**IMPORTANT! PLEASE GO BACK AND REREAD THE FIRST CHAPTER AS OF 3/29! SMALL CHANGES IN THE STORY THAT AFFECT THIS CHAPTER!**
Ok, carry on
"Err, hello Rachel." Percy said awkwardly.
"Perseus." She greeted. "What are you doing here? Did you just come from Pearl Cove?"
"Um, yeah. I-it helps me clear my mind." The waves crashed harder against the shore. A hard burst of air followed, so it didn't seem too suspicious.
"What, that barren rock?" Rachel scoffed. "You're not right in the head, Perseus."
"Could you call me Percy?" He mumbled half-heartedly. No matter how many times he tried to tell her, Rachel insisted on calling him by his formal name. The wind was getting stronger, and her curly hair whipped into his face. "It seems like a storm is brewing. We should head back to the castle."
"Very well." Rachel didn't budge. Percy sighed, and held out his arm. She took it happily. Together, they fought their way back home, the wind picking up more and more speed. Finally, they stumbled inside, wiping sand and grit out of their eyes. Percy looked up and ran his hand through his hair. Sand rained down.
"I'd better get cleaned up." Percy excused himself. He trotted up to his room, eager to get away from Rachel. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it. Suddenly, the door to his balcony opened with a bang. Leaves and bits of dust flew in, and Percy struggled to get the doors closed again.
"Percy!" He heard someone yell. Squinting, Percy looked out. Someone was hanging from the railing! He quickly abandoned the doors and flung himself towards the hand. He caught it just as it let go, and was shocked to see Jason. "Percy, help!" Jason shouted. Throwing all of his strength behind him, Percy managed to haul Jason into his room.
"We have to get these doors closed!" Percy shouted to be heard. Jason simply nodded, still quite pale from his near death experience. Working together, they managed to seal off the wind. The roar ceased to a dull whisper. Jason collapsed, shaking. Percy pulled him up and guided him over to the bed.
"P-percy, can I t-tell you something?" Jason whispered.
"Of course man, whatever you need."
"I-it's going to sound ridiculous." The other boy stuttered.
"That's alright, just tell me." Percy said. Jason muttered something that Percy couldn't hear. "You can say it louder, no one will hear us."
"I think I'm causing the wind." Percy's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're an elementalist?" Jason looked confused.
"What's that?" Percy hauled Jason to his feet.
"Come on, we have to see someone." He dragged the other elementalist down the hall.
"Where are we going?" Jason whisper yelled. Percy simply pulled him along, until they finally reached the dungeons. "Are you going to lock me up?" Jason tried to wrench free of his grip.
"Stop that." Percy released him. He yanked a grate out of the floor. "Come on, you first." He could feel the rushing sewer water beneath them.
"No way, that's a sewer. Do you know what goes in there?"
"Yes, I'll keep you dry. But right now it's the only way to the ocean."
"Why do we need to go to the ocEAAAAN?!" Jason's words turned into a yell as Percy threw him into the sewer. He followed the screaming boy and the heavy current swept them by. Eventually, the water started clear up, and they were deposited into the salty ocean. Casually, Percy looked around for Jason. It wasn't until he saw a dark form struggling ten feet beneath him that he remembered. Jason couldn't swim. Or breath underwater.
Percy hastily willed the currents to bring Jason up, then formed an air bubble around them. He felt the water above him churn, in reaction to Jason's panic. He coughed, grateful to be sucking in air. not water.
"Percy! What are you thinking…" Jason took in his surroundings. What little color remained in his face drained away; he looked like he was about to faint.
"Stay with me Jason. I need you to calm down, you're making it difficult to keep this." A little water sloshed in. Jason took a few deep breaths, and the water calmed down.
"Alright, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Jason demanded.
"Yeah. Um, so you know how you can control the winds? Well wind is an element, I guess, so that makes you an elementalist. They can control an element. And, uh, water is also an element so…" Percy's explanation seemed to make Jason even more confused. "Uh, hang on. Someone's coming, they can explain it a lot better."
"Who could possibly be coming down here, its impos…" Jason seemed to leap out of his skin as Annabeth's head appeared in the bottom of the bubble. He let out a small squeak.
"Perseus Jackson, what in the name of everything are you thinking?!" She screeched.
"Nice to see you to Annabeth." Percy said dryly. He expanded the bubble so that Annabeth could pull herself in. She sat on the bottom, her tail hanging out in the water.
"A mermaid, great. Gee Percy, got any leprechauns hidden in your pockets? Or maybe a pegasus in the stables?"
"Shut up!" Annabeth snapped. "Percy. Explanation. Now."
"Uh, so you know the wind? And how it's going crazy? Well, uh, there's not just one elementalist in this bubble." Annabeth set her jaw and closed her eyes.
"Percy." She said, still with eyes closed. "You didn't think this through, did you."
"Uh, no." Annabeth opened her eyes.
"Very well. I'm Annabeth." She said turning to Jason.
"J-Jason." The other boy took a deep breath. "You never told me you had a mermaid girlfriend, Percy." Percy's face turned beet red.
"She's not my girlfriend!" He exclaimed at the same time Annabeth said "He's not my boyfriend!"
"Just joking." Jason smirked. "So let's see if I've got this right. There's such a thing as elementalists, they can control an element, and both Percy and I are elementalists?"
"Pretty much. But you haven't known about your powers for long, have you?" Annabeth asked. Jason shook his head.
"So you obviously haven't been practicing. It takes a lot of hard work for me to make the kind of storm you have. Unless I'm upset or in danger. What triggered it?" Percy inquired.
"Well, I was waiting in my room, when I thought I saw something outside. I walked onto the balcony, and I was so focused on looking I didn't notice someone sneak up behind me and push me over the edge. I managed to grab onto your railing, and thats when the wind started." Jason's story struck a chord in Percy.
"An assassination attempt. But why not just murder you while you were traveling, it would have been much easier. Unless…"
"Someone wants to start a war." Annabeth concluded.
"Why would someone want to start a war?" Percy asked.
"Think about it! Pacificantis and Olympia are both very powerful kingdoms, too powerful to be taken down by an outside force. But if they tear each other apart, it would be easy to swoop in and claim them both. You probably wouldn't need that big of a force either, maybe five thousand troops." Annabeth looked like she was going to continue, but Percy interrupted her.
"But who would want that?"
"Annabeth, you are slightly scary." Jason said. He shrugged when Percy shot him a look.
"Think about it. Anyone who is an enemy of either kingdom, or anyone who thinks they could do a better job ruling. And the way things are, that could be anyone with charisma." Annabeth ignored the boys.
"You know a lot about the land." Jason commented.
"Percy keeps me up to date, and you wouldn't believe what some of the fish hear on the docks. They keep me pretty well updated."
"Uh, Jason," Percy started. "We need you to calm down." The border of the bubble wobbled, and it seemed to shrink even more. Jason's turbulent mind caused the winds to make the water even rougher.
"Let's think, who has a grudge against us." Jason ignored Percy. "It could be Hades, or Aries, or Calypso, or…"
"Jason stop, you're…" Percy never got to finish, as the bubble collapsed and the three occupants were deposited in the ocean. Percy could barely hold himself still long enough, let alone hold Jason and Annabeth close. A whale was dragged past, trying desperately to fight the current. If the most powerful animals can't fight this, neither can Jason! Percy thought. He frantically searched for his friends, until he saw a flash of blue. Annabeth!
She was struggling to haul Jason through the water, but he was thrashing and not helping. Percy swam towards them as fast as he could, urging the water to bring them closer. They were running out of time for Jason, and Percy started searching for an option. They were too deep, it would be impossible to get him to the surface in time. But then Percy realized where they were.
With a new determination, Percy forced the water to sweep the three of them into the cave he used to seek refuge in. The waters were much calmer inside, and Annabeth quickly swam up to bring Jason to the tiny ledge above water.
"Percy! Get the water out of him!" Annabeth ordered. Percy quickly complied, and the water flowed from Jason's mouth. He coughed, then sighed and went limp. Annabeth put her ear to his chest.
"Oh, good, he's alive." She was listening to his heartbeat. "Now we just have to wait until he wakes up.
"How long will that be?" Percy asked. Annabeth looked at him, and Percy saw the answer in her eyes. She didn't know.
Oops, another short chapter. Sorry, still have writers block.
I have good news and bad news. The good news is, with spring break coming up, I will have a lot more time to write! I'm planning on having two or three chapters written during it. The bad news is, I won't be able to update during this time, because I will not have access to a computer :(. Anyway, expect a new chapter sometime during the week, it'll be longer this time. Please review if you have any suggestions, or if you just like the story!