It was Annabeth's idea.
She loaded us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we had enough money to go past the city limit and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."
The cabbie chewed his cigar and sized us up. "That's three-hundred miles. For that you've gotta pay upfront."
Was that an actual policy? That they would drive three-hundred miles, but you have to pay first? Did you have to pay for a round trip drive?
"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked.
He shrugged. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I've gotta swipe 'em through first."
Annabeth handed him her green LotusCash card (it still gave me that metallic taste, so the magic should still work).
He looked at it skeptically.
"Swipe it," Annabeth invited.
He did.
His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally, an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign. I didn't even know that was possible.
The cigar fell out of the drivers mouth. He looked back at us (it definitely helped that we were all in fresh clothes; clothes that fit us perfectly and looked tailored) and swallowed hard, eyes wide.
"Where to in Los Angeles… uh… Your Highness?"
"The Santa Monica Pier," I said as Annabeth sat up a little straighter. She definitely liked the 'Your Highness' thing. "Get us there fast and you'll get fifty-thousand." That seemed like a good amount. It sounded like what a rich person might say right?
His eyes lit up and he turned to the front.
The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Once on the road I finally had the time to think properly about my dreams.
The Titan in the pit.
Gold eyes like the Hades child.
Appearance like Poseidon.
Sand like the Hotel where time was different.
The Titan in the pit, Kronos, the King of the Titans.
I remembered reading the myths about him. He was the brother of Okeanus (in most versions) and the Father of Poseidon so it was relevant to me.
There are a lot of versions of his myths. Some had him cruel from the start, but others had him become cruel when the prophecy became known. A few he kept the Kyklopes and Hundred-handed-ones locked in Tartarus, while others still had him release them and lock them up again when he went crazy.
The prophecy was usually the catalyst though.
He certainly didn't seem crazy now. Maybe getting chopped to tiny pieces helped put things into perspective for him.
Next time I dreamed of the pit… I'd ask him why he wanted Zeus' Master Bolt.
He said he needed power when talking to the other person there. Was he trying to use the Bolt to heal? That didn't seem bad...
Who was the other one there though? The thief. They had to be a mortal because I didn't feel a presence. All that I felt was the shifting sands of time.
"Hey, Percy…"
I looked at Annabeth. "Yeah?"
"On the truck… when you woke up… you yelled the name Lara…"
I winced, that dream, that one was painful. Her death… I looked away.
"Who's Lara?"
"I had a dream."
She furrowed her brows, "Lara, Medusa mentioned her."
"Yeah… she was courting Lara, they were in love." I looked away. "When Perseus went to the island to kill Medusa… Lara got in the way. She… she died trying to protect Medusa."
Annabeth's eyes widened, "You saw that, in your dream?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm sorry."
I fiddled with my necklace, the gift from the Demeter cabin. I'd hardly thought of it, but…
"Did… did you dream of the pit again?"
I shifted at Grover's question. "Yeah… the being in the pit showed me Lara's death… and… and what I think is the Godly War, the one that happened when World War Two was going on."
Annabeth leaned forward, "Do you know who the pit voice is? Or what he wants?"
I chewed my lip, "I think… I think the pit voice is Kronos."
She blanched, "The Titan!?"
"Yeah."
"That's not good, Percy. Do you know what he wants?" Grover looked pale.
"I think he wants to heal? He mentioned using the bolt to recover."
Grover wrung his hands as Annabeth sighed.
"Well, we don't have the bolt, so I'm not sure why he'd ask you to help him with it. Unless Hades has it and he's hoping you can retrieve it from Hades?"
"Maybe," I murmured. "He seemed pretty confident that we would have the bolt."
She frowned, and Grover dropped his hands.
"You can't help him, you know that, right?"
I nodded, "We need to return the bolt to Zeus to stop the war."
Annabeth relaxed.
We sat in silence and I watched the wasteland roll by us. We passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.
Annabeth shuffled, "Well, we still need to get to the Underworld."
"What if it's not there though?" Grover whispered. "What if we're going all this way for nothing."
I raised my chin, "We aren't though. It might not be there, but the prophecy said we'd find it. It said that we would go west, which we are, and find what was stolen. Unless you guys know about some other thing that was stolen other than the Bolt, and maybe Hades' item, then it has to be the Bolt. It might just not be what we were thinking at the start."
"Right," Annabeth agreed. "Prophecies are almost never clear. We'll find the Master Bolt and we'll get it back to Olympus and stop the war. We're doing the right thing."
I thought of my mom, likely in Hades' hands. We will do what we need to, save my mom.
"Let's think of some strategies to get into the Underworld," Annabeth said.
"Right," I murmured. "What were you thinking?"
Annabeth straightened, looking determined. She started going through possible strategies, from trickery, to blackmail, to straight up fighting our way in.
I smiled as she fell into planning, offering idle suggestions to help. She was good at planning ahead and giving lots of options for if something goes wrong.
I basked in the feeling of camaraderie. I felt safe by their sides. Together we could figure this out.
Gold dust, burning shadows.
I'd rescue my mom, convince my Uncle Hades to release her and explain. He was just and fair, he'd listen.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
At sunset, the taxi dropped us at the beach in Santa Monica. We paid the guy his fifty-thousand and thanked him for the ride.
He seemed pretty happy with his tip… apparently, we paid him like thirty times the actual price… oh well, he deserved it.
I was glad for the car ride, it really helped me recover from... whatever was going on that gave me that headache in the Lotus Hotel (power overuse? Sensory overload? Who knew).
The beach looked exactly like L.A. beaches did in the movies, only it smelled worse. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, some homeless people sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.
Grover, Annabeth, and I walked down to the edge of the surf and I frowned as I noticed all the trash on the beach.
Why couldn't people have some respect? It made me so frustrated
"What now?" Annabeth asked.
I stared out at the water, the Pacific glittered as the sun set. The water here felt… different. The water in the ocean back home felt like… old but steady? It felt fresh and clean and contained, as contained as the sea could feel at least.
The ocean here… it felt wilder, like a storm at the edge of your senses. The Gods here were different, Ryujin ruled this area. The dragon king, I guess it made sense that it was a bit wilder here. He could take human form but generally preferred His Draconic shape, I learned that in Triton's lessons.
I knew he didn't get along with Poseidon though, hopefully I didn't cause any problems being here.
The sea shone gold in the setting sun and I smiled.
I slid my backpack off, unwound the veil on my head, and kicked off my shoes.
I moved into the surf.
"Percy?" Annabeth said. "What are you doing?"
I flashed her a quick smile, "It's okay. I'll be back in just a bit."
My head was under the water a moment later.
I breathed normally, scrunching up my nose at all the pollution around me.
If I had the time and power to spare I would purify as much as possible, as it was…
I spread my hands carefully, and pushed the tide up, sweeping up as much of the pollution as possible.
It wasn't much, just that little section of beach I was by, but it was at least a little better for the animals there.
I smiled at the fish that flit around me and looked down when I felt something rub against my leg. It was a five-foot-long mako shark. How cute.
I pet it's head firmly, rubbing it just like Triton's shark. It nuzzled me happily as I picked up impressions of delight and excitement. An image pressed at my mind, the way a lot of sea creatures communicate with me. I could see it leading me deeper into the water.
Sharks were good guides I knew, Triton used them, so I supposed the shark was sent to guide me to whoever I was meeting with.
I sent a thread of power into the charm on my bracelet, the one I was to never lose (especially not as a mer).
A moment later I was in my merform.
I grinned, stretching. It'd been months since I could swim for real. It just wasn't the same without a tail.
The shark circled me, before nudging me again.
"Lead the way," I chirped.
It took off and I flicked my tails, shooting off after it.
The shark led me down into the darkness, I could feel the water becoming more… wild? That wasn't quite right but… there was a faint pulse, intensity? An edging sense of power.
It stopped at the edge of the ocean proper, where the sandbank dropped off into a huge chasm. It was like the Puerto Rican Trench, a drop that seemed to go on forever.
My eyes in my merform were better in the dark, but even then I couldn't see all the way down.
I smiled though, the coral covered the sides of the drop and I could see hundreds of fish moving around below. It was amazing, I'd never get tired of it.
Then I noticed something glimmering in the deep darkness, a feeling like crashing waves rolling over me. The figure grew brighter and bigger as it rose towards me, the fish scattering around it.
A woman's voice, like my mom's, called out to me. " Persi Yakson. "
As she got closer, her shape became clearer. She had flowing black hair, and a shimmery green tail, sleek and strong. Light seemed to flicker around her.
She was riding on a Hippocampi, with shimmering rainbow scales.
She smoothly slid off, her tail flicking to bring her closer to me as the Hippocampi and mako shark whisked off and started playing a game of tag. The merwoman smiled at me.
"You've come far, Persi-aia. Well done."
I could all but feel eyes on my back, the feel of rain on my skin alongside the mer's (Dynamene's) sensation of crashing waves.
I twisted my hand into the proper sign of respect, she smiled and returned the motion.
"You are Dynamene-paru, you spoke to me at the Arch, in the Mississippi River."
"Yes Persi-aia. It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads aided me and helped sustain me there. They honor Poseidon-ore as well, though they do not serve in his court."
I nodded, of course they didn't. They served Tethys-ran first and foremost. If they were to be in any court it would be hers.
"I understand. I thank you for coming to pass along the message. What is it that Poseidon-ore wished for me to know?"
She smiled, "He has sent me with a warning, a gift, and a message."
I dipped my head, watching her.
"First, the message," She held out a hand, an intricately carved clam shell held in hand.
I accepted the clam shell. I knew Triton used these for particularly sensitive messages. What did Poseidon want me to know?
I didn't open it now though, just held it tightly.
"Now the gift," she murmured. She held out her hand, three white pearls shining there. "These will aid you in escaping Hades' realm. Few mortals have ever done this and survived: Orpheus, who had great musical skill; Hercules, who had great strength; Houdini, who could escape even the depths of Tartarus. Do you have these talents?"
I shook my head, "No."
She nodded. "You have a great and terrible future foretold for you, should you reach manhood."
I frowned, what?
"Your Metua wishes for your safety, he would not have you die before your time."
Was that part of Poseidon's message? Or was she adding stuff?
"Therefore, take these, and when you are in need, smash a pearl at your feet."
I nodded, they were like the one Triton gave me, that gleamed on my bracelet. I took the pearls from her.
"Do these go anywhere?"
She dipped her head. "Wherever you need to go."
The ones that went wherever you needed to go were really hard to make, and hard to steer, but they'd be a big help.
I frowned though, only three.
I thought of my mom.
Well… surely… surely Hades-ton would understand? Once we explained to him.
Hopefully we wouldn't need these.
"Now for the warning," She murmured.
Thunder boomed above, and I jolted at the patter of non-existent rain on my skin.
The deep water seemed to ripple.
"Ah, it appears that the Hur Aril has taken notice. You must return to the surface; our meeting must end now."
I stared up, the Hur Aril, sky lord? Zeus?
Water curled around me, tugging at me.
"Wait," I called. "At the river, you said not to trust the gifts!"
She was already leaving, the Hippocampi scooping her up.
"What did you mean!?" I yelled.
"Goodbye, young hero," she called back, her voice fading into the depths. "You must listen to your heart."
My eye twitched as she vanished into the darkness.
Why did no one answer my questions!?
I wanted to follow her down, perhaps there was a path to the palace, to Triton. But I was in Ryujin's territory, it wouldn't be wise to dawdle.
I flicked my tails, moving up. The feeling of rain fading as I did so.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I reached the surface, letting my tail melt away as I shook my head.
I still had the clam shell clutched in one hand, and the pearls in the other.
I bobbed in the water for a moment before reluctantly moving to the shore. The feeling of eyes on me not fading.
I stepped onto shore, the invisible rain fading at last. My clothes dried instantly, leaving me facing Annabeth and Grover with a clam shell in one hand and three pearls in the other.
"So… how did it go?" Grover asked.
I took a deep breath, "Well, we have an escape route from the underworld now."
"That's good, did you dad have any other messages?" Annabeth questioned.
I looked at the clam shell in my hand, "I'm… not sure yet."
Annabeth and Grover both looked towards the shell.
"What's that?"
"Triton uses these for sensitive messages. Apparently Poseidon-ore-"
"Poseidon-ora? What's the ora for?"
"Or-rey," I corrected. "It's the… suffix, yeah, used to refer to the king. If you were talking about Okeanus it would be Okeanus-ari."
"Ar-ri?"
"Yeah, they're basically two terms used for king. Um, I think 'ari' basically means old King, and 'ore' means current King."
"Oh, so it's for respect," Grover said.
"Yeah."
"Makes sense, I guess," Annabeth murmured. "I didn't realize there were suffixes for the Gods names."
"I'm not sure how they're used on land, but that's how it's done under the sea. Or, at least in the area's that I spend the most time. I know different sea kingdoms have different ways of showing respect. The culture varies."
Annabeth nodded, her fingers twitching.
"Right, sorry for interrupting. They're used for sensitive messages?"
"Yeah," I said holding it up. "The carvings are sea runes, they make it so only the intended recipient can open it. They're tedious to make and are for individuals, they can be reused for that person though."
"Cool," Grover muttered. "So, what's in it?"
I shrugged, slipping the pearls into my pocket so I could focus on the shell.
I carefully opened it, feeling the faint brush of salt as the magic released to let it open.
Inside was a carefully folded note.
I unfolded it, shoving the clam shell into my pocket.
Percy,
I am sorry I cannot come to you in person. This is a very delicate time and even sending the Dynamene ran the risk of Zeus' anger leading to war.
Triton has told me that he has taught you of the sea, I am glad. There is still much for you to learn, but he has ensured that you know of the sea, your birthright, when otherwise you would have been left ignorant.
I would normally have sent a tutor to assist in raising you and educating you, but due to the oath I could not risk it. I am sorry that this caused trouble for you.
I only ever wanted to keep you safe.
Onto the quest, the pearls will take you to safety should you need it, I have faith that you will use them wisely.
My brother Hades is fair, but be on your best behavior. He has not been happy these last few months. I cannot judge if his anger would outweigh his judgement.
One the quest has been completed you will return to camp. Enjoy your summer and learn as much as you can. Once the summer session of camp has ended, go to the river that you normally meet Triton at.
There are matters that we must deal with, but your quest and training takes precedence.
Tell no one of this meeting, especially no one at camp.
Take care of yourself, be wary of my brothers, and always know you are my son.
Opuno Metua,
Poseidon
I read the note twice before looking up.
They both watched me expectantly.
"He uh, says to be careful and that the pearls will take us to safety."
They didn't need to know the rest, but what were these matters that needed to be handled? Was it something bad? Did something happen while we were in the Hotel?
I hoped everything was okay.
"That was nice of him to send a letter," Grover grinned at me, but his eyes held worry.
Right, I forgot, satyrs were empaths. He could probably feel my worry and confusion.
I shoved the emotions aside for now, we needed to complete this quest.
"'There's no such thing as a free lunch'," Annabeth murmured. "There will be a price for the gifts your Father gave you."
I nodded, "Likely. But for now, there's nothing we can do about it."
"Well," Grover said brightly. "Let's head to the underworld!"
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Triton POV
I watched Metu swim back and forth with a frown on his face.
He was very displeased that he couldn't go to Percy in person, but the risk of Zeus starting war for that was too high. Mevu wasn't letting mego see Percy, she certainly wasn't going to let Metu.
I sighed, leaning back as I waited for the others to arrive.
We were having a meeting with the whole family (or at least the family that mattered in sea politics).
Rhodos had just been adjusting the shimmery sun catcher that hung in Father's office (I thought that one was from Esme, one of his last children before Percy). She wasn't happy that it wasn't catching the light right.
Kymopoleia swept in with a flourish holding a bowl of fish. She completely ignored me and Rhodos to claim Metuno seat. Metu paused his swimming to raise an eyebrow at her.
She just stared back, slowly taking a bite of fish as she stared him down.
Metu turned away.
I dipped my head in greeting to Herophile as she entered with Benthesikyme. It had been a long time since Herophile visited us under the sea. I supposed Metu called her here, otherwise she'd probably still be in her oracle cave.
Benthesikyme gave a nod as she settled near me, Herophile went to greet Father.
Mevu finally swept in, expression stern and her arms filled with papote and tepote .
"Now then," she said. "We can begin.