the dumb thing in the water, and I got knocked out so uselessly, and now my friends are probably getting eaten and I think my ankle's sprained!"
He sank to the bottom step, his face pale and trembling. "I can't do this," he whispered.
Paul gulped.
Percy looked worse than he had right before fighting Kronos; and this was just a giant sea monster, apparently. But Percy looked so drawn, so helpless, that Paul felt he should be holding him and comforting him.
Sometimes the man forgot that Percy was only seventeen, and he thought that everyone else sometimes forgot it too.
"Percy," he said firmly, clenching his hands at his sides and waiting until Percy looked him in the eye.
"You are the only living known son of Poseidon. You defeated Kronos almost single handedly. You took a freaking bath in the river Styx. You got your memory wiped for 6 months, yet still found time to call your mother and me. You have maintained a relationship with Annabeth through all this. You are Percy Jackson. You can do this, son."
Percy gulped, his eyes watering as he yanked himself to his feet. "You really think so, Paul?"
Paul grinned. "Definitely, kid. Go get that Shrimpzilla."
Percy grinned tiredly and grabbed his sword in his hand, wrapping his other one around the railing as the boat pitched. "But…what if Shrimpzilla got them?" he whispered, the light dying from his eyes.
Paul shrugged. "I know you can do this, Percy. I believe in you. You saved the earth once already. Do it again, ok?"
The son of the sea god smiled grimly, tears in his eyes. "No offense to Poseidon, if he's even listening, but you are the freaking best dad a demi-god could ask for, Paul. I love you."
With that, he swung his sword and broke the connection.
Paul gulped and sank into the sand, burying his head into his hands and trying hard not to break down.
"He's right, you know," came a soft voice.
Paul's head shot up and he glanced over to the edge of the cabin to see a tall man leaning against it. His head was turned down; a fishing hat perched on his dark black hair. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda short with flip flops. A pair of keys dangled from his fingers, and Paul's first thought was that some crazy had seen his whole conversation with Percy.
That was, until the man tilted his head up, revealing familiar sparkling green eyes and Paul saw a golden trident keychain flashing on the key ring.
"Poseidon," Paul said simply, standing up slowly as the god walked over to him.
The man gave a smile and nodded, holding out his hand. Paul took it hesitantly, and Poseidon shook it firmly. "Unless you know another sea-god by name."
Paul shook his head. "I don't understand…did you let me hold that conversation with Percy?"
Poseidon smiled gently and nodded. "Yes, I did. You see, Paul, he needed encouragement. And as I am…forbidden-" he growled the word, momentarily making the ground tremble before he calmed himself down "-forbidden to speak with him, I decided that he needed to speak with someone else who was close to him."
Paul frowned. "Why me? Why not his mother, or Chiron?"
Poseidon stroked his chin gently. "Yes, why not? You see, Paul, I like you."
Paul raised an eyebrow. "Um…thanks?"
The sea-god chuckled and put a friendly hand on the man's shoulder. "Paul, you are a great role model for Percy, and as much as I hate to admit it, you are a much better father than I…than I ever was."
The man glanced away with a gulp and Paul found himself speechless. The freaking sea-god thought he was a better father than him? The compliment meant more to Paul than anyone would ever know.
"Sir?"
Poseidon glanced back with a firm smile. "Paul, please. It's Poseidon, though I wouldn't be so quick to call my other relatives by their first name."
"Poseidon, I still don't understand."
"Still? You see, Paul, Percy knows that he can contact Chiron at any time. So calling him for help or talking to him would not have made much of a difference. And Sally….she's been through enough for now, Paul."
He sighed and looked down, fiddling with his trident keychain. Paul hoped that that thing wasn't lethal in its tiny form.
"But you, Paul. See, Percy feels that he didn't get enough time to know you before he disappeared. But he cares about you Paul. Immensely so. You saw…well, no, you didn't did you? You were unconscious. He saw you and his mother in that car on the street the day of the battle against Kronos, and Paul, he was just as worried for you as for his mother. He feels…he feels like he drew you into all this craziness, and that one day you might end up getting hurt because of it."
Paul opened his mouth, but he couldn't find any words. Poseidon smiled gently.
"He has the same worries for all of his loved ones, yes, but you Paul….you could have avoided getting into all of this so easily. And now Percy will do anything to keep you from getting hurt. That's why I felt he needed to see you most right now. Because his friends, some of them, anyway, are missing, thrown over the side of the ship in battle."
Paul winced. "That's awful."
Poseidon waved a hand dismissively. "They'll be fine. I can sense them all, but they are hidden from Percy and I can't do anything about it. It's out of my power for now. He'll be so anxious until they re-appear, and he needed your words to keep him going."
Poseidon backed up to stand in the rolling surf, and he pulled his trident off the chain. It flickered and glowed until it was almost as tall as the god himself, and Paul found it hard to look at the weapon.
"Never forget how important you are to that boy, Paul," Poseidon called gently as he vanished in a wave of salt water. "You help him keep going."
Paul stood there staring at the ocean for a long time, tears streaming down his cheeks. He loved Percy like his own son, and the thought of him going through things like this broke his heart.
Once Percy came back- and Paul knew he would- Paul reasoned with himself that he would gladly adopt the boy as his own son…if that was what Percy wanted, of course.
Paul shivered and started walking back to his car, rubbing his shoulders lightly as a brisk ocean breeze blew against him. He glanced back at the water and smiled. "Thanks," he whispered.
He slid into the warmth of his car, hot from sitting in the sun, and leaned his head back against the seat rest.
Percy knew he believed in him. That was all Paul wanted.
The man turned the engine on and pulled his seatbelt down across his shoulder.
Percy would come back. And until he did….well, Paul would be waiting. He and Sally would wait, and they wouldn't give up hope that Percy would come back alive.
Paul wouldn't give up hope that his son would come back alive.
Poor Paul. Cause now Percy is going to get thrown into an endless fall into the Underworld with Annabeth. Gotta love that kid. (:
I like Poseidon. By far the "chillest" of all the gods, except maybe Apollo (in my mind, anyway).
And I thought it would be neat if the topic of "Can mortals use an Iris-message?" was approached.
Tell me what you thought!