Chapter 4
Percy stood on the beach of the Long Island Sound next to Piper. She was clearly trying to keep herself together. "You know I'll be back as soon as I can, right? Gods, I could be back later tonight for all we know."
Piper let out a small laugh, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I know that. But seeing you leave as well, being the only member of the Seven at Camp…it's just so awful."
Percy pulled Piper into a hug, and said quietly "I know. I do. And I hate to ask you to bear with it, but I don't know how long I can stay at Camp once I come back. For just that reason." That actually did cause Piper to break into sobs, leading Percy to simply holding her tighter.
After a moment, Percy loosened his grip and kissed Piper's forehead. Then he let her go completely and walked into the surf, no water resistance to slow him down. He didn't look back, his face was wet with tears, and he knew that if he looked back he would do something he regretted.
Continuing his walk into the surf, finally Percy reached a point where he could submerge himself fully, only to find himself face-to-face with two hippocampi. As he allowed the seawater to fill his lungs he heard the hippocampi speak in unison. Hail, Lord! Percy heard in his mind.
"No. Don't do that." Percy said tiredly.
Apologies, Lord!
"No! Stop calling me Lord!"
Apologies…prince!
Percy sighed, and felt the familiar tug in his gut as he bent the water currents to his will. It took a little while to find his father's palace, but when he saw it, in spite of being underwater, his breath was taken away.
Last time Percy had come to his father's palace it had been under a heavy siege, and he had been unconscious. However, seeing the palace in all its glory put the word "Godly" into a new context. The entire palace was built on a massive piece of rock, held above the seafloor by a thin column of coral, so slim that the palace seemed to be floating from such a distance. Only because Percy was able to see so well underwater was he able to see the pillar of coral. When Percy looked down, the ground was covered in coral so multi-coloured Percy felt that he was seeing new colours for the first time, all of which seemed to move like waves towards the palace.
As Percy swam gently towards the palace, he realised the reason the coral appeared to be moving was because the colour actually was. As he moved, he saw that it was not simply the coral's colour, but energy that he instinctively knew was purely from the life of the sea. Breathing deeply, Percy felt a sense of serenity come over him, and in that instant all the pain of the past couple days – the trip from Athens, the loss of Annabeth and all his friends, the battles he had fought – left him, and for a second, he was simply at peace. That peace didn't last long, as he remembered why he was at the palace in the first place, and felt all his pain enter his mind again. Forcing back fresh tears, he swam on.
Percy acrobatically swam through the coral walls of the palace as he searched for Tyson. Knowing that his best bet to find him was to find his father, Percy began to make his way to where he felt the strongest presence of the sea. A weird thing to need to do within the ocean, however, here it felt like he was in a completely separate realm, similar to how entering Olympus or the Underworld felt like entering the realms of Zeus and Hades.
O.o.O.o.O
Piper had a bag packed, she had informed Drew that she was going to be taking on the head counsellor role once again, and apologised to a few of her siblings for that change in leadership. As she made her way to the Archery Range, backpack over her shoulder, she thought of Percy. He was going to come back to Camp only to find she had left without saying a proper goodbye. It wasn't that she wanted to hurt him – and she knew that her leaving like this would hurt him – but it was simply that she couldn't bear to say goodbye to him. It had been seriously real on the beach for her. She hadn't meant to get as emotional as she did, but hearing him promise to be back to see her when she knew he wouldn't be fast enough was heartbreaking for her. She had written a letter to Percy and left it in his cabin for him, explaining why she was doing what she was doing, and how she couldn't see him before going. That would have to be enough.
She walked into the Archery Range and saw Chiron on his own, shooting arrows through each other at the longest distance they had for the Range, and occasionally through his arrows that were still flying. Piper thought about how it was said that spending ten thousand hours doing something made you an expert at it, and how many lifetimes Chiron would have spent simply shooting arrows at targets. Her ADHD brain obviously then asked if there was a word for someone of that level of expertise, but she quickly shut that part down.
She didn't say anything; she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to say goodbye like she wanted to. Or if she could convey how she felt to Chiron, so she simply watched him for a couple minutes before turning and walking away from Camp.
O.o.O.o.O
Percy swam through the coral streets of his father's palace, instinctively moving towards the forge of the Cyclopes. Occasionally he would come upon citizens of Atlantis, all of whom bowed their heads respectfully as he passed.
As Percy arrived at the forge, he noticed his half-brother Triton swimming out, deep in conversation with a Cyclops.
"Triton!" Percy called, gaining Triton's attention immediately.
"Perseus. What brings you to Atlantis?" Triton asked contritely.
"I need to find Tyson and Ella; they may hold the key to the next great prophecy." Percy said.
"Well then you've wasted your time. Tyson never returned to Atlantis after his search for you. As for an "Ella", I have never heard of her." Triton said before starting to swim away.
"Seriously?" Percy said incredulously. "I know you're sore about my very existence, but this is a matter of colossal importance! And more than that, don't dismiss Tyson's disappearance!"
Triton stopped in his tracks. "Dismiss? Tyson's disappearance has been mine and everyone else in Atlantis's concern since the conclusion of the Giant War. We haven't rested once."
"Oh…" Percy said simply. "Would I get the same concern?"
"From Olympus maybe. But here in Atlantis you are the Third Prince. After myself and Tyson, and given only you not being a god, that makes you significantly less of a concern."
"I'm after Tyson for the throne?"
"Tyson is my full brother, of course he comes before you."
"Tyson's mother is Amphitrite?!" Percy said, eyes wide.
"Hades, speaking with you is infuriating." Triton said with a sigh.
"Fine. I'll just go find Dad and speak with him." Percy said.
Triton simply nodded and swam away, not even saying goodbye. Percy shook his head and closed his eyes. Dad, Percy thought. I'm outside the forges in Atlantis and really need to talk to you. If you can, please come.
Percy felt a current flow through the water and saw a swarm of bubbles coming closer to the forges. As the bubbles arrived, they circled Percy before beginning to form a human shape in front of him. Once they were in the shape of a man, Poseidon burst forth from within the bubble congregation and placed his hand on his shoulder.
Poseidon looked different from when Percy had seen him in the days previously. His normally black hair had a lot of grey in it, and his face looked more lined. Basically he looked a lot less "surfer dad".
"What is it Percy? I need to get back to the search for Tyson." Poseidon said.
"It's just that, Dad. I want to help in the search." Percy answered.
"That isn't necessary Percy, I have all able sea dwellers searching for him. Besides, you just got out of a war. You should rest."
"Tyson spent months searching for me while I was under Hera's spell. He deserves me returning the favour. Also, the need to find him is much greater than you think." Percy said, exasperated.
"What do you mean?" Poseidon said with a frown.
"He will have Ella the Harpy with him. She's memorised a lot of the Sibylline Texts, and we have a good reason to believe that the next Great Prophecy was given without anyone to record it present, making her the only way to know what lies in store for Olympus."
Poseidon's frown deepened significantly. "We need to alert the Olympian council of this. I will go and call a meeting at once. You return to camp; we will send Hermes to update you all upon the meeting's conclusion. But Percy…"
Percy looked to his father, "I don't want you involved in this. Stay out of this one. I will do whatever I must to keep you safe this time."
Percy was crushed, he froze, only having time to give his father a small nod before his father flashed away, no fancy theatrics, showing the importance of his departure.
Percy felt a tug in his stomach as he willed currents to take him back to Long Island.
O.o.O.o.O
Percy washed up on the shore, weirdly, coughing, like he had been swallowing seawater and needed to cough it up. As he found himself wading into shore, he noticed that there was a lot of resistance for him in the water, which was abnormal. By the time he reached the shore, he was exhausted. Percy couldn't help but wonder whether this was how most people felt after swimming in the ocean.
As Percy walked up the beach, dripping all over the sand, he wondered why he was still wet, before thinking about what his father had said.
I will do whatever I must to keep you safe this time. Poseidon had said. Even Percy could work it out. His father had taken his powers upon his exit from the ocean. He had been spiritually severed from the sea. The more Percy thought about it, the more he knew it to be true. He felt like there was a massive hole in his chest that wasn't to do with his grief over Annabeth and the rest of the Seven, it was more like a phantom limb, a piece of his that was missing.
Percy felt angry. His father may have been a god, but that gave him no right to interfere with Percy to this degree. It was like Hera stealing so many months of time with Annabeth away, but somehow, a million times worse.
Percy walked up Half-Blood Hill, but when he reached the barrier, instead of watching the valley materialise in front of him like it normally would, he got blasted back from the boundary line, hitting essentially a force field. As Percy got thrown back, he bounced down the hill, and knew that Peleus was likely watching him fall with mild curiosity. Percy wondered whether an alarm was ringing that something was trying to cross the boundary line. Percy got back up and walked right to the barrier. He raised a hand and placed it on the boundary gently, but doing so instead of blasting him back, seemed to give him a massive static shock in his hand.
Percy stared at Thalia's tree in shock, and a few minutes passed before Malcolm crossed the barrier, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
"Percy? You killed the monster then?" Malcolm asked.
"Monster?" Percy asked back.
"Something tried to cross the boundary line. We figured it was a monster, or a stray mortal. I was sent to scout, since you were away."
"How long have I been gone? Time is tricky in the deep."
"2 days."
"Did I miss anything interesting?" Percy asked casually.
"Olympus has been closed off while the Olympians are in council."
"They're still in their meeting?"
"Yeah, we know Poseidon called the meeting, so we knew your mission had been a success, we've been waiting for you to get back. Chiron wants to talk to you about something, he was being cryptic so I couldn't work out what."
"Cryptic is Chiron's specialty." Percy said tiredly.
"Don't we all know."
As the two settled into silence, Percy thought about how to tell Malcolm that he was the one unable to cross the boundary line into the Camp. Percy fiddled with his bead necklace while he thought. It was beyond ridiculous, as a half-blood, the camp should automatically welcome him due to his connection to the gods.
That's where Percy stopped. He thought of what Malcolm had said a monster, or a stray mortal. With Percy losing his water powers, it was possible that his entire connection to the gods had been severed, which had rendered him essentially mortal, and was keeping him out of Camp.
"Malcolm?" Percy began.
"Yeah?" Malcolm answered.
"Can you go to my cabin and get me a backpack of supplies? I have a few I the cupboard under the fountain. I want to stay here a couple more minutes."
Malcolm frowned. "I don't think your father would want a son of Athena in his cabin."
"He was fine with Annabeth; he'll be fine with you."
"Ok…" Malcolm said, cautiously. Percy knew asking a person from another cabin to get your things from your own was a suspicious act, but right now he had no choice.
Percy sat quietly hoping Malcolm wouldn't go and tell Chiron that Percy was back before he brought Percy his pack. When Malcolm returned, he had a rucksack of Percy's and was holding a letter. Malcolm was frowning, as if he were disturbed by something.
"You're leaving aren't you?" Malcolm asked bluntly.
Percy paused before answering. "Yes. I can't stay. Not after Annabeth."
"I understand; I feel much the same way. But I need to stay for my brothers and sisters."
"They need you."
"I know." Malcolm passed the rucksack to Percy. "With the scorn of Zeus on Apollo, my family will struggle for the next little while, I can make that easier for the little ones."
"What's the letter?" Percy asked as he quickly checked his supplies. A small medical kit with ambrosia and nectar, a couple changes of clothes, a water bottle (initially intended as another means of emergency healing, but that was out now), and a couple small packs of food. Percy placed his hand on his pocket and felt Riptide there.
"It was on your bunk. Piper's handwriting." Malcolm said as he passed it over. "Don't blame her, Percy."
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
"You'll understand after reading that." Malcolm turned and crossed the barrier into Camp.
Percy's face formed a bemused frown as he opened the letter. As his face scanned the contents he found himself shaking, fresh tears threatening to flow, hands shaking in anger and sadness. He felt his hands scrunch the paper of Piper's letter into his bag as he threw it over his shoulder and began his walk away from camp.
