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Chapter 20

Jason

Truth be told, Jason felt guilty about what he had done to Nico. He'd just lost his temper a little bit. Some Roman he was. He was supposed to have more self-control than that.

After they had tried to IM Coach Hedge and failed miserably at it, Hazel left to go and try to reason with Nico. Jason didn't think it would work.

He tried to casually step over the giant rocks in the kitchen, but ended up tripping over them instead. He could feel his face flush, and everyone automatically turned to look at him. He scowled at the ground and flopped down on Piper's fifty-thousand dollar couch. He buried his face in a pillow and gave out a muffled scream. His head started to throb.

"Um, Jason, are you okay?" asked Leo. "You seem a little uptight."

"I agree with him," Piper said. "What's gotten into you? And what about Nico? He's just sitting out there next to the pool."

Jason shrugged. He didn't have an answer to any of the questions. He shouldn't have blamed it on Nico, but he had been and still was frustrated. He sighed as Hazel walked into the room. "I talked to Nico, and he just wants to be alone. But I think you should try to go talk to him Jason."

"But you said he wanted to be left alone," he protested for no reason. It was the right thing to do.

"I know what I said," retorted Hazel impatiently. "But this is your wrong that you need to fix. So go talk to him." She sounded like an angry mother. Jason thought it was kind of ridiculous, but everyone was nodding like it was a good idea. Jason doubt that just saying sorry would fix the entire mess that he had started, but he guessed it was worth a try.

"Fine. But I want you guys to come with me. Not to back me up," he said hastily before anyone could excuse him of being a wimp. "I just feel a little bit safer with you guys by my side."

They seemed to consider this for a minute, and then Frank said, "Sure, man. Let's go get Nico."

As it turned out, Nico wasn't by the pool anymore, but a pile of clothes and a backpack were. A giant sock had blown into the pool and was floating on the surface. Hazel made a face. "Those are the clothes that I gave him. Where'd he go?"

"Oh great," Leo said. "What if he left us? He probably said, 'Screw this, I'm gonna explore Hawaii.' I can see him doing that."

"Well, I can't," Piper told him. "Maybe he went on the beach."

"Yeah, I think that's what he said that he was going to do. He said that he was going to go take a walk."

"Well, I guess we're going to the beach." They walked over the old wood and passed through the tangled vines until Jason felt the sand under his shoes and the sun beating down on his face. He looked around, but no sign of Nico.

"I wonder where he went." They searched the area. Jason looked down the beach, from the crowd of the people to the quiet end of the beach, where only few people sat. And then he gasped when he actually saw something that possibly could've been Nico, but he couldn't tell.

"What is it?" asked Hazel protectively. She was clearly starting to get worried for her half brother.

Jason pointed, not able to form words. There was a kid, Nico's size, with Nico's hair and clothes, tied to a wooden pole with a gag in his mouth. He looked unconscious. Jason hoped that it wasn't him.

They all rushed over, running at the kid who was tied up. Hazel was squeaking a little bit, and they were all screaming Nico's name as they got closer and closer. The closer he got, the more Jason's stomach started to twist. Now he really wished that he hadn't gotten mad at Nico.

It was him. Once they got to him, Jason had to accept the fact that it was Nico. Everything about him was right. Leo slapped him, and he did not wake up. Piper used her charmspeak on him, and he still remained asleep. There was no knot on his head or any visible damage. "What's wrong with him?" asked Hazel a little hysterically.

He had no idea. "Come on, Nico, wake up. I'm sorry?" he tried. Nico didn't reply. His head lolled on his shoulders. Jason took Piper's knife and tried to cut his bonds, but the knife did nothing. It was like trying to cut metal. Jason's hands worked furiously back and forth, but it did not help. The bonds stayed the same, and Nico stayed asleep.

"It isn't going to work," came a voice. Jason had not realized that there was a man in a lounge chair right next to the pole. He was almost invisible. The guy had on a pair of sunglasses. His hair was completely black. He wore swim trunks and his muscles almost rippled on his chest. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world. "Oh, and you demigods are blocking the sun. Please move a little bit."

"Who the heck are you?" snarled Jason. He was obviously a monster. He knew that they were demigods. His friends tightened into fighting positions, but they hadn't drawn weapons yet. The black-haired man yawned. "And why did you do this to our friend?"

The man laughed and brought his hands up to his glasses. Standing up, he removed his glasses and a smiled a crooked, evil smile.

His eyes were sea green, just like Percy's.

Leo gasped. "Percy?" they all asked with disbelief. It wasn't possible. Jason silently begged to be awoken from the horrific nightmare. "But you're supposed to be in Tartarus!" cried Frank, throwing his hands into the air.

The man tensed like he was going to rip off their heads. "Why does everyone get me confused with that sad excuse for a son of Poseidon? I came first! People should know me more than they should know him, but no. Go to anyone, and they're all like, 'Aren't you that Jackson kid?' I'm not!"

"Then who the heck are you?" growled Jason.

"Why, I'm his half brother, of course. My name is Triton."

"Triton?" asked Frank. "Aren't you the blue mermaid guy with the conch shell? I think I read about you when I was in elementary school…"

'Triton's' eyes narrowed. "Perhaps I looked like a mermaid in my true form, but when I'm trying to act… human," he shivered at the word, "I'm afraid I have to turn into this, which sadly looks just like that idiot brother of mine. Actually, most sons of Poseidon look like this. I wish I didn't have to."

"But… can't you just change your appearance like all of the other gods and goddesses?"

Triton looked a little ticked off by that question. Like a soccer player kicking a ball, he brought his right foot back and kicked Nico hard in the stomach. They gasped and gaped at him for doing such a thing. Hazel didn't seem to care that a god was standing before them. She lunged at him automatically like an animal, cursing at him in Latin. Triton side-stepped her attack calmly, but still mad. Jason and Leo grabbed Hazel and pulled her back to their side. She fumed.

"Not all of the same rules apply to everyone, you ignorant child," sneered Triton. Jason was liking this guy less and less by the second. "And before you ask, no, I'm not waking up Nico di Angelo. Let him serve as an example of what will happen to you if you ever confuse with Jackson again."

"But that's not fair!"

"Life's not fair, and it's even less fair for immortals. Didn't that idiot centaur Chiron ever tell you that?"

"Chiron?" asked Frank, but Jason shushed him.

"He just got you confused with a friend of ours. What's so wrong with Percy Jackson? What'd he ever do to you?"

Triton gave them a cold laugh. "It's funny how one stupid demigod can ruin your reputation. I was general of my father's army, and rightly so. I worked hard for that place. But then Sally Jackson comes along, and he nearly forgets about his real wife, Amphitrite. And then Percy's here and Poseidon claims that he is his favorite son, not me. After everything, he chooses the half-blood over me. It's like my family had been betrayed. It makes me sick to even think about him."

"So, you're just jealous," Piper reasoned out. "Of Percy?"

"I'M NOT JEALOUS!" he roared. They shrank back. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "Why would I be jealous of him? I only hope that he rots to death in Tartarus with his annoying girlfriend."

"It still gives you no reason to tie up Nico, just because he got your name wrong. Now, I demand that you release him at once, and we will be on our merry way." Piper's voice was dripping power, and Jason had the urge to go skip away from them and down the beach.

The man who looked like Percy smiled. "Your charmspeak does nothing, daughter of Aphrodite. And if you guys leave, then who will help you ever get off the island?"

That stopped Jason. "What do you mean? You know how to get back to Greece?"

Triton nodded. "It's a long, hard, confusing journey, and I cannot take you directly back to Greece. Actually, even if I could, I would choose not to."

"Of course, because that would just be too easy," mumbled Leo.

"Exactly. When Gaea created the Gates, she spaced them out all over the world. Each one goes to a different place. They make for a quick getaway when the attack is too strong."So there was more than one…

Frank's eyes widened. "Or an easy way to get to one place to destroy it…"

"You catch on pretty fast." He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "There are about ten in the United States, including the one on Kauai. They each have a different way to be opened. For instance, the one in Greece required you to fall down a hole into the middle of nowhere and navigate yourself to find it."

"But that was blocking the way to the House of Hades. How are we supposed to get into the House if there's a teleporting gate in front of it?"

"You can only use each gate once a month. That's so that the enemy can't follow you, and after a month is up, they'll never be able to find you because if you're smart enough, you'll be long gone by then. And you can't go back through the Gate to your previous place, hence the name, Gate of No Return. Sometimes, things are literal, and people need to stop over thinking them. It's like the pyramids and temples. Scientists say aliens. Oh, please. The citizens built them, end of story."

"Back on subject," snapped Hazel. Her eyes burned into all of theirs. "Release Nico and help us find the Gate on the island. Otherwise Gaea is going to come back to life and the world is going to end, and we're all going to die."

"I guess that depends on who you are." Triton shrugged and studied his finger nails.

Realization dawned on Jason. "You're with Gaea, aren't you?"

"I'm with no one," he thundered. The waves rose ten feet with his anger. "I work for myself. But I am going to side with whoever is going to win in this war. And right now, that seems like Gaea to me."

"But you'd be betraying your family," Piper protested.

"If Gaea wins, then my family is already dead. If they sided with her, she would let them live. It's the same with you all. She will keep you safe and fed and let you join her own army. You can live a long, happy life. Doesn't that seem nice?"

He ignored him. "Then how are we supposed to save Nico?" Jason asked himself quietly.

"Convince me to join your side," Triton said simply. "Show me that I'm making the wrong decision by joining Gaea and make me be on your side. The begging and crying that you're doing now is even pushing me more towards her side. Show me that demigods are worth saving, or I will hand di Angelo up to Gaea as her first offering."

Jason grunted, still trying to process everything. There were ten gates in the US, which hopefully meant that one of them would take them to Greece, or close to it. Triton hated his brother, Percy Jackson. He was neutral and wanted to be bought over to either side, and if they didn't win him over, Nico was going to be given to Gaea. Great, just great.

"He's provoking us," breathed Leo. "We need to stay calm and settle this like normal people, or with a fight. It's kind of like he really wants to be on our side." That was probably the smartest advice Leo Valdez had ever given in his entire life. But Jason was mad. Piper seemed madder, and everyone knew that Hazel was the maddest.

"And how are we supposed to convince you?" asked Piper, sickly sweet. If you didn't know her, you'd think she was being innocent, but Jason had known her long enough to see to white-hot rage that made her tremble slightly.

Triton considered this for half of a second. Running a hand through his tangled mess of hair and giving a kick to Nico's gut, he said, "How about a surfing competition? You ever stays on their board the longest and doesn't wipe out wins. And I'm being generous with this offer. I could say who can hold their breath the longest, but I wouldn't even be giving you a chance."

None of them could surf. And it was insane. Triton would just manipulate the waves so that he could win. And who chooses surfing? Jason just wanted to beat the guy up with his sword so that he would tell them everything they needed to know. "That is just about the stupidest challenge I've ever-"

"You're on," raged Piper. She clearly wasn't thinking. "You and me, one hour. Be prepared to lose."

Triton smirked, and the waves crashed with a roar.

Oh gods…

Okay, so, hear me out before you review. I've wanted to have a surfing competition between Piper and Triton for two years, even before I started FanFiction. I almost put this scene in The Mark of Athena, but I couldn't find a spot for it. So I'm putting it in this story! Yeah, it's going to be a little corny and cheesy, but please, for once, just let me do this because I REALLY want to. Is that okay with you guys? It'll be funny, or at least I'll try to make it funny!

Reviews and ideas are loved! A special surprise PJO story will be posted on Friday, so stay tuned!

-BBH