imagine you’ve been stuck on an island for thousands of years and ur finally free and the hero you had a crush on is single and u two fell back together and u meet his family and then suddenly one of the big three is standing ten paces away from u and your boyfriend has absolutely no idea
Aside from Apollo having to hold him back from tackling Triton to their father’s polished floors, he managed himself well, all things considered. He was given new armor, polished and green-tinted, embellished with scales, waves and shells. A cyclops crafted it right before his eyes.
He’d never had armor this nice.
As he strapped himself into it, he listened to Apollo and Triton talk.
‘It’s a substantial feat,’ Triton said. ‘To catch even Hera off guard.’
‘We have not told a soul,’ Apollo said. ‘Poseidon, Hera, Hermes and I.’
‘My father has trusted my mother and I with the plan,’ he said. ‘Are you certain there’s no one close you may have told?’
‘Don’t think me an imbecile.’
‘I’m not.’
‘I have spoken of this not even to my sister. My twin who sat in the womb beside me,’ Apollo hissed. ‘It was not me.’
A sudden swoosh came through the water. The arrival of someone with a tail.
‘Triton, here you are.’ Percy knew that voice. Elegant and sharp.
‘Mother,’ Triton said. Amphitrite, queen of the sea. Percy bristled in his small changing alcove, hidden from view. The goddess had warmed up to him over the years, but he wasn’t sure how she felt now about his sister—the outcome of a past affair reignited.
The mere thought of Estelle made his throat cinch tight, but he swallowed it down. This was familiar territory. War. Tacticality, not emotion. He’d done it all before, he could do it again, especially for her.
‘Tell Junonia to gather as many naiads as she can. We’ll need many hands, there’s much to do,” her voice wavered. For a moment, she did not speak.
‘Mother,’ Triton said again, softer.
‘I am fine,’ she said. ‘I need to get to Tinos.’
‘I know.’
‘Amphitrite,’ Apollo cut in. ‘I must apologize, none of us thought this could happen—’ The goddess’ sharp tongue cut him off.
‘You do not speak to me for at least a night and a day. I told my husband to stay out of this stupid, idiotic idea of yours but you somehow convinced him into it.’
‘He agreed with me,’ he said, though it was quiet.
‘I don’t care,’ she said. ‘With the amount we have at stake, which you were well aware of, you should never have asked. Selfish imbecile.’ Percy drew his straps tight, brow furrowing.
Echoes of the deep ocean filled the silence she left. Percy listened to more whale-song as he pretended to still be changing.
‘Cousin, you used to have a fire,’ Triton said. ‘Had my mother said that a century ago, I would’ve had to stand between you.’
‘I am changed,’ the god said. It sounded as dead as his father had in the throne room.
Percy secured the last piece of his attire; a scabbard, finely crafted and feather-light without the weight of a sword. Etched into the surface of the locket was a trident; his father’s insignia. He pulled the ballpoint pen from his pile of discarded clothes and uncapped it. Anaklusmos came to life. Its bronze gleamed brightly even underwater. He didn’t need to measure to know the sword would fit perfectly in its sheath. Cyclops’ did not make mistakes.
He paused. There was nowhere to put the pen cap.
His fist tightened around it reflexively, then released it to the pile. He figured, eventually, it would have to return.
The sword disappeared into the sheath and he stepped out.
‘You can’t honestly think I believe you’re taking the camp cause you care about the kids,’ he said as they walked through the palace, down a wide hall. Nacre inlay created a mosaic of swirling waves beneath their feet.
‘I do care about them,’ Apollo said. Triton was more truthful.
‘If Zeus takes the camp, gods will be swayed depending on how many children they might lose,’ he said. ‘Some have more at risk than others. It’s strategy.’
‘And if Dad wants to do the same and leverage the camp to gain support on our end,’ Percy said. ‘What then?’ Triton shrugged.
‘Better for us. The only reason we have a chance of taking it now is because to most immortals it is an afterthought. Be grateful we consider it at all.”
‘Jackass.’
Apollo pushed between them. ‘I have considered it since the beginning, Percy. Don’t you worry.’ The hall opened into a loggia on an upper level. Down below, a courtyard fanned out like a scallop shell. Gathered in clusters were soldiers, ready and waiting. His hand tightened reflexively around the hilt of his sword.
‘I always do.’
One moment they were standing in the depths of the sea, the next on the soft sands at the bottom of the bay, camp just out of reach. Percy glanced up at the rays of midday sun beating against the surface, disturbed only by the dark underbelly of canoes drifting in the water. It would be quick. The troops, sixty to be exact, would split and sweep the forests of camp. Gates, monsters, the rare mythic loner, rounded up like swine until they were determined to be safe.
The rest of them were meant to handle the camp. . . and its director.
I can talk to the campers. There’s no reason to give them grief, he argued, but it fell on deaf ears. Not one soldier glanced his way. Triton’s stare had been murderous.
The rays of sun gathered together in a sudden streak beside his father, leaving behind his trident. A three-pronged spear of gleaming bronze that hummed with energy. Poseidon took it in hand and spoke to Apollo, ‘If he does not surrender, as you claim, I will be forced to dispose of him.’
‘He will,’ Apollo said. ‘His loyalty to father has long dissolved.’
‘We can always imprison him,’ Hermes offered.
‘No,’ Poseidon said. ‘He’s dangerous and a liability. He is either with us or not at all.’
‘He is with us,’ Apollo said.
‘We will see.’ The lot of them scaled the slope to the surface in silence, but in the quiet, he began to hear a buzz in his eardrum. Then a ringing.
A voice broke through. Percy -- long time no see!
Honey, this is no time for conversation.
His eye traveled to the glowing caduceus at Hermes’ side. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Why, because we’re walking into battle? George asked.
Yes! Martha said.
If that’s how I judged everything, there’d never be a good time for conversation!
Hermes huffed exasperatedly and let the staff go. It drifted through the water to his side. The snakes looked just as he’d left them.
‘Hey guys,’ he said. ‘How’s it been?’
Fantastic, Martha said. We’ve been so busy with the kids.
And the coup.
‘You two had kids?’
No, they said. His brow furrowed.
‘Uh, okay,’ he said. ‘Well, I’m glad things are good.’
Hey, listen dude, any snacks? George asked.
‘Had some sandwiches earlier, but they’re long gone, now.’ George’s tongue stuck out and shook in disappointment. They breached the surface and continued up the beach, dry as a bone. The caduceus sizzled, burning away any remaining droplets.
You’ve gotten so big, Martha said.
‘Yeah, that’s what happens when you grow up.’
You’re even older than Lu—
The staff returned to Hermes’ waiting hand, quicker than light, the snakes solidified and frozen.
Percy looked elsewhere. It was clear what they had meant to say.
He was so used to gods he forgot the grandeur they could conjure. As they walked, campers froze in their tracks, dropped their volleyballs, and spilled buckets of strawberries. In the distance, one fell from the lava wall. From the forest, though, came the shouts of naiads and satyrs; he released a breath through his nose.
They stopped when they reached the cabins; well, the sight stopped them. A congregation of demigods. Too many. Some with weapons in their hands, others with crafts and notebooks. Percy made sure his father would hear him.
‘It’s between classes,’ he said.
Poseidon scanned the area, ‘Zeus may have already got to him.’
‘The defenses are still up. He’s here,’ Apollo said.
‘He doesn’t really pay much attention to us,’ he said. It was hard to gauge whether or not he was heard. No god spared him a glance.
‘Percy?’ came a voice among the rest. Strong, feminine, familiar. He spotted her in the middle of the lawn, standing above a circle of sitting children. Brown hair, green eyes and a look of disenchantment that only came with age. And being a daughter of Demeter.
‘Miranda?’ he asked back. ‘What are you doing here?’
She shook her head as if in disbelief. ‘I teach during the summer.’
‘Oh,’ he said. Miranda had never shown a lick of ignorance in the time he had known her. Her eyes drew over the gods beside him and further down to the beach. She did not bow.
‘What are you doing here?’
He didn’t get to explain. From the Ares cabin came a shout so loud and unabashed it could only be meant for battle. A camper ran out in full armor. The guy was young, perhaps eighteen, and happy for a fight.
Percy knew instantly. They had reached camp first, but news had other ways of traveling.
‘Of course,’ Hermes said.
‘Jonathan!’ Miranda barked. ‘Don’t you dare.’ He didn’t listen. No, he charged like a boar. Of the two soldiers that had remained at Poseidon’s side, one broke away to cut him down.
Percy beat him to it.
In the seconds it took to disarm him, he noted that his frame was excellent, but it was obvious any experience came from fast fights used to fan his ego and so he had never learned to improvise.
He hit the dirt with a hard thud, spear five feet away. When he made to rise, Percy leveraged his sword under his chin, an inch from his throat.
‘Don’t get up, kid,’ he said.
Jonathan glared up at him and then, finally, his bravado dispersed. With wide eyes, he spoke, ‘Holy shit. You’re him.’ For a moment, Percy couldn’t understand what he meant, then the world bled back into him. Right. Hero of the ages.
The words seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Before he could form a response, another camper piped up, ‘He’s right -- that’s Percy Jackson!’ Shouts and gasps followed.
‘Like the Percy Jackson?’ one asked.
‘No way,’ said another. ‘He doesn’t look like that.’
‘Yes, he does, doofus. I saw a picture!’
‘He’s awesome!’
‘A total legend!’
‘Yeah, okay,’ he said to the crowd. ‘It’s me. Get over it.’ But it did little to quell their spirits. Certain now, they grew more rapturous. It hit him, suddenly, how excited campers were when it came to heroes. The way you would be welcomed back from a quest with open arms. Nothing ever happens, Estelle had said to him. His throat constricted. Is this where she was meant to be right now? He couldn’t imagine it.
‘He’s not so great,’ someone shouted. Another Ares camper. She, too, held a spear in her hand. ‘Haven’t you heard? He’s a traitor!’
‘Eat dirt, Becca,’ one said.
‘He is,’ she said. ‘Our dad just told us,’ she paused and extended her spear towards his father. ‘And so is he! They all are.’
‘You’re a lying piece of shit,’ another yelled. A Hermes kid.
‘Takes one to know one!’
Then they all started shouting, jabs and taunts thrown one after the other. His voice could barely be heard above the uproar, as could Miranda’s. It felt strange and off putting, like the world’s weirdest, loudest classroom.
Poseidon drove his trident down and shook the earth.
‘Silence,’ he said, voice leagues above the rest, as he had down below. The crowd reacted similarly. More than half took a knee, some dropped right to the ground.
Percy figured it was one thing to meet an angry god, another for it to be one of the Big Three. And another thing entirely for the first god you meet to be an angry member of the Big Three.
Which meant it was clear which side the campers who remained standing were on.
‘Shit,’ he said under his breath.
‘Noah,’ Hermes said suddenly. It took him aback, the name unfamiliar. Another young man stepped out from the rest, his lanky, tall structure indicative of his father. The god did not so much as nod his head, but Noah and two others came to subdue the kid before him.
‘Fuck you, man,’ Jonathan said.
‘Not my problem, you can’t fight,’ Noah replied. They hauled him away. It left the crowd unsettled. He watched as weapons lowered and eyes shifted about. No one wanted to be next.
Poseidon stepped forward. ‘Where is the Lord Dionysus?’
Miranda gestured behind her, up the hill, ‘The soaps are on.’ The group departed without another word, walking straight through the crowd. Demigods parted hastily, whispers filling the air.
He was still standing there.
‘Percy,’ Miranda said again. Behind the hard exterior, her stress was loud and real. ‘What are you doing here? Do I need to get these kids in armor?’
‘No, that’s not, there’s no monsters. Listen,’ he said, then stopped. A camper ran a scrap of golden paper from the Demeter cabin right into Miranda’s waiting palm. In the absence of gods, all attention had returned to him.
He swallowed a dry throat as she read, face twisting then flattening out. The gaze that found him was unreadable.
Miranda held the paper out, ‘Tell me this is a lie.’
‘Tell me what’s on the scrap.’
‘My mother is a very honest woman. I’m certain this is truth.’
‘Then it must mention that my sister was ripped off the earth by a giant fucking bird like a mouse,’ he said. Her brow creased.
‘It doesn’t,’ she said. ‘But—’
‘But what?’
‘You’re seriously going along with this?’ she asked and gestured to the gods’ retreating figures. ‘After all we’ve been through?’
‘If this is saving my sister then, yes.’
Miranda scoffed, then read from the scrap. ‘It seems my nephew desires his father’s mantle. Poseidon and Apollo will tear us apart. Do not trust them.’ The crowd shuffled at the declaration.
‘And that’s all you need to believe she’s right?’ he asked. ‘You’re smarter than that.’
‘So are you.’
Leave the children, came Triton’s voice in his head. He rolled his shoulders in annoyance but walked on.
‘Percy, you know what this means,’ Miranda called after him. ‘We’re talking about war.’
‘Yeah, that’s pretty obvious. Why else do you think we’re here?’
‘What?’ she asked and he stopped in his tracks to turn back. The look on her face was murderous. It was clear, now, that they intended for more than just the camp’s director. A ring of swords struck through the air, the croon of a horn followed. The fight was close enough for everyone to hear.
Miranda’s hand twitched by her side, but there was no weapon to grab. He was lucky; she fought with daggers.
‘Arrogant bastards,’ she spat. ‘You can’t just take the camp.’
the annabeth and Poseidon beef is so fucking juicy. like the best fucking food
so many good dynamics we never get to see in the series cause wdym your mother is my enemy but you’re dating my son so i kind of have to be cordial with you but we definitely don’t like each other at all. and then in pjoiv of course she’s on his side because it’s not even abt percy she knows what’s right and what’s wrong. so it’s like damn we hate each other but now ur on my side & ur still dating my son but i can acknowledge ur an extremely talented hero & ur gonna win me athens? the city of athens that i lost to your mother thousands of years ago? mf…….
percabeth angst pjoiv revelation. what if iapetus didn’t just bless annabeth with his strength. what if he accidentally gave her immortality and that’s one of the reasons she broke up with percy…..
been thinking abt pjoiv, as one does, and it’s crazy how over the length of the story percy would go from viewing zeus as this tyrannical maniac that he despises to just a father & brother & son. percy thinking this god could never ever understand the plight of heroes until the switch up and he realizes oh wait he was the first hero…. This is why we NEED this premise to be real
