Percy

The walk along the wharf was pleasant, if not slightly nerve-inducing after the tense confrontation with Nereus.

The sun shone high in the sky, as mortals lounged around, enjoying the beautiful Californian weather.

Artemis especially seemed to be on edge, as she kept glancing towards the water every now and then.

As we made it onto a beach, I noticed she seemed to get even more uncomfortable, making sure to keep myself between her and the water.

'You alright?' I asked.

Artemis huffed in annoyance, and any other mere mortal probably would have been thoroughly cowed, but I resolutely stood my ground.

'Let's say that myself and the sea… Do not have the best working relationship.' Artemis said as she stared at the water with disdain.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. 'But how? The sea's awesome.' I gushed.

'Percy,' I turned dramatically to face her, earning a small smile from Artemis before her face went serious again, 'children of Zeus are not meant to be near water, like at all. It's meant to be avoided as much as possible.'

I wrinkled my nose jokingly. 'That explains the smell.'

Artemis gasped in mock hurt before slapping me lightly on the shoulder. 'Bastard.'

'That I am.'

'You know what I mean.'

'If you say so.' I said cheekily as I summoned a tiny bit of water, splashing Artemis in the face.

'Percy!' She shouted, chasing after me as I ran laughing along the beach.

She caught up to me quickly, courtesy of being a goddess, tripping me into the sand.

I collapsed laughing. Artemis tried to look sternly at me, but eventually gave up and joined in.

My stomach rumbled, and I checked my watch. 1 O'Clock in the afternoon. No wonder I was hungry, I hadn't eaten anything since the wild veal Artemis had hunted at six in the morning.

Artemis raised an eyebrow questioningly. 'Hungry?'

'I thought you'd never ask.'

Just as we got up to make our way to find a restaurant, I felt a sudden disturbance behind me.

Now, my intuition to sense danger had a tendency of saving my life, so when I felt it, I listened to it.

I spun around quickly, instinctually placing myself in front of Artemis in case of danger.

A wave. A massive wave.

Now, what clued me into the fact that this wave was not normal, and definitely out to get us, was that it was restricted strictly to where myself and Artemis were standing, and that it was headed right towards us.

Pretty easy fix, right? Son of Neptune, hydrokinesis, dissipate wave, hooray.

Right?

Wrong.

I tried to take control of the wave, willing the water to dissipate into mist, but I felt a powerful entity shake off my control before I could do anything.

A suspiciously familiar entity.

I staggered at the force with which he ended the connection.

'Nereus.' I growled in frustration.

Artemis, who at this point had seen the wave come towards us, supporting me as I staggered, looked at me with worry and a small bit of terror at the wave.

'Percy-' She started, her eyes wide in horror as the wave came barreling towards us. I could hear the screams of mortals around us as they ran away from the massive wave that had virtually manifested out of nowhere.

'I can't overpower Nereus.' I managed breathlessly.

'Percy I can't be near water let alone in water, I'm a daughter of Zeus you don't understand what sea deities would do to me given the chance?' She explained, talking quicker and quicker as she started panicking, holding onto my arm painfully hard.

'I won't let anybody touch you Moonshine, I promise.' I said with finality, finally managing to stand up on my own again.

'Percy, you just said you can't overpower Nereus, how can you promise that?' Artemis seemed close to hysterical at this point, trying to pull me away.

'We can't outrun it, it'll keep following us. I need to get close enough to fight Nereus. He may have better control than me, but he can't beat me in a fight.'

Especially with my trident.

Was I basing this entire plan on whether or not my magical trident with unknown origins could stand up to a god? Yes. But in fairness, my trident was anything but ordinary, and it had proved its worth ten times over to me over the years.

And anyways, what other option did I have?

I braced myself for the wave, taking Artemis's hand in my own, squeezing it reassuringly.

Artemis looked down, then up to me, a confused expression present on her countenance, before the wave hit.

Even though I couldn't wrestle control from Nereus, I was able to push out my control, forming a small bubble of air around Artemis' head, allowing her to breathe.

Artemis looked at me with a face of pure terror, hanging on to my arms with an iron grip.

'Don't… Go.' She choked out.

I shook my head. 'Never.'

The current that dragged us out into the sea finally deposited us in an arena-like clearing surrounded by a coral reef.

There, dressed in a greek toga, and holding an ornate metallic green pentadent, was Nereus.

He seemed more healthy in the water, and I could feel his aura of power even from where I was, a couple hundred metres away.

But at that moment I didn't care.

'Nereus!' I shouted, slowly swimming away from Artemis to face the sea god. 'What is the meaning of this?'

My bravado was completely false, as my expertise in the water only expanded to that one time I barely managed to best the god of the tiber back in New Rome, a deity so minor he was barely even a deity at all.

This, on the other hand…

Nereus cackled. 'The Earth Mother will forgive me for my insolence for bringing you two in, dead or alive.' He appraised me with a dubious look on his visage. 'I am a god in my element, what are you to me?'

I summoned my trident, brandishing it at Nereus. The emerald tips and but of the prongs glowed green, the water around them warping with energy. Woah, I had never seen it do that before.

'I am Perseus Jackson, Praetor of the twelfth legion fulminata, a son of Neptune, a prince of the western sea. I am on a quest for Mars Ultor, and Olympus, you will not stand in my way.'

Nereus laughed derisively at me. 'Then you shall die a fool, upstart demigod. courageous, but a fool nonetheless.'

I tried to charge Nereus, but he simply flicked a finger and I went flying, hit by a powerful current in the side.

Luckily though, the sea revitalised me almost instantly, as I turned around to charge once again, only to find Nereus right in front of me, halfway through swinging his pentadent at my head.

I quickly brought up my trident, the clang reverberating around us, much of the sea life inhabiting the area fleeing out of the reef at the explosion of power.

Nereus laughed like a maniac as he swung his pentadent feverishly, throwing currents at me at the most inopportune moments, tripping me up, meaning that I couldn't land a single hit on Nereus, while he ran rings around me, looking for a weak spot to strike out at.

I once again tried to force some of the water around me under my command, hoping to cocoon myself from the currents Nereus was launching at me.

But the strain of trying to dodge Nereus, block his ridiculously powerful attacks, (like seriously, how is he that strong?), and make sure Artemis still had her air bubble were taking their toll on me.

I dodged yet another stab from Nereus, narrowly avoiding getting skewered, before Nereus smoothly went with the flow of the current, spinning back around to deliver a high-octane backhanded smack with the head of the pentadent.

I narrowly managed to lower my body under the strike, bringing my trident around and bringing it down on Nereus's head.

Nereus took the strike on the middle of his pentadent. He smiled as I put all my weight into the strike, trying to overpower the god.

My trident started glowing a brighter green, the glow now encompassing all the trident. I jerked my head back in surprise as I felt the power radiating off the weapon.

Nereus's eyes widened comically, staring at my weapon as if it had suddenly transformed into the holy grail.

'I haven't felt that power in millenia.' Nereus whispered reverently. 'But you… You aren't him. You're too weak.'

I stared at him blankly as he continued staring at my trident. 'But if I had that power…' He chuckled darkly.

'Oh Perseus, I was going easy on you before, but now… I see you have ah, something that I wish to possess.' He pushed off my trident with his pentadent, propelling himself backwards a couple of metres.

This time though, his blow didn't feel as bone-jarringly powerful as his earlier attack had. I looked down at my arms in confusion, only to exclaim in surprise as I saw my eyes glowing a dark green in the silvery reflection of my trident.

The power flowed through my veins, and I felt slightly lightheaded at the sudden surge of energy. I felt the ebb and flow of the tide, flowing through me.

The power of the sea, flowing through me.

The water suddenly felt much less foreboding than it had a few moments ago, as I managed to will the currents around me to propel me towards Nereus, who looked at me in shock.

He growled in annoyance before launching himself at me, the two of us meeting with a powerful clang in the middle of the reef.

We circled around each other at blistering paces, occasionally meeting in the middle to clash quickly, before rapidly disengaging and circling once again. This continued for a bit, but the power I was channelling through the trident was taking its toll on me, as I felt myself heating up.

I gritted my teeth in pain as I continued clashing with Nereus, who did seem to be slowing down ever so slightly.

But I'd be long dead before I could defeat him.

I could feel myself slowing down significantly as Nereus decided to make another dive at me, this time not backing off as he hit me with a prolonged onslaught of furious strikes. I dodged and parried what I could, but eventually a strike found its way past my desperate defence, backhanding me in the side of my head,sending me flying into the wall of a coral, my trident falling to the ground beside me.

I groaned in pain as I tried unsuccessfully to get up.

I distantly heard a 'No!' shouted by Artemis, but I was too tired and in too much pain to react.

XIXI

Artemis

'No!' I shouted, seeing Percy get smacked.

I made to move towards him, but the bubble of air he had been sustaining for me refused to go along with me.

He's unconscious and he's still keeping me alive.

I clenched my fists in frustration. You are an Olympian goddess. He is risking his life for you.

Help him.

Percy slowly started to get up.

Help him.

He blocked another strike from Nereus, still struggling to stand up.

Help him!

My heartbeat started increasing, Perseus dodged another blow from Nereus.

Help him!

I felt my power coalescing around me, concentrating it in the palms of my hands.

Help him.

Like a dam bursting, the water started filtering out around me. Soon, a massive underwater dome had been formed, causing both Nereus and Percy to fall to the ground.

Percy reacted to the change in terrain much better than Nereus, although at this point surprisingly he seemed to have the upper hand either way.

I looked down at my hands in surprise. I could feel my power coursing around me, willing the water to stay at bay.

Percy smiled at me from a way away, and felt some warmth in my heart at the sincerity behind it.

Perseus quickly dispatched Nereus with a quick blow to the back of his head with the butt of his trident.

Good thing he's with me.

I quickly made my way to Percy to make sure he was okay.

'Percy!' I called out to him.

Percy turned around to face me much quicker than I would've thought possible for a demigod who had just faced a god, pulling me into a hug.

I stiffened at the unexpected physical contact, with a man no less.

It didn't feel like with my father, when I was constantly on edge, or my brother, who always managed to annoy me.

Percy pulled back almost as quickly though, leaving my head reeling.

What just happened?

XIXI

Percy

Chin up, son of Neptune, the sea does not like to be restrained, and you are its vessel.

The voice seemed to originate from my trident, sounding in my head.

'The mighty son of Neptune, prince of the western sea.' Nereus made a mock sade face at me. 'Don't make heroes like they used to, do they?'

Remember young hero, you are the prince of the seas. The sea does not like to be restrained, and you are its ambassador in the mortal realm.

'Who… Who are you?' I managed weakly.

You will find out soon enough, young one. Now, remember what I said.

I reached out to my trident, energy filling my body as soon as I touched it.

I stood up shakily, glaring defiantly at Nereus.

The sea does not like to be restrained.

I willed the currents to move me towards Nereus.

The sea does not like to be restrained.

He burst out laughing. 'Let no one say you weren't persistent. Now, prince of the western sea, any last words?'

I looked up at Nereus defiantly, my eyes glowing once again. 'The sea does not like to be restrained.'

Nereus looked unimpressed. 'How unoriginal.'

He swung his pentadent with deadly accuracy, aiming for my neck.

At the last second, the pentadent was immobilised centimetres from my neck, the water hardening, coalescing around it, immobilising it. . Nereus looked in surprise from his weapon to me.

'How…?' I relished the fear in his eyes. I no longer felt any remorse for this greedy bottom feeder.

'The sea does not like to be restrained.' I repeated with deadly certainty in a bored monotone.

Then, suddenly, all the water was taken out from under us.

Literally.

I looked in shock to see Artemis a couple hundred metres away, her hands out in front of her with a surprised look on her face as suddenly a massive invisible dome was formed, keeping the water at bay.

I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face at Artemis before turning to Nereus. This just kept getting better.

If I could now hold my own in the water against Nereus, out of water was a piece of cake. Nereus let out a girlish scream as I charged towards him, trying desperately to summon some water to him.

I mercilessly banished all the water out of the dome again, jumping up and spinning around to dish out a wicked backhanded blow with my trident to Nereus's head, similar to the one he had almost knocked me out with before.

Nereus blocked the strike, but I merely stepped out of the way, bringing the butt of my trident around again against the back of his head.

Nereus crumpled to the ground without a noise, his pentadent dissolving into mist.

'Percy!' Artemis called out to me.

In a moment of euphoria I brought her into a massive hug as she came up to me.

'Moonshine you're the best! I can't believe you can manipulate water!' I exclaimed breathlessly as we both pulled apart.

Artemis for her part seemed surprised by my sudden outburst of euphoric energy, but pleased at the praise all the same. 'Thank you Percy, although, to be honest, I have no clue how I did it.'

I thought for a moment. 'Perhaps because of the moon and tides, you have a certain control over the seas?' I suggested.

Artemis nodded. 'That's… actually not a bad theory.' She looked at me with mock suspicion. 'Who are you and what have you done with Percy Jackson?'

We both laughed, although more out of nerves more than anything, and I could feel the tension going away.

'What do we do with him?' I asked, motioning towards the still unconscious Nereus.

Artemis shrugged. 'Just leave him here. It's too much hassle to punish him, and we have more important things to attend to.'

I nodded. 'Quest! Right. Honestly I kinda forgot about that.'

Artemis nodded. 'We should get back to the surface,' she said with a shiver, 'I still find the ocean super creepy.'

I held a hand out to her. 'May I, M'Lady?' I asked with mock formality.

Artemis rolled her eyes, although smiling, holding out her own in acceptance. 'I think we are somewhat past formality.' She said.

I nodded in understanding, bowing my head slightly in acknowledgement.

'So… I can come up with a silly nickname for you now?'

Artemis snorted in derision. 'Don't push it.'

'Right.'

I brought us back to the beach we had been at before being kidnapped.

As we got out of the water and I dried us both, my stomach rumbled.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, looking at me dryly.

'Hungry?'

'You know it.'

AN:

Ughhhhhhhhhh. I just spent an afternoon writing this on a whim. And I still have to study…

Anyways, I've been getting enough reviews on relationship and quest being rushed (like two but I was thinking it too), so I decided to add some extra content, and extra moments between Percy and Artemis not already being in practically in love with each other, as there is admittedly a pretty big jump in the relationship from chapter three to four originally, and even though it was a time skip to justify it, I thought I'd add this for extra measure.

This chapter isn't a finished product, I'm considering adding an Arty POV, but that would be like an extra thousand words, and I honestly don't have the energy or time for that this week with exams, I'll add at some point in the future.

Slán, Murph