Chapter 11: To the Trench
The parade did little to calm Percy's nerves. Yeah, parade. It was Hour Two of his excursion at the center of a quarter-mile-long procession that wound through the sprawling metropolis of Atlantis. Skyscrapers of abalone came and went, towering spires that clustered nearest to the center of the underwater capital. Residential city blocks overflowed with Atlanteans on their shining pearl balconies, all cheering and showering the procession with bioluminescent flower petals.
At the ground level, the roads they traversed had been cleared of citizens, but the scene was still a crush. Even against the broad seastone streets of Atlantis, their caravan was a freight train forcing its way through a straw.
It was led by infantrymen in their grey armor, wielding ceremonial batons and framing a rainbow array of lithe dancers in flowy dresses and tunics. Behind them were two parallel rows of cavalrymen, their hippocampi raring and whinnying on opposite sides of the procession while a marching band roared between them. A hundred more feet of pomp and flair followed before the caravan displayed its crown jewel.
A raised chariot, golden and gilded with myriad jewels, rolled smoothly on water-treading wheels. At its peak, in a resplendent square floored with black velvet, stood Percy clutching one of the railings. He felt seriously out of place.
Amphitrite stood just a few paces from him, as regal as ever in brilliant red, wearing her beautiful smile as she waved to flocking subjects like the goddess she was. But even her splendor paled in comparison to Triton's shining sun.
Recently rendered mortal – though you'd never guess it from his presence – Triton stood at the head of the chariot, his muscular arms raised and bare, unfettered by the black and gold vest adorning his torso. The roar of the crowd was a tide that followed his ardent gaze, becoming loudest wherever he looked. He was the star of the show – the center of what was pretty much a going-away party for the would-be heir of the realm.
Based on the admiration pouring in from the surrounding throngs, Percy figured they had no idea how infuriating their prince actually was.
"Chin up, Perseus."
Cadmus' baritone cleaved through the uproar, and Percy's back unconsciously straightened. The huge merman was on shift today as one of the two bodyguards that always accompanied Amphitrite – though why someone as blatantly powerful as her needed bodyguards, Percy had no idea. Regardless, it was reassuring to have Cadmus standing just a few feet behind him. It let him forget for a while that this crawling procession was more like walking the plank for him.
The demigod sighed. He pushed off the railing and looked down at his own getup. A cuirass of black and gold that matched Triton's, but he also wore the pauldrons on his shoulders and the braces down his arms; he already looked small enough next to the merman, and showing off 10-year-old arms would make the difference cartoonish.
He had to accept that he was already in this. Those freak octopi had relegated him to going on this deathwish quest with Triton, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sulking wouldn't save him, and that was pretty boring anyways. Percy remembered how exhilarating it'd been to hear the crowd cheering for him in the Gauntlet. He'd been condemned to death there too, and he'd still found incomparable excitement in it. All he had to do was lean into his situation.
Percy stared out over the railing, tracing the mermen and mermaids clogging rooftops and balconies. He found a group craning their necks to get a glimpse of Triton as the chariot passed, but it was already too far ahead. One of the mermen slumped before he caught Percy's eye and shouted to the rest of the group. They all cheered in unison as the demigod raised a gauntlet in their direction.
The shouts grew louder when Percy raised both arms, waving to his side of the procession. He climbed the lowest rung of the railing, and the roar grew as more of the rippling audience caught sight of him. Triton quickly glanced backwards, his eyes narrowed, and Percy returned to him a sideways smirk. The demigod hadn't considered the satisfaction of taking some attention away from the melodramatic prince.
The rest of the parade went by much more quickly once Percy had found that source of simple joy. The procession stopped at the edge of the city, against one of the seven towering bastions built into the sheer wall that surrounded the metropolis.
Percy remembered his first time seeing the city from above. A jagged urban circle pinned with seven bright blue tunnels – symmetrically distributed rays that jutted from the underwater sun that was Atlantis. Just recently, Percy had learned that those blue channels carried trains to every aquatic corner of the world. It was a global public transport system: the Seven Seas HydroLoop.
Amidst a crescendo of cheers, the occupants of the golden chariot rose from the procession and drifted through the public-access entrance of the grey bastion. The first thing Percy thought as they entered was that the inside looked just like the Metro platforms in New York. No cops or locked gates or turnstiles, though. This one must have been free.
The sliding pearl doors glided shut behind them, cutting off the noise from outside all at once. Percy's ears still rang in the silent aftermath as they descended a sloped corridor to the tram level. The path evened, and a waiting train car beckoned to them, floating in place with a pleasant hum. Beside the open butterfly doors stood a familiar man draped in golden armor.
Not having seen him since the Gauntlet, Percy moved without thinking. A smile split Ascalon's stone expression when Percy bridged the gap between them and threw his arms around his mentor's armor. The merman wrapped him tightly.
"I am so proud of you, Percy," Ascalon said after they broke apart, the merman keeping his hands on his student's shoulders.
Percy could feel himself blushing.
"I am sorry for not being able to visit you at the palace – I have been away from Atlantis all this week – but I came as quickly as I could following the announcement of your and Lord Triton's quest."
"That was just a couple hours ago," Percy said, "I asked Cadmus where you were after the meeting, and he said you were halfway around the world."
"I was," Ascalon answered, nodding towards the train with a smile, "The HydroLoop is far faster than you would think."
"Weren't you on some kind of mission?"
Ascalon nodded.
"My men will manage it without me." He gently squeezed Percy's shoulders. "I was not going to let my youngest one go off on his first mission without wishing him luck."
Percy fought to swallow the lump in his throat, saying nothing as he hugged Ascalon again. His mentor held him until the demigod was able to pull himself away nearly a minute later. Immediately, the merman turned him slightly to shift his gaze to his travel companion.
Just a few paces from them, Amphitrite was saying goodbye to her son. And just like in the cave beneath the palace, Percy felt like he was intruding just by watching them. The goddess took Triton's face in her hands and murmured something before kissing his forehead. The navy merman's jaw was set as he looked at his mother again, nodded once, and turned away. His stare remained distant while he passed Ascalon and Percy, barely acknowledging the former with a glance before ducking into the lavish train car.
Amphitrite drifted to the pair moments later, nodding expressionlessly as Ascalon bowed. Her gaze dropped to Percy, and he found her regal mask hollow. He saw the worry in her eyes as easily as he felt the apprehension in his own body. It was the same combination of emotions he and his mother had shared each time he'd started at a different school after getting kicked out of the last.
The goddess wore her unease like every other mother, fearful of what an uncontrollable world might have in store for her child. Percy had seen it on his own mother more times than he could count. He wished she were here now, even if it was just to be worried about him. He would have tried to assure her.
But she wasn't here to hear it. Another mother was, though.
"Lady Amphitrite." Percy spoke before he knew what to say. "I, um, I think Triton's gonna be okay." He fidgeted as he stared into the goddess' piercing eyes. "Even though we don't really get along that well, I know he's super strong, and– and I guess there's a reason I'm supposed to go with him. Whatever it is, I'll do my part to make sure we win. I promise."
Behind Amphitrite, Cadmus was beaming. He nudged the other bodyguard, a younger merman just as tall and broad as him, and whispered something while pointing toward Percy with his thumb. The demigod was still looking at Amphitrite, whose mouth was half open as she silently traced his expression.
It was all Percy could do to not involuntary wince when the goddess reached for him. His shock grew tenfold when her hand cupped the side of his face, and a warmth sluiced through him like a riptide. Her mouth shifted to a small smile.
"Thank you, Perseus," she said, her voice gentler than he'd ever heard it, "May the Fates be with you both."
She pulled away, and Percy starkly felt the absence of her palm against his cheek. Cadmus and the other Manus Dei went with her, the former giving Percy an affirming nod before leaving through the rising corridor. That left him alone with Ascalon, who squeezed his shoulder again.
"It is time to go, Percy," he said as the demigod looked at him.
Percy just nodded, feeling the apprehension burying its roots in his stomach.
"One last thing," Ascalon added, "Your hippocampus, Skiptectondromedus."
"Skippy?" Percy cocked his head. "My hippocampus?"
"He certainly believes so," the merman said offhandedly, "He wanted to ensure you knew you could call to him at any time, and he would come. In the sea, he will always be able to find you."
A smile spread across Percy's face.
"I'll remember that."
Ascalon exhaled slowly before offering the demigod a steady hand. Percy shook it, looking up at his mentor.
"This is the beginning of your saga," the merman said proudly, "Go, earn your kleos, and return a young hero. May the gods be with you."
(Line Break)
Percy's shoes tapped together on a turquoise recliner. The train sped along seamlessly, and the lack of windows made the demigod feel like he was just sitting in a hotel lounge. A ridiculously expensive lounge, but a lounge nonetheless. It was long and filled with sofas and ottomans. Two pool tables took up the far end, and a curved bar was built into the closer side, fully stocked.
Percy did his best to avoid looking at the bar, but the awkward silence blanketing the train car forced his vision there like a persistent magnet. On one of the stools sat Triton, his twin tails curled around the seat as he hunched over a dozen empty glasses. He was nursing another one in his hand, his stare set on the wall.
Percy didn't know much about gambling, but he'd bet every dollar he'd ever have that Triton had never gone so long without talking before. The merman hadn't said a word since they'd entered the train. Barely even looked at Percy.
It should have been peaceful. A quiet Triton should have been a welcome gift to Percy after how insufferable the merman had been every time they'd existed in the same room. But the demigod's curiosity was getting the better of him. So was his sympathy. As much as he didn't like how Triton normally acted, he still felt bad seeing the former god so disturbed. He'd definitely regret caring.
"Triton," Percy said before he changed his mind, "You okay?"
The prince twirled the glass in his hand before downing the dark brown liquid inside it. He slid the glass cup into the rest of his empty collection.
"Of course," he mused, turning halfway on his stool, "How could I not be? I am on a deadly quest to gain all I have ever wanted, and my own mother doubts I can win. Not to mention I am now weighed down by the anchor of mortality." He cast a glance at Percy. "Not to mention my companion is you."
The demigod rolled his eyes. Stripped of godhood, Triton flinging insults only made him sound more like the assholes Percy had dealt with throughout school. What was one more?
"Your mom doesn't think you can't win," Percy settled on, "She's just worried about you."
"And what is she worried about?" he grated before answering his own question, "That I can't win!"
Percy's jaw clenched.
"You're an idiot," he spat, and the merman whirled to face him, "You're like a thousand years old or something, and you still take everything so personally. It's not about you!"
Triton's golden trident materialized in his hand. Apparently, he didn't have to be a god to do that. Percy uncapped Riptide and climbed from his seat, his eyes hot and his teeth bared. How did Triton not get it?
Before the merman could rush him, Percy threw his sword to the ground.
"It's because she loves you!" he shouted, fists balled. He realized he was crying. "Your mom loves you. She's just never had to think of you as not invincible before, and now she's worried like all moms are." Percy rubbed his eyes, before narrowing them. "You're upset over nothing. I wish my mom was still here to worry about me like that."
Triton was frozen. His eyes were slightly glazed from whatever he'd been drinking, but his weapon had fallen to his side. Moments later, it vanished from his grasp as he slumped back onto his stool. The merman sat in silence while Percy returned his sword to its pen form and took a seat on the edge of the recliner. Triton's eyes never left the demigod.
Several minutes passed before anyone spoke.
"Why are you not more afraid?" Triton asked.
Percy shrugged, hoping his face didn't give away the dread rooted in his gut.
"What am I gonna do? Run away?"
"No. Lord Poseidon's scouts would catch you long before you reached land."
"Uh–yeah, I know. I was being sarcastic." Percy was painfully aware of the whole if-Zeus-or-Hades-find-him-he-gets-turned-into-ash-or-a-skeleton deal he was trapped in. "And I guess I don't really know what I'm supposed to be scared of. I don't even know where we're going."
Triton's brows furrowed.
"I assumed your– your mother would have told you about the Great Leviathan," he said, "It is the first of Oceanus' Abominations."
"Yeah, well, we didn't get there." Percy paused. "She actually told me a lot about Atlantis and stuff in the sea, even Oceanus, but never anything about 'Abominations.' Not even the ones I fought in the Gauntlet. Maybe the stories just didn't get to humans."
Triton shrugged before leaning his head back.
"That would not be surprising; the Great Leviathan, at least, is somewhat of a boogeyman even in Atlantis." The arms on Percy's hair rose at the merman's foreboding tone. "In its prime, thousands of years ago – even before I was born – it was killed by Lord Poseidon himself. Their battle spanned three days and two nights."
Percy thought he was going to throw up. Calling the quest a deathwish didn't even feel dramatic enough anymore.
"And now we're supposed to fight it?" he asked, pointing between them, "I think I'd feel a lot better if you were still a god– even if it would make you a real dick again."
Triton sneered at him, baring his sharp teeth, but his eyes flickered with something like amusement.
"In that form, it would kill you with little more than a glance. In my current state, I would follow minutes later. But, as I said in the council chamber, the Great Leviathan is reborn as a baby. A hatchling. If we are quick enough, it may only be minutes old, and I will kill it."
Percy drew the mental image of Triton gleefully spearing through a little squid the size of the demigod's hand. That was depressing. Despite it working against his best interests, Percy hoped the baby was at least somewhat scarier and put up more of a fight. He blinked the thought away.
"And where are we going to find it?"
"The only place on this planet pressurized enough to incubate its egg. You humans call it Challenger Deep."
Percy's eyes widened.
"That's– that's the–"
"Yes." Triton nodded, obviously pleased with the shock plastered on the demigod's face. "The literal bottom of the ocean."
(Line Break)
The train reached the end of the HydroLoop just over an hour later, depositing the duo on the far end of the Pacific Ocean. Percy thought it was insane that Japan was apparently only a thousand miles north of them. He considered it 'only' because California's coast was now six thousand miles east. That meant New York was almost nine thousand. Nine thousand miles. And he thought his escape to Virginia had taken him far from home.
Percy and Triton left their train car and exited the subway station, a fraction of the size and splendor of the one in Atlantis. They left the simple structure behind and drifted out into what Triton told Percy was a trading outpost.
It was more like a single, huge bazaar. Flat and about the size of a city block, it was bustling and loud and so colorful. Percy watched from the top of the sloping road that led down into the outpost as mermen hustled and haggled over sapphire jewelry and golden weapons and pearl hippocampi saddles. In one of the windows, Percy caught a glance of a handheld glass obelisk that refracted a rainbow through its prismatic sides. He kind of wanted it.
"This is no time for sightseeing," Triton said from beside him, seemingly reading his mind before swimming higher.
Percy rolled his eyes and followed. He'd get that prism on the way back. Assuming he survived.
They left the outpost behind, willing themselves forward in a world of rich blue. The ocean blackened far beneath them, but they stuck to the blue and pushed in a single direction. Presumably, Triton knew where they were going. But he wasn't going very fast.
"Triton," Percy called after fifteen minutes of silent swimming, "Why don't you just do that water thing to make us go faster?"
The merman looked at him like he'd just spoken in tongues.
"What a brilliant idea," he scoffed, "Why did we leave Atlantis in an inferior method of travel when I could have whisked us here in minutes? Why had I not considered liquefying?"
"Because it's only a god thing," Percy grumbled in realization, doing little to hide his annoyance at Triton's tone.
The merman whipped his tails and turned away, barrelling forward again.
Percy kept pace as the merman dove deep, taking them into blacker water as the seafloor far below sloped further down. They followed the darkness into steeper and steeper drops, and Percy slowly felt a hollowness overcome him.
Until now, the demigod hadn't realized that there was some kind of background vitality in the ocean. In most places, the sea felt rich. The fish and coral and plants and all other life gave it an aura of wholeness. Swimming in it, Percy felt a familial kind of warmth like he was part of an organism much bigger than himself. But that vitality hadn't followed them down here.
Here, the sea was barren.
The seafloor leveled out below them. Percy had to squint to see its surface, and he found a flat sheet of black sand that seemed to go on forever. Were they already at the bottom? A stifling blanket pressed in from all sides, and Percy knew that if water pressure affected him like it did most mortals, he'd be crushed into a fleshy ball.
"Stop."
Even Triton's voice was muffled by the weight of the sea. The duo floated in place just feet above the black seafloor, staring into the distance.
"Is it here?" Percy asked, straining his eyes as he searched the dark expanse ahead.
"No," Triton answered, his voice laced with apprehension, "Challenger Deep is the next drop. A vertical cliff half a mile ahead, and the length of the dive is one more mile down."
"Oh."
Percy uncapped Riptide, both for the light of its blade and to ease his deepening discomfort. He and Triton pressed forward over the fine black sand, swimming more slowly than before. They covered half the distance to the sea cliff before the hairs on Percy's neck stood on end. Beside him, Triton seemed to share his instinctual warning.
The light of Percy's blade suddenly caught a glimmer in the sand at his feet. A quick spark of silver. Percy willed himself to the floor to get a closer look as Triton leaned over from behind him. They got within a foot of it, and the shining speck erupted.
A web of bronze tore from the seafloor and ensnared Percy's hands. In an instant, it constricted and pinned his arms to his sides, wrapping around his body like a labyrinth of thin chains. The fine wires shrunk as he struggled, and the demigod shouted as they shredded straight into his skin. Shallow gashes ripped across both his arms and turned the water red.
A moment later, the bronze net loosened and fell to the seafloor.
Percy stood shell-shocked, sharp pain arcing up his limbs while the ocean worked to heal him. The whole sequence had lasted maybe a second. His eyes moved to Triton, hoping he had some explanation, but the merman's navy face had gone deathly pale. His breathing was hitched.
"A– a GodKeeper."
Triton's eyes held terror, darting between Percy and the bronze netting. His hand twitched, calling to his trident. A glimpse of the golden staff appeared before the web of bronze wrenched from the seafloor like it had a mind of its own. It latched onto Triton's hand, and the golden shimmer disappeared while the trapping wire spidered up his arm and dragged it to his side.
The chains expanded in length, flying across Triton's body and forcing his arms behind his back before binding his twin tails together. He groaned under the fine coils as the bronze wiring fought against his flailing. The muscular merman could do nothing as the bind became tighter.
Percy broke out of his stupor and slashed at the chains around Triton's shoulders. A piercing sching echoed, and the impact left the demigod's hands shaking and his teeth chattering. The chain itself was unchipped, burning golden for a moment before returning to bronze.
Triton exhaled sharply as his wrists came together at the small of his back and his tails anchored to the seafloor. The webbing dragged him into the sand, forcing him to hinge at the waist, and he bared his teeth, eyes wild.
"What is that?!" Percy shouted, slashing again and again to no avail.
"A chain that binds gods," Triton grated, "Unbreakable when it finds its target."
"But you're not a god anymore!"
Percy's heart hammered in his chest, nearly rendering him oblivious to a groaning from above.
"It does not seem to care!" Triton howled, bucking helplessly against his restraints.
The prolonged groan grew louder, like a muffled blaring alarm. Percy's eyes snapped from Triton to the sea above, his jaw dropping at an impossible sight.
The hull of a dead battleship eclipsed the open sea, several hundred feet long and falling towards them with its edges crumpling inward from the water pressure.
"WHAT THE F–"
A deafening boom rolled over the dark trench as the weight of the submerged dreadnought struck Triton. The merman roared as the hull sank onto his wide shoulders, his arms still pinned behind him while he somehow remained upright. Percy stared in awe as Triton held strong, using both the impossible strength in his iron body and his control over the surrounding water to bear the weight.
Percy had to get him out of the chains. The demigod's mind raced as he hunched beneath the dwarfing shell of iron a foot above his head. He'd been caught by the chains first. Why did they just fall off him? He wasn't a god, but neither was Triton. How did it know the difference?
A shrill cry rang from far above, a warbling call that echoed through the trench.
"This is a trap," Triton groaned through gritted teeth, his entire torso tense with striations, "Enemies are coming."
On queue, a phalanx of telekhines descended from a crippled edge of the hull. The slick seal monsters barreled forward, forced to cluster to fit underneath the crushing ship. Riptide glowed in Percy's hands, but the raised weapon was shaking. Fighting ten monsters at once by himself felt insurmountable. But maybe he didn't have to do it alone.
Percy stood in a defensive stance in front of Triton, tightening his grip on his sword. He mustered as much willpower as he could and shouted.
"Skippy!"
The demigod's voice launched from him like a shockwave, literally rippling through the ocean and striking the line of nearing enemies. The telekhines stumbled out of formation, stunned for a moment. But they recovered quickly, brandishing short spears and rocketing towards the duo.
"Through the head or heart!" one shouted, "Only one strike!"
One strike? Were they talking about Triton? Percy didn't have any more time to think before the first monster reached him. He dispatched it in a flash, ducking beneath the thrust spear and skewering the seal through the stomach. The demigod spun away, ripping out his blade and blocking the next weapon.
Three of the telekhines shot straight past him, closing in on Triton with their weapons primed. The merman unleashed a deafening roar as he pressed his back against the ship and shoved his tail into the sea floor. Impossibly, the ship creaked as the hull rose by inches, indented by Triton's frame. The monsters' momentum sputtered, all three horrified as Percy and his own opponents stood equally stunned.
But the display of strength was unsustainable, the sheer tonnage of the dreadnought weighing into Triton and knocking him back to his former position. Percy's heart hammered as he beheaded two telekhines and launched towards the trio that'd regained its bearings.
Just before one could spear Triton's skull, Percy stabbed its spine hard enough for the tip of Riptide to emerge from its sternum. It faded to dust in a silent scream, and the demigod had already moved on to cutting the legs off the second one. The third caught his next slash, and Percy's instincts screamed that the group he'd left behind was about to be upon him. He gritted his teeth at the barking sea dog in front of him and headbutted it while calling to the sea. Its head dented inward, and Percy shoved from their clash before slashing Riptide across its face.
He spun from Triton, already swinging his sword towards the telekhines that would surely be coming. He struck nothing. A dozen feet away, the four remaining monsters were swarming a flurry of salmon hooves and a thick rainbow whip. A hippocampus brayed as it brought down its armored head and ruptured the slick skull of one of the monsters. His hippocampus.
Elation surged through Percy as he launched into the last three, slashing their turned backs. Two of them ground to dust beneath Skippy's hooves, and the third took a crippling strike to the throat by his iridescent tail before Percy cleaved it at the waist.
"You came," Percy murmured, catching his breath.
"Of course!" the hippocampus nickered as he nuzzled the demigod's hand, "I am still owed sugarcubes, Young Master."
Percy chuckled before a prolonged wheeze snatched his attention. The pair dashed to Triton, and the demigod knelt in front of the merman. His eyes were delirious from his burden, his jaw set.
"We're gonna figure this out," Percy promised, desperately pulling at the chains.
Triton bucked his shoulders, knocking the demigod away.
"Leave," he groaned, "You heard the scum. They know I am vulnerable, and they will come again. You cannot break these binds."
His voice was coming out choppy, strained.
Percy gritted his teeth as he racked his brain for any sort of explanation. The GodKeeper had only bound one of them, deciding that Percy wasn't a god while Triton was. But how? Because he'd called a symbol like his trident? No, Ascalon could call his, too. But maybe the weapons were different. Or maybe gods just had different souls, and the net could differentiate them. But why did that matter? Right now, he and Triton both had mortal blood.
They both had mortal blood.
The net had fallen off of Percy after cutting him and drawing blood. Just a glance at Triton's body told him that even after becoming mortal, he had skin far more durable than any naturally killable being should. It was entirely unbroken against the godly chains. If Triton bled like a mortal–
"Young Master!" Skippy shouted, alerting Percy to the tide of black and silver pouring from the edge of the ship hull.
Telekhines erupted by the dozens, all wielding shining spears as they filled the space beneath the ship and the seafloor.
"Get away from here!" Triton roared, "Back to Atlantis!"
"We're not leaving you!" Percy shouted back, steeling himself and mounting his hippocampus.
Skippy pawed the floor, shaking his coral mane before charging. Percy looked back at Triton, the merman's eyes wide as he watched the demigod barrel towards the sea of monsters.
"Cut yourself, Triton! If you bleed red, it might see you're not a god!"
The merman snapped from his stupor, reinvigorated as he fought against his bronze binding. His face and neck strained with veins, but his hands were still stuck behind his back. He wasn't calling his trident. He probably couldn't. There was nothing sharp enough to cut him.
Still flying forward, Percy closed his eyes. His hunch was now or never. Praying he was right, he shifted his grip on Riptide and twisted on Skippy's back. The sword left his hand like a javelin as it rocketed towards the thrashing merman.
The demigod had to live – or die – with his choice. He returned his attention to the monster wave just as it reached him, and he balled his fists before calling to the sea. A visceral tug tore through his gut while swirling fists of water erupted from behind him. They came in from opposite sides like twin wrecking balls, crushing several dozen telekhines between them. But the wave kept coming.
Sea demons roared as they charged, two replacing each one that Percy struck down with a crippling tendril of water. Skippy whinnied as several spears snaked through his thin body armor. The telekhines threw their bodies at them in the bedlam, and Percy began to panic. An animalistic cry ripped from his throat as he interlaced his fingers and swung at the snout of the nearest monster.
A crack echoed. Not the snap of a broken jaw or skull. The shearing of earth. The nearest monsters shrieked as they all flailed away, grabbing their own mangled bodies. The one Percy had struck had been eviscerated in an instant. Beneath the demigod, a crevice a dozen feet deep and twice as long had spread across the sea floor. Percy barely noticed, delirious as he retched from his own exertion. His vision danced with spots as the remaining mob pushed past their crippled brethren into the duo.
Skippy brayed weakly, shuddering from blood loss. Percy fought to remain upright, whispering to his hippocampus, but his voice was deadening. He could only groan when a spear pierced his shoulder and a heavy staff struck his head the moment after. His ears rang as his body detached itself from Skippy, and he fell deaf to the sea floor.
His eyes throbbed. Everything was pulsating, even the ship hull. Skippy dove through the mess of slick black limbs and coiled over Percy. As the hippocampus had gotten bigger, the dreadnought had gotten smaller. Like he'd come closer while the ship had moved further away.
It had.
Percy's hearing returned all at once. It was bombarded by a sea-splitting roar that demanded the attention of all that heard it. Every pair of eyes in the trench snapped to the source: the unbound Prince of the Sea. Riptide protruded from his bleeding chest while he rose from the seafloor with the battleship pressed over his head.
In an unbelievable exertion, he shoved it to one side. The dreadnought shrieked as it slowly drifted from him, uncovering the open ocean above before cascading to the seafloor on its side with a muffled, shaking thud.
Before any of the monsters could react, Triton was among them. Slaughter didn't come close to describing it. The merman was a living weapon. All fists and tails and teeth. He left Riptide in his chest while he ripped straight through the enemy. Fists blew holes through disintegrating telekhines. Spears splintered between razor teeth and iron jaws. Dying bodies sank to the seafloor, mutilated by whipping twin tails.
The mob was gone in seconds, and Triton disappeared the instant after. He shot at the overturned hull of the battleship, his golden trident materializing in his grasp. A hole ruptured in the shell of the ship, the metal screech followed by living ones that were quickly cut short.
Percy's head lolled as he let it fall into the black sand. His breathing was shallow, but the thunder in his chest was starting to subside. He thought they'd won until Skippy quietly laid down next to him, and the demigod ran a hand across his friend's hide.
It was bloodied up and down, his thin armor wholly sheared. Percy's chest clenched, and he forced himself to his elbows. He could heal the wounds. The sea was working hard to return his energy to him, so he could do the same. The pain in Percy's gut was nearly unbearable, but the hippocampus' labored breathing warned of something far worse. He pressed a palm over the biggest wound, a laceration across the stomach, and Skippy's shuddering slowed.
Percy kept at it as long as he could, but lightheadedness threatened to force him unconscious. His vision was nearly black when a strong arm gently hoisted him from the seafloor.
"Let me," Triton murmured, his voice heavy.
The merman lifted the much larger hippocampus with his other hand as Percy's arm fell limply to his side. Warmth spread across his body, centering on the wound from the spear in his shoulder. His throbbing head began to clear, and his vision slowly returned.
Triton deposited him on the floor of a barren stateroom, and Percy thought he was dreaming. Skippy laid asleep beside him, unconsciously curling around the demigod. Percy rested his head on the hippocampus' salmon hide, vaguely aware that the stomach wound was gone. Triton must have closed it more quickly.
Feet from him, the merman sat against a steel table, his twin tails splayed out almost like legs. Triton grunted and dislodged Riptide from his chest, holding a grimace as the sea slowly worked to seal the gash. Percy realized that merman blood was blue.
"Thank you, Percy," Triton said, holding the demigod's gaze as he returned the blade.
"Y–yeah," Percy stuttered, acutely aware of the merman's gracious tone, "Where– where are we?"
"Inside the ship. The first living quarters I could find."
"Why?"
Triton wore an amused smile beneath weary eyes. Even tired, they bored into Percy, seemingly searching him.
"Minutes ago, you were inches from death, and now you are back to asking questions." He exhaled a laugh before wincing. "Most would simply be grateful for a place to sleep that was not the seafloor."
"Sleep?" Percy pressed, incredulous.
"Sleep," Triton echoed, "Would you like to fight the Great Leviathan in your current state?"
The demigod shook his head and capped Riptide.
"This whole thing was a trap," he said quietly.
"Not all of it. The ancient enemy is down there; you and I both feel the barrenness in the depths. But yes, something greater is at play, and we must succeed here if we are to uncover it."
Percy fought back a yawn, prying his eyes open. He went to speak when Triton held up a lazy hand and shook his head.
"We will continue our conversation when you wake. After this ordeal, anyone can see you are beyond exhausted." The merman dropped Percy's gaze for a moment, staring at his own thick fingers lacing and unlacing in his lap. He swallowed before meeting the demigod's eyes again. "I– I will not forget what you did for me."
Triton's softened voice was enough to push Percy over the edge; the demigod must have already been half asleep. He curled into his hippocampus and fell into a dream.
(Line Break)
Percy's eyes fluttered open to find Triton already staring at him. The demigod jerked upright, nearly palming Skippy in the muzzle on the way up.
Still propped against the table, Triton wore an unreadable expression. His chest had healed, and Percy realized all of his own wounds had stopped hurting as well. His mind was entirely clear. How long had he been asleep?
"Thalia." Triton's voice wrenched Percy from his thoughts, the name slapping his face like a sheet of ice water. "That was the daughter of Zeus, yes? Your companion who became a tree."
"Y-yeah," Percy stuttered, "Why are you–"
"You were saying her name in your sleep. Often."
Blood rushed Percy's face, enough to make him sure his cheeks had turned a dark crimson. He didn't know how to respond. A small smirk cracked Triton's expression.
"Did you love her?" he asked.
Somehow, the demigod blushed more deeply.
"L-love her?" he laughed, half-sputtering, "I-I only knew her– I only knew her for a few weeks."
Even saying that made Percy's heart sink. He'd only been able to know her for a few weeks.
"That is not what I asked."
That silenced Percy. He leaned against his hippocampus' hide, rising and falling with the sea creature's sleeping breaths. Triton seemed satisfied by his lack of response.
"And Luke, Annabeth, Grover. The rest of your group?" the merman asked a minute later.
"How–"
"You talk in your sleep," Triton preemptively answered, "You also mentioned the Minotaur and a cyclops."
"How long were you watching me sleep?" Percy asked pointedly.
"The whole time."
How casually he said it stunned the demigod.
"The wh– the whole time? Why didn't you sleep?"
"Because you were sleeping. We are in enemy territory, meaning someone must keep watch."
"I could've switche–"
"No. You needed it more."
Percy scoffed, "Since when do you care what I–"
"Percy," Triton gruffly cut him off. His hands were awkward in his lap. His expression was almost pained, like he was trying and failing to find words. He sighed almost a minute later.
"I never thought to fear death. I did not understand the burden of knowing life could end at any moment. That I could simply cease to exist." He paused, his jaw feathering. "I would have died beneath this ship without you. For months, I have treated you with little more than pure spite. You had every reason and opportunity to leave me to die. Yet you gave me your sword and charged headfirst into what would have been your own death to save me.
"I have a world to atone for in regards to you," Triton continued, his voice quiet, "Letting you rest after saving my life is nothing."
Percy's mouth opened and closed like a fish, empty of words. Meanwhile, Triton rolled his shoulders before pushing himself upright. He bridged the gap between them and offered the demigod an open hand. He was wearing his razor smile.
"But now that you are awake, let us cleanse the sea of one more enemy."
A/N: I don't mean to get ahead of myself, but I'm so excited to get into the actual canon retelling + the Perlia I so badly want to write. TLT should begin like three or four chapters from now if I have the planning right in my head. But there's still two quest climaxes between here and there, so I hope those live up to your expectations. Anyways, please let me know what you think of the chapter. I appreciate all the reviews and PMs, both praise and criticism.
Guest: Wow. And congrats on funding! And love the Percy side of adventure. Hope we get to see more
Thank you! The new responsibilities make my weeks a lot busier, but the process is so much fun and will ideally pay off in a big way. I hope this new leg of Percy's quest was on par with how you already felt :)
Jojo 'Perlia' Jesus: Take the time, bro. Whatever you're doing is far more important than this.
I appreciate the support man (also nice pfp haha), but I somewhat disagree. My other work is obviously super important for real life stuff/career/university, but I swear I'd burn out in a matter of months if I didn't have somewhere like this to unwind. Writing both for myself and audience - whether it was one person, a thousand, or a million - is really something that keeps me going everywhere else. I'll have other things on higher priority, but I need this just as much haha. Gonna do my best to stay on a decent schedule for my own sake as well. I hope you enjoy the Perlia content when I eventually get to it!