I would like to make a shout out to one of my most awesome reviewer, Avardsin, who has been with me through all of my stories, providing me with wonderful information. For that I thank you. Sunburn of Darkness: That was a really disturbing mental image ;). And for all the others who reviewed (Daniel, xoxOVERLORDxox, confusion-123, percyjacksonfan16, StormOfNight, werewolves1999, Greek-Freak2222, Theseus Jackson, Le Diablo Blanc2, Retrobution,emthereble) Thank you for reviewing and I'll definitely take your suggestions into consideration.
Now back to the story.
Percy shouldered his backpack, checked his pocket to make sure that Riptide was there before heading out of his cabin. He was met by his two favorite cousins, his best friend and his girlfriend who all stood there smiling at the Hero of Olympus. They all gave him the usual handshakes, hugs and kisses (only from Annabeth, of course), told him that he deserved all of it and followed him to the beach as he went to his father's domain. Truth be told, not one tear was shed during that whole exchange, nor was a look sparred by the rest of the campers, for they all knew that Percy, loyalty being his fatal flaw, would return soon.
Percy just walked to his father's castle which, if memory served correctly, only appeared to him when he wanted to search for it. He wandered through the seas surrounding camp till he reached the centre of the Atlantic. He could feel the energy signature of the fellow sea inhabitants surrounding their lord's son. He could sense the vibrations given off by the ships which roamed continuously over the world's busiest ocean. He never felt more at home, that is, until he noticed that there were many sea creatures surrounding a particular place in the centre of the ocean. He walked up to the invisible curve of the surrounding creature and what he saw surprised him.
The castle that his father built was nothing like it's previous version which was large in its own way, but what Percy saw wasn't large, what he saw was borderline gigantic. The large domed building in the centre looked like a large cathedral as it stood high and tall overlooking it's surrounding buildings. There were many medium sized buildings with people moving through them carrying a variety of items, ranging from books to weapons. Percy could see that the rebuilt Atlantis was a thriving hive of activity, with most of the population training in various forms of combat, but off to the side of what looked to be like a library was a huge flashing arcade. Percy chuckled at an imaginary Athena screaming at an imaginary Poseidon on the placement of the two buildings. Percy's small reverie was broken by a small chuckle to his side.
"I can see that you're impressed by my new home." Poseidon said looking at Atlantis the same way his son did, his eyes showing pride at the magnificent city.
"Impressed? Who wouldn't be?" Percy said admiring his temporary home for the next few months, "I don't know about Athena though." Percy said pointing towards the library while Poseidon chuckled.
"What can that Owl head do? She's barely an annoyance." Poseidon said smiling at his son, "Now come, we've got to unpack your things and get you settled in." Poseidon said walking towards the large castle in the centre with Percy hot on his heels. They walked through the city ignoring the looks given by the water naiads, stopping only to acknowledge the bows given by the general population. They walked side by side trading stories till they reached the gates where they were met by the two other rulers of Atlantis: Triton and Amphitrite, both with looks of disdain on their faces. But nevertheless, they bowed to the Lord of the Ocean and proceeded to have a conversation without a regard towards the young teenager in front of them.
Percy didn't mind the cold shoulder for he had no desire to talk to his step-mom nor his step-brother, but instead he wanted to see what secrets the castle before him held. He noticed that it looked more like a cathedral with its stained glass windows, each with a depiction of all the heroic sons of Poseidon. There were a wide variety of windows, each with their own size and placement, but out of the lot of them, Percy could only recognize four of them. One of those four had a painting of a boy, similar to Percy in physical attributes, but unlike Percy and the rest of the heroes in the other windows, the boy had a bow in his hand and a quiver on his back. Orion, Percy thought, the only other boy to have gained the respect of Artemis and the only son of Poseidon to excel in archery.
He looked to the one on the left of Orion which sported a rather familiar and lean boy of the same features all sons of Poseidon have but he was carrying a Minotaur head in his right hand and a club in his left. Theseus, the only son of Poseidon to have gained the respect of Athena, Percy thought remembering the face from his brief encounter with ghosts during his fourth quest. He briefly recalled the feats of Theseus from the many pictures of monsters from the background of the painting.
The one to the right of Orion was of Triton in all his might with the tides surrounding him as his trident was raised to the skies. But what surprised him the most was a painting of himself, with everything he had over the years surrounding his body, forming a small mosaic. His sword, Riptide, shining in his right hand surrounded by the heads of its victims, while his left hand remained bare, with a hurricane as its backdrop. All in all, it's was an awe inspiring moment for Percy as he felt a sudden sense of gratitude towards his father. He turned towards the conversation of the three immortals to the side of him and immediately noticed that all of them were staring intently at him albeit Amphitrite and Triton with the same look of disdain while Poseidon's was with pride. Amphitrite stormed back to the castle, for she had no desire in partaking in the inevitable conversation which was soon to come, while her son remained with the two men near the gates.
"Amazing isn't it?" Poseidon said nodding his head towards Percy's window. Percy was about to answer but he was cut off short by the sharp voice of his half-brother.
"Bah! It barely comes up to the radiance given off by mine." Triton said obviously jealous that his father was paying more attention to his illegitimate half-brother. Poseidon was about to retort but stopped short knowing that he was going to have an earful from his wife later on. All he could do was pray to him that Percy would not, on impulse, insult Triton back. But to no avail, for Percy did just that.
"I don't know about that. Yours seems to have a few attractive colors while mine has a variety of them. And not to mention the fact that I have way more incapacitated heads than you." Percy said smirking at his brother's facial expression while their father groaned inwardly.
"Ah, but have you forgotten that mine is more appealing to the eye, especially to those belonging to the sea." Triton said, trying to win the argument using statistics he read from a book in the library.
"I would never have thought of that, brother." Percy said, stroking an imaginative beard, "But what else can I say to best the immortal prince of the sea without being obliterated." Percy said offering his hand shocking the three immortals present.
"Oh shake it already." Percy said after a moment of awkward silence, "I wish to start a fresh, for I have no desire to train in a hostile environment." Percy finished before slapping his hand across his mouth, while his father looked at him in shock, yet again.
"When in the name of Hades did you start to speak like that, Percy?" Poseidon asked, afraid that his son had gotten some strange disease.
"I might have picked it up from the books Annabeth forces me to read." Percy said sheepishly, offering his hand back to Triton. "Do you accept my proposal?" Percy asked ignoring the look given to him by his father.
"Fine." Triton said shaking his hand, "But don't expect me to accept you like a brother, as that is something you have yet to prove." Triton said turning his back and following his mother's path to the castle.
"I've got to say son, you've got more courage than I do." Poseidon said shaking his head at his son's antic.
"Well, I guess I need to have courage, considering I'm dating your egotistic rival's daughter." Percy said, walking with his father towards the castle as they both laughed heartily.
The next day
Percy stretched his arms behind him as he woke up from his uninterrupted deep sleep. He looked around expecting to see the wooden walls of his cabin at camp, but what met him was kind of shocking to him. The blue marble walls around him were something unfamiliar to him, but as he recalled what happened the day before, he began to think over what his father was going to teach him. He hoped it wouldn't take a long time for him to train for he wanted to get back to camp as soon as possible. He rested his head on the soft cushioned pillow on his queen sized bed as his thoughts began to wonder, yet again, how his life would have been if it was normal. But alas, the fates always wanted to have a little fun once in a while.
"Lord Perseus. I'm here to escort you to your father." A voice said interrupting the mentioned 'lord's' thoughts. Percy looked to the other side of his bed and noticed the furniture in the room, which he had no time to take into inventory last night for he had come to his room late at night after his father had finished with the tour of the castle. He looked towards the doorway which was guarded by statues of horses on each side and saw a shy looking water naiad standing, her body blending in with the color of the sea but the dark blue blush in her face clearly visible. Percy silently swore at the gods for not letting him have his sleep and proceeded to change his clothes.
"Would you mind turning around?" Percy asked, noticing that the naiad was still in the room and ogling at him.
"Su-r-re. I'm sorry, lord Perseus. Forgive me lord Perseus." The naiad stammered turning her face towards the door faster than Nico running away from the Aphrodite girls. Percy swore again at the gods for he hated people referring to him as lord or even calling him by his full name.
"Would you please just call me Percy, miss-?" Percy asked to the back of the naiad as he changed into his clothes; a dark blue, body fit, shirt and black denim jeans.
"It's Ari…"The naiad said before forming an 'o' at the sight of Percy's detailed body. I'm glad Annabeth isn't here, thought Percy knowing what his girlfriend is capable of when jealous.
"What was it again?" Percy asked pretending the fact that he had noticed her stutter.
"It's Arianne, lor- Percy." Arianna said still struggling to form coherent sentences at the sight of Percy's prominent bodily features.
"Now Arianne, will you please look at my face." Percy said, trying not to laugh as Arianne hurriedly shifted her gaze, "And would you mind taking me to my dad? I'm kind of confused with the amount of rooms and corridors in this palace."
"Of course Lo- Percy." Arianna said, walking at a quick pace from the room and turning right at a junction as her face flushed in embarrassment. Percy, following from a few feet behind, was trying to remember the different routes of the castle, as well as trying to identify the hundreds of portraits lining the walls. His mind was going over what little of Greek mythology he knew, trying to place a name to a picture. While doing so, he had failed to take in the different paths he had travelled to reach his father's throne room.
He was mildly annoyed with himself for acting careless but resolved to memorizing the various routes later. Amphitrite stood up from her shell dotted, navy blue throne with a huff at the sight of Percy standing in the doorway while Triton, from his greenish-blue throne, just nodded curtly at Percy before going back to his breakfast plate. Poseidon mouthed an apology to Percy whose reply was a nod of understanding. The latter made his way towards an empty, sea blue throne, at the side of his father's larger blue one and began to eat the breakfast put before him. He munched on his cereal as he tried to observe the amount of sea creatures that were roaming freely through the room: Sharks playing fetch with some mermen, dolphins handing in reports and horse shaped water silhouettes roaming about.
"I see you've noticed the mini-zoo we've got here." Poseidon said making an attempt at humor.
"I'm sure Athena would have a problem with this as well." Percy retorted humorously.
"I've got half a mind to make your relationship with that Athena girl to stop," Poseidon mock- threatened, "You're always thinking of what Athena would think of my castle." Poseidon said smirking at his son's facial reaction.
"Before you actually reach a decision, what are we going to be doing today?" Percy asked trying to change the topic.
"Well, at first I thought about me training you for the whole of your time here. But apparently, there's always a catch when Zeus does a good thing." Poseidon said while Percy looked on skeptically, "And in this case, I am only allowed to train you for two days a week while you remain in my domain for the rest of the month."
"But that's crazy!" Percy yelled, "Who gave them the right to control what we can or can't do?" Percy asked his father angry that the Olympian council were, once again, meddling with his life. He heard a scoff coming from the other side of his father, which turned out to be Triton.
"Who gave you the right to question the rights of the Olympians? You, a puny demi-god? Ha." Triton insulted, trying to goad Percy to yell even more. But before Percy could yell all sorts of indecencies about the Olympians, Poseidon stepped in to act as a peacekeeper.
"Now Percy, have you forgotten how much the Olympians have saved you in your time of need?" Poseidon asked, hoping that Percy would calm down.
"Oh I remember dad. But I can't help but recall the many instances where they wanted to destroy, or in Dionysus's case, spontaneously combust me." Percy fumed, pissed that his father was supporting the council.
"Well, I back the council on that option," Triton said from his throne, "The way you're acting right now is rather childish. I'm still surprised that they've let you live this long, considering how you could have endangered all of us with your childishness."
"Triton, behave." Poseidon commanded. "And the same goes to you Percy." Both of the sons of Poseidon huffed in annoyance but nonetheless stayed silent.
"Now, where were we?" Poseidon asked to himself, "Oh yes. Since I am not able to train you for more than two days a week, I will send you on minor quests for the remainder of the days." Percy mentally groaned. "But, I'll make sure that you're kept entertained." Another mental groan from Percy. "And to make sure that you'll never feel lonely, I'm assigning Triton to be your quest partner." This time there were two audible groans.
"Why should I go with him?" Triton and Percy yelled in unison.
"Because you both need to bond." Poseidon said matter-of-factly straining to keep his smile hidden. "And that's final." Poseidon yelled before his son's could argue back. Both of them grumbled their "fines" and were about to walk away to their rooms when they heard Poseidon tell something in an off handed manner.
"And you'll be going to the sea of monsters today." Poseidon said before disappearing in a green mist as his sons stood there with their mouths wide open. They both walked off towards their respective rooms, Percy with his guide by his side, and proceeded to mull over their future quest. Little did the brothers know that they were thinking the exact same thing. What does dad expect me to gain from the quest? Who is the monster we're supposed to fight?
Percy, being the impulsive demi-god he is, accepted the fact that his father would tell him what to do once they reached the Sea of monsters and proceeded to pack the necessities. Triton, on the other hand, was trying to find a way out of the quest, but alas, he accepted defeat, packed his clothes and walked back over to the throne room. He could see that Percy was already there, his past grievances against Triton forgotten as he jumped from foot to foot, eager to proceed with the quest.
"What's gotten in to you? You were miserable a few minutes ago." Triton asked gingerly.
"A watched clock never turns." Percy said philosophically as Triton raised his eyebrow, "Seeing as I'm going to be away from my friends for a while, I'm going to look at these quests as pass times that help quicken my training and time here."
"Fine," Triton said exasperated, "Now let's go before your mortal etiquette rub off on me." Triton finished before heading through one of the corridors, which led to the entrance Percy had seen before. He looked at the door in detail and noticed that it was made of mahogany and that someone was standing beside it. Percy recognized the queen of the sea as she stood awaiting the pair of quest goers. Triton excused himself before going over to his mother to talk about some unmentioned topic, while Percy just waltzed over to the door waiting for his quest partner.
"But mother! What can father gain from that?" Triton yelled after a while, glaring at his mother who just stood there dumbstruck. She mumbled something which only Triton was able to hear, infuriating him even more. He turned around furiously and walked over to Percy with a glare, rival to only Ares, as he walked past the hero of Olympus cursing at an unknown person. Percy looked over at Amphitrite to see her glaring at him as well, but with tears in her eyes. She mouthed the words, "Take care of him" before heading off to her quarters.
Percy soon realized that his half-brother was already at the gates and was moving at a quick pace, thus Percy began to run like all the monsters of Hades were chasing him. He reached his brother and was about to place a hand on his shoulder when he felt a sharp pain in his finger. He looked up to see Triton holding his index finger at an angle with a furious glare in his face.
"Don't touch me." Triton growled menacingly while Percy looked at him in confusion, which quickly turned to rage.
"What's wrong with you?" Percy yelled, "I haven't done anything wrong."
"Your mere existence is what's wrong." Triton yelled back.
"Oh excuse me. It's not my fault for being born." Percy countered, not caring about the minor scene he was creating.
"I don't care." Triton yelled, "Ever since you were born, everything has gone to Hades."
"Well, I also don't care." Percy retorted, "But I'm not going to stand here arguing with a mindless idiot, while an Olympian has set forth a quest for us." Percy finished, walking away to the main gates of Atlantis. Once there, Percy was met by a pair of strong horse-like creatures. One of them had a dark black mane draped across his grey back which soon gave way to a scaly, much darker grey tail. The second of the two had a more aquatic coloring of its body parts; a sea blue mane on a green back attached to a dark green tail.
"Hey boy. How you doing?" Percy said walking up to the black hippocampus.
"I am no boy, my lord. My name is Danaos." The hippocampus said in Percy's mind, feeling insulted that Percy had called him a minor hippocampus.
"Would it be okay if I called you Daniel? Danaos sounds pretty old-fashioned." Percy said while the green hippocampus started to neigh-laugh.
"Fine, my lord." Daniel grumbled as Triton walked over to his hippocampus as seated himself without saying a word. I climbed on to Daniel's back and we shot off towards the sea of monsters.
At Camp Half-Blood
A lone boy walked over the barrier, gave a nod to Peleus and walked down to the Big House. His blond hair ruffled by the breeze, his blue eyes staring straight ahead as he noticed the hundreds of campers milling about. He was soon noticed by the man in charge, who was seated in his wheelchair. Chiron opened his mouth to say one sentence that would start the downfall of Percy Jackson's life.
"I thought you were dead."
Near the Sea of Monsters
Percy and his brother rode in silence, occupied in their own thoughts, till they reached the point where the hippocampuses were unable to proceed any further. Along the way, Percy had struck up an interesting conversation with Daniel, emphasis on interesting for Daniel only talked about the amount of pollutants that humans had thrown into the ocean. Percy barely listened, only providing "yeahs" and "I knows" whenever Daniel stopped. Past experiences with Grover had helped in this aspect.
"My lord, this is where we depart." Daniel said, stopping right in between Bermuda and Puerto Rico. Triton and Percy disembarked the hippocampuses who quickly disappeared into the seas. The pair stood there waiting for something to happen, not wanting to be the first to break the silence, until the most impulsive of the two spoke up.
"What are we supposed to do here?" Triton said, frustrated for an unknown reason. His frustration turned to anger as a small camera descended downwards, landing on Triton's head. There was a small note attached on its side which Percy plucked off, ignoring the cursing sea prince, and read aloud.
"Dear Triton and Percy. I see you've reached here all fine and well." Percy read, "You both are going to spend a little over a month here, performing a quest each week. You will take videos of your quests, and give them to me whenever I visit. Your first quest involves the defeat of Polyphemus. Good luck and stay safe, Poseidon." Percy finished as Triton looked even angrier.
Triton picked up the camera and flung it towards Percy, who luckily caught it. Percy could see that his brother was going to blow a casket, so he did the only thing he could think of: He forced the water under them both to become less dense, causing them to rise to the surface. Percy had thought that the change in surroundings would calm Triton down. They both stood on the choppy waves as Triton raised his right hand towards the sky and summoned one of the largest tsunami's ever seen by Percy, and drove it towards the cliffs of the sea of monsters. The awesome power of the tsunami had caused large boulders to fall off into the sea.
"Brother," Percy said in a calming tone, "Would you like to talk about what's bothering you?"
"NO!" Triton yelled, "I have no desire to talk to you!" He summoned another tsunami to hit the side of the cliff with. Percy controlled the water till it had circulated Triton's limbs and solidified them, trapping Triton. Percy could feel Triton struggling to break the ice cuffs, but his anger was ruining his concentration.
"Do you want to know why I'm angry, young demi-god?" Triton asked condescendingly, "I thought you thought of yourself as higher than us minor gods. I should be honored that the great Perseus Jackson wants to listen to my troubles." Triton spat.
"Brother," Percy said calmly, "What's wrong with you? We were fine during breakfast. I ask because I care for everyone, regardless of status."
"Do you want to know? Do you want to know, you foolish demi-god? Our fool of a father has prohibited me from using my godly powers while assisting you in this quest." Triton yelled, hoping that this excuse would stop Percy's questions, but Percy, always in tune with his emotions, could sense the false truth.
"Oh please. I know that you, of all gods, would not get mad for such a minor reason. There are many times when a god is prohibited from using their godly powers." Percy said, recalling his fight against Ares, "Now, tell me the real reason." Percy asked concerned. His face switched from concern to shock at the sight before him; Triton had his head hung low mumbling something illegible by Percy.
"What was that?" Percy asked.
"I said," Triton said loudly, "I'm angry because you're always the better one! Before you came, father and I were friends! Then you came and ruined it!" Triton yelled before hanging his face down in sadness.
"He doesn't love you less than he loves me." Percy said calmly, "He loves us equally and in my opinion, he trusts you more than he does me. He chose you to assist me in this quest, not someone else. He knew that you wouldn't kill me, like some gods I know, because of your loyalty towards him. He is your friend, he chose you to be his heir, not me." Percy finished, the last words said in a tone which meant final.
"I never thought of it like that." Triton said after mulling it over, looking up with a smile on his face. "Thank you Percy, I see that you are a true son of Poseidon. Now would you please take off my bonds, they are rather uncomfortable." Triton finished nodding his head towards the water surrounding his body, "After all, I'm the better son." He smirked proudly.
Percy rolled his eyes and let go of the bonds.
"Come on, we have to go defeat another son of Poseidon, which I hope will stop you from chasing me." Percy said mockingly as they both walked over the water to the entrance of the Sea of Monsters. They saw the heaping whirlpool that was Charybdis and the small cliff and arrow's length away that housed the six headed monster Scylla. Suddenly Percy remembered a nice little tidbit he read a few years ago.
"Triton, isn't Scylla your daughter?" Percy asked trying to refrain from laughing as Triton froze in his place. Triton shook his head before looking up at Percy with a slight smirk on his face.
"You foolish demi-gods have got it wrong. Scylla is the daughter of Phorcys, not me and besides isn't Charybdis your sister?" Triton finished, no trace of anger lining his features.
"True, true. But that also makes her your sister." Percy said chuckling as Triton opened his mouth in shock.
"Fine," Triton growled, "But I don't think family relations will let us pass through easily."
"Why don't we just walk in between the two?" Percy asked, recalling the small space between the two monsters. "It's pretty wide for the two of us." Triton just nodded his head, ashamed that he hadn't thought of it before, and walked over to the small pathway. Percy followed him there, fully aware of how strong the currents under him were, and walked towards the fog. Percy saw Charybdis's large, ugly mouth as she swallowed a large amount of water, which gave Percy an idea.
"Hey brother, can you take a video of me, please?" Percy asked, feigning innocence. Triton just nodded and motioned for the camera, which Percy gave.
"How do you turn this on?" Triton asked dumbfounded, looking at the camera from all angles. Percy just sighed and went over to help his brother, knowing that words would be of no help in this case. He set up the need requirements and instructed his brother to push the button when said so.
Percy walked over in Charybdis's direction till he was within a stone throws length and asked Triton to start recording. Triton did as instructed, mumbling something about disrespect. Percy always wanted to know what the inside of Charybdis mouth looked like, so he decided to have his desire fulfilled. He commanded the water around him to stop, not fully confident in his powers, but nonetheless he did it. Thankfully, Percy didn't faint from the effort as the water submitted to his will.
Percy's original idea was to lean over the edge of Charybdis's mouth and see what it looked like inside, but decided against it as he could feel the presence of strong winds coming from that general idea. He knew that if he got any closer, he would become a permanent resident of the underworld. He released his hold on the water, feeling the fatigue that came with controlling a large amount of water.
"Well that was an unneeded wastage of time." Triton said still recording, not knowing what to do next.
"Oh come on, I bet you've always wanted to see what the inside of her looks like." Percy said pointing towards the sea monster.
"I guess you're right," Triton admitted still holding the camera, "But you should know that the only way to see what's inside is by getting yourself eaten."
"I wonder what I taste like." Percy thought to himself, but then he noticed the red dot blinking on the camera, "You know you can stop recording now."
"What?" Triton asked not knowing a thing about modern technology. Percy just stood up, walked over and shut the camera off, all the while mumbling something about clueless gods. Triton just looked dumbfounded at the action and proceeded to walk over to the nearest land mass available, which appeared to be a deserted stretch of land a few meters from the two monsters, with not a single inhabitant in sight. When he looked back, he opened his mouth in his shock, for instead of seeing his half-brother standing on the sea, he came face-to-face with emptiness. He tried to go into the murky bottom of the sea until he felt strong hands griping his legs, pulling him in the unforgiving waters.
At Camp Half-Blood
"Sorry about that, my boy." Chiron said, clapping the blond haired boy sitting at his side on his back.
"No problem Chiron." The 17 year-old boy said, his eyes staring intently at everything, but betraying no expressions of surprise at what he saw. "But if I may ask, why did you act surprised at first?"
"Well Jake, before you came, there was a boy almost similar to yourself in looks who had been a mentor to many of the campers. That is until he betrayed us to join Kronos, but in the end he proved himself for he sacrificed himself to save us all." Chiron told the boy in front of him. "But it was not only his sacrifice that save us all, it was the sacrifices of all those who had died in battle." He took a brief pause as he went over the wars. "We've got Percy to thank for making those sacrifices worth it. He's our hero."
"Well Chiron, I can't wait to meet Percy." Jake said, faking eagerness.
"I'm sure you'll both get on well. But now it is my turn to ask you two questions. Who is your godly parent and why were they late in claiming you?" Chiron asked, a hint of malice in his tone as he wondered about the promise.
"Hermes, god of messengers." Jake said not showing a hint of amazement or cheek. "He explained everything to my mom a while back but she refused to part with me. But seeing as she passed away two months ago, dad brought me here." Jake finished his story, no emotions shown on his face.
"That certainly explains your looks. I best take you on a tour of ca-" Chiron said before being interrupted by a girlish voice.
"Luke." A blond haired girl said in surprise, her grey eyes wide with surprise.
In the Sea of Monsters
"Curse you Percy." A completely dry Triton said as he came out of the sea, his half brother crouching near the rocky shore laughing.
"You should've seen your face." Percy said clutching his side from laughter.
"Oh shut up! I regret even worrying about you." Triton said making a small pillow out of his bag and sleeping on it. "Now go to sleep, I'll keep watch."
"Wait," Percy asked noticing that his watch said 9:00 pm, "How come the sun is out now? And how are you going to keep watch if you're asleep?"
"Time is unpredictable in these seas," Triton explained, "And my powers enable me to sense any creatures approaching, provided they contain water in their body." Percy nodded his head in understanding and rested his head, falling asleep as soon as his eyes closed.
Three days later
"Finally!" Percy exclaimed as he noticed the all too familiar shape of Polyphemus's island. A flimsy bridge in between the two halves of the island, one side filled with fenced in sheep as they grazed on the carcass of a large fish while the other side housed a large cave, a boulder at its side. Percy put two and two together and resolved that the owner if the island was on the other side of the island, fishing for more food. The brothers walked over to the island, their feet making no sound at all as they walked on the sea below them.
"Why did it take so long for us to reach here anyway?" Percy asked his brother as they stepped onto the shores of the island.
"Well, you wanted a video of the sirens." Triton said irritated, "And not to forget the fact that you wanted to sleep for 12 hours a day. Oh, and how about when you wanted to go inspect the ruins of Circe's island, and not to forget-"Triton was about to say before a hand clamped onto his mouth.
"I think that's enough."Percy said, blushing as he recalled those events. "But I'm not taking all the blame; you're the one who wanted to go check out Circe's spa for hot girls."
"Oh shut up," Triton said, blushing a deep blue shade as he did, "Anyway, let's kill the Cyclops tomorrow. We're way ahead of schedule anyway." Triton finished before fashioning himself a makeshift bed from his pack. Percy soon followed his lead falling asleep not knowing what was happening back at camp.
At camp Half-Blood
"Nice thrust Jake. You're almost as good as Percy." Annabeth said, her dagger waving from side to side as Jake stood strongly, his sword parallel to the ground. Annabeth was too busy analyzing to notice the small amount of an unknown liquid leaking into the ground from the boy's pant leg.
"I can't wait to meet him. I hear he's done incredible things." Jake said, feigning admiration.
"He has, and I can't wait to meet him too."Annabeth said longingly, before being surprisingly disarmed by Jake, who now had his own sword pointed at her neck with her dagger at the back of it.
"Never get distracted." Jake mocked, imitating Annabeth. "Can we please take a break? I'm tired." Jake pouted, handing Annabeth's dagger back to its owner.
"Fine Jake," Annabeth said, fuming that she had been disarmed so easily, "One question though, how are you so good at sword fighting?"
"Mom forced me to learn fencing." Jake explained monotonously, before smiling at her, "My turn, do you know a place where I could relax without being interrupted?"
"Yes. Yes I do." Annabeth said walking in the general direction of the beach, ignoring the looks of her fellow campers, as her mind played a mantra in her head: "He is exactly like Luke."
The next day at the Sea of Monsters
"How do we do it?" Percy asked his crouching bother as they hid behind a small cliff, surveying their target and their surroundings. Percy noted that the grass was scarce on the other half of the island, with the largest portion surrounding a half-dead tree. The Cyclops of the island was munching on a femur as he observed his sheep.
"It is not we who are going to kill him, it is only you." Triton said, not looking away from the Cyclops. "Father specifically asked me to only aid you in the quest, not to complete it for you. So, I am only going to help you distract him while you do the fighting."
"Great, how does anyone expect me to destroy a Cyclops by myself?" Percy asked his brother who just looked at him as if the former was insane.
"What?" Percy asked Triton.
"What? You killed two Titans, a couple of Giants, helped defeat a Primordial and defeated a god in his own field, and you're wondering how to kill a mere Cyclops?" Triton asked incredulously. "You're either too modest or too foolish."
"Let's go with modest." Percy said, "Anyway, I had the help of my friends at the time. And this Cyclops is not a regular one; he is more powerful than others. However, I'll finish this quest as soon as possible."
"Determined I see." Triton said, "How about we make this battle a little more interesting?"
"I'm listening." Percy said, letting his obsession with dares to take over himself.
"I'll teach you some of the more advanced powers over water, if you were to finish Polymphemus off without the use of your water powers. Accept?" Triton asked.
"This is going to be easy." Percy said, past doubts forgotten as he took out his sword. "Oh and I don't think I'll need your help." Percy finished before creeping up to the Cyclops, as his brother just crouched in his hiding place, mouth open in shock. Percy crept up towards his target and yelled out a sentence that would truly terrify the monster.
"Nobody is here!" Percy yelled, laughing at Polymphemus's reaction, which consisted of the Cyclops jumping from his position, and turning around, as if hoping to catch sight of his enemy.
"You're back. You took my fleece," The Cyclops yelled, "My beautiful fleece. You will pay!"
"No 'hellos' or 'how you doings'? Come on Poly, at least give me a hug." Percy said spreading his arms wide.
"I'll give you a hug, nobody. I'll break your body into half and tell all my friends that I defeated nobody." Polymphemus said, storming over to Percy's general direction.
"Too much hate there Poly." Percy said tapping his watch to release the shield inside. "Let see if I can tone it down."
Percy wove between the giant legs of the Cyclops and thrust his sword into its rear, causing a deafening scream to plague the island. Percy motioned to the surveying prince of the sea to take a video recording of what was going to happen. Percy then shifted his attention back to the task at hand, before being wacked hard by a huge hand. Percy's body flew through the air before landing on the ground, a few feet from the edge of the chasm. His body hurt like crazy, crying for the cooling touch of water, but the owner knew of his bet with his brother.
Percy raised his sword and let out a war cry before running towards the gigantic figure which stood in front of him. Percy slashed his sword through the right leg of the Cyclops leaving a large gash. This was soon followed by repeated slashes and swipes as Percy danced around the legs of the Cyclops unaware of the incoming hand, barreling towards him. The demigod flew for a few meters, before his back met the large boulder the Cyclops used as a door with a sickening crunch. But the adrenaline in Percy's system prevented the pain from being felt.
"Hey Poly! Over here." Percy said waving an imaginable cape, as his back faced the boulder. The monster soon charged towards Percy, ignorant of what was about to happen. Percy waited for the right time, before screaming 'Toro' and rolling away from the incoming Cyclops, which resulted in the disintegration of the boulder and a grounded Cyclops. Percy climbed onto Polymphemus's body, sword hovering over his chest.
But suddenly Percy felt a dropping sensation in his stomach. It was the feeling of guilt for he knew that by killing the monster in front of him, he was playing God, something he never wanted to do. He walked back to his camera carrying brother as his mind went over the reasons as to why Poseidon wanted Polymphemus dead. He was just about to look up at his brother, fully expecting a look of disappointment, but what surprised him the most was a blue blur which was soon followed by the sound of metal hitting flesh. Percy turned around to see his brother with a sword, blocking the huge arm of the Cyclops, which, from Percy's perspective, was directed right for his head.
"How dare you attack him when his back is turned?" Triton yelled, "He spared your useless life and this how you repay him." Triton spat as Percy walked back to his brother.
"Brother, leave him be." Percy said, "I don't blame him for his anger towards me. It was I who took his valuable Fleece. Let's be on our way." Percy finished walking back towards the shores of the island, his brother following him.
"What was that for Perseus? We have a mission to accomplish and I for one, hate ungrateful little mongrels." Triton yelled as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Well, go and do it if you want to. But I will not kill a living being, simply because I was told to." Percy said, disgusted that Triton wanted to go through with the deed, "He has done nothing wrong and as I said before, his anger is understandable."
"What's wrong with you, brother?" Triton yelled, "He attacked you as soon as you turned your back. Isn't that enough of a reason to kill him?"
"No it is not. I do not intend to play God with a creature's life." Percy yelled back, "He is reformed. He attacked me because I was the one who started this fight. And he is no threat to the outside world."
"Be that way then." Triton yelled, frustrated at his brother. "But you better be the one to break the news to father." Triton finished lying down on his makeshift bed, turning his back on Percy. The demigod just sighed and lied on his bed, his eyes searching the night stars which had come out a few minutes ago. Percy mumbled a thank you towards Triton for saving his life and went to sleep, not sure if Triton's grumble was a 'you're welcome' or not.
The next day
"Wake up." Triton commanded, waking the sleeping demigod from his dreamless slumber. Percy woke up, taking quick note of the smell of cooked food and the presence of a white fluffy substance surrounding him. His eyes, which had gotten used to interrupted naps, also noticed the tired circles in Triton's eyes.
"Sweet! What's for breakfast?" Percy asked getting up, aware of the amount of bones on his brother's side.
"Sheep." Triton said, wolfing down on yet another large meat covered bone.
"Whoa! Why are you eating so much? I thought Gods didn't need to eat a lot of food?" Percy asked doubtfully, before washing his mouth with some sea water and grabbing some food for himself. He sacrificed some to his father before wolfing down on it as well.
"Well, for some unknown reason, I am unable to replenish my energy which I have used up by keeping watch while asleep." Triton said, throwing away his clean bone.
"Then why don't you let me do it?" Percy asked.
"You need your energy. And besides you're incapable of such feats." Triton said, resting his back on the ground and staring up at the clouds.
"Then teach me." Percy sad, getting up to show his determination. "You owe me."
"I owe you nothing. You lost the bet remember?" Triton said.
"Come on! I want to have something to show for at the end of this quest." Percy whined.
"Fine! I'll teach you the basics, for I am aware of your annoying trait of never giving up." Triton said still sleeping. "Now close your eyes."
Percy followed his brother's orders, wondering what this was going to teach him, unaware of the events taking place in camp.
At camp Half-Blood
"Come on Jake. You take the left flank, I'll take the right." Annabeth yelled to her battle partner. "Then go for the flag the moment you get a chance, okay?" Jake just nodded as he ran into the woods for the conch horn had blown. He heard the footsteps of his battle compatriots behind him as they searched the woods for the flag.
They had found the flag easily enough, but the problem was getting past the Apollo cabin archers which were perched high on the trees. The flag stood erect in the centre of Zeus's fist, as two guards surrounded it, their swords drawn out waiting for the inevitable attack. Jake signaled for his cabin mates to take care of the archers, fully aware that the Stoll brothers were there as well. He waited until he heard a loud yell followed by war cries as everyone turned their attention towards the commotion.
Jake waited even more for he knew that everyone would pay more attention to his siblings failed attempts. He heard all the archers and guards running after his fleeing siblings, leaving their flag all alone, completely defenseless. He waltzed over, without a care for a world, before feeling the whiz of an arrow. He ran in a zigzag pattern as he dodged the arrows, all the while occupying the attention of the remaining archers. He rolled under arrows and blocked a few with his shield. He heard some archers drop down from their position in the trees as they prepared to duel with their lone opponent. He unsheathed his sword as he blocked a swipe from an Apollo swordsman and ducked under a whizzing arrow. He noticed some children of Hecate approaching, knowing full well of the power they possessed and proceeded to retreat. He fought through the swordsmen, rolled under arrows and made a huge commotion, attracting unwanted attention to himself as he fled.
But the fighters, so occupied by the fleeing son of Hermes, failed to notice one thing, their precious flag was missing. They only realized that fact soon after Jake had left the group, following the hovering flag towards the river. He followed it till it jumped over it, till the conch horn blew, till it was attached to a human arm. He already knew who had carried it over, for it was he who had come up with the plan.
"And the Athena cabin wins!" Chiron yelled.
"Why didn't you tell us you changed the plans?" Travis asked his brother, the former's shirt sporting many holes and rips.
"Wanted it to be a surprise." Jake said passively, as he followed his team members as they went to congratulate Annabeth. He walked over, feeling hands being slapped on his back, congratulations being thrown his way, and foreign hands clasping his own, all the while commenting on how good he was for his first time. He walked over to Annabeth's side, received a small hug and a large smile. He offered her a smile of his own, his for a purpose only known to him. But unbeknownst to everyone, a pair of gods were watching the events unfold from the deep confine of their rooms.
At a room in Hermes's house
"Why did you help them?" Apollo half-screamed, half-asked his brother, "You could've declined! You could've refused! Hell! You could've prevented this from happening in the first place!"
"They forced me." Hermes said dejectedly, "You were there. You heard them." He finished, sitting on the side of his bed, his face in his hands.
"Did you possibly think that, maybe just maybe, Hades wouldn't agree with them?" Apollo said condescendingly, "Surely he would've sided with us. Especially with the help of Percy."
"Who's to know? He isn't exactly the god of promises, is he?" Hermes asked still in his previous position, "Who's to know what side he'll pick? Zeus could've struck a bargain with him or something."
"You're just finding excuses!" Apollo yelled mercilessly.
"Perhaps I am!" Hermes said, getting up suddenly, "But I am not entirely to blame! It is mainly your fault as well! Why did you go and tell father about your stupid prophecy? You could've let it slide! You know how paranoid he can be! So why! Why, Apollo, did you tell father about Percy's prophecy?"
"I…I had…" Apollo stuttered, now on the receiving end of an accusation, "I had no choice." Apollo said, sitting down on the bed as he mirrored his brother's previous position.
"You had no choice?" Hermes yelled, "You had no choice! Everyone has a choice! Regardless of circumstance, everyone god damned person has a chance!" The messenger god allowed himself some time to calm down before he said anything else, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let you explain as to why you had no choice."
"I wasn't the one to tell father of the prophecy," Apollo said, holding up a hand to prevent Hermes from interrupting, "Athena did. She had also heard the prophecy."
"What!" Hermes yelled, "How could she have possibly heard the prophecy? The oracle doesn't reside in her domain!"
"Athena was with me. We were visiting Rachel." Apollo said miserably.
"Why the hell were you visiting Rachel with that Bird brain?" Hermes yelled to his brother.
"She wanted to do some research or something." Apollo recounted, "We were both returning from the kitchen when Rachel had uttered the last line of the prophecy."
"That bitch! No wonder father's agreeing whole-heartedly with this plan. She must have twisted the facts or something." Hermes said, punching the wall, leaving a hole in it as he did so. He punched it a few more times before he rested his head on the cool marble, calming himself down. "But what's done is done. There's nothing more we can do about it." Hermes said as he walked back to his brother, placing an arm on his brother's shoulder, "All we can do is hope that Percy is able to survive this ordeal."
The two brothers looked at the foot of the bed and watched the TV screen as it showed two demi-gods walking to the pantheon talking animatedly about an unknown subject. While all these events were taking place, the scales in a dark room were tipping to one side as an unknown person stood over, writing some notes in a book.
3 days later, at the Sea of Monsters
"Now tell me where the water is?" Triton asked his blind-folded brother as he sat behind him. Percy pointed first towards the sea which earned an eye-roll from Triton, then pointed towards a large rock towards his left.
"Good, now try to control it and form some shapes." Triton said as Percy raised both his arms and moved them in an erratic pattern. He made the water rise into the air and proceeded to make shapes of all sizes.
"Good, good. Now try to sense beings." Triton said, mildly impressed with his brother's abilities as the aforementioned brother raised his hands to the air.
"You don't have to raise your hands up whenever you're sensing things. It's not necessary." Triton said, exasperated.
"It feels awesome like that." Percy said, still focusing on the task at hand, "And anyway, it's not like the three sheep over the hill really care about what I'm doing with my hands."
"Great job son." A deep voice said from the direction of the fog covered sea. A man walked on to the shores, his Bermuda shorts giving him away. Both the sons walked over to their dad and gave him a hug.
"What took you so long father?" Triton asked, not at all angry that his father had complimented Percy.
"The Sea of Monsters is very hard to teleport in." Poseidon said, smiling at the absence of injuries on both his sons which showed that they were getting along well, "Now, show me the video of how my son Percy defeated the great Polymphemus."
Percy sheepishly handed his father the video camera and waited for his reaction as Triton smiled mischievously behind his father's back. Poseidon's face wore a smile as he watched the first few minutes, which Percy guessed was the Charybdis episode. Then it turned into a small chuckle as he watched what happened next. But suddenly, it turned to anger as he looked at what was happening, causing Percy to believe that his father was mad at him for not completing his quest. He threw the camera on the ground and took out his sword.
"You have failed a quest, my son!" Poseidon yelled, "You have failed to kill Polymphemus and for that… YOU," Poseidon took a step forward, "DESERVE," another step making Percy cower, "A PAT ON THE BACK." Poseidon finished, laughing hysterically at his sons expressions.
"You're not mad at him father?" Triton asked, surprised by his father's reaction.
"Why should I be?" Poseidon said, still chuckling in between words, "He has shown compassion and for that he has passed."
"You are one weird dad." Percy said, slightly annoyed at his father's theatrics.
"I agree brother." Triton said, smiling at his father's expression.
"You're both actually agreeing on something?" Poseidon asked dumbfounded.
"Yeah, a big surprise or what?" Percy asked mischievously, but his smile fell as soon as he saw his father smirk evilly.
"I'll go with what." Poseidon said cheekily, "I was hoping this would happen as it makes what I'm going to say all the more easier to accept. I have asked Zeus to remove my two days a week visitation rights."
"What?" Percy yelled, "Have you lost your senses dad?"
"Let me finish," Poseidon said, not the least angered by his son's outrage, "I have asked him to remove it so that I can collect all the unvisited days, and form one huge week where we're all together. Won't that be fun?" Poseidon finished, a huge smile on his face.
"I don't know father." Triton said, "Percy can be quiet a bore over extended amounts of time."
"Oh please Triton, I'm one of the most exciting person you've hung out with to date." Percy gloated, before turning to face his dad "But how am I going to learn any tricks and moves?"
"Don't worry about that son. I'm sure Triton can teach you some useful tricks to learn." Poseidon said, "And just for your entertainment, I'm going to be sending some quests your way." Poseidon finished before disappearing into a fine green mist.
"Great. Now I'm going to be stuck with you for Zeus knows how long." Triton grumbled, sitting on the ground.
"I can't be that bad to hang around with can I?" Percy asked his brother, pretending to be hurt.
"Yes. Yes you are." Triton said, smirking at his little brother's reaction. "Now let's get on with our training."
And that's how Percy's month in his father's domain passed, with him and Triton travelling from island to island, training and improving Percy's ability over water. Even teaching Percy how to vapor travel and manipulate the vapor in the air to help Percy fly. They had completed a variety of quests which came in this order:
Duck tape the Sirens mouths.
Cut all but one of Scylla's heads.
Take a video of the inside of Charybdis's mouth (oh how original)
Slay the Kraken
Once the quests were finished, Percy and Triton had become close to best friends, as being in life threatening situations tend to that. They became brothers, and like all brother they tend to insult each other in comical manners. And thanks to Triton, Percy was also able to get closer to his godly step-mom. When it was time for Percy to leave after their fun-filled week in Atlantis, they held a great celebration in his honor. Percy knew that he was going to miss his family dearly but he knew that an eagerly awaiting girlfriend was present at camp.
He rose out of the sea which surrounded his camp, shirt covering his toned body as he walked towards the beach, not knowing of how his wise girl's mind had been changed. He walked towards the beach, unknowingly watched by a council of Olympian gods and a minor goddess. Most of them were watching him with no emotion in their hearts, but two Olympians and the minor goddess were watching him with pity for they knew what awaited him next.
And that's the end of this chapter. This was kind of a filler and I hope it's enough because the next chapter is going to be so deceitful and filled with betrayal. I would like to thank all my supporters especially Avarsdin and I give you all permission to write stories on the quests mentioned in this chapter (If you want to and PM me if you want to.) Bye for now and PM me if there's a typo or something (I had no time to proof read).
And before I forget, a question:
What would Hera and Artemis be terrified off? Answer in the review and the best gets a place in my next chapter. Thanks and Bye