How should I start off these ANs? I don't really have some catchphrase or something. But in any case, welcome!
I should mention, if you have read any of my other works, you would know i'm ship Perianca. I...don't know why. So you can probably see where this story will end up. Sorry for anyone who ships Percabeth (probably 80% of the fandom), but I kinda like underrated ships.
Percy stared through the glass at the multiple televisions behind the display. Each showing the same breaking news.
It had been half a week since it happened. Three days since Percy packed up his stuff, taking rations, clothes, and other necessities with him as he left his home. It broke his heart to leave Sally's broken body on the ground, but he decided against it.
One day later, they found the body. Hours later, the first reports came in. Murder, destruction, death of Sally Jackson and the missing son, Percy Jackson. Fortunately, not many people knew what he looked like, as he really didn't want to be confronted. Percy bit his lip as he stared at the scene. The first day, he would break into tears at just the mere thought. Now, he still had the urge, but just barely suppressed.
Especially since he just came back from the funeral. Unlike Percy, his mom had many friends. Annabeth and her family showed up too, and Percy wanted to reach out to her. She still thought he was dead. But calling to her would attract to much attention. He had to remain low, so he stayed in a while away, still in earshot, but insignificant and unnoticed.
Percy left early. He just couldn't bear to look anymore. All the memories seemed distant and worthless. They would only be memories.
Percy sighed. No point in dwelling so much. He couldn't waste time belittling himself. More monsters would be coming.
Go into the water. His mother's final words. What did she mean? He had found his prowess with liquids. But he found the instruction vague and not very helpful.
Pulling away from the screen, Percy walked down the street. People glanced at him, noticing his 'homeless teenager' vibe. Percy didn't care if he looked strange. He had more pressing matters on mind. Poseidon. His father.
Now, normally, when you find out your long lost father is an almighty god of the sea (supposedly), most people would expect excitement. Perhaps a few days ago, Percy would have felt the same. But now, all he had was resentment. He could have helped them. His mother could have survived. Instead, he abandoned them as soon as Percy was born. Never a drop-in, a call, a simple 'hello'.
Resentment and bitterness made the walk seem quick. After, maybe a mile or two walk, Percy ended up at a beach. It was very crowded. No one noticed him, and Percy glanced across the happy crowd, splashing children, cries of delight and joy.
He had already forgotten how that felt. Sighing, he walked faster to avoid questioning glances and wary looks. He looked around carefully before diving into the water. Willing himself to stay dry, a trick he had discovered ages ago, back when things were still normal (or as normal his life ever was). It was a while before reaching the deeper areas, though. Percy really hoped no one would notice him as he swam farther and farther away from shore.
Now where exactly was Poseidon? Percy reckoned the god probably had some sort of castle in the ocean, or something. He peered around him. He was already miles away from the shore. Percy frowned. Wait. How could he even see perfectly in the water.
No, that wasn't quite right. He didn't see it. He could just feel it. It was strange, but he could tell what was happening all around him. How odd.
Percy shook off the notion. Now was not the time. He sighed. Where would he look first? Could he even find Poseidon? Was this worth it?
What would Annabeth do?
Percy started. Annabeth would know. She always suspected his lineage. She could help.
But what if another monster attacked? What if...what if he lost her too?
Percy didn't know if he could bear that. He probably couldn't. Annabeth was his best friend. They were inseparable since elementary.
And she probably thought he was dead.
That thought made Percy determined to go back. It wasn't fair for his best friend, his only friend, to stay oblivious and full of despair. The pain of losing a loved one...Percy wouldn't wish that on anyone.
He sighed. "And I just swam all the way here, too..."
It had taken a while to walk to the Chase's house, but to Percy it felt like a blink of an eye. Standing in front of the door, he hesitated to knock. He looked around. Were there any monsters hiding? He didn't see anything, but Percy wasn't about to drop his guard down.
He knocked. Once, twice, three times. A few seconds later, the door opened, to show a depressed Frederick Chase, just returned from Sally Jackson's funeral. His eyes widened as he realized who was standing awkwardly in front of him.
"Erm...hi."
"You...you're–you're alive!" Frederick stammered out. "Why–when–how–"
He took a deep breath, eyes widening in relief. "Oh thank goodness."
Percy inhaled deeply as well, preparing for an onslaught of the reminder of his loss. In was inevitable, he knew. "Can I come in, Mr. Chase?"
"Yes, of course!"
He entered, taking in the familiar setting. He didn't see Annabeth, but he could hear her brothers talking (cough, shouting, cough) in the next room. Annabeth's mom walked into the room just then.
"Remember, boys, your sister is very down right now, so don't bother her!"
"Okay, mom!"
Sighing, she turned around, only for the sigh to be caught in her throat.
"Percy!"
"Hi, Mrs. Chase." Percy answered, relaxing slightly. Still though, his eyes darted around left and right. Flickering out the windows, curving toward the open door.
"You're here!" It sounded more like a tentative question than a statement. "I'm so glad you're safe."
Percy blinked. She sounded relieved, but not as surprised. She must have believed he was alive.
"What happened, Percy?" She added hesitantly. "You look terrible!"
Percy was aware of that. He could never sleep, always staying alert in case another monster attacked. He had seen others, and avoided them at all costs. A bus driver with goat horns. And a lady who he could have sworn had a bronze leg. Turning, he realized the two didn't look to good themselves. Frederick had bags under his eyes and looked like he just got out of bed. Mira, despite usually keeping her hair neat and tied up, had now let her hair down, in addition to it being disheveled and unruly, something that looked very much out of place. Percy wondered why. He looked up the stairs. Annabeth was up there. She was his best chance at finding his father. Or more accurately, the most reliable chance. But still...
Percy turned to the worried parents. As a child, they had always been more than just family friends, they acted like his uncle and aunt. They were family. And so he told them everything. How they started suspecting his dad to be a god. How a monster had attacked. How he killed it, and how it killed her.
A moment of silence. Percy looked down. It sounded so insane. Who would trust a 13 year old with a story about mythical monsters and greek deities?
"I see. I'm sorry you had to go through so much, Percy." Frederick abruptly said, and Percy started.
"Y–you believe me?"
Frederick and his wife exchanged a look. "Well..." Mira Chase hesitated. "We always knew something was different with you and your father."
"And Annabeth was very convincing." Frederick chuckled, despite the somberness of the moment. "She's very smart, you know."
"Sometimes too smart." Mira noted dryly. "Percy, you said your father was...Poseidon?"
Percy nodded. "Yes. Those were her–her last words."
Another moment of silence. Percy tried to still his tears.
"That's quite serious then. You have to find him."
"That's why I'm here." Percy said. "To find where to look."
"Annabeth would know." Mira agreed. "She's upstairs."
Percy nodded in thanks, and started toward the stairs. The door was shut, and locked, so he tentatively knocked.
"Go away." Annabeth's muffled voice came through.
"Annabeth." Percy took a deep breath in. "It's me, Percy."
The door flew open, and a bewildered Annabeth stared at Percy, her mouth hanging open like a fish, at loss for words.
"Percy!"
Annabeth was having a bad day. A bad few days, actually. It all started when she finally got a lead on Percy's father. Oh, the excitement that she felt. She was sure Percy would be too, but he seemed...bewildered? Confused? Which was disappointing. Her parents were pretty dubious too, despite the PowerPoint presentation she gave.
Come on! She even had a bibliography detailed enough to make women swoon and grown men weep.
But it got even worse from there. At night, Percy wouldn't pick up. That worried her, but she assured herself it was something minor. Probably he was just busy. She was a little uneasy, but it seemed insignificant.
But the next day, the news told her everything. She still remembered it vividly, seeing the reporter and the destroyed scenery. Percy was missing, and Sally was dead. Annabeth had froze in front of the television, still staring at it long after, wishing she could change reality with pure willpower.
It didn't work. And while it was hard for her, it was infinitely more difficult for her father. He had to plan the funeral, because Sally had no other relatives. Two painstaking days, where Annabeth could hear her father making calls late into the night, losing sleep. She couldn't sleep very well either, anxiety over Percy keeping her up.
The funeral was horrible. They had to watch while the coffin was lowered, and the person reading the eulogy somehow felt kind but bored at the same time. Her two brothers didn't understand the concept of death. They did stay quiet, but she could see them itching to leave or play or just do something.
How nice it must be to be so innocent and carefree.
Then, today, Percy suddenly appeared in front of her room. She had been lying on her bed, so she was half-convinced it was a mere dream. But after much testing, she knew otherwise. Percy's face was real, flesh and skin.
"That," Annabeth hissed, hand still outstretched, "was for not telling me."
"Ow!" Percy grinned, the same grin that spoke of mischief and trouble. The same grin that practically became a part of his image. "Good to see you too, Annabeth. But did I really deserve that slap?"
"Yes." She couldn't help but sigh in relief though. "What happened, Percy?"
He sighed. "A minotaur attacked our house."
Annabeth gaped. The minotaur? Half bull, half man of greek mythology? Ridiculous!
But she was convinced Percy's dad was the greek god Poseidon. So logically...greek monsters could exist as well, right?
"It...it killed mom, but I killed it."
"You what? How?" He killed it? "But there was no body!"
"I'm not sure how I did it, but I remember a rush of water. I was just so angry and afraid...and it happened so fast. The monster turned into golden dust." Percy explained, seemingly keeping calm, but Annabeth had known him for years. She could hear the slight stutter of his voice and the catch of his breath. He wasn't unaffected. She decided not to press too much. Percy was almost about to cry.
"I can't stay long."
"What? Why not?"
"That monster that attacked us...it seemed to be looking for me specifically. If a monster can track someone like me...I can't let you and your family be endangered. I have to find my father as soon as possible."
"Your father? Poseidon?"
He nodded. "That's why I'm here. I thought...I thought you would know where to look for." Percy, a little sheepishly.
Annabeth blinked. She wasn't expecting that. Of all people, Percy thought to ask her about this? Despite still being annoyed at him for hiding the fact that he was alive and well (more or less), she felt very proud that Percy would consider her smart enough to know this obscure fact.
She wasn't about to let his expectations go wrong. Pondering for a second, Annabeth stood and took the globe on her shelf down.
"Well, I'm not completely sure, but since ancient myths designate the original Atlantis to be...here." She pointed to a spot on the globe. "And since we know Mount Olympus is at the Empire State Building, we can calculate the distance and rotation between the original mountain and the building and contrast it to–"
"Wait, wait, wait." Percy interrupted, looking mystified. "Hold up. When–what? Atlantis? As in, the myth?"
Annabeth sighed. In retrospect, she may have gone a little too fast. "Atlantis is the underwater city and palace where Poseidon lives, on the ocean floor."
He blinked. "Uh...okay. Wait, what do you mean the Empire State Building is Mount Olympus?! How do you know that?! And how is that possible?"
"Oh...yeah." Annabeth smirked. "The doorman has a loose mouth."
To be honest, though, it was a little embarrassing that she let that detail slip so carelessly. She hadn't even told her parents about that. But in any case, Annabeth started getting suspicious of the security guard about two years ago. He just seemed so...out of tune with the world. He was vague, bored, and always acted like he was so important.
Which he was. Annabeth had cleverly gotten him to accidentally talk about his job of keeping the key to Olympus, while he was zoned out reading a book. Before he knew it though, Annabeth had found out almost everything. He had warned her not to say anything (after a couple minutes of cursing himself).
But about an year ago, the dude had vanished, and was replaced by another security guard, who didn't know anything about Olympus. It was strange. Did Mount Olympus move, or something? If so, that would blow her whole theory out of the water. But this was her only lead, and so she had to say it.
"In any case, if we compare the distance between the original mountain, and the Empire State Building, we can figure out where Poseidon's underwater palace is now." Annabeth pulled out a protractor, before realizing Percy was slightly zoned out, with eyes glazed over. "Percy!"
He jolted, shaking his head. "Wha–oh. Sorry. You said something about...you know where he is?"
She sighed. Again. "Well, the original palace was said to be here...so if we compare the distances..." Annabeth took out a calculator, furiously typing numbers in as Percy tried very hard to look like he knew what was going on. "It should be right...here!" She tapped the globe.
"34 degrees, 7 minutes north, 83 degrees, 14 minutes west."
"Uh...latitude and longitude?"
"Yes! So you did learn something in geography."
Percy grinned, but then leaned in to the globe. "So this is where Atlantis is?"
"Probably. Hopefully."
"How will I find it?"
"Here." She held out a compass (the directional one, not the math one). "You just need to head southeast at...this degree." She marked the compass. "You should reach it."
"Really?" He held up the compass. Annabeth could see the desperate hope in his eyes. Something she hadn't seen since he arrived. It was uplifting. And she really hoped it wasn't for naught. Annabeth wanted to tell him that it might not be there. But she held back. She didn't know if he could take more bad news.
Please, just let this work.
"Thanks, Annabeth."
She forced a smile. "No problem. You...you have to leave now, right?"
His smile faded. "Yeah. The longer I stay, the more likely you will be endangered."
She liked how he said 'you', specifically her. Percy, holding the compass tight, exited and walked down the stairs. Annabeth followed him. Once reaching the first floor, Frederick and Mira immediately noticed. "Percy! Annabeth!"
Percy cut straight to the chase (pun intended). "Thanks to Annabeth, I know where to look for my father."
They turned to her in surprise and pride. Annabeth merely hoped she wasn't blushing, but she did let herself indulge in the success.
"Thank you, Dr and Mrs. Chase."
"Of course, Percy. You're like family to us." Mira chided. "You can come anytime."
Bobby suddenly charged into the room, closely followed by a protesting Matthew. "Percy's here!"
"Hey buddy!" Percy grinned down, kneeling to remain eye level with them. "Are you playing nice with your brother, Matthew?"
"I'm Bobby! He's Matthew!"
"Oops. Sorry!" He laughed, and Annabeth shook her head, amused.
"So when are you leaving?" Frederick asked.
Percy looked up. "Right now."
"Now?!"
"So Percy won't be around anymore?" Matthew asked, his voice becoming disappointed.
"I have to go as soon as possible. I...I don't want anything to happen to you all."
The twins were confused, but Frederick seemed to accept his decision. "Alright then. It's good to know you're fine. I hope you find your father."
Percy nodded, and started toward the door. Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, this could be the last time she saw him, but her voice caught inside her throat. She couldn't.
"Bye Dr. Chase. Bye Mrs. Chase. Bye Bobby, Matthew." Percy turned. "Goodbye, Annabeth."
Annabeth shouted at her voice to work. She had to! This was her chance! "–bye Percy. Stay safe."
He hesitated, and nodded. Did he look...disappointed?
Damn it. She should have said it right then and there. But it was too late. Percy had left.
Well, that wasn't exactly the goodbye Percy was hoping for. But there were more pressing matters. He had to get to the beach. He had a lead. "34 degrees, 7 minutes north, 83 degrees, 14 minutes west." He repeated under his breath.
As he arrived at the beach, he didn't even bother worrying about the people who might see. It barely mattered to him anymore. He was hopeful. And Percy was ready.
Swimming out to the ocean, Percy felt himself moving at high speeds. He had always been a fast swimmer, but this was insane! Maybe it was the currents that were helping him, or maybe just another power of his.
As he swam further and further from shore, he swam past schools of fish, curious octopi and squids, all kinds of marine life. He even found a shark, that after a burst of bubbles from an attempted scream, had swam around him excitedly and even allowed Percy to pet him like a dog.
Though, after a while, the adrenaline faded. Percy blinked. Then stopped. What now? He had to keep swimming in this direction...but for how long.
34 degrees, 7 minutes north, 83 degrees, 14 minutes west. That's right.
Wait. From New York to there...that was over 500 miles! Just a small detail Annabeth neglected to mention. How the heck was he supposed to swim 500 miles, even with his powers!?
Where was he anyway?!
34 degrees, 8 minutes north, 84 degrees, 50 minutes west, his mind immediately responded.
Huh?! How did he know that?
His powers were getting weirder and weirder. What else could he do, heal injuries while being in water?
But Percy knew that his inner...inner coordinate estimate was correct. He just did. And if it was correct...
Percy peered across the dark waters. The sun was setting, so he didn't have good lighting, but he forced his eyes to look through. Searching across the ocean floor (he was quite deeply submerged at this point), Percy looked for something that could even hint of the presence of Atlantis.
And he found it. Light from green flames burning underwater that signified of a city! Percy's eyes widened and he gave a whoop of joy (which sounded very odd underwater). With a powerful kick, he spiraled toward the lights. He had finally reached Atlantis. He finally could find Poseidon.
His father.
So yeah, sorry for this chapter taking an unforgivably long amount of time. But hey, at least I've got the next chapters planned out, so it shouldn't be too long until the next chapter...hopefully. I did consider adding a little bit of Percabeth in this chapter, but decided against it. I don't really want to have a love-triangle later in this story. Even though I know it's inevitably going to happen.
One last thing. Obviously, Percy isn't going to find Poseidon. But he is going to find a family member. I wonder who? Any guesses?