Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Immortal Seas
Chapter Quote: "Arrogance diminishes wisdom." – Arabian Proverb
Chapter 21: Arrogance
Atlantic Ocean
The AS Orion floated in the seas of the mid-Atlantic ocean. Orion and his mermen led the three goddesses and the hunters into the main control room. When they entered all eyes were on the three goddesses. At the sight of Athena, the mermen glared with barely controlled anger.
Commander Aquilon stepped up to Orion. "My lord, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" he asked.
Orion looked at him completely oblivious to the glares that Athena was getting from the mermen. "Sure about what?" Orion asked.
The Commander sighed. "Your father would not like these goddesses trespassing in his domain," the Commander said.
Orion looked around before an expression of realization crossed his face. "They are with me. My father will not harm them," Orion replied. "No one will harm them." He looked around at the mermen; they immediately went back to their duties.
The Commander bowed in respect. "Understood my lord," he said.
Orion walked to the center of the control room and sat down in the Captain's chair. "Commander, set course for Atlantis, let's make sure that we are discrete," Orion ordered.
"Aye, aye sir," the Commander said. "Helmsman, lower dive planes, set depth for two thousand feet. All ahead slow; rig for silent running."
"Aye, sir," the merman replied.
The boat moved forward slowly. The front view screen opened to reveal the sea green water of the ocean. The boat dove deeper into the sea as it moved toward the great city of Atlantis.
Orion stood from his chair. "Commander, time till arrival?" Orion asked.
The Commander looked at the computer screen in front of him. "Two hours," he said.
Orion looked around at the hunters standing near an empty corner of the room. "Commander, please train the hunters to use these controls," Orion ordered.
"What?" the Commander said in surprise.
"Commander, we will need them to operate the ship while we're gone. They cannot survive at this depth outside the boat," Orion explained.
The Commander didn't look happy, but the glare that he received from Orion told him not to protest anymore. "Yes, my lord," the Commander said.
Orion nodded. Orion looked at the three goddesses. "Let's go to the conference room to discuss strategy," Orion said.
Athena looked at him skeptically. Artemis stepped in front of her sister before Athena could comment. "That's a good idea," Artemis said. Annabeth nodded.
"Follow me," Orion said as he stepped out of the control room. The three goddesses followed him down a long corridor. They reached a red door at the far end of the hallway. The door slid open at Orion's touch.
In the center of the room was a large table made of sea green metal. Six chairs surrounded the table. Orion sat down and motioned for the others to do the same.
Once everyone was seated; Orion cleared his throat. "Are you staying onboard when we arrive?" Orion asked.
Athena glared at the son of Poseidon. "I want to see Theseus; I'm going down there," Athena said arrogantly.
Orion rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" Orion asked.
"Why not?" Athena asked.
"Mother, you're in Poseidon's realm. Do you really think it's safe for you?" Annabeth asked.
Athena huffed. "They wouldn't dare touch me," Athena said.
Artemis laughed. Athena glared at her sister. "Why are you acting like an arrogant brat?" she asked.
Athena's face turned red. "What? How dare you say that," she yelled.
"Mother, please don't cause trouble. Why are you so upset?" Annabeth pleaded. She had never seen her mother act this way before.
"I need to talk to Theseus," Athena said.
Orion cleared his throat. "I know my brother. He's not going to talk to you with that attitude," Orion said.
"I will talk to him. You're not going to stop me," Athena growled.
Orion's green eyes darkened. He stood up and loomed over the table. Artemis, Athena and Annabeth all stared at him in shock and with a healthy dose of fear. "You're in my father's domain now. There are creatures here that don't give a crap, if you're a goddess or a naïve human. They'll destroy you just the same," Orion snapped.
Athena was taken aback by the son of Poseidon's tone. She sighed as she looked into his sea green eyes that were so much like his older brothers'. "I need to talk to him," she whispered. She had a defeated tone in her voice. She looked up at Orion; the son of Poseidon's hard glare had softened. "I need to apologize."
Orion sighed. "I know," he agreed. "You'll get your chance, if we survive this fight."
Annabeth had a concerned look on her face. "How strong is the enemy force?" Annabeth questioned.
Orion began to pace in front of the three goddesses. "I don't know. Orion and Percy were supposed to scout the area, and then return to the ship. It appears that they changed plans. I assume Percy convinced Theseus to put aside better judgment and rush head on into a battle," Orion explained.
Annabeth sighed. "Such a Seaweed Brain," she commented.
Orion chuckled. "He certainly is," he said. Annabeth smiled at the son of Poseidon.
"What's the plan?" Athena asked curiously.
"We're going to take this boat in close enough to allow the mermen army and myself to get in there and kick some sharkmen butt," Orion said.
"Can we come with you?" Artemis asked.
Orion looked at the goddess of the hunt. All the good memories of their time together seemed to flash through his mind. He shook his head to clear those thoughts. "Can you breathe underwater?" he asked.
Artemis frowned at the question. "Aren't there underwater breathing apparatus on this boat?" Artemis asked.
Orion touched his chin. "Yes, but I'm not sure it will help you with the water pressure. We're two thousand feet underwater," Orion informed.
"We're goddesses, our forms can hold up under the pressure. If we can breathe, we'll be able to stay conscious. We can't die because of a lack of oxygen, but insufficient air would render us useless," Athena explained.
Orion rolled his eyes. "I take back what I thought earlier," he said.
The three goddesses looked at him curiously. "What thought was that?" Artemis asked.
"I now know why Theseus fell in love with Athena," Orion replied. Artemis gave him a look that told him to continue. "My brother talks just like her, as the mortals say they're two peas in a pod." Artemis laughed at the description. Annabeth smiled, but Athena just frowned at the comment. Orion gave them all a crooked grin. Annabeth froze at the sight; he looked like an older version of Percy at that moment.
The intercom in the conference room buzzed. "Orion here," he answered.
"This is Commander Aquilon, my lord," the Commander replied.
"Go ahead Commander," Orion said.
"We have positioned the boat on a plateau overlooking Atlantis. The boat is hidden behind a large rock outcrop," the Commander informed.
"Good work; we'll be right there," Orion said as he ended the connection. Orion turned toward the three goddesses. "It appears that you'll get to see Atlantis sooner than I thought. We'll work on our plan in the control room. Let's go." Orion walked to the door and opened it to allow the others to pass through. Athena never gave away her emotions as she stepped out of the room. Annabeth gave him a small smile. Artemis gave him an encouraging grin as she passed him. Her silver eyes shined in the light of the room. Once the room was vacated, Orion stepped out the door. He gave the room a quick nod and said, "We're coming dad." He rubbed his hands together as he prayed to his father
Atlantis – dungeon
Percy finally shook himself out of his memories. He turned to look at his two brothers. Tyson was asleep. Theseus was drawing symbols into the dirt floor of the cell with his finger. Percy walked over to his brother and sat on the ground cross-legged.
"What're you doing?" Percy questioned.
Theseus looked up at his brother and smiled. "Practicing my ancient Atlantean," Theseus said.
"I thought you didn't know any?" Percy asked.
"I read a few explanatory documents on the ship before we left," Theseus explained. "I've been trying to fully conjugate verbs and form sentence structure."
Percy just stared at his brother stupidly. "What?"
Theseus shook his head. "I'm trying to learn the language."
Percy nodded. "Why didn't you say that?"
Theseus chuckled. "I did, but you're too dense to understand."
Percy frowned. "Are you calling me stupid?"
Theseus shook his head. "Not stupid, but too lazy to keep up with the lessons I taught you."
Percy groaned. "Your lessons are boring."
Theseus raised his hands in defeat. "Why do I even bother?" he asked no one in particular.
Percy grinned. "I think you've finally gone crazy. I knew it would happen; too much information in that head of yours." Percy poke his brother in the head with his finger.
"Very funny; laugh it up, but I don't see you or Orion complaining when my brain saves your butts."
Percy was looking out of the cell. He turned back to Orion with a questioning glance. "What did you say?"
Theseus stood up before rolling his eyes. "Gods, you have the attention span of a gnat."
"No, I don't. You're just really boring." Percy gave his brother a wry smile.
A sound down the corridor drew the attention of the two immortal demigods. Percy and Theseus both stepped up to the bars and looked down the dimly lit corridor. A door opened and in walked two sharkmen with celestial bronze spears. They were clad in bronze armor, but their greyish skin and shark teeth were clearly visible. They walked to the cell and snarled when they saw the two sons of Poseidon.
"It's about time you released us," Theseus exclaimed.
The two sharkmen glared at Theseus. "Our lord doesn't want you, mammal," they said.
"Hey, that's Mr. Mammal to you," Theseus quipped.
Percy couldn't help, but smile. "What do you want?" Percy asked.
"Our lord wants you to come with us," the taller sharkman said.
Theseus stepped closer to his brother. "You'll take both of us or none at all," Theseus growled.
The shorter sharkman pulled out a gun and before Percy or Theseus could react he pulled the trigger. A beam of energy struck the Theseus in the chest. Electricity sparked around his body before Theseus fell to the ground unconscious.
"Theseus," Percy yelled. He stretched his arm through the bars to grab the sharkman, but he was engulfed in the same beam of energy. Percy fell to his knees, but unlike his brother, he remained conscious.
"Impossible," the taller sharkman said. He opened the cell door and the two monsters grabbed Percy. The son of Poseidon tried to struggle, but his muscles were on fire from the energy blast. The two sharkmen pulled Percy out of the cell and down the corridor. They moved quickly out of the dungeon, until they reached the double doors that led to the Atlantean throne room. They pushed the door open. Oceanus sat on the throne that once belonged to Poseidon. Amphitrite and Triton sat on either side of him. The sharkmen brought Percy forward and dropped him on the marble floor.
The sharkmen bowed before the Titan of the sea. "Leave us," Oceanus said dismissively. The sharkmen looked at each other for a moment before they rushed out of the throne room.
Percy barely managed to get to his knees. His body felt like it was in an open flame. The pain was terrible, but Percy had been through worse. He looked up at Oceanus. "What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"They don't want you, but I do," an unfamiliar voice said from behind the thrones. Percy tried to see around the thrones, but couldn't.
"Who… who are you," Percy stammered.
A tanned man with white hair and glacial blue eyes stepped out from behind the thrones. "I'm Pontus; primordial god of the seas. It is an honor to finally meet you," Pontus said. His polite tone earned a strange look from Oceanus. "My uncle told me many things about you."
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was definitely filler, but I needed to set the scene for some important events, so stay tuned more to come.