Chapter Text
+1: Triton
“—on Delos all the time. All the time!”
Triton tuned back in to Hermes’s rant at the mention of Delos. "Repeat what you just said."
Hermes’s face twisted with shock. Most likely at the fact that Triton actually cared enough to ask for information to be repeated, because it was entirely unsurprising that Triton hadn’t been listening.
Many millennia’s worth of weekly meetings to coordinate messages between Olympus and the ocean had established that Hermes would do 90% of the talking—and 90% of Hermes’s talking would be off-topic rambles about the gossip he gathered despite the fact that Triton did not give a single flying fish.
Triton knew his sudden interest was uncharacteristic. However, he didn’t care to explain.
Hermes finally shrugged it off. "Apollo has a new lover. He hasn't said as much, but he's pulling off his old routine of spending way too much private time with a special someone on Delos. Really, it's making it quite hard to get messages to him considering I'm not allowed to be there without explicit invitation."
Triton frowned. Perseus had been running late on his last few visits to Atlantis, and had attributed his tardiness to visits to Delos; Delos where Apollo was meeting a new lover. It was like Helios and Rhodes all over again, except wasn’t Perseus still a child?
Triton had no explicit claim to credit for Helios’s fading, but he was certain that he’d played a part in manifesting it. If Apollo was indeed seeing his child brother, he would be much more proactive this time.
"—have you even been listening to me?" Hermes’s voice cut in.
Triton blinked. He most definitely had not been.
He rose. "I find an urgent matter calls me back under the sea. Tell Apollo that his presence is required in Atlantis posthaste."
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Hermes asked.
Triton eyed him warily. "No."
Perseus had complained about how crowded both Apollo and Hermes’s cabins were in Camp Half-Blood, Hermes and Apollo were two sides of the same coin in this regard.
"Triton!" He heard Hermes shout behind him, but he was already gone.
He shot through the water like an arrow until he reached the palace, where he slowed to a slightly more acceptable breakneck speed. His tail whipped furiously behind him as he stormed up to his father's throne.
Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"What is it, my son?" Poseidon asked.
Triton held his tongue. If he told his father his suspicions right away, he had no doubt the sea would respond in fury and Apollo may decide it would be wise not to enter Poseidon's domain at the moment.
"All will be revealed shortly, father, but first you must invite Apollo to enter the sea."
Poseidon frowned. "Withholding relevant information is unlike you. Explain."
Triton regretted not making a plan before approaching his father. He had no doubt his father trusted him, but his father was not a fan of following orders. That is why he usually refrained from making orders, just well-reasoned requests.
He could not do that this time. Triton remained convinced that telling Poseidon about Apollo's misdeeds would be an error.
He supposed he had no choice. "I swear on the River Styx that I believe there is a threat to Perseus's safety that can be rectified by inviting Apollo under the sea. The threat is not immediate and I believe telling you any more information before Apollo has been invited would jeopardize his safety."
He felt Aunt Styx’s gaze wash over him as the debt settled in his gut. He wondered if he could actually feel her surprise or if he was just convincing himself it was there. Triton tried to avoid her whenever possible. Amphitrite had a surplus of much nicer sisters to interact with.
Poseidon dismissed the rest of the officials in the throne room, turning his consideration to his son. "It will be done."
The silence that followed was extremely tense, both father and son on edge. At a sound from behind him, Triton twisted around, summoning his trident only to vanish it upon the realization that it was not Apollo, but Amphitrite.
She took in their apprehension and inquired. "What is wrong?"
"I will discuss it no further until Apollo is among us," Triton stated.
He felt a tug from Hermes. The god was talking about him. He listened in. "—here yet. Triton, I'm trying to do what you asked, if you could stop ignoring me."
"I will return," Triton told his parents, and sped his way to the surface.
Apollo was standing besides Hermes on the shore. Fortunately, Triton was not usually very expressive or he would have had to work to keep a scowl off his face.
"You wanted to see me?" Apollo asked.
"Come, my father and mother are expecting you." Triton motioned towards the ocean.
The other god eyed the sea with suspicion. Entirely warranted suspicion, but Apollo shouldn't be able to figure that out. Apollo had consistently been one of the sea's greatest allies, even joining Poseidon in an attempt to overthrow Zeus for which they were punished together.
"You!" Triton didn't bother to keep his voice level as he turned on Hermes. "You told him I was displeased."
"Bros before cos." Hermes said nonsensically. Triton feared for his fellow messenger god's capacity to reason with all the mortal nonsense he was exposed to. The other god took pity on him and elaborated. "'cause he's my brother and we're coworkers."
The only thing that cleared up was that Triton needn’t worry about Hermes’s sanity anymore. It was far too late for him.
Triton turned to Apollo. "You can either come with me now, or I will ask your father for a trial and the punishment will be his to decide."
"And if I believe I have done nothing to wrong you?" Apollo asked.
"Then we can work that out under the ocean, but if you'd rather we take the matter up with your father..."
"No!” Apollo objected. “I'll come, but on one condition: Hermes and Artemis accompany me."
Triton considered the offer. Hermes had just shown whose side he would take if it came down to it, but Artemis? If the stories about her were true, he was sure she would not approve of her brother's crimes. Besides, even three Olympians could not hope to match the power of three sea deities in their own domain.
"I believe that is doable. I will ask Poseidon to grant them permission to enter as well."
This was entirely too many times to swim the same route back and forth. "Father, Apollo has agreed to join us if Hermes and Artemis accompany him. I believe this is the best course of action."
Poseidon furrowed his brow. "It will be done. I hope you know what you're doing, son."
"Hermes," Triton stated, trusting the other god would be listening for him, "you three may enter."
The three Olympians eyed them warily upon their entrance. Good.
Apollo inclined his head slightly. "Lord Poseidon, what is this about?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask my son," his father stated, trident rolling in his grip—a subtle threat that could be construed as absent-mindedly fidgeting if one was feeling desperate not to be on the king of the sea’s bad side.
All eyes turned to him. Triton really should have planned any of this out, but he'd succeeded so far. Where to begin?
"Apollo has been spending a lot of time with Perseus Jackson on Delos recently."
"He has?" Hermes asked. Artemis also turned to face her brother in surprise.
Poseidon's face darkened. "Do you deny this, Apollo?"
Apollo held his head high. "I cannot deny it, for it is the truth. However, Percy has consented to every visit and everything we have done."
Poseidon rose. "And what is it you have done?"
Apollo paused in thought, failing to notice how the water around his father grew more tumultuous the longer it took him to come up with a reasonable explanation. If Triton were the type to grin wickedly, he would be.
Finally, Artemis leapt to her twin's rescue. "I'm sure this is a misunderstanding. Apollo is not the type to—" she paused, but there was no graceful way to address the accusations Triton had left unspoken. "Apollo, brother, tell them you have not done anything sexual with our cousin."
"What? Percy's a kid! You can't really believe—" Apollo took in Poseidon's white knuckle grip on his trident and the way Triton and Amphitrite were now flanking him and wisely decided to get to the point. "I have not had sexual relations with Perseus Jackson. As the god of truth, I can not lie."
Triton felt the urge to allow himself relief, but he ignored it. There was very little business a god could be having with a mortal, and none of it good. He puzzled over his next question, but to his surprise Amphitrite jumped in.
"Swear you do not have any intentions of being sexually intimate with Percy in the future either," she commanded.
Apollo closed his eyes looking pained. Wonderful. "I swear on the Lady Styx that I do not currently harbor any intent to have a sexual relationship with Percy Jackson in the future."
"What have you and Percy been doing on Delos?" Poseidon repeated, trident now raised and pointed at Apollo.
Hermes turned and fled. Triton thought about attempting to follow him, but he knew that even his speed would be little match for the god of travelers himself. His issue did not lay with Hermes anyways.
Artemis stayed by her brother's side, bow in hand aimed at Poseidon in return. "Uncle, you must not act rashly. I'm sure there is a good explanation for this."
Suddenly, Hermes returned with Perseus.
"C'mon man, I said no." Perseus loudly told the god off as he was dragged into the room. Hermes had one hand over his eyes to protect him from seeing anyone's true form as he was brought in.
"Mortal forms!" Hermes barked. Everyone complied and Hermes released Perseus from his grasp.
Before his brother had a chance to take in the situation, the gods reacted. Triton rushed towards him, but Artemis was much closer. He was forced to stop as her knife came to rest at Perseus's throat.
"Set down your trident, Uncle, and swear not to pick it back up until we leave. Only then will I release your son."
"Artemis." Apollo turned towards his sister. "What are you doing? Release him."
Artemis didn't falter. "We need leverage. My apologies, Perseus. You truly are one of my favorite men and it would be a shame if you had to die due to your father's rash nature."
Perseus looked surprisingly alright in her grip. Unable to turn his head, his brother found Hermes’s gaze using the sides of his eyes and pouted. "Hermes, you didn't tell me you were taking me here to be a hostage."
"Sorry, kid. I didn't know either, I just thought you could just assure your family that Apollo wasn't grooming you."
His brother mouthed something silently to himself before bursting out in a fit of laughter.
Artemis jerked the knife further away from his windpipe to insure he didn't accidentally cut himself. Triton seized this opportunity, freezing the water surrounding the knife in the newly created gap, making the blade functionally useless. He crossed the distance and wrenched his brother away from the goddess before she could rid the knife of ice, positioning Perseus behind him.
His brother immediately attempted to side step out of the safety Triton had created. Triton shifted to keep him concealed, but Perseus simply tried again. He was starting to see why the daughter of Athena had nicknamed his brother Seaweed Brain.
He lost his patience when he did it a third time. "Idiot." Triton whirled to face his brother, grabbing his shoulders to hold him in place. "Stay."
"Dad," Perseus called, "set down your trident, and I'll explain."
Poseidon had caved far too quickly for Triton's liking. Soon, everyone was gathered around the family dining table, supposedly weaponless. Supposedly—Triton had at least three blades hidden on him and he suspected Artemis did too.
At least Perseus was sat in between Poseidon and Triton where they could keep him safe.
Perseus surveyed the group. "Excellent work, Apollo. You accidentally rounded up all my favorite Olympians, besides Lady Hestia of course."
"Names," Apollo hissed.
"Nah, she's welcome to come here and listen to me spill all my secrets," Perseus replied. "Or I guess she's welcome if Dad says she is."
Everyone glanced at Poseidon who inclined his head. "My sister would be welcome to join us, yes."
The Greek fire burning in the great hearth crackled louder before Hestia's voice came through.
"Thank you for the invitation, Perseus. However, I do not feel the need to know your secrets to trust you. Secrets are often secrets for a reason."
"And that—" Perseus gestured to the fire. "—is an excellent demonstration of why she's my favorite."
Triton couldn't help but feel like this was a dig at him for starting this whole situation, which was hardly fair. He hadn't wanted to learn Perseus’s secrets. He’d just been fairly certain he'd known Apollo's and had attempted to keep Perseus out of the fallout entirely.
"I will not apologize for attempting to protect you." Triton crossed his arms.
Perseus snorted.
Triton had forgotten how infuriating his father's child was.
"What?" Triton snapped.
"Apollo-gize, get it? Get it?"
"Boys." Artemis made the word sound venomous, dripping as it was with distaste. "We're here on business."
Triton watched his brother take a deep breath, visibly growing more serious.
"Okay, first things first. Everyone here has to take an oath on the Styx that you will not tell anyone else the things Apollo and I are about to tell you until it is an open secret or I have given you explicit permission."
Triton's family swore right away, with Artemis following only slightly behind them. Hermes seemed hesitant.
"I can't believe you all just did that," the messenger god muttered. "What if they're plotting treason?"
Apollo spoke up, "We never said you couldn't act on the information, just that it can't be disclosed to anyone. Also, don't pretend you weren't sad Poseidon, the others, and I didn't invite you to our little overthrowing party forever ago."
Perseus’s head hit the table. "I suddenly feel the need to clarify that we're not planning to commit treason."
"Oh yeah, that too," Apollo agreed.
Hermes sighed. "I swear on the River Styx that I won't tell anyone about your secret unless you've given me explicit permission or they already know."
Perseus hummed. “Well first, Apollo and I are from the future."
Triton blinked. Blinked again.
"And you’ve come back because we lose the Titan War?" Artemis asked.
"Nope, but we did lose the one that comes after it." Voices erupted at Perseus’s sudden announcement, but he soldiered on through. "The demigods lost a lot of numbers after our first attempt at the Titan War, and then Lightning McQueen up there decided to close Olympus, not give the demigods any information, and let his wife kidnap me and put me in a magic sleep for six months. Let's just say things did not go good."
Six months. That was—how long did mortals live again? A hundred years maybe?—0.5% of Perseus’s life span. That could not be allowed to happen.
"My sister will not be allowed to interfere like that again." Poseidon’s voice rumbled like the sound of a rapidly approaching, monstrous wave. It promised destruction.
“My huntresses?” Artemis asked.
Apollo looked grim when he answered her question. “You were forbidden from seeing them, sister. It brought you much distress.”
Triton blinked, then closed his eyes tightly. He rifled through his brain, trying to come up with any options for whom a second war could be fought against that didn’t seem like an automatic loss. He failed.
Triton opened his eyes making eye contact with Perseus. "Who is the second war against?"
"Our grandmother," Apollo stated, “and her other set of favored children."
"Shit," Hermes swore. "You know, I think I'd prefer treason."
"What a bunch of downers you guys are. We weren’t even that far away from winning the first time,” Perseus grinned.
Everyone turned to Apollo in an attempt to ascertain the truth of Perseus’s assessment.
Apollo raised one hand in the air, tilting it back and forth. “He is correct. We were close-ish.”
Perseus continued, “My philosophy is one war at a time. Apollo and I are being careful to not make too many changes, that way the information we have is still valuable, but the more lives we can save the better. And the better chances we have in the next one."
His brother's voice had faltered when talking about the lives he'd failed to save the first time. Triton considered his brother, and could see clearly the grief written across his face. How had he missed this weight that Perseus was carrying before?
"Zoë—" Artemis began. It both was and wasn't a question.
"And Bianca." Perseus confirmed.
"Is there anything you need from us, my son?" Poseidon asked.
"I tried to give you guys more advanced warning of Amphitrite's father choosing a side, and I'll help with the war effort down here as much as I can. As the final battle of the Titan War begins, all the gods get called in to fight um—" Perseus glanced at Apollo for help dodging this name.
"—the succession threat with way too many dragon heads," Apollo hinted.
Typhon. This was not going to be pretty. The first time around, he’d been sent after the titanomachy, so the Olympians had only had to deal with one threat at a time. Still, the gods had almost been beaten.
"—yeah, him. It dragged on far too long because Dad was stuck here fighting, uh, Amphitrite’s father, so we need to make sure you’re able to join everyone else sooner."
"And what can I do?" Artemis asked.
Triton watched his brother and Apollo exchange glances. Apollo motioned for Perseus to take the lead and address his sister.
"Well, we didn’t actually plan on having more help,” Perseus started. “But Apollo and I are working on a list of targets that would weaken her before her war begins. If you want to help us take them out, he can make sure it gets to you soon."
Artemis nodded her agreement. Triton was glad she didn’t seem to have anything more to say.
He wasn’t sure he’d forgiven her for the knife to Perseus’s throat yet.
"Now that we're in on the secret, are we invited to your super secret Delos strategy meetings?" Hermes asked.
Perseus shrugged. "Apollo?"
"One sea deity at a time is probably for the best. My father may not be able to see or hear the ongoings on Delos, but too many powerful presences coalescing would get noticed. Speaking of which, some of us should probably dip before that happens now. We'll let you all sort out the details internally."
Not a second later, Hermes, Artemis, and Apollo were gone.
Triton rushed to volunteer to be their representative to Delos before Poseidon could give a decree. "Father, I will go. Your movements are watched much closer than mine and you are far more necessary in the fight."
Poseidon gave him a bemused smile. Perhaps Triton should have toned down his eagerness.
"Triton," Amphitrite cut in, "I believe I should be the one to go if we make our decision based on those criteria."
"Are you sure it is safe?"
She laughed at him.
Fair enough. It hadn't been the best defense. In fact, it may have been the worst. Oceanus cared for his daughters, and while he may have been willing to go to war against her husband, everyone knew that Amphitrite had nothing to fear whatever the results of this war may be.
He glanced at his brother again. Perseus was staring at him incredulously. "You really want to be the one to go?"
Triton frowned at the confusion apparent in his brother's question. He thought he'd been making it obvious how much he adored the demigod. Unless…
"Were we not close in your last life?"
Percy swallowed. "I never really gave us a chance to be, but the only time we met I got the impression that you'd quite prefer it if I didn't exist."
"I apologize." Triton stated. "I know I can come off as cold sometimes—"
"It wasn't even you," Percy protested. “Or, well, it was, but a different you.”
"—in this life I am honored to—"
"Besides, you didn't even try to kill me in that life, like Chrysaor and Kymopoleia."
"They what?" Poseidon roared.
"Dad, don't you dare. Kym's cool and she probably wouldn't have even done that if she felt like she could visit you occasionally. Even if you're not going to work on fixing your relationship with her, I will be."
Triton ignored the flash of jealousy at the fact that Kympoleia had apparently made a better impression on Percy in his first life than Triton had, despite that he was not the one who had attempted to murder their father's son.
Triton would not content himself with second-best in this life too. "Father, may I be one to attend the meetings on Delos?"
"You may."
He turned to his brother. "Perseus, shall I escort you back to camp now?"
"Why not?" Perseus grinned.
Triton put an arm around his brother and focused on using the water to propel them towards Camp Half-Blood, careful to keep his speed in check. He walked his brother up to the beach, but stopped before exiting the water entirely.
He stalled there, watching as Percy headed further into camp, not quite willing to let the demigod leave his eye yet. Today had been far too much.
"Triton, wait!" Percy called, apparently not quite ready to part either. "Thanks, for um… being worried about me. Even if you were really wrong about what was going on. At least it was funny watching Apollo have to defend himself."
That had not been funny.
"You had a knife at your throat." Triton reminded him.
"Oh yeah, that was funny too."
This demigod was going to be the death of him. "Perseus. Stay safe. Please."
Perseus took his time before responding with, "I'll try."
"Unacceptable."
Perseus’s face fell slightly. "I'm not sure I can promise anything more."
"Perseus, if you cannot remain safe, call to me. I will hear and I will come."
Perseus’s brow wrinkled slightly in concentration. Triton, test-test can you hear me? Also thank you, his voice spoke directly into Triton's head.
"You are welcome," he replied aloud, before finally turning tail and heading home.