Part One: Sea

Chapter IV

Grief crippled Poseidon in a way he had forgotten was possible. At first it was blinding and so all consuming it took all of his will to remain whole, in a form that would not be fatal to Perseus and his mortal citizens. After some time though, Posedian found it possible to operate with some semblance of normalcy. His days were passed in the busy necessities of council meetings which he engaged with as if on autopilot, the better part of his being devoted to his constant vigil over Sally Jackson. Once his grief had become controllable, he saw the havoc his rage had wreaked on the mortal world, including Sally's beloved cottage, and found it within himself to calm the sea. He tasked several cyclopes to go to the cottage and repair the damage his wrath had done. Selfishly, he hoped she would return to the beach so he could feel her presence near him. Another part of his being stayed constantly with Perseus. He wanted the child to feel his presence even when he could not be with him physically.

While Poseidon had been away, deep forces had begun to stir, sensing his lack of attention. The followers of Oceanus felt this too and had begun to rally. Whispers filled the streets of enemy militia forming less than a 10 days' swim from their city. As such, Poseidon spent the vast majority of his time with his counselors and war lords discussing strategies and preemptive strikes. He had sent Triton and a group of secret operatives to recruit troops for the war that was to come. All Poseidon could hope was that it would be squashed quickly.

Despite these meetings holding Poseidon captive for most of his time, he made sure to visit Percy at least once a day. He held the impossibly small infant in his arms and spoke to him of his mother, telling him stories of the woman he had broken a sacred vow to love. He told Percy every day how his mother loved him. And every day he watched the boy's soft form settle more firmly into shapes that promised to echo the features of the woman he loved. Though Percy had his fathers unmistakable sea green irises, the shape of his eyes was all Sally. As was the sweet wide curve of his lips which parted into their first smile. A smile Sally would never be able to see. The thought of that struck Poseidon so fiercely that he could not bear to see the boy for two days. Finally the separation hurt worse than the guilt and Poseidon returned. And so the days continued.

/

Six months had passed since the arrival of the sea god's illegitimate child and civil tensions had not been so palpable in centuries. Following in their king and queen's footsteps as the Atlanteans so often did, divisions formed within the population as soon as the news of their lords discretion spread. The vast majority of merchants and, though they claimed utter neutrality, the royal court, sided with their queen, agreeing that the boy did not belong within the walls of their sacred city. The rest of the population- the craftsmen, dolphins and other sea creatures- sided with their king, arguing that the child should be protected at all costs as he was innocent and while he was not "pure blooded", Percy's veins held royal blood nonetheless, making him royalty in their eyes.

Despite the internal drama, the city was held together by threat of an outside invasion. In recent years, the old creatures had started hearing Oceanus whispering in their dreams and many had chosen to heed the old god's will and began to take up arms against Poseidon and his court. Monsters that served the titans in the Titan War many millennia ago began to stir, adding to numbers that opposed Poseidon. This had been a threat Poseidon was well aware of but did not imagine would become a pressing matter for many years to come. Unfortunately, the sea god's frequent stints in the surface world had given his enemies the chance to band together in larger numbers without being noticed. Oceanus's troops had used the opportunity to plan their attacks, the first of which had been on one of the tributary cities of the underwater capitol of Atlantis.

It was this topic that was currently being discussed in the council room. As was expected, Amphitrite stood at Poseidon's right hand, though the space between them was larger than it had been before Percy's arrival. Their clipped, cool tones with each other made the other members of the council cast knowing glances to each other, but no one dared bring the matter up in front of the couple. On Poseidon's left sat his son, Triton, recently returned from his mission of rallying troops to his father's cause. The tensions between father and son were not nearly as high as those between husband and wife, yet their relationship too was undeniably strained. Though Triton dared not bring it up, more than supporting his mother out of loyalty, he supported her out of fear for his position. His half-brother's presence made him nervous. He knew - he thought he knew, at least - that his position as his father's second was secure. It had been for millennia. And yet, in all of those millennia, his father had never before brought one of his half-breed children to the sacred city of Atlantis. He did not dare articulate his fear that this child may lessen his value to his father, but these insecurities festered inside of Triton nonetheless.

The hostile treatment from the people Poseidon usually sought comfort from was putting him on edge. It didn't help that some of the only friendly interactions Poseidon had were with his infant son. While Poseidon was elated to have Percy with him, it was not as if the child could engage in stimulating conversation.

"My cyclopes have delivered their 10th delivery this morning, my Lord," Alethese, the cyclops general informed the room, snapping the royal family out of their troubled thoughts.

"And all 12 phalanxes are in order along the east wall of the city. They await your command, Sire." Added General Belarus, Poseidan's Atlantean war commander.

Good. The army was coming together, and given several more days of preparation, would be ready to launch the first attack against Oceaneus' forces, which had become disturbingly elusive the past several days. Before Poseidon could issue any orders to his counsel, he felt a disturbance. An unnatural stillness in the waters around him. Before he could rise to investigate, he felt the force of a projectile splitting the water at break-neck speeds, headed directly towards the council room.

"Everyone, down!" Poseidon boomed with such intensity that no one questioned his demand and dove for cover beneath the solid rock table in the center of the room. Poseidon sent a powerful current to the projectile's head, altering its path by several yards. It landed on the far side of the council room, out of the way of all of the occupants of the meeting who remained hidden beneath the table. The debris of the javelin, however, was not so contained. Stone from the walls was thrown everywhere, pummeling the room's occupants and collapsing any safe escape routes.

Poseidon risked looking out of the gaping hole in the wall made by the whale-bone javelin to assess the situation outside the council room. It appeared the room had been one of many attacks made simultaneously on the city, and one of the only ones whose attack hadn't resulted in fire. All around the city, spears, flaming arrows and bombs of greek fire fell on buildings and monuments. A great abalone statue depicting Poseidon and Amphitrite had been bombed, leaving statue Poseidon headless. Poseidon didn't take this as a good sign. Gliding above the buildings were dog-human monsters, telkhines, in chariots pulled by giant shrimp. Huge serpents and giant squid accompanied them in the fray, wreaking havoc in the city streets. Poseidon would have continued observing this ever worsening scene had a flaming arrow not flown towards the hole in the wall he was looking out of, forcing him to turn back into the building.

His movement, and the flaming arrow that accompanied it, seemed to wake the other occupants in the room from their daze. Atlanteans and mermen and dolphins rose from their hiding places and began moving frantically around the wrecked room, searching for an escape. Poseidon scanned the room for Triton and saw him conversing with General Belarus.

"Generals," Poseidon commanded, "Bring order to the troops. Lead the first through 8th phalanxes to meet the enemy in battle. General Timoleon will lead the 9th through 12th phalanxes to guard the citizens and begin evacuating the city." Poseidon blasted a hole through the rubble, creating an exit.

"Yes, sire" the men said before rushing out of the room.

Poseidon swam to Amphitrite expecting to see the cold, guarded expression he had grown used to, but in its place found her face open with fear and worry. The expression moved him to run his hand along her cheek in comfort, a movement that made him think of Sally. He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the woman in front of him. Despite their fights, the couple had an overwhelming number of years spent together, the majority of which were filled with loving, happy memories. No matter how many mortal women Poseidon had affairs with, Amphitrite would always have a special place in his heart.

"My dear," Poseidon began. "You must begin evacuating the palace. Gather the court and meet General Timoleon by the west gate. After the palace is evacuated, you will go to the caves just outside the city, I will find you there when the threat is gone."

"Yes, my Lord. I love you." Amphitrite placed a chaste kiss on Poseidon's cheek and was off before Poseidon could respond.

Poseidon lept into action as soon as his wife was gone, charging into the melee, royal robes transfiguring into armor as he went.

/

Amphitrite, with the three of her royal guards alongside her, swam as fast as they could towards the entrance to the palace. 50 feet from the grand entrance one of her guards, Alex, grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. He pointed above their heads. Flying towards the doors of the palace were two large bombs, most likely filled with greek fire.

"We'll have to gain entrance another way." Stated Alex. In response, Amphitrite broke free and began swimming towards a smaller entrance on the side of the palace.

"My Lady, stay beside us!" Other of her guards, Eleni, shouted, as the group rushed to catch up to the queen.

"No thank you," She responded under her breath, continuing to swim towards the hidden entrance. Like her husband, Amphitrite had a difficult time following instructions unless she was the one giving them. Especially when the ones giving them were young, foolish merman desperate to prove their worth by serving their queen.

"Here!" Amphitrite bellowed, gesturing to the shallow outline of a door, hidden behind a tall patch of coral.

The three men threw all of the combined weight on the barnacle-encrusted door. At last, it flew open, revealing a small, musty passageway illuminated by small patches of bioluminescent algae.

"This should lead to the sitting room near the kitchen." Amphitrite told the swam through the passageway as fast as the small space, tight turns, and periodic rumbling from bombs permitted. At the exit, Amphitrite moved the large portrait that covered the passageway several inches to the left, allowing her to see the room beyond the tunnel. It was clear.

"We shall part ways here." Amphitrite stated. "Alex, Eleni, take the south and west wings. Search for survivors of the bombs and lead them to the caves outside of the city. Stay quiet and do not draw any attention to yourselves. Eustatius, you stay with me. We'll take the north and east wings. Best of luck."

/

Amphitrite and Eustatius scoured the palace, encountering very few people who needed evacuating. When they encountered adults they sent them on their way, telling them to go quietly and quickly to the caves outside the city. When they encountered children they kept them with them until they found an adult and sent them along together. This continued as they made their way through the north and east wings until they encountered the nursery Poseidon's illegitimate offspring had been living in.

Around them, pieces of the ceiling had crumbled to the floor. Under the wreckage, Amphitrite saw the crushed tails of five mermen, likely sent to retrieve the child. Amphitrite thought it a waste that five good men had been lost for the recovery of a non-Atlantean child.

"Your majesty, this room is not secure! We must get the child and leave at once!" Eustatius shouted over the sounds of destruction. The sound of bombs going off around the city had become as familiar and constant as a heartbeat.

Amphitrite was conflicted. She had no love for her husband's squalling mortal infant. If he were to die in the chaos of the invasion, there could be no blame put on Amphitrite. He could simply be made a martyr, his death used to fuel the rage towards Oceanus and his supporters. Her life could go back to normal. She would have her perfect family back together again. Together and happy.

But Amphitrite could not fool herself. In what world would Poseidon be happy following the death of his newborn son? Already, he was shattered by the loss of his mortal lover - although Amphitrite tried not to think of her, the constant greif on her husband's face made this impossible. Furthermore, the infant was an innocent in the matter. It wasn't his fault he was born.

In seconds, she made up her mind. With her head held high, knowing that seeing the child would put a face to her husband's betrayal, she walked into Perceus's nursery closely followed by Eustatius. As soon as the small child set his eyes on Amphitrite, his crying lessened, perhaps anticipating her bringing him to safety. She approached his crib and reached down to pull the infant into her arms.

Above her, Amphitrite didn't realize the solitary remaining beam holding up the ceiling was cracking. The sound of breaking wood was concealed by the weak, watery wails of the child and the contant explosion of bombs. By the time Eustatius looked up to see the ceiling falling down on top of them, it was too late.

Whatcha think so far? Let me know in the comments!