Two of the most powerful beings on the planet stood fifteen feet apart, both glaring furiously at the other, waiting for the other to make a move. The tension was palpable, nearly visible between the two siblings. No one in the alley moved a muscle. Not Percy, who was still stunned from his father's sudden appearance, nor did Jason who silently held a hand to his wounded shoulder as ichor continued to seep out, staining his shirt a brilliant golden color.
Piper, who was half-conscious after being slammed into the wall, picked up her head groaning softly as she did.
That was when it happened.
Zeus launched his master bolt, hoping to take his brother out early knowing how formidable an opponent he would be.
Poseidon slammed his mighty trident into the pavement. The ground erupted all around him as the water pipes underneath the street burst and the water shot to the surface at the command of the sea god. A massive wall of water came up between Poseidon and his brother, the bolt hitting the water and causing an explosion of steam and boiling water that Poseidon took the brunt of, protecting Percy and his friends from being further injured. When the steam and fog dissipated, Poseidon stood, skin red but otherwise uninjured.
Zeus's bolt reappeared in his hand, his suit vanishing and being replaced with his own battle armor.
"Step aside brother." The king sneered. "Your son is guilty of treason, attempted murder of the hero of Olympus."
Poseidon's eyes went a little wide before a humorless laugh escaped his lips.
"That boy? You call him the hero of Olympus? Perseus is the only reason we still have thrones of power. You also seem to forget that above everything else, like my son, I am loyal to the people I love. The only way you're laying a finger on my son is over my dead body."
Zeus' eyes narrowed dangerously, "So be it then."
Before Zeus could make the first move, Poseidon sprang into action. He truly moved with the speed of a god, closing the distance on his younger sibling. A monstrous bolt of lightning dropped from the sky and hit the spot Poseidon had been in but not quickly enough. Looking like nothing more than a blur of light green, he reached Zeus, thrusting his trident in an attempt to impale the King of the Gods.
His master bolt becoming a spear in the blink of an eye, the Lord of the Skies blocked the strike, pushing the trident to the side and driving a fist into the jaw of his older brother. The sea god was unfazed, using the punch as momentum as he spun around, bringing his trident around to sweep Zeus' legs out from under him. Before Zeus could hit to the ground, Poseidon's trident was at his chest, sending Zeus flying back as a blast of energy hit him square in the chest.
Zeus flew back, going straight through the back wall of the alley as the bricks crumbled under the impact of the immortal being's body.
Poseidon watched the crater in the wall through narrowed eyes before he barely jumped aside to avoid a tendril of electricity aimed directly at him. When he looked back, he found Zeus standing in front of the broken wall, his armor a little damaged and dirty and his face red with rage.
Without a word, Zeus charged, his movements a barely visible blur before he was in front of his older brother. He continued to use his bolt as a spear, attacking wildly in an attempt to end the fight once and for all. But Poseidon met every strike with one of his own as sparks flew wildly around the dueling deities.
The winds whipped wildly in the small alley, the sky was unnaturally dark. The winds seemed to be battling each other for dominance. Rain and hail came down in sheets, thunder cracked loudly and lightning danced across the sky illuminating the starless night.
Jason and Piper had taken cover at the side of the alley, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the two battling Olympians.
Zeus sent a powerful kick to Poseidon's chest, sending his stumbling back. Several bolts of lightning dropped all over the alley, narrowly missing Poseidon as well as Percy, Frank and Clarisse.
Poseidon took a step forward and slammed his trident into the earth, shaking the area with a violent earthquake. Zeus struggled to find footing, stumbling around as the earth moved beneath him. Cement dust and shards of glass fell from the surrounding buildings; cries of panic could be heard from the main street as mortals scrambled to get to cover.
Poseidon hurled his trident, aiming for Zeus' chest. The King of the Gods hit the ground, the weapon missing him by mere centimeters. He jumped back to his feet but the trident was already back in Poseidon's grip as the two glared at each other, their anger outweighing all other thoughts such as the effects their battle was having on the city of New York.
"You would betray Olympus?" Zeus spat.
Poseidon's eyes narrowed and he snorted, "This is the will of Olympus? To kill the boy who saved it twice? This is you being your usual vindictive and childish self, seeking vengeance because my son does not tremble in fear at the uttering of your name."
"He attacked my son!"
"He protected his family and friends! He is not your callboy to halt his life when you think you need his assistance!" Poseidon sent a blast of water across the alley. Zeus jumped into the air, using the winds to propel him over the water before dropping back down to the pavement, only a few feet from his brother with his master bolt in hand.
Zeus feinted a blow at his brother's head but as Poseidon made to block, Zeus thrust the godly weapon into his ribs. Poseidon growled in pain and dropped to a knee, his body convulsing as he felt the millions of volts of electricity coursing through his body. He painstakingly brought up his trident, pushing Zeus' weapon away from his midsection and stopping the attack.
Zeus raised his bolt to attack again when a torrent of water hit the Olympian square in the chest and knocked him onto his back a few feet away. When Zeus looked up, he saw Percy with his hand thrust towards him.
Zeus' rage only grew at the sight.
His brother's spawn dared to attack an Olympian! The King the Gods no less!
He raised his bolt, unaware of his brother's actions as his mind focused on the singular goal of sending that upstart Percy Jackson to Hades the quick way. As he reared back to unleash a monstrous bolt, that was when things went wrong for the King of the Gods.
A searing pain was felt in his side. Too late did he realize that his brother was there, trident in hand which now had all three prongs deeply imbedded in the Lord of the Skies' ribcage.
Zeus froze; a look of realization and horror on his face. He had let his anger and pride get the better of him and now it would lead to his death. Sure, he would reform but by that time he had no doubt his brother would be seated in his throne, all the power of Olympus at his disposal.
Poseidon thrust the trident a little further into his brother's ribcage. The moment was a bittersweet one for him. For centuries his brother had needed to be taken down a peg, or six. Now it happened that he would be the one to do it. He never wanted this though. Despite his arrogance and paranoia, Poseidon loved his younger brother. But given a choice between his brother and his son, the question never even appeared in his head. It was his instinct to protect his own and he would do it again if he had to. It didn't make the moment any less unpleasant for the sea god though.
Zeus dropped to his knees, ichor beginning to seep into his armor as he silently looked at his brother in shock.
"You made me do this brother." Poseidon whispered. "I never wanted this."
Zeus opened his mouth to respond when a half-dozen blinding lights appeared around the two brothers.
"Stop it Poseidon!" Athena yelled.
Poseidon looked at the wisdom goddess with a pained expression, "I had no choice. He made me choose and I would die before I let him harm my son."
All the present Olympians had looks of shock. The three from inside the bar, Artemis, Apollo and Aphrodite; as well as the additions of Athena, Ares, and Hermes looked at the scene in disbelief. A myriad of emotions could be seen on their faces, each one different than the others as they looked upon their father (or adopted father in Aphrodite's case), barely alive and his life in the hands of his own brother. None looked sure of how to handle the situation. Ares looked fine with the current scene, willing to let it play out as it stood. Apollo and Artemis both looked upon their father sadly but neither were willing to speak up on his behalf knowing Poseidon's reasoning behind the current situation. The others looked to Athena, knowing if any of them would be able to fix things, it would be her. Despite the rivalry she shared with the sea god, she was the wisest and most logical, able to appeal to the sea god's more rational side.
"Just relax," Athena said surprisingly softly. "We can still fix this. Apollo is here, we can heal Zeus and this can be worked out."
Poseidon stared at Athena for a moment and then back at his brother who was still silent with a trident impaled through his side, before he shook his head.
"No. This is the only way. He refuses to let my son live his life in peace. He is a spiteful and arrogant god, he will seek vengeance against me through hurting my son."
Athena slowly stepped closer to the two Olympian gods. "That's not true. You have my word. No harm will come to Perseus or anyone else you care about if you allow Zeus to live. I promise we will work this out."
Poseidon looked down at his brother again. Zeus' face was a pale color as the loss of ichor was becoming a problem. It would only take one more thrust to finish him for the next decade or two, something that may be good for the world.
He felt a hand on his arm. He turned to find Athena beside him, her grey eyes silently imploring him to listen to her. Poseidon stared at her for a moment before speaking.
"Swear it. Swear you will do everything in your power to protect Percy or my family from Zeus or anyone else on Olympus. That you will put his life before your own if need be."
Athena's eyes went a little wide at the request but she recovered quickly and slowly nodded.
"I swear it on the Styx. I will do whatever is necessary to protect Percy and your family from any kind of harm from Zeus or anyone else on Olympus."
Thunder rumbled loudly overhead. Poseidon stared at his longtime rival, searching for some kind of deceit or deception in her eyes. When he found none, he slowly nodded.
"Apollo, get over here." Athena snapped. The sun god was at her side instantly, examining the spot Zeus was impaled through and figuring out the best way to handle it. He held a hand over his father's chest and closed his eyes for a minute before they snapped back open.
"You're centimeters from his heart. I need you to pull the trident out but be careful not to move it further in even in the slightest."
Poseidon nodded. Apollo grabbed Zeus' shoulders and held him in place before he nodded for Poseidon to do it. The sea god pulled the weapon out in one swift motion as Zeus grunted in pain before collapsing forward where Apollo caught him. The two vanished in a golden light a second later.
Athena looked up at Poseidon gratefully, "You made the right decision. I cannot blame you for your actions but this was the wisest way to end the situation."
Poseidon stiffly nodded his head, "Just remember the oath you just swore to me." He turned to his son standing beside his two friends, one of whom was barely conscious and the other being the only reason Frank was upright at the moment.
"Close your eyes." He said looking at Percy and Clarisse. Both quickly shut their eyes before he stepped forward putting a hand on each of their shoulders before all four vanished in a golden light.
As Percy felt the ground underneath his feet again, he opened his eyes, confused at where he was. He looked at his father, who smiled reassuringly at him.
"This is my palace." Percy opened his mouth to argue when Poseidon continued. "My palace on Olympus."
Percy's eyes went wide. He hadn't even known his father had a palace on Olympus. But it did make sense; his father was an Olympians after all and all the other gods undoubtedly had homes on Olympus.
Poseidon snapped his fingers as two Cyclopes appeared before him. He pointed to Frank, "Find a place for this young man to rest. He was injured in battle. I will need a healer summoned for him as well."
The two Cyclopes bowed slightly before they stepped forward to grab Frank but Clarisse shook her head, "I've got him. Just lead the way."
The two Cyclopes looked at Poseidon who nodded his agreement.
"I'll come find you and Frank in bit. Just need to talk to my Dad first." Percy said to Clarisse who nodded before hoisting Frank over her shoulder and nodding for the Cyclopes to lead the way.
Poseidon watched Clarisse carry Frank away following the Cyclopes before he shook his head.
"I have to say, she was not someone I could have ever predicted you being so close with."
Percy shrugged and smiled at his father, "To be honest with you, neither did I five years ago. Clarisse is a good friend though. She'd go to Tartarus and back for the people she cares for."
Poseidon just slowly nodded his head, "Come with me son. It has been a long time since we last talked. I would like to get this armor off and into some normal clothes first though."
Percy nodded and Poseidon made to walk but Percy stopped him before he could get far.
"Hey Dad?"
Poseidon turned and looked at his son.
"Thank you. What you did down there, with Zeus, I know it wasn't easy for you."
His father's expression became more solemn, "No, that was not easy but it was necessary. To be honest, the thought of what I was doing never crossed my mind until I had my trident in his ribs. But seeing him going after you, I just… I would never let him harm you Perseus. You are my son and I will always be there for you." He said in a deadly serious tone.
Percy smiled at his father, "I know that. Thanks Dad."
Poseidon gave him a small smile before walking down the hallways and into a living room. There the sea god snapped his fingers, his armor being replaced by a pair of khaki shorts, a loose fitting t-shirt and a pair of sandals. He took a seat on the couch and gestured for Percy to sit as well. Percy found a recliner and sat down looking around the room, surprised at how messy it was.
"Dad, do you live here?"
Poseidon looked around the room, also noticing the mess before he sighed and leaned back on the couch, throwing his feet up on the coffee table.
"There have been some issues, with Amphitrite and I." He said with what Percy almost thought was nervousness. "She, or we, decided it would be best if we spent some time apart. I've been staying here for the past year or so, returning to Atlantis during the days to run my kingdom but allowing her to live in the palace at night with Triton."
Percy looked at his father worriedly, "Are you okay, I mean, with all that?"
The sea god shrugged, "To be honest," he sighed, "it's been the best year I can remember in centuries. Our marriage was arranged by Zeus and truthfully, there was never any love there. Just responsibility and it weighs on you over the years."
Percy listened intently. He was shocked to hear his father's words. He never thought about things like that, like how his father's life was being married to someone like Amphitrite. He actually felt a little guilty about it. This was his father and he never thought about his life from his perspective.
"But let's not talk about that," Poseidon said breaking Percy from his thoughts. "This is the first time we've seen each other in over a year. Tell me son, tell me about your life; what it is like to be a mortal soldier and fight in another country."
Percy smiled at his father's interest. He'd never had a conversation like this with his father, the kind father and sons have when one isn't a super powerful immortal being.
"You apparently watched it in the throne room that day we were kidnapped. There's nothing glamorous about it. We have our missions but the rest of the time, it's really not that exciting, just stuck in the endless heat of the desert."
Poseidon nodded, "And that life, it's the one you want?"
Percy didn't answer right away. He didn't want to blow off his father and brush off the question. He thought not only about the life he was living but also about the life he envisioned, one that seemed so far away now.
"At the moment, I think it is. I had other ideas of how I wanted to live after the wars but as you know, things did not work out that way."
Poseidon sat up and looked at his son with concern.
"One day, you'll have to let the things you lost go. You cannot push that pain away forever. You'll need to deal with it before you can move on."
Percy was silent. He knew what his father was referring to but he tried to keep that memory out of his mind. But as it often did, it forced its way in, giving him a fresh reminder of the pain he worked so hard to avoid.
"It's not that easy." His voice was a little hollow as he spoke. "I didn't just lose a girlfriend, I lost my best friend. The person I could talk to about everything, who no matter what, was there for me when I needed her. I can't just act like she was just a person. I can't even act like she was one of my friends who died, she was so much more and I can't just find someone else and act like they mean even a fraction of what she did to me." Percy stopped himself; the conversation was going a place he did not want to go. He hadn't opened up to anyone about what happened and he had no intention of doing it now, even with his father.
A silence descended on the father and son, neither really sure of what to say. Poseidon knew how much Athena's daughter had meant to him. It hadn't taken him long to see that, even when they were still kids, the way they were around each other showed him how perfect they were together. It still infuriated him how long it had taken Athena to see it. Stuck behind her prejudices and pride, she refused to see what everyone else saw clear as day.
"I should check on Frank." Percy finally broke the silence. Poseidon looked slightly crestfallen at the end of their conversation.
"Stay the night." He offered hopefully. "It would be best to let your friend rest and recover from his injuries. There is plenty of room for all three of you."
Percy looked at his father with a slightly confused expression. "Isn't that, you know, against the laws or whatever it is that limits your interaction with mortals?"
Poseidon chuckled softly, "It is but so is a god coming down from Olympus to kill a demigod. If Zeus thinks he doesn't need to follow the laws, then neither do I."
Percy smiled at the explanation, "I'll have to let Mom know, she'll think we got ourselves arrested or worse if we don't come back tonight."
Poseidon smiled happily and tossed Percy something small that had appeared in his hand. He caught it, surprised to see a familiar looking pearl resting in his palm.
"I believe you remember how that works. Just step on it and you'll come back here."
Before Percy could respond, he vanished from his spot, reappearing in his mother's apartment where he found her pacing back and forth, a phone in her hand.
"Mom?"
Sally whirled around, her expression turning to one of utter relief when she saw her son.
"Where were you?" She exclaimed, her mood quickly changing from one of relief to one of irritation and slight anger. "The city had an earthquake and then a freak thunderstorm pops up out of nowhere, lightning started dropping from the sky all over the city, and I knew you had to have been involved!" She looked out of breath as she looked at her son for an explanation to the unnatural natural disasters.
Percy looked a little sheepish but he forced himself not to smile knowing his mother would not see any humor in it.
"We ran into some, uh, difficulties out at the bar."
Sally stared at him, waiting for more explanation.
He sighed, "Well, to make a very long story short, the Olympians want us to do something and we told them no. They didn't take that well and it led to a confrontation outside the bar." He saw his mother still not satisfied and he sighed again, "One thing led to another and Zeus tried to kill me." Sally gasped at this but Percy kept going. "Then Dad showed up and kind of almost killed him. Everything is fine now, Dad was the one who sent me down here, and we're going to stay with him for the night, up on Olympus. Apparently he has a palace there."
Sally looked like she was processing everything she had been told as quickly as possible. Percy watched her with a little sympathy; his life brought her a great amount of stress and he knew it had to weigh on her at times. He had hoped living a more mortal life would help but going to war overseas had not been an ideal career choice for his mother's stress levels.
After a moment, Sally took a seat at her kitchen table, her facial features slowly starting to relax at last.
"Did you come to ask me permission to have a sleepover at your father's?" She asked, her face showing how amusing she thought the question was.
Percy chuckled, "I just wanted to make sure you didn't worry. I'm sorry that I always seem to be the one involved in the trouble around here."
Sally just shook her head, "Go, I'm sure your friends are uncomfortable up there on Olympus without you."
Percy stepped forward and planted a kiss on his mother's cheek before stepping back and dropping the pearl to the ground before crushing it with his foot. Unlike his previous experience with the pearl, this time his body simple shimmered a couple times before vanishing from the apartment.
He felt the ground underneath his feet again and opened his eyes.
"Pwerce!" Frank slurred tiredly but still with excitement.
A smile appeared on his face as he saw Frank looking no worse for wear in a large and comfortable bed. Clarisse rolled her eyes from a seat a few feet away.
"These healers," Frank gave a sleepy looking smile, "they're amazing."
Percy raised an eyebrow and then looked at Clarisse who rolled her eyes again.
"They gave him morphine."
Percy chuckled quietly at Frank's completely relaxed mood. "It's good to see you feeling better buddy. I think you should just relax. Take a siesta, Clarisse and I won't go far."
Frank's eyelids seemed to droop a bit more at the mere mention of sleep. "Are you sure Perce? I'm really not even that… I'm not even…." Frank's words became nothing more than mumbles and were quickly replaced by quiet snores as he fell into a peaceful, albeit drug-induced, sleep.
"Shouldn't we be leaving?" Clarisse asked raising an eyebrow at the son of Poseidon.
Percy shrugged, "My Dad invited us to stay the night. Apparently he believes since Zeus doesn't follow the laws, neither should he. Who am I to tell him otherwise? Besides, I wouldn't mind spending a night in a place I don't have to worry about another Olympian trying to pull some crap that they did in the bar tonight."
Clarisse's expression immediately went one of anger, "I'm going to kill that bastard Apollo."
Percy smirked at her face, "You didn't look very mad when I pulled you two apart…."
Clarisse stood from her seat, "Shut up Prissy. I swear, you tell one person…"
"Who am I going to tell?" Percy cut her off. "Some of the fellas back in Afghanistan? Oh sure, hey guys, you should have seen La Rue on leave, making out with an Olympian until I busted his face open."
Clarisse glared at Percy for a moment before she softened a bit.
"You know, you didn't have to deck him."
Percy shrugged, "It was better than what he would have gotten from you. Besides, that was a sleazy move, he's lucky I didn't run him through with Riptide."
A small smile appeared on Clarisse's face before she stood up, "I'm going to find a room to sleep in, I need to sleep the booze and this entire night off. Wake me up when Frank gets off cloud nine."
Clarisse stepped towards the door but suddenly stopped. She turned to Percy and planted a kiss on his lips. It wasn't an overly long or passionate kiss, but it did show her gratitude for what he did to Apollo. She smirked a little at his face before walking out of the room without another word.
Percy stared at her retreating form a little taken aback. That was not what he had been expecting. He wasn't really complaining but it was an odd way for her to show her gratitude. He shook his head, pushing the moment from his mind and walked out of the room. He made his way downstairs where he found his father speaking to a tall figure in a hushed voice. As he got closer, his father noticed him and took a step back.
"Everything alri…" Was as far as he got before he was cut off by a thunderous voice that he hadn't heard in a long time.
"BROTHER!"
Percy barely had time to for his eyes to widen before the giant form of his half-brother was upon him, wrapping him in a bone crunching embrace and picking him clear up off his feet.
"T…Ty…Tyson." He choked out. "Can't breathe."
The pressure around his ribs suddenly lessened and he felt his feet touch the ground again. He looked up and found the toothy grin of his Cyclops half-brother looking absolutely elated at his presence.
"Big Brother!" Tyson beamed. "I've missed you."
Percy couldn't help but smile at the big guy, "I've missed you too Tyson, it's been way too long."
Percy glanced at his father who was smiling at the interaction between the two.
"So, what are you doing up here?" Percy asked looking back at his brother. "Shouldn't you be in Atlantis seeing how you're a big time general now?"
Tyson grinned widely, "Important mission for Daddy! I'm…."
Poseidon coughed loudly, stopping Tyson and causing Percy to narrow his eyes at how his father, wondering what exactly would be so bad that he couldn't hear about it.
"You have work to do son," Poseidon said quickly looking at his one-eyed son, "I will come and see you shortly."
Tyson looked a little upset that his reunion with Percy was being cut short but Poseidon gave him a look and the Cyclops took off, smiling one last time at Percy before he went.
Once Tyson was gone, Percy turned to his father who looked very uninterested in talking at the moment.
"What do you have Tyson doing that you don't want me to know about?"
Poseidon looked at Percy confused, "What do you mean? He's here doing his duties at the leader of the Cyclops army."
Percy's eyes narrowed, "You're lying. Why are you lying to me? I don't see what could be so bad that you would hide it from me."
Poseidon tried to keep his face from giving away any emotion but his son's gaze was shockingly piercing. After a minute, he sighed in defeat.
"You're going to be angry."
Percy looked at his father, unsure what he could say that would upset him.
"I have another demigod child."
Percy's eyes went wide before a surprising amount of anger surged through his body. He wasn't sure why, but the thought of Poseidon fathering another child sent a surge of rage coursing through him. Without thinking, Percy stepped forward and unloaded a right hook that sent his father stumbling back both in shock and because of the power behind the strike. Golden ichor began to pour out of the sea god's nose as he looked at his favorite son in disbelief.