Chapter Text
Poseidon is one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.
He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies.
In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, Poseidon was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes, with the cult title "earth-shaker".
In the myths of isolated Arcadia, he is related to Demeter and Persephone and was venerated as a horse, and as a god of the waters.
Poseidon maintained both associations among most Greeks: he was regarded as the tamer or father of horses who, with a strike of his trident, created springs (the terms for horses and springs are related in the Greek language).
His Roman equivalent is Neptune, feared by those who preside in New Rome.
But there's a title of Poseidon that many have tried to erase.
Father of Monsters.
Many children of Poseidon tended to be monsters.
Either born a monster, made into a monster by the fates, or monsters of their own making.
Oh, but my readers.
These previous so-called "monsters" have nothing on the new child of Poseidon.
The Sea God had only ever had one demigod daughter.
Sons he had aplenty, immortal daughters came up quite a lot.
But a daughter by a mortal?
This was rarer than he and his brothers agreeing with one another.
Perseus Rhea Jackson.
The first demi-god daughter of Poseidon.
Her name belongs to the Son of Zeus, Perseus who is known as one of the greatest heroes of Greek Mythology.
He is best known as the slayer of the Gorgon Medusa, a fearsome monster, and as the rescuer of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda.
(He is also the onlyheroto have a happy ending.)
The daughter of Poseidon is expected to whither under the accomplishments of her namesake.
But many forget, that even though Perseus was a hero, his name meant destroyer.
(But doesn't it take a monster to defeat another monster?)
Perseus Rhea Jackson's parentage was revealed in Camp Half-Blood after she fought a hellhound and survived.
And it was only then her story began to outshine Perseus, son of Zeus.
Now whispers follow Perseus Rhea Jackson (Percy, she is affectionately nicknamed by those who have her devotion and undying loyalty) and those whispers revolve around her power.
When going to Camp Half-Blood at the age of twelve, she defeated the Minotaur within the span of a few minutes, whereas Theseus had taken years to hunt and kill the beast.
When she was twelve years of age, she befriended Medusa and still to this day has her as an ally.
A.N. If you watched the series, then you need to understand I was so moved by Jessica Parker Kennedy's performance as Medusa and the way she said she wasn't a monster but a survivor.
At twelve, not only had she won a sword duel against the God of War (Ares, albeit licking his wounds, was impressed but still enraged by the defeat) but she had gone on a quest for Zeus's Master Bolt andsurvived.
She was still twelve when joined Clarisse La Rue on her quest for the Golden Fleece to heal Tree Thalia and on her journey survived the rage of the sea and held her own in a battle against a fully grown cyclops.
She was thirteen when she was chosen by Zoe Nightshade to join the quest to search for Goddess Artemis of the Hunt and held the sky for minutes after Annabeth Chase had held it for hours - a fact she tells everyone when they inquire about their matching white streak (her grief shook the earth whenBianca di Angelo and Zoe Nightshade had fallen prey to Fate's prophecy)
She was fourteen when Annabeth discovered former camper Luke's plan to use the legendary Labyrinth of Daedalus to invade the camp with Kronos and his army of monsters and sighed (such tiredness for a child that hasn't suffered enough, the Fates crooned in delight) at the inevitability of her and her friends entering the labyrinth themselves to persuade Daedalus to help them instead of Luke.
A.N. I sometimes use Luke as the bad guy for angst and Luke as the good guy for fluff
She was still fourteen when she exploded an entire f*cking volcano, just to escape from some fiery telekhines. (Poseidon jolted the oceans with how proud he was at his daughter taking after his title - Earth-Shaker)
At fifteen, when Hera switched Percy and Jason into each other's camps, the demigods at Camp Jupiter proclaimed Percy as Praetor when she successfully defeated Polybotes, a giant. (thus making Percy the only Greek/non-Roman demigod to become a Praetor at Camp Jupiter.)
At fifteen, she decimated 200 undead soldiers of Hades' army in under five minutes.(Hades was not known to be a god that feared others, but he was also not so stupid as to underestimate potential threats.)
You would think Percy Jackson's accomplishments would end there, would you not?
But Perseus Rhea Jackson is a prophecy child and prophecy children die before they turn 16.
At sixteen, she looked at Annabeth with tears in her eyes (but determination burning them away so she could see her (girl)friend's face for the last time ) and shoved Annabeth into Nico Di Angelo's arms and fell into the dark depths of Tartarus.
At sixteen, Perseus Rhea Jackson had walked through Tartarus.
Many would say she lived but did she?
Is living not the same as surviving, they will ask.
You're breathing so obviously you're alive.
But those people do not know of the horrors of Tartarus.
They will not know of Percy's quiet sobs as she curled into herself, crying at the injustice of finding her family and friends and Annabeth only to lose them on a quest for Athena's statue.
Here's a fact about Perseus Rhea Jackson: she will never address Athena as Goddess Athena.
Not after seeing Annabeth and her siblings in Cabin 6 cry over an arrogant mother who wouldn't shed a tear if they died.
Not after seeing Annabeth and her siblings in Cabin 6 whisper to her in the dark of night of how they wished they could see their mother.
Not after seeing Annabeth hide her pain at her mother ignoring her prayers when they were attacked on the quest for Zeus's master bolt when they were only 12.
12.
They were children and the gods had only given them life so they would grow to become soldiers and die on the battlefield for their God Parents who don't care.
Oh right, where was I?
Right.
They will not know of the desperation of the way Percy had prayed to Ares to take away his curse so she could fight because the time she needed her sword the most was every second she spent in Tartarus.
They will not know of her falling into the River Cocytus.
Cocytus' water is freezing and ice-like and socold, filled with millions of heartbroken voices as if the river were made of distilled sadness.
If dipped in, the person's thoughts will become sad and miserable, having no purpose to live: a voice, Annabeth, screamed at her instead of her usual stubborn yet fond voice whenever she talked to Percy.
They will not know of the vicious way she attacked Arachne with Riptide, letting the frustrations she felt at her situation onto the monster.
They will not know of the way she suffocated due to the toxicity of the air and how she crawled on what felt like thousands of daggers to make her way to the River Phlegethon to heal herself.
They will not know what it felt like to be attacked by empousa constantly and eventually dragged away to an arena.
They will not learn of the way she nearly fainted in horror at seeing Antaeus.
Percy had fought him in the Labyrinth, a difficult fight that she had only won by getting Antaeus caught up in chains.
He was her half-brother, sharing Poseidon as a father, only Antaeus' mother was Gaia.
Slight advantage, if it wasn't for the fact he was stupid.
They will never know of the way she revelled in beating him, fight after fight after fight after fight.
Until she lost time.
Until she lost morality.
Until it was only one rule in her head: kill or be killed.
However, he believed her to be cheating so he sent her to be whipped by the Titan brothers, Krios and Koios, whipped her with sad*stic glee and enjoyed watching her bleed.
She lost time once more, under the crushing pain of the whips, the knives, the blood loss.
They will never know of the way she screamed at the ghost of Achilles for showing his face and demanded of him to answer her question(Is this what you wished for me? You couldn't handle that a child of Poseidon, let alone a girl had outshone all Greek Heroes from Theseus to you and so you took away River Styx's blessing so I could die in Tartarus? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?!")
They will never know of the way she used her blood (blood-bending) and shaped it to form daggers aimed at the brothers and tortured them until she was strong enough to hold her sword and behead them with vindictive glee.
They will never know of the way she hugged an amnesiac Titan Bob whom she stumbled upon on her escape from the arena.
They will not learn of the tears of relief she had shed after Bob had continued to help her even after he had learnt the truth about Percy destroying his memory.
They will not learn of the stupid ways she had begun to cling to hope at the thought of leaving Tartarus with not only Bob helping her but also the friendly Gigantes Damasen.
They willneverlearn of the way she had Akhlys begging for her to not kill her while using her own poisonous domain against her.
They willneverlearn of the way she grinned evilly at the Goddess of Misery and asked her in a faux-confused tone,"Does Misery hurt you, Goddess of Misery? If it does, let us see how much misery, Misery can take."
They will not learn of the way she drowned the Goddess in the poison she loved to inflict onto others ( because Goddess Akhlys was the Goddess of both Misery and Poison.) and they will never learn of the joy she felt at drowning the goddess and watching as she begged for mercy.
They will not learn of the Goddess Nyx watching Percy's journey through Tartarus.
They will never learn of the offer Goddess Nyx had given Percy.(I will help you get out of Tartarus if you can deceive and kill another goddess,Apatethe goddess and personification of deceit and bring me her head.)
They will never learn of the way she completed the task, of the way she out-deceived the Goddess and the way she nearly threw up when she learnt that Apate was Goddess Nyx's daughter.
They will not learn of the way she broke down when Goddess Nyx explained that time works differently and even though it had been 5 weeks on the surface world, it had been 5 years since Percy had been stuck in Tartarus.
5 years.
5 years.
They will never know the way Goddess Nyx had branded her mark onto Percy's shoulder and then guided the near-comatose girl to the Doors of Death.
They will never know the fear that awoke her when Tartarus himself intervenes to keep Percy from escaping.
They will know about the unexpected yet much-welcomed rescue of Damasen and the tamed Maeonian Drakon and he, Bob and the Maeonian Drakon hold off Tartarus so Percy could escape.
They will never know of the wrath and the rage she feels when she sees Zeus and all the arrogant Gods and Goddesses who think that they are unkillable.
They dare to abandon and ignore their children and their sacrifices and deaths and pain and so much suffering.
They dare to sneer down at her as if she didn't fight in a war to protect Olympus and all the Gods and Goddesses who live there.
They dare to hold judgment on her and see if she should die when all she has ever wanted was peace.
They need to remember who has been fighting their wars for them while they sat on their thrones and did nothing.
"It looks like I have to take you idiots on a road down memory lane."
Perseus ignored their outraged looks and continued.
"When I was in Tartarus,"
Perseus paused, biting her lip to stop the malicious grin she could feel trying to force its way onto her face after seeing the discomfort on the Gods and Goddesses' faces at the name of the hell they wouldn't dare venture to.
"When I was in Tartarus," She repeats, emphasizing 'Tartarus' and relishing in the flinches she got this time, "I discovered a new skill of mine. But I was not alone when I discovered this new skill of mine. No. A Goddess was with me."
She looks up to make eye contact with all of the Godly beings in the temple, "Tell me, who here knows of Akhlys?"
Apollo is the one to speak, horror written all over his beautiful face, "You encountered the Goddess of Misery and Poison and lived?"
Perseus smiled.
But this is not a smile the Godly beings are familiar with.
No.
This is a malicious smile that distorts Perseus's beautiful face into that of a monster.
'Father of Monsters' the Fates whisper in the back of the room with glee.
"I not only lived, Apollo. I killed her."
Silence fills the temple as all the Gods and Goddesses stare at Perseus Rhea Jackson in a range of different emotions.
Shock.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
But one key emotion is hidden within all the Godly beings' faces: horror.
"Impertinent child, you dare come and lie about killing a goddess-" Zeus begins but is cut off by Perseus.
"No, you're right. I am lying, I didn't kill Akhlys."
Many Gods and Goddesses let out inaudible sighs of relief before freezing in horror at Perseus Rhea Jacksons' next words.
"I tortured her in her own realm to the brink of insanity before I was merciful and decided to execute her after her screams became quite annoying."
The silence is deafening as everyone stares at the smiling face of Perseus Rhea Jackson.
Artemis stares in disbelief at the demi-god in front of her and breathes out a quiet, "What?"
Zeus himself is staring at the demi-god in barely concealed horror and is, for one in his life, lost for words.
Perseus frowns at the silence she receives.
"I guess I have to use dumb-dumb terms in a room full of dumb-dumbs." She says before taking her sword and cutting a line in her palm.
Poseidon stands up from his throne in worry but Amphirtie holds a hand on his shoulder, merely nodding her head to the demi-god.
Perseus doesn't make eye contact with anyone in the room, only choosing to stare at her bloodied palm for a few silent seconds.
When her eyes lifted to meet the temple's occupants, the Godly beings wished she hadn't looked up.
Why, you may ask?
Because when Perseus Rhea Jackson controls certain liquids, her eyes shift to the colour of said liquid.
In this case, she's controlling blood.
So her eyes are not ocean-green when she looks up.
No.
They're red.
Blood-Red.
"My father is the Sea God. He is not a Sea God. He is the Sea God. He is older than all of the Gods and Goddesses in this room apart from Goddess Demeter and Goddess Aphrodite, of course."
Persues nods her head in the respective Goddesses' direction and softens her hardened face when they smile gently back at her.
"And because my father is the Sea God, he controls the oceans."
Perseus hardens her gaze when it lands on Athena, "Tell me Athena, what is the ocean in its simplest terms?"
Athena stares back even harder to show that she is undeterred but this only shows to Perseus that Athena is unnerved, "Water. The ocean sea is the body of salt water that covers 70.8% of the Earth."
Perseus continues to ignore the occupants of the room and keeps her blood-red eyes on Athena as she asks another question, "What is the main state of water?"
No one comes to Athena's rescue as she's stared down by the daughter of Poseidon.
Her eyes are so alike to Pallas.
"Water's main state would be liquid but you already were aware of that so why are you asking such foolish questions, Pall-Perseus!?"
Triton downright snarls at hearing his daughter's name almost come out of her murderer's mouth.
Perseus only tilts her head slightly, "Patience, Athena. Have some. It's free."
Athena grips the hilt of her sword but Perseus only turns away and faces Zeus once more.
"To get to my point, if water is a liquid and blood is also a liquid, then what do you think I can do to blood if I can control water?"
"You can control blood," Ares is the one to speak, staring down at Perseus in contemplation but his tense shoulders show how on edge he truly is.
Perseus frowns, disappointed and she says as much to the Gods and Goddesses, "It's disappointing that you haven't figured it out yet. Do I truly need to dumb it down further for you?"
Poseidon speaks for the first time since the meeting had begun, "You can control ichor, can't you daughter?"
A smile graces Perseus's face as she looks at her father, "At least you're not an idiot, father."
"To clarify, I can control many things to my will and one of these things just happens to be the very thing that runs through your godly veins: ichor."
She smiles at the Gods once more as they scramble to get their weapons and merely turns her back on them.
Nico di Angelo protects her from the shadows as he covers the temple in darkness.
Perseus Rhea Jackson has now rejected Godhood twice and fought in the war of the Gods for the last time.
She turns her back on them and then interlocks her arms with Nico di Angelo and goes to see her mother.
Perseus Rhea Jackson comes home to a loving step-father, an over-protective mother and a baby sibling.
She's an older sister now.
She'll kill anyone and make them drown in the blood or liquor in their veins if they dare hurt her baby sister.
Her beautiful Estelle.
PERCY JACKSON TITLES: (Let me know if I missed any)
Wielder of Riptide
Seerer of Fates
Retriever of Ares shield
Escaper the Lotus Casino and Hotel
Retriever of the Master Bolt
Retriever of the Helm of Darkness
Sailor of the Sea of Monsters
Retriever of the Golden Fleece
Enterer of the Garden of Hesperides
Bearer of the Sky
Savior of Artemis
Protector of the Ophiotauras
Wanderer of the Labyrinth
Causer of Mt. St. Helen's eruption
Traveller of Ogygia
Witness of Pam's fading
Holder of Pam's spirit
Retriever of the Chariot of Ares
Retriever of the Sword of Hades
Former bearer of the Curse of Achilles
Receiver of Pandora's Pithos and Elphis
Spirit of Hope
Survived sitting on an Olympian's throne
Refuser of Immortality
Retriever of Herme's Staff
The subject of two great prophecies
One of the Seven
Carrier of Juno across the Tiber River
Former Praetor of New Rome
Drinker of Gorgon's blood
Controller of the Rivers of the Underworld
Survivor of the Death Mist
Nyx's Blessed
Survivor of Tartarus
Defeater of Titans
Defeater of Nike/Gaea
The Godkiller
