Percy woke up the next morning with very mixed feelings. On one hand he was very much looking forward to the evening and to returning to Atlantis. On the other hand, he would first have to return to Camp Half-Blood and he would be lying if he said he wasn't anxious about that. He just had no idea how the day would go and from his experience with Camp Jupiter this could go anywhere from being branded a public enemy to going just about fine. What he didn't expect was to never get to camp at all though.

In the early morning, just when the hunt was about to move the last bit of distance, a familiar figure came running to them instead. Percy recognised Will Solace almost immediately and was surprised when the son of Apollo ignored him and ran past him. Instead he came to a stop right before Artemis, only barely adhering to formalities and giving her a quick bow. By now he was the center of attention and for the most part also the center of dislike as many hunters threw glares at the intruder.

"Lady Artemis, I'm here on behalf of my father, Lord Apollo. He asks you not to bring Percy back to camp and to instead only enter with your hunt." It was a short message but it was confusing enough to dissuade some of the glares thrown towards Will. What it did however also do was get him the undivided and scrutinising attention of Artemis and even if she wasn't being hostile, Percy knew from personal experience that that was very much intimidating. "Explain yourself, why does my brother think I cannot bring Perseus into your camp?"

"My father already showed me your situation, Lady Artemis, and if you bring Percy to camp and protect him there, then your hunters will become targets during the time that you are away. He told me that your hunters would suffer immensely should you choose to ignore him." His words had just as much weight as they needed to have, freezing everyone, even Artemis, for a moment. The goddess looked particularly shaken as she thought about it more and Percy realised that Apollo wasn't one to do this often. Him personally sending word to stop his sister must have caught her by surprise. Not to mention that him being the god of prophecies only made his warning more important.

Percy also realised that Zeus had apparently never made the Olympians swear an oath not to disclose his and Artemis betrothal so chances were that plenty of people knew by now since Olympus had many gods prone to gossiping. Artemis on the other hand, still in the process of considering her options, motioned towards her tent, signalling both him and Will to follow. Throwing a quick glance towards his old friend, Percy followed behind the goddess, Will right behind him. He wasn't sure what the son of Apollo thought of him but he did distinctly remember Will not being there when he was kicked out of Camp Half-Blood a few years ago.

As they entered Artemis's tent, all three of them quickly took a seat before Will went to elaborate on what had happened. "So, last night I had a dream sent by my father where I saw visions of the hunters being harassed and attacked in camp. After I was shown the visions, dad told me that those were the consequences of Percy coming back to camp with the hunters and he said to me that I had to prevent Percy's return. He explained what had happened between you two when I asked why Percy was with the hunt in the first place and…that brought me here."

For a moment he looked at me, seemingly trying to gauge how much I could take before going back to explaining, his tone now incredibly serious. "Percy…after you left Camp…there was an attack and even though some of us believe in your innocence, others don't. The counsellors decided in a meeting to declare you as the likely suspect but right now it's basically every cabin for itself. Some of us, like Clarisse or the Stolls know that the storm back then wasn't like the ones you summon but some of the younger counsellors that weren't around during the titan war believed you to be responsible. I told the younger Apollo campers that it wasn't you, they told their younger siblings that it was you so long story short, for some cabins you are a mortal enemy. If Artemis and her hunters bring you back into camp now, they'll view them as enemies too and they'll be much more vicious than the normal rivalry. According to dad, it could be so bad that their lives might even be in danger so he told me to stop that from happening."

What followed was a long silence, one Percy later realised was caused by Artemis and Will giving him time to process. He already knew that a portion of the campers blamed him for the attack. He also knew that their admiration towards him had long grown cold. He knew that many whom he had considered friends had grown apart from him and didn't want him back in their lives. He knew that he was hardly welcome in Camp Half-Blood. And yet he had hoped he could make it all work out somehow. That he could talk to Chiron, get his help in convincing the campers. That he could talk to his old friends and comrades and show them that they had misjudged him. That he could fix things. What he was told just now was the cold realisation that fixing things wasn't possible anymore. He had lost his home and he wouldn't get it back for a long time.

Percy just sat still for a while. His mind was racing yet not a single coherent thought was emerging, like there was buzzing static filling his head, drowning out the outside world. He had thought himself prepared but that was foolish. He could never be prepared for this. Only subconsciously did Percy register what was going on around him at this point, a gentle hand guiding him to stand up before leading him outside and into his own tent. His own knees growing weak as he dropped onto his bed.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, just lying in his bed completely unresponsive but when he finally felt ready to exit his tent, the rest of the hunt had already been packed up. From the looks of it, they had waited for him to get back up before leaving. He couldn't see Will anywhere so he guessed that the son of Apollo had already left and as he looked around he could see at least a glimmer of worry on each huntress's face. They all knew the overbearing feeling of loss and so they could relate all the more to the boy who had just lost the closest place to home he had left.

It was almost eerie how they watched him as he made his way to the shore, slowly submerging into the sea. He knew that he should probably tell them that he was fine and that they didn't need to worry about him but frankly, he wasn't. He could IM them once he actually felt better but right now any such words would be hollow. As the light of the sun darkened above his head, Percy sank deeper into the sea, quickly leaving the shore behind to go deeper and deeper. He would go back to pick up Artemis later but that probably wouldn't be for another hour or more and so instead he chose to clear his mind.

He was all but ignoring the chatter of fish in his head, many of them keenly aware of his distress and worried for their prince and instead Percy made his way further into the sea, further down into the depths. Slowly the light grew darker, his sight now reduced only to his innate ability to 'see' underwater. Percy didn't even know where exactly he was right now, sitting in some trench in the ocean, far from any body of land. But just being in his father's domain helped him. It calmed his nerves and gave him clarity, letting him process and deal with his emotional turmoil. Slowly, Percy let memories flow through his mind, past times spent at Camp Half-Blood with his friends. Laughter and happiness despite everyone there having the harsh curse of being a demigod. Chiron, his mentor. Clarisse, his long time rival and respected co-leader. Lee, the brave leader of the Apollo cabin. Silena. Charles. Pollux and Castor. Will. Connor and Travis. Katie. One by one faces flashed through his mind, all the people, the family, he had found inside the Camps borders.

Then he thought ahead. The memories that would remain even if he couldn't return to Camp anymore. The people that would remain his friends even if he wouldn't see them anymore. Camp Half-Blood had been a home to him throughout his teenage years, a place he learnt many things at and grew up into who he was today. But at the same time it wasn't his home anymore. He wouldn't be able to just let it go like that and the terrible twist in his gut was a clear reminder of that. Yet he felt more content with it now. It was painful but his ties with Camp had been partially severed years ago when they kicked him out and while this was the final goodbye, it was just the conclusion to the very development his initial leave had started. He needed to let this go.

In an impulsive outburst of anger his fist shot to the side, causing the wall of the trench he was in to shake from the impact. It wasn't fair how he had to endure all this. It just wasn't. A wave of anger burst through him once more, pulsing from his body through the water around him until it hit a wall and dissipated just to be followed by another wave. Just this once Percy let his emotions run freely, his powers churning the waters around him, creating a sphere of chaos around him.

By the time he was done trashing around, Percy felt better. Not yet good, but he had blown off some steam and in the process he at least felt like he had regained his self-control. He slowly let himself float upwards, his senses cleared now that he was less riled up. There were no longer any fish around him, most having already fled when they noticed his strained mood with the last disappearing once his anger started to come out. They knew this type of behaviour from his father so they also knew to quickly get away. Percy could however sense someone observing him in the far distance. It took him a moment to recognise the familiar presence but once he did, he shot off towards his half-brother Triton.

While they had a rather bad relationship initially due to Percy being the result of Poseidon's affair, they had both inherited quite a bit of their father's antics and interests, something that ultimately bridged the gap between them during Percy's first stay in Atlantis. By now Triton was just waiting for him, swimming in place as Percy got closer. "Blew off some steam, little brother? You almost tickled my fins with those currents."

Apparently sarcasm ran in the family about as much as their power to control water. "You sure that wasn't something else? You were so far away, I can't believe I even reached you at all." His first stay in Atlantis had taught him that Triton rarely meant harm even with hurtful comments so they had very quickly settled into a rhythm of making fun of each other. Additionally Triton's easygoing nature also made serious complaints largely ineffective unless they came from his parents so fighting fire with fire was just about the only option left.

"Nah, I thought you'd need your privacy and all. Besides, I have a job, you know?" Triton started to slowly swim in what appeared to be a random direction, Percy following behind him at a matching pace. "A job you could just take a break from to say hi?"

"Not really, I'm supposed to patrol these parts and look for anything suspicious on…my grandfather. The one we don't share. When I sensed your outburst I had to make sure it wasn't something he caused." Percy stayed still for a bit, now aware what problem his dad had been talking about yesterday. It admittedly took him a second or two to remember just who Amphitrite's father was but once he got it, he immediately understood what made this so dangerous. The titan that once ruled the oceans was far outside of both his and Triton's weight class so their father was the only one with a chance at beating him.

"So you're just swimming around and looking for him? Has this been going on ever since Kronos was defeated?" He hadn't heard of anything like this the last time he was in Atlantis at all. Did they really keep a secret this big from him? "I am, you wanna join? We have a few more hours until we need to pick up your fiance anyways. Why aren't you with her by the way?"

"You forgot a question…also I can't go back to camp, what do you think I was getting so angry for?" Something about Triton's energy made it very easy for Percy to just fight banter with banter and talk about just about anything even if it would normally be painful. "Ah, come on, I couldn't have guessed that. Also we only started looking for grandpa about a year ago when he suddenly started moving again. Dad just feels like he is preparing something and we'd rather find him before something bad happens. Unfortunately, he's pretty good at hiding."

"Well, good thing you've got me to help you out now. Do you have a set route?"

"Yeah, just follow me and don't get lost. I can't look after you while I work."

By now they were both sporting a grin, though Triton's was far wider as he led the way, both sons of Poseidon speeding up as they shot through the seas, their senses kept sharp for any anomaly. Percy wasn't sure if he'd even be able to sense Oceanus since the titan was probably very good at hiding, especially in his own domain but he tried regardless.

The two of them had long since left the realm of just swimming, barreling through the sea at speeds faster than any animal or even monster could follow and despite the large area that the two of them were inevitably covering, they couldn't find anything with a connection to the titan. Sure they found some monsters but even those were small and minor. The sea appeared entirely peaceful on their patrol.

Oddly enough that was exactly what threw Percy off as Tartarus gaining power and reviving monsters quicker should cause the exact opposite, even in the depths of the ocean. But even with him knowing that something was up they couldn't find who they were looking for. By the time they returned to the coast before New York to pick up Artemis, they had made their way across the entire American coast and even gone decently close to Africa and Europe and yet they made no progress.

Since Oceanus outpowered them both as the old king of the sea, they couldn't even be sure that he hadn't just evaded their senses. Though if he was gathering an army then even with his power he couldn't possibly hide from the two of them so just the lack of an army was a good thing to find.

Despite their lack of success however, travelling around with Triton for the first time in years was fun and while his brother sure wasn't particularly sensible, Percy also appreciated the blunt distraction Triton offered from his own concerns. By now they were on their way back to Camp Half-Blood, no longer looking out for anything and instead just speeding through the ocean and Percy felt so much better than he did just hours ago. The feeling of liberation for having returned to his father's domain coupled with having reunited with his brother and even his troubled state of mind from before was quickly overshadowed.

With the speed they were going at, the duo arrived at the shore of Camp Half-Blood quickly, staying just outside its borders as they waited for the people currently there to leave and for Artemis to arrive. It was the first time since they set off just a bit further south earlier today that they had come to a full stop since they always kept in motion during their search, even when they turned around. Unfortunately for Percy, Triton chose this time to further grill him.

"So, how is life being engaged? Dad said you looked to be doing fine with the hunters already, so can I expect to be an uncle soon?" Even if it was Triton, Percy hadn't expected something this crass and quite literally rolled over in surprise, accidentally giving himself a small push. "Gods dammit, Triton! There are a few steps between arranged engagement and having kids, you know? Besides, we get along precisely because I don't look for anything more and I'd rather keep it that way."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. With how devoted she was to staying away from men so far I'm surprised you're even allowed anywhere near her, engagement or not. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask though."

"It does if she hears you, brother. I really don't think she'd like being talked about like that."

"I should probably mind my manners, huh? Anyways, what have you actually been up to? I heard you fought a titan on your way, how do you always manage to stumble into those guys?"

"I don't know what to tell you, it just happens. Those guys really have it out for me and I also just so happen to be extremely unlucky if you haven't noticed yet so I've managed to just run into them a few times."

"Couldn't you have channeled that bad luck of yours earlier to help me find one or two titans? You could've really made my life a little easier if you did that."

At this point they were back to just joking around, both keeping an eye on the shore while they chatted away. Despite the fact that not much had happened in Atlantis the past few years, Triton had managed to get caught up in quite a lot of interesting things since he was often out running errands for their dad. Apparently he had met with their sister a few times, had gone to the deep sea a few times and had done a whole lot of other exciting stuff along the way. That totalled to be easily enough stories to last them until the evening when the beach slowly cleared out. It was a good location to watch the sunset from but the campers went to get dinner first and that was precisely the time Artemis decided to show up at.

Percy stayed behind and watched as Triton emerged from the waves and greeted Artemis. His brother had adopted a mask of formality that he usually wore whenever he interacted with people he didn't know well and was now talking with Artemis, eventually pointing in the direction Percy was in. Not long after they both submerged, Artemis encased in a small layer of air. It was time to go to Atlantis.

This is it, the next chapter. This honestly went differently from how I thought I would write it initially, because I originally wanted this chapter to be Percy returning to Camp, making his peace with everyone, meeting Chiron again and all that stuff. As I wrote it however I realised there was just no way that wouldn't breed a ton of conflict down the line since the attack on Camp that Percy is blamed for had casualties so someone who lost a sibling back then and believes Percy to be responsible wouldn't just think of him as a jerk or whatever but as a mortal enemy. That's just too great a difference to be resolved quickly.

In addition while 'he was a hero but he turned evil' might be something that's hard to believe under normal circumstances, there is an actual precedent with Theseus so even younger campers that don't know Percy would probably believe the negative stories about him. Because of that I pivoted away from having him return to Camp and instead had him wait in the ocean. He will of course still meet his old friends later down the line but I don't know yet if I'll ever have him return to Camp Half-Blood.

I just wanted to explain my reasoning for this decision a little. Aside from that, as always I appreciate any feedback and I'll see you next week.

-M