The Sea Monster (Patreon)

The sea stirred, blue waves washing across the white sand in the haze of the afternoon heat. Little black pebbles rolled down the gentle slope, disappearing in the tide as a salty gale brushed past Percy’s hair, ruffling his orange t-shirt. 

The crash of the waves rang in his ears as he sat by the water, the waves washing across his bare feet. A glob of clear water swirled over Percy’s palm, rolling like a ball before snaking between his fingers to form ribbons that coiled around his arm.

“Impressive tricks,” A voice said, and Percy twisted, the water on his arm draining away. 

A tall man in a sea-green chiton stood behind him, his golden-brown hair fluttering in the wind. The pearly white conch shell glowed with a blue haze against his belt and a trident rose in his hand, its prongs glinting in the afternoon heat.

“Brother.” Percy got to his feet, dusting the sand from his pants. “What can I do for you?”

Triton raised an eyebrow. “In the olden times, heroes would’ve been smited—”

“And you won’t.” Percy pulled a glob of water from the sea, washing the white grains that stuck on his palms. “I have heard lines like that throughout my life. So, why don’t we just cut to the chase and you tell me what you need.”

“Insolence and stubbornness.” Triton’s lips twisted. “Perhaps you are one of the sea after all.”

“What gave it away?”

The tips of Triton’s trident shimmered and an image of a creature rose. “This is the Trojan sea monster. One of the most dangerous sea monsters to have plagued the waters. It has been reborn and is terrorizing sea creatures.”

“And I suppose you want me to kill it.”

“Father wants you to kill it,” Triton corrected, pursing his lips. “Something about you being the greatest hero of all time, surpassing even Hercules and all, who coincidentally was the last person to slay it.”

Percy frowned. “Trojan Sea monster… Jason slayed that. And I mean my friend, Jason Grace, son of Jupiter.”

“That was a different monster but quite similar,” Triton said. “This one’s kinda its elder brother. A little bigger, more fangs.”

“Right, anything else I should know?”

“It has very hard scales and is very difficult to kill.” Triton gave him a piercing look. “Especially with something like a sword. Even if the sword is the one that has slain giants and held up against titans.”

Percy shrugged. “I do not have any other weapons so, I guess I’ll have to manage. Now, where do I find this… Trojan sea monster? I need to get back for dinner. Annabeth is planning something.”

“A little lover’s tryst?”

“None of your business,” Percy snapped. “Now, the monster?”

“Alright,” Triton let out a deep sigh. “It is about twenty-nine nautical miles from here. She will show you the directions.”

A head broke out of the waves, a rainbow-colored tail splashing in the turf, sending droplets of water splattering across Percy’s feet.

“Hello, Rainbow.” Percy beamed at the Hippocampi who preened, flipping back into the waves and reemerging. “Alright, I will get going. Nice seeing you, brother. Give my best to Father and Tyson. And everyone else.”

“Sure. After all, I am the messenger of the sea.” Triton muttered, disappearing in a spray of water.

Percy stepped into the waves, feeling a faint thrill shoot up his spine, savoring the familiar pull of the ocean as he waded deeper. Rainbow swam beside him, looking at him with her big glimmering eyes. Percy swung himself onto her back with a faint smile, gripping her mane.

“Come on, Rainbow. Time to get to work.”

With a powerful stroke of her tail, they plunged into the waves.

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The underwater world shimmered around him, faint sunlight piercing the surface above and casting a dappled glow on the seabed below. Schools of colorful fish darted through the tall weeds, their whispers echoing through Percy’s ears as Rainbow sped past them leaving a trail of little white bubbles.

“We should be almost there, buddy,” Percy whispered. “It should be nearby.”

Rainbow squirmed, gliding through the current, venturing deeper, down the seabed. 

The sea grew darker, the sunlight not fading away. Percy’s vision took a hint of green as they swam deeper, the water around them turning cooler. He tightened his grip over Rainbow’s mane. 

“There,” Percy muttered, pointing ahead, feeling a faint disturbance in the current. 

Rainbow slowed, her ears flicking in acknowledgment and they ventured further. Percy snatched his pen out of his pocket, flicking away the lid. Riptide appeared in his hand, its bronze blade casting a faint glow.

In the distance something stirred and Percy felt his heartbeat quicken.

Scales glinted like polished armor as a head rose, long ivory teeth tearing through the water currents. A pair of yellow eyes glowered at Percy and a roar reverberated through the water.

“Shit,” Percy shot off Rainbow, swimming up, the monster’s gaze following him. “Rainbow, get out of here.”

The Hippocampus didn’t need telling twice as it swam away just as the monster lunged at Percy, its head smashing into the sea bed, sending tremors through the water. 

The sea monster roared again, and Percy dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the creature’s massive tail. He slashed at its flank, the blade glancing off the hard scales with a metallic clang.

“Fuck.”

The monster lunged, its jaws snapping shut inches from Percy’s face. He twisted away, thrusting Riptide into the creature’s side. The sword bit into the scales, but the monster barely flinched, its eyes blazing with fury.

“Think, Percy,” he muttered, swimming around the monster’s body, staying out of its reach. “What would Annabeth do? She’d find a weakness. Something.”

The monster roared, snapping at the empty water, turning its head wildly, searching for Percy.

“It is big. Very big,” Percy continued, darting out of the monster’s sight again. “Probably stupid. Most monsters are stupid. But how do I kill it?”

A burning yellow eye caught his sight and the monster opened its mouth wide and Percy saw a whole row of ivory spikes dripping with black saliva. He shot downward, as it tried to swallow him whole, its teeth tearing gauges into a small hill.

The pink mouth of the Nemean lion flashed in his mind and an idea formed.

“Probably the best thing I can do to kill it.” He flitted around the hill, swimming up, rising above the monster. “Hey, ugly!”

The monster reared his head, snapping forward as Percy shot toward it, gliding past its long ivory teeth before darkness engulfed him, the monster’s pink mouth glinting in the light of his sword.

“Time to kill it.”

Percy thrust the blade through the roof of the monster’s mouth, a spurt of golden blood drifting in the water as the blade sank in. His surroundings twisted, one of the sharp teeth tearing a thin line through his thigh as he held onto the hilt of his sword, forcing it deeper.

He felt tremors run through his blade and a moment later, everything exploded in a whirl of golden dust, water roaring in his ears as he shot toward the light, breaking through the ocean’s surface, and soaring high into the air.

Twisting, Percy angled himself in mid-air and met the water’s surface, diving back into the depths of the murky waters as the monster dust settled on the sea bed.

Dust and ichor clung to his clothes and he willed the water to clean them away. Rainbow swam up beside him, nuzzling his shoulder and a smile blossomed on his face. 

“Come on, buddy. Let’s get back home.”

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AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the story!

A huge thanks to Mughil and Flat for betaing this story!

So… I know that around this time of the week I usually publish a chapter for the main story and around Sunday/ Monday I do these short pieces. But unfortunately with Agent Potter, I am facing a small writer’s block and since it is a rather vital chapter, I want to execute it to perfection. Thus, I swapped this update with the Agent Potter one to give myself time to write it well.

I am over 2k words in, which is kinda half way there so I should complete the chapter over the weekend and move to GotSIS and the other stories alongside starting my work for… BLACK DAWN!

Yes, the story is well into the planning and characterization stage. A little more and I can pen it down, thus, beginning a new journey. So, stay tuned. If you wish to discuss anything, feel free to put it in comments/DM/Discord server. 

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Stay Happy! Stay Safe! Keep Smiling! Keep Reading!

HPfanfictioner66