This is my first story on the site so feel free to leave constructive criticism also the timeline in this book is going to be slightly different since I have yet to read the Trials of Apollo so take that with a grain of salt I guess.
Things you can look forward to: a crossover between the Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson, the discovery of Egyptian demigods, the rise of an old enemy from the Kane Chronicles and plenty of more surprises along the way.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, obviously.
A/N: Set 9 years after Son of Sobek. Staff of Serapis and Crown of Ptolemy never happened and I'm not yet sure about whether Trials of Apollo or Magnus Chase is canon in this story. Percy never told Annabeth about Carter.
The sun setting over the New York skyline is actually pretty romantic... well at least it would be if Percy and I weren't stuck behind a hundred cars on our way home. I really wish we had taken the Pegasi instead of this crappy blue suburban but Leo somehow convinced us to try it out. I swear, no matter what the Hephaestus kids try they just can't seem to make this car feel cool. It's got self driving, nitro, bullet proof windows, the works! It's a certifiable spy car but I still feel like a soccer mom in it. Oh who am I kidding? I'm totally a soccer mom.
I smiled at that.
While lost in the thought of my little girl in her cute little soccer uniform, Percy turned to me with a look of concern, "...Annabeth... do you hear that?"
At that I pushed my daydreams to the curb for a moment and quickly brushed a blonde lock of hair behind my ear and with a tilt of my head I tried to hear what he was talking about. After a minute or two I looked to my left, and with a sigh of exhaustion said, "Nope." Aside from all the sounds of traffic that is. Honestly I have no idea how New Yorkers can hear anything over all this gods damn noise sometimes. "Why? Did you hear anything?"
Percy looked as if he had come across a hard math problem. With a furrowed brow and that cute Seaweed Brain pout, he must have been concentrating pretty hard.
He mumbled something, shrugged and gripped the steering wheel as the light turned green. "I swear there's something off today."
Now that, I had to agree with.
It was supposed to be the perfect anniversary: a movie. a fancy dinner, some drinks at the bar and a stroll through Olympus. The kids were at their grandma's house and I had been wearing a short white dress while Percy had been wearing a black suit with a blue tie. Notice how that was in past tense. Of course something had to go wrong on date night.
The life of a demigod sure was a rough one. Although I guess we should be considered lucky since most demigods didn't make it to 18, let alone 26. Still though, it was as if we were extra unlucky tonight.
The usher had turned out to be a hungry cyclopes that apparently had a fondness for eating suits because, lucky for Percy, his coat was all it ate before we chopped of its head and although I wish I could blame my demigodness for the incident at the restaurant it was my clumsy hands that spilled a perfectly good glass of wine all over my formerly white dress.
After a pit stop at a tourist vendor (seriously, how many different ways can they say I LOVE NY?) we changed into some more casual clothes. Electing to skip the bar after the last debacle, we had decided to walk through Olympus only to find out that the elevator was out of order! Are you kidding me? Oh gods, I need a nap.
"Are you sure you can't hear that?" Percy asked, scratching at his beard.
I tried listening again but to no avail. There's just too much noise.
"No, what does it sound like?"
We had hoped to avoid the traffic from our usual way back home by taking a more scenic route through Brooklyn but I'm pretty sure Percy was just hoping something fun would happen along the way and save our disastrous date night. Alas, Brooklyn's traffic was just as bad.
"It's like a low buzzing sound. I swear it's getting louder."
I tried again and, knowing what to look for, I could just barely hear it over all the honking and revving engines. There was a low buzzing noise that seemed to be roaring from all directions.
"Hmmm, oh yeah I can hear it now."
Usually I'd be more curious about such things but honestly I was too tired to care.
"What do you think it is?"
"Probably just some bugs." I said with a yawn, not knowing just how right I was.
Thankfully as time marched on, the flow of traffic began to pick up and finally we made some shred progress.
"Hey seaweed brain?"
"Yeah, wise girl?" he asked, turning to face me with a smile.
"I think I'm going to try to take a nap, kay?"
"Allllrighty then." he laughed, in that cutesy tone the kids know so well.
I punched him on the arm with a smirk, leaned back the chair and closed my eyes.
I'd like to say I got some sleep but that buzzing just wouldn't go away. I know spiders hate me but do all bugs have to make my life a living Hades?
I turned this way and that, trying to make myself more comfortable but that didn't help. Then I tried covering my ears and that worked for a little while while but it was almost as if the buzzing just got louder. After an hour of grumbling and on the verge of knocking myself out I began to notice something.
Was the buzzing always this loud? ...What happened to the cars?
I sat up with a jolt but before I could take a look at our surroundings I saw something big come toward us out of my peripherals.
"Pe-PERCY WATCH OUT!"
BANG!
A large tree had fallen in the middle of the road and Percy narrowly managed to avoid it but the car began to drift uncontrollably. The car spun out and smashed sideways into a stop light. I could hear Percy cry out in pain.
My whole body ached and I could faintly hear Percy calling my name but gods the buzzing was just so loud. Thanks to the Hephaestus kids, the car managed to stay in one piece but I could feel bruises all over my body and I think I broke a couple ribs.
I sifted through the glove box for some ambrosia but the sound just got louder and louder and LOUDER! It seemed to resonate with my very being and crack my sanity apart at the seams.
Then we saw it.
I know, I know, I should know the names of all the monsters by now but for the life of me I had never heard of something so absurd. I can't think of anything better to call it than... well "it".
As the light turned green I could feel a faint 'thump thump thump' as the beast charged past us. It just looked so... so wrong. It was as if its very existence was at odds with itself, spiteful of the reality that contained it. The buzzing radiated off the translucent wings on its back as they beat like helicopter blades against the wind, trying to lift its fat lumbering body off the ground. It looked like a giant wasp but it... it had the body of a hippo! Its large, black, insect eyes held much fury and my vision blurred and fragmented as they stared deep into my soul.
Thankfully, it didn't seem to pay us much attention as its hulking body stumbled past the car and down the street with its tail between its legs and in my peripherals Percy seemed to let out a sigh of relief. The buzzing made my head ache like Hades but that's not what wasreally bothering me. That beast almost seemed... afraid. Whatever could scare something like that is not something I want to meet.
Unfortunately I didn't have to wait long. Charging past us, from down the same road as the beast, came a pack of about 15 lions. Their coats shined golden in the moonlight as they ran, gaping maws bristled with sharp teeth and scars marred their skin like hot iron brands.
Two kids, a boy in his late teens with short, spiky, black hair and a light brown complexion and a girl who looked slightly younger with a long black braid and fair skin, were riding a pair of lions in the midst of the pack. The boy was holding a javelin in his right hand and wore a black button down that billowed in the wind over a green undershirt.
The girl looked as if she had been stopped mid workout. She wore a maroon crop top, black joggers and old sneakers. I caught her hazel eyes as they rode and she seemed to tell the boy something but they kept on moving.
As the buzzing started to die down, Percy's sea green eyes met my own and we shared a silent nod that seemed to say 'Welp, looks like we're back on duty.'
With that, Percy put the car in reverse, turned the car towards the road, and we sped off down the street after them.
That's all for now. Tell me what you think and I'll fix what I can. I'm not entirely sure where I want to take this story yet so don't expect regular updates but I will definitely try to keep the wait between chapters short :)