I Walk on Water

My initial reaction wasn't exactly the stereotype of heroic, but it was satisfying. As Blackjack descended towards the yacht, and the slithering monster rose out of the bay, my first thought was "Hey, I know that one!" It was massive, with a mixture of beautiful blue and green scales that would have helped it blend into the surf. On it's head, a frill popped open as it hissed at the Princess Andromeda.

I recognized it from some of the few monster-fighting classes I had paid attention to. It was called Cetus, or maybe The Cetus, I wasn't really sure. The only reason I remembered this particular gem was because my namesake, the original Perseus, had killed it thousands of years ago protecting his girlfriend. That was after my dad had set the beast on her. I was hoping Poseidon wasn't behind this attack too, or he was most definitely not getting that awesome "Just go with the flo, bro" surfer t-shirt I had picked up for him on my recent trip out to California.

As Blackjack neared the ship I scrambled to remember how to kill this thing. I remembered that it wasn't easy. The thing was way too big to just stab with some celestial bronze and hope for good results. We were close enough now that I could recognize Tyson and Nico, fighting together, club and Stygian iron raised in an attempt to take off the beast's tongue. I thanked every Olympian I could name that they were both alive. That is, until I recognized the figure being knocked off the side of the boat, landing in the ocean with a loud splash.

"Blackjack, go! It's Thalia!" I could figure out why she and the rest of the Hunters were here later. My horse poured on every bit of speed he could manage, pumping his wings so fast that maybe even Arion would have been jealous (that would be some interesting profanity). Blackjack focused on getting to Thalia as fast as possible, rather than safely. And that's where it started to go wrong.

Cetus lifted his tail out of the water again, but it came up right in front of us, and Blackjack was moving too fast to get out of the way. He collided with the wall of scales, barely managing to keep himself aloft. The shock of the impact knocked me off and into the waves, which I didn't mind too much. I liked being on home turf...or would it count as home surf? After getting my bearings, I dived into the water. Thalia had sunk below the surface. I used the water to my advantage, shooting through the water. It only took me a few seconds to get an arm wrapped around Thalia's waist, but she didn't look too good - a gash on the side of her thigh was bleeding quickly.

I made sure to hold tight to her as I shot us out of the water in a geyser of my own making, straight onto the deck of the ship. As soon as I put Thalia down somewhere safe, I rushed over to Nico and Tyson. Tyson must have been really scared, because he didn't even give me the customary bear hug when he noticed me. "Big brother! Glad you're here to help us, nasty snake whale doesn't want to die! Too hard to hit!" Nico just nodded to me.

I had remembered how Perseus had killed this thing, but I wanted to make sure it was the only way before I tried it. It might end in somebody getting killed. I jumped over the rail towards the creature, and ran over to him, manipulating the surface of the water so that I could jog over it like a solid surface. I tried not to cringe at the amount of Jesus-related jokes I was going to suffer once word spread that I could walk on water.

After dodging around the beast's head a few times with only a few minor cuts (very large cuts that didn't feel too bad because, you know, water) I managed to reach under its defence and place a strike right on it's flank. My blade bounced off like the scales were metal. Naturally, the universe wasn't going to let me do this the easy way. Thanks again, universe.

As I ran back to the ship, I tried to think of a way to make this work. It would be hard, but we could manage it. I sighed, trying to vent my frustration. Just another day in the life of a demigod. Perfection or death. Sink or swim….or walk, at least in my case….Well, at least I had a plan. With all that time together, Annabeth must have been rubbing some of that intelligence stuff off on me. Ew, gross.

"Nico! I'm gonna need your help!" The son of Hades staggered over, as the deck shook with the force of the Cetus' attack. "I know how to kill this thing," I said. "I need you to shadow travel to somewhere in Manhattan!" Nico stared at me. "You want me to abandon you guys with this thing?" I had to try and keep calm; we weren't going to last much longer against this thing.

"Listen to me, the only way we can kill that thing is with Medusa's head! At least, that's how the original Perseus did it. I still have it from years ago when I killed her, on my first quest with Annabeth and Grover. I rented a storage locker to keep some demigod stuff I didn't want to leave around the house." The look Nico gave me would have made me laugh in any other situation. It was kind of like, dude really? You kept a nasty head for 5 years in a New York storage locker? That's messed up, man.

Unfortunately, we didn't have time for laughs. I explained the address and the lock combination he would need to get in. "Take Blackjack with you," I added. My horse was flying around, keeping a safe distance, but he didn't seem to be helping. If he flew too low, Cetus could easily pull him under. As I watched my two dark friends fade into shadow, I dodged my way across the ship's deck to check on Thalia. As I walked, I did my best to control the waves so that the ship didn't capsize.

By the time I found her, she had already bandaged up her leg, and was back on her feet. As much as she drove him crazy, Percy had to admire how tough she was. He watched as she launched several arrows towards the monster's maw, each finding it's mark. It reminded him of the way Zoe Nightshade had helped him bring down the Nemean lion in Washington D.C. a few years back. They were sadly lacking in space food this time around. The daughter of Zeus was growing more and more like Zoe every time Percy ran into her. As he watched, he noted the charm bracelet on her wrist, and remembered something. Thalia wasn't an archer. At least not originally.

"Thalia!" He fought to make himself heard over the swell. She turned to look at him, just a moment's glance in the chaos of the fight. He locked eyes with her. "Your shield! Let me use it!" Her facial expression quickly shifted. First, straining to hear him over the noise. Second, understanding at his intentions and a hint of a smile. Then something much more intimidating. She stared him down with her electric-blue eyes, and Percy could have sworn he could see lightning crackling within them.

"You are not using my shield! It's my oldest...my favourite weapon!" He couldn't believe she was being so stubborn. "Thalia, you're using your bow! Besides, I'm the only one who can get close to it!" Thalia's eyes hadn't shifted an inch since Percy's suggestion, as if challenging him to a staring contest. Fear, anxiety, and maybe even a bit of distrust showed in her expression. That Hunter stuff about hating boys must have been really getting to her. She had changed so much.

Her eyes had still not shifted, even when Cetus knocked the Princess Andromeda about twenty feet with a single blow. "Percy...if you lose this...let's just say you'll regret it." He thought that somehow, that was more scary than if she had made some other lame threat. Thalia was too prideful not to follow up on a threat. She loosened the bracelet off of her wrist and handed it to him. Jewelry wasn't exactly his style, but he'd just have to suck it up and look a little girly for a while. He tapped the bracelet and muttered "aegis," as he'd seen Thalia do on multiple occasions. The shield sprang to life.

As he turned to face the sea monster, it instantly retreated. It was designed to inspire fear, just like the original shield, wielded by Zeus himself. The aura had made Percy thankful he'd never had to face Thalia in a serious fight. Cetus was effected even more than normal - it recognized Medusa's head, which had sent it to Tartarus at least once before. Percy jumped the rail again and drove Cetus as far away from the ship as he dared. He would need to be nearby when Nico and Blackjack returned.

The shield was bulky, and was really designed for use in a Greek phalanx, coupled with a longer spear called a sarissa. Riptide wasn't optimal, but Percy would never trade his sword out for another weapon. It was a part of him. Even so, the shorter reach was making it very difficult for Percy to block Cetus from returning to the ship. He was doing his best to keep it`s attention, but the initial shock factor from Aegis was fading fast.

Cetus, apparently much smarter than (he, she?) appeared, feinted to the left and managed to scrape by Percy's right side, continuing towards the ship. He raised his sword slightly, and raised a huge wave to shove Cetus back towards him. There had to be a way to contain the beast in the water, to stop it from swimming to the ship. Percy was struck with an idea.

He was going to try something he had never attempted before. It would be difficult, but no harder than other things he had done over the years. Just more complicated. He closed his eyes and focused on the movement of the water around the sea monster, willing them to abandon the current and move in a circle around the giant water snake. Percy heard a great rushing sound, and opened his eyes to see Cetus hopelessly caught in a whirpool. It trashed about, but could not escape the rapidly moving waves.

At this point, Percy barely had to will the waves, only willing that they continue their current pattern. Hah, current pattern. Mental self-five. He was so focused on the beast that he didn't notice the Princess Andromeda creeping towards the whirpool, ever so slightly. The force of the water was gradually pulling them towards Percy and Cetus. It wasn't close enough to get caught in the circle quite yet, and so those on board weren't panicking. As Percy watched, Cetus, in one final attempt to free itself, threw itself in the general direction of the boat. It collided with the ship and crumpled the hull, creating enough small holes for water to begin flooding the inside and drawing the yacht into the water. He was forced to watch helplessly as the ship - and his friends - began to sink beneath the waves.