Interlude II

Percy screamed in pain, the acidic water tainting his ability to refresh himself.

The sea monster approached him fast. Percy fought through the pain. He raised his sword and shield, waiting for the monster's attack. It lunged forward, attempting to swallow Percy whole. He leapt upwards, narrowly avoiding its maw, and quickly shot himself back downwards, wrapping his arms around the serpent's neck. It writhed in his grip trying to break free. Percy held his ground. He tried to stab through the monster's neck, but it was thrashing too much to get a clear shot at its soft part.

"Orestes!" He shouted. After a few moments, a member of the Atlantean army swam over to Percy.

"Need help there, my prince?" The merman was making jokes while Percy was fighting a literal sea dragon. He decided to hold in his anger.

"Get me some chains to die this thing down with." He ordered. Orestes nodded and swam off. It took him only a few minutes to return, in which time Percy constantly had to readjust his arms to not completely let the monster go. Eventually, they chained the beast to the ground, and Percy was able to stab through its unprotected gullet.

"You did well, Perseus. Your father will be proud of you." Percy smiled at the soldier. This was the first mission his father had sent him on. He wanted to make sure it was done properly.

-X-

When Percy made it back to Atlantis, he wasn't sure what to expect. He definitely didn't expect a welcoming party waiting for him in the throne room. Percy had gone there to report what happened to his father, and when he opened the door he saw most of his father's royal court drinking and laughing with each other. They cheered when they noticed Percy had entered. His father quickly approached him.

"You did quite well out there, Perseus. I'm very proud of you." Percy was confused. He came back with the soldiers that were sent with him and there was no way any of them made it here before he did.

"Thank you. But how do you know what happened?" Neptune pointed to a bronze television in the corner of the room.

"Vulcan streamed the event for us." Percy nodded at the answer, not realizing his father was leading him away from the party.

"You don't think it could've gone better?" Neptune smiled softly at his son.

"Of course it could have. But there is no point in dwelling on that. It is impossible for anything to go perfectly. There will always be something that could have been done better. But you won Perseus. You saved the villages, you defeated the Cetus, and you prevented the deaths of any villagers." Percy once again nodded at his father's words. He had been so worried about everything that had gone wrong in the fight, he had forgotten how well he had done in the evacuation of the villages.

"Thank you, father."

"It is I who must thank you. You have done something very few men have done before. And you have done it to protect my kingdom." Neptune opened the door to Percy's bedroom. Percy for the first time realized where they were, but was quickly distracted when he saw what was in his room. "It is customary for a god to reward a hero with a gift after they complete a quest for them." Percy shot forward into his room. At the end of his bed, replacing the basic Atlantean armour that had been there before, was a brand new set of illustrious armour. It was a radiant bronze colour, with many different gemstones embedded along the trims. The breastplate depicted Percy's battle with the sea monster and had his father's face fastened to the chest of the armour. Without warning, Percy turned around and hugged his father tight. He would cherish this armour.