Annabeth

"How long until we get there?" I asked tiredly, yawning. Of course, I was wide awake and alert, but I was faking being tired and nonchalant.

The lead merman turned to me with an annoyed look, "Will you please shut your mouth, you impatient girl? You've asked that futile question every minute or so!"

"Well, sorry. I'm just wondering." I said.

I needed to slow this travel down, so maybe Percy could find me and we could get back to the Teleporting Twin's fortress. The only way I could do that at the moment is talking.

"So, merman. I have no idea what to call you. Can you share your name so I can stop calling you 'merman'?" I asked the leader.

He looked at me, eyes narrowed. Then he just shrugged and said, "General Shar, defeater of the Great Sea Serpent of the East, General for forty years, winner of the Annual Games of the Underseas for three years in a row, Vanquisher of-"

"I asked for your name, Shar, not you're life story." I said, annoyed.

The general frowned, "General Shar."

I took a deep breath, staring at my shoes, "Whatever, General Demandy-Pants," I muttered.

"What?"

I looked up, "Nothing. I simply was wondering what that building was over there to our left?"

I hoped there was a building to our left. I couldn't see anything, cause it was too dark. I gazed to our side, pretending to be studying something.

General Shar nodded, "Ah yes. That is our stadium where we hold our sea games, or carnivals. Can you see the magnificence of the architecture, daughter of Athena? One of the most notable structures in the history of Greece."

I dipped my head slowly. I still couldn't see anything, but we had stopped moving, so I kept up the act.

"I can see that," I said. "Those support poles underneath it sure do look strong." I assumed there was support poles, for almost every building had to have those.

Shar narrowed his eyes, looking at me suspiciously, "There are no support poles. The stadium floats."

I gulped, and slowly turned to look at the general, a small and worried smile upon my face.

"Haha," I laughed weakly. "I was just joking."

The general regarded me, then he turned away, "On to the prison."

He started to move again, and the rest of the mermen followed him, including the two pushing me. Percy should be here by now. I've delayed a lot over the small trip. But still, the son of Poseidon was a no-show as of yet. He needed to get here.

All of a sudden, when I was glancing back, one of the guards in the back of the circle of the merman was pulled back so far that I couldn't see him anymore. Apparently, I was the only one who saw him, cause I was looking back, and the merman hadn't made a noise, and he was little bit behind everyone else, so nobody else had seen him get taken away.

I stared wide-eyed, wondering what did that. But then I realized that whatever it was, it was kinda helping me, and staring back there might raise suspicion, and make others look back to see what I was looking at. Then they would realize one of the guards was missing. So I pivoted, and forced myself not to look back.

After about minute, I couldn't resist it. I glanced back, and was shocked to see at least five of the mermen missing. Even more shocked to know that none of the mermen had noticed yet. If I was in the circle, or any other human, I would at least be able to notice a movement in my peripheral vision, indicating that the guards were being taken.

I looked ahead again. My hand drifted to the hilt of my dagger, ready to draw it if need be.

There were only about seven mermen left, including General Shar. I don't know if I could take any, since I'm stuck in this bubble. I was kinda helpless right now.

Then, moving quickly, I saw an object dart from my back left towards Shar.

It was flying (or swimming) extremely fast, and somehow, someway, General Shar saw it. I have no idea how, since it was coming from behind us, and it made no sound. But he did sense it, and dodged, the object narrowly missing him and flying off into the darkness again. It went so fast, I wasn't able to identify it.

The General shouted a command, and all the mermen spun around, spears leveled at whatever was behind us.

Shar didn't seem shaken at all, instead he drifted forward until he was behind me, peering into the darkness. I would think he would be able to see what it was, but all the mermen acted like they didn't, and were searching for it.

I tried to see, but it was hopeless. I had my blade drawn, and it was clenched in my palm.

Nothing happened for a few moments.

We all waited. And the General was about to turn around and continue towards the dungeon when four sharks came out, shooting towards the mermen.

These weren't very big sharks, but they looked deadly. Their teeth were longer than normal shark teeth, and they had three rows of them. I don't see how they could eat without cutting themselves with those sharp teeth. They also weren't a dullish blue gray, like most sharks. These were a bright blue, lighter than the water around us. The bellies of the indigo sharks were white. The fins looked like they could be weapons by themselves. They sliced through the water at incredible speed, and looked thinner and more razor-edged than even the mermens' fins.

One of the sharks collided with a mermen on my left, who leveled his spear and tried to gut the shark. A few of the neighboring mermen attempted to come help the mermen, but another shark shot into the midst of the pack of mermen, scattering them.

I saw the last two sharks go towards the group of mermen on my right, and General Shar was about to rush in and help them, but then another figure appeared in the darkness.

Percy shot towards the General, intercepting his path to the other mermen. The son of Poseidon wielded his sword, the glinting of the celestial bronze flashing through the water. I didn't know how he could move that fast underwater. I guess being a son of Poseidon helps.

Shar expertly dodged the blade, and retaliated with a thrust of his own spear. Percy turned and flicked the spear away with the side of his sword, then spun, bring his blade with him in a upwards slash.

I watched for a little bit as they exchanged jabs and cuts, each move dodged by the person they were aimed at.

Glancing back to my left, I saw that two of the mermen were now subdued, both nursing wounds. They didn't look fatal, but it was enough that they couldn't move very well without a lot of pain.

The other two kept on fighting determinedly. I had to admire their bravery and fearlessness. The other fight with the other two mermen wasn't going so well for the merpeople. It had started out as three mermen against two sharks, but now it was two against two.

They didn't stand a chance. One of the mermen thrusted his spear. When the shark swiftly escaped it, the mermen was off balance. The shark took advantage of this, shooting forward and slashing his teeth on the mermen's fins. The mermen grunted and dropped his spear. He backed off, tending to his wound.

Now it was just one merman against two sharks. This merman was talented. He dodged teeth and fins so smoothly and quickly, it was like they were in slow motion, so he could see where everything was going to go, and elude them. He managed to lacerate the side of one shark. Dark blood oozed from the injury. The merman was about to strike once more, but the other shark jumped into the fight, and head butted the abdomen of the merman, pushing him back.

Then the shark shot forward once more, biting the arm of the merman. The merman yelped and swam back.

Knowing this fight was going to be done soon, I looked back to see that the other mermen were all clutching injuries of their own. The sharks were corralling them into a small circle, but weren't attacking any more.

Percy and General Shar were still fighting. I watched as Percy succeeded in slicing the cheek of the merman. Then the General retaliated with a slash of his own, whipping his sword in an arc. It made a deep gash in Percy's thigh. I shouted Percy's name, hoping that he was alright.

Then the gash healed. Seriously. It just closed back up on itself and the blood disappeared. It was like Percy had just eaten some ambrosia and skipped time a little forward so he was fully healed.

They kept on slashing and dodging. The expert swordsmen each looked like they were concentrating very hard.

Just when I thought we were going to be sitting here for days, waiting for one of the guys to surrender, Shar made a sneaky feint. Percy went to block it, but nothing hit Percy's sword, and too late, Percy saw the spear coming down at him from above.

But the water above Percy's head hardened, turning it to ice, and the General's blade smacked the ice, bouncing off. Then the water turned back into liquid, just as Percy struck again. But Percy's sword missed the General, cause he had skipped lightly off to the side. Shar then thrusted powerfully, his blade aiming straight for Percy's stomach.

Percy barely evaded it, and the General's momentum kept the merman going forward. Percy used this, and flicked his hand that was not holding his sword. I didn't see anything happen, but then a second later, the General started twirling in circles.

He kept on pivoting, and for a moment, I thought he had gone insane. But then Percy's hand started swirling in back and forth motions, and the water around Shar started hardening, just like the chunk of ice that had been above Percy's head.

Soon, the General was encrusted in an icy case, his arms pinned to his sides, and his fin frozen in one spot. But his head was free, and he snarled viciously, shouting, "Who are you, that you dare to subdue a general of Lord Poseidon's army? You will be hanged for this crime."

Percy snorted, unfazed by the threat, "Since when did my dad accept you mermen back into his realm, Shar? Last I checked, you had been banished for cruel behavior towards sea creatures and the like. I don't think the term 'General' suites you, outcast. Now why did you take a demigod lady as a prisoner? She's my friend, and I don't think she did anything to wrong you. I may report of this incident to Poseidon, and that wouldn't be so good for you, would it?"

I watched as Shar's eyes widened in recognition, then he said in a quieter voice, but it still held anger, "My apologies, Prince Percy. I didn't know she was a friend, but she is daughter of Athena. I'm not sure that Poseidon would want her in his realm."

Percy sighed. "Poseidon's enemy is Athena, not her children. Parent's of demigods shouldn't make a difference in how you treat them."

The General gritted his teeth, but apparently Percy very much outranked him, for he reluctantly gave up, and bowed his head and mumbled, "Yes, Prince Percy."

I realized that Percy was a prince. His father was the King of the Seas, so that makes Percy a Prince of the Sea. For some reason, I couldn't picture Percy as a prince. I mean, yes, he did have the looks of a prince, and he was definitely powerful enough. But he didn't... have the attitude of a prince. He was too humble and nice to make me think of him as a regal prince.

Percy regarded the General, then shrugged. "Now, I will excuse myself, and take Annabeth with me. I expect for you to change your actions from now on."

For a moment, I thought the outcast mermen would actually let us go. I wouldn't think they would without a fight. I mean, they are already banished from Poseidon's realm, there's not that much more that could go bad.

Percy started to slowly back away from the merman, his eyes never leaving him.

But my hopes were crushed when the General all of a sudden lifted his hand and shouted an order. I didn't understand it, but I think Percy did, for he whipped around, trying to look for something.

I turned around, and saw that the mermen still had their spears. One lifted his arm. He hefted the spear, and launched it at his target.

Thinking it was aimed for Percy, I rotated to look at Percy. But then I saw that Percy was staring at me with fear, rushing towards me. I put together the pieces, and turned around again, panicking at the sight of the spear piercing the bubble case. I heard a loud pop, then I saw the spear inside the sphere of air, and water started to rush in.

I gulped and scrambled back, pressing myself as far away from the gushing hole as possible. In my panicking, my brain picked up details going on around me.

I saw Percy concentrating really hard, as though he were trying to mend the hole, or make a new bubble for me.

But at the same time General Shar was shouting to his companions, "Don't let him recreate it or a new one!"

Somehow they had managed to kill the sharks, and they all were concentrating as well. I guess that they had power over water too.

The water was now up to my waist, and I was soaked. My dagger was still in my hand, but there wasn't much it could do.

When the seawater was at my stomach, I heard Percy yell in frustration, then he darted towards me, apparently giving up on trying to mend the bubble.

He ripped the bubble, making the hole bigger. When it was big enough for him to fit through, he climbed in and grabbed my hand.

"Hold your breath!" He shouted. I trusted him, and took a huge gulp of air. He then pulled me out into the ocean. The water hit my face like and ice cold brick, and I resisted the urge to open my mouth and breath and cough.

I forced my eyes to stay open so I could see what was going on, despite the salt biting at my pupils. I saw spears get thrown at us, flashing through the water. Percy yelled in defiance, and willed the water to shoot us up. The speed at which we were ascending caused the pressure to tear at my body, making me feel as if I were being pushed down, when I was really going up.

I knew that being this deep in the ocean, and rising this fast to the surface can make air pockets form in your veins, which can lead to joint pains, strokes, and even heart attacks. But at the moment, I didn't care. As long as I made it to the surface alive.

I looked up to see darkness. Even if we were pretty far from the surface, I would at least be able to see the sun. We were obviously very deep, and I don't know how long I could hold my breath for.

I slowly started letting my breath out. I was almost done for. I could see Percy glance down every once in a while to see how I was doing. His hand had a firm grip on mine, not letting me go, no matter how fast we were going.

I couldn't take it any more. Percy looked down again, and I met those sea-green eyes. I shook my head, trying to tell him that I wasn't going to make it.

Then the water around Percy got brighter. Is he glowing?

No. It was the sun.

I would've shouted in joy if I had any breath left. Instead, I smiled largely, and Percy looked up, accelerating a little bit more.

Almost there. Twenty feet.

We broke to the surface.

I gasped and sputtered out seawater, heaving and trying to fill every crook and cranny of my lungs with the precious clear air. Percy wasn't panting like I was, he was just breathing deeply. I guess he could breath underwater, so he wasn't without air the whole time.

I can swim, but I wasn't feeling very strong at the moment, so Percy helped me stay up. I kept choking, trying to get the water out of my throat.

"What took you so long?" I croaked.

Percy chuckled, "Good to see you too. And I had to make a plan. I'm not exactly a plan vender where I can make a plan on the spot, like you Athena kids."

I smiled a little at him, then looked at the sun. It was just on top of the horizon. I would say we had at least an hour left of daytime.

"We need to get back. Do you know how Nico and Jason are doing?" I asked, still holding on to Percy's shoulder.

Percy turned grim. "No, I don't. I hope they are all right."

I nodded. "So how are we going to get out of here?"

Percy nodded his head over to his left. I could see the shore. We weren't that far out. But there must've been a huge underwater cliff, cause it was really deep where we were floating.

The fortress was about a half a mile away. But in between the fortress and us was a deadly and rocky looking shoreline.

I shivered from the cold water soaking through my clothes onto my skin, "How are we going to get to the fortress?"

Percy noticed me shivering, and gently touched my shoulder. Instantly, the coldness leaving me, feeling warm and dry. More than half my body was still in the water, though. I guess he had put a thin layer of air around my body, leaving me dry.

I took a deep breath, "Thanks."

He grinned, "No problem."

"And thanks for, you know, coming back and helping." I said again.

Percy rolled his eyes, "Annabeth. It's not like I was just gonna leave you."

I shrugged, "Well, still. Thanks. Also, how did I not get hurt from ascending from that deep in the water that fast?"

"I do have power over water, Wise Girl." He said simply.

I frowned, but didn't say anything else, "So, again, how are we going to get there?"

The son of Poseidon smirked and said, "I do have a flying horse, you know."

I mentally slapped myself. "Oh. Right. Duh."

Percy smiled, then whistled loudly. I watched the sky for a sign of Blackjack. I soon saw a black streak gliding low over the surface of the water. When the ebony pegasus got closer, Percy controlled the water so that it lifted us up and gently plopped us onto Blackjack's back.

I held on tightly to Percy's waist as we soared over the ocean, "So, you know General Shar?"

Percy raised his shoulders in indifference, "I was at his banishment trial when I was visiting my dad once."

"Why did he get banished?"

"He was treating other sea creatures badly. Killing them when they didn't need to be killed. And he was holding an illegal fighting tournament for mermen."

I frowned, "So how many mermen were banished?"

Percy replied, "Just Shar and his followers. Which ended up being around one thousand mermen."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. Isn't Poseidon scared of, I don't know, a revolt or something against him?"

"Nah, not really. My dad's much more powerful than the mermen. And you don't know how many other mermen are loyal to Poseidon. Sure, Shar got most of the warrior merpeople, and they are all pretty deadly, but Poseidon isn't scared."

I noticed something, and I mentioned it to Percy, "Percy, you seem to respect your dad a lot. But not any of the other gods." I motioned for him to continue and explain.

Percy sighed. "Well, he is my dad. But he's always been nice to me. He understands me. We get along pretty well actually. I think I respect him most cause he has a soft spot for the commoners. It might've been passed down to me. He's always trying to help them, and he was with me on helping them when I was arguing with the gods for that. Poseidon is probably one of the most loved gods by the mortals, cause he is always helping them. Sure, he does have quite a few faults, but overall, he is a pretty good guy."

I nodded, and stayed silent, thinking through this.