Black Seas: a Percabeth Pirate au

Chapter 20

Annabeth sprinted through the chaos, ducking swords and leaping over boulders. She had to get to her crew and convince them to follow her, not Luke. How she was going to do that, she wasn't sure. But she had to try.

Annabeth had almost reached the outcropping where Luke and Thalia stood when arms grabbed her and yanked her behind a boulder.

Annabeth drew her knife, but pressure on her wrist stopped her.

"Calm down!" a voice hissed. "It's me."

Annabeth registered a battle axe, a red bandana, and massive biceps. "Clarisse!"

"Yeah, duh. You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Chase, but you can't go up there."

"What do you mean? That's my crew!"

Clarisse shook her head. "Luke said anyone who sides with you is a traitor. And you know what we do to traitors."

Annabeth's face burned. "Are you kidding? I'm still captain!"

"Technically, yes. But we don't do technicalities."

"Whose side is Thalia on?"

Clarisse glanced down. "Thalia's been... different since you left. She won't talk to me. She doesn't talk to anyone except Luke."

"Since I left? You mean since Luke killed my brother and handed me over to the British?" Annabeth took a moment to compose herself. "How many do you think will follow me?"

"A lot of us. No one really liked what Luke did to you, it was wrong. But he can be very... persuasive."

Annabeth put her hand on Clarisse's shoulder. "Then I need you to do something for me. Tell as many of the crew as you trust that we're going to take the Brits down. And then, after I take care of Luke, we're going to get out of here with as much treasure as we can. I just need them to fight with Hazel's and Percy's crew."

Clarisse snook her head. "That's going to be a tough sell."

"After I take Luke out, it won't be."

Clarisse studied her captain's face. "Fine. Just be careful. And I can't promise any results."

Annabeth felt a surge of gratitude toward her old friend. "I wouldn't expect you to. Is he still up there?"

Clarisse peeked over the boulder and scanned for a moment. "They're gone!"

Annabeth's stomach dropped. "What?! Where did they go?"

"How should I know? What a coward," Clarisse snarled. "But the only direction he could have gone is further into the cavern."

"Then I have to go after him."

Clarisse bit her lip and stepped aside. "Good luck, Annabeth. I'm sorry it had to go down like this."

"Me too. Just do what you can, okay? I'll see you soon."

Clarisse nodded, and with a half salute she slipped away.
Annabeth took a moment to prepare herself. She was going to have to fight Luke, she knew that. But could she really kill him if she had to? Could she even win? Annabeth shook her head. All questions for later. She pushed herself off the gravel and turned towards the back of the cave, flinching when she saw a figure.

"Rushing off?"

Reyna stood in front of her, her gold sword drawn.
Annabeth doubted she could take Reyna in a fair fight. Reyna was taller, stronger, and likely had more training.

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't want to fight you, Reyna. This isn't between us."

Reyna her sword. "You're right. At least you were. Until I learned what you did to my sister."