Chapter XXVII

I really couldn't wait for Kronos to have a body again, just so I could tear him apart again. Of course that old, scheming bastard had been telling the truth back then. I mean I had expected something, but not this, although... was this really what he had planned for? I mean, did he really expect me to succeed? That seemed ludicrous, unless this was some sort of overcomplicated contingency plan, but even then.

Frustrated I fought against the water, which of course was pointless, even with the Scythe in hand and me being one of the, if not the most powerful demigod alive. While many people tend to forget it, Oceanus was the oldest of the elder Titans, the only one not just now returning from the pit and not to mention we were in the center of his domain about thirty feet away from his throne.

What made me stop struggling however, was not his hold, but the figure rising from the much more subtle coral throne to his side.

"Please, my boy," Tethys called to me, her voice as caring as it had been all my years, though quite hurt. "it pains me greatly to see you so hostile towards us. Listen to him, even if you might not change your mind, if not for your own sake, then for mine."

She descended down the steps coming towards me and my rage dissolved as I swallowed heavily. I wasn't sure how I felt towards Oceanus, that was true, but there probably was no immortal I truly liked or at least had liked more than her, I was certain about that. For just short of fourteen years of my life she was the closest thing I had to a mother. And while she had never claimed that title, she had treated me like one and I still couldn't help but think of her like one, even now that I had met my actual mom.

So when she had made the first few steps towards me, with only a tiny moment of hesitation I let the Scythe disappear again as she drew closer. I felt Oceanus hold on me lessen, yet didn't move. Perhaps that was because I knew there was no point in attempting anything, but to be quite honest, I was just in utter shock.

For the last year or so I had done my best to avoid thinking about Oceanus and Tethys, not that it helped that Ambrosia and Nectar proved how much I cared about them, or at least my time with them, still. At first, for a few months, I told myself I hated them, but what I could see clearly now more than ever, that simply wasn't true, at least not entirely.

Whether they had taken me or not. Whether they had taken away from me the life that I could have had. Whether they had done all that just to manipulate me into a tool serving their cause. That was just one side of it. They had cared for me, sure more than my father ever did or even could have. And while they might have raised a weapon, they had also raised a child with it. To say they had treated me well was an understatement, some might call it a gilded cage, and it was, but it also was my home, or at least it had been.

"I am pleased to see you have kept our gifts," Tethys said as she placed her hands on my helmet and lifted it and met my eyes. "perhaps you haven't entirely forsaken us yet, perhaps there is hope for you yet, child."

It was hard meeting her sad, darkened green eyes as she placed the helmet into my hands, before bringing her hand up again, resting it on my cheek for a few seconds. She didn't need to say anything but merely sigh and turn around and walk back to her throne to make me feel like shit.

"Yes, my dear, he has kept our gifts," Oceanus said, brushing his large green beard. "all except the sword as it seems, a shame, but as we have seen he has already found himself a replacement. Not that I imagine my brother will be all too pleased about that, but that's a matter for a later time."

I felt the watery bounds holding me dissolve entirely, yet still didn't move nor speak. Instead I looked at the titan lord of the sea, who had raised his hand, clearly he was not finished yet.

"For now, as I had said, I merely want to speak with you," He rose from his throne and gestured to one of the hallways leading out of the throne room. "walk with me, to the western lower gardens. You always liked them best, did you not?"

Pained I nodded, it was clear what he was trying to do, attempting to remind me of how much this place was my home. That was bad enough, far worse was that it was working and gods did I feel bad about it. The looks of Oceanids, mermen and various other of Oceanus' courtiers I very much recognized didn't make it easier.

"You remember the path well enough," Oceanus remarked as I confidently took a left.

I didn't look at him, nor did I answer, refusing to give him the satisfaction. It would probably have been a smart move just to play along, but I couldn't mask how I felt about him, even if my life depended on it, which it very much did.

Oceanus sighed and just continued on, around us the bustling of the palace slowly died down as we walked down a promenade way. To our right, wide arches of black marble, supported by tall Dorian columns, let you look upon beautiful luminescent fields of sea plants, sponges and corals, a plethora of colors vibrant enough to put nearly anything in the world above to shame. The floor was covered in beautiful mosaics, in this hallway depicting constellations of the winter sky, as evident by the image of Scorpio I was standing on.

It truly was beautiful, the view, the architecture, even if I had walked through thousands of times before, Oceanus' palace had never become any less awe-inspiring and stunning. But there was no real amazement, it all felt sour, I felt at home here before, but now, now I felt like an outcast, so what the Hades was I doing here?

"What is the point of all this?" I asked, not willing to wait any longer.

Oceanus hummed, indicating to me to go on.

"Why are we doing this?" I prodded further as we walked on. "I mean, is this just another of his schemes?"

"I would hardly tell you now if it was, would I?" Oceanus asked followed by a chuckle. "But no, you can be at ease, if you trust my word that is, this is a surprise for me as well. My servants merely brought me news of what was happening at that old forge and I took the chance."

"To capture me?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"To talk to you, to return you where you belong." Oceanus corrected me, and looked at me. "Genuinely, if I wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead by now, you should know that. But as a sign of my goodwill, I have not yet informed my brother about you, though no doubt he will know soon enough."

"Why a sign of goodwill, I've been told he wanted me alive?" I asked and Oceanus nodded.

"For now, that may be true," The titan answered. "But I am afraid he wouldn't be so friendly, or rather that boy, Luke, wouldn't be, seeing as you'd be in his care. The last time you were here you didn't speak fondly of him, I suppose that at least hasn't changed, unlike so much else."

I looked away as we walked on, soon coming out onto the first terrace of these gardens. The gardens looked unchanged to how they had before, and they were just as devoid of people as they always were, which was why I liked them so much before. When swarmed by servants and tutors all day, they were a welcome relief, thankfully most of the water spirits steered clear of them, something about the pH levels, not that I could relate really.

"Alright then," I finally said. "let's say I am willing to believe this isn't orchestrated by him. What makes you think you could achieve anything with this? I am not exactly going to change my mind like this, you should know me well enough to know that."

"Is that so?" Oceanus asked and chuckled again. "I have raised thousands of children, do you truly think I'd give up on a child of mine because of a small rebellious phase?"

"I met my brother, deserted, revealed about every piece of relevant information I could, and went on two quests to foil Kronos' plans by now." I said, raising a brow. "I wouldn't exactly call it small."

"Yet it doesn't make you less of my child." Oceanus insisted and I frowned as I came to halt next to a man-tall sponge.

"You are not my father," I countered and he looked at me again.

"Certainly more than Poseidon will ever be in anything but blood," He said and continued walking. "and that won't be changed so easily."

"I am a tool to you, just as I am to Kronos," I said and he shook his head.

"Do you know why I decided to name you after Theseus of all people?" Oceanus asked and I raised a brow.

"Because he was my brother and a hero who succeeded without the help of the gods?" I guessed and he shook his head once more.

"You aren't entirely wrong," He said, before continuing. "But more so because he had two fathers, just like you do. You are my son as much as you are Poseidon's, if not more so."

I remained silent at that, Oceanus hadn't called me his son ever before. There had always been an unspoken fatherly position he took, but he never hid who my father was, or try to convince me otherwise. Of course that would have been rather difficult with the prophecy, but did he truly see it that way, me as his son?

"Maybe you have made a mistake, but that doesn't change that. And at least you did so with good intention did you not? I suppose there is no point in disguising it anymore. It is regrettable that we failed to take your brother, yes, but I will not blame you-"

"Will not blame me?" I flared up suddenly. "What is there to blame me for? You claim I made some mistake, but did I really? Kronos wanted to kill my brother, plain and simple, what else was I to do-"

"Perhaps I have misworded myself, cannot blame you," Oceanus conceded, before continuing. "after all, the importance of family is a value we have taught you well enough..."

"Yes, my family," I spat and gave him a hard stare. "the family I was taken from."

"I see you are resisting the truth," Oceanus said with a sigh.

"What, that you have the right to call yourself my family?" I gave a dry, unamused snort. "Do you even believe that yourself? I mean come on, I am the son of the god you hate most, you can't even go about mentioning him without referring to him as some variant of the word usurper."

"My relation to him has soured, but it wasn't always like this. I abdicated control of the entire sea more or less voluntarily, I fought against the giants back then, together with the gods, I once truly saw potential in your father."

"So what changed?"

"Even if you cannot see it here, but the mortals have corrupted my domain." Oceanus stated with a frown. "The seas are dying, just as nature is at land, Poseidon has supplanted ancient deities and beings that have kept balance for thousands of years before him. I am far from alone in this war against him, Aigaios, Phorcys, Keto, Eurybia, and more, had others not faded from your father's negligence I could go on further even."

I nodded, it was hardly a bad reason to go to war, especially when you were the literal titan of the sea. Oceanus was clearly not alone in his views, sure just another son of his, but thinking back to the encounter I had with the God of the North Fork American River, illustrated that all too well. His opinion was probably shared by quite a lot of water and nature spirits. Though I wasn't sure if my father really was at fault that much himself, but undeniably the gods were.

"But Kronos taking over, that would hardly be bloodless, millions would die." I argued and he nodded begrudgingly before I continued. "There must be better solutions."

"Maybe, but I was not trying to make a political point." Oceanus said and placed a hand on my shoulder. "What I am trying to tell you is, even if you are not my son by blood, I do still see you as such. Just as I had seen potential in your father, I do in you now and always have. I do not like admitting it, but yes, we took you because of the prophecy, yet I have no intention of just letting my brother discard you after our victory if that worries you."

Frankly, that used to be one of my great reasons why I did it originally. It was quite selfish, yes, but by now it was only one of many. I had grown to care for Camp and everyone there quite a lot, some far more than others, and those were merely personal reasons. If I started with moral ones it wouldn't take an end for quite a while. However, I was still curious what Oceanus had to say.

"Why?" I asked and he stroked his beard.

"You are powerful and capable, you have proven that well enough with what you did." Oceanus said and his eyes softened. "But beyond that, I simply care for you, even if you are not mine by blood. When we win this war, you could have become immortal, and perhaps, if you were willing, married one of my younger daughters, truly become my son."

I was unsure what to make of this, was he genuine or...? It was an objectively great offer of course, immortality was certainly nice, and even if not in love with them, there were far worse prospects than marrying one of many famously beautiful and in my experience quite friendly sea goddesses.

However, It was much less the offer I doubted, even if it might be a trick, but much more his motivation. Because I'd bet all I could there was some ulterior motive at play here, not that he was all too subtle about it. Yeah I was powerful, but perhaps even more importantly, I was Poseidon's son. What more could he ask for than a loyal vassal with an, although shaky, still existent claim to Poseidon's throne. Whether they bled red or gold, I guessed the politics of mortals and immortals still followed similar rules, even if a bit archaic in this case.

Of course he wouldn't let Kronos kill me, not if he still had use for me, whether he cared for me or not, and all I would not become another's pawn. Just another reason to refuse, not that I had ever seriously entertained accepting, a few friendly words appealing to my greed were not enough to make me do something so foolish. But there was use in it yet, keeping Oceanus' favour, was essential to keeping me alive, at least till I found a way out of here.

"And now?" I asked, feigning interest.

"Perhaps there is still a chance for that yet," Oceanus said absently, stopping to admire a massive glowing jellyfish swimming above us, before turning back to me. "of course my brother would be less easy to convince, but that is not to stop us. Amends can be made, you mustn't forget, he saw me as a traitor as well since I did not join him in the first war, neutral or against, it mattered little to him. I suppose he was right, it made but a small difference as it went."

"You act like I could just come back," I argued, not wanting to sound too convinced. "And what about my brother? What about everyone else? this would mean betraying my loyalties again. I don't know if I could really face them in battle."

"I know this is not easy for you," The titan told me with a heavy voice. "but you are at home here, take the time you need to think, no harm will come to you. I will leave you for now, your chambers are yours to use, I assume you will find your way there on your own."

He turned away and I averted my eyes as he started to glow, a few moments passed and I was now alone in the courtyard. I looked up, there was nothing stopping me from leaving right now, at least nothing physical. But by the time I'd passed the first of eight miles of water above, Oceanus would surely notice what I was attempting and stop me, and I doubted he would be so amiable then.

Besides, this was about the most obvious test I had ever seen, clearly he was giving me a chance to escape, to see if I'd take it. So begrudgingly I turned and made my way to where I knew my rooms awaited me, not there was much else I could do.

Frustrated, I let myself drop on the massive bed inside my bedroom. It was incredibly comfortable, yet it gave me no rest. Running would only make things worse and I couldn't fight Oceanus. Hades, I couldn't even send an Iris Message, seeing as I doubted she'd make her way down here, not that I had any drachmas to start with. So what could I do?

Sit about and wallow in self-pity and misery? It certainly was the easiest option, but frankly unproductive, and I was doing that already. Perhaps this was an appropriate time to pray to my father, some divine intervention was just about what I needed to get out of this mess I made. But down here, even Poseidon was powerless, at least in the grand scheme of things, still, perhaps it was worth a shot.

Hey, Poseidon, dad, I thought. I know I haven't exactly done much praying lately, mostly because I was busy not dying, and well, I managed that on my own so far.

Praying, especially to my father, was usually an awkward affair. This was made only worse by the fact I was currently sitting in the house of his enemy, speaking of.

But as you might realize, I am currently enjoying Oceanus' hospitality, I continued, before taking a deep breath. I usually don't really ask for stuff, but some help would be quite welcome right now, though I am not sure how possible that is seeing my circumstances, still, I could at least do with some guidance.

Nothing happened, not that I had expected anything else, still it was disheartening to be quite honest.

And if I do anything strange in the future, say, join Kronos again, I added on. I am probably just looking for an opportunity to free myself, or they have somehow convinced me, though I find that much more unlikely. Either way, I'd appreciate it if you at least tried to stop Zeus from blasting me to bits if I do so, at least for a while.

Anyways, I managed a smile, not that anyone saw it. I am rambling, aren't I? I know this is far from a proper prayer, but still, if you did, I suppose I at the very least thank you for listening.

Sighing I stood up again, feeling at least a bit more at peace. And looked around my room, so many memories rested here. I had last properly lived here at ten years old, but had stayed plenty of times till I was fourteen and it showed. Everything was untouched since my last visit, perhaps Oceanus truly had hoped I would return, on my desk a book still rested open, as it was a year ago.

Walking over I curiously went to look at the cover, of all the books there could have been. It was a reprint of a dissertation. The topic was the role of aircraft carriers in the early stages of the Pacific theater, instantly I recognized the author, Frederick Chase. I gave a grim chuckle, it was a coincidence of course, but it still seemed so unlikely.

For all the strangeness I was used to, I still found it surreal that he of all people was Annabeth's father. Though it made me think of Annabeth and of course in turn Percy, once more showing me how dire all of this was. I had exactly three options, getting out of here, dying, or the worst, being forced to face the people I called friends and family in battle.

And calling the latter an option was hardly facing the facts, as I had said before, I preferred death over potentially killing my brother. So really I had two options, and death was hardly one, so just one was left, which meant I had to get scheming.

It was the next day's morning when after an, admittedly delightful, banquet Oceanus once more dragged me out for a walk through the gardens. I wasn't exactly eager to talk, I had made up my mind from the start, but I was sure the truth wouldn't please Oceanus. And I still had no plan on how to get out of here, which meant I had to stall.

"You might be wondering why I have brought you here again," Oceanus said and I nodded.

"Of course, it isn't exactly an easy thing to come to terms with, what you are expecting?" I told him, crossing my arms. "I thought you wanted to give me time?"

"I did," Oceanus said, sounding displeased. "but it seems my brother wants you in his much more direct custody."

"Oh great," I muttered and he gave me a sympathetic look.

"I am sorry, but this is why we are talking, seeing as I couldn't dissuade him, I at least wanted to give you a chance." Oceanus told me.

"A chance for what?" I asked, confused.

"To make a choice," Oceanus explained. "I will not have you returning a prisoner, or worse, have you being killed. Swear your oaths to me, ensure your loyalty and I'm sure I can convince my brother."

"What?" I said, trying to hide my panic. "Is this really necessary?"

I really, really didn't want to swear an oath, at least not one the Styx, and I got the feeling that was what he was implying. I was about to argue that her oaths would hardly even be guaranteed to be binding in such a case, considering she is fighting for the gods. But it was clear by his lack of answer that he left no space for arguing or alternative choices, surely all else would pretty much lead to my death, if not now, in a few hours or days at best.

It was quite the clever little gambit from him and Kronos, I had to give them that. He could seem like the caring father offering me a way out, thus pressuring me into oaths after which my own will would matter little. It gave me no time to prepare, no time to argue and none to properly think my decision through. It was really a textbook example of how to pressure someone into what you wanted, which made me feel a lot less bad about what I was about to do.

Stepping towards him I took a hesitant knee, my panic heightening further. I was in no position to fight him, I mean, I had even left my helmet in my room, not that it would do much against Oceanus, but still. I had meant to outsmart him, to trick him into some opportunity to escape without fighting him directly. But I was backed into a corner now, either I'd swear that oath or...

"I hereby vow that I shall never again betray my obligations to you, I vow my absolute loyalty to you, to follow your every command," I started, opening the palm of my right hand.

As I started calling the Scythe to it, I still wasn't sure about what I was about to do. I was gambling once more, but these weren't odds I liked, I had seen Luke open portals with Backbiter, making very dramatic entrances and exits. The problem was I had no idea how he did it, did he just cut a hole into reality or something silly like that?

Finally I felt the Scythe start to appear in my hand, and the feeling of power returning. It was hard to hide my grin as I started rising again, speaking the last words of my oath and promise.

"I bind myself and swear to these conditions on the river-"

I stopped only when I was mid-swing, the Scythe appearing in my hand, cutting an upwards arc through the water. Ichor and water mixed, turning the dark depths faintly golden as a heavily wounded Oceanus moved back, too late to truly evade my strike.

"You fool!" He roared, as I made another swing, not targeting him, but thinking of Camp.

At that moment I decided that I would start weekly sacrifices to Tyche, and silently thanked all gods in the universe as darkness and water swirled in front of me, forming a rift like void. I dove forward as the ancient titan reached out and I felt the water harden around me. But before he could hold me in place I had already tumbled through it.

The next moment I reconsidered my thoughts concerning Tyche, perhaps she wasn't so favorable towards me after all. I had perhaps expected it to be like shadow travel, and with my minimal experience of it, I could already say shadow travel sucked, it was falling for minutes, while blindfolded and it was freezing. Whatever you wanted to call it, this felt far worse, it was like being stuck in a giant microwave, while being drawn, quartered and hung.

Either I had to give Luke a lot more credit for his toughness, or maybe this wasn't as much of a success as I thought and I did something wrong. The latter seemed far more likely, because this was not Camp Half-Blood, unless Chiron had decided to relocate to the northern Pacific. Whatever was the case, I was not surrounded by cabins and happy campers, but instead by rocks and giant lobsters, which were looking at me curiously.

I let my senses reach out, and to my horror realized we were just about a dozen miles away from where I had been just now. Cursing I made my excuses to the lobsters and shot off. It would be minutes at most before I was found if I remained here, even if Oceanus wouldn't follow me himself, I would probably be swarmed by his troops within seconds.

Higher and higher I rose, heading south-eastward at as fast a pace as I could manage, but I knew it was futile, I had gambled and lost. Perhaps I should just come to terms with my fate and put down a payment with Charon already, perhaps I'd get a discount if I paid prior to my death, not that I had any money with me, but the Scythe surely was worth something at the very least.

A roar sounded in the distance, traveling far through the water, and I swallowed. I guess there were worse deaths than being eaten by a Leviathan, which that sounded like, definitely better than being killed by a Dracaena or something else irrelevant.

Outrunning it underwater seemed incredibly unlikely, but hiding from it even more so. So I pushed on, but I didn't know exactly what I was hoping for, short of a miracle, I knew and felt that we were still hundreds of miles from the mainland, and the roar that sounded again, this time all that much closer, didn't make me hopeful.

By now I even felt it approaching, moving through the water, only two miles or so away, and it wasn't the only presence I could feel, albeit the closest. Flight was no option at that point, so I turned to face the approaching monster, gripping the Scythe as tightly as I could.

Despite the total darkness in these depths, it felt like a shadow settled over me when I spotted the form above. It was massive, which was no surprise. Leviathan was a Hebrew term, and not really accurate, but it has come to be associated with enormous, monstrous things.

And the creature I was facing checked both of these boxes, he was a good hundred feet long and his twenty or so,hungry, glowing eyes, all focused on me, didn't make him appear all too friendly either. His serpentine body coiled as he opened his jaws and shot towards me.

Then the water and shadows were suddenly torn apart by a massive column of yellow flames. I shut my eyes due to the sheer brightness, but I was not the target. Blinking, I watched in awe as something even more gargantuan crashed into the Leviathan. Within seconds it was torn apart, overwhelmed by the sudden attack a massive cloud of golden dust only remained where it had been a minute ago.

I blinked, trying to fathom what had just happened as the new entry lifted his head. Blue-green scales shimmered, complementing orange, reptilian, sail-like fins. From his serpentine body, dozens of tentacles shot forth as well as six massive clawed limbs, each at least sixty feet long in of itself. It truly was a Lovecraftian being, and that was not a term I'd use lightly, yet I was filled with joy, as realization dawned upon me, though he spoke before me.

Hello my lord, The rumbling voice of the Aethopian Sea monster said in my mind. You seem to be in a bit of trouble?

"That is putting it lightly," I said, chuckling in disbelief at the situation. "but I could definitely use a bit of help."

I thought so much when I smelled you here of all places He answered, his familiar rumbling laugh coming again.

"Wait, you mean to say my father is not the reason you are here?" I asked, surprised. "Then what are you doing here?"

My lord, I'll be happy to answer those questions, but for now what I am doing is rescuing you. The Aethopian Sea Monster said and reached out to me with a tentacle. So before I have to evaporate any more of my brothers, let's get you out of here.

I decided to ignore the casual mention of fratricide, because in light of the fact that my destroyer-sized friend had just saved me, that was irrelevant. I was willing to ignore a lot of things if it meant I stayed alive and was friends with a walking or rather swimming weapon of mass destruction. He wrapped one of his tentacles around me and lifted me to his back. Knowing what was about to come, I wisely held on for dear life as he sped up again.