The Curse of Achilles (PJO AU)

The Blood of Olympus (Part 2)

CW: Suicidal thoughts

The Aegean Sea

The storm came out of nowhere. Percy had been talking and keeping watch with Annabeth on deck when suddenly the winds picked up and the sea started heaving like some giant was sloshing it around like a bucket of paint. Lightning flashed and rain poured from the sky, and within seconds they were caught in a hurricane.

A wave the size of a small skyscraper crashed over the deck, ripping the sails and breaking some of the oars. The rails snapped. Venti swirled overhead. The clouds were so dark, Percy could barely believe it had been sunny only seconds ago.

Piper, Frank, Leo, and Hazel rushed onto the deck.

"What's going on?" Leo yelled. Percy could barely hear him.

A wave rocked the ship and Annabeth grabbed onto Percy to keep her balance. Hazel hugged her stomach as her face turned green, and she ran back below deck.

"Storm!" Percy answered, although he realized that was pretty obvious.

"Can you tell what's causing it?" Annabeth asked.

Percy cocked his head, concentrating. He could feel something underwater, beneath the ship, but he wasn't sure what. What he did know was that whatever it was, it was to blame for this insane storm.

"There's something down there!" Percy yelled.

Annabeth opened her mouth only to get hit with a blast of seawater as another wave crashed over the deck. More sails ripped and the rigging was damaged.

Annabeth coughed up water and then put on her planning face. "Okay, it won't matter what's causing this if we don't keep the ship afloat. Frank—see if you can untangle the oars. Piper and I will try to save the rigging. Leo, work on getting this ship airborne. I don't know if it'll be much better, but these waves will capsize us if we stay here much longer. Percy—you have to do everything you can to keep us afloat until we can get in the air."

Percy nodded and raced to the center mast. Leo slid into place at the console and lashed himself in with a bungee cord. Frank turned into a gorilla and hung upside down from the starboard rail. Piper and Annabeth hurried to the rigging, and Festus spewed fire at the rain, though that didn't seem to discourage the storm.

Percy put all of that out of his mind. He spread his arms like he was on a tightrope and sunk into the rhythm of the sea. He felt the tug in his gut, and something else. There was something fighting against him—something much stronger than Chrysaor or Phorcys had been. Whatever was down there, it was powerful, and it was doing everything it could to sink their ship. This wasn't going to be easy.

The ship tilted. Percy pushed in the opposite direction, and the hull stabilized. A wave loomed over the ship, ready to do its best to bring them down, but Percy wasn't allowing that. He summoned a giant fist of water from the ocean and punched the wave, breaking its form so it only hit the Argo II like a heavy rain.

It was difficult. It took all of Percy's concentration, so he was quickly soaked to the bone. His hair was plastered to his face, and his clothes were drenched and ripped; but it felt good to be back in the sea, to be doing something he knew he could handle. This was Percy's strength, and he would be damned if he failed his crew now.

But the storm showed no signs of stopping. Whatever was causing it was just as determined as Percy was. Waves formed faster than he could catch, and one wave the size of a skyscraper crashed over the forward deck, washing the front crossbows and half the port railing out to sea.