Titan of the Hunt

by vPxForerunner x

During the final days of the Second Giant War, Percy loses the one he loves and his purpose for living. So he asks the gods for a task, to challenge him and give him a new purpose. Unfortunately for him, a certain man hating goddess and friends are going to be gaining a new Guardian. Post MOA. Pertemis. 18/9/22 Currently in the process of re-writing the early chapters

68. Choices

All rights belong to Rick Riordan

Chapter 68

Choices

(Marina)

After I got over the shock of finding myself suddenly teleported from the street to the beach I began to actually start enjoying the day.

I watched as my father would summon waves to knock surfers of their boards or come much further inland than usual and flood sun bathing teens causing them to screech in shock.

Though even I had to be half worried when a Great White suddenly appeared causing a mass stampede as everyone fled the beach while my father grinned like a maniac.

It was quite surprising then when he suddenly rose to his feet and began to walk towards the surf despite the shark circling a dozen feet or so out to sea.

'You coming?' He called back once he noticed I hadn't moved.

I was about to respond with I wasn't exactly sure about getting closer to a hungry shark when my father instead walked to the very edge of the water and held his hand out over it. The shark seemed to notice the movement and began to surge towards him as its dorsal fin cut the waterline. Meanwhile my father instead turned to look at me oblivious to the incoming threat.

'Dad!' I screamed as the shark closed to within a few feet and its mouth cleared the water.

However at the last moment just as I expected to see my father get half swallowed by the over-sized fish carnivore it suddenly veered to the left and splashed onto the beach beside him before rolling onto its side exposing its stomach to my father.

'Marina meet Bite, Bite meet Marina my daughter.' I was now officially going crazy my dad was introducing me to a shark of all things like it could talk back.

'Friend?' A voice suddenly echoed throughout my head causing me to look in surprise at the shark.

'No way can I talk to fish.' I said more to myself as I slowly moved closer to the pair.

'You have fish?' It suddenly said again as if excited before flipping back over onto its stomach and looking back at me.

'No we don't have fish, you are meant to go catch your own remember.' My father chastised and I could have sworn it whined in response.

'You have a pet shark?' I said looking as my father ran his hand over the shark's nose earning some excited splashing from the shark's tail.

'Actually I have a small army of them but Bite is one of my favourites. Though he can be a little what's the polite term err- special.'

'I am the best, Lord says I am special.'

'Yes, yes you are. Tell you what why don't you go find a seal?' My father said in the same sort of tone as if a human was talking to a dog.

'Mmm- I like Seal.' The shark said before allowing the current to carry him back out to deeper water before his fin sank back beneath the sea.

'Dad there are no seals around here.'

'True I know that but he doesn't. But I needed his help to get rid of all the tourists.'

'Couldn't you have teleported us somewhere where there was no one?' I asked if he was willing to move us a few hundred meters away before.

'I could have but where is the fun in that, besides I cannot leave the area until they are finished with their little argument. The last thing I need is for the police to try and arrest two Olympians and a Titan Lord.'

'I am gonna guess it wouldn't go well. What is the difference between a god and an Olympian?'

'An Olympian is a member of the Council of gods. The most powerful gods for the most part. The children of Kronos Zeus, Hades, my father, Hera, Hestia, Demeter as well as a lot of Zeus's kids Apollo and Artemis you have already seen albeit briefly. Ares, Hermes, Athena, Hephaestus and Dionysius as well as Lady Aphrodite.'

'So not you then?'

'No and nor do I want to be. Actually that is not true in the past I guess I wanted too but the truth is it isn't what it is cracked up to be. In a mortal sense I guess you could describe it as more paperwork based. Take Percy he became a Titan Lord after he defeated Kronos.'

'Wait wouldn't that be your grandfather?'

'The same though he was not exactly a nice guy, we ended up fighting two wars before he finally got the hint that he was a terrible parent. But that is beside the point Percy became a member of the Titan Council after he received Kronos power and defeated some other evil members. Yet despite being arguably the most powerful individuals alive he was still remarkably bored. That is why he acts as a bodyguard to Lady Artemis and her hunters… amongst other reasons.' He added after a few seconds his face taking a sly grin apparently I was missing the point of his joke as I just stared at him blankly.

'The point is with great power comes responsibility and that brings a lot of boring stuff.'

'Here I am supposedly a minor god, yet I control everything under the sea, Dionysius is god of wine. And they claim he is more powerful. Delphin could kick his ass and he is a Dolphin. Tyson could just sit on him. It is less a case of power and more who your parents are or more accurately Parent. Sure some of them are Ok like Apollo, Hermes, and Lady Artemis.'

'Ok lot of names, still not sure on who everyone is though.'

'I don't expect you to Marina most of them you will probably never meet. Besides you still don't even know what you are capable of.'

'I can't drown and I can talk to sharks and apparently somehow become liquid.' I listed what I had managed to do not that I knew how I did them.

'Step into the water. Don't worry about your shoes.' He added after I began to reach down to remove them.

Against my better judgement I did as he said and walked past him into the surf feeling the water seeping through the fabric of my sneakers yet I didn't feel my feet getting wet. I turned towards my father but he just gestured to keep going and before long the water rapidly dropped off and I was submerged up to my waist.

'You can stop now Marina.' My father called and I turned back to find him walking towards me, the thing was he was literally walking on top of the water like it was solid ground.

'Err I don't think I can do that apparently.' I said looking up at him.

'Nor did I want you to. How do your legs feel?' He asked staring at me with a quizzical look on his face.

'I don't know a bit cold I guess maybe not quite as flexible underwater.' I answered after bending them a little but still looking at my father still not seeing where he was going with this.

'Here look down now.' He said waving his hand and the water around me turned crystal clear and the sight below me almost caused me to faint in shock.

Instead of legs I had a Mermaids tail. In place of the black fabric of the leggings I had been wearing was now a glimmering mass of white and pearlescent scales covering my entire lower body where my natural skin blended into the alien appendage.

'Surprise.' My father called out playfully.

'How is that even possible? I didn't even notice the change.' I asked flabbergasted as I rubbed my hands along the outside of what should have been my thighs as I felt every tiny scale. Yep it was definitely real.

'Because why would you notice your body returning to its original form? Though I was curious what colour you would turn out.'

'Wait original form does this mean if I go fully underwater I turn into a fish?' I asked in horror causing my father to like he wanted to break into hysterical laughter.

'No you don't have to worry about becoming a fish, you are a True Mermaid. A true Princess of the Sea.' My father proclaimed before slowly sinking under the water and I watched as his legs morphed into two tails much like my own though each bore signs of fighting with numerous scars crisscrossing the scaled appendages and one large scar that seemed to run from one to the other. Though as he did he also seemed to get taller. He was 'standing' beside me yet his head was still far above mine as he looked down on me with a smile.

'You have no idea how much better this feels. I hate having legs.' he said happily and I realised that he had seemed to walk as if the act was strange to him.

'I kind of like them at least then I know how to move.' I told him looking from his own tails back to my own before shuffling one side a few inches before beginning to teeter precariously before quickly moving back to where I had been.'

'Who says you don't, now would be a good time though.' He said grinning before pointing to our left away from the coast just in time for a large breaker to come crashing over our heads forcing me down into the water.

At first I did the standard reaction to unexpectedly finding yourself underwater, I flailed around a lot and tried to hold my breath.

'Calm down and breath normally. You know you can do it so why are you forgetting it now?' My father's voice echoed in my head. Causing me to look around for him by spinning my arms, yet despite the strange fact I found myself having perfect vision underwater I could not see him. Regardless I did as he instructed slowly releasing a stream of bubbles out of my mouth before risking breathing in a small gasp expecting to gag as the water flowed down my throat. Yet sure enough it felt no different to breathing on the surface.

'Good now come to the surface. Move as if you were simply kicking your feet at the same time use your arms to steer where you are going and direction you want to face.'

'That sounds easier said than done.' I muttered to myself.

'I heard that.'

'Of course you did.' It was infuriating to be watched and spoken too yet I had no idea where he was.

Despite my annoyance I began to try as he suggested gently push my lower half forward and backwards stirring up the sand beneath me into a tempest, yet despite this I was making absolutely no progress.

'Try bending your tail where your knees would be before quickly straightening out as if you are jumping, then start to flap your tail.' A different voice called out to me startling me as I froze allowing the sand to settle again.

'Funny how you are never this insightful while teaching me.' A different female voice that I vaguely recognized replied in amusement.

'That's because you want to get out at the first chance you get.' The male voice replied with a small laugh.

'Err who is this?' I called out.

'Swim to the surface and find out Marina.' My father answered.

'Fine.' I commented before doing as the stranger instructed bending my tail at its mid-point as much as I could which turned out to be far further than I thought would be possible, enough that if I still had legs they would have been bent almost fully at the knee I was forced to place my hands in the sand so I did not full over backwards.

'Well what are you waiting for?' My father commented accusingly. Compelling me to prove myself as I pushed myself upwards with my arms then my knees before rapidly flailing my tail as fast as I could. Sure enough I found myself moving upwards towards the sun's reflection.

Unfortunately it seems I had a little too much momentum as I ended up shooting clear of the water's surface for a fraction of a second before crashing back into the surf in a froth of bubbles. Luckily I managed to quickly recover before I sank back down and was able to quickly get my head back above the water and was able to tread water or whatever its equivalent was with a tail.

'8 out of 10 for the attempt but I had to knock points off for the excess splash.' A voice called from behind me and I turned to find my father lazily floating on the water's surface resting on his back.

I guess I was a little annoyed with his actions back then as I risked splashing some water towards him only for it to freeze in mid air before suddenly coming back at me splashing me on the face with the sensation of ice water causing me to shriek in surprise.

'Beach rules no splashing.'

'You sent a wave at me.' I called back in annoyance after dipping my head back underwater washing the cold water off my face.

'Hey I followed the rules; there is nothing against acts of god.' He said with an innocent grin before a sudden large mass of water appeared his head before falling leaving him no time to react.

Suddenly he reappeared on the surface or at least his head did before suddenly turning towards the shore and the two figures that had appeared lying down next to each other at the water's edge.

'Perseus!' My father called out in annoyance.

'Hey wasn't me bro.' The male figure called out playfully. I caught the brief glimmer of gold flashing behind the pair I was almost tempted to dive beneath the water in fear. But something about his voice caused me to stay it was oddly calm yet playful whereas before it had been as if multiple voices were trying to speak at once. Besides it was the same voice I had heard underwater giving me advice.

'Can I help you Triton? You look a little wet.' The second figure called out in a female tone the same as before.

'Marina come with me, there are some people you need to meet.' My father said in playful annoyance before offering me his hand and I found myself rapidly covering the two dozen meters back to shore. As we crossed into shallow water I suddenly felt my tail brush against the sand causing me to look down but by the time I had looked down I saw I had feet and legs again. And I was able to walk the rest of the way out of the water beside my father. Come to think of it my father did seem to have an unusual walking posture as if he was unused to doing it.

'Marina meet Lady Diana, Olympian goddess of the Hunt, Virginity, the Moon and Tides and Perseus a royal pain in the bum, Prince of the Seas.' My Father said turning from serious to amusement in the space of a few words. However I felt the instinctive need to be respectful to the two despite my father's joke I sensed just how dangerous the two really could be.

I began to bow before much to my surprise my uncle did the same to me.

'You don't need to be respectful to me after what I did earlier. If anything I should be it to you. Please accept my apologize for my earlier actions.' He said holding his head low.

'Err apology accepted. No harm done I guess besides you did save my life which is more than my other uncle wanted to do.'

'In this family you become used to family trying to kill you unfortunately. Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, Great-Grandparents. The older they are the worse they.' He replied with a chuckle though I could see there was almost a haunted look in his eyes as he recounted the last one. I began to see a little truth in my father's words about him paying a price despite his success in the past.

'I hope not.'

'Don't worry I intend to make sure no trouble falls upon you. I kind of like the idea of having a niece.' He said stepping back to beside the goddess before curling a wing behind her creating a sun shade over her head.

'So what can I do for the two of you then other than serving as a source of amusement for Lady Diana?'

We wanted to talk about sorry was it Marina. You know the rules Triton no demigod can be raised directly by their parent.' Diana said in a serious yet solemn tone.

'Why the hell not, first I lose my mother and now I finally gain a father you want to make him leave me?' I screamed out practically shouting.

'If it was up to me you could live wherever you wanted unfortunately we do not set the rules, we all have to follow a set of laws about how we interact with Mortals and demigods.' Perseus explained sorrowfully.

'So where exactly am I supposed to go there social services? I got sent there when my mum died I am not going back. Besides what am I supposed to do forget I can turn into a Mermaid?'

'You could if you wanted though you have other options as well. You could go where I did my training Camp half-blood and be with other demigods.' Perseus offered.

'Or.'

'You could come under the sea and go to our own camp where I went centuries ago and train with the merman and the water nymphs.'

'Is that it? I essentially get a choice of getting shipped off with a bunch of people I don't know and have to train.'

'Yes, the only other options you have are staying amongst the mortals where you will eventually attract a monster and you will die or you can swear an oath to remain a virgin and forsake the company of men and join my hunters.' The goddess explained though strangely my uncle sneezed in the middle of her sentence just as she was talking about forsaking men. Causing the goddess and my father to both stare at him while he tried to look innocent.

'Let me guess if I join you I have to train?' I asked her causing her to turn back towards me.

'I suppose when you put it like that yeah you do. Though you also gain immortality from your oath, no more growing old or getting sick you will remain as you are forever.'

'That sounds kind of cool but I don't want to be a little kid forever. Is this a one time only offer or can I reconsider?'

'As long as you remain a maiden the offer is always there.'

'Ok thank you but I must decline your offer Milady at least for the moment.' I told her before looking between my father and my uncle.

'Where would I fit in more?' I asked the pair of them.

'Well you would be treated more normally at Camp Atlantic*. As I told you before you are only my second daughter so I cannot promise they won't treat you differently from the other campers. Most of the others there are either nymphs, mermen or minor water gods children. My father's children have to go to the Camp Half-Blood with other demigods but it would poorly suit your abilities based on Ariel's brief time there.'

'Wait a second you actually had a daughter called Ariel?' Perseus suddenly asked in surprise.

'Yeah didn't you know?' My father answered in annoyance.

'No I thought she was just a character in a Disney movie.'

'No that movie was based on part of her life.'

'So you king of the sea huh. I bet dad wasn't too happy.' He asked in amusement while my father seemed to turn red with embarrassment.

'Percy shut up and leave him alone.' Diana said commandingly and to my surprise my uncle stopped whatever he was gonna say instantly.

'Quick question what is the difference between a Merman and me?'

'Teeth.' Percy quipped.

'Underwater yeah that is about the only difference, though they cannot come on land like you can and they are technically a race of monsters albeit normally friendly ones. You should have no problem fitting in there.' My father explained after a brief pause.

'That and they like to try and get every girl they see to go out with them.' Diana muttered though the two guys seemed to either not hear or chose not to respond.

'Also they are blue.' Diana added louder.

'That's racist.' They both commented simultaneously earning a look of ire from the goddess which was swiftly accompanied by a knife suddenly appearing in her hands as she began to innocently clean her nails.

'So in other words they are nothing like me then?' I stated in summary.

'Well sure when you put it like that there are a few quite significant differences but it is close enough besides the Naiads and Nereids appear Human.' My dad said in defense.

'Fine I will go what harm can it do but can I change my mind if I don't like it?' I asked in resignation. It wasn't that I didn't like the idea, it seemed the most appropriate to be honest considering my apparent heritage but I didn't want to be stuck somewhere I hated being. Recent events had shown where that ended up.

'Marina I will never force you to go anywhere against your wishes. I would happily keep you with me if I was able but alas I am not able to do so. Though I can promise I will find an excuse to visit as often as possible. However to answer your question yes if you want you can leave and change camp or even join the Hunt should Lady Artemis allow it.' He told me and a quick glance at Diana who nodded in affirmation convinced me to go. Or at least for now.

'I guess it can't be any worse than my last home or what is left of it now. So sure why not.' I told him though my first statement elicited a short chuckle from my uncle who was responsible for tearing most of it apart.

'Wait one second wont anyone come looking for me? And what about the fact two people were killed rather brutally.'

'Mortals see what they want to see, the police will probably chalk it up as they attacked one another before the survivor crashed his car. As for you we can make it appear you were never there.' Percy explained which I considered awfully convenient on his behalf after all he did most of the unexplainable problems.

'Perseus, Lady Diana I appreciate your help even if it could have gone a lot… less problematic. So here is a hint for if you should get into any 'shocking' situations.' My father said to the pair strangely using air quotes to highlight the word before a ball of clear liquid the size of a tennis ball appeared in his hand and he tossed it underarm to my uncle. I half expected it to splash on contact like a water bomb but he appeared to catch it with a look of confusion.

'I am sure you will work it eventually brother.' My father said with a grin at the Titan's look of confusion as stupidly shook it as if was gonna help. It appeared though Diana had enough of it and took the sphere like a parent confiscating a toy.

'Err yeah so do I to be honest. Marina it was a pleasure to meet you it is not every day I get to meet new members of the family, you have any problems let me know. You know boys or monsters or both that sort of thing.' He said with a grin.

'Will do nice to meet you too except the whole going psycho thing that wasn't so cool. Though you are definitely my favorite uncle so far.' I told him jokingly.

'My favorite uncles Lord of the Dead so I guess it could be worse.'

'On that we can agree then again there is not much in the way of alternatives.' My father said looking at Diana.

'Admittedly my father can be hard to deal with and is prone to over reacting just a little.'

'He is just a attention seeker.' My father said only to be followed immediately after by the sound of thunder. On a perfectly sunny day which was strange.

'Oops. Anyway Marina we better go before Lord Zeus gets any more twists in his toga. Besides I need to speak to Aphros and Bythros the activities directors and make sure you are alright there.' My father aid placing a hand on my shoulder.

'Catch you two later.' He told the two immortals before we vanished in a flash of light.

(Percy)

'Well she seemed alright all things considered.' I told Diana looking from where they had been to my girlfriend beside me curling my wings around her and pulling her in closer.

'I suppose so though she would have made an interesting hunter.' She said almost sadly before looking up and noticing I had closed the distance between our faces to a few inches.

'Somehow I don't think we have seen the last of her just yet. You never know after all Ariel chose the land in the end as well.'

'Maybe who knows but things are gonna be rough for a few months at least. My strength is already lowered because of the lowered numbers of hunters. My symbol of power is in pieces and to top it all off both of my aspects are pregnant which is a further drain. The only way this could get worse is if the mortals blew up the moon. Thankfully I don't see that happening.' She said with a sigh.

'Look at the bright side then I will always be here for you.' I told her placing a hand under her chin lifting her head before kissing her.

'But we don't know that do we, once the truth gets out we don't know what will happen. It could start an inter pantheon war for all we know.'

'I don't care what Olympus or Orthrys think. I am not letting anything get between us even if I have to break down the doors of death themselves. As long as your there waiting on the other side.'

'You know that is impossible right?' She said with a smile.

'Have you seen me? Doors are like oaths both can be broken when I am around.' I told her with a grin only to get playfully punched in the shoulder.

'Haha very funny idiot but as I recall you weren't in control then either. Though I am curious about what your brother meant with this.' She said stepping backwards slightly holding the sphere of water up between us.

'Yeah not sure how water stops at least 100000 volts of electricity if anything it should make it easier to make me fry.'

'I don't know but from what he said while you were still down and out it might have something to do with the fact your dad has never feared my father's bolts.' She explained as I took the sphere from her. It was not solid like ice it was definitely still liquid as ripples ran around it as my fingers made contact but beyond that I knew very little. It wasn't sea water that was for certain and my senses told me it was too pure to be from a river or lake but other than that I was confused by the cryptic clue.

'No idea I just hope I do before it becomes too late.'

'Speaking of late we need to get back before Thalia saves my father the trouble of zapping us into oblivion.'

'I almost forgot about that. Almost.' I said with a sigh. This was becoming one of those days.

'You got everything?' She said looking at me with a skeptical smile. Causing me to pat myself down. Pen check. Wristband check. Baton check. Chasing Wisdom check after all I spent almost 10 minutes finding the damned things, why was it the smallest ranged weapons I had on me were the only ones that didn't come back or I couldn't summon. Sure I knew the answer because they were never technically meant for me. I had inherited the blades but it was beside the point. Watch check wait no. sure the watch was on my right wrist but it was only the sheath.

Nervously I shuffled my foot in the sand before catching it on something before flicking it up and catching it in mid air.

'You really need to get that to change back. I am not having my boyfriend doing his best Grim Reaper impression all you need to do is change your coat color and you are there.' She told me regarding the scythe I held loosely.

The least the Eidolons could have done is told me how they changed the weapons form. Sure enough now I couldn't sheath it back into a watch or figure out how to turn it back into a sword. I had ended up burying it so I didn't unsettle Marina.

'At least it gives me something to work out besides not getting blown into atoms. Though it reminds me we need to see your half-brother about getting you a new bow or your old one fixed.'

'One thing at a time.' She said in resignation before I found myself being relocated.

AN. Yes I am aware that the mer-people camp has not got a pronounceable name and I didn't think Triton was going to refer to it as Camp Fish-Blood like Leo did.

Anyway sorry about the chapter being late I hit a semi roadblock with the second half of this chapter which was further complicated when I became addicted to playing dark souls. pretty sure 150 hours in a month is not good for you. especially when I didn't play it for a week while I was on holiday. good news is I have finished it now 5 times. bad news just bought the sequel.

Also just hit 750000 views and 1750 reviews so I would like to thank all of you for still reading this and letting me know what you think. next stop 1 million. though getting this far is far past where I ever expected to get to. though only a few thousand more words to go until I hit the milestone I really want. (you know what I am talking about).

So next chapter may be a brief wait but I hope to get it out by the 21st before the anniversary of me starting this.

Thank you to Anaklusmos14 for recommending me in his story. if any of you are insane and haven't checked out any of his stories I recommend you do so. after all he is one of the reasons I started this in the first place.

So as always please read and review