Chapter Two (Hidden Within)

Sometimes we're so afraid of what lurks within the depth of our souls, that we fail to realize our fear is merely guarding our greatest strengths from us.

It turns out that by 'the best trainers and tutors', my father meant one.

I peer nervously at the pair who shared a whispered conversation before me. I shifted slightly upon the miniature throne that had been summoned for me despite my best protests. We were no longer in the throne room, but my father insisted on me being seen as a prince.

I let my eyes trail around the room idly, not entirely intrigued by the coral decorations of the, otherwise, mundane room. Compared to the rest of the massive palace of course. I sighed to myself. Of course, I would call this room mundane now, I'm a prince after all.

I smirked beside myself at the sarcastic thought as my eyes flickered back to my father and the merman. He kept sneaking curious glances towards my direction, ones tainted with judgment as he assessed a potential student.

Finally, after another few minutes of torment, the whispering ceased as the pair turned their attention to me.

"Percy, this is Pelagios, an immortalized demigod son of Triton, and your new tutor."

The sudden weight of Poseidon's voice after the relative silence threw me off momentarily. I sat perfectly still, a true accomplishment for me, for less than a second before his words finally registered. I'm sure my face mirrored my bewilderment at the prospect of being trained by my… nephew? Poseidon chuckled despite himself while Pelagios huffed indignantly.

"I would have never guessed that Triton has demigod children."

"Why does everyone say that?" Pelagios muttered, a small frown on his face as Poseidon chuckled at his expense.

Still slightly shocked at the circumstances which led to the birth of my nephew, I shot my father a curious stare.

He held my gaze for a moment before sighing.

"Pelagios, here, was born a few centuries ago. He made a name for himself by slaying many sea creatures that terrorised fishing villages and ships; for his deeds, I made him immortal and offered him a place in Atlantis."

"The blessing of the sea isn't exactly immortality…" Pelagios chimed in, sending his grandfather a pointed look.

Realization flashed through my mind, dancing across my face as it did so.

"That's a blessing similar to Artemis' own, right?"

The two immortal beings nodded, smiling as they did so.

"Precisely," Pelagios began, "So long as I am in the sea, I will never age. Due to the many centuries of being alive, and honing my innate demigod abilities, I am practically invincible in the water as well. Only on land can I truly die."

I raised an eyebrow as he claimed he couldn't be killed underwater. Poseidon recognized this and quickly nodded.

"It is true, son. There are many secrets hidden behind the passage of time. Young Pelagios here has unlocked all that was hidden from him through diligent research and training. It is precisely because of his dedication to learning his abilities that I believe he will be the most adequate teacher for you."

"Is that also why he will be the only teacher?"

"If I remember correctly, you mentioned to Poseidon that you were only waiting until Artemis arrived at your camp before taking your leave, correct?"

He paused, waiting politely for my confirmation before continuing.

"Then you will have limited time to complete your training. The theoretical aspects of what you will be taught will have to be administered as efficiently as possible before the practical methods and the solution will be one that we are currently figuring out. As for the practical aspect of your training, I will do my best to provide you with the necessary skills and methods for you to effectively train yourself beyond the limited time that we have."

"Precisely," Poseidon interjected, "while having a plethora of teachers at your disposal would have been my preferred option; time does not permit it. Fortunately, Pelagios here is probably the best teacher you can have to improve and comprehend your demigod abilities, as he is technically a demigod and has been for centuries."

I sat silently for a moment. Before I could formulate a response, Poseidon spoke once again.

"Apollo's chariot is beginning to trail over the horizon. It may be time for you to take your leave, my son. I am sure Pelagios will answer all of your questions in your upcoming sessions together."

The son of Triton nodded his affirmation, causing me to release a sigh as I rose to my feet.

Throwing a bunch of work at me without answering any of my questions… Why was this beginning to feel like I was going back to school?

"There is one more thing you will need before you go, Percy!" Pelagios called out suddenly, stilling me before I could move towards the door.

He then held his hand out and a bracelet formed on his palm. He extended his hand, offering me the bracelet. I quickly slipped the jewellery on, though before I had time to inspect it, my attention was once again brought to my newfound teacher/nephew.

"This is a communication device of sorts. It will help us contact each other for the theoretical part of your training to avoid unnecessary attention from you coming to Atlantis daily."

"Can't we just meet up somewhere in the ocean?"

Pelagios smiled at the question.

"But how would you know where to go?"

I nodded, shrugging at his good point as I conceded.

"Besides, the bracelet is also a critical tool for all of the potential methods we have at the moment to complete your theoretical training."

I nodded mutely as Poseidon cleared his throat, urging me to continue taking my leave.

I instead offered my goodbyes before swimming down the hall and out of Atlantis.

As I swam to camp, I suddenly remembered how much I hated the ancient laws.

If it wasn't for the watchful eyes of Zeus, and the nosy Harpies at night, I would've been able to spend more time without my father having to worry about me facing a stray lightning bolt.

I shook my head, grateful that my father was even bending the rules as much as he was for my sake. A privilege that would mean the world to any other demigod; just as it did to me.

A smile formed on my face at that thought.

The soft sand on the Camp Half-Blood shore crunched and sank under the weight of my feet as I trekked out of the ocean. I had been in deep thought as I swam back to camp, and there was a niggling sensation which shifted my smile into a brooding frown.

While I was extremely grateful for the help from my father, and I couldn't deny I felt as though a gap in my heart was closing the more Poseidon did for me and acknowledged me, there was something that bothered me about the situation.

The way both Chiron and, now, my father had regarded this whole endeavour had inspired the nerves within me, which had already begun to build up, to begin to fester. Not only would I have to get past even having Artemis' approval, but I would also need to be strong enough to possibly defend against daily assaults from monsters, and there was this ominous undertone that even that may not be the end to it…

I stared at my bracelet, realizing my free hand had been absentmindedly fiddling with the band, lightly prodding the pearl as I shifted it nervously around my wrist.

The blue pearl hung almost loosely against the thick sandy brown string, and within the orb, I could sense the power of the sea. Almost as if it were a mystical portal leading to Atlantis.

I chuckled lightly at that thought for a few seconds before I baulked.

I realized I didn't know exactly how the whole communicating mentally thing worked. Did it turn on the moment I put the bracelet on my wrist? Did it stop? Was he listening to my thoughts now?

I knew the gods and immortals rarely respected the privacy of mortals and demigods alike.

After a few silent moments, I shook my head clear. If he didn't comment on that, then I could have some faith that he wasn't eavesdropping on my mind.

Right?

I shook my head once again, before a mischievous grin formed on my lips. If I found out he was snooping around my mind, I would think of the lewdest things possible.

I might as well have fun while being mentally stalked.

I chuckled to myself at that thought.

As I continued to walk, my mind shifted to the lessons Chiron had offered, which would begin in the morning…

I groaned, suddenly feeling more exhausted as the thought of all the upcoming lessons crashed upon me.

I could see my cabin fast approaching now, Artemis' chariot dancing across the sky above it. Today had been a much longer day than I thought it would be. I paused for a moment, holding my front door slightly ajar as I did so. I hadn't seen Tyson even though I had visited Atlantis today. I cursed to myself silently before pushing past the slightly open door and making a beeline for my bed.

I'd have to IM him later. I thought as I crashed on my bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

I awoke suddenly, a sharp stinging pain shooting through my wrist as I shot up to the edge of my bed. A quiet chuckling resounded in my head, stilling me from my intention to leave the cabin.

"It is time for your first theoretical lesson, Perseus."

I mumbled in annoyance as I pulled myself out of my bed, the familiar sound of Pelagios' voice ebbing away at my panic as I groggily rubbed my eyes and stumbled to the bathroom. A few minutes later, I emerged from the door, stretching as I made my way to the fountain in my cabin.

After waiting a few moments, shifting the bracelet suspiciously, I realized that the son of Triton wouldn't speak again until I did. I suppose that answered my question about mental privacy.

"How exactly is this going to work out? I remember that there was some issue you were mentioning the last time we spoke." I spoke aloud. I paused slightly as my voice echoed around the empty room. For the first time in a while, I was grateful I had the cabin to myself as I realized I was essentially talking to the fountain.

"Ah yes, I do believe we have managed to formulate a solution." Pelagios began, pausing for a moment as though he were collecting his thoughts. "I usually prefer to administer my lessons first and accept questions once my teachings are complete, but as this is a novel situation, I will make an exception." He finally relented after some time.

"I have been speaking with many of the other scholars within Atlantis. This is just to let you know that, even though I was the sole one chosen, I am not beyond the expertise they can provide. There were a few problems with how these lessons would be provided. Your father had mentioned that you weren't particularly appreciative of books and ingesting information as such, and with the limited time we would have to teach you, we needed a much more digestible method to provide you with the necessary information.

The solution was relatively simple, but the method is quite novel. We will use the communication link provided from the bracelet to allow me to transfer the knowledge of a few selected books which will be of the most assistance to you."

For a few moments, he remained silent. I took the time to process the information he gave me this time.

"So essentially, you're going to cheat the system by practically just dropping all the information in my head at once instead of me taking years to read it all?"

He gave a soft affirmation which prompted my next question.

"Can I ask what exactly these books will be on?"

I could practically feel him smile.

"Many of the other instructors wanted to ingrain the history of Atlantis and the many geographical terrains of the seas and battle tactics associated with each terrain."

I grimaced at the thought of that. That may be the most boring and useless information for me as a land dweller.

He chuckled as though he could see my response.

"I had the same response and I've been living underwater for centuries!"

I smiled softly at that response.

"Obviously, I rejected that, stating that you will have plenty of time to access that information later, to appease the old men." We shared a momentary laugh at that.

"However, I decided to gather some ancient texts about all the previous children of Poseidon. All the information from various books, scrolls and scripts note the abilities and circumstances for the activation of these abilities to the best of the Atlantean knowledge. Truthfully, a lot of their theories are incorrect. For example, there was an account which stated that under tremendous stress a child of Poseidon could unlock other latent abilities such as earth-shaker or control over storms. As a demigod and having interacted with many of Poseidon's children in the past, I can firmly state that that is entirely incorrect."

I took a moment at that piece of information. I had created a storm and caused an earthquake in a situation of tremendous stress, so I could understand why the Atlanteans would state that. Even to this point, after everything I'd been through, I'd never successfully recreated any of the dormant abilities outside of stressful situations either. I frowned as I channelled my thoughts to Pelagios once again.

"From my own experiences, I'd have to agree with them though. How are they wrong?"

"Patience. I was just highlighting an example to alert you that you shouldn't take all the information as facts. They are just what we know from the first record of a demigod child of Poseidon to you. I have personally taken care of the revision of these texts so you don't have to worry about blatant misinformation. Still, you should keep an open mind. It is with an open mind that I have shattered the expectations of a son of Triton and even gone on to formulate abilities not seen even with Poseidon's children!"

I could hear the pride in his tone, but I couldn't doubt the man. He was old, and even my father vouched for him. If what he said was true, then I was even more grateful to have him as my tutor.

"Now, before any more questions emerge, let us begin the procedure. I'm sure the information answers a lot of your questions and whatever confuses you or whatever questions remain, we will talk about it until it is time for your breakfast."

I nodded.

"So, if you're just dumping all the information into my head, will we only need one session?"

Pelagios sighed.

"What happened to no more questions until after the procedure? We'll see after the first time we try it to see how much information you can retain."

I chuckled at his response

"I've always been good at irking people, especially my teachers." I replied cheekily.

Before he could retort I pressed further. "We will just have to take it one step at a time then, I'd hate to overload my brain by accident."

He hummed as he paused for a moment.

"You might be correct… The process is simple enough, as the information is ingrained into your brain, it'll come as flashes, almost as if you were daydreaming about a memory. There will be a third link established between the both of us and another tutor of Atlantis. She has been around even before me and as a child of Mnemosyne and one of the Tritones…"

Before I even had time to ask the question, he pressed on.

"No, not my father… I'll explain later. As I was saying, she is a very well-renowned teacher in Atlantis. I'm not entirely sure how this process works, as it is a novelty for most of us Atlanteans, though she is experienced in such endeavours so I suppose she can be trusted… As for your worry over the damage to your brain, I suggest you step into the fountain…"

"That's always comforting." I muttered at the ominous message, as the elder child of the sea chuckled.

"We will begin now, prepare yourself."

I winced, closing my eyes instantly, waiting for the sensation to hit me.

Instead of pain, I felt my body relax as a soothing warmth began to emit from the bracelet. The sensation travelled up my arm and into my brain before it began circulating around my whole body. The sensation continued to flow until it began to pulsate. Before long, the warmth slowly drifted back towards the bracelet before it stopped completely.

I slowly let my eyes open as the new information began to settle in my head.

"I'm surprised," his voice brought me back to reality, though he paused for a moment. "I must correct myself; we're surprised. You managed to absorb most of the information with such ease. I could see why the fates gave you such a hard time. The powerful always face many hardships."

I blinked, ignoring the demigod in my head for a few minutes as bits of the information began to surface. It was an intense feeling, similar to a demigod dream. Except it felt as though I experienced at least a few hundred all at the same time.

After a deep breath, I stepped out of the fountain. I was prepared to experience a massive headache without the soothing water pooling at my feet, but I was pleasantly surprised to have my expectations denied. Though the present tingling sensation wasn't painful, it was still far from enjoyable.

"I suppose it's because my brain has adapted to far worse experiences." I muttered speculatively after a few moments, remembering my ordeal in Tartarus.

Pelagios remained silent at that remark. I didn't respond to his silence, instead, I continued to let the information settle, sitting at the edge of the fountain as it did so.

"I thought you said there was only information about the children of Poseidon in those texts?" I broke the silence after some time. The information finally settled completely.

"I never said that. I simply stated that the information contained records of children of Poseidon from the first record of a child of Poseidon. As you should now be aware, Poseidon was one of the first gods to have a demigod child as such the information is quite extensive."

"Understatement of the fucking century."

"This will be useful. You are not the only demigod who will be in your little group, and your father told you that he would allow Chiron to handle most of the things you'd need. Not only will you need to become stronger, but you will also need to increase their strength. That is why this is critical information for you to learn."

"I feel conned. You thought I'd be less inclined if I knew I'd be learning about other demigods too?" I growled, catching my tutor by surprise.

"What is it that makes everyone continuously doubt me? I've had every intention to explore the other possibilities for other demigods since before my father offered to tutor me. I was going to ask Chiron today in our first lesson about what I could do to help train them! If you have something to teach me, I strongly suggest you alert me of that, especially if there's a fucking chance of my brain melting as a result of your lesson!"

I could feel him flinch in response to my rant.

"My apologies Perseus…"

"Call me Percy." I snapped, albeit tiredly this time.

"Yes… ah, Percy." He began again, this time with greater caution, "The melting brain part was a joke. I will admit that I doubted your intent to learn, not for your lack of thoughtfulness but for your history with your resignation from learning as a whole. I simply believed that this process would be more pleasing to you as you aren't overly fond of learning. Ripping the bandage off so to speak."

"I only despise learning because I'm dyslexic and I've never been given a fair chance in the mortal education system. Outside of that, I've never really had time to scroll through our ancient Greek books at camp. Oh, you know between, retrieving a lightning bolt for Zeus, sailing the sea of monsters, holding the sky, traversing the labyrinth, fighting Kronos and his army of monsters, losing my memory, being shipped to a foreign camp before being sent to fight giants, falling into Tartarus, and resurfacing only to fight in another war against Gaea!"

I was panting at this point.

"But how dare he! How dare he for not being inclined to read a fucking book or listen in a mortal class or try in academics! And it's totally his fault that he couldn't be emotionally present in his relationship because he had no way to deal with his own convoluted emotions from the sheer lack of a proper childhood and fucked up teenage years. Of course, you should leave him then, when in that moment he needs you especially, or even someone!"

"I'm tired of being looked down upon or doubted until a next fucking threat arises, and everyone needs me. I just want to escape from it all, if anyone else feels even a fraction of what I do, I want to help them escape too. And then… even then, there's going to be monster after monster attacking us and who knows what else."

I hadn't noticed when Pelagios appeared before me, or when I had ended up in his arms, but I kept going.

"And there were so many monsters attacking my family that they needed to leave to be safe, but no one cares because they don't need me to fight in their wars anymore! But fuck me for wanting to leave because the fates hate my existence! They've cursed me with life, and I can't find an escape no matter where I go! If I stay, I'm stuck with the girl I love who's left me. If I try to go home, monsters will come for my family. If I go to New Rome, I'd probably break all their rules and be kicked out. I try to find an alternative method that doesn't involve becoming a god and living this accursed life forever and I'm in more danger!"

The tears were freely rolling down my face as I cried into the chest of Pelagios.

"And at the end of it all, only you, my dad and Chiron seem to care for what I want. Everyone else is stuck in what they want, but what about me? Am I supposed to just stick with them, doing what they want until I die? What's so wrong with me wanting a simple mortal life?"

I choked on a sob as the pain of everything started to tug at my chest painfully. For so long I had put on a brave face and accepted everything in stride. Of course, there were moments I broke before, but I had been going since I had lost my memories. Trudging on to survive like the good little soldier I was made to be.

I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me as I slowly pulled myself from Pelagios and made my way to my bed. For a few moments, as I sat on the edge of the bed there was an amicable silence between us.

"Take the rest of the day, Percy. I will talk to Chiron on your behalf." Pelagios spoke softly, catching my attention as his gentle words reached my ears.

"I was unaware you were going through so much; I had always assumed you had a proper outlet with the way you took everything on so brazenly. I had so much respect for you for facing every obstacle, tauntingly and firmly before overcoming it. Now that I know you did so with all this weight on your shoulders, possibly more than that of the sky, my respect has increased tenfold.

"I am sorry for my actions and my misguided thoughts of you. I will take great care to teach you as I should have from the very beginning. I suppose the partial disdain which has grown on me from many years with my father has also blinded me. I will do my best to rectify these mistakes for as long as I am your tutor and even beyond that. You are family after all."

I choked back another sob, nodding in appreciation as another swell of emotions burst inside of me.

He stayed quietly at the edge of the fountain, the soothing fall of the water and the soft scent of the sea lulling me to sleep before long.

By the time I had awoken, it was just after lunch.

I made my way to the dining pavilion and ate a quick lunch.

I still felt the constant nagging of the inner turmoil and, opposed to the idea of sitting around wallowing in self-pity, I decided to go to Chiron anyway.

"Percy, my boy!" Came the ever-jovial voice from the centaur when we greeted each other.

I shot him a tired smile in return.

"Pelagios mentioned that you were going to take the rest of the day off, is this a personal matter then?"

I shook my head as I took a seat opposite him on the veranda.

"I took enough time off, Chiron. I suppose he told you what happened?"

"Vaguely."

I sighed.

"I just don't want to be left alone with my thoughts right now, so I figured I might as well get started with our lessons."

"That decision lies with you. I think my job would be in jeopardy if I weren't always prepared to teach demigods." Chiron said with a small smile, his kind eyes softening as I gave him a small smile of my own.

"I am not going to say I understand how you feel, Percy. But I do care. I understand that you wished this would be the solution to your problems and that this decision would finally be the one to end the struggles associated with your father's blood. However, I am left to assume that the reason you sought my advice and assistance was due to a deeper understanding that such a life was never meant for you. Despite the dangers, adventures are all you know. I will honour and respect that but please understand the peculiarity of the situation."

He paused for a moment, reaching across, and squeezing my shoulder as he maintained eye contact.

"Without a quest, leaving camp has always held the air of danger. Many will struggle to see past that. I, however, see the strength you possess, both as a son of Poseidon and as the son of Sally. You have set your mind to this and will see it through, and I am grateful to once again be there to see you off, just as I will earnestly await your return, should you decide to. This camp is your home, it always has been, and it always will be, no matter how much these crafty children change its looks. It will always be the home to demigods."

I felt my chest tighten as I could only manage a nod in return, my lips quivering as I kept any more tears from falling. It was an uncomfortable feeling being left so emotionally vulnerable, especially as it seemed to be a recurring theme today. I was grateful that I was fortunate enough to have people to be vulnerable around though, even if one of them was still practically a stranger and it was a completely unintentional happening…

Chiron frowned slightly as he stared up at the dancing chariot of the sun. He turned his attention back to me as he stood up, motioning for me to do the same.

"Come on in then, we have much to cover in such a short span of time."

As I made my way inside, I felt a small weight lift off of my shoulders. There was still a heaviness deep inside me, too much for one or two conversations to fix, but I allowed myself to be selfish as I remembered my reasoning behind this. I wouldn't let my chance to pull myself together slip.

With a refreshed outlook, I took a confident step into the big house, ready to throw myself into the depths of his lessons both in preparation and as an escape from the raging emotions within me.

A/N: I'd say that this is the official point in which the story derails entirely from the books. Of course, it already has because of when it's been set, but still, I've been waiting a long time to say that lol. Leave a review and let me know how it's going.

While I'm talking about reviews, I just want to thank Death Fury for the constant reviews. It means a lot to me, and I hope I can keep delivering.

Get updates about what else I'm writing on my discord. The link is on my profile page.

Thank you all for reading and as always, I hope everything is going great for you whenever you read this.

-ZedricSOZ