In which Percy meets a family member- but not her dad! Hahahah.
Replies:
Undeath9087: There may be fights coming but not underwater ones hehehe.
InfiniteShadow3: Sorry I just can't help it lol.
Krypton Writes: not quite yet I'm afraid.
MKDemiGodzilla-Warrior: Heh. It will come but not quite yet I'm afraid.
NuzhaT: It will come in time
Percy's breath caught in her throat when the beach came into view. Luckily it was deserted- which did sort of make sense if the weather had been this bad for a while. The wind was fierce- she could taste the saltwater mist in the air. The smell was usually familiar and comforting but it wasn't now. Now it was worrying because the sky was dark and stormy and the water was crashing in fierce waves far higher than usual. They were high enough that they were hammering against the pier, almost swallowing it. She could see the structure struggling. It would be minutes at most before the force of the water took out the supports. And the sea was further in than it should be. If it came in much further the buildings would be in danger.
"Holy fuck your dad's pissed." Thalia breathed the words, her eyes wide, "He's like- really pissed."
"Yeah. Yeah he is." Percy swallowed hard. "I need to stop this."
"How?" Grover's voice was louder than usual- it had to be for her to hear him Percy realised.
"Thy cannot expect to stop this." Zoe's voice was disbelieving. "This is the wrath of Poseidon."
"Yeah, and I'm the reason he's doing this." Percy pointed out, "I have to try." She could try praying to him but for some reason she doubted that he was in a state of mind that he'd bother listening to any prayers sent his way. So that wouldn't do any good.
"How are you going to stop it?" Bianca called, brows furrowed.
"I'll do it from the water." Percy decided. "You guys stay back up here. If the storm gets worse… move back further." If they got caught by the water… with it this bad they'd get caught in a current and probably get dragged under and she couldn't afford to be distracted. She needed to deal with this.
"Good luck Kelp head." That came from Thalia, who shot her a smirk, though there was a gleam of worry in her eyes.
Percy winked and shot a thumbs up at them before she sprinted down towards the beach, the paving slabs beneath her feet giving way to cold sand, the smell of salt becoming even thicker in the air all around Percy. And she could feel that familiar warmth and energy she got from the water just from the spray in the air.
Then her feet were splashing in cold water and Percy was diving into it.
She could feel the water almost writhing around her, currents swirling, but they didn't touch her.
She pushed herself out deeper, untouched by the storm that was raging above. Untouched by the currents that would kill anyone else.
Once she judged herself to be far enough out Percy stilled, closing her eyes and focusing on the water, on the sheer power of it all around her.
She forced herself to project calmness, to soothe the waves.
And it was hard. Incredibly hard, the storm fought her.
But her father was hardly likely to be fully focused on Santa Monica's beach. And she was.
It felt like it took both mere seconds and several hours but Percy could feel the rage ebbing from the waves, could sense the storm above slowly weakening, dissipating. The waves lost the force behind them, drawing back slowly, oh so slowly, and Percy stayed where she was as they did, pushing them back with her powers, ignoring the way the use of her powers was slowly draining her.
She'd done much more draining things before in the past. It was hardly going to knock her out. It was just tiring was all. Maybe she'd have a nap during the drive to San Francisco.
She opened her eyes again, breathing out and blinking as she saw a… well she wasn't sure what it was, a strange half cow half serpent creature, watching her several foot away. It was adorable- it looked like a baby. Which she supposed made sense as she realised just what monster was swimming so close to her. The Ophiotaurus had likely only recently reformed.
She reached out slowly, holding out her hand, and the sea Cow-serpent slowly flicked it's snake tale and moved towards her, butting against her hand.
"Heya buddy." Her voice was soft, gentle. "You shouldn't be here." She wanted to get him to safety but… but there were practical issues. Gods above but did things always have to happen at such bad times? Percy huffed exasperatedly and shook her head, smoothing her fingers over the monsters smooth skin.
"What am I gonna do about you?" she murmured to herself, though she couldn't help the way her lips twitched up into a smile when the Ophitaurus butted his head against her hand again, nuzzling into her in a way that kind of reminded her of Argos when he wanted cuddles.
She didn't want to just leave him. Not when she knew how dangerous the monster could be. But taking him with them was out of the question and she didn't really know of any way to get the Ophiotaurus to safety without putting their quest at risk, which was something she absolutely couldn't afford to do.
She was considering her options when she was rudely yanked out of those thoughts by a harsh demanding voice.
"Who are you and what exactly are you doing?" which made the Ophiotaurus stiffen, speeding off in a quick movement.
Percy yelped, reaching out, considering following him but- she glanced back over her shoulder, gaze focusing on the man who'd so rudely interrupted her.
He was a merman, with green skin, two tails and long dark hair tied back in a ponytail.
And his eyes were incredibly familiar to Percy given she saw them in the mirror every day.
"I-" Percy blinked rapidly. "Who am I? Who are you?" she didn't think it was Poseidon. She was pretty sure she'd just know when she did meet her father.
Which meant that he was probably…
"I'm Triton. Prince of the seas. And you will tell me who you are-"
"Holy shit you're my big brother." Percy blurted the words before she could stop herself, her face going a bright shade of red when Triton leaned back slightly, clearly startled and blinking rapidly.
"You're-"
"I am normally much better at watching what I say than that." Most of the time Percy could hold her outbursts in. She had a reputation to maintain after all. And she always let it all out afterwards. She'd learned to hone her words for best effect. Most of the time.
As far as she was concerned fame gave her certain responsibilities and she did her best to live up to them.
"Uh huh." Triton was still blinking rapidly, "You- you're telling me you're my sister? But you're a m-" he froze, "No."
"Uh… I'm not sure why you're saying no-"
"You can't be." Triton surged forward, grabbing Percy's shoulders, eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down, swimming around her, taking her in, "You're the right age but- but father said that-"
"Uh- is this about him thinking I'm dead for some reason-"
"Styx help me it is you." Triton came to a halt in front of her again. "But father- he said-"
"Yeah about that. Why exactly does he think I'm dead?" Percy tilted her head, "I mean, I get that I basically vanished of the face of the earth but why is he assuming that Hades or Zeus are responsible?"
"Because your step father told him of the attack."
Percy had to take a moment at that, and she was sure her face went all sorts of shapes. "My- are you talking about- about Gabe?"
"Yes, yes father said his name was Gabriel I believe-"
"Smelly Gabe- what exactly did he tell our father?"
"That a man with strange powers attacked. That he couldn't stop it."
"A-" Percy closed her eyes, pressing her knuckles against her lips. Oh she needed a moment. Just a moment. "Okay. " she took a deep breath, lowering her hand and opening her eyes again. "Gabriel Ugliano was an abusive sorry excuse for a human who beat the shit into me when I was five which made me decide to try and run to my mom. The man who attacked him was… okay yes, he did have powers. Magicians do generally, but he was doing it in defence of me and mom. And he sure as hell never so much as laid a finger on me in that way."
"You-" Triton blinked. "That's a lot of information. A lot to take in."
"Okay yeah I get that." Percy admitted, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "And normally I would love to get into the nitty gritty details but I'm kind of on a time crunch. Long story but I have stuff to do in San Francisco and then I need to get to Olympus for the Solstice."
"You are on a time crunch." Triton frowned. "I would insist on more details but from the look on your face I'll take your word for it on the time crunch. Though if that's the case why are you here?"
"Because." Percy gave a small shrug, "I couldn't just leave the storm to rage and destroy people's homes. Not when I could stop it." She paused before, "Why are you here big brother?"
"Because I've been trying to calm some of the storms myself- I've been stretched thin so it makes little difference. When father gets in one of these moods it's all I can do to try and limit the damage. I was very surprised to sense someone else doing much the same thing."
"Do you think you could tell him I'm alive? Maybe stop this? I can't- I can't take the time to tell him myself I doubt he's listening to prayers."
"He's not listening to anyone." Triton's expression darkened, "Usually he at least will talk to me or my mother but now… now even we can't speak to him. He won't let anyone close. He's had some rages but this is the worst one he's had in a long time. I can try to talk to him but… I make no promises."
"I appreciate even just an attempt." Percy bit her lip. "I wish I could stay but I should be going. My friends are waiting for me back on the shore I wish I knew what to do about-" her eyes drifted in the direction she assumed the Ophiotaurus had gone and she shook her head There's only so much I can do at once."
"Of course. I'm sure whatever you need to do is important. I'll hold down the fort, try to keep the sea's from causing too much damage. And I'll keep an eye out for the Ophiotaurus- I saw the monster with you earlier. If I see him I'll send word to you in San Francisco and do what I can to ensure he's safe enough."
"Thank you." Percy hesitated before darting forward and hugging Triton. After all she was a hugger at heart. And after a startled moment Triton hugged her back.
"Be careful little sister. If anything happened to you and father found out that I had you right here with me and didn't take you back to him… well let's just say I don't think I'd be allowed to return home any time soon."
"I can handle myself." Percy pulled back. "It was nice to meet you."
"And you." Triton paused before bending down and picking up a small shell from the ocean floor, a pretty little thing, a small conch shell with pink and orange streaks. He held it out for her, "Here. A gift from me to you little sister."
"I-" Percy felt her face flush as she accepted the shell, clutching it close. "Thank you. Thank you Triton." She took a deep breath, gaze flicking back towards the surface, and Triton waved a hand.
"Go sister. I hope you visit Atlantis some time soon. I imagine father would love to show off his first demigod daughter. He was extremely proud when you were born."
"He was?"
"Of course." Triton chuckled. "You were his pride and joy. Losing you broke him. Even now he insists on spending your birthday in grief."
"I-" Percy ducked her head. "Maybe next year he'll be able to celebrate."
"I hope so." And with that Triton was gone, and Percy took a slow deep breath.
Well, that had been unexpected.
