Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Meeting the Chase Family

Y/n's POV

"We will never make it. We are moving too slowly," Zoe pointed out as we jogged along the waterfront.

"But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus," Percy reminded her. "And why do we have to get there at sunset?"

"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset. We can only enter their garden as day changes to night," Zoe explained.

"And what happens if we miss it?" Thalia quizzed.

"Tomorrow is the winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight," Zoe insisted.

"But what about Bessie?" Percy questioned.

"I've got an idea!" Grover exclaimed. "The Ophiotaurus can appear indifferent bodies of water, right? So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound. Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."

"But he was following me," Percy noted. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"

"I can show him," Grover proposed. "I'll go with him. I'm the only one who can talk to him. It makes sense. The blessing of the Wild. That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."

"I never have any luck," Percy confessed and turned to me. "Y/n? Could you do it?"

"It's not that hard, Percy, but sure," I give in and close my eyes, dipping my hand into the Pacific Ocean. "Dad, we need some help. Grover and the Ophiotaurus have to get safely to camp. Please, protect them at sea."

"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice. Something big," Thalia figured.

"Here," Percy offered and tossed his lion skin coat into the water. "Use this. If I'm going to survive, it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not Hercules."

"Well, no time to lose," Grover said and jumped into the water, immediately taking a hold of Bessie's neck. "Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."

"That is one problem addressed," Zoë spoke. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?"

"Thalia's right," Percy agreed. "We need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we, uh, borrowed one."

"Actually," I interject. "I might have an idea. Thalia, who is the one person we know in San Francisco?"

Thalia raised her eyebrows. "You don't think....would he even help?"

"I think he would," I put forth.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Percy inquired.

"Professor Chase. Annabeth's dad," I respond. It didn't take us long to reach Professor Chase's house, and when we got there, we knocked on the door. It took a minute, but finally someone answered. It was Professor Chase himself. I had only met him once, and it was through an Iris message. "Hi, Mr. Chase."

"Y/n, hello," Mr. Chase greeted. "Sorry, I uh, I wasn't expecting visitors. Annabeth isn't here. But you should know that. So something must be wrong. You'd better come in."

For just moving in, the house looked like they'd lived there forever. LEGOs were scattered everywhere, and two cats were sleeping on the sofa. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a child's winter coat was left on the floor. The best part was the smell though. The whole place smelled like freshly baked cookies, and jazz music drifted in from the kitchen. Two boys ran through the living room arguing, and Mr. Chase sighed.

"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots."

"Bobby, Matthew, behave," Mr. Chase scolded and turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."

"Honey?" Mrs. Chase, Annabeth's stepmom, called out and stepped into the living room. "Who are our guests?"

"I'm Y/n," I introduce. "It's nice to meet you. And this is Percy, Thalia, and Zoe. We're friends of Annabeth's."

Mrs. Chase pursed her lips. "Oh. Something is wrong then, isn't it? I'll bring some sandwiches, drinks, and cookies upstairs for you all. It was nice meeting you, though. Especially you, Percy. I've heard a lot about you."

It wasn't until we were upstairs that I remembered Professor Chase taught military history. In his office there was a huge table filled with mini tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted river with fake trees and hills. Old airplanes hung on strings from the ceiling tilted at weird angles so that it looked like they were in the middle of a dog fight.

"Whoa. This is so cool," Percy commented.

Mr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."

"The German lines were further from the river. I was there," Zoe told him. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."

"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia shared. "But that's not why we're here. Annabeth is in danger."

"Of course. Tell me everything," Mr. Chase requested. So we did. Or, we tried to. By now, the afternoon light was fading, which meant we were running out of time. "My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."

"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais, and we need it immediately," Zoe urged.

'"I'll drive you," Mr. Chase extended.

"It might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous," Thalia input.

Dr Chase frowned. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I can't just–"

"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced and pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jam sandwiches, cokes, and cookies fresh out of the oven. I inhaled a sandwich and a cookie no problem, and the coke was very refreshing. Honestly, I couldn't remember a time where I had eaten a lunch this simple. It was amazing. "So, what's this about?"

"Annabeth is in danger on Mount Tam," Mr. Chase disclosed to her. "I would drive them, but apparently it's no place for mortals."

"Then they'd better get going. Frederick, the keys are hanging on the peg by the front door," Mrs. Chase reminded him. Together, we all ran down the stairs, and Mr. Chase handed us his keys. "Um, Percy? Tell Annabeth she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."

"I will," Percy promised. With that, we all ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down, and that could only mean one thing. We had less than an hour to save Annabeth.