The mortal people in Athens were scared when the sea began to rage. They escaped towards high ground, where the Temples had been built. Those in the Parthenon were surprised when the Sea brought a huge statue of Athena inside and even set it upright in the middle. A perfectly clean, forty-foot tall statue made of gold and ivory. None of them noticed Poseidon grinning at the statue, nor heard his voice.
"Hello, Athena," Poseidon said. "I'm sorry about that indiscretion with Medusa a few Millennia ago."
Athena, unnoticed by the mortals, appeared next to him. She was in a bad shape still, but the presence of Poseidon in her temple did call forth her Greek side enough for her to talk and take notice of the statue.
"Poseidon. Where did you get that?"
"Feeling better, I suppose," Poseidon noticed. Then he explained about the Demigods on the Trimere, how Annabeth had tricked Arachne to weave her own prison, but fallen to Tartarus, finishing with how Percy had chosen to join her. "So if you dare suggest my son isn't good enough for your daughter, I'll throw you into Tartarus, Athena."
She came through a bit more at the idea of her daughters' horrible fate.
"And how did the statue end up here?" Athena pressed.
"Nico di Angelo accidentally opened the cargo when they were above the Mediterranean Sea," Poseidon replied. "And gave two dolphins a bad headache with it. Since our children are where they are… I thought it might be time for me to make amends with you and bring it here…"
"Not enough, Kelp Head," Athena said.
"Step to the right direction though, is it not?" Poseidon asked. "How about saving your daughter from Tartarus on top of returning your statue?"
"Shoot." she said.
"I gave Nico three black pearls and told him to go get them. The pearls will take them out of there." Poseidon told her with a smirk.
"Has anyone ever used a black pearl to get out of Tartarus?" Athena asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Harry Houdini did," Poseidon told her. "One of mine, actually. One of Percy's earlier lives, too."
"All right, I accept your apology," she said tightly. The mention of earlier lives, in plural, meant Percy would be going to Isle of the Blessed, should he die. But somehow Athena felt that Poseidon was implying that there were more than two lives. "How many lives has he lived?" she asked curiously.
"This one is his ninth," Poseidon told her proudly.
"And is he Greek or Roman?" she asked. That was actually the thing she disliked about Percy, more than just who his father was.
"Yes and no. And he's mine." Poseidon told her with a wide grin.
Athena rolled her eyes. "That doesn't answer the question."
"Of course it does," Poseidon told her. "You're just too restricted to get it."
She frowned, but could not argue. The banter with Poseidon had somehow helped her to come to, as well. She couldn't deny it. Particularly in Athens as this was the place of their old rivalry. "Why did you make a salt waterspring anyway? You probably would have won with Fresh Water."
"Mortals need both water and salt to avoid dehydration," Poseidon told her with a shrug. "Salt water has both – and those stupid mortals rejected it because it didn't taste good. Honestly, they acted like the fish going after bait."
Their discussion turned to the rift, and the possible integration, something Poseidon had already done. That was something Athena needed to do.
"My son began my integration by living four lives from both aspects," Poseidon said."For the last two he refused to name me, leaving me confused as to which one he saw meas. Finally, after Eric took the extra name of Harry Houdini, I asked if he saw me as Poseidon or Neptune." He smiled at the memory.
"What did he answer?" Athena asked.
"That whatever else I was, I was his father." the Sea God chuckled. "And sailors did not name me either for the two last lives. They just call me the Sea-God. And since he had two names with no problem I could do no worse."
"And now he's the son of the Sea-God, fully integrated."Athena concluded, feeling a bit faint at the story. "Does he know?"
"When he was twelve I told him that whatever else he did, he should remember that he's mine. The true son of the Sea-God," Poseidon said. "I don't think he quite understood then. I hope he does remember, despite that blasted memory-wipe, particularly now that he's been in both Greek and Roman camps during one lifetime. You figure out a plan for peace, Athena. Let us finish this rift."
"But… I represent Greek," she said. "Bellona is the Roman…"
"No." Poseidon told her firmly. "You're not the ultimate Greek. Romans know you as Minerva. The Goddess they know not is Styx. She is the one completely Greek. That's why Little Tiger washed away the effect of Percy's dive in the River Styx."
Athena stared at her Rival and Uncle. She shimmered for a moment to her Roman form when Poseidon said the name Minerva, but the name Styx brought her back to the Greek one. She nodded briefly. "I'll figure this one out," she said, steeling herself. "Peace will require more wisdom than war."
"Good." Poseidon told her and returned to the sea.