The Shattering Of The Myths | A PJO/HoO & Kotlc Crossover Story

Chapter 1 - Shrimpzilla!

Annabeth

Sweat trickled down Percy's face as he held his hands in front of him, palms out, holding up a wall of water blocking the Shrimpzilla that was threatening to flatten Liberty Island in New York, along with the Statue of Liberty itself. The monster swerved and try to get around the wall, but Percy moved his hands to block it.

Annabeth stood beside him, clenching her fists in frustration, but she could do nothing as the monster was too far away. Percy's pegasus, Blackjack, stomped his hooves and whinnied nervously. It was early in the morning. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon and a thin fog still hung in the air. The water in the bay was a dark grayish blue. Annabeth shivered in the cold morning air and zipped up her jacket.

They had been called here for a mysterious disturbance that had turned out to be the giant Shrimpzilla. Annabeth had no idea how it had gotten this far unnoticed by other demigods. It was not exactly hard to see a monster the size of a whale. On top of that, it looked like a cross between a shrimp, cockroach, and a catfish with tentacles sprouting out of each nostril.

They had faced a Shrimpzilla before on the Argo II, and barely escaped with their lives. But this one seemed even bigger, and Leo wasn't here to chuck a vial of Greek fire down its throat. Percy and Annabeth were the only ones standing between it and the mainland.

"You can't hold this for much longer. Soon, you'll be exhausted and the monster will break through." Annabeth said worriedly.

"Have you got any other ideas then?" Percy asked, gritting his teeth as the Shrimpzilla roared and beat against the thick wall of water, "That thing's too big for us to fight on our own."

"No, at least not yet." Annabeth admitted.

"We could call for reinforcements." Percy suggested.

"No, Iris messages aren't working again." And demigods almost never carried cellphones, as they attracted monsters.

She brushed a stray strand of hair that was fluttering in the breeze out of her face and looked around, trying to find something, anything, that could help them out of this predicament, or at least give her inspiration. Since Annabeth is a child of the wisdom goddess Athena, she was supposed to be good at planning.

Her eyes wondered across a group of seven teenagers behind her before snapping back to them. It was very early and she thought the island was not open for visitors yet. Annabeth frowned. The teenagers were staring straight at them. The Mist should have concealed her, Percy, and the Shrimpzilla from all mortal eyes except a few. It was very unlikely that these mortals could all see through the Mist.

They all looked too perfect, she thought, like they should be shooting a movie at Hollywood instead of wondering around an empty island. They could be monsters! She realized. Many humanoid monsters, like empousai, like to take the form of humans, and they all usually looked unnaturally beautiful when they did.

"Percy, there's a group of teenagers behind us. Do you think they could be monsters?" Annabeth asked.

Percy glanced at them and shook his head. "No, I don't think they are. If they are, Blackjack would've warned me."

Because he was a son of Poseidon, Percy could talk to all horse-related animals. Blackjack pawed the ground and snorted as the Shrimpzilla roared again, but he payed no attention whatsoever to the teenagers.

"No, Blackjack, you can't have donuts. Can't you see we're busy right now?" Percy said irritably.

Blackjack snorted again, and Annabeth had the feeling that he was saying that There's always time for donuts. Blackjack was a smart pegasus,and Annabeth suspected that he was just trying to make them relax a little.

The Shrimpzilla screeched and beat against the water wall with tentacles that were the size of tree trunks. Percy's arms shook with the strain and he scrunched his eyebrows together. Percy was powerful, Annabeth knew, but he wasn't powerful enough to hold off a monsters this size for long.

"Hang on, Percy!" Annabeth encouraged, "I'll find something to help."

Percy only grunted in reply. Annabeth looked around again, more desperately this time, her mind sorting through facts and information at high speed. There was nothing around them that they could use as a weapon so they only had Annabeth's dagger and Percy's sword Riptide. That wasn't going to do much to the Shrimpzilla. She considered riding Blackjack back to Camp Half-Blood to get help, but discarded the idea of leaving Percy alone. They could not leave together and let the monster ravage the city. The group of teenagers seemed to be in the middle of a discussion.

Suddenly, with a scream of triumph, the Shrimpzilla tore down the water wall and swam toward them, gaining speed by the second. Annabeth caught Percy before he could collapse. She set him down on a bench behind them then turned to face the monster. She drew her Celestial Bronze dagger. The familiar weight of the weapon comforted her, but she knew she could not win.

"Go, Blackjack," Annabeth said, not taking her eyes off the Shrimpzilla, "go back to camp."

The pegasus seemed to understand her, and he launch into the sky towards the direction of Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth knew she could have went on Blackjack, but she would never leave Percy behind, and he was in no shape to ride.

The Shrimpzilla crashed into the island. The whole island shuddered and a jagged crack ran down the center of the Statue of Liberty. The monster's tendrils slashed at Annabeth. She dodged the blows then stabbed and cut at the slimy pink tentacles. The Shrimpzilla howled in pain as Annabeth's sweeping strokes with her dagger met their marks and black blood splattered the ground. But for every tentacle she cut down, three more seems to replace it. The Shrimpzilla was relentless. Annabeth was getting tired and her movements were becoming slower.

Out of nowhere, a tentacle that Annabeth didn't notice grabbed her from behind. Her arms were pinned to her sides. She was lifted up high in the air and the Shrimpzilla shook her like a dog shakes a toy. Annabeth tried to wiggle out of its grasp, but the tentacle coiled tighter. She breathing turned into ragged gasps as the monster squeezed the air out of her. Like a serpent, every time Annabeth breathed out, the tentacle squeezed a little more, slowly suffocating her.

As Annabeth's oxygen-starved mind was shutting down, she thought that it was odd for a Shrimpzilla to play with its prey before killing it.

Just before Annabeth fell completely unconscious, the tentacle suddenly loosened as the monster screeched in pain and surprise. She slid out of the monster's grip and the ground rushed up to meet her. The last thing she saw was a giant water hand grab the Shrimpzilla. She heard a muffled thump, then she slipped into unconsciousness.