Chapter Text
I was just napping peacefully on the Montauk beach with Annabeth under the blazing July sun, when the ocean randomly decided to remind me that I am a demigod.
Annabeth taps my shoulder, muttering something that I’m pretty sure is my name. I just grumble in response, keeping my eyes shut as I attempt to stay asleep.
Maybe she’s right to call me grumpy in the morning, but hey, waking up just isn’t my strong suit. Especially when I'm in literal paradise: getting a sweet tan, spending time with my girlfriend, and of course… sleep.
“Ow!” I exclaim, slowly sitting up and rubbing the aching spot on my head where she just whacked me. “What’d you do that for?” I ask, squinting as my eyes adjust to the bright light. I try to stay mad, but any ounce of grumpiness fades immediately when I look up at her, even when she’s scowling at me.
No, especially when she is scowling at me. The soft furrow of her brows and her piercing grey eyes, it's hard not to be distracted. Don’t even get me started on the way her perfectly messy blonde curls glow in the sunlight, framing her impossibly stunning face…
“Percy! Did you even hear a word I just said?” She groans, but she definitely noticed me being absolutely dazed by her, a slight blush appearing across her face.
I wanted to say, You really expect me to focus when you’re looking at me like that?, but I definitely knew her and that expression better. She was not messing around.
So instead, “Uhh, maybe repeat it one more time for me. Just so, you know, I really understand it.”
That earned me an eyeroll, but she reluctantly realized that there was something more important than being annoyed at me.
“The tide.” She says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, gesturing towards the water, a slight panic in her usually stern eyes.
Turns out, it is the most obvious thing in the world. The water receded at least 300 feet back, some seaweed and other plants visible (that definitely should not be).
“It’s like a–”
I cut her off, “Tsunami.” The word comes out quietly as my mind races. There’s no way. “Uh, when’s the last time Long Island had a tsunami?” I chuckle half-heartedly, anxiously scratching the nape of my neck.
“Never this big.” She mutters, shaking her head as she stares out at the water retreating back to the greater ocean.
I stand up in a hurry, placing my hands on her shoulder as I give her a reassuring look, “Just go find somewhere safe, I’ll go figure this out. It’s probably just my dad throwing some sort of fit,” I smile and wink playfully, attempting to lighten the mood.
“I’m not going to leave you–”
“Who can breathe underwater?” I remind her teasingly, interrupting her once again (really testing her limits). I expect her to go off on me for trying to do this by myself, but she seems to realize that I actually have a point, letting out a grudging sigh.
I stand up, and she follows suit, gathering our towels and things. I watch as she tries to hurry off towards my mom’s cabin.
“What? No kiss for good luck?” I call out jogging after her, feigning a pout.
She scoffs, shaking her head as she stifles a laugh. “Be safe and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” but from the look on her face… we both know I’ll do the exact opposite.
“You know, you’re kind of breaking the lucky streak…” I mutter, my grin widening as I raise my eyebrows expectantly.
“Oh shut up, Seaweed Brain.” She laughs, dropping her things.
In an instant, her hands are in my hair, pulling me impossibly close. The kiss flies by in a blur, butterflies doing somersaults in my stomach and a stupid wide smile on my face as she pulls back.
“You know–” I tuck a loose curl behind her ear, my calloused fingers brushing against her tanned skin, “–I think they say two kisses gives double the luck.”
She shoves me playfully, a noticeable flush painted across her face. “Come back alive and I’ll think about it.”
“Deal.” I grin, practically glowing with confidence and motivation. “Giant waves don’t stand a chance against me,” I scoff, walking backwards to the water, just to admire her for a moment longer.
When I finally manage to tear my eyes off of her, turning back to face the water, they widen for a completely different reason. The tide is crazy far back, but the sight is only worse as I stare up at the massive wall of water very rapidly approaching.
Surely a letter would’ve been more efficient to get my attention, Dad.
I pick up the pace, moving at a jog towards the water, noticing a large shadowy figure lingering near the trough of the wave. That definitely isn’t my dad. Another monster to add to my list, I suppose, what a lovely vacation.
Now, I’m within around 100 feet of the wave. There is no way I was just running fast enough… no the wave is just coming in hot. I find myself backing up instinctively, stumbling backwards and almost falling as the shadowy figure is now fully visible. It’s the size of a whale, like the biggest whale ever. Imagine a mermaid with a dinosaur head with big webbed claws that's the size of 3 school buses.
The thought of fighting this thing makes the Minotaur seem like an easy warmup. I can’t help but think that I’ve seen this thing before, not in real life of course, but the familiarity is certain. Too bad vaguely recognizing it won’t help with the fact that I have to fight it and it’s maybe 50 feet away (that’s being generous).
I force myself to concentrate, focusing my mind on stopping this wave. Not only will it prevent this monster from attacking me, but it will stop the destruction this wave could cause if it hit shore.
Annabeth. That thought alone gives me all the determination I need.
I clench my fists, channeling all of my force into slowing this wave down. The pressure hits me like a concrete wall and it almost makes me think that the wave hit me, but when I look up it’s still approaching. All my muscles tense and I struggle to keep my footing, the wave barely slowing down.
I don’t know what it is, but this wave feels… different. I’ve conquered much larger storms, but this force seems out of my power.
Mustering all of my strength, I give one last mental push, falling to my knees in the process. I glance up, the wave collapsing in its place. Relief washes over me, but it's short-lived as the water crashes on top of me, the monster propelling downwards, beelining towards me.
I reach for Riptide, but I have maybe half a second before I become a demigod pancake. I roll sideways, just avoiding the hit. The monster crashes head first into the ocean floor, sending a deafening rumble through the water. That buys me enough time to reach for Riptide, which I’m now realizing was just flung out of my pocket. I summon it, a small current guiding it into my hand. Unfortunately this ate up any time to catch my breath, the monster already recovered from its hit.
Cetus. That’s the monster. Sadly, my lightbulb moment is interrupted as I see Cetus shooting towards me in the water like a ballistic torpedo. I drop down, diving underneath its massive, scaly body. I drive my sword upwards, aiming for its stomach, but it quickly swerves upwards, the maneuver surprisingly agile for its massive frame.
A massive claw swipes down towards me in a flash, and I barely shift out of its way. The sleeve of my shirt isn’t as lucky, getting torn to shreds.
As I dodge strikes, I try to remember how Cetus was defeated. My mom taught me the story, Perseus defeating it to save Andromeda—that name brings back some fun memories. All I can hope for is that he just used his sword and clumsiness, since that is as much as I can offer at the moment.
I send a quick mental prayer to my dad, hoping he can maybe do something to control the monsters in his own domain. I also think up a quick little word to Aphrodite, because maybe Perseus used the power of love to save Andromeda? I chuckle at myself out loud for that thought, probably confusing the Hades out of the monster.
Right—monster. I focus back, giving up on trying to depend on my unreliable memory for success. If only Annabeth were here, she’d definitely know. Hopefully she’s safe for now, assuming this monster is confined to water, but that won’t stop it from starting another tsunami.
That thought seems to shake me back to reality. I need to kill this thing, and I need to do it now.
Let’s get this fish out of water.
I yield a current, streamlining me straight towards the shore. Cetus follows closely, not giving me much room. Eventually, I get close enough to the shore where I can stand, the water far too shallow for the water dinosaur—or at least I thought.
I look up in shock as a wave forms, allowing Cetus to continue towards me. Here I was thinking that I was special with my water powers.
I expect it to come crashing down on top of me, but to my surprise it surfs right over me. To the shore..? My gaze follows it, wondering what's so intriguing to take a break from killing me. My heart drops to my stomach as I see Annabeth standing there.
She’s supposed to be inside the cabin, not out here. Now the mermaid-o-saur is flying through the wild waves straight at her.
“NO!” I shout, my voice cracking as I watch her standing bravely with her bronze knife. Gods, I love her and her bravery, but I just wish she would stay safe for once. Normally I wouldn't doubt her in a fight, but she’s out of her domain right now. Even if she can dodge Cetus, the waves are going to drag her under.
I don’t have much time.
I’m not sure what fuels me—rage or pure desperation—but I send a wall of water up in front of her, Cetus getting thrown back 50 feet. I glance at her for a moment, letting out a relieved sigh as I see her standing safely. I wish I could run out to her and hold her tight, but this might be my chance to kill that dam water dinosaur, with it hopefully disoriented from the hit.
I dive into the water, speeding towards it, driven by an entirely different anger now. What I forgot about was that 40 foot long tail until it smacked into my legs, sweeping me clean off of my feet. Just as it closes in for the kill, an intense ringing at a deafening pitch ripples through the water. I grab my head, trying to cover my ears, the pain excruciating.
At first, I thought that it was from the impact of the hit, but when I managed to force my eyes open and look up, Cetus was squirming in pain, clearly affected by the awful sound.
The ringing finally stops, but the sting still lingers in my now throbbing head. Cetus turns me, and I expect to become monster chow, but it just stares at me until…
“She is waking.”
A deep voice echoes the words in my head, which I assume belongs to Cetus. With that, it swims off, slowly fading into the distance. The thought of it still lingering in the ocean makes me uneasy, but that’s the least of my worries at the moment.
Who is she?
The chilling words are on repeat in my head, like its some riddle taunting me. I could sit here all day failing to figure it out, but I immediately realize I have something way more important waiting on shore.
In an instant, I'm sprinting out of the water, Annabeth running towards me too. I quickly grab hold of her, pulling her flush against me.
“You’re safe.” I whisper, my voice trembling as I pull back just enough to meet her gaze, almost as if to ensure that she is really there. “I told you to stay safe, that involves staying in the cabin.”
“You really expected me to safely wait while you fight by yourself?” She retorts, but the relief in her expression overpowers her frustration.
“You have no faith in me,” I smile playfully, looking down at her. Normally, I’d tease her for being all worried about me with that nervous expression on her face, but I the look in my eyes probably isn’t much better. Instead, I just pull her tighter as if I’m scared she’s going to disappear, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head, savoring the feeling of her safe in my arms.
I should tell her about that whole mysterious woman's waking thing—I really should—but I can’t bring myself to ruin this moment, so I decide to keep that whole thing to myself.
What could go wrong?