Chapter 2

"So what's the plan?" I asked. We were sitting outside the Athena Cabin. This situation was really different from what I've had to do before, since I don't know where to start.

"First things first. We need to try to talk to one of the most important people in this equation," She said and scribbled something down in her notepad.

"Equation? You know I hate math," I replied sarcastically.

"Ha-ha. But you know what I mean. You need to speak to Poseidon. "

I felt my head spin at the thought. "And say what?"

"You need to attempt talking him out of this. If he can step out of this conflict and help you it could change this whole thing."

"So when do we leave?"

"You should go as soon as possible. Today probably, since we don't know how much time we have before this gets too extreme."

"Wait, what? You're coming with aren't you?" I said and stood up, looking down at her. "I can't go by myself." More like: I don't want to go by myself. As I've said before, I can always use her advice on quests.

She stood up as well. "Relax, Seaweed Brain. I will go places with you on other parts of this, but I think it would be better if you talked to him on your own. I would just interfere. Besides, you won't be completely alone. I've arranged for Tyson to meet you outside of his castle." When does she have time to do this? Besides the fact that she won't talk to my father with me, I was pretty excited about seeing Tyson again. I haven't talked to my Cyclopes brother for a while. He has been helping to repair the castle after Kronos's defeat by forging tools.

"Fine, I guess I better head for the beach now." I said and felt my pocket for Riptide, which was there as always. This was going to be awkward. My dad can't be very pleased with me, but he will surely take the time to listen to me explain won't he? Who knows what will happen if we don't get his support. All this thoughts were swirling in my head as I reached the beach.

I began to wade through the water. The waves were a little stronger than usual, but wasn't very interesting. I after I was completely submerged underwater I had to swim a good distance before meeting up with a hippocampus, which apparently was my ride.

"Hey, I recognize you!" I said through the water. Rainbow, his name was given to him by Tyson, spun happily. I had no clue how I could recognize him, since many of his kind look very similar, but I guess it must be a 'son of the sea god' thing. Rainbow gestured to start heading to the kingdom and I held on as we darted through the water. It was always mind-boggling that I was at a depth that a regular person would have been crushed by the pressure. Not everything has a scientific explanation in a world where gods and mythical monsters exist.

Finally, Poseidon's realm was in sight. The kingdom was very different from when I last saw it. Some buildings were half ruined, and sea creatures and mermen were trying to rebuild things everywhere. All of this is because I told Poseidon to let it go and fight Typhon. It was the only way to save Olympus and the gods, but I still felt guilty. I looked toward the underwater forges and saw Tyson waving his hands to get my attention. I waved back and Rainbow led us to him.

"Brother!" he shouted and gave me a hug. He had gotten taller and stronger than I had remembered.

"Hey, great to see you again. Would you mind letting me go so I can breathe?" I choked out.

"Okay, sorry," he said and released me. "Come in! Look at what I can do!" and he led me into the room where other Cyclopes were working on making tools. "He said I'm good at working!" he exclaimed and showed me some of the unused tools he made. I didn't bother asking who said he was a good worker because he began telling me about every little thing he made. Not long after he finished, a merman came and took them away. He said a quick "Hello" but he seemed to be in a rush. Tyson was just smiling the whole time. "They say what I make is important to help daddy rebuild. I make the tools, say goodbye, and make some more!"

"Yeah, it really is. They need this stuff for all the workers outside. Do they feed you well here? Get a lot of peanut butter?" This just got him excited, which I expected. I like seeing him happy.

"Yes! A LOT of peanut butter!" He exclaimed.

I decided to cut the chit chat early. "So, did Annabeth tell you why I came here, besides seeing you of course?"

"Annabeth said you need to talk to dad." He said with a frown. "She said he might not be happy. But I will take you to see him now anyway."

"That's okay, I can get there myself. I think I remember the way. You can get back to your work."

"Okay! See you soon brother." He turned towards his next task, which was making a construction tool I didn't recognize. Making underwater buildings for a god must be very different.

I walk and kind of swam to the main castle, which was already rebuilt. In front of the familiar large doorway were two very strong looking mermen with swords at their side. As a I approached they stepped in front of me.

"Where do you think you are going?" the one on the left asked gruffly. Apparently, they didn't recognize me. Poseidon probably wanted to keep someone out, but obviously his son would be let in.

"Excuse me, I'm Percy, I just need to speak to Poseidon," I said and took a step forward. They didn't budge. "Um, hey do you guys mind moving? It's me, his son? Ring a bell?" That probably wasn't the smartest thing to say, since they began to look angry.

The one on the right replied, "Yeah, we know."

"Then why can't I get in? What is going on?"

"We have direct orders from your father that you are forbidden to enter. He expected you to come. He does not want to speak with traitors."

That last word stung. I wasn't a traitor was I? Then it hit me. The fact that I wasn't fighting with him made it seem I was going against him. Still, it seemed a little harsher than his usual personality. He would normally listen to my side of the story. He did know I was trying to prevent destruction, right? My hesitation must have satisfied the guards, so they told me to 'scram'. I turned and walked sadly back to the forges. I might as well say goodbye to Tyson before I headed back to camp.

Not long after I was a good distance away from the guards a figure swished towards me. Unlike the other merman, he had two fish tales, and green skin. It was Trident, Poseidon's immortal son. This was not going to be fun.

" Perseus! Percy I must speak with you." He caught up to me quickly. The dual tail thing must be a good advantage. "I know why you have come."

"I came to talk to my…our…father." This was getting more awkward by the second. "What do you want? Can you help me contact him?" The questions were spilling out now that I had someone listening.

"Yes, he refuses to speak to you and others at your camp. Do not blame him though, he is very surprised by your supposed betrayal. He was suspicious, but was later convinced. I know otherwise."

I was confused. My 'supposed' betrayal? And what did he know that Poseidon didn't? "Care to explain?" I said, but immediately felt guilty. He was trying to help me, and it wasn't the best time to be sarcastic.

"Someone was speaking to him in a private room of the castle. The walls weren't repaired to be soundproof yet, it has been the least of our worries. Therefore, I heard a bit of a conversation. Someone was talking to him about you. Another god was explaining that you were going to fight against him, not with him. I couldn't place the voice to a name, but I recognized it belonged to a deity. I heard words like 'traitor' 'betrayal' 'evil'. I already knew about the war obviously. That person was not pleased with your decision, and persuaded him as well."

"But why didn't you believe him too? If he could convince Poseidon that I was trying to ruin him, it doesn't make sense."

"Before that visitor arrived, I was informed by Chiron of you and your fellow campers' decisions. The message was meant for father, but he was directing the reconstruction at the time. I was going to give him the message when I heard the lies. Chiron has proved himself trustworthy, and some people would want to cause more conflict." I remembered Ares helping to stir up trouble when Zeus's bolt was missing. "Also, the speaker's voice had a small quiver in his or her voice. I believe he noticed it as well, which is why he was suspicious at first. She must have found something to use as false proof. When I told him Chiron's message later, he refused to believe it. He was completely convinced. I am telling you this because that unknown god is planning something, and probably has other help. I can only assume that it does not include a sound ending for Poseidon."

This was a lot to take in. But it all made sense. It wasn't his fault either. It was a disadvantage though. "Thank you. This explains so much, and might be helpful for me to put an end to the war. If someone wants Poseidon against me, they probably want him, Hades, and Zeus to take this war seriously." I didn't know what else to say. Maybe I should have hugged him, we are half brothers aren't we? But that didn't seem like the best idea at a time like this. Plus, you don't really hug an immortal guy that you've met twice.

Sorry for updating so late, I haven't had much time on the computer I saved it on. But I shouldn't have that problem anymore. Reviews would be helpful! I figured a conversation between those two would be very interesting. Thanks for everyone who has helped me!