The Moon's Shine (PJO)

Chapter 61

A/N--I spent two hours of my vacation on this *insert grumbling here*. Hope you like it :)

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As the outpost began to seem concerningly far away, Percy finally reached the battlefield—two thousand mermen surrounding . . . Drown, the giant octopus?

No, Percy realized. The sea monster was an octopus—but that was where the similarities ended. This one was at least the size of half the outpost, with half a million tentacles swatting at the mermen. Its face seemed significantly uglier, and Percy got goosebumps just looking at it. Overall, it just looked mean.

The pressure around his leg was growing scarily strong. With a roar, Percy swung Asími . . .

And it cut through the tentacle like a sword through butter.

This weapon is stupidly overpowered. Percy hung in the water for a second. But he snapped into action when he heard the bellow from the sea monster.

"How dare you hurt people?" he growled, then propelled himself through the water, slicing at tentacles strangling mermen on the way.

By now, the mutant octopus had shifted its attention to him. The mermen surrounding it hadn't so much scratched the monster's skin, so Percy's attack had been on a completely different level. Before he could blink, ten tentacles closed on Percy at once.

This much is easy. Percy sliced and stabbed, making quick work of the attacking appendages. Thick black blood spurted everywhere, and he coerced the waves to push it away. 

The monster howled in pain again, now directing all of its attacks toward Percy. But it was too late; he'd reached his planned destination.

Percy landed on the octopus' head as more tentacles closed onto him. It tried to shake him off, but Percy grabbed a handful of its sagging, slimy skin. 

"How did an ugly moron like you not get discarded at birth by Poseidon?" he asked. "Oh, wait. You probably did—that's why you're out for revenge, right?"

The octopus roared as if it understood Percy's insult. It changed strategies—its tentacles wrapped around its head, surrounding Percy in a slimy cage. It was clear: the monster would not give him a quick death.

That's weird, Percy thought. Usually, monsters were all brawn and had no brains. Even Tartarus himself hadn't been able to suppress his beastly instincts in the land under the Underworld. How could something like a giant squid have these emotions?

Oh well, Percy thought as he dodged a wild tentacle. He probably shouldn't be thinking of such things while in a battle.

"Aw, you're trying to make me into your personal teddy bear?" Percy said. "Well, it's too bad—I would prefer my own life." He raised Asími—and stabbed it through the creature's skull.

The creature didn't have any time to react. One moment, it was seeking revenge. The next, the divine weapon had touched a tiny part of its brain—and that's all it took. Slowly, the body of the gigantic squid began to decompose into sand. The tentacle wall between Percy and the ocean slowly began to disappear.

Uh-oh. In his hurry, Percy'd forgotten about the effects of gravity; now, the monster's carcass was sinking toward the seabed—toward the outpost. 

And the octopus didn't look like it'd vanish before contact.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon," Percy muttered as he controlled the currents around him. They easily responded to his command, but the ones near the monster were . . . different. As if there was a force fighting against his grasp.

Suddenly, his control was entirely forfeited to a foreign entity. The water swirled, then carried the giant squid's carcass north—away from the outpost. It crashed to the ground with a strong rumble.

Nearby, mermen sighed in relief. Some collapsed, happy that the battle was over. Others tended to their injured allies—and even more grieved over losing someone they loved.

"How is it?"

Percy spun around, relaxing when he saw Poseidon. "It's you, Dad! I thought this whole place was overrun . . ." He trailed off.

"Overrun?" Poseidon asked. "There was one monster in the vicinity. And you killed it, Percy." Poseidon roared with laughter, slapping his son hard on the back. "I can't believe you fought a Kraken all by yourself! Of course, my men  did help . . ."

"A Kraken." Percy barely felt the pain in his spine from Poseidon's mind as his mind whirled. How did a feared creature from Norse mythology appear here—in a Greek god's domain? 

Something smelled fishy—and it wasn't just because of the marine animals around him. "Dad . . . tell me . . . is this the first time this has happened?" Percy asked, not even taking a second to bask in his victory.

"No." This change in subject took Poseidon aback. "But it's monster season under the sea. It's to be expected."

The unfamiliar presence near the sea creature a few minutes ago was still fresh in Percy's mind. "Tell me, Dad. Is there anything abnormal you've picked up on?"

"Now that I think about it,  this has happened more often than in the past." Poseidon frowned. "You also don't see too many Krakens in this area."

"Dad," Percy said gravely. "I think we have to get back to Atlantis. Now."

"You figured it out, didn't you?"

"This all was a ploy to get you out of Atlantis," Percy quickly explained as he grabbed Poseidon's hand. He couldn't remember when he'd last been this close to the father. "Right now, your people are in danger."

"No one would dare mess around in my domain," Poseidon announced. It looked like even with his newly regained trust in his son, he still had the ego of an Olympian. "My city is the safest place in the world! Besides, we have other things to worry about; my brother on Olympus expects you to be in his throne room by the next hour."

And then the world exploded.