Percy sat on the bottom of the ocean, the light around him being filtered and distorted by the blueness of the water.
A curious great white swam by, but he just batted it on the nose and it swam away.
The ocean was always able to calm him down and let him clear his mind.
The gentle currents swept around him, and he manipulated them so that they carried him beneath the Argo II as it continued on its journey.
He breathed a sigh of content and closed his eyes, but winced when a flash of his nightmare came back to him like lightening.
For a millisecond it was there, for a millisecond the sounds and smells of Tartarus surrounded him and he was back. Back in that horrible place.
But then it went away, his eyes flashed open, but all he saw around him were the calming blue and green colours of the ocean.
His heart was beating rather quickly, but a voice interrupted his thoughts before he could allow himself to fall into a panic attack.
"Are you okay, Lord?".
He started and looked over his shoulder to find a hippocampi staring at him with large concerned eyes.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine".
He shook his head, clearing his head of the images that still flooded them.
The hippocampi still had not left, preferring instead swim a little closer and settle next to him.
He patted its muzzle and neck affectionately as he thought.
It still hadn't fully sunk in to him yet that he had escaped. That there was no more fire and burning, no more running.
The hippocampi bucked slightly beside him.
"Your ship is getting away, Lord. Would you like a ride?"
Percy looked up to find that he was right. The Argo II was beginning to disappear in the distance. Through all his thinking he had gotten distracted and let the current dissipate.
He nodded and smiled at the hippocampi.
"Yes, thank you".
Riding through the water and the waves was pure freedom. The water of the Atlantic was cold, but Percy hardly felt anything.
They rushed through the water, the hippocampus' muscles tending and moving below him and powering them through the water with great speed.
Since he had gone underwater, the Argo II has come lower so that it was now resting in the water.
The crew was on deck, milling about and doing various things.
They were interrupted when something shot out of the water like a cannonball with a joyful yell.
It was Percy. The hippocampus has powered him towards the surface and he had jumped from there, using it like a springboard.
He jumped from the water and landed smoothly on the deck with a roll, a grin so wide on his face it looked like it would split in half.
"Seaweed Brain!".
He looked over to see Annabeth glaring at him, dripping from head to toe with seawater.
"Sorry".
He waved a hand and she was instantly dried.
Feeding a sugar cube to his new friend, he listened for a while before turning to Leo.
"There's something coming at the ship. Can you get us into the air?".
He hurried to the helm and the ship shot into the air minutes before a large monster shot out of the water and snapped its jaws just a few feet from the ship.
Percy was still smiling, a ridiculous grin plastered on his face.
The large monster landed in the water with a large splash that reached all the way up to the ship.
Percy was standing at the end of the ship, holding on to the ropes and leaning over the edge and just laughing as the seaspray hit his face.
He was free. Finally, actually free.
In that moment, when the sea was all around him and his mind was completely clear of visions, he was happy.
Genuinely happy.
For the first time in a long time.
After they had risen up high enough that the water from the ocean no longer reached them, Percy climbed down back onto the normal deck and turned to face his friends who were all staring at him uneasily.
"Percy, are you okay?".
Annabeth came forward and put the back on her hand to his forehead. He just batted it away.
"I'm fine. What's wrong?".
"If you have special brownies hidden somewhere around here or something you'll share next time, right?".
Leo's voice cracked over the intercom, but the smile was still easily discernible.
"Special brownies? I don't have any special brownies. I'm just happy to be free, that's all".
His smile was gone off his face, flickering to a frown of confusion before finally settling on his usual resting brooding look.
They shrugged their shoulders and walked off, back to their own individual activities, leaving him standing on the deck with only Annabeth.
She smiled at him, and his spirits immediately lifted.
"You're okay now?".
He nodded his head and brought her up for a kiss.
3 Days Later:
The trip to New York was mostly filled with Percy sleeping.
Sleeping was generally a painful experience for all of them, as Percy's nightmares were horrible and showed no signs of fading.
During them, his powers would react violently with his emotions, and huge waves and storms would crash against the side of the ship.
Because of this they were forced to fly most of the way, only dipping down again when they had to pick up Percy from the ocean where he went to calm down.
Land was just newly visible on the horizon when a meeting was called.
They had delayed it for as long as possible in order to give Percy a chance to recover, and it had worked.
He no longer looked as though he were about to keel over at any second. And some of his colour had returned, though he was still much tanner than before.
Piper had insisted on giving him a hair cut, so his hair no longer covered half his face and had been washed so it was back to its usual surprising softness.
The only thing that he still hadn't allowed his friends to do was treat his wounds. He insisted upon doing it himself. Even when they had confronted him with a scorched and bloodied rag they found in the garbage.
The crew filed into the Mess Hall for the meeting. Everybody but Percy knew what it was about.
They each wandered in, each person sitting in their usual seat with Percy at the head. They had taken over that practice again almost as soon as he had returned.
"So… What's up?". Percy faced Annabeth, as she was the one who had called the meeting, as well as normally running all of the others.
"Percy, there's something we didn't tell you when you came back up from Tartarus".
He narrowed his eyes. "What?".
"The two demigod camps… they haven't stopped fighting".
Everybody looked at him cautiously, since he had returned, he had been known to have an even shorter temper than he'd had before he went down, the only person capable of calming him down when he was worked up being Annabeth. And that only worked sometimes.
"What?".
His voice was quiet, and the water bottle at the center of the table shook.
Annabeth took his hand, and he stayed tense for two slow seconds before relaxing.
"Why? I thought you guys went back to stop them before you came to get me".
He looked genuinely curious now, and the others seemed to recover their voices.
"We tried. We really did. They wouldn't listen to us! The Greeks were ready to stand down, but the stupid Romans weren't", Hazel said, meeting his eyes and imploring him to understand.
"Octavian".
They nodded their heads and his scowl grew.
That boy was getting on his last nerves.
Percy thought about it for a moment, his gaze moving to meet each of the crew's.
"So what… They've been fighting each other this entire time?".
Annabeth shook her head. "No. We managed to stop that from happening".
Piper scoffed. "We? You is more like it. Your girlfriend here is very persuasive".
Percy looked around in confusion. "I don't understand. You said that they hadn't stopped fighting, but at the same time they haven't fought yet?".
"We managed to buy eight days. Reyna requested eight days for us to bring back something as proof of the war. They don't believe that it exists".
Percy shook his head as he absorbed this information. "I'm sorry guys. I really thought that Reyna would be able to convince them. I guess I was wrong".
"No, no. Because of Reyna and Annabeth they aren't already fighting. They were about to when we got back the first time. But thanks to them we had a little bit of time".
"Eight days? How long ago was that?".
"Seven days ago". Annabeth's voice was solemn, and he could see that she was just as worried about the fast approaching deadline as he now was.
"Guys relax. We'll be there in four hours tops", Leo said, holding out his hands.
He stood up to go back to the helm and direct the trip.
"I'll see what I can do about speeding up this baby", he patted the doorframe before ducking out of the room.
A couple of minutes later, the noise of the engines increased, and so did their speed.
Annabeth's hand slipped out of his as she went to stand up and leave.
"Wait. You said that you had to bring back proof. What other proof besides the Athena Parthenos could you get?".
They looked at each other.
"You. You were our proof. We thought that you could convince them".
They looked at him hopefully, but his eyes darkened.
"You want me to tell them about Tartarus to convince them".
They nodded their heads apprehensively, but he just stood up and walked out onto the deck.
He heard the crew behind him sigh.
"See. I told you he wouldn't like it".
Shutting out their voices, he looked to the water far below him.
It was a beautiful blue, and yet strangely flat and calm, like it was running on autopilot.
He supposed it was. His father along with all of the other gods was conflicted between his Greek and Roman forms. He would be too weak to control the ocean right now.
Still, he missed it. The unruly waves and its inability to be tamed was what he always liked the most about the ocean. It reminded him of how he felt sometimes.
Growing steadily larger on the horizon, he could see camp. The cabins just specks, but still there. He'd never been more happy to see something in his life.
No, that was wrong. His reunion with Annabeth was far better than this.
Annabeth.
He sighed. He supposed he should go and apologise for walking out of the meeting.
Just as he was turning to go, she appeared behind him.
"Hey".
"Hey. I was just about to come find you".
She nodded her head and her hand found its way to the small of his back.
He shivered slightly at the contact to his old mortal point.
She would run slow circles there whenever she needed to calm him down. Today was no different.
He immediately relaxed under her touch and turned to give her a grateful smile.
"You okay?".
He nodded, turning his gaze back towards the water.
"I will be".
They stayed together, not saying anything, just enjoying each other's presence.
Soon enough, they had arrived at the camp.
Something was wrong, though. The cabins weren't being used and there was nobody walking around.
"Where is everybody?".
The rest of the crew came out onto the deck and stared equally as puzzled down at the camp below them.
Then Percy saw them. The entire camp was gathered in full battle armor surrounding half-blood hill.
On the opposite side was Camp Jupiter, equally prepared for battle.
They didn't seem to be attacking each other, but both defending against something.
A pack of hellhounds, no doubt sent by Tartarus in revenge for Percy's escape, we're closing in.
The two camps stayed distinctly separate, still not working together.
But at least they weren't fighting as they looked like they had been about to be.
Leading the Greeks, Percy could see a figure with a glowing red spear who could only be Clarisse.
The pack advanced, their menacing growls heard even from up on the Argo II.
The leader of the pack was holding eye contact with Clarisse, but judging from the others' positions, they were getting ready to attack.
The rest of the crew spotted the threat just as the shadow of the ship passed over the camper's heads.
Percy could tell that they'd never have enough time to descend before they attacked, and he confirmed his thoughts when he saw Clarisse break eye contact and look up at the passing ship.
The hellhounds' muscles tensed and it lunged forward along with the rest of its pack.
Before Percy could think otherwise, he jumped over the railing of the still descending ship and landed on the ground on one knee in front of the advancing pack of hellhounds.
Pain, shot through his leg, but he ignored it, the thoughts of saving his friends and camp overpowering it.
The hellhounds stopped in confusion at the new intrusion, as did the rest of the camps.
But soon they had recovered their wits and were growling and snarling again.
"Stop".
His voice was low and powerful, and caused the hellhounds to stop in their tracks.
"Percy, are you crazy?!".
Annabeth was screaming at him from the deck of the ship, but he just turned around and grinned.
At the broken eye contact, the hellhound lunged forward in attack, but he punched it in the nose before it could bite him.
"Man, you have a strong nose!", Percy said, shaking his hand at the wrist.
The hellhound just glared at him, the fire that was in place of its eye burning brighter and with more intensity.
"Here's how this is going to work. You serve us now, understand?".
His voice took on the same gravelly menacing tone it had while he was in Tartarus.
The two locked eyes, the hellhounds fire dying down slightly before it took a step back and bowed.
One of the smaller ones behind it growled at him still, and he threw a spare dagger at it from his belt in a flash, crumbling it to dust.
"Would anybody else like to complain? Or should I just go get your mother?".
The other hellhounds quickly followed suit, leaning back and bowing their massive heads.
"Good".
The area around them was now so silent that you could hear a pin drop, and the intense fire was still burning in his eyes when Percy turned to face the two camps.
"Hello. I'm back, Tartarus was great, thanks for asking", a shadow of his old grin appeared on his face, but the darkness remained in his eyes.
A low growl from behind him made him turn back to face the pack.
They were still bowing, and obviously didn't appreciate it.
He waved a hand and they straightened, still glaring at him.
He patted the largest one on its muzzle and scratched behind its ears like Mrs. O'Leary likes.
"So what's this I hear about the two camps fighting?".
He asked after a stretched moment of silence.
The Argo II now hovered above the camp, and the rest of his friends joined him after climbing down the rope ladder.
"Three days out of Tartarus and I have to come and break up some little fight? Come on guys, we have bigger problems".
He remained cold and casual, but the campers just stared at him.
Finally, they moved.
All the Greek campers put their weapons down on the ground, followed reluctantly by the Ares Cabin.
He nodded to them gratefully, and turned his gaze to the Romans.
"So the traitor returns!".
Octavian spoke at him from the crowd of Romans, dressed in his own armor and weapons.
Percy sent him a withering glare, and the other demigods around Octavian immediately stepped away.
"What did you just call me?".
His voice was tight and sharp with restrained anger, and every cell in the other campers' body told them to run.
"You heard me, graeci".
He could see Clarisse boiling with anger, and he was too, but he held up a hand to calm her down.
"I am not a traitor", Percy said quietly, his voice carrying over the silence.
"I left on a quest to stop Gaea from rising".
Percy's eyes were still locked on Octavian, but he didn't back down.
"So we've heard from your little friends here", Octavian sneered over Percy's shoulder where the rest of the crew was standing, making the anger in the pit of Percy's stomach grow larger.
The earth rumbled beneath them.
"Do not disrespect my friends".
The hellhounds behind him got antsy, and the leader pushed its nose against Percy's back.
"Or what, traitor?".
Octavian was now standing in a circle all by himself, as all of the other demigods around him had retreated sensing the anger rolling off of the crew of the Argo II.
The storms that Percy and Jason could create when working together were terrifying, especially now that Percy had more control over his connection to the earth.
One was brewing now, and the campers looked at the sky in nervousness as dark clouds began to gather overhead and the wind picked up. Waves could be heard even from where they stood on the opposite side of camp crashing violently into the shore.
The grass in the empty circle surrounding Octavian died, and small gems began to sprout from the earth around him as the two children of Hades/Pluto combined their powers.
But by far the scariest thing was what Percy did.
He laughed.
It was low and rumbled across the field, making everybody's hairs stand on end.
The brewing storms stopped suddenly, and the silence that followed was somehow even more terrifying.
"Or what?", Percy's grin was too wide and dark, almost maniacal, but his eyes gave away exactly how angry he was.
"Or I will show you exactly how I earned my respect in the pit. In great detail".
Octavian blanched, but still managed to say one last thing.
"It is impossible to survive the pit! There is no way that you went down and back! We will never believe you".
Two half-bloods behind Octavian finally shut him up and pulled him back into the crowd simply to get him to stop talking, but it was too late, the Romans had the seed of doubt planted in their minds.
He managed to make himself look away from glaring at Octavian, and his gaze settled on Reyna.
"Reyna, the Athena Parthenos is up in the ship, it has to be returned by a Roman. Would you do us the honours?".
She nodded and mounted Scipio, urging him towards the Argo II, where Leo had already started to open the hatch doors to the stables.
Ropes were attached to key points on the statue and lead to Scipio and the Argo II.
Together, they lowered the statue until it was directly above Half Blood Hill.
With a snap, both ropes were cut and the statue was set on the ground.
Her unmoving cold eyes seemed to both protect them and judge them all at the same time.
An era of golden power was sent out like a wave throughout the camp's borders, making the magical barrier stronger.
The hellhounds behind him seemed to cower and back away at the statue, but Percy held up a hand and they stayed.
A cracking sound echoed through the air, accompanied by the smell of ozone and a blinding light that forced them all to shut their eyes.
When they opened them, they saw the Olympians in the middle of the two camps of demigods.
Everybody immediately bowed except for Percy, who just nodded in greeting.
Zeus looked surprised to see him at first before nodding back and addressing the rest of the campers, leaving demigods on both sides shocked.
"The Athena Parthenos has been returned. Peace can once again be restored between Greek and Roman".
The Greeks cheered, but the Romans just grumbled in discord. One voice in particular spoke out above the rest.
"We will never be at peace with these scum! They are nothing but lying traitors!".
There were shouts of agreement, except for the Fifth and some of the Fourth cohorts, who promptly walked away from the Roman ranks and joined the Greeks.
Percy's hellhound, who he had decided to name Shadow, growled at Octavian, picking up on his emotions.
It rumbled around the area and silenced the small squabbles that had broken out again.
"What else could you possibly want us to give you to prove to you that this war is real?".
His frustration leaked into his voice making it sound hard and cold, and Shadow stood to his full height behind him with another growl.
Octavian's gaze flickered nervously to Shadow behind him, so Percy waved a hand.
"Stand down, boy. I've got this one", he huffed a breath over his shoulder, but sat back down on his haunches.
"There is no way that you survived Tartarus! Nobody survives Tartarus".
Octavian had a haughty look on his face that made Percy just want to punch him.
"Well obviously, that's changed. He's been down there, and he's standing right in front of you now", Annabeth shot back at him.
He sent her a grateful look and she nodded.
"We don't believe you. You lying scum are probably just faking it to trick us".
"Yeah! We want proof!", another Roman from behind him called.
By now his blood was boiling with anger and dark clouds began to gather overhead.
"Fine. You want proof? Here's your proof".
He pulled his shirt up and off over his head, exposing the many scars and burns that were all over his torso. Particularly the largest and newest one that wrapped all the way around his side and lower back.
One particular burn got the attention of everybody there: Nyx' blessing. It had been burned into his skin and was charred in her symbol.
It was in the shape of dark angel wings that spread out from the nape of his neck and all the way along his shoulders.
He threw his shirt to the ground beside him, fully exposing the mark that seemed to radiate sadness and power.
"Is this enough evidence for you?".
His voice was cold and he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Octavian as if daring him to say anything.
Heat radiated off of the gash in his side, and he saw everybody's eyes traveling to it.
It was uneven and bumpy, and the entire area was covered with welts and blisters from the heat of the Phlegethon water.
It was still angry looking and red as it healed, and it formed a strange indentation in his side where his flesh once used to be.
His fists clenched and unclenched, the feeling of so many eyes on him at once starting to make him feel uncomfortable.
"W-what is that?", somebody finally asked from the Greek side.
"The blessing of Nyx, primordial goddess of Night. I- I did her a favor".
The demigods eyes widened and Zeus' head snapped up to meet him in the eyes.
"What have you done, boy?".
Anger and frustration coursed back through him. "I survived! In any way that I could. He was going to kill her! I had to... I had to...".
His hands were held out in front of them as if he had never seen them before, and he twisted his fingers testingly.
The more he thought about it, the more the new discovery of his power exhilarated him. And that was terrifying.
"Percy, what did you do?".
His father was looking at him with concern in his kind eyes, and Percy had to look away.
"He was going to kill Annabeth. Slit her throat on the stones I had to stop him".
Annabeth's eyes widened and she took a step back.
All his pent up emotions coursed through his veins like fire, making him just want to scream.
"What did you do to prove yourself to Lady Nyx?!", Zeus thundered again, obviously not pleased with being ignored.
"Did you know they call me son of darkness now, son of the nighttime. Nyx has never given her blessing to a mortal before".
Zeus met Percy's gaze and was somewhat terrified. His eyes were swirling and confused, but also cold and hard and dark. If there was a chance that Percy could release that power then they'd all be doomed.
"Yes... I know", Annabeth's mother was also watching Percy carefully and with new interest. "So why does she give it to you? What have you done for her?".
Percy remembered the sight of the primordial of doom and destiny on the ground in a puddle of his own ichor, the raw power that flowed through his veins when he stood over him. But also the painful cracking, like something inside him that could never be fixed had broken.
His resolve hardened and his eyes turned sharp as glass.
"I killed destiny... Well, almost. Nyx couldn't let one of her favorite sons die at the hands of a mortal now could she?".
He turned away from the group of staring gods and demigods and back towards Shadow.
The others in his pack were a little ways away, still glaring at our group, but Shadow seemed content.
"Do you remember Moros, boy?".
Shadow whimpered, but Percy scratched him behind his ear and his large tail wagged, thumping onto the ground and making it shake.
"That is not possible!", Zeus thundered from behind him.
"I hate to agree with my father but I do. It is impossible to kill an primordial, especially for a mortal".
Percy was about to answer when something happened.
A cloud of dark smoke began to come from the mark on his back, and a dark chuckle seemed to come from everywhere.
"Silly Olympians".
The voice was distinctly female, and Percy recognized it from his nightmares.
"My lady, Nyx".
Everybody's eyes widened when he addressed her, and watched the shadows anxiously.
"I unfortunately cannot come to you in person. I heard you were talking of me, my champion".
"Yes, my lady. I am trying to convince the camp's of the threat that Gaea poses. They did not believe that I survived Tartarus so I had to show them your mark".
"I hope I have not offended you".
The smoke spread out until a thin layer was covering all of the ground around their feet and her voice went with it.
"Yes, Yes. I remember you telling me about Gaea rising. She would try something like this".
The crowd of demigods had backed away from the smoke, leaving the eight crew members, Reyna, and the gods in a small circle of people with a dark mist swirling around their ankles.
"You are fools... all of you. I can see why Gaea enjoys watching this little show".
"Goodbye, useless ones. And Percy...?".
"Yes, my lady?".
"Do not use my name when you are speaking again, or else my presence will not be so peaceful".
"Yes, my lady. I understand".
As soon as he finished speaking the mist disappeared, and the presence of Nyx was no longer felt.
The threat was still hanging heavy in the air, and the gods all looked at each other solemnly.
Percy was the first to speak after she had gone. He looked no different after her visit, not even reacting when she had threatened them, and the look of borderline boredom in his eyes set everybody's nerves on edge.
"So... can we go back to camp and get ready to leave now? Gaea rises on August first, and she's not going to wait for us".
He reached back down to grab his shirt and put it on, giving the group a good view of his scars as well as the burned mark that had been made into his back from Nyx.
Nearby, Chiron stepped forward and answered his question.
"Yes... Let's all get back to camp and have some lunch. Put this nasty business behind us and get to know our new friends".
The group slowly turned and walked away, the Romans all going with them and ignoring Octavian's call to fight.
"Percy, why don't you go over to see Apollo, I'm sure he'd be able to heal you up", Poseidon walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
Percy slipped out from beneath his grasp and shook his head.
"I'm fine. Thanks, though, dad".
Poseidon's brows knitted in confusion and the rest of the remaining gods and demigods on the hill came over.
"You ready to go?", Annabeth walked over and wrapped one arm around his waist.
"Yeah", he turned and smiled at her, and all of the confused and angry emotions disappeared from his face.
A mischievous grin soon took over his features, though.
"Have you ever ridden a hellhound before?".
Her eyes widened. "Percy, no".
He didn't listen, though, picking her up bridal style and carrying her over to Shadow who's ears perked up when he walked over.
"Put me down! Seaweed Brain!".
He flung her up onto his back very unceremoniously and then climbed on himself with expert grace.
"Let me down!", she demanded, although she was laughing and smiling like crazy.
"Not a chance. He leaned over her shoulder and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"Come on, Shadow! Let's go".
He patted the hellhounds back, and they lurched forward.
"Where are they going? He needs medical attention", Poseidon asked, looking after his son confused.
Athena looked equally confused and annoyed.
"Did your spawn just kiss Annabeth?".
Piper walked passed and stopped and laughed when she heard Athena's question.
"If you thought that was a kiss than you should have seen their reunion".
Jason walked up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.
"Both of them", he added.
Piper smiled. "I'm calling them Percabeth".
Aphrodite nodded her head and smiled at her daughter in approval.
Poseidon just stared off after them.
"Apollo, would you be able to heal his injuries?".
Poseidon was still looking down the hill at the retreating form of his son, but when Apollo hesitated in answering he turned to look at him.
"Possibly, although I'd have to examine them. They look like they were healed with something, but I don't know what it could have been".
The rest of the seven heroes were a little ways away, talking and laughing and preparing to make their own way down the hill. But they stopped when they heard he gods conversation.
Sharing a look, they walked over to them as a group and stood in front of Poseidon and Apollo, blocking them from continuing down the hill towards Percy.
"Leave him alone". Hazel spoke up from the back of the group, surprising everybody at first. But then they all turned back around to glare at the two gods and nodded their heads in agreement.
"What?".
Apollo just took a few steps back and let Poseidon deal with the group.
"He's my son. What do you mean 'leave him alone'?".
"He doesn't want to be healed or examined. Even when he first came out of Tartarus he just locked himself in his room for a couple of days instead of going to the infirmary".
Jason picked up where she had left off, "He doesn't want to be bothered, so leave him alone!".
Adrenaline still pumped through the blood of all of the seven after what had just happened, making them say and do things that probably weren't the smartest. But they were all occupied in their thoughts.
Percy had fallen into Tartarus for Annabeth's sake, for the team's sake. They couldn't let the gods make him do something that he didn't want to do. They would protect him just like he had protected them.
"Watch your place, boy", Zeus thundered, joining the small group.
"This is our place. As a team, protecting one another. Even from their meddling parents", Jason glared at his father, then, and the other gods fell silent.
The group turned around and continued down the hill, conversation picking up again as if they hadn't just challenged the Olympian gods.
Percy was their leader and had always protected them, and now it was time to repay the favour.