Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

The Old Man of the Sea

Y/n's POV

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to take a nap as we flew across the country. Anything was better than seeing how high up we were. I woke up seconds before we landed as the guardians placed us in the center of San Francisco. Together, we agreed that we needed to figure out just what this mystery monster was. 

"How do we do that?" Percy asked. 

"Nereus," Grover replied. "Isn't that what Apollo told you to do? Find Nereus?" 

"Wait," I interject. "You talked with Apollo too?"

"Um, yeah. I'm assuming you did as well. What'd you guys talk about?" Percy quizzed.

"Nothing important," I lie. "So, how do we find Nereus?"

"He is never very hard to find. Just follow the smell. Come on," Zoe urged. On the way to the pier, Zoe ran inside a Good Will, and minutes later, she came out and handed Percy a ragged flannel shirt and jeans. "Here. You look completely inconspicuous now. He will be down there somewhere with the other homeless guys. He never travels very far from the water. He likes to sun himself during the day. You will know him. He will smell different." 

"Great," Percy murmured. "And once I find him?" 

"Grab him and hold on. He will try anything to get rid of thee. Whatever he does, do not let go. Force him to tell thee about the monster," Zoe instructed. 

Percy headed down to the pier, leaving the rest of us at the pier. I turned around and looked at the horizon of San Francisco. This place was incredible. Growing up in Chicago, I always appreciated being in a bustling city. Chicago was amazing, but something about San Francisco was different. The way the sun hit certain buildings....everything was so beautiful.

"What are you thinking about?" Thalia inquired. 

"Home," I answer. "This place reminds me of Chicago. My mom used to take my brother and I down to the pier all the time. She always thought that would draw Poseidon out, and when it didn't, she'd get mad at me. But I only like to remember the good times. With Ben."

"I'm sorry for brining it up," Thalia apologized.

I waved her off. "It's fine. Sometimes it's good to remind myself what happened. It gives me a sense of closure. Besides, it's been eight years. It still hurts thinking about it, but it also brings up some good memories."

"Percy caught him," Zoe alerted us. "Lets go." Down at the edge of the boat dock, Percy had cornered Nereus, who was panting and heaving. And his smell....Zoe said you would know when you found him, and I knew why. He smelled like the ocean. But not in a good way. Nereus wreaked of dead fish.

Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?" 

"I've got more than one question," Percy spoke. 

"Only one question per capture! That's the rule," Nereus reminded him. 

"Percy," I start. "I know you want to ask about Annabeth. I would too if I were you. You want to know if she's still alive and how to rescue her. But right now, we need to focus on the most important thing, and that's the monster that Artemis was chasing."

Percy sighed. "You're right. All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting." 

"Oh, that's too easy. He's right there," Nereus claimed and pointed to the water. With that, he turned into a goldfish and backflipped into the sea. Where he had pointed, there was a cow looking sea creature that I had never seen before. It mooed at us and swam in circles as if it were happy to see us.