Thought I was gone for good? Nah, just a little hiatus for video game and Hulu purposes. But I'm back now, and better than ever. The next update won't take as long, I promise.

Review/Response Time.

NiHaR OP: Dude amazing chapter, i loved OP percy more of that please, Percy proposing to Annabeth is epic, i like the ruthless Manhattan Percy more. Axels death was satisfying, cant wait to see the fallout from this, also i think you should add multiple POVs in a chapter. Grrat work here, pls update soon :)

Response: Thanks Nihar, and yes, you'll get plenty of OP Percy scenes, but he won't get that way overnight. Got to have a little development if you know what I mean. Percy proposing is indeed epic, can't wait to write more on that subplot. And I'm trying the multiple POV thing, in this chapter too, hope it feels natural and doesn't ruin the flow of the story. Let me know how you liked it in your review of this chapter if you don't mind.

thesuperone342: Damn, this chapter was fucking cool. Let's dive in.

For one, Finally we got Percy POV. Fuck yes, I was so hyped when you told me about it. The way you wrote Percy was spot on, from his dialogue that his inner thoughts, you got everything perfect.

It was also good we got Percy's thoughts on everything that's been happening ever since the whole Ouranos thing has begun. It's pretty ironic that Percy is jealous of Matt's power, because Matt was jealous of Percy at the start lmao.

Also very sad about Talon, as his mental state looks completely fragile. He doesn't care about anything except for getting his friends back right now and I hope that changes eventually. Sad to see him like this.

And for Percy vs Axel, oh man it was great. It wasn't like an anime esqe Dragon Ball Z fight like most of the fights in both yours and my stories have mostly been, and that's perfectly fine. It was mostly more grounded, as the fighters weren't Solar System level demigods and Titans. It felt almost exactly how Rick wrote most of the fights in PJO, which is even more perfect because it's in Percy's POV.

And Percy's new power up is awesome. It's a lot like ZW Percy's Earthshaker Form, but different in its own way. I like it and I really hope Percy makes that connection lol. I really like it when my story gets referenced it makes me so giddy lol

Anyway, epic chapter, can't wait for Matt's POV next time bro.

Response: Thanks man, glad I was able to write Percy somewhat close to the way Rick wrote him. And yeah, didn't notice until now but it is a good parallel how Percy is jealous of Matt's power, when at the beginning of the story, it was the other way around. And Talon, it's going to be a fun arc for him, rehabilitating himself and getting back to normal, I've wanted to do it for a while, and now I can. Glad you liked the fight, I meant to make it a bit more grounded and less like the other fights Matt gets involved in. It seemed more like Percy in his perspective for it to be like that, so glad I could portray it that way. As for the power up, heh, I love it. Having the water enter him and become it was really fun to write. It'll have a name soon, and it might be slightly different from your Percy's form. You'll see. Anyway, hope you like this installment.

MountainBookSage25: yoooooo

Man took to long to read this

but YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

FUCKING HELL THAT WAS COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

PERCY JACKSON IS BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK

Dayum gonna power up the old cast huh?

They'll really need it

BUT YOOOOOOOOOOOO ITS SO COOOOOOLLL

Man me thinks ya gonna power up my nostalgia flavor

Response: Haha yes, Percy Jackson is freaking back, and I can't wait to write more. And yeah, I'm powering up the old cast, they will need it, and I plan to deliver. Let me know what you thought of this one.

Shadowhunter2077: Nice to see Percy accepting that he most do what is necessary to win this war, it would be stupid to be merciful against the forces of Ouranos is asking to get killed.

I curious to see who is brave/stupid enough to attack Poseidon.

Response: Yeah, about time Percy hardened himself and accepted that he needs to do what is necessary. If he's going to be a big player in the game, he's got to get stronger not only physically, but mentally. And about Poseidon, you'll see. It might not surprise you, but it might. Just let me know your thoughts.

SuAvE ViPeR: Sorry for this late review, but man what a cool chapter. Was not expecting to get Percy's perspective in this fic, but we did, and it was well written. I thought you got his dialogue and thoughts correctly, almost as if Rick was writing it. The fight was awesome, glad to see Axel finally get taken down, leaving Levi as the only big four member. Interested to read what's going on underwater, as we'll probably have a conflict there. Can't wait for more!

Response: Thanks. Yep, Percy's getting a POV, and it is definitely about time. He was the best MC after all, imo at least. Glad you liked the fight, and yeah, Axel going down was satisfying. You'll find out what's going on underwater in this chapter, so hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

On with the third chapter. Don't let Atlas catch you.

3. Malachi Captures A Goddess

Matt

"Think we're far enough yet?"

Looking back at the beach, even though we were now miles away, I didn't think we'd ever be far enough.

"Can't take any chances." I said, "If he somehow follows us, he'll slaughter everyone in Camp."

I was of course referring to the exciting events that occurred not ten minutes ago, when one of the most powerful beings in existence, Atlas, beat the crap out of me. Harper and I had barely escaped with our lives.

"So what do we do?" She asked, her eyes darting around the city below, maybe trying to find us a place to hide out in.

I sat up, feeling a surge of pain spread in my spine. I winced at the sensation, not surprised that it still hurt. Atlas had literally broken my back over his knee, like Bane did to Batman in that one comic. You've never felt true fear until you've had your entire bone structure basically shattered, and when you have enhanced durability, you can survive the attack, but you can still feel the pain. I felt all of the pain, even now.

Some wounds even Viribus couldn't fully heal. Atlas was right, he had broken my spirit too. I knew it had a lot to do with it. I felt so helpless, nothing I could do whatsoever would be enough to beat him. Not in a hundred years would I have a chance. The realization wasn't exactly ego boosting.

I needed to get over that, though. We survived, and that's all that matters. So what if I'm not as strong as him, I'm not supposed to be. I'm just a demigod after all, he's a Titan. Immortal, limitless in strength, and an aura the size of the planet it seemed.

I shook my head and tried to take my mind off the pain, forming a plan instead. "First thing we need to do is suppress our auras. If he can't sense us, he'll have a harder time finding us."

Harper nodded. Her hands were trembling on the saddle. I could tell she was trying hard to hide it, that the attack had really shaken her up.

I scooted close to her and grabbed her hands in my own. "Hey, look at me."

She did, one milky white eye and one icy blue bore into mine. She was terrified.

"He won't find us, okay? Just lower your aura along with me. We'll do it together."

Her eyebrows knit in effort, but I didn't feel a change in her aura. She slumped and shook her head, "I-I can't."

I tightened my grip on her hands ever so slightly, "Yes you can. I've seen you progress faster than anyone I've known. You can do this, just remember what I told you, calm your breathing, close your eyes, and focus on something good."

She huffed, "Something good? What's good right now?"

I honestly didn't know. Heck, everything seems to be falling apart around us. Even our date was ruined, something we'd looked forward to for weeks.

I tried anyway, "Um...think about Aiden. He's happy now, with Nico. That's good right?"

"Yeah...Yeah, that's a good thing."

"And despite our date being ruined, we're together. Both of us, alive. That's good."

A hint of a smile played on her lips, "Very."

"Percy and Annabeth are okay. They're uh...back at Camp, stressed out of their mind, but they're okay."

She closed her eyes, and with each comforting word, I could feel her aura descend. Like a heartbeat calming, it steadied to near nothing, almost untraceable.

I smiled, "Good. Nice job."

She opened her eyes, looking around as if to make sure Atlas wasn't jumping down on us. "Thanks."

I lowered my own aura, the action not taking long at all, since I'd done it so many times before. A simple breath and it became faint.

"Okay, what's next?" She asked.

I started to speak, but nothing came out. We lowered our auras, that was good, but Atlas had years of experience, and could probably track us from our sheer scent. We weren't even out of the city, all he had to do was take a little walk and he could find us.

"We still can't go back to Camp."

She raised an eyebrow, "But wouldn't that be the safest option? I mean if we hide anywhere else, wouldn't that put mortals in danger? At least we'd be surrounded by trained fighters back at Camp."

"Yeah, but they can't suppress their auras like we can. It would be even more of a beacon to him."

She cursed under her breath, "You're right...but what else is there? Do we just keep flying?"

"No. Might as well be sitting ducks up here. We need to go somewhere safe, aware of who we really are...that's not Camp."

She looked at me like I had three heads, "And where the hell would that be?"

I bit my lip. We were really trapped in a corner here, a titan after us, very overwhelmed, and nowhere to go. If only there were some kind of temporary safe haven for all things supernatural, someplace we could lay low for a night-

I'm an idiot. How didn't I think of it sooner? There was a place like that, right here in the city.

Harper saw the look on my face, and leaned closer on her hands, "What? Do you have an idea?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I think I do." A memory of two years ago played in my mind, "You remember the Paradise Inn?"

Percy

The entire time I dove, I thought about my father.

As soon as my body entered the water, the hippocampi that I told to run intercepted my path and guided me in the right direction. It moved as fast, if not faster than I did, and I'm telling you that I was moving. I was willing all the water behind me to push me further and further, and the hippocampi was always a few feet ahead. That was a good thing, I wanted to get there as fast as I could, but also actually know where I'm going.

The pressure didn't bother me, but I was getting confused. Whatever the problem was...it had to be at the ocean floor or something.

I thought back to when I woke up in my father's palace, Atlantis, after blowing up the Princess Andromeda. I hadn't been conscious on the trip there, so I had no idea how far down it was. Could that be where we're going?

If this were another situation, I would've been excited to see my father's kingdom again. But the letter that I got didn't exactly give happy postcard vibes. It said to come quick, and that it was urgent. That meant something bad had happened.

How much further? I asked the Hippocampi.

It didn't even turn its head, but I heard it clearly. Close, lord! But I'm afraid we'll be too late!

Several minutes passed, schools of fish and plant life zoomed by me as I descended. Part of my demigod arsenal lets me see underwater, no matter how dark it is. Trust me, it's breathtaking, but I didn't have time to marvel right now. I was too worried.

I remembered seeing my dad in a weak state. He looked twenty years older, gray and almost withered. I didn't want that to happen again. Ouranos couldn't get to him too.

The Hippocampi whinnied, We're here!

The ocean floor came into view, I willed myself to slow, and I did. Floating a few inches above the bottom, I saw exactly what had happened.

Destruction.

All around me, as far as the eye could see, was an underwater landfill. Piles of limestone, sea stone, and other materials I didn't recognize lay chipped and broken. The size was unreal, and I truly realized just how big Dad's palace was. Picture Grand Central Station, or no, Olympus. It was as big as that. Freaking Olympus.

Now picture Olympus in ruins, nothing left but hints and traces of a devastating battle. The worst part was...rubble wasn't the only thing lying about.

I stepped forward, and felt a strong grip wrap around my ankle. Bone crushing strength squeezed on my muscles for dear life.

I immediately panicked, my first thought being that I was getting ambushed or something.

But when I looked down, my fear was replaced with horror.

Buried under a broken pillar, was a man. Scratch that, a merman. He had scales all over his skin, where you would expect a black or white pigment, instead sat green and blue. His face was human though, he had blood all over him, his blonde head was caked with it.

"H-Help me..."

I reached down and grabbed his hand off my leg, instead clasping it to get him out. "Here, j-just stay still!"

My fingers were shaking, I hadn't seen anything like this in a long time. This was a massacre. A quick glance proved that this guy wasn't the only one hurt.

I tugged on his arm and he cried out in pain. I let go like I'd grabbed a hot pan; I didn't want to hurt him any further.

"AGH! No, please don't!"

"Well what do I do?!" I said frantically.

"The pillar..." he croaked. Somehow, I knew he was an inch from death, his chest was being crushed by the probably three-ton piece of stone.

I looked at the pile on him, "Dude...I don't think I can lift that."

"Please try"

I knew I had to, no matter the odds. I gritted my teeth though. I wasn't Matt, super strength wasn't my thing.

But...so what? I thought. Who cares?

I'm not Matt, and I shouldn't be him. I'm Percy. Think man, what can you do?

Water.

If I couldn't lift it physically, I could control the water around it.

I thrust my shoes in the sand and twisted, planting myself deep. I raised my arms and felt a pressure build up in my arms. See, the thing about controlling water, is that it feels like there's an invisible force pushing against your movement. It's not effortless, well...unless I pull something like I did with Axel.

Yeah...I don't even know what that was. I knew that I had somehow awakened my aura, which I don't even understand too much at all in its own right, but I at least knew what it was.

It reminded me of last year, when a rift between universes was created, and a demigod from the other side named Zane Williams came over. This is really complicated and crazy, but the point is, in his universe, I exist. But I'm much stronger over there, and I can use my aura at will.

See, it's been bugging me for a long time. That Percy was younger than me, but so much stronger it was laughable. I trained and trained, but I never thought I would match that, or even come close.

But this aura thing could be a game changer. With it, I had limitless everything it seemed. I'd never get tired, I could use water like nothing, even Earthquakes would be easy to conjure.

"Perseus, I hate to be a bother" the merman said, breaking my thoughts, "But I really need this thing off of me."

Oh crap, I was so caught up that I forgot to lift the pillar.

"Sorry, man. Here goes." I pushed my hands upward, the feeling of the water amplifying my power tenfold. The water did its magic, and quickly, the pillar was thrown off of him.

He coughed up blood and gasped for air. I knelt down and grabbed his arm gently, the one he used to reach out to me with. I assumed it wasn't broken.

He winced as I lifted him, "Can you stand?" I asked, then furrowed my eyebrows, "Or...float? What do you mermen call it?"

He shook his head, "I believe so. And floating works."

I let him go, and let me tell you, a limping merman is a weird sight. It's like he was hobbling on the air.

"Thank you. You saved my life."

"It's not problem." I said, "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner, I sort of had a temperature problem on the surface."

He ignored that, and looked around at the scene, just as horrified as I was. He must've been knocked out, because he looked shocked at what he saw.

"We...lost? Oh no, no, no, no. We can't have lost; this many can't have perished!"

He scrambled around the other dead bodies, trying to find a sign of life. I just stood there, feeling my eyes sting. There were dozens of bodies, all dead.

If only I could've come sooner...

"It's my fault."

The merman didn't hear me, he only sobbed, both in pain and grief. He was swimming around the destroyed courtyard now, still searching for survivors.

I looked, and looked some more. Now that I had time to take in the truth...I felt a black hole in my stomach.

Mermaids, mermen, the forces of Poseidon, even Cyclops had been defeated. Some were cut, stabbed, beaten to death, some caught under rubble.

My lip quivered, "It's my fault..."

"It's not your fault, Percy."

I turned around to face the voice. I recognized that voice. It was deep, warm, kind and powerful. It held no tone of menace, but it could if needed be. The godliness of it radiated in my eardrums.

I knew him. It was my dad.

"Dad?"

Only he didn't look like my dad. He looked like the Dad I saw in the Titan War, when I came down here for the first time. Gray hair, a wrinkly and less muscled body, barely clinging to the tattered toga that covered it. Ichor...even Ichor ran down a few parts of his body.

He didn't smile, his eyes didn't twinkle. They were grim.

"We need to talk, son."

Matt

Harper didn't have any drachmas. I didn't either.

So, we were hoping old Paradus would remember us, and think, hey guys! Sure, go ahead and stay for free!

Harper and I landed Kyros in front of the spot Talon brought us too on the first quest. To the mortal eye, there were two large apartment complexes next to each other, only a few inches between them. But to us, there was a building in the middle. All cultures combined in the architecture and decoration. It's height rose to the clouds. From what I remember, it had like a thousand floors or something.

"Matt, are you sure about this?"

I shrugged, "Best idea we've got."

She put her hands in her pockets, "And what about our furry friend? I don't remember them having rooms for giant eagles."

I looked at Kyros, who didn't seem happy about going inside. He was glaring at the hotel and the feathers on his back were standing up.

"And I don't remember there being a No Pets sign either." I told her, then patted Kyros, who angrily turned his head away. "Sorry bud, I know you don't like crowded spaces."

We walked up to the main doors, me having to drag my bird up the whole way. I just hoped it didn't look too crazy to the mortals. Judging from the stares, I was going with weird kid and embarrassed girl drag Great Dane to their apartment. Let's hope.

Finally, I pushed on the doors, and oh buddy, this place is still awesome.

A cathedral like roof, it was curved at the top probably a hundred feet high. All kinds of beautiful decorations and colors littered the area. Pictures, plants, carpet, you name it, it was here. The Plaza had nothing on this place.

It was crowded too. Hundreds of people were busting about, most of them in line, trying to check in. It had to be a six hour wait, because I lost count after thirty feet of people, all of them holding a little white card with a palm tree on the front.

My eyes widened, "Well...can't say we won't blend in."

"Maybe you can snatch one of those cards." Harper whispered, "As fast as you are, shouldn't be a problem."

I was about to scold her, when I felt someone grab my arm and pull on it, swinging me around to face them.

"Sir, you have to make reservations for pets!"

I knit my eyebrows, looking down, yes down at a pudgy, pig looking middle aged man in a hotel uniform. His face was red with anger, and I couldn't see a neck on him, but if I could, I imagined a vein would be popping on it.

"Huh?"

He groaned, "You must let the hotel know prior to your arrival that you are bringing creatures!"

I didn't like the way he said creatures. As if Kyros was some dumb beast that needed to be locked in a cage.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"Well that's clear. Now get that thing out of here!"

Harper glared down at him, "Maybe we should start with you, tubby."

The man's face became even more beet red, if that were possible. He seethed at Harper and puffed out his chest, "Ah, body shaming I see! And racist to satyrs...quite the guests we have here!"

Harper's annoyed expression changed to confusion, "What? I'm not racist to satyrs, or anyone for that matter. And I'm not body shaming, I just don't like your attitude."

"You're a satyr?" I asked, not seeing any sign that the guy was part man part goat. No horns, no fur.

He huffed and reached down to pull up his already too tight khakis, revealing goat fur and hooves.

"See! You're racist!"

"No I'm not!" Harper said, "You're the one that started it!"

The satyr and Harper might've come to blows, had Paradus not showed up a split second after things got really heated. He walked up behind the guy and put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Now now, Phil. Don't get worked up, you know it raises your blood pressure to unhealthy levels."

The satyr, Phil, realized his boss was right behind him, and his broad chest shrunk back down. I could feel his emotions calming.

"Sorry, sir. It's this smart mouth here that caused it! I just told them the rules and they freaked out!"

Harper was about to argue, but Paradus held up a hand and eyed both of us.

"Matt Beckett and Harper Pierce." He said, after a few moments of recognition, "Good to see you again, it's been quite some time."

Phil the satyr's eyes went wide, "Wait, you know them?!"

Paradus smiled, showing perfect white teeth. "Yes, I know them. How are you two?"

Harper smirked at Phil, "Doing pretty good."

Phil was fuming, and I was just trying to get a room. The very thought of Atlas walking through those doors, I'll admit, kind of scared me.

"Paradus, we need a favor." I said seriously, letting him know the situation was serious.

His grin disappeared, and he patted Phil on the shoulder. "Phil, you can go on break now."

"But the bird! What about-"

"Phil. Go."

Phil gulped, gave one last glare at us, and walked away.

Paradus went from happy hotel owner to serious god in a matter of seconds. His aura flared, and I could feel that he wouldn't joke around.

"Let's take this to my office."

I knew what was coming next, and I braced myself. A flash of white light surrounded Harper, myself and Paradus. Immediately, we were transported to the top of the hotel. I mean the very top. We reappeared in a large office space surrounded a wall of clear windows. Blue sky and white clouds could be seen everywhere, so I knew we had to be hundreds, if not thousands of feet in the air.

Harper walked over to one of the windows and looked down. Her eyes widened, "Matt, look at this"

I went over to where she was and eyed the ground below. Every building, even juggernauts like the Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center were like ants from up here. People were nonexistent, roads were barely visible lines on the Earth, but I did notice that the body of water next to the city was still vast, like always.

"Woah..." I said, realizing I had held my breath for several seconds.

"Three thousand, five hundred feet tall, this hotel is." Paradus said behind his desk. He changed his clothes in an instant, with the flash I guessed. Before, he had on a simple hotel uniform; a white polo shirt and khakis, with a name tag that said Paradus - Hotel Manager

Now he looked like a businessman. He changed to a dark blue suit, neat tie and dress shoes so shiny that I couldn't discern which was brighter - those or his teeth.

"Over three thousand feet?!" Harper said in awe, "That's like...a lot taller than the tallest building in the world."

Paradus cocked his head, "Which is?"

"Burj Khalifa" She answered, "Two thousand, seven hundred feet, give or take."

I reared my head back, "How do you know that?"

She shrugged, "Annabeth loves architecture. Most of the time I just tune it out, but sometimes the info sticks with me."

Paradus nodded, "Yes, it is quite amazing what mortals can accomplish, really. Some gods like to complain about how weak and helpless they are, always needing assistance. But mind you, they don't have abilities like you and I. Consider that, and the things they've done with modern medicine, architecture, literature, military...well, the list goes on and on."

"It's just a matter of working together..." I muttered, not even sure if I meant to say that. It sort of just came out.

Paradus nodded happily, "Indeed, Matt. I see you've learned a thing or two since we last met."

Harper and I reluctantly took our gaze off the incredible sight below. Paradus gestured to two cushioned seats in front of his desk, and we sat in them.

"Oh...wow" I said. These seats were insanely comfortable. The phrase sitting on a cloud is probably hard to visualize, but that's the only way I can describe it here. Every muscle relaxed, I sank into the chair like it was ten feet deep with cotton and fluff, but in reality, it was only three inches thick.

Harper sighed, "What's in these chairs?"

"Cloud cotton."

That got my attention, "Cloud cotton? Wait, like actual clouds?"

Paradus nodded, "Yes. Zeus gathers clouds and hardens them for us, giving us the material we need. Factory workers make cushions out of them, and put them into the chairs we use, all throughout this hotel."

"Wait, so we're sitting on actual clouds?"

"Technically, yes."

I looked down at the cushions, and sure enough, they were white, like clouds. But I had no idea that's what they were freaking made of. Sometimes this world is pretty awesome.

Paradus smiled at our relaxed expressions. I probably would've gone to sleep if he hadn't spoken again.

"So, I know you two didn't come just to discuss our furniture. What can I do for you?"

I sat up straight, "Well...it's kind of complicated."

Harper rolled her eyes, "Not really. Look, I'll cut to the chase, we got attacked by a titan, barely escaped with our lives, and we need somewhere to lay low for the night."

I facepalmed at her blunt words. Could've at least eased into it, jeez. Now he'll never let us stay.

Paradus nodded seriously, "I see. Which titan?"

"Atlas."

The room seemed to get a little darker at that, and suddenly the bright blue sky and white fluffy clouds weren't so pleasing to the eye anymore. Words had power, and sometimes a simple name drop can mean a bleak mood.

Paradus tightened his lips, "Mmm, that's not good. I'm surprised you survived an attack from him, he usually isn't the dumb kind to not check if his prey is dead."

I leaned forward, moving my hands around with each word. "Well that's the thing, we weren't alone. Or...I don't think we were. See, right when he was about to kill me, my bird Kyros, came rushing out of the water with an army of pegasi. All of them had a green glow around their bodies."

"They distracted Atlas long enough for us to get away." Harper finished.

Paradus nodded, squinting his eyes like he was trying to solve an equation. "Pegasi? That's odd. Did anything else happen? Involving water, I mean."

"Uh...yeah, actually. The water sort of had a mind of it's own, it kept him in place and pretty much trapped him for a minute or two."

Paradus thought about it for a minute or two, at times mumbling to himself in words I couldn't hear, or really even understand.

Finally, Harper asked, "What could it have been?"

The god propped his elbows on the desk and placed his chin in his hands, "There are a few capable of controlling water like that...but only one capable of contending with Atlas."

Suddenly it hit me, and I nearly smacked myself for not realizing it sooner.

"Poseidon."

"Yes, the god of the sea helped you for some reason. Whether it be your friendship with his son, or that you are one of the only hopes of ending this war...I don't know."

I didn't press about the hope comment, but I didn't feel too hopeful right now, or like a symbol of any kind. I got my ass handed to me in Scandinavia, and just now by Atlas. One of the only hopes, not sure about that.

"Whatever the reason may be" Harper said, "Atlas is still out there, and he knows we're alive. He's coming for us."

"Why?"

"Because of Ouranos." I said lowly, not wanting to speak the name too loud. I hated saying his name, it was like a bad, dirty curse word that rolled off your tongue and you immediately regret saying it. It was enough to make me cringe, enough to make me angry. But I wouldn't picture his face, I couldn't, because all I would see is Malachi, and I never want to see him as the enemy again.

Paradus seemed to understand, "He sent Atlas after you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but why? Why would Atlas, of all people, or well, Titans, do his bidding?"

Harper raised a finger, "Remember what he said? Something about Ouranos doing him a favor."

I had forgotten about that. Yeah...he did say something of the sort. But what favor?

Silence ensued, and we were left with speculation. A piece was missing, no scratch that, more than one. The whole puzzle was gone, and we had no clue. The closest thing I'd gotten was that vision a week ago, and I had been silent about that because I knew it took place right after the battle up north. A million things could've happened between then and now, I just assumed it wasn't worth mentioning.

Paradus let out a strained sigh, and clasped his hands together, "I don't know much about warfare, after all I deal with hotels, and I'm a minor god. If you haven't noticed, we minors don't get too involved with the fighting. We leave that to the twelve superheroes, or demigods like you."

I nearly snickered at the superhero comment. Imagining Zeus or Ares in spandex and capes was both hilarious and creepy to me.

Paradus continued, "But I do know that the situation is very bleak, and has been for a while. If Atlas is in the fray now...well, let's just say that's a serious problem."

I gave an unsure glance, trying my best to put on some sort of puppy dog eyes. But I don't have puppy dog eyes, so it probably looked like I was on drugs or something.

Paradus noticed it and did a double take, "Matt, please stop. That's weird."

Harper smacked me on the arm and I stopped, but I was still pleading, crossing my fingers that he would let us stay.

"We really hate to ask" Harper said, thank the gods, she can talk better than I can anyway. "We can't go back to Camp, and this place is basically hidden from everything, so..."

"You want to hide for the night."

"Yeah, and possibly for free, but we can negotiate."

I winced at her wording. Man, Harper and I had two very different ways of approaching this situation. I was awkward and wanting to beat around the bush, partly because I felt guilty about intruding on Paradus like this, and no less asking to stay at this awesome place for free. Harper on the other hand was to the point and blunt, which honestly in this situation was better. If I were in charge we'd get nowhere.

Paradus studied us for a moment, his eyes flicking back and forth between Harper and I. I could feel in his emotions that he wasn't angry, but he wasn't happy with us intruding like this, and he was definitely worried about his source of business being demolished.

He sighed, "You're lucky I have a soft spot for heroes."

Harper and I looked at each other, then back at him. "So...does that mean we can stay?"

He nodded reluctantly, "Yes." We started to get excited, so he held a hand up, "Before you celebrate, know that it won't be for free. I'm a businessman, I need a little compensation for harboring wanted demigods."

He rubbed his fingers together suggestively, a smirk on his face.

Harper put her tongue against her lip in annoyance, "He wants money. Funny, since I don't remember him charging us two years ago on that first quest."

"We're asking a lot of him, Harper." I scolded, then looked at Paradus with guilt, "But...we don't have any drachmas. Maybe you could uh, put it on my tab?"

Paradus chuckled, "Well, drachmas aren't the only way to compensate." He tilted his head up a little, and smiled as if he'd thought of a good idea.

"What?"

"You know, I've heard that you're even faster than my father. That true?"

"Uh...maybe, I'm not sure."

"Well either way, I bet you could complete all of my staff's duties within a couple of hours no problem. Heck, maybe even less than that!"

Uh oh...I knew what he meant.

"You want me to work."

Paradus nodded.

Harper smiled and smacked my arm lightly, "Hey, that's a good idea! You're faster than freaking light Matt, you could probably do everyone's job in a few minutes!" She lowered her voice, "And this way we won't have to pay."

Her tone suggested that if I didn't do it, she'd give me serious hell. Easy for her to say, she doesn't have to work.

"I've also heard good things about your speed, Ms. Pierce. Perhaps you could lend Matt a hand? It would go twice as fast."

Her smile fell, and I had to keep myself from laughing.

"Pfft, looks like you got to get your hands dirty too" I teased.

She waved a dismissive hand, "Ah, it can't be too bad. It's just cleaning the floors, rooms, making sure guests get where their going, right?"

Paradus shook his head, and that was all I needed to see to know that we were absolutely clueless about what we had gotten ourselves into.

"Well...it won't be that easy."

(Three Hours Later)

It wasn't that easy.

Harper and I finally made it to the room Paradus gave us, and we immediately slumped on our beds. I had stamina for days, but I'll admit, doing hotel work in the world's tallest building wasn't exactly a cake walk. We had to clean thousands of rooms, literally, check guests in, restock supplies, and just about everything under the sun that you can think of. We tried to go fast, we really did, but there were times where somebody would ask something, or get in the way, or just be a douchebag. Harper wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine either, what with her wanting to do something a certain way every five minutes. You'd think that a hotel for gods would have some kind of magic that it wouldn't even need employees. But no, magic isn't everything I guess.

"You tired?" I asked her.

It took her a second to respond, and that's how I knew she was, but she put up a good front. "Nah, more stressed out than anything. I mean seriously, who the hell leaves trash all over the place? There's a can in the corner of the room!"

I groaned, remembering the dreaded room 305. Gods, that was rough. Whoever stayed there had to be some kind of trash deity, they didn't even see any sort of plastic bag or anything, nope, just threw wrappers and cans on the floor.

"Well, at least it's over now, and it's..." I took a quick look at the clock on the nightstand, "7:00. Huh, expected it to be later than that."

"The whole Atlas thing happened fast. It was right after school, remember?"

"Yeah."

I found my thoughts drifting to my mortal friends I had made, and the life that I had lived for the past year. Relatively normal, and not filled with events like, well today. But of course, I knew this would happen, I knew the day would come when Ouranos would play his next card, but I just didn't expect it to be Atlas, of all beings. He must really want me dead.

"It had to happen sooner or later; you know." Harper said, her head turned sideways on her pillow. She hadn't even taken her boots off, she just sprawled out on top of the sheets with her hands behind her head.

"How do you always know what I'm thinking?" I asked, half serious, "Like honestly, you have psychic abilities I don't know about?"

"Nah, I'm just a people person."

I chuckled, and a silence fell. I could hear nothing outside, no people bustling down the hall, no housekeeping carts rolling, since we'd done their duties for them. All I could catch was the whirring of the refrigerator, and the slight rattling of the ceiling fan above.

Harper continued what she was saying, "We've been trying to find out where Malachi and Sera are, for like...a year. We knew we'd get involved again, but we just weren't ready."

I knit my eyebrows. What was she talking about?

"Not ready to save our friends? The girl you think of as a sister?"

I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but maybe it was a little snappy, maybe I misunderstood her. But it sounded like she was saying we didn't really want to save them, to get them back, deep down in our hearts. That wasn't true. Malachi was my friend, I respected him and admired that he'd stayed a good person, despite his horrible upbringing. And Sera...well, come on, nobody dislikes her.

Harper noticed my tone, and glared at me, "No, idiot. I meant that we weren't ready to get back in the fight, emotionally. We always wanted to rescue them, but reeling from the events of Scandinavia, well, it was hard. What with your dad..."

I tightened my lips. Rarely have I ever been annoyed or angry with Harper. But right now, I could feel some hints of bitterness in my throat.

"You keep bringing that up." I muttered, "Why, I have no idea."

She sat up and looked at me incredulously, "Well excuse me, Matt! Olympus forbid that I want to know what you're thinking!"

I didn't budge, I just stared up at the ceiling. "You want to know what I think? I think we should stop talking about my dad, period. End of story, never again. I don't want to hear about it, I don't want to talk about it, and I don't want to think about it. There, my thoughts are displayed. Happy, dear?"

Okay, that last part was sarcastic, and I might've went a little too far. I could see that I had pissed her off more. I usually don't talk like that, but...these past few months have been really hard. I want to forget, so bad. I want to get that damn thought out of my head every night, seeing him take the hit for me, seeing him suffer for me.

Die for me.

I can't deal with it. I want to just stuff it away in a lock box and erase it from my mind, forever. That's why I don't like it when she brings it up, or when anyone does it. If you keep talking about it, the memory just grows stronger, and more heartbreaking.

She shook her head and huffed, "Yeah, loud and clear. I won't talk about it again." She slumped back down on the bed and laid on her side, away from me.

I felt instant guilt for snapping like that. It was the fact that she said that softly, and didn't scream at me. It would've been better if she yelled.

I started to get up, and go over to her. But I decided against it, she probably doesn't want me touching her right now, or even looking at her.

I just sighed and went to sleep.

Percy

"Dad, what the heck happened here?"

He wouldn't look at me for the longest time. He just floated around the ruins, looking at all of his fallen comrades with sadness and guilt. Every time he noticed a body, and call me crazy, but it seemed like he aged a year, with each one. He was looking on death's door now it seemed, his gray hair had become stringy, his skin even more wrinkled, and his muscular build practically gone.

"Percy" He said, "I never wanted to involve you in this. I understood that you intended to step away from all of this and attend school with Athena's child."

I sort of glanced down at the sand and back up at him, shrugging, "Yeah well, things don't always turn out the way you'd think they would."

He nodded grimly, "Indeed."

I stared at him, and I could tell he was doing his best to hold back information. That used to happen all the time, where he would speak in vague terms, or send me messages I wouldn't completely get. Well, this one, I wanted to know the truth, the full truth.

I put a hand on his arm, and he looked down at me.

"Dad, tell me what happened. All of it."

His eyes met mine, and I could see the sadness built up in them. The battle had been hard, no, it had been a complete ambush. They had no idea they were coming, whoever they were.

"Okay, Percy. But we cannot be here. We must find my er, other son. Then we can go to a safe place to talk."

I raised an eyebrow, "What other son? Wait a second...I don't have a long-lost sibling, do I?!"

He lifted a calming hand, "No, of course not. I do have a godly child though. The two of you have actually met before."

It took me a minute, but I racked my brain and remembered the last time I came here. Finally, I saw him in my head, with his serious, condescending look and his two merman tails.

"Triton?"

Dad nodded, "Yes. I know for a fact he made it out alive. We just need to locate him."

I wanted to groan, but really, I was glad he survived. I'd only met my half-brother once, and he'd been a bit of a jerk to me. Talking about how I "finally made it" and all this other stuff, when the whole time during the titan war, I wanted to help out underwater, I wanted to aid my dad with Oceanus. But no, I had to help Camp.

"Alright, well can't gods use aura sense to locate?"

He nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating. A small surge of cool water drifted by my face, and I knew he was sending out waves of his energy, trying to find Triton.

After a few seconds, he must've felt a ping, because his eyes shot open.

"I found him. But he's wounded, we must hurry!"

Dad took off into the darkness, a force of water hitting me and nearly making me fall. Which sounds weird, to fall underwater, but that's what it felt like.

I looked at the merman, "You coming?"

He looked up at me, then nervously into the depths, like whatever monster that did this was going to come back any second and eat him.

"I don't think so. I'll...catch up."

I shrugged, "Suit yourself. Be careful."

I willed the water to push me in the direction my dad went. For some reason, everything became nightly black around me, and I could barely see anything. Sure, we were a long way down, but that didn't matter a few minutes ago, I could see everything fine. But now I couldn't even trace out my hand two feet in front of my face.

"Dad?" I called.

"Over here!"

Thank Olympus, I thought. It wouldn't have been too fun to get lost down here. But then again, I guess all I'd have to do is swim upward.

I darted over to where his voice was, and once I got close enough, I saw that he was surrounded by something. Oddly enough, it was the same sea green glow that I had earlier, only his was a bit dimmer and bleaker, not as powerful it seemed. He was only using it to light up the area.

"Percy, come quick!"

I swam over, and saw that he wasn't alone. He was kneeling over someone laid up on a rock, that someone, was my half-brother Triton.

Don't ask how I remember what he looks like, having only met him once a few years ago, but I guess you don't forget someone that has such a high and mighty look. Well, right now he didn't. He had ichor floating from several wounds on his body, he had long, straight black hair and normal skin, no scales at all. But on his lower half, that was where the part fish thing came into play. Unlike most mermen, who only have one tail, he has two. And his own weapon, a two-pointed trident, instead of my father's three pointed one. I guess it symbolizes his high rankage, or whatever.

He was cursing under his breath and looking off to the side, in the distance, "Bastards, they had to attack me with an army just to land a single hit!"

Dad calmed him and placed a hand over his wounds, "Easy now. Don't get worked up. This will not go without retaliation."

I was really confused. Here was my dad, one of the Big Three, and Triton, a minor god, and lieutenant of Atlantis from what I remember, both weak and wounded. By who? What the heck was going on?

"Okay, does someone want to clue me in?" I asked, a little impatient, "Or am I gonna have to play the guessing game?"

Triton looked up at me, noticing for the first time that I was here. He rolled his eyes, "Lord, why did you have to bring him. As if the situation wasn't bad enough."

I put a hand to my chest, "Me? Oh well sorry, guess I'll just go back to the surface, then." I made like I was going to leave, but Dad pulled be back down.

"Will you two please be quiet and get along for ten seconds! My powers aren't as strong at the moment, and I need to focus to heal him."

I was about to shoot a mocking grin at Triton, when I heard a long, drawled out growl rumble through the ocean. It literally shook the sand beneath us.

I covered my ears, "What is that?"

Triton gritted his teeth and tried to reach for his trident. Or well, since it has two points, would it be called a bident? Heh, that's kind of funny.

"It's back! Father, it's behind you!"

I had no idea what he was talking about. But I could feel a presence of something. It was faint, but I knew it was there, and it was in fact, looming over my dad, about to attempt to rip him apart.

All of a sudden, from the darkness, a bright light shone and flashed quickly. One of the biggest fish I'd ever seen emerged and opened its jaws at Poseidon. It was an angler, the kind that had that light hanging down from the top of their head and over their face. That was this, only this thing was ten times as big. Making it enormous.

Its razor-sharp teeth gleamed from its light, two, no, three rows of spear like teeth all aimed at Dad. The fish's eyes were wild and murderous. Its purpose was to come after us, it had literally just been sent.

I felt worried for him, and I nearly jumped in to defend him, but his powers either weren't as weak as he said, or he was that strong, that a giant anger fish is nothing to a weakened god of the sea. Dad simply turned his head, glared at it, and stuck his hand out. A jet of sea green light erupted from his fingertips and hit the fish square in the face. Physics left the world for a moment as the angler fish caught on fire, underwater. It shook its head wildly and beat itself against the sand, trying to get it to extinguish, but my father's flame was standing. Before long, it crumbled to dust and drifted back with the current.

I stood- sorry, floated there, my eyes wide and trying to process what and the world just happened. It all went by so fast.

Triton groaned and sat up, "One of the monsters that attacked our palace. He's sending more after the survivors. This is not-"

"I know." Dad said sternly, "I know it's not good."

"Father." Triton said softly, "Did you see her? Was she...oh no, she was in the rubble, wasn't she?" A vein popped from his neck, I could see the rage building up on his face, "If that beast laid a hand on her, I swear I'll kill him."

I didn't know who they were talking about, on both people. I didn't know who "she" was, or who even initiated this attack. I was completely clueless, and I hated being left out of stuff.

But I could see that I needed to stay quiet, if I opened and ran my mouth, Dad wouldn't be happy. He was obviously torn about something.

Wait a second, could "she" be...

"Amphitrite" I said, "It's...your wife, isn't it?"

Dad looked up at me, then quickly at the ground again. I almost didn't catch his "yes" until he repeated it. I knew why he had a hard time talking about her around me, because she wasn't my mother. My mom was mortal, and obviously Amphitrite probably didn't like the whole me being born thing.

But still, if she was involved in this massacre...no matter how much she didn't like me, I still felt for her, and my dad. I didn't want what happened back there to happen to them.

"Is she okay?"

Dad shook his head, "I...I don't know, Percy. We lost each other after the battle begun. I was busy keeping him at bay."

"Okay, who's him? What happened here? Dad, I need answers, now!"

Triton glared up at me, "Do you ever shut up? Be patient, boy!"

I was about to argue, but Dad gave Triton a scolding look that brokered no argument.

"Percy is right, he deserves to know the truth. I called him down here after all, it's only right that he be included." He looked around in caution, and helped Triton up, throwing one of his arms over his shoulder.

"We need to get away from here. I know of a cave we can talk in. I'll have to create the barrier, which will take energy, but...that is a cost I'm willing to pay." He looked at me and gestured to Triton, "Could you take his other arm, please?"

I nodded and floated over, grabbing my half-brother's arm and propping him up.

"Here, I'll get your weapon." I said, and reached down for the bident.

"Appreciate it." He said, but I wasn't sure if he was actually thanking me or being sarcastic. I'm going to go with sarcastic.

We swam for a few hundred feet, or maybe miles. It was hard to tell with my pounding heart. I didn't know who we were up against, but if they could make my father like this, one of the most powerful gods ever, then they were very dangerous. We all were on edge, due to our exposure. The only person that had a hand free was Dad, so if something happened, it was up to him.

"We're close." He said, "It's just up ahead. Percy, keep going!"

I could see it in the distance, approaching faster and faster which each stroke we took. The thing itself was a large shadow right now, but I could make out jagged, stone-like shapes all around it. At the very bottom, there was an opening, wide enough for all of us to fit.

But above us, I heard more noises. This time, it didn't come from something's vocal cords, no, it sounded more like electricity.

Electricity? Underwater?

"Dad, what is that?"

Both he and Triton looked up, to see massive shadows passing us by. They were long and flexible, seemingly having no bones whatsoever in their bodies. They were almost...snake like. But no, there weren't snakes that big in the ocean. Heck, I didn't even know there were snakes in the ocean.

"Giant eels." Dad said, "Careful, Percy. They carry enough voltage to kill five hundred men."

I gawked, "Five hundred?!"

"Yes, but don't worry. You're my son, you should survive. You might receive several burn wounds...but you'll survive."

"That's good to know!" I said sarcastically, but he didn't hear me. The giant eels were closing in, both of them crackling electric sparks at us.

It was obvious both Dad and Triton just got out of a massive battle, and both of them had definitely been through the ringer. Triton was hurt, and his breathing was heavy. My dad was trying his best to cover his weakness up, but it wasn't working. He was seemingly getting older; his life force was fading. I had no idea how, but I couldn't let danger come his way.

So, I acted on instinct. I halted myself and pushed them both into the cave.

Dad looked back at me like I was crazy, "What are you doing?"

"Get Triton deeper in the cave! I got this!"

"Percy!"

"Go, Dad!"

There was a moment's delay, then a few more moments of nothing. I didn't look back to check if they had gone, I was too focused on the eels, swooping down in the current and coming right at me.

I was about to pull out Riptide, when I noticed a bronze glint next to me in the sand.

Triton's bident.

I dropped it when I pushed them in the cave. Even better, because Riptide doesn't work so well underwater, or at least, I'm not used to using it down here. I needed something that could cut through the pressure, I want there to be no resistance.

The bident was perfect for that.

I quickly picked it up and held it to the side of my head. I don't have much experience with a spear, but I know a thing or two. Accuracy is better than strength with throwing one. This was no different.

"Shouldn't have messed with me." I said, and threw it. I willed the water to push it even further just to add extra power.

It shot in a straight line towards the eel's face. It had no time to react, even in the darkness, I saw the bident pierce right through the eel in an instant, then the one behind it, and they both crumbled to dust. Heh, looks like they weren't smart enough to attack side by side.

The bident hit the sand, handle in the air. I floated over and pulled it out, the thing was weightless in the water, and i got a feeling it would be basically the same on land. This thing was crafted differently, made of celestial bronze, but crafted differently.

I shrugged and held it in my hand, eyeing the monster particles drifting off in the deep.

"You know, if you guys didn't disappear, I'd have unagi for dinner." I thought that sounded like a good one liner, even though nobody can hear me, that's not the point. The point is, I need to practice so that when people are around to hear me, I have something cool to say.

But then I thought about it, and I doubt I'd like eel. I don't eat seafood anyway; I just can't do it. I love sea creatures, other than the monsters of course.

"You know...on second thought, I take that back."

I turned and looked at the cave entrance, not seeing any sign of my father or Triton, I deduced they had obviously gone in deeper, and listened to me. Huh, that's cool, dad actually listened to me.

I went inside, and after I did, I felt a sort of tingling sensation pass through me. It's kind of hard to explain, but have you ever seen those movies where ghosts pass through humans? Well, that's what this felt like. I looked at the entrance closer once I got in, and saw that my dad had formed a protective barrier to shield us. It was a thin, light green wall. Hard to notice unless you were two feet or closer to it.

"Nice." I said, and went further.

Unlike outside, I could see perfectly fine in here. The realization made me scrunch my face in confusion. What happened out there that turned the area so dark? In literally every other spot, I could see fine, and even this cave, which is right in the middle of it, I could see fine. Was it my dad's barrier?

I wasn't sure, and I didn't have time to ponder, because once I turned the fifth corner, I saw them. My dad and Triton, the former floating in the center of an open space, surrounded by rock walls, and the latter leaning on one of those walls.

Dad sighed in relief, "Percy. Did you get rid of them?"

I nodded, "Yeah." I waved the bident around, "Used this. It's a pretty neat weapon."

Triton scoffed, "I can't with this boy. The second most powerful Atlantic weapon is pretty neat to him."

What was this guy's problem anyway? I was about to call him out for being jealous, but I figured that would be pretty rude. He did have a stab wound in his shoulder.

Instead, I threw the bident back to him. He caught it.

"Dude, it was a compliment. Take it."

He looked away, wincing. "Whatever. Just don't touch it again."

"Don't have to." I said, and reached in my pocket, pulling out Riptide. I'm not one to show off, but to showoffs, well, you gotta fight fire with fire.

"A pen?" Triton said, chuckling, "That's the weapon of the famous Perseus Jackson? Father, you've got to be joking when you say this boy beat Kron-"

I unsheathed Riptide, interrupting him. The ballpoint pen became a three-foot-long celestial bronze killing machine. All the years of my experience radiated off this thing, there were so many battles packed into its metal it was nuts. Even Triton felt it.

I smirked, "You were saying?"

He glared at me, and I could've sworn his face was turning red, but Dad interrupted before we could bicker any further.

"Silence, you two." He turned to me, "Percy, I know you have responsibilities at Camp, so I won't keep you for long. I just needed to tell you of the situation, that's why I called you down here."

Triton mumbled something under his breath I didn't catch, but Dad did.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, Percy."

"No, no. What did he say?" I wanted to know. If this guy has such a problem with me, then why don't we settle it? Let's talk it out, half bro. I'm down.

Triton spoke up with bitterness, every attacking word aimed at me. "I said that's not what he called you for, little hero. He called you to come help him, to come help us, your family, fight off against the attack."

My eyes widened, and my stomach dropped. I knew it was urgent. Ugh, I knew I should've left Axel to the Camp and gone to help. What was I thinking?! I didn't want to look scared in front of everybody?

Well guess what idiot, I told myself. Your little stage fright routine got dozens of your father's soldiers killed.

Poseidon glared at Triton, normally a stare like that would probably smite him, but now in his weakened state, it just made Triton turn his head and shut up.

"Thank you for that, Triton." He turned to me and softened his voice, "Percy, it's not your fault. You were busy on the surface, and I understand. Besides, I doubt you would've turned the tables around, all by yourself."

That right there. For some reason what he just said felt like the biggest punch to the gut.

I couldn't have turned things around...but he could've.

"Do you think Matt could've?"

Dad tried to act like he had to think of the name for a second, but I knew he was famous everywhere.

"Matt Beckett?"

"You know who he is Dad, stop playing. You think he could've turned the tables?"

"He had his own problems, son. And I helped him with that, too."

I should've asked, and part of me wanted to, but the other part took over and said something else. "If he didn't have that problem, would you have sent him a letter?"

He looked away from me with guilt, "Percy...I called you, not Matt. I wanted you to help, do you understand?"

I kept my gaze on the sand, but my voice was pleading. "Who was it? Who attacked Atlantis? The truth."

Dad was staring at me, I could tell. Maybe trying to find a way to take the conversation elsewhere, or silently hoping for something else to attack so he didn't have to tell me. I don't know. I had some assumptions, but they were probably wrong. I knew it had to be someone powerful, powerful enough to destroy freaking Atlantis and weaken my dad. Let's run down the list, there's Zeus...

Nah. They argue a lot, but they're brothers, and even he wouldn't do something like this.

Hades?

Eh...nah, he wouldn't do it either. Too lazy.

So that leaves someone truly evil, like a titan, or a giant, or something else.

I waited patiently for him to respond, and finally realize that he had no way to avoid it. He called me here, he was telling me, bottom line.

Finally, he sighed. "Oceanus."

It took me a second to process that, "Huh?"

"Oceanus" Triton said impatiently, "The titan of the sea. Don't you know anything?"

I ignored him, "Wait, I thought you beat him in the second titan war. How did he cause this attack if he's in Tartarus?"

I'd never seen a god looked so stressed before, especially my dad. He leaned his elbow against the rock wall and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I have no idea, Percy. I indeed thought things were over a few years ago. I remember putting my trident through his chest, he faded in front of my eyes, I made sure of it. I...don't know how he's back."

"Ouranos?"

He shook his head, "Perhaps. But I know it is him, I saw him, I felt his power. It's him."

"But...how?" I said, completely baffled. "How does Oceanus have enough power to even fight you? To destroy your palace and make you look like this?" I gestured to his fragile frame.

He looked at himself and cringed at what he's become. "He's using the same tactic he used in the second war. He's been destroying the sea, little by little."

I reared my head back, "What? But...that doesn't make sense. Won't that affect him too?"

Dad's eye twitched, and his eyebrows lowered in anger. "He ruled this domain before it became mine. I took a large chunk of his power in doing so. Remember Percy, things like a god's symbol, their territory, or even personal items of theirs are powerful, and it can affect them greatly if they are trifled with. Remember when my brother's Master Bolt was stolen?"

I nodded, remembering all those years ago. It had been so strange, like all of the lightning from the world had disappeared, and if there were any strikes, they weren't nearly as powerful or impressive as it had been before.

"So...he's harming your domain, and...taking your power away?"

"Ultimately, yes. Small things can make a difference, like killing marine life, most of the barrier reef, polluting the water...it adds up, and weakens me."

"Will it kill you?"

Triton snorted from the corner, his wounds were slowly healing, being a god himself. "Of course it won't kill him! You can't even fathom a fraction of your father's power, boy. A single glimpse of it would send that Son of Heracles running for the hills."

Both Dad and I just deadpanned at him.

"Dude, you are seriously a buzzkill."

"A what?"

"Enough!" Dad snapped, "Look, the point is...Ouranos has somehow sped up his reforming process, and Oceanus is back." He gestured to Triton's wound, "Triton attempted to fight him, but he was too much. It was only when we worked together did we have a chance, and at that point, he did the smart thing and retreated. But the damage was already done, he had won. He just didn't finish us off."

"That's what those monsters were for..." I said, deducing the attacks from five minutes ago.

"Yes. He most likely told them to find us." His face darkened ten shades, his eyes were pure black and I could no longer see the light in his eyes. He was enraged.

"I knew him for a long time. Oceanus was neutral in the first war, and out of the entire bunch, along with Prometheus, I'd consider him a somewhat decent being. His mind however, is easily corrupted. Kronos promised him things in the second war, and now I'm sure Ouranos has done the same. Most likely his old position, or a spot at his right hand. Empty vows."

I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up. All of those bodies...the image flashed in my mind, and I felt so much guilt. I could've been here, I could've helped.

"I'm sorry, Dad." I muttered, "I'm sorry I wasn't here when I should've been."

He stared at me, not even sure where to begin. His eyes were wide with sadness. "No, Percy...I didn't mean anything like that! You couldn't help it."

"I could've been here." I said, "I should've let Annabeth and others handle Axel. They didn't need me for that."

He put a warm hand on my shoulder, "You don't know for sure, Percy. You did the right thing, and I hold no hard feelings for your decision. It is...better that you didn't come, truthfully. I..." His eyes welled up, and it wasn't the saltwater. "I couldn't bear it if you had gotten hurt, especially after Amphitrite-"

Triton looked like he wanted to get up, and tried, but the pain still hadn't gone away completely, so he ended up slumping on his merman tail.

"Mother is fine." He assured, using a much softer voice than when speaking to me, "You said it yourself, you didn't see her die. You just lost contact."

"But I can't feel her aura. I can sense the entire ocean, every living thing inside of it, but not hers..."

Triton looked at me and motioned with his head like say something to him, idiot! And I motioned back I'm going to, moron!

"Dad, um..." I started, "I don't know her very well, but if she's with you, and a goddess of the sea, then I'm sure she's safe, wherever she is. I can help you find her if you want."

He wiped his eye and waved his hand dismissively, "No. Thank you, but no. I will find her myself. You need to get back to the Camp, be with your friends during these hard times."

We went silent, and I looked between the two. Both of them were broken and beaten. Oceanus had destroyed part of the sea, the most beautiful thing in the world, besides Annabeth, in my opinion, just to get at my Dad. It was clear he would do anything to take him down. He was dangerous.

And Triton, well the guy had a good cover up, but I could see behind it. He was scared, and worried that everyone he knows will be killed. How can I just stand around and let this happen? I can't stay at Camp.

I had started to walk off, when something hit me. I remembered my fight with Axel, and how for a minute or so, I had grown impossibly strong, I had awakened my aura.

I turned around, "Dad?"

He looked up, "Yes?"

I took caution in what I was about to say next. I'd never asked something like this to him before, and I'd never thought about it, until now.

"Can you teach me?"

You could've heard a pen drop, even underwater. That's how quiet it got. The ambient noises of the ocean's darkness suddenly faded to nothing, just sheer, screaming silence. Dad's eyes were furrowed, and Triton looked like I had just said mermen were the worst creatures to walk the planet.

"Teach you? What do you mean?"

I floated back towards them, using my hands to gesture my point. "I mean like...train me. Teach me to become stronger, so I can help out."

He sighed, "Percy, I've already told you, I can handle this. Go back to Camp."

I started to get frustrated at his stubbornness. Geez, looks like it runs in the family. Was I always this bad? Huh, no wonder Annabeth used to yell at me all the time.

"No you can't!" I shouted, causing him to look at me in bewilderment. "I'm sorry for yelling, but I'm trying to tell you something, and you're not listening! Dad, I can help. I can help now. When I was fighting Axel, something...weird happened. He was about to hit Annabeth, and something inside of me snapped. I was surrounded by a green glow, like the one you had, and I got so much stronger. I was able to beat him with ease."

"You awakened your aura?" Triton asked, no hint of sarcasm in his voice this time, I noted.

"I...I think so." I said, unsure. I looked down at my palms, and squeezed them. "I think maybe with some guidance, I can hone it, and use it whenever I want. Dad, do you realize how awesome this is?! I could finally get back in the fight! I could be as strong as Matt!"

After I said that, he gave me a look I can't describe. It was almost scolding, and it was sure as heck stern. He crossed his arms and looked down at me.

"So that's what this is about. You want to be as strong as your friend."

Well, that's partly true, but not wholly. I shook my head, "No."

"Don't lie."

"Okay, fine! That may be true! But..." I stopped and stared at the ground, my voice even and frustrated. "Look, I...I used to be able to protect the people that couldn't protect themselves. People used to look to me for comfort. I never wanted that, but I accepted it, and it made me happy. Now, I'm the one being protected, I'm the one looking to somebody else."

Sure, I probably sounded like a needy brat, but that was how I felt. I wanted the people at Camp to feel safe all the time. With Matt and Harper being in school now, Malachi and Sera gone, Talon basically a vegetable, that means it's me. Annabeth, Me and Nico, but mostly me. We need to work together of course, but at the end of the day, I need to step my game up, and this is how it's supposed to happen.

Dad kept his arms crossed, but his stern expression softened, and he looked at me with sympathy. "Percy..."

I'm not sure what he was about to say, if anything. But I wouldn't know, because just then, a loud rumbled interrupted everything, shaking the cave we were in.

Triton's eyes narrowed and his grip on the bident tightened. "It's Oceanus. He's returned for us. Father, what do we do? We're both weakened."

"Let me help!" I quickly said, sounding like I was twelve again. Internally, I knew that was coming from the adrenaline rush I'd had earlier, but I meant it. "I can defend you guys, or get you someplace safer!"

Dad shook his head, looking up at the roof of the cave, "No. There is no safe place from him, he knows how to navigate the ocean as well as me. We simply have to fight, or hold him off." He broke his stare and grabbed my shoulders, "Percy, you need to get out of here."

I instantly protested, "I'm not leaving you."

"Listen to me! You'll die if you stay here. You can't fight him."

Triton agreed, getting up with a pained grunt from the sand. "He's right. You need to get back to your Camp and stay there."

Why were these guys treating me like a nobody? I could at least help a little!

"Dad, let me stay. I've fought titans before, and won!"

"That was when you had the Curse of Achilles, and they were in a weakened state, like I am now."

"Well...I can awaken my aura again. Just give me a sec, I need to concentrate." I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my aura, or whatever it was. I had no experience doing this, and knew next to nothing about it. But I tried anyway.

Another rumble shook the area, Dad grabbed my hand and put something in it.

I looked at it. In my palm, sat a small green pill. Or well, it was shaped like a pill, and looked like a marble of some sorts.

"What's this?"

"Eat it."

I looked down at it again, and back at him. What the heck was this thing?

"But what is-"

"Percy." He said, "Just do what I say."

I looked at Triton, and he nodded. I don't know why I didn't question further. Maybe because of my dad's commanding voice, or the thought that this would somehow make me stronger, or awaken my aura for me. I threw caution to the wind and popped it in my mouth, swallowing it as soon as it touched my tongue.

It went down easily, and I started to feel weird.

"What...what did I just eat?"

"It's a transporter. It will take you back to the surface."

I looked up at him with wide eyes, "Wait...but no! No, I can't leave you!"

"I can handle this. Get back to your friends."

It started taking effect. I felt a tremendous pull on my body, like all of the ocean's water was pushing against me. But I resisted long enough to ask one last thing.

"What about my training?! You never gave an answer!"

He looked at me, and smiled. Somehow, his face looked slightly younger. Maybe it was a trick of my eyes, maybe I wanted to see it so bad that it happened. I don't know.

"I'll keep in touch. Farewell, son. For now."

I reached out to him, "NO!"

It was too late. I got pulled from the cave, passed the green barrier, and saw a glimpse of Oceanus above the rock structure. I couldn't really make out exactly what he looked like, but I remembered the last time I saw him, a few years ago, he had taken form of a giant squid. Right now, he wasn't a squid, but he wasn't a man either. He was...something big and scary.

I left the darkness in seconds; the ocean floor being pulled away from me and its size reducing until I couldn't see it anymore. My body was fine, and I didn't even feel a tugging in my stomach, even though I was being pulled extremely fast. My arm was frozen in place from where I reached out to Dad.

Finally, I broke through, the chilly October air hit me like a tornado, filling my nostrils and causing them to sting. I flew twenty feet and crashed on a sand dune close to the shore. I realized in the process of being dragged, I let my wet resistance ability loosen, and I got soaked. Add sand to that, and...yeah, I was pretty uncomfortable. It stuck to me in places I don't even want to mention.

I used my arm to get it off of me, and I stood up, looking at the water.

"This isn't fair." I said, and I tried to go back in. Call it stupid, but I knew he was down there, in a weak state, being attacked by a powerful titan. I wanted to help so bad, I wanted to know how to control my aura. I'd adapt to the change, this new war, and all its craziness. I would adapt, I just needed a little guidance.

My shoe touched the water, but instead of going in like I expected, it pushed against the sole and skidded me back several feet. Huh?

"What the..."

I tried again, stomping it this time. It did the same thing, and I couldn't enter.

Frustrated, I shouted and tried to dive in headfirst. That didn't work out to well. The water smacked me in the face and I went tumbling on my side.

I sat up and wiped the sand from my face. I was angry.

"CRAP!"

I felt like a big sack of uselessness, sitting here with my face in my hands. I couldn't do anything but fight an overgrown kids' volcano project. I said earlier that Percy Jackson is back, but I wasn't so sure that was going to be good enough this time around.

Maybe...there needed to be a new Percy Jackson.

Matt

Visions are weird.

Oh sorry, have you heard that before? Yeah, I'm sure you're sick of these by now. They've been in what, half of this whole thing?

Well, you're gonna want to hear this one. Because it's a doozy, a real mind twister.

I'm not sure how long it was after I went to sleep, but it felt like a few seconds.

I was in a forest, during the middle of the night. Had to be, it was dark and the only thing giving me any sort of illumination was the moon. Dozens of pine trees and bushes were all I could make out, and there were miles of it. Wherever I was, had to be in the middle of nowhere, that or a national park.

It was kind of peaceful, for a few seconds at least. Owls were hooting, the wind was blowing, making the leaves on the ground rustle up and move ever so slightly. I loved that sound. Fall is the best.

A woman, running, broke my tranquil moment.

I saw her shadow, her silhouette, booking it through the trees, faster than a normal person should be able to run. She had long hair, that much I could tell, and a fairly curvy build.

She was scared, I could feel the fear radiating off of her. She was trying not to fall or run into trees as she went, but there seemed to be no escape.

Finally, she broke from the forest and stumbled on a cliff edge overlooking some kind of city. I looked like the kind of spot a couple would drive to be together, maybe watch the stars and make out or something. The city was giant below, but I couldn't identify it. A lot of lights, that's for certain.

The woman's back was towards me, but I could see now that she wore dark clothing, and her hair was black too, with...pale skin.

Wait a second...

She turned around, her eyes were glared at something, and her breathing was very ragged. She seemed tired, but...that couldn't be possible. Her aura was pretty big, she had to be a goddess.

It was then that I looked at her face. In the few moments I had, I identified her clearly as the woman I saw in Harper's memories two years ago. Her mother, Nemesis.

She looked a lot like her, and I mean a lot like her. Not as pretty as Harper, and a bit harsher in the face, but there was definitely a resemblance. She pulled out a dual set of knives, just like her daughter, and got in a fighting position. I could see twigs and leaves in her hair and clothes, and even a few cuts leaking ichor.

What was going on? Who was she running from?

Could it be Levi? I thought within the vision. Maybe, since we have no idea where he is, and he run off where nobody could find him. He could've finished his revenge quest by chasing his mother down and killing her.

But that wouldn't make sense. Levi was strong, but Nemesis was one of the more powerful minor goddesses, surely he couldn't even hurt her without surprising her, and even then, goddesses have aura sense.

"You didn't make this easy, but that is fine. You have nowhere to run now." Said a voice, exiting the trees. Wait a minute...I know that voice, and it's not Levi's.

As if I was watching a movie, the "camera" of the vision turned from Nemesis to the trees, and out stepped a figure. Blonde hair came first, then a shirtless torso, on the lower half, I saw a waist cloak coming down to the knees of pants that looked like they belonged in Imperial Japan.

Okay...I've definitely described that before, on my friend...

No, it couldn't be. It couldn't be him.

But it was. Two steps further proved the dread that filled my gut. Malachi Stallard came into view, looking exactly like he did two years ago, only he was a bit more muscular, and his hair was slightly shorter, parted in the middle and stopping at the tops of his ears instead of his neck now. It made him look older.

Nemesis growled, "Why are you doing this? I thought you were a friend of my daughter's!"

Malachi looked emotionless. His eyes held no sympathy for the goddess, or at least, none that I could detect. His mouth was neutral, and he just stood there, about twenty feet from her.

"I know Harper, yes. But she is not the concern right now. I've asked you to come with me, but you refused. Refuse again, and you will come by force."

I couldn't believe my ears. What the hell was I watching right now? Was this real? Malachi looked freaking scary. I hadn't even registered the fact that I was seeing him for the second time in a year, and he looked different, signaling that this most likely took place recently, or at least later than the first vision.

"What does Ouranos want with me?!" Nemesis shouted.

"I can't tell you that, unfortunately. My instructions were to retrieve you. I don't know why."

He tried to walk towards her, but she threw one of the knives at the ground, right in front of him. Malachi stopped and glared at it.

She summoned the knife back to her. "Tell me why, and I might consider it."

"No."

"Then I'm out of here." She said, turned around, and tried to jump off the cliff. Her true form materialized halfway, but Malachi was faster. His eyes widened and he jumped off the ground, leaving a crater where he stood. His aura spiked, and I could already tell that he was even stronger than before, and largely so.

He grabbed her leg right from the air and slung her to the ground on her back. Nemesis yelped in pain.

"You leave me no choice." He said and quickly grabbed her throat, shutting her up. His free hand was surrounded by a blue, lightning-like aura. He dealt a hard blow to the middle of her forehead, and the goddess was out cold.

Malachi grabbed her body and threw it over his shoulder. I didn't even have time to think about it, I just tried to identify where he was, that was the first thing I did. This might be the only chance I have to do so. I scanned the city, but found nothing that stuck out, there were dozens of cities that were big. The forest, no, there were millions of those.

But something caught my eye, the only thing that stuck out. It looked like...a bridge. A really big bridge.

Like the Golden Gate I saw in my first vision...

San Francisco, that's where he was. That's where they were.

Malachi looked right at me, and if I could control myself, I probably would've tensed up or jumped. I hadn't seen him give me this kind of look in a long time. It was piercing, and threatening. It only lasted for a solid second, then the weirdest thing happened. I had a vision, within a vision.

I seemed to dive into his eyes, and I saw his memories. It was short, but I saw them all. With quick bursts, multiple events were displayed. I saw Sera in chains, crying, I saw Atlas under the burden, seemingly looking up at somebody, I saw someone frail looking with black hair, a boy maybe, on his knees and his head down. I saw Malachi running with Sera, holding her hand urgently and leading her somewhere, and lastly, probably the weirdest one, was a memory of a hellish prison. It looked like if Alcatraz was in the Underworld, this would be it. Several floors and rows, surrounded by spiked gates, fire, hellhounds and skeletons for guards. Malachi and...a little boy with his matching hairstyle stood a good distance in front of it., maybe scouting it.

Then it ended. I was pulled away from Malachi's eyes and brought back to where I was, the bed of the Paradise Inn.

My eyes opened calmly, not wildly or shot, but calmly. It was ironic, given what I saw.

At first, I just laid there, under the covers, trying to just figure out what the hell I witnessed.

"Holy shit" I muttered. Malachi knocked out Nemesis. Malachi...knocked out Nemesis.

I didn't expect to see Malachi, not at all. I'd given up on visions or signs of him months ago, just completely defeated at the idea of saving them. I wanted to, believe me, but after hoping and seeing nothing for so long, well you kind of lose hope.

I still didn't have much hope.

Seeing him like that, was very, very surprising. I expected, if I ever saw him, to be on the run from Ouranos, or trapped like Sera was. Not out and about, looking healthier and stronger than when I knew him, capturing goddesses, going to the underworld, taking orders from Ouranos.

I had to talk about this.

"Harper." I whispered, tilting my head to the side to look at her.

She wasn't there.

All I saw were messed up sheets, and no sign of her anywhere. Her pillow was in place, and her covers had obviously been moved. Did she leave? Go downstairs?

No, the sheets are too messy. There was a struggle here...

She got captured and I didn't even know it. I didn't even know it happened.

My eyes widened, I shot up in a sitting position. Fear was the only thing that pulsed in my brain.

"Oh gods..." I said, "Harper!"

I threw the covers off of me and jumped out of bed, clad in only pajamas on my lower half. Huh? I don't remember changing into this, or...taking my shirt and socks off.

Idiot, who cares! She's missing!

I opened the door and didn't even close it. I probably looked crazy, running down the hall and bustling past a few people coming out of their rooms. I even knocked one guy down.

"Sorry!" I called, and kept running.

Harper, please be okay, please be okay.

I didn't want to think of the possibility, but it was there. Malachi could've done this.

In the vision, he said I know Harper, but she isn't the concern right now.

Right now. Meaning she will be, but not right now.

What if that took place months ago, weeks ago, and Harper was the next one to be captured? For whatever reason.

I couldn't let it happen. Malachi was my friend, and I had no idea why he was doing this. But if he planned on hurting Harper, I wouldn't let him. I would fight back if I had to.

I sprinted down the long hallway, a corner coming up soon. I didn't want to use super speed in fear that I would accidentally kill somebody or destroy something, so I kept it at human speed, but an Olympic runner at that. I had to catch up to her.

Just as I started to feel for her aura all across the building, I turned the corner, and ran into somebody.

I hit them hard, and whoever it was fell down, along with a tray of food. Bacon, eggs, biscuits, sweet tea, the works all piled on and looking utterly delicious.

I cringed at what I had done. Ruining such a good-looking meal and possibly hurting somebody.

"I am so sorry..." I said, and went to help them up, only to see that it was the girl I was looking for.

Harper.

"Yeah, idiot. You better be sorry." She wiped eggs off of her pajama shirt, "You just spilled everything on me!" She showed the tea stain on her clothes.

I couldn't help it. I smiled and sighed with relief that she was okay. I pushed myself forward on my knees and hugged her tightly, interlocking my fingers on her back.

"You're okay." I said, "Gods, I thought you had been kidnapped."

She pushed me away from her and looked at me like I was stupid. "Kidnapped?! No, stupid. I just went to get us some breakfast. I was going to surprise you with it, but you ran into me." She blew a hair out of her face and glared at me, "Thanks a lot."

"So...nobody tried to take you? You didn't see anyone in our room, or standing over your bed?"

She raised an eyebrow and reared her head back, "Did you do some drugs while I was gone? What kind? Please don't say Meth."

"I'm not doing drugs, Harper! Just answer the question!"

She put her hands up, "Okay, fine! No, I didn't see anyone in our room last night. Nobody tried to kidnap me, I'm perfectly fine, other than the freaking sweet tea on my shirt. Happy now?"

I looked down at the floor and the spilled food, thinking back on what I saw. Seeing Malachi and maybe his memories. That prison, him running with Sera...I could only assume the worst out of those things.

"No, I don't think I am."

Her expression went from annoyed to concerned very quick. "What happened?"

I looked her in the eyes, "Let's get changed. I'm sorry about the breakfast, we can go to the lobby and get some more. It would be a good time to talk."

"About what?"

I got up, and she did too. We started walking back to the hotel room, but my eyes were elsewhere. Far away, looking dead at a tall, blonde boy that only I could see right now.

"Malachi." I answered, "I...I think he's working for Ouranos."

(000)

So there you go! Better late than ever, but that doesn't excuse the wait. I promise the next chapter will be out sooner. No more breaks.

As for the chapter, not as many fights, but you all know this story isn't mainly about that. Had to set up the underwater war, Oceanus, and all of that. Of course, can't forget about Malachi. Stay tuned to find out what he's up to.

That's all I got! Give a review and let me know how you liked it, or disliked it.

Until Next Time.