Chapter 13: A... were-cat?

Percy would have loved to claim that he had experienced a profound revelation during his descent, that he had come to accept his own mortality and laughed defiantly in the face of death. But the truth was far from heroic.

The only coherent thought that raced through his mind was a horrified scream, "Aaaaggghhhhh!"

He held on tightly to Annabeth, hoping he hadn't just condemned both of them to death. As they hurtled toward the river, it seemed as if the entire world spiralled in and out of his vision—steeples, skyscrapers, and bridges all blended into a chaotic blur. Then, both his and Annabeth's skin started glowing orange. And with a resounding impact, he plunged into the water, engulfed in a cloud of bubbles. He anticipated sinking into the riverbed, never to resurface, buried beneath layers of mud for eternity.

However, the collision with the water hadn't been painful. Instead, they descended slowly, surrounded by gentle streams of bubbles. Gradually settling on the river bottom, he realised that he was unharmed. He glanced at Annabeth. She seemed fine. And so was he. The burning sensation of Chimera poison coursing through his veins had vanished. He was alive, which provided a glimmer of relief. The pain in his legs from when he'd hit himself with his spear was gone as well. He didn't feel the need to limp.

Another realisation struck him: he wasn't wet. Though he felt the coolness of the water and observed that the fire on his clothes had been extinguished, his shirt remained perfectly dry when he touched it.

Curiosity compelled him to test this newfound peculiarity. He reached out and grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper floating by. Instantly, the paper transformed into a dry state. He effortlessly lit it, only for the flames to sputter out as soon as he released it, returning the wrapper to its previous slimy state. It was a bizarre phenomenon.

Yet, the strangest discovery came last: he could breathe. Submerged underwater, he inhaled and exhaled normally. Standing amidst the murky mud, his legs trembling and hands shaking, he contemplated his inexplicable survival. The fact that he had defied death felt like a miracle. Suddenly remembering Annabeth, he shot back to look at her. She couldn't breathe underwater. But... she was fine? An orange glow was still around her, and a thin air bubble surrounded her. If he didn't know any better, he'd have assumed that she had fallen asleep underwater. In his mind, a voice reminiscent of his mother's, albeit different, echoed, urging him to express gratitude.

"Um... thanks," he muttered underwater, his voice reminiscent of an older version of himself as heard in recordings. "Thank you... Lord Poseidon."

Silence greeted his words. Nothing but the drifting garbage and the immense catfish gliding through the shadows acknowledged his presence. The sunset cast a butterscotch hue upon the water's surface, adding an ethereal touch to his surroundings.

He couldn't help but question why Poseidon had saved him. The more he pondered it, the more shame and inadequacy swelled within him. Against an adversary like the Chimera, his chances of victory were non-existent. The innocent people on the Arch, he believed, had likely met a tragic fate. He had failed to protect them. Heroism eluded him. Joining the catfish and other bottom-dwelling creatures in the depths of the river seemed like a plausible option.

The sound of a riverboat's paddlewheel reverberated above, stirring the silt around him. And there, merely five feet away, his sword lay partially buried in the mud, its gleaming bronze hilt exposed.

Once again, a woman's voice, reminiscent of his mother's, filled his mind: Percy, take the sword. Lord Poseidon believes in you. But, this time, he was confident that the voice wasn't a product of his imagination. Instead, the woman's words emanated from all directions, resonating through the water like sonar.

"Where are you?" he called out.

Then, through the gloom, he saw her—a woman the colour of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like his.

A lump formed in his throat. He said, "Mom?"

"No, child," she replied, "only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica."

"What?" he exclaimed.

"It is the will of Lord Poseidon. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence."

"But..." he stammered, certain that this woman was his mother or at least a vision of her. "Who—how did you..."

He wanted to ask so many questions, but the words became stuck in his throat.

"I cannot stay, brave one," the woman said, reaching out as he felt the current brush his face like a caress. "You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts..."

Her voice faded away.

"Gifts?" he asked desperately. "What gifts? Wait!"

She made one final attempt to speak, but the sound vanished. Her image melted away, and if it had been his mother, he had lost her once again.

He felt like drowning himself, except for one problem: he was immune to drowning.

"Lord Poseidon believes in you," she had said.

She had also called him brave... unless she was referring to the catfish.

He waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt, aware that the Chimera might still be lurking above with its snaky, fat mother, waiting to finish him off. At the very least, he knew that the mortal police would be arriving soon, investigating the massive hole in the Arch. If they found him, there would be countless questions.

He capped his sword, stowed the ballpoint pen in his pocket, and muttered, "Thank you, Poseidon," to the dark water.

Determined, he grabbed Annabeth, kicked through the muck, and swam towards the surface.

Emerging from the water, he found himself next to a floating McDonald's. Nearby, the entire area surrounding the Arch was swarmed with emergency vehicles while police helicopters hovered overhead. The crowd of onlookers resembled the bustling scene of Times Square on New Year's Eve.

A little girl exclaimed, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."

"That's nice, dear," her mother replied, craning her neck to observe the ambulances.

"But he's dry!"

"That's nice, dear."

"What in Zeus's name?" Percy turned to see Annabeth had woken up, her eyes blinking rapidly as she took in her surroundings. "Did we just-"

She was interrupted by a news reporter speaking into a camera, saying, "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to reach the survivors to gather eyewitness accounts of someone falling from the Arch."

The word "survivors" brought a surge of relief to him. He hoped that the park ranger and the family he encountered had made it out safely. His thoughts also turned to Annabeth and Grover, and he silently prayed that they were okay.

"Come on, let's find Grover."

Attempting to navigate the crowd and see what was happening beyond the police line, he soon realised the difficulty. The area was swarming with uniformed officers and news reporters, making it nearly impossible to slip through unnoticed.

When he lost hope of finding Grover, a familiar voice called out, "Perrr-cy!"

Turning around, he was enveloped in Grover's bear hug—or rather, goat hug. "I thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!" Grover exclaimed.

He turned to Annabeth and hugged her hard as well. She grimaced but returned it with equal enthusiasm.

"What just happened?" she asked. "I remember Echidna... Did you really...?" she trailed off, looking back up at the Arch and glancing at the water a few metres away.

"Yeah... we sort of fell," he admitted. He explained what happened up there after Annabeth fell unconscious.

"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet? You jumped from that height! With me?" Annabeth exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief.

"You're welcome," he said.

Before any of them could say anything else, a loud explosion took them by surprise. Around them, mortals started screaming, running around aimlessly. But Percy had a bigger problem. A dark grey blur pounced across him, leaving a scar on his forearm. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"What... what is that?" Grover trembled, taking out his reed pipes, his hands shaking. Percy glanced up to get his first look at the creature.

He'd studied Greek mythology for a long while, especially with his mother telling him many stories. But he'd never heard of the monster that was glaring at him with so much malice in its eyes.

He didn't even know how to describe what he was seeing. It was like a cat. Most of its body resembled a large grey cat. Except for the face. The face was a mix of a demon that you see in horror films (like Insidious) and a severely mutated crocodile. It kind of reminded him of the Ben 10 water alien, Ripjaws. Except the face was red, the teeth were razor sharp. And its eyes were a bright lamp yellow with black slits.

And it was looking at Percy like he was the next meal. Which... he probably was.

"I've not seen a monster like that before," Percy said, slowly backing away from the creature. "Doesn't look greek to me."

"How does a monster look greek?" Grover asked, slowly taking a step back as well.

"That's definitely not a greek monster," Annabeth told them. "But I think I recognise it. I've read a similar description before in a book."

"Why am I not surprised?" Percy muttered. She shot him a glare.

"Argue later!" Grover yelped as he dodged an attack from the cat monster. "Wanna explain what it is first?"

"It looks like a Chordeva," Annabeth said as she dodged behind a large boulder. "Don't let it lick you."

"A what now?" Grover asked.

"I'm sorry," Percy said. "Lick?"

"Its tongue is deadly. One lick from it on the skin, and you're dead," Annabeth warned with a serious voice. Percy glanced back at the creature's purple tongue, and a shiver ran down his spine. Even from a distance, he could smell the stench of something foul similar to his science lab, like poison, but far worse. The creature stopped, narrowing its eyes at him.

"Of course, it wants to kill me," Percy thought, his eyes rolling. He watched as the cat crouched. He drew his bow, realising it was going to pounce at him.

"Got any ideas on how to kill it?" Percy asked.

"Uhh, that wasn't covered in the bo-" Before Annabeth could finish her sentence, the Chordeva decided it was done with the conversation. It pounced at him with a roar far louder than any cat ever could. It hit him directly in the chest. Percy knocked it out of the way with his elbow, desperately trying to put some distance between himself and that foul tongue.

"Yeah, I gotta tell you, Annabeth," Percy groaned. "That wasn't the answer I was looking for."

"Again, this creature isn't even from Greek mythology. The Athenian cabin library doesn't cover monsters from other pantheons. I don't even know why it's here attacking us."

"You have some serious bad luck," Grover said.

"Thanks for the reminder," Percy grumbled as he drew back a celestial bronze arrow aiming for the head.

Grover blew into his reed pipes. The sound reminded Percy of a storm, except the sounds his pipes screeched out wanted to make him gouge his eardrums out. But it had some effect on the Chordeva. It yelped in pain as it tried to block out the sound. Percy let the arrow fly, and despite not hitting the head, it lodged itself in the cat's rear legs.

The Chordeva let out a shriek of pain and launched at Grover. Percy pushed him out of the way, and Annabeth grabbed a large pebble and hit it directly in the head with deadly accuracy.

"Hide!" she yelled at the other two as they legged it for the wall next to the McDonald's. Percy glanced behind to see the Chordeva swaying in pain. The mortals around them were still running around aimlessly, some babbling, others too distracted to notice the monster.

"An illusion spell," Grover said, noticing the same thing.

"Alright, can't we just run back to the train before it sees us again?"

"Nope," Annabeth said. "Its caught your scent. That's probably how it tracked you in the first place. The Chordeva, in its cat or monster form, can catch a person's scent and use it to follow them. So if we want to get out of here, we must kill it."

"Cat form?"

"Yeah. The Chordeva has three forms. A human form, cat form, and a hybrid human form. Think of it like a werewolf. But instead of wolf, it's a cat."

"So, a were-cat," Percy summed up. "You know a lot about it. Any weaknesses?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Not that I know. I remember casually reading about it in one of the monsters understanding books back at the cabin. There wasn't much elaboration on it. It's from Indian mythology. I don't even understand how it's here."

"Or why as well," Grover added. When Percy looked at him confused, he said, "Well, look at it. It must have blended in with the others if it has a cat form. It could've attacked me or Annabeth at any time. I was alone when you and Annabeth were up on the Arch. Or when you were already in danger, falling from the top. It revealed itself once you came out of the water. It clearly wants you. But why?"

"That's... a good point actually," Annabeth said.

"I might not be smart in battle tactics. But I understand animals well."

"Okay we can discuss this later," Percy cut in. "How do we defeat it? Maybe coax it into its human form so we can defeat it?"

"Less likely," Annabeth said. "The creature is smart. It won't change forms unless it wants to, and it knows it's more powerful and has a better chance of attacking you in its monster form. Besides, I'm not even sure if its human form is properly human. You'd have a better shot at forcing it to turn into a cat. That way, it's more vulnerable. In its were-cat mode, it's almost invulnerable."

They fell silent, trying to think of better solutions. They only had moments before the Chordeva regained its senses and began tracking Percy.

"Okay," he told himself. "You don't know its weakness. Understand the creature. It's just like with bullies back in school. Understand the person underneath, and you can dig out its vulnerability and use it against the monster. It's just like getting blackmail."

Something Grover said struck a chord in him.

He might not understand battle tactics, but he understands animals well.

He needed to understand not just the creature but the animal. Cats. Feline animals. What were their weaknesses? Did he have something he could use against them?

Across them, the water glittered, just a few paces away from where he'd taken his world record nose dive.

Water

Many domestic cats didn't like water. They had an aversion to it. Percy remembered watching something about that in a documentary during the science lesson. And this was a magical cat. Yes, it was more powerful. But if he'd learnt anything about being the son of Kronos, more powerful also meant more weaknesses.

If normal cats didn't like water, this cat would be very vulnerable to it.

At least, he hoped so. It was a major risk.

He glanced back at Annabeth. She was massaging her head, slightly wincing in pain. The hit from the Chimera must have taken a higher toll than she was letting on. She caught him looking at her with worry.

"I'm fine Percy," she said. "I've been hit worse."

He peeked around the wall. The Chordeva had regained its balance and was clearly trying to sniff him out.

He just needed to get close enough to the water.

But how to lure the creature as well?

"Grover." Percy looked at his best friend. "That tune you were playing earlier."

"The ring of the storm," Grover grinned. "One of my own improvisations. Makes for a deadly earache."

Percy silently swore to get Grover proper music lessons with Apollo if he made it out of there alive.

"Yeah, you think you got any more of that left in you?"

Grover nodded, pulling out his reed pipes. Percy told him the plan.

"Are you serious Percy?" Annabeth said. "You're betting all of this on a maybe. A very risky, fifty percent maybe."

"Well, we're not exactly in a supply of ideas, wise girl," Percy countered. "And you're still out of it. Don't try to deny it," he added as she opened her mouth to argue. "I can see you fighting the pain."

He turned to Grover. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Just give me the signal."

Percy uncapped Riptide, preparing for the race of his life. But before he could even walk around the wall, Annabeth grabbed his wrist.

"What?" Percy asked.

She seemed to struggle with something but then looked him straight in the eye, showing something other than the usual harsh storminess in her eyes.

It was worry.

"Don't die," Annabeth said. Percy would be lying if he said he wasn't touched by it.

He nodded. "I haven't yet. Let's hope the luck hasn't run out."

Before he dashed off, he grinned at her. "Told you, you're starting to like me."

Then he sprinted off.

"Hey ugly," he shouted at the were-cat. "You're clearly not a powerful monster. I mean, one hit with a rock and you're already out of it. Man, I've fought bulls that could at least take a punch."

The Chordeva let out a snarl, jumping at him, mouth open and tongue outstretched. Percy narrowly missed the purple tongue of death, shifting his shoulder just in time to land a hit on it. The sword clanged against the animal's hide.

"Ohh, I get it," Percy said. When the were-cat purred at him with a confused expression, he continued, "I mean, out of the whole cat family, you must feel like you're at the bottom, you know. I get why. I mean, there's the lion, the king of the jungle. There's the cheetah, the fastest of them all. The tiger, the best at hunting. Even the jaguar, which is the largest one after the lion and tiger. And then there's you. Even with all the power and all the magic, you're still just pathetic. You literally have a poisoned tongue, which can kill anyone with one lick. And you still can't kill a puny defenceless kid. I feel for you."

The next roar that emitted from the were-cat nearly sent Percy flying into the water. It looked beyond angry. It was mad, frenzy with rage. He smirked, capping Riptide and making a run for it. This was precisely what he wanted. The were-cat loses its temper and all rational thought. Just like Percy would when Annabeth drove him insane. Use that to his advantage, and he could lead the creature straight to the water bed. Once submerged, Percy would be in his element. And if things went wrong, he had Grover as backup.

Percy ran like his life depended on it. Which it did. As soon as he reached near the water coast, he dived right to the side. As he expected, the momentum built up by the were-cat ended up backfiring against it. The Chordeva jumped right into the water. As soon as it made contact, it let out a howl of pain and thrashed wildly. It changed form from a were-cat into a slightly scary but typical cat. Behind Percy, the screeching sound of Grover's pipes filled the air, incapacitating the creature further. Percy drew his bow, knocked back a stygian iron arrow and carefully aimed for right between the eyes.

TWANG!

The arrow flew, hitting its mark. The Chordeva let out one more howl of pain before it began to disintegrate into monster dust.

"Nice shot," Grover panted, giving him a thumbs up. Behind him, Annabeth gave him a brief smile.

"Thanks. Good music," Percy grinned back.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "Let's get out of here before the mortals return to their senses. Or worse, they see you."


Author's Note: 3552 words. Not a bad chapter considering the canon chapter was a lot shorter. This is the start of major changes to the book. A creature from an entirely different mythology hunting Percy. Things will be changing a lot, even with the quest itself. Let me know what you all think. Sorry for the delay, I was meant to get it out yesterday, but then my school decided to ruin my life (per usual) and not return my assignments so I could make corrections to them, so I had to spend most of the day making my own changes before submitting it to the exam board.
Don't really have much else to say apart from that. Not the most informative chapter, but it highlights that things are now changing for the trio.

Reviews time:

Anaklusmos404: Well, the mystery voice will reveal itself later on. Though it's definitely not Jupiter, the laws of Olympus forbid Roman interaction with Greeks till Hera went through with her plan. As for the thing with Echidna, you'll just have to wait and see :). And as for Titan's Curse, there'll be a lot more than just him taking out Spartoi. Out of all the books, Titan's Curse is the 2nd most important book of this series, and spoiler: epic showdown between Percy and an extremely overpowered enemy.

KashundraOtsutsuki: Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love long reviews, they give a lot of good feedback, keep it going when you can. As for the reincarnated soul, maybe? Maybe not? You'll have to wait and see. Trust me though, it's worth the wait, it builds the story really well.

Skotos07: No worries for the short review, every review matters to me, no matter the length. And now, there's more than just subtle changes, things are definitely changing in the book.

Death Fury: Appreciate it. Hope you like the new chapter :)

Sagiri D Goku: Indeed she is. And you'll be seeing a lot more of her later on.

Tadachi Mukusoki: Thank you, I'm happy you're enjoying the chapter.

Walter: No offence taken, I always value constructive criticism. They help me become a better writer. And yes, I absolutely agree with you. That's why you see changes in this chapter. And chapters after this will be varyingly different. The reason the earlier chapters were similar was to set the background. Things will be changing and thanks to your review, I'm bringing them earlier than I was going to originally. And also that's why this series has 9 books, instead of the five the canon has. There's a lot more to this series. Thanks for the review, I appreciate the constructive feedback.

Guest: "So, the plot thickens! What was Echidna talking about? I eagerly await the answers! Good job showing Annabeth explaining why everyone at camp fears Percy; when you put it like that, no wonder everyone is scared of the son of the Titan King! Good observation from Percy about the Arch! Why didn't I think of it that way?! I wasn't expecting the Chimera to actually die, but it was a good way to show Percy's sky powers! I imagine Zeus won't be happy that Percy used his domain here! I look forward to seeing more of this great story! Keep up the great work and stay safe from the coronavirus!"

Well the plot just thickened even more this chapter. And things are about to change even further than you can imagine. It's about to be a fun ride. The Arch idea came to me when I looked at the images of it. I figured there were a lot of references with Greek ideologies in the PJO Universe and this was a nice subtle Easter Egg. And yeah, I wanted to start expanding on Percy's powers and his limitations. But also how his mind works. He's the son of Kronos now. Much more tactical and efficient. This chapter was the best way to showcase his intelligence. There'll be a proper interaction between Zeus and Percy (other than the meeting on Olympus Solstice) but that'll be in due time. It's important for Percy to prove himself to the other Olympians to gain proper recognition. Glad you're enjoying the series.

Guest: "Don't get why echidna would care if he had faith and why she wouldn't kill annabeth and the others after he jumped.
Wanna who she's was thinking of when she saw that ring"

You'll find that out later on. It's an essential plot point to the books. Also she didn't kill Annabeth because Percy grabbed her over his shoulders and jumped off with her. And the whole faith thing, that's canon. Echidna trying to mess with Percy's head before she tries to kill him. That's a question better asked to Uncle Rick.

JoJo 'Perlia' Jesus: Thank you. Yeah it's gonna be a rollercoaster when the pieces start to fit together. It's gonna be fun.

LordRachakonda: Maybe? Maybe not? Wait and see... It'll be worth it. Appreciate the review.

Loken 16: Ahahahaha. That's basically the synopsis of Percy's character XD. Love that.

Well that's it for this chapter. Keep reviewing pls (insert puppy dog eyes).

See you all in the next chapter.

Discord Server: VUMM3Sb

SpiritsOfTheWorld