Chapter 1: Deal with Pontus

Disclaimer: I don't own the One Piece anime/ manga nor any of its characters and I don't own the Percy Jackson book series nor any of its characters.

Rhea Jackson is my OC.

The Pirate Code and traditions I copied from stereden's fanfiction series: 'Watashitachi wa Roger kaizoku desu' and 'Did you know her (the woman who gave birth to me)?'.

Thoughts

Pontus' voice

Rhea stared at the two golden apples sitting innocently on the table.

"So, this is it." She didn't look at her brother as she said it.

"It doesn't have to be." It hadn't been a question, but he answered anyway.

Rhea glared at him, "Our father, the Sea God himself, King of Atlantis, picked these apples for us. It's not a gift that can be refused." It went unsaid that they had rejected immortality twice already. There would not be a third time.

Percy nodded and grabbed an apple. He twisted it in his hands, admiring it from every angle. There was no awe in his gaze, just resignation.

Perseus Jackson was broken. Two Big Prophecies, Tartarus, Annabeth's betrayal, being hounded by horny gods that fancied themselves in love, and being forced to hide in the underwater palace their father had built for their mother… They hadn't seen their mom and half-sister in two years.

Rhea knew she was just as broken. They simply fractured differently.

Perseus was resigned to his fate. He was tired of fighting.

Rhea was tired too, but she was spiteful.

She wouldn't give in so easily.

"It's not a gift that can be refused." Percy agreed. He smirked at her wryly, "You're going to do it anyway, aren't you?"

Rhea shrugged, and gave back a mean, bloodthirsty smirk, "I'll make them realise they don't want to deal with me forever."

"I do."

Rhea looked sadly at her brother. "You know that if things were different… if our uncle wasn't in charge… if the gods were…"

"They're monsters." Percy agreed. He looked up at the ceiling, "The Fates came to me yesterday."

She shivered and her hands went clammy. "Not another prophecy."

"No." He still wasn't looking at her. "You know how we share a life string?"

"Yes." It had been confusing, being told that in the eyes of Prophecy and Fate they were one being. They were different people, always had been, so being told they'd walk the same path until they died… it felt restricting, at first. Then, when monsters got worse and battles got harder, it was comforting to know they'd live and die together.

"There's a split in our string," he said it calmly, matter of factly. Like he hadn't just taken a shot at the foundations she'd built her life upon since she was 12. "A choice has to be made," he continued, "we can choose to eat the apples, and share our fate until the Flame of Olympus goes out, or we can never see each other again."

"What?" Rhea didn't understand.

He looked at her then, his sister, his other half, the person he loved more than anyone, even more than the world itself. "The Fates said that if you swim to the deepest trenches of the sea, if you offer Pontus a gift, he will take you away from this world." He stood and walked around the table to kneel beside her seat and grab her hand. She looked at him in fear and hope, and he smiled at her, "You won't have to face our father's wrath. They promised me no more gods, no more monsters. You can be free."

"What about you?" She wanted that. She wanted that desperately.

Percy reached up and kissed her forehead, eyes closed tightly shut to hide his tears. "I'll be fine," his voice was steady as he stood up and caressed her hair. "Turns out, if we die a mortal death, the oaths we made them swear end with us. If we both leave this world, same thing. One of us must stay." He grinned mischievously, "The Fates promised me I'll be the Protector of Demigods, the Director of Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter, Mayor of New Rome." He pulled her up by the hand he was still holding and hugged her tightly. "I can protect them."

Rhea hugged him back just as tightly.

No more unclaimed children. No quests before their 16th birthday. No unnecessary quests. No demigods being punished and cursed at the whim of the gods.

"I wish protecting them was good enough for me." She pulled back slightly without letting him go and they smiled sadly at each other. "You've always cared about them more than I ever did."

Rhea wanted a better life for her fellow demigods, for herself, but not at the expense of her happiness. She had given enough. She couldn't give anything more, or she'd end up resenting the very people she was fighting for.

Percy pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and his hand lingered on her cheek. "Be selfish." He grinned, "There's only room for one martyr in this family, and I'm quite attached to the title."

She laughed. "So, who will you marry? Hermes or Apollo?" For obvious reasons, Ares' suit was never considered.

Percy smirked mischievously, "Who says I have to choose?"

Rhea nodded in agreement, "True."

Percy and Rhea were one in the eyes of the Fates and the gods, so the two gods had proposed to both twins. They'd chosen to run to their father rather than anger them with a rejection. Officially, the twins had told their father about the proposals, and he'd locked them up in their palace and rejected Apollo and Hermes as 'not good enough'.

The two gods had spent the last two years going through Poseidon's trials to seek their hands in marriage, and yesterday, they had succeeded. The golden apples were their father's engagement gift (he'd never asked the twins if they wanted them to win).

Percy handed her an apple and pushed her towards the door. "Go. We only have two hours left before they get here."

"I love you." She told him softly.

"I love you too."

"Please, don't forget me." Forever was a long time.

Percy smiled sadly, "I won't."

"I don't want to leave you."

"You have to."

They both knew he was right. Percy didn't like the gods, but he didn't hate them either. Not all of them at least.

Rhea did. Hermes was funny, Apollo was kind, their father loved them… and yet she hated them just as much as she hated Zeus, Kronos, Gaia… Dionysus, Aphrodite, Ares… They were all the same to her: monsters in human-shaped flesh, abusers and manipulators who only wanted to use them.

Rhea could become a goddess for her brother, she almost had in Tartarus, but she would destroy the gods. She wouldn't be able to submit to Zeus, to stand back and be one of them.

Percy as Protector of Demigods would defend their kids.

Rhea as Protector of Demigods would wage war for them.

They were all tired of war.

Rhea couldn't become a goddess, and Percy couldn't abandon his self-imposed duty (Luke had made them promise).

"Goodbye," she looked at her brother one last time.

"Goodbye." He watched her swim away and cried.

§§§

Rhea looked down at the deepest trench in the ocean. It felt too much like Tartarus for her comfort.

With a deep breath, she threw the apple in.

A voice from the deep, "Who goes there?"

"Rhea Jackson, daughter of Poseidon."

"The first demigod daughter of the Sea God. Do you know who I am?"

"Pontus, brother of Gaia. One of her consorts."

"What is it you seek, princess of the Sea?"

"The Fates told my brother that you could take me to another world."

"Ah. Yes. What is it you wish for? Power, love, war?"

"Freedom. I just want freedom."

"I see. Yes, I can give you freedom. The apple, however, is not enough."

"What do you want?" She asked wearily.

"The apple to be heard. Your powers for passage."

"My powers?" she asked, horrified.

"Not all of them." He reassured her, "Just enough that you will never ascend."

She relaxed, "That's fine. I never want to become a goddess anyway."

"Dive then, Princess Rhea, first and only mortal daughter of Poseidon. Dive into the deep and take your freedom."

She took a deep breath and, before she could change her mind, she swam down into the trench.

It hurt.

She was burning.

She was breaking.

It hurt.