"That would be our first meeting." Percy snickered
"Oh brilliant." Triton sighed
Demigod dreams suck.
"Understatement." Thalia said
"Yours aren't as bad anymore." Nico said
"Fair." She said
The thing is, they're never just dreams…other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt.
"So true." Nico said
I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain
Poseidon fell asleep.
Unfortunately, I recognized it…war helm with ram's horns curling on either side.
"Krios." Jason and Reyna grumbled
The romans scowled.
"It doesn't matter," the other said…His entire body glowed.
"Hyperion." Grover snickered
"I hate that dude." Percy grumbled
He reminded me of Apollo, God of the Sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueler.
Apollo pouted.
"Well at least I'm more nice." He grinned
The demigods chuckled.
"The gods have answered the challenge…As for you, Krios, do your duty."
Everybody snickered.
"The babysitting part just got images in my head which are hilarious and disturbing." Will said
The demigods paused and nodded.
"And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked…celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!"
"Yeah sure shiny." Percy said sarcastically
"You wish you'd be there long enough." Katie snorted
Travis looked at his girlfriend in admiration.
The golden Titan erupted into the flames…I get to wear these stupid ram's horns."
Everybody snickered.
The scene shifted…my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.
"Nico! What are you doing there?" Hades and Hazel asked in panic
"Uh spying." Nico said
"It's not funny!" Hazel said
"Important though." Nico said
Hazel sighed.
He looked straight at me, his expression grim…Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"
"No, the plan was necessary." Percy sighed
Nico nodded.
His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor…been microwaved in aluminum foil.
"Ouch." Poseidon muttered
I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure…"Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully.
Beckendorf smiled at Percy.
"No, brother"… "Yay! Your brain works!"
Tyson and Percy grinned.
"I'm not too sure about that." Thalia snorted and smirked
Percy pouted at her.
"You're one to talk Pikachu." Percy said
"Well I'm not a seaweed brain Squirtle." Thalia replied
"No." Percy agreed and grinned
"You're a Pinecone face!" Nico completed and smirked
Percy and Nico laughed and fist bumped.
Thalia glared at them.
I wasn't so sure. My body felt weightless and cold.
Poseidon shuddered.
My voice sounded wrong…I was under water.
Triton grinned then frowned.
"I better get a good description." He snickered
"We'll see." Percy grinned
Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this…then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.
Everybody snickered.
"I was shocked the first time too." Tyson admitted
Poseidon, Triton and Amphitrite chuckled.
"Where—" "Daddy's palace," Tyson said…I'd been dreaming about it for years.
"That's depressing." Triton sighed
Percy shrugged.
But my head hurt… I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats
"Ouch." Poseidon said again.
"How long—"…"No sign of him. I am sorry, brother."
The Greek demigods stared at the floor.
I stared out the window into deep blue water…take out the Princess Andromeda, and I had abandoned him.
"You didn't abandon me Perce." Beckendorf said gently
"I know now." Percy sighed
Beckendorf smiled and nodded.
I thought about my dream…Come, he is blowing up monsters."
The sea gang sighed.
The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed.
"You haven't seen Elysium yet cuz." Nico said
"You haven't seen the underwater palace yet cuz." Percy smirked
Nico tilted his head.
"Oh well. I'll give you a tour when you come and you give me a tour when I come." He said
"Deal." Percy grinned
The sea gang and underworld gang chuckled.
We swam to the end of a long hallway…The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.
"Okay that sounds beautiful." Thalia said
"Only sounds beautiful. You should see it." Percy smirked
The sea gang grinned.
The main courtyard was filled with warriors…They don't show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid.
"Well that's a kid movie." Rachel said
"And very inaccurate." Triton grumbled
"Pfffft that's inaccurate? Watch Hercules." Percy grinned
"Oh that movie is awesome." Triton laughed
"NO!" The gods except Hermes and Apollo said
"We're gonna watch it later." Nico declared
The gods groaned.
"Did you know there's a Netflix series called Blood of Zeus?" Percy said
"Wait seriously?" Thalia asked
Percy nodded.
"Though the art is great but it's inaccurate. Hermes and Apollo are shown great but their powers are very minimized and they have long hair in the show. Dad has a long blue color beard and blue hair and Zeus looks like a 35 year old person. As for Hades well as it's Hollywood he's the villain again. Ares' is pretty good but he could be made a little less harsh looking with a little more hair. The show's great though." Percy said
Hermes and Apollo nodded. Poseidon shrugged and Hades and Nico sighed.
"We could watch it." Jason suggested
"Sure." Hermes said
"What about a night show?" Annabeth asked
Everybody nodded.
Outside the main courtyard stood large fortification…slow motion across the farthest gardens.
The sea gang sighed.
"That's sad." Piper said
They nodded.
Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper.
"Oh I hate those." Triton grumbled
Poseidon nodded.
"They're annoying." He said
It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust…The squid descended on the palace, swatted its tentacles, smashing whole columns of warriors.
The sea gang winced.
Poseidon looked down and Amphitrite put her hand on his arm.
Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop…pointing to where the light had come from.
Everybody looked at Poseidon.
"That was amazing." Percy grinned
Poseidon smiled.
"It was barely anything." Triton said
Percy chuckled.
"Look at you guys. You aren't bragging about yourself." Annabeth shook her head fondly
Percy grinned.
"He did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful…Maybe he'd let me help.
The sea gang smiled at Percy.
"You're fight was on top." Poseidon said
Percy sighed.
"Torn between two homes. Crap." Percy muttered
Poseidon smiled at his son.
"Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe…"Come. Let's go find Daddy."
Tyson pouted at Poseidon.
"I didn't want to risk getting you hurt. You were very young." Poseidon sighed
Tyson still pouted.
"Hey Ty, you chained the big dude. Remember?" Percy reminded and grinned
Tyson grinned.
"That was fun." He said
The sea gang smirked.
I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents…The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games.
The demigods snickered at the mental image of their parents coming to their basketball games.
"That would be a little odd." Piper said
"For some gods. Most of the younger ones stick with t-shirts and shorts or t-shirts and pants." Lee said
The younger gods grinned. Aphrodite thought about it. She would stick with dresses. Athena would stick with jeans.
Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight. I was wrong.
Poseidon sighed.
The roof of the temple was a big open deck…wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.
"You thought he would wear a Hawaiian shirt in battle?" Thalia asked
"That was how I'd always seen him." Percy shrugged
"That's fair." Thalia said
There was nobody like that…His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young.
Triton sighed in relief.
"That's a good description." He said to Percy
Percy grinned.
"I'll add some adjectives now." He smirked
"Like?" Triton asked
"Oh I don't know. Kinda annoying. Good guy. Etc." Percy said, with a mock thoughtful expression.
Triton snickered and pouted. He jumped on Percy.
"Ahhh." Percy yelled and laughed
Nico, Thalia and Jason were snickering. The other demigods and gods were chuckling.
Percy started tickling Triton who started shaking in laughter.
"I give up, I give up." Triton choked out
Percy smirked.
Poseidon and Amphitrite chuckled.
Though it's hard to tell with non-humans…map and leaning on a large metal staff.
"Was that you?" Hades asked Poseidon in worry
Poseidon nodded.
To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with long black hair and strange little horns like crab claws.
"Well I'm relieved. I got a good description too." Amphitrite smiled
Percy grinned.
And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.
"Delphin isn't a regular dolphin." Triton said
"Hey I didn't know." Percy defended himself
"Oh yeah." Triton said sheepishly.
"Delphin," the old man said…We have to neutralize those leviathans."
"Leviathans?" Rachel's mouth dropped open
Poseidon nodded.
"Very irritating." Triton said
The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice…he looked like he'd aged forty years.
Hestia, Demeter and Hades looked worried.
"Well I'm supposed to be thousands of years old." Poseidon said
Percy shrugged.
"Hello, Percy." "What—what happened to you?"
"Really seaweed brain?" Annabeth asked
"I was surprised." Percy said
"That was kind of direct though." Piper said
"Yeah. Sorry dad." Percy said
Poseidon chuckled.
"No need to apologize." He said
Percy grinned.
Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended.
The demigods chuckled at Tyson.
Poseidon looked at him in amusement. Tyson grinned sheepishly. Poseidon chuckled.
"It's all right, Tyson," he said…"And right now that state is quite grim.
Percy frowned.
I should introduce you…This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear—"
"The situation is about to get awkwaaarrrrdddd." Nico said, stretching the awkward in a sing song voice.
Percy snickered.
"You bet it did." He said
"Personal experience here too." Nico snickered
"Hey you two still got lucky. I wouldn't complain too much." Thalia said
"I'm not complaining. I really like Amphitrite." Percy said
Amphitrite smiled.
The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle.
"Ouch." The Hermes gang said
Amphitrite sighed.
"Sorry Percy. Kind of a bad time." She said
"I get it." Percy smiled
She swam away…Amphitrite probably didn't like that much.
"Hmm, I don't like it much but you're mom's a nice lady and any way, I don't mind too much as long as he returns to me." Amphitrite said
Poseidon smiled.
Hera sneered. Persephone just sighed.
"This lady deserves a freaking standing ovation." The Stolls said
Amphitrite raised an eyebrow. The demigods stood up and clapped loudly and a few people whistled. The sea gang smiled at them. The demigods sat down.
Poseidon cleared his throat…"Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"
"Ouch! That would hurt." Apollo said
Percy shrugged.
"It was expected really." He said
Triton grimaced.
"Anyway you want help, give me one call and I'll be there." Percy said
The sea gang smiled at him.
"This offer isn't valid for you Zeus and Hera." He added
Zeus and Hera glared at him.
He acted like I was late or lazy…amusing dog that had barked for him or something
Triton winced.
"Sorry Perce." He said
"All good, all good." Percy said
Triton smiled.
He turned to Poseidon…Don't worry. I will not fail."
"I know." Poseidon smiled at Triton who grinned.
He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect?
"Because you're not a Cyclops." Triton shrugged
Percy nodded.
Then he shot off into the water…The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror.
"Epic." Leo grinned
Poseidon smiled at the son of Hephaestus.
"My family is anxious," Poseidon continued…sure he could pick the winning side."
"Well guess what." Percy started
"HE WAS WRONG!" The demigods chorused
Then they all chuckled.
The gods smiled.
"He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat…"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.
Poseidon smiled at Percy and Tyson.
"Thanks for that." He said
Percy and Tyson smiled.
Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary…sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."
"Will like you said, you're thousands of years old." Percy smirked
Poseidon glared without any heat behind it. Then he smiled.
Triton snickered.
I heard an explosion in the distance…"Briares!" I said.
The elder Greek demigods smiled.
I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life.
"He probably was." Lee said
Percy grinned sheepishly.
He was the last of his kind—a Hundred-Handed One…his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.
Everybody chuckled.
"Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said…He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands.
The sea gang looked down and kept quiet to pay their respects. The other demigods and a few other gods followed them.
Aphrodite continued after two minutes.
I'd never felt so angry and helpless.
"We all felt like that." Pollux said
"I found two demigods reducing dummies to shreds in the middle of the night one day." Chiron said
The gods looked at him.
"Percy would stay by the sea, the Apollo cabin would blast music on the speakers at 3am and I didn't have the heart to stop them. The deaths were greatly affecting the demigods. The Hermes cabin was actually serious and did not raid stores in the days and didn't prank anybody either." Chiron said
"Which two demigods were reducing dummies to shreds?" Ares asked
"Clarisse and Lucas." Chiron said
Ares looked at Clarisse and gave her a small smile.
"Lucas, my son?" Hermes asked
Travis and Connor nodded.
"He was unclaimed. Decent sword fighter. Still alive." Connor said
Hermes winced. Another unclaimed kid. At least Lucas was claimed now.
Poseidon stroked his beard…You bear no blame for that.
"Exactly." Beckendorf nodded
Percy smiled.
Kronos's army will be in disarray…"But we didn't kill him, did we?"
"It won't be that easy." Piper sighed
"It would be so much simpler if it was." Annabeth said
The demigods nodded.
As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope…Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods…
"You did warn them brother." Tyson said
Percy nodded sadly.
Nico sighed and gave Percy a sympathetic smile.
Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder…That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No. Death is never simple Perce. Though they were brainwashed they still chose their path. Some of them did survive. Some of them didn't. The ones who did, either they would have taken your warning or they would've been protected somehow. The ones who died well like your dad said, you warned them, you tried talking to them but they chose their side. They made their decision despite what you said to them." Nico said
Percy nodded miserably.
Hades smiled at his son. Hazel gave Nico a small smile.
"Nico's right." Beckendorf said
Percy nodded.
"I-I don't like it too much but I can't argue with it." He said
I glared at the mosaic—little tile explosions destroying tile monsters…He hugged me whether I wanted it or not.
"I like it though." Percy smiled at Tyson and hugged him.
Tyson grinned widely.
"Not your fault, brother…Next time we will use a big stick."
"We did." Katie smiled
Tyson grinned.
"Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain…Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."
Beckendorf nodded.
"The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said…But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"
Poseidon smiled at Percy.
"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere"… "I know that," Poseidon said gently.
"I wasn't questioning your ability. You had to fight with your friends." Poseidon said
"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Percy said
"Dad, I can help," I said…You're not going to hold out here much longer."
"Though we needed Percy, if Percy would've been there under water then Oceanus wouldn't know what hit him. Though I would still ask him to go with the plan I had. Then Oceanus would be wrecked." Nico grinned
Percy chuckled.
Hades gave a slight groan, remembering what happened after the dip in the Styx.
A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines…Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed.
Amphitrite patted her husband's arm. He gave her a small smile.
"Hmm, maybe we could add some sort of invisible shield?" Leo asked thoughtfully
Percy sat up.
"What do you have in mind?" He asked
"Something like camp. Just more powerful and preferably robotic as Zeus isn't going to help." Leo said
"Hmm. You can do something like that?" Triton asked
"Not alone. Though I have some notes. I'm still going to need help." Leo admitted
"I'll help." Beckendorf said
Leo grinned.
"Me too." Hephaestus grunted
Leo's face brightened up.
"Yay!" He said
Beckendorf and Hephaestus smiled.
"Thank you." Poseidon said
"It's quite all right." Leo said
Percy smiled.
"Return to camp," he insisted…decision that would decide the fate of the world—but no pressure.
"No pressure at all." Percy muttered sarcastically
The demigods and Chiron sighed. They knew Percy had had a bit of a tough time with the thought of the prophecy on his mind and yet he didn't give in. They knew Percy was strong to handle it and would try not to stress too much. That was one thing they all admired about him.
"What if this is the decision?" I said…imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been.
Percy and Nico flinched.
Poseidon gave a side hug to Percy while Hades did the same with Nico.
"Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted…Tyson pouted some more.
Tyson pouted again.
Poseidon gave a small chuckle.
"I will go," he sniffled…Do not let monsters kill you dead!"
"How can monsters kill him alive?" Leo asked in wonder
Tyson grinned sheepishly.
"I meant do not let monsters kill you." He said
Leo nodded.
I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy…Tyson is too young. I must protect him."
"Age is just a number though. One simple philosophy we live by. Though Tyson might be young, he wants to fight. If the fight spreads, nobody would be safe no matter where they are." Percy said
The gods grimaced at the age part.
Poseidon sighed. Tyson smiled at Percy.
"You should trust him," I said…I'd never been scared for a god before
Percy and Nico sighed, wanting to glare at Aphrodite but remembered what Jason said and what they knew. There was no point in holding grudges, it wouldn't be good.
But I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win.
The sea gang sighed. It had been a very difficult battle.
"I will hold," Poseidon promised…All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria.
Everybody snickered.
"Only you would try to put such a thing in a vending machine." Triton shook his head
"My hunger is important." Percy grinned
The demigods laughed.
"The time is coming," he promised…Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater.
"How the heck did that happen?" Jason asked
"I have no idea how it was thundering." Percy said, shaking his head
"Weird." Thalia said
A huge icy presence was approaching…mortal looking on him will disintegrate.
Poseidon hugged his son and Percy's voice was muffled by his shirt. The demigods chuckled at Percy's antics.
"Good-bye, Father," I managed…torn apart by the two armies.
"That is depressing." Castor said
Everybody nodded.
"Done." Aphrodite said
"I'll read." Ares said
Aphrodite gave him the book.