Blood of the Sea

Chapter 1

Date: 17th of August 2011

Location: Atlantis, throne room

Time: 22 p.m. New York Time Zone

Poseidon pov

It was late evening, the day slowly coming to an end. The moon had already risen high up in the sky, my niece Artemis riding in her chariot through the night.

I was far from being able to end the day though.

My wife Amphitrite, Triton and I were arguing, again. It was the same topic every year, my currently only demigod child, Perseus or "Percy" as he liked to be called, Jackson. Now, you may wonder why we would be arguing about him again. To answer your question: It is because of his birthday tomorrow.

Now, it wouldn't be that big of a problem if it wasn't his 18th birthday. You may think that it is no big deal. Alright, it is old by demigod standards, sure, but this is definitively not a problem. Obviously it should be great even!

So, if that wasn't the problem, then what was it? Well, it is the matter we were discussing currently.

"But, father. This CAN'T be true. No child of yours, other than me, should be able to inherit that gene. He... he is merely a demigod! He can't have this power. And even if he had, then it would kill him!"

Triton ranted. He shouted and nervously walked in a circle while doing so, his hands clasped behind his back.

I looked at Amphitrite, hoping to get a little help from her, but no such luck. She just sighed and shook her head.

"My husband, you and me, we both know that he will not accept this, at least not at first. You know how strange he thinks of his body with him already having many strange abilities. A lot of his friends already started to fear him for his powers. Even that girlfriend of his, what was her name, Anniebell, Anne, ah yes, Annabeth started to get distant. What do you think they will do to him once they discover what it means to be a true child of the sea?" She asked softly.

I would not go as far as saying that she loved Percy, but she tolerated him, and even if she would never admit it, she also cared about her stepson. She and Percy bonded when he was here in Atlantis for two weeks, helping with the rebuilding of the castle. After the war against the Titans it was destroyed because of Oceanus' forces. And with Gaea coming along there was time to rebuild it this time. So we started after the war and Percy, being the helpful, and very kind person he is, decided to help.

Anyway, I think I should finally explain what we were talking about, shouldn't I? Well then, listen closely. My children, all of them, inherit the gene of the sea. It connects them to the water, to all the creatures living in it. For most of my children it makes little to no difference since the other, more dominant genes overshadow it. They don't have a strong connection and powers over the sea. It is a bit like the children of my rival, Athena. All of them are smart, but some are extraordinary smart, others only smart smart. Doesn't make much sense? Oh well.

So, besides the children where the gene was less developed, I loved them as much as the others, were the stronger children of mine. Great heroes, I am sure you heard about them. Theseus and Orion for example, just to mention two of them. The stronger the gene, the more dominant it was, the greater the powers would be. They had it as a rather dominant part in them, thus giving them stronger powers, better skills, more control over their abilities and the like. However, what never happened was that the gene of the sea was completely passed to one of my children. That is, until Percy was born.

I could feel it, sure, but I didn't think much of it at first. But as he grew, so did his powers. And the gene didn't only alter them. It began to change his body slowly, of course he wouldn't notice that at first. It was his insides that changed. First, his lungs became slowly smaller over the years, making room for gills. His skin, even if firstly not noticeable, became softer and held more water in it, perfect for scales to cover it. It shifted and changed him slowly, so he shouldn't have noticed much of it.

Anyway, what I did not know is that the gene would change his body completely as soon as he turned 18. I heard of it from Apollo, who foresaw it. After that I also did some research in the library of my oldest rival, Athena, and what I found worried me to the core.

"..seidon! Poseidon! Are you even listening to me?" Amphitrite asked. She looked mildly annoyed. Ups.

"I am sorry my dear, but I was thinking about the situation." I said. My shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Poseidon, is there really absolutely nothing you can do to stop it from spreading? We both know that he will lose everything he worked so hard for!" She said, clearly attached to Percy's wellbeing.

"Yes, I already searched day and night for a solution. There is no way to stop it from changing him completely. The only thing I can think of right now is to warn him and bring him here, to Atlantis. I hope that this way the change will happen without any pain.

I fear that it might be the only way for him to survive this night. I will visit him in his dreams today, so the nightmares will stay away and I can explain all of what is about to happen to him. As soon as I am finished I will also talk to Sally. She'll need to know about this as well."

"I agree with him, mother. If it cannot be changed, he should at least get the chance to know what is going to happen to him now. It IS his body after all. And I think to inform the mother wouldn't hurt either, maybe she is able to calm him and tell him what to do." Triton said thoughtfully. Sometimes I am wondering how and just how fast his and Percy's bond got stronger.

"If the both of you think so, then it won't be that bad of an idea. Just be careful not to rush in this too fast. There is a lot to process, after all." My wife said. I nodded to her and kissed her softly in thanks. I could hear Triton complain about not showing PDA, but I ignored him. He was old enough to see this.

As we parted, I softly brushed Amphitrite's cheek and whispered in her ear.

"It is already late. I must get going. My son will be asleep by now, seeing that it is already past midnight. His change should have started. I must hurry." As soon as I finished talking, I disappeared in a thin mist, leaving a salty scent of the sea behind.