Heroes of Olympus - The Blood of Olympus (Discontinued)

Chapter 22 - Hazel

As if on cue, Leo stirred, getting unsteadily to his feet once more. "Next time, Piper... a warning?"

Piper smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Leo."

"Enough of this," Troias snapped, his giant reptilian head looming above the deck, his bowling ball-sized eyes glaring down at the tiny half-bloods on the deck of the Argo II. "Which of you shall we take to aid Gaea's awakening? We will not wait forever."

"You're working for Gaea?" Annabeth asked. "I thought you were rogues."

"No, daughter of Athena. We are more like hybrids," Aithiopios answered. "We travel on our own demand. We feast on sailors, we destroy their ships, and we search for any who are connected to the old Perseus of the myths by any means." His yellow eyes glared down at Percy as he spoke these words.

Percy stayed where he was, glaring boldly up at the Ketea, and Annabeth stepped forward, putting herself in front of him, pressing her back to his chest. "Just because Percy's full name is the same as that old hero, doesn't mean he's connected to the old Perseus of the myths."

"Oh, should I really care what blood runs in his veins," Aithiopios growled, leaning his giant head closer. "All I care is that he possesses that hideous name, and for that he shall die."

"No, you idiot!" Troias snapped. "He is the one Gaea wants! She specifically said the 'tall one with the green eyes'. You cannot eat him. Not yet, anyway."

"Pity," Aithiopios huffed, lifting his head once more. He glared down at Percy, standing behind Annabeth. "You are lucky, son of Poseidon," the serpent huffed. "Should you not be desired by the earth mother, you would be sitting comfortably at the bottom of my stomach as we speak."

"Yeah, I think I'll take a pass on that," Percy muttered. "And you wanna know what I think? Your stomach's are probably so full of your own acid, I can will myself immune to it, and make you both choke on it!"

"Say, whaaaaaaaaaat?" The Ketea said in unison, tilting their heads back as if saying, Oh no, you DIDN'T!

Annabeth edged closer to him. "What are you doing?" she muttered in his ear.

"Shh..." Percy said back to her, his eyes catching Hazel's for a second. Then he winked at her!

Hazel stared back, flustered, only to realize Percy was much smarter than he seemed. He could see just by her facial expression that Hazel was developing some form of strategy to defeat these serpents. She nodded to him once.

As Hazel's plan fully formed in her head, she knew she'd have to be quick. They needed Piper's charm speaking abilities to fool the Ketea in the way Hazel had in mind; and Hazel needed her own abilities over the mist to bring the monsters into a fake reality. There was a box of Greek Fire vials down the stairs in the cargo hold. Now, if she can just get Leo to reach them...

As Percy shot more sassy remarks at the Ketea, distracting their gaze from her, Hazel quietly moved to where Leo stood, and whispered into his ear. "Get two vials of the Greek Fire from the cargo hold. I have an idea."

"Oh, this outta be good," Leo murmured, but he turned and quietly headed down the stairs into the ship's lower level. As he left, Hazel willed her mind to bend the mist before the serpents' gaze, forming a fake image of Leo standing where he once was, while the real Leo hurried below deck to the cargo hold.

Percy kept the Ketea distracted

Hazel then moved to Piper. "When Leo comes back up, keep them busy. Give them chaos. Make them fight each other if you can."

Piper thought for a second, then nodded in understanding.

"Your mama was born with a whale's butt, and a squid's head!" Percy kept taunting the sea serpents. "She was so uuuugly, all the creatures of the sea thought she was floating lump of coral that a Sperm Whale thought would be a good thing to use to smash its head against!"