As if answering all of her unspoken queries the crystal blazed with pure power, pulsing slightly with warmth. Percia blinked in surprise at the sudden change, but didn't bother to question it. It may have taken a while, however, she had learned not to over think the magic of the gods. That way only led to irritation and migraines.

Sliding from the rampart she pulled at the necklace holding the crystal from her neck, the chain snapping easily. For one long moment she paused, eyes going back to the city behind her and the dark silhouette of the mountain beyond that. Part of her felt horrible for leaving without saying goodbye, but she'd been honest that she'd never be able to leave if she saw the others.

Taking a deep breath she pulled Kora close and threw the crystal to the earth forcing it to smash open. "I request the door open to return to Triton his bride," she spoke clearly invoking the magic.

Much like the vortex that had brought her here in the first place, one formed before her. It glowed brightly as the colors swirled before her. Steeling her nerves she stepped forward and into the portal.

Like the first time she had the unsettling sensation of falling. Colors swirled around her violently. She grasped Kora's pearl tighter to her to make sure she didn't lose her grip. Vaguely she wondered where she would end up this time, hopefully somewhere close to where she had originally left, but she wouldn't bet on it.

Pain exploded through her mind as something heavy slammed into her. She was no longer falling in the direction she had been. Instead she spiraled out of control, feeling very much like a spinning top. It only stopped when she impacted hard against a solid surface.

Dazed and more than slightly confused she pushed herself up, noting the ground around her. It looked like a rocky outcrop out of a science fiction show. Slowly she managed to climb to her feet, shifting Kora into a better grip. This had to be one of the strangest places she'd ever found herself in. All around she could see the swirling vortexes she had been passing through earlier.

"I never thought a half-blood could be so annoying."

Percia spun quickly coming to face a man standing on a small hill giving him the height advantage to her. Well, man was misleading. He was male, but he looked like a merman, without a tail. His skin was bluish with strange markings. His hair was greenish and looked more like a strange seaweed than hair.

"Really," he continued on. "After all you've been through, you still fought for your family. A half brother that thought of you as no more than an abomination. A father that has ignored you for years. A family that has used you and thrown you away like trash. Anyone else would have left them to their own fate and gone on about their lives. But you had to be all noble and try to save the day. You took on an impossible quest, one you would surely fail in and yet, you still managed to ruin our plans. Three years of planning down the drain, because you were too stubborn to keep your nose out of it."

"I take it you work for Urchin," Percia stated stonily.

The man snorted inelegantly. "Me, work for that fool Urchin." He let out a very unpleasant laugh. "Please, I had that fool believing I would help him take over Atlantis. As if such an idiot could possibly bring down any of the royal family without help. No, he was just a useful tool." The man slowly started making his way towards her, a wicked looking sword in his hands. "It was all working too. Triton was weakened once his bitch was sent away, his death imminent. Poseidon was… distracted from all of the truly important matters of his kingdom. His queen was unable to do anything to stop us, too busy trying to help her son and keep her daughters in line. And the one demi-god, that could truly prove problematic, was isolated from anyone who could have warned you, or even hinted at our actions. So how is it, that you still got involved?"

"Just lucky I guess," she responded blithely. Slowly she moved to keep more space between them. Her free hand slipped into her pocket, fingers gripping Riptide tight.

"Well, your luck ends here," he snarled before charging with a hard swipe of his sword.

Percia managed to meet the swing to block it, but she dropped Kora in the process. Thankfully she just rolled off to the side and out of the way.

The two traded blows back and forth. Percia admitted this man was good, and the few hits she managed healed immediately, causing her to feel a little worried. So she decided to do what she did best, annoy her opponent.

"So you thought you'd use Urchin to take down my family and what? Rule from behind the scenes? Take over after the fact," Percia cajoled sarcastically. "As if anyone would follow you. Let me guess, you're a patsy yourself. Someone else is pulling your strings. Just a disposable puppet?"

"I am a soldier in the greatest army ever," he growled angrily. "I am paving the way for the true ruler of the Seas! Only he can properly control the chaos the oceans have become after your pathetic father ruined it." He spat the last part out, pure rage filtering across his features.

Breaking away from him she paused to catch her breath her mind whirling. Many thought Percia wasn't the sharpest knife in the box, but she really was far from stupid. Given the enemies her family faced in the past it wasn't all that hard to figure out just who this jerk worked for.

"So Oceanus hasn't realized he's never getting out huh," she intoned conversationally. "That's kind of sad. It's sadder you think you'll be able to stop my family."

The man yelled in fury charging her hard and fast. Percia managed to duck and block his attack, but his anger had given him more strength making each hit harder to deflect. He also wasn't losing focus like so many people she knew did. This could be problematic.

A foot connected with her abdomen throwing her back into a grouping of rocks, forcing the air from her lungs. She dropped to her knees, Riptide a few feet away from her, having been released due to the force of the impact. Percia moved to retrieve it but her advisory anticipated this and blocked her movement, his sword pointed menacingly at her throat.

"You and your family are finished," he gloated, eyes gleaming with the promise of violence. "And once the seas are again in Titan control, Olympus and those pathetic camps will follow. The world will belong to Lord Oceanus, and I will revel in his glory!"

Glaring up at the other, Percia let her hands curl slightly in the gritting sand scattered over their little flying battlefield. She needed to stall him. She needed time to think of a plan.

"And just how do you plan to take Olympus? We've defeated Kronos and Sent Gaia back to sleep," she hissed between clenched teeth. Getting him to talk would be the best way to prolong this fight. Afterall, what villain didn't love to hear themselves talk? "Even if you defeat me and Triton does die, the rest of my family is too strong to fall to the likes of you or Oceanus. Besides, they clearly already know something is up, or you wouldn't be here."

"I have an ace up my sleeve," he admitted with a wicked grin. "Afterall, I have a Stone of Chaos. Not even Zeus can fight Chaos. I dare say even if you did make it back, I'd still be able to win the day. However, I'm tired of your constant interference and I see no reason to allow Triton the possibility of recovery. Urchin said he could deal with you, clearly it was a mistake to trust that idiot with this."

A Stone of Chaos? Hadn't she heard something about those? They were pieces of power from Chaos itself, used to help create the earth and the universe. At least she thought so. If he had one of those then he was right. It wouldn't matter if she got back with Kora, he would be able to take on her entire family with little problem. It was why they had been destroyed or hidden. But then, why had he not used them yet? Unless he hadn't figured out how to use it, or he was bluffing…

"I can see you think I am bluffing, but I assure you I am not," the man interrupted her thoughts. "I admit it took me time to discover the secrets of how to use it, but now I can. In fact I am using a portion of its power to keep the other gods from following me here to the in-between. But to utterly destroy them, I just need to wait for the right moment in time, which will occur very soon upon my arrival back to earth." Okay, well that answered that. Stupid bad guys. "I suppose you can find peace in the knowledge that it was inescapable that you would die. Out of your miserable family, you just get to go first."

No. This would not end this way. There had to be something that she could do? But what? Even if she managed to kill this guy here, he'd probably be able to regenerate like the monsters. Or if she managed to escape with Kora, he'd still be able to get back to their world.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a thin string hovering in the air, the same one the Fates had thrown into the vortex when she had left her world. It was a mixture of greens and blues, much like the sea, though there was a slight hint of gold to it as well. This was her thread, her life. It was stretching across the void, one end likely leading back home, the other…

What had Lady Amphitrite said? Immortals could not pass into other worlds, not unchanged. The gods of those worlds wouldn't allow them…

Her mind suddenly flashed back to the last thing the Fates told her.

"The Daughter of the Ocean begins her journey."

"Many trials she will face, enemies she will defeat."

"One Calamity to overcome, and the Sea's Heart recovered."

"But choice approaches to which future she will meet."

"Choose wisely Daughter, choose Freely."

This must be it. This was the time she made her choice. But what should she do? She'd never be able to trap her enemy here, he obviously had a way in and out of the ways between. Her eyes lingered on the string still taunt as it stretched between both worlds. Suddenly the answer came to her. It was not a move she really wanted to make, but to save her family and her world it was the only way.

Her adversary had hefted his sword up high ready to bring it down to end her existence. With her natural reflexes she flung a handful of sand into his face, rolling to the side as his strike went wide. Scooping up Riptide she ran to Kora.

The man cursed heavily rubbing at the grit in his eyes and trying to find his query. Percia knew she did not have long. Picking up Kora in one hand she grabbed her life thread in her teeth. Using Riptide she cut the string barely catching the loose end before it snapped back to the world it was connected to. Concentrating she focused on the final destination of each string. Once she had the answer she tied one end to Kora.

"Tell my family I love them," she whispered to the large pearl, before letting it go and watching it tear off into the distance returning back to earth and her mate.

"I will kill you," her enemy roared ferociously. He was still partially blinded giving Percia exactly what she needed.

Charging the other she crashed into his back, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and using her legs to force his arms to his side. She yanked on the string still in her hold thrusting them both back towards Middle Earth. They moved faster than she had gone when she had entered the passageway on her own.

This time her entry into Middle Earth was far harsher than before. The two of them collided hard with the ground, both of them rolling head over heels due to the momentum of their arrival. Gravel and debris cut into her skin as she skid to a stop.

It took a second for her to get through the pain and focus on the now. Pushing up to her knees she tried to spot her enemy. Sadly she was a second too late, his foot coming out of nowhere to slam into her side and throw her against the wall. When he came at her for a second hit she managed to roll away and back onto her feet.

"You can't kill me," he snarled at her again. "I am immortal! I have forever to get back to our world. You have done nothing but delayed the inevitable."

Percia feigned a staggering fumble allowing the enemy to come at her full force, ready to end it. But just as he swung down she twisted, her sword meeting his and disarming him with a strong rotation of her wrist. She then pushed one shoulder into him, forcing him to continue forward headfirst into the wall. As he stumbled to his feet she turned hard and thrust her sword into his chest, right into his heart. His eyes were wide in shock, flicking down to see the wound refusing to close.

"Not in this world you're not," she hissed defiantly. Using her foot she pushed him off her sword, watching dispassionately as he fell back, dead.

Percia stared down at the body, chest heaving with each breath she took. All feeling seemed to leave her fingers as Riptide fell with a clatter to the ground. With uneven steps she turned away from the corpse only making it a few feet before collapsing to her knees.

The Fates must have been laughing at her, for right in front of her prone form, smashed into several pieces were the remains of the crystal that had been meant to take her home. Returning her back to her family and her world. Only, because of the ass behind her, she wasn't at home and she never would be again.

Deep down she knew she had made the right choice. She had saved her family and world again. But the pain in her heart refused to listen to common sense.

A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled out of her throat. It quickly dissolved into heart wrenching sobs that shook her entire body. Percia couldn't stop the wave of tears as she cried out the pain stabbing deep inside of her. She had lost her world, her home, and her family. She had nothing.