[2] 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ― l.valdez ✓

011.

「011. camp sea-fish 」

AFTER CHARLESTON, cherry was hoping for some peace and quiet. she says hoped because she knows that would never happen. in fact- she knew for certain it wouldn't. especially now a monster was apparently under their ship. cherry had went down with the others, hoping to change her socks (they'd gotten soaked when in charleston) and when the alarm sounded, she'd nearly tripped on her face. she ran to the stairs, stampedes of footsteps not far behind her as she passed the 'hey mammas' memorial and ran up the stairs in threes- regretting it immediately as she nearly fell over the minute she was above deck.

"come on, valdez!" hedge yelled. "take the wheel so i can get my baseball bat!"

"a bat's not going to help," leo said, but he made his way toward the helm.

percy yelled, "what's going— gah! shrimpzilla!"

"that really shouldn't be your first response!" yelled barbie as she ran to try climb to perhaps the top of a mast, maybe she was planning to ward of the monster with something she could summon from the mist- cherry had no idea.

"how did it get so close?" annabeth shouted, pulling herself up on one of the rail shields.

"i don't know!" hedge snarled. he looked around for his bat, which had rolled across the quarterdeck.

the boat leaned again and cherry watched as barbie fell from the mast, cursing loudly and blearily looking around as she fell. somehow- perhaps percy had planned this- percy had managed to catch her.

"you really fell for me, huh?"

"you were far less bold when i was dating you," she huffed, "friends, percy!"

"sorry! i forgot!"

"you bastard."

"i'm stupid!" leo scolded himself. "stupid, stupid! i forgot the sonar!"

the ship tilted farther to starboard. either the monster was trying to give them a hug, or it was about to capsize them. "sonar?" hedge demanded. "pan's pipes, valdez! maybe if you hadn't been staring into hazel's eyes, holding hands for so long—"

"what?" frank yelped.

"it wasn't like that!" hazel protested.

"it doesn't matter!" piper said.

"well i think it does!" cherry spoke as she tried to grab supplies.

"jason, can you call some lightning?"

jason struggled to his feet. "i—" he only managed to shake his head. summoning the storm earlier had taken too much out of him.

"percy!" annabeth said. "can you talk to that thing? do you know what it is?"

the son of the sea god shook his head, clearly mystified. "maybe it's just curious about the ship. maybe—"

the monster's tendrils lashed across the deck so fast, cherry didn't even have time to yell, look out! one slammed percy in the chest and sent him crashing down the steps. another wrapped around piper's legs and dragged her, screaming, toward the rail. dozens more tendrils curled around the masts, encircling the crossbows and ripping down the rigging.

"how dare you!" yelled barbie at the tendrils, "i worked my ass off to make those sails! your slimey little things better not go fucking it up!"

cherry wasn't so sure about the yelling thing- because barbie got swatted further than percy had.

"nose-hair attack!" hedge snatched up his bat and leaped into action; but his hits just bounced harmlessly off the tendrils. jason drew his sword. he tried to free piper, but he was still weak. his gold blade cut through the tendrils with no problem, but faster than he could sever them, more took their place.