Percy was really glad to be back on the ship as he barrelled straight into Cressida's arms, startling her a little bit.
"If I'm going to fight in an arena for other people's entertainment, can you at least fight by my side?" he asked as she rubbed his back and played with the hair on the back of his head.
"Always," she promised before she laughed at the site of Nike. She was bound and gagged with a sock duck-tapped to her mouth.
"By the way Hollywood," Leo had said. "Thank you for making Aquaman here, so whipped for you that he had your hair ties on his wrist. Saved our lives it did."
Cressida let out one of her musical laughs as Percy blushed and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "You're welcome, Houston."
And Leo had then thrown Nike in the stables until she had apparently given them a list of other challenges they had to accomplish, the poison of Pylos and some chained god in Sparta.
Piper and Frank had gone in search of the poison and they'd gathered on the foredeck for a quick meeting as Percy was keeping an eye on a giant red sea serpent swimming off the port side and he'd dragged Cressida to join him.
"That thing is really red," Percy muttered, Cressida tucked under his arm. "I wonder if it's cherry-flavoured."
"Why don't you swim over and find out?" Annabeth asked.
"How about no."
"I think it's raspberry flavoured - no strawberry," Cressida proclaimed.
"I think you're onto something," Percy agreed. "Strawberry but a bit sourer than the ones at camp."
"Exactly!" Cressida grinned as he understood her, and Annabeth gave them a disbelieving look.
"Are you seriously debating how a sea monster would taste?"
"Books, I love you, but do you ever get tired of lecturing us?" Cressida asked and Annabeth didn't have the heart to say anything as she saw how happy the two of them were despite how strange they were.
"Anyway," Frank said, "according to my Pylos cousins, the chained god we're looking for in Sparta is my dad ... uh, I mean Ares, not Mars. Apparently, the Spartans kept a statue of him chained up in their city so the spirit of war would never leave them."
"Oo-kay," Leo said. "The Spartans were freaks. Of course, we've got Victory tied up downstairs, so I guess we can't talk."
Jason leaned against the forward ballista. "On to Sparta, then. But how does a chained god's heartbeat help us find a cure for dying?"
"Piper?" Hazel asked.
She stirred, stuck in thought about how Jason was still in pain. "Sorry, what?"
"I was asking you about the visions," Hazel prompted. "You told me you'd seen some stuff in your dagger blade?"
"Uh ... right." Piper reluctantly unsheathed Katoptris. Ever since she'd used it to stab the snow goddess Khione, the visions in the blade had become colder and harsher, like images etched in ice. She'd seen eagles swirling over Camp Half-Blood, a wave of earth destroying New York. She'd seen scenes from the past: her father beaten and bound at the top of Mount Diablo, Jason, Percy and Cressida fighting giants in the Roman Colosseum, the river god Achelous reaching out to her, pleading for the cornucopia she'd cut from his head.
"I, um ..." She tried to clear her thoughts. "I don't see anything right now. But one vision kept popping up. Annabeth, Cressida and I are exploring some ruins –"
"Ruins!" Leo rubbed his hands. "Now we're talking. How many ruins can there be in Greece?"
"Quiet, Leo," Annabeth scolded. "Piper, do you think it was Sparta?"
"Maybe," Piper said. "Anyway ... suddenly we're in this dark place like a cave. We're staring at this bronze warrior statue. In the vision, I touch the statue's face and flames start swirling around us. That's all I saw."
"Flames." Frank scowled. "I don't like that vision."
"Me neither." Percy kept one eye on the red sea serpent, which was still slithering through the waves about a hundred yards to port. "I know my girl has firepower of her own, but if the statue engulfs people in fire, we should send Leo."
"I love you too, man."
"You know what I mean. You're immune. Or, heck, give me some of those nice water grenades and I'll go. Ares and I have tangled before."
Annabeth stared at the coastline of Pylos, now retreating in the distance. "If Piper saw the three of us going after the statue, then that's who should go. We'll be all right. There's always a way to survive."
"Not always," Hazel warned.
"Oh gods," Cressida groaned as she hid her face in Percy's chest and he hugged her tighter, neither of them really wanting to do the whole separation thing again.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to," Percy said as she just took a second to breathe in his sea salt scent that was different from the actual scent of sea salt, it was more comforting.
"Percy-" Annabeth began, but he didn't let her get further than that.
"She's not doing anything she doesn't want to. If she doesn't want to go, no one is going to force her to go," he said firmly, not leaving any room for argument, not that anyone in their right mind would argue with Percy about anything concerning Cressida, not even Annabeth.
Cressida sighed as she pulled away a little bit. "I love you," she said. "And I love your concern and wanting to protect me and the fact that you learned your lesson about forcing me to do things. And you know I want to stay with you, but we both know I have to go."
Percy looked conflicted. "Are you sure about this?"
"Not at all. But if Piper saw it happen then it has to happen otherwise this is all for nothing and then the Halloween thing won't happen."
His eyes glittered. "So you're saying it's going to happen?"
"I said no promises because I love holding this over your head when I want you to do things. I love doing it almost as much as I love you."
He frowned. "You're cruel and I hate you."
"Liar."
He kissed her but it was interrupted by Leo who said, "Ok, I have got to know what this Halloween thing is!"
"I'll admit, I'm a little curious myself," Piper confessed.
"As much as I would love to tell you what the Halloween thing is," Percy began. "If I tell you then I don't get it and I'm pretty sure I would be suffering some sort of bodily injury as well."
Her smile was wicked. "I won't be laying a hand on you," she said, and Percy had a distinct feeling that she wasn't done. "I'll just be telling my father and my brother what the Halloween thing is and debating what kind of animal Papa will be turning you into for Pollux to hunt."
Percy kissed her head. "You're cruel."
"Well, you didn't date me for my gentle demeanour just like I didn't date you for your brain."
"Dude!"
"Yes, honey?" she smiled sweetly, and he just glared at her as Frank changed the topic again.
Frank held out the vial of Pylosian mint. "What about this stuff? After the House of Hades, I kind of hoped we were done drinking poison."
"Oh we are so far done," Percy confirmed as Cressida nodded her head in agreement.
"Store it securely in the hold," Annabeth said. "For now, that's all we can do. Once we figure out this chained god situation, we'll head to the island of Delos."
"The curse of Delos," Hazel remembered. "That sounds fun."
"Hopefully Apollo will be there," Annabeth said. "Delos was his home island. He's the god of medicine. He should be able to advise us."
"If he doesn't have split-personality disorder and if he's willing to charge us a price we can pay," Cressida added helpfully before the strawberry-flavoured sea serpent spewed steam.
"Yeah, it's definitely checking us out," Percy decided. "Maybe we should take to the air for a while."
"Airborne it is!" Leo said. "Festus, do the honours!"
The bronze dragon figurehead creaked and clacked. The ship's engine hummed. The oars lifted, expanding into aerial blades with a sound like ninety umbrellas opening at once, and the Argo II rose into the sky.
"We should reach Sparta by morning," Leo announced. "And remember to come by the mess hall tonight, folks, 'cause Chef Leo is making his famous three-alarm tofu tacos!"
******************************************************************
As much as Jason loved Percy, he also hated him.
The guy was such a good boyfriend that he kind of made Jason and Frank look bad. And it wasn't even grand gestures, he just did incredibly sweet stuff that made Cressida really happy.
For example, since Cressida was going to be separated from him on this quest into a fiery dark cavern with Annabeth and Piper, they were going to have a good night together before they headed to bed.
So, as Jason and Piper and Leo walked past Cressida's room, they heard soft music playing and laughter. The door was open for once and they were dressed in their pj's. Well, Percy was in sweatpants and Cressida in an oversized t-shirt as they slow-danced around her room. It wasn't a waltz or any sort of normal dance. It was just the two of them swaying to music and every once in a while, he'd spin her and drop her into a dip, which made her smile and laugh. She laughed even harder when Percy tried to get Cressida to spin him and even drop him into a dip before they almost fell back on her bed.
It was just a sweet moment. Jason and Piper and Leo had all heard the story of how Cressida loved to dance and Percy got her first dance and he loved to pull her into a dance even if there was no music and even if it wasn't the time or place to dance, Percy made it the time or place to.
But their good moods vanished the next morning when they woke, and Piper recounted the dream she'd had about Porphyrion.
And then the ship's toilets exploded.
"There is no way in hell that you are going down there alone," Percy said.
Leo ran down the hall waving a wrench. "Man, did you have to destroy the plumbing?"
"Relax, Houston," Cressida said as she crossed her arms over her chest and faced her boyfriend. "Aquaman, here, can help you fix it."
Percy ignored them because he was more concerned with Piper's dream. Water ran down the gangway. The hull rumbled as more pipes burst and sinks overflowed. Piper guessed that Percy hadn't meant to cause so much damage, but his glowering expression made her want to leave the ship as soon as possible.
"We'll be all right," Annabeth told him, but his eyes were still locked with Cressida's. "Piper foresaw the three of us going down there, so that's what needs to happen."
Percy glared at Piper like it was all her fault. "And this Mimas dude? I'm guessing he's a giant?"
"Probably," she said. "Porphyrion called him our brother."
"And a bronze statue surrounded by fire," Percy said. "And those ... other things you mentioned. Mackies?"
"Makhai," Piper said. "I think the word means battles in Greek, but I don't know how that applies, exactly."
"That's my point!" Percy exclaimed. "We don't know what's down there. I'm going with you."
"No, you're not," Cressida said, leaving no room for argument.
"Cress-"
"We already discussed this last night. First, I don't need a protector. Second, Piper saw it happen, it has to happen no matter how much we protest. And third, the giants need a boy and a girl for the sacrifice. And yeah, I plan on having you stick around for the rest of my life but that won't happen if the giants get a hold of you and me."
"Then I'll get Jason and Leo," Percy said. "And the three of us –"
"Whoa! Whoa. Whoa," she cut off. "I'm going to stop you right there because it would be seriously detrimental to your health and your relationship if you're implying that you boys can handle this better than us girls."
"No! I didn't mean - no. but -"
Cressida shut him up by kissing him as he held her close, never wanting to let her go.
"Do you trust me?" she asked when she pulled away.
"With my life."
"Then you know I always keep my promises. And I promise we'll be back before you know it.'
"You better be."
"We will. And yes, just like Gleeson, if we're not back, you have full permission to man the ballistae."
"It won't come to that because you are coming back, preferably without a scratch on you."
"No promises about the scratch thing but we're definitely coming back," she said as she kissed him once more before heading up the stairs, Piper and Annabeth following behind her. "And help Leo fix the plumbing! If I can't have a hot shower when I come back, you're definitely not getting the Halloween thing."
And they were above deck before Percy could protest and the whole lower deck could flood with toilet water.