Percy's POV
The fight was over, it was done, and it felt as if the whole world was acknowledging that fact, the silence was almost frightening as Zoe lowered her bow. In those critical deciding moments of the battle, they might as well have been the last people on earth, nothing else mattered.
They all stood in a circle around her, waiting for a sign as to what they should do. As the body dropped, their eyes shifted to her, awaiting her response. Percy wanted to go and help her, but held himself back.
Even as the body beside her dissipated into the moonlight, carried away to the underworld by what looked like moon dust, he couldn't bring himself to move. As much as he wanted to comfort her, embrace her, celebrate with her and everything else, he held himself back.
This was her moment, her triumph, he wasn't going to make it about him, as much as he wanted to run up and hug her, to scream to the heavens how amazing she was, he held himself back.
Seeing her like this, so emotional in the moment, was a rarity in itself. She had been much more upbeat in recent years, in tune with herself, but in the aftermath of the battle, she seemed so human.
Mere moments before this, she seemed untouchable, he was reminded of the first days of knowing her, the ethereal quality of the Hunters of Artemis. This was different though.
They felt untouchable because they were granted that power. The qualities of the moon goddess were ever present in their bodies. During that fight though, Zoe felt untouchable because she made herself that way. She had always been one of the most amazing people he'd ever met.
During that fight, he was too stunned to think, but now it was over he was sure. It was one of the few times he had ever looked at a demigod and thought that they may have secretly been a god in disguise. Because to him, that was what Zoe Nightshade had always been to him, a goddess walking the earth.
The sun was starting to set as the fight ended. The stars were just about to begin shining in the sky as Zoe let out a deep, heavy sigh, and looked up at the stars, towards the constellation made for her. Then, in the moonlight, she finally showed what that fight truly meant to her.
She collapsed to her knees. Closing her eyes and taking a deep, almost sorrowful breath, she spoke, probably by habit alone, she switched to Ancient Greek, saying simply. "It is done." Or words to that effect, as her joyful laugh filled the air.
Percy took that as his cue, he could no longer hold himself back. He was the first to reach her, immediately taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly, he wasn't sure what he expected to see when she looked at him for the first time.
He was ready for tears, of relief, happiness even, considering the circumstances, what he didn't expect to see on her face was shock, she jumped a little bit when he held her hand.
She was not an easy person to sneak up on, he could count on one hand the times he had genuinely seen her startled, the only time he could actually recall was the day he returned to camp after being presumed dead and was thrown by some heartless monster into her cabin.
This was another one of them for sure. As he smiled at her, she blinked a few times, like he had just appeared from thin air in front of her. That was how invested she was in her fight with Hercules, that was how important it was to her. In a way, his thought was right, to her, they were the only two people on earth.
Once the recognition hit her face though, Percy's heart leapt in the air and stayed there. She gave him a smile that nearly brought him to tears just seeing it, it was so genuine, so pure. "It is done." She repeated again, this time in English.
He couldn't find the words, for fear that he might have cried, he just nodded. Squeezing her hand once more and then pulling her into a hug. Overwhelmed with emotion simply because she seemed to be too.
That wasn't enough for her though. The high of victory had clearly gone to her head, because without a second thought, or hesitation, she pulled him into a kiss. Deep and passionate. But so abrupt and spontaneous that not even Coach Hedge could protest.
Percy wasn't sure if the others had moved, because he couldn't take his eyes off Zoe, even as they separated, his head was spinning. As she let out a little giggle, he was struck back to earth.
The moment had passed, as hands wrapped around her, many more people pulling her into what soon became a group hug. Cheering and praising her. Even those of them who didn't know her story to it's fullest, showed their full support and admiration for her.
He could barely hear them. His mind seemed to lock in on Zoe, everything else around her seemed to just be noise. He was too captivated by her smile. After years of struggling and fighting, even dying, he couldn't imagine how she could smile like that. He felt as though he had been blessed by the gods just being with her in that moment.
It felt like he was a part of history in the making. Like someday, a philosopher or one of those types would write a ballad of Zoe Nightshade's revenge against Heracles, and somewhere in there it would say, 'Percy was there too.' It was an honor.
"Does it feel as good as you imagined?" He asked, not knowing really what else to say, she smiled at him radiantly, "Better. You have no clue how much of a weight has been lifted from my shoulders."
"I may have a small idea." He said, thinking back to the time he held up the sky. Not long after they met. She took his hand, leaning on his shoulder, "I couldn't have done it without you." She said, looking up at her friends surrounding her.
"I always thought it would be my lady and my sisters beside me as I finally faced him, I thought she would provide me the strength of a hunter to allow me to defeat him, but it was you, all of you with me." She said tiredly. "Underwhelming in comparison huh?" he asked.
She shook her head, "Quite the opposite. I think that made it all the more perfect. I beat him as me, as Zoe, not a hunter of Artemis. I think that alone makes it feel more cathartic for me. Much more freeing. I have never felt stronger."
"This might help." Hazel handed her back the discarded circlet. She looked at it, then stood up, Percy finally realized he was on his knees too when she offered him a hand up. Then she pulled the hairpin from her hair and passed it back to him. It was a ballpoint pen before it even hit his palm.
"It has served me well." She said, before looking to the circlet. "As has this. It is the strength given to me by the hunters. My hunters, to fight this battle should it ever had come to pass." She regarded the trinket, then she sighed.
"I think I will leave it here." She said, "It has served it's purpose, plus, I would like to try wearing my hair down, after two thousand years or so, it might be a good time to try something new." They all laughed, mostly due to the stress of watching their friend fight for her life, but also because her joy was infectious.
The fact that she was cracking jokes was wild to Percy, he rarely ever saw her like this, even in their most private moments, but she was right, she even looked much more free than she had an hour ago. She leaned her head against him and chucked the trinket over her shoulder.
(Y/N) and Leo quickly both reminded her that it was in fact a very powerful artefact to have, and that superhuman strength was an incredibly handy thing to have at their disposal, especially in the Mare Nostrum.
But neither of them second guessed her decision to leave it on the shores of the beach. When reminded that one day when Hades was done having his fun, maybe soon, maybe in a hundred years, Hercules would have to return to his post. So one day, he would find it, and be reminded of his defeat all over again.
That image alone kept Percy in high spirits as they returned to the ship, that coupled with Zoe's hand still entwined with his as they left the beach, the pillars, and Hercules and all he had done, behind them.
(Y/N)'s POV
Zoe was ecstatic. Seeing her coming back to the Argo II with her head held high was the best thing he had seen in a while, barely beating out the absolute clinic she just put on when handling Hercules.
The others matched her energy for a while, but soon, he could feel the mood in the ship come down. Mostly because of two culprits. Piper was down on herself for some reason, the moment they returned she retreated to her room.
The other was Leo, he looked rough, even after their fight, he seemed extra exhausted. He knew he would have to give them advice as the oldest aboard the ship, not including Hedge and Zoe, who were both busy right now,
With the satyr guarding the top deck, and the daughter of Artemis blatantly walking into Percy's room for a long talk. (Y/N) took it upon himself to lift the spirits of his crewmates, knowing that if they took this energy with them to face the giants it could spell disaster.
All the while trying not to feel jealous of Percy, who was riding the high of victory so to speak as (Y/N) paced the ship alone, knowing his own girlfriend was probably nose deep in a book, sitting alone in the darkness of her room
"How's it hanging Valdez?" He asked as he walked up to Leo manning the main controls. "Good...good." "Anything try to kill us yet?" (Y/N) wondered, more as a joke, he didn't expect the serious answer.
"Yeah, Festus handled it though." Leo pointed to the head of the dragon, which was now drooling what looked like molten metal and fire. "Brilliant. So we're on course, we have plenty of time, and we're safe?" "Yeah, I guess?"
"Okay, then why do you look like someone just took your toolbelt away? And you'd better tell me the truth or I will take it away." He said, leaning on the rail beside the controls.
It took Leo a few moments before he said something, explaining that he felt responsible for the sea monster attack, and that it was his mistake that almost cost (Y/N) his life.
(Y/N) laughed. He didn't mean to, but he did. The thought of Leo feeling responsible for (Y/N) almost blowing himself up made him chuckle. "Leo, that was my choice, my mistake, and that's it."
"Nobody died, nobody got really hurt. So there is nobody to fault, sometimes, things just go wrong." Leo's brows furrowed. Clearly his inner engineer was not enjoying that prospect.
"You can make a machine perfectly. You can't make people, or choices perfectly, however much you want to. They just aren't built that way. When something goes wrong, and they break, that's not your fault Leo, that's just life, man."
"I mean, you'd figure a son of Vulcan would have realized that." He smirked, "Hephaestus, and what do you mean?" "Oh come on kid, it's really famous. In the words of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. 'It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.' "
Leo looked at him curiously, "Do you always take quotes from movies and try to pawn them off as your own?" "A lot more than you'd think, most people don't watch as many movies as me or as much TV, so they don't notice. I tend to get away with it. So let's just keep that to ourselves alright Valdez?"
Leo nodded. "Thank you." He said with a small smile, before passing (Y/N) something, "Here. I was going to give you it when we made land, but now's as good a time as any."
"Plus, I figured you'd need time to practice, don't want you blowing yourself up again." He said as (Y/N) unveiled the thing that was wrapped in a grease cloth. Not that it concealed it very much.
True to his word, Leo had managed to take the busted old flintlock (Y/N) had provided him and turn it into a functioning revolver that looked like you had taken the two guns and smashed them together.
The grip was a more comfortable version of the flintlocks, it seemed to somehow be shaped to (Y/N)'s hands perfectly. (Y/N) looked at Leo as if to silently ask "Did you measure my hands in my sleep?" Leo just shrugged.
"My version of Collier's revolver." Leo said, like that would mean anything to (Y/N), he examined the barrel to see a six notched revolver that had a thick barrel like the Colt Army. Made of Celestial bronze. With small port like holes travelling down the grip.
"Same wood as the Argo II" Leo said. "I used some spare metal I had lying around for repairs for the main body. It's still rough around the edges, but it'll get the job done." (Y/N) held it up with one hand before being interrupted.
"Oh, and you'd better use two hands because this thing's kickback is crazy." Leo said as if that made him proud. "I thought you didn't have any ammo for it?" (Y/N) said, remembering their last conversation concerning the weapon's development in the museum.
"I don't." He said impishly, almost giggling at the end. "That's the perfect thing about it. I got the idea from you nearly exploding my ship" He said, passing (Y/N) what looked to be tiny little ball bearings, about a hundred of them, no bigger than a pea.
"Scrap metal. From the wreckage that was inside the monster." He said, like it was an enlightening phrase. "I was worrying about finding bullets to shoot, but I figured a way round that, now you don't need any."
He opened the...chamber? The bullet holder? The spinny thing, on the revolver. (Y/N) was surprised to see nothing, just an empty space where the six...holes? Should have been. "What?" He said aloud, this made Leo smile, as he got to work demonstrating his own genius.
He placed the little ball bearings into the chamber, which looked like a miniature furnace of sorts. As Leo pulled back the hammer (Y/N) noticed the ports that travelled down the pistol's grip burn to life a sort of golden orange, caused by the metal heating.
"Now you don't need celestial bronze. You could in theory throw anything in there, rocks, metal, bronze, gold. All would work. Just wouldn't outright kill a monster."
"Like a blunderbuss?" "Exactly." "Jeez Leo, you just throwing every old timey weapon into this thing or what?" Leo chuckled, the light in his eyes returning a little as he spoke about his design, saying, "Yeah, pretty much."
"See, the whole thing is insulated, and Celestial bronze doesn't melt easy if it's treated right, I had a spare crucible laying around, so I made this little thing. You can use fire to melt the metal into the shape of a bullet. That's what it's designed for, just in case you don't have any handy."
"And well, it's not electromagnetic, but...ever heard of a rail gun?" "Only in sci fi movies." Leo smirked, not elaborating. He held the pistol out to sea, taking aim, then his hand began to glow red with fire and heat. "With a little bit of magic, a lot of pressure in the barrel and a whole lot of heat-"
'BOOM!' A sound so loud it would have woke the entire ship went off the moment he pulled the trigger. (Y/N) watched in awe as something tiny but incredibly fast fired from the barrel in a straight line, creating a distortion the size of a dinner plate in the water so deep (Y/N) could see the seabed.
"I don't think I've ever said this in my life, but, Jesus Christ Leo!" He laughed in response as their ears stopped ringing, "Don't worry, that was the high end, it won't be able to stand many of those shots, it'll break apart or deform in time. The output depends on the amount of flame you use. Controlling that's never been my strong suit."
"But for you." He said, passing it to (Y/N), who ignited his hand with magic, he could feel the ports on the grip fill with green flame, making the bronze burn almost black as it travelled.
Because of that, he could almost visualize it running up the handle, through the gun and coiling around the barrel circling it over and over again, speeding up with every rotation, heating the metal as he pulled back the hammer.
As he pulled the trigger the ignition reached it's peak, and the metal was forced forward into the shape of a bullet by the barrel itself, propelled forward by it's own heat, it made a much smaller 'Bang' still almost deafening, and still very deadly to anything in it's way as a red hot bullet flew from the pistol.
"No ammo needed. With a full crucible, you can fire it six times in one sitting, or twice as a bigger blast, before it needs time to cool down, the design is to remind you." He pointed at it, and (Y/N) could see that four of the six barrels were now glowing, three orange and one a green colour.
(Y/N) couldn't help but wonder about the gun's limitations. "Could I use it all at once? All six barrels for one shot?" "Sure if you want your arm ripped off. Along with the gun melted onto your hand. After two minutes of feeding it flames that is."
"Well, not my call anyway, whatever you want to use it for, here it is." Leo said with a smile. Finally it hit (Y/N) why the revolver looked so thrown together, but still functioned perfectly, why the presentation was anything but professional but the design looked perfect.
Leo had made this for (Y/N) after he had been blown up, and had probably been working on it since he got back from meeting the mer-chirons. Leo, like Beckendorf before him, was not good with apologies or words.
Whereas Charlie said too little and Leo said too many, they both threw all their love, care and concern into their projects. This in a way, was Leo's apology to him for the mishap. "Does it hake a name?" (Y/N) asked. "You probably called it like 'smiley the gun' or something right?"
Leo chuckled at that, glancing down at Festus again, before saying "Yeah, I gave it a brilliant name, a Leo special." He said, the son of Hephaestus paused for dramatic effect before saying, "I call it..."
"Gun." (Y/N) nearly hit him just for getting his hopes up like that, "So it doesn't have a name yet?" He shrugged, "Not until you decide what to call it." Leo said, and (Y/N) got chills.
Out of curiosity, he replied, "Isn't that your job?" But Leo gave him a bright smile, one he almost recognised as someone else's, before saying something perfect. "I never usually finish my projects, so haven't had much experience naming them. I'm sure you'll come up with something better than I ever could."
Looking down at the weapon, (Y/N) was almost brought to tears. He simply nodded and while he couldn't think of a name for it yet, he knew he would someday, so the gun took pride of place beside Gleam, as (Y/N) pulled him into a hug and told Leo to get some sleep. Before heading off to see Piper.
Percy's POV
Percy hoped the ancient lands wouldn't be as bad as they'd heard. But it was almost like a commercial: You'll notice the difference immediately! Several times an hour, something attacked the ship.
A flock of flesh-eating Stymphalian birds swooped out of the night sky, and Festus torched them. Storm spirits swirled around the mast, and Jason blasted them with lightning. While Coach Hedge was having dinner on the foredeck, a wild pegasus appeared from nowhere, stampeded over the coach's enchiladas, and flew off again, leaving cheesy hoof prints all across the deck.
"What was that for?" the coach demanded. The sight of the pegasus made Percy wish Blackjack were here. He hadn't seen his friend in days. Tempest and Arion also hadn't shown themselves. Maybe they didn't want to venture into the Mediterranean. If so, Percy couldn't blame them.
Finally around midnight, after the ninth or tenth aerial attack, Jason turned to him. "How about you get some sleep? I'll keep blasting stuff out of the sky as long as I can. Then we can go by sea for a while, and you can take point."
Percy wasn't sure that he'd be able to sleep with the boat rocking through the clouds as it was shaken by angry wind spirits, but Jason's idea made sense. He went belowdecks and crashed on his bunk. His nightmares, of course, were anything but restful.
He dreamed he was in a dark cavern. He could only see a few feet in front of him, but the space must have been vast. Water dripped from somewhere nearby, and the sound echoed off distant walls.
The way the air moved made Percy suspect the cave's ceiling was far, far above. He heard heavy footsteps, and the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis shuffled out of the gloom. Percy could distinguish them only by their hair.
Ephialtes had the green locks braided with silver and gold coins; Otis had the purple ponytail braided with...were those firecrackers? Otherwise they were dressed identically, and their outfits definitely belonged in a nightmare.
They wore matching white slacks and gold buccaneer shirts with V-necks that showed way too much chest hair. A dozen sheathed daggers lined their rhinestone belts. Their shoes were open-toed sandals, proving that—yes, in-deed—they had snakes for feet.
The straps wrapped around the serpents' necks. Their heads curled up where the toes should be. The snakes flicked their tongues excitedly and turned their gold eyes in every direction, like dogs looking out the window of a car. Maybe it had been a long time since they'd had shoes with a view.
The giants stood in front of Percy, but they paid him no attention. Instead, they gazed up into the darkness. "We're here," Ephialtes announced. Despite his booming voice, his words dissipated in the cavern, echoing until they sounded small and insignificant.
Far above, something answered, "Yes. I can see that. Those outfits are hard to miss." The voice made Percy's stomach drop about six inches. It sounded vaguely female, but not at all human. Each word was a garbled hiss in multiple tones, as if a swarm of African killer bees had learned to speak English in unison.
It wasn't Gaea. Percy was sure of that. But whatever it was, the twin giants became nervous. They shifted on their snakes and bobbed their heads respectfully. "Of course, Your Ladyship," Ephialtes said. "We bring news of—"
"Why are you dressed like that?" asked the thing in the dark. She didn't seem to be coming any closer, which was fine with Percy. Ephialtes shot his brother an irritated look. "My brother was supposed to wear something different. Unfortunately—"
"You said I was the knife thrower today," Otis protested. "I said I was the knife thrower! You were supposed to be the magician! Ah, forgive me, Your Ladyship. You don't want to hear us arguing. We came as you requested, to bring you news. The ship is approaching."
Her Ladyship, whatever she was, made a series of violent hisses like a tire being slashed repeatedly. With a shudder, Percy realized she was laughing. "How long?" she asked. "They should land in Rome shortly after daybreak, I think," Ephialtes said. "Of course, they'll have to get past the golden boy."
He sneered, as if the golden boy was not his favorite person. "I hope they arrive safely," Her Ladyship said. "It would spoil our fun to have them captured too soon. Are your preparations made?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship." Otis stepped forward, and the cavern trembled. A crack appeared under Otis's left snake. "Careful, you dolt!" Her Ladyship snarled. "Do you want to return to Tartarus the hard way?"
Otis scrambled back, his face slack with terror. Percy realized that the floor, which looked like solid stone, was more like the glacier he'd walked on in Alaska—in some places solid, in other places...not so much.
He was glad he weighed nothing in his dreams. "There is little left holding this place together," Her Ladyship cautioned. "Except, of course, my own skill. Centuries of Athena's rage can only be contained so well, and the great Earth Mother churns below us in her sleep."
"Between those two forces, well...my nest has quite eroded. We must hope this child of Athena proves to be a worthy victim. She may be my last plaything." "What of the sacrifice? Does the rich one still hold him? Or does he remain with them" She asked.
Ephialtes nodded, "He is with the child of Athena, wherever she goes, he will follow." "Good, patience is not something we can rely on. He is eager to have his retribution. His hunger can no longer be sated, nor denied."
Ephialtes gulped. He kept his eyes on the crack in the floor. "Soon it will not matter, Your Ladyship. Gaea will rise, and we all will be rewarded. You will no longer have to guard this place, or keep your works hidden."
"Perhaps," said the voice in the dark. "But I will miss the sweetness of my revenge. We have worked well together over the centuries, have we not?" The twins bowed. The coins glittered in Ephialtes's hair.
Percy realized with nauseating certainty that some of them were silver drachma, exactly like the one Annabeth had gotten from her mom. Annabeth had told him that in each generation, a few children of Athena were sent on the quest to recover the missing Parthenon statue. None had ever succeeded.
We have worked well together over the centuries....The giant Ephialtes had centuries' worth of coins in his braids—hundreds of trophies. Percy pictured Annabeth standing in this dark place alone.
He imagined the giant taking that coin she carried and adding it to his collection. Percy wanted to draw his sword and give the giant a haircut starting at the neck, but he was powerless to act. He could only watch.
"Uh, Your Ladyship," Ephialtes said nervously. "I would remind you that Gaea wishes the girl to be taken alive. You can torment her. Drive her insane. Whatever you wish, of course. But her blood must be spilt on the ancient stones."
Her Ladyship hissed. "Others could be used for that purpose." "Y-yes," Ephialtes said. "But this girl is preferred. And the boy—the son of Poseidon. You can see why those two would be most suited for the task."
Percy wasn't sure what that meant, but he wanted to crack the floor and send these stupid gold-shirted twins down to oblivion. He'd never let Gaea spill his blood for any task—and there was no way he'd let anyone hurt Annabeth.
"We will see," Her Ladyship grumbled. "Leave me now. Tend to your own preparations. You will have your spectacle. And I...I will work in darkness." The dream dissolved, and Percy woke with a start.
Jason was knocking at his open doorway. "We've set down in the water," he said, looking utterly exhausted. "Your turn." Percy didn't want to, but he woke Annabeth. He figured even Coach Hedge wouldn't mind their talking after curfew if it meant giving her information that might save her life.
"I need to wake (Y/N) too, he's a part of their plan, a sacrifice or something, I'll go wake him and meet you on the deck in five?" He asked Annabeth, who shrugged. "No need." She yawned, "Wake up dork!" She said, walking back into her room and pulling her bedcover to one side.
(Y/N) shot up as he was revealed "-EGG ROLLS!" He shouted in a state of shock, before looking around confused. Percy looked at them with a bit of side eye, Annabeth frowned at him, "Grow up seaweed brain, he passed out here after a talk with Piper, I didn't want to wake him."
They stood on deck, alone except for Leo, who was still manning the helm. The guy must have been shattered, but he refused to go to sleep. "I don't want any more Shrimpzilla surprises," he insisted.
They'd all tried to convince Leo that the skolopendra attack hadn't been entirely his fault, but he wouldn't listen. Percy knew how he felt. Not forgiving himself for mistakes was one of Percy's biggest talents.
It was about four in the morning. The weather was miserable. The fog was so thick, Percy couldn't see Festus at the end of the prow, and warm drizzle hung in the air like a bead curtain.
As they sailed into twenty-foot swells, the sea heaving underneath them, Percy could hear poor Hazel down in her cabin...also heaving. "The soundproofing must be busted again, I'll go fix it." Leo said. Despite all that, Percy was grateful to be back on the water.
He preferred it to flying through storm clouds and being attacked by man-eating birds and enchilada trampling pegasi. He stood with Annabeth at the forward rail while he told her about his dream. (Y/N) sat beside them looking up at the stars.
Percy wasn't sure how she'd take the news. Her reaction was even more troubling than he anticipated: she didn't seem surprised. She peered into the fog. "Guys, you have to promise me something. Don't tell the others about this dream."
"Don't what? Annabeth—" "What you saw was about the Mark of Athena," she said. "It won't help the others to know. It'll only make them worry, and it'll make it harder for me to go off on my own."
"Annabeth, you can't be serious. That thing in the dark, the big chamber with the crumbling floor—" "I know." Her face looked unnaturally pale, and Percy suspected it wasn't just the fog. "But I have to do this alone."
Percy swallowed back his anger. "(Y/N), you can't agree with this right?" He asked, hoping for some backup. (Y/N) sighed, "Well, I don't agree. Annabeth shouldn't do this all alone, but at the same time, she has to."
"But-" "Percy, we can't just drop this on the others, the fear of the Mare Nostrum, the giants, Nico and this, it's too much, we're barely holding together as is. You have to remember, they're kids man."
"If we put them under too much stress, it wont do any good. Piper's already second guessing herself, Hazel's been a bundle of nerves the whole trip, Jason's exhausted, and Frank and Leo practically want to kill each other."
"Zoe beating Hercules was a blessing in disguise, it was the morale boost we needed going forward, we can't just blow that out of the water with this now. This whole thing is a balancing act."
"So what do you say we do then?" "Follow rule one of my demigod handbook. Trust Annabeth to handle it." He said, looking up at his girlfriend, then to Percy, "And be here to support her when or if she needs it."
"As for the others? Well. I have a few plans to run by our esteemed leader. Assuming we have enough room for activities." He said, looking around the deck before smiling at Annabeth. Percy punched the railing, frustration getting the better of him.
He wasn't sure if he was mad at Annabeth, or his dream, or the entire Greek/Roman world that had endured and shaped human history for five thousand years with one goal in mind: to make Percy Jackson's life suck as much as possible.
"You know what's in that cavern," he guessed. "Does it have to do with spiders?" "Yes," she said in a small voice. "Then how can you even...?" He made himself stop as (Y/N) shook his head. There was a single truth they had both come to realize.
Once Annabeth had made up her mind, arguing with her wouldn't do any good. But he was still surprised at (Y/N)'s behaviour, how could he intentionally let her go now, knowing she was heading into something dangerous?
As the two shared a glance, he took note of the tiredness in (Y/N)'s eyes, and the shaking in his hands as he clasped hands with Annabeth. Not only was it an intimate moment that made him feel like a third wheel, but the simple gesture said a lot.
(Y/N) was scared too, perhaps more so of losing his girlfriend than Percy was of losing his close friend. They had probably had this conversation before in private. (Y/N) had seemingly come to the same conclusion that Percy had. She had to go on this quest. The fate of the world might depend on it.
He went to sleep that night and dreamed of nothing. Which he considered to be a net positive. He woke early in the morning to the sound of feet shuffling against the deck, grunts of effort and a few people talking.
There were more sounds of movement, then a slamming noise that made Percy hurry up the stairs a little faster, not expecting what he saw. His friends seemed to be bouncing a black ball around the deck of the ship, trying to toss it into a pitch-black rim that hung from the main mast and was definitely not there the last time Percy had checked the ship.
"-I told you to guard her!" Zoe shouted at (Y/N). "Okay, that's on me, I forgot she's part mountain goat, she has crazy hops." he explained, followed by a sharp intake of breath that most likely meant he had been elbowed in the side as Annabeth passed him. "Hey! No contact! Ref."
"You deserved it, no foul." said Leo, sitting off to one side but not really paying attention. Fiddling with a few pieces of metal. Beside him Frank and Hazel seemed deep in intense conversation. Percy was greeted as he approached.
"What are you doing?" "Basketball, me and Zoe vs Annabeth and Piper. Leo's ref. Frank and Hazel are gonna play too, but Frank's explaining the rules first, apparently basketball was invented forever ago, but it's changed a little bit. Now you're here we can switch it up."
Percy looked at him, honestly shocked, "This? This was your plan, one of your closest friends is going to die in less than two days, but you decided now was the time to play basketball?" "Yeah." He said happily, hitting Percy in the nose with the ball, which bounced back into his hands "Play."
He did it again and repeated, "Play." When Percy frowned he tried to sell it. "C'mon, it'll be fun, Leo can join us, you join them and I can cross you out your sneakers. Or are you like Mr perfect. Too afraid to get embarrassed in front of your girlfriend?" He pointed towards Jason, who was happily watching while drinking a soda.
"I assure you Percy needs no help for that." Zoe said with a broad smile. She pulled him into a quick good morning hug and a kiss on the cheek. "And you're one to talk, since you're being embarrassed by your girlfriend as we speak." Annabeth said with a smug grin.
She and Piper approached, "How am I being embarrassed it's still six four to us." "It's seven to four moron, and it's to us." "Nuh uh! Leo?" "Seven four to them." He said with a grin. "Since when?" "Since Annabeth and I just whooped your butt." Piper said with a grin.
As (Y/N) and Piper continued to argue about the score Annabeth asked "You in seaweed brain? It'll be great, you can watch (Y/N) try another eurostep and nearly break his collarbone." Which made (Y/N) pause.
He turned to her and scoffed. "Don't even start with me Chase, you may as well pack a suitcase since you've been travelling so much." (Y/N) retorted. As they continued to bicker Zoe asked him, "Would you like to join?" Despite the stress of his dream, Percy nodded.
"So it's seven to four?" He said as he took his position and Leo went to the other team, "Nope, it's a tie game we're starting over." (Y/N) decided, "You are such a sore loser!" Annabeth shouted, he stuck his tongue out, "My backboard, my ball, my rules."
As Percy had come to expect, demigod basketball was much more intense than most streetball games. The rule of 'no contact' was basically thrown out the window, only brought up when someone wanted a free throw or to call a foul.
Imagine teenagers, given extraordinary physical abilities, some of them magical, make them hyperactive and extremely competitive, then set them loose in a small enclosed court, that was about half as ferocious as demigod basketball got, you normally needed to imagine more blood.
The intensity of the game was only increased with Annabeth and (Y/N) playing, the two of them were so competitive with each other every time they dared play one another at camp it was an honest surprise neither of them ended up in the infirmary.
Of course, that usually meant that most of their teammates did in their stead, their intensity usually spilling over to their teammates, it was an unwritten rule that save for capture the flag and chariot races, they couldn't be put on opposite teams in anything.
Annabeth had been watching and playing the game with other campers since she was nine, (Y/N) was usually pulled into games by the apollo campers and prided himself on his ability to outmanoeuvre them. They riled each other up at any opportunity.
This game they took it much easier than most of their bouts, some of which had gone down infamously in camp history, mostly on account of Hazel, who was still learning the ropes. So there was no injury this time.
Jason and Leo tagged in interchangeably, either when Leo wanted to go work on the ship, or Jason got too antsy and wanted to drop the cool guy act and join in. Percy played just so he could prove (Y/N) wrong.
They played for well over an hour, most of the game was a blur, with some stand out moments being Hazel making her first basket after a few close attempts, Frank and Zoe both scoring three pointers from full court to show off, Leo setting the ball on fire, multiple times.
As well as (Y/N) defending Jason so hard in the air he cracked his head on the mast, losing a point in the process, Piper talking the most convincing smack talk in the world and then walking to the basket and placing the ball in, and of course Annabeth using her boyfriend as a stepping stool to dunk on him.
In fact, by the end of it, Percy forgot who was on his team, nobody remembered the score or how long they had been playing. They laughed at each others blunders and cheered at each other's successes.
For the first time in days, there was no monster to overcome, or challenge to face. They all just relaxed. They never got angry, or upset with another, all their differences were put aside and they just had fun. That was their mistake.
As the others retreated downstairs to get ready for breakfast and a meeting about what to do going forward, Percy realized that he hadn't been paying attention as Annabeth and (Y/N) came up to him, "Morale boost or what?" (Y/N) asked, but Percy didn't answer.
Percy stared into the fog. He couldn't see anything around them, but he had perfect bearings at sea. He knew their exact latitude and longitude. He knew the depth of the ocean and which way the currents were flowing.
He knew the ship's speed, and could sense no rocks, sandbars, or other natural dangers in their path. Still, being blind was unsettling. They hadn't been attacked since they had touched the water, but the sea seemed different.
Percy had been in the Atlantic, the Pacific, even the Gulf of Alaska, but this sea felt more ancient and powerful. Percy could sense its layers swirling below him. Every Greek or Roman hero had sailed these waters—from Hercules to Aeneas.
Monsters still dwelt in the depths, so deeply wrapped in the Mist that they slept most of the time; but Percy could feel them stirring, responding to the Celestial bronze hull of a Greek trireme and the presence of demigod blood.
They are back, the monsters seemed to say. Finally, fresh blood. "We're not far from the Italian coast," Percy said, mostly to break the silence. "Maybe a hundred nautical miles to the mouth of the Tiber."
"Good," Annabeth said. "We should—" "Stop." Percy's skin felt washed with ice. "We have to stop." "Why?" Annabeth asked. "Leo, stop!" he yelled. Too late. The other boat appeared out of the fog and rammed them head-on.
In that split second, Percy registered random details: another trireme; black sails painted with a gorgon's head; hulking warriors, not quite human, crowded at the front of the boat in Greek armor, swords and spears ready; and a bronze ram at water level, slamming against the hull of the Argo II.
Annabeth and Percy were almost thrown overboard but (Y/N) gripped the rails with shadow and caught them. "Sound the alarm. We're being boarded!" (Y/N) shouted, excitement was clear in his voice as he jumped towards the attackers.
(Y/N)'s POV
"YESSS!" (Y/N) shouted in excitement as the enemies approached, ready to fight them off and to try out his new weapon, he checked the barrel of his gun, finding it clear, and then placing some celestial bronze scrap metal into the barrel.
Festus blew fire, sending a dozen very surprised warriors screaming and diving into the sea, but more swarmed aboard the Argo II. Grappling lines wrapped around the rails and the mast, digging iron claws into the hull's planks.
The enemy was everywhere. He couldn't see well through the fog and the dark, but the invaders seemed to be humanlike dolphins, or dolphinlike humans. Some had gray snouts. Others held their swords in stunted flippers.
"Aww man, I thought they'd be pirates!" (Y/N) shouted, jumping down and engaging with a few of their crew. One made clicking noises like a dolphin as (Y/N) ran his sword across it's belly, another made a sound halfway between that and a scream as he kicked it overboard.
He used the shadow that was once the backboard to ensnare a few more of them, throwing them overboard tied together, but more just kept coming, as a deterrent, he drew his pistol. Firing at the first one he saw.
The human sized dolphin was suddenly half it's normal size as it's head was burst like a pumpkin. But that didn't stop the onslaught of the others crashing into him, he fired once more, destroying two more creatures as one fell into the other's sword.
He slashed and gouged at the enemies, trying to get them to turn back, but they were unfazed, he held onto his gun and fired a large blast, tearing through a wave of them, but there was not a single moment to catch his breath. He was surrounded.
He tried to push on against the warriors, using both shadow and flame to keep them at bay, trying his best to buy the others to do something, escape or prepare, but when the warriors started scaling the sides of the ship, getting behind him, he knew there was no point.
So he decided if he couldn't stop them from boarding, he could just kill them all as they boarded. Using long and wide strikes he fought to destroy as many of the creatures as he could. He must have destroyed at least thirty by the time anything changed.
He sent flames and shadows across the deck, destroying the enemy in droves, but it didn't seem to matter, it was like her were fighting drops in the ocean. Eventually, he got tired taking a mere second to catch his breath, was all he allowed himself, but that was too long, in his moment of weakness, the gold one struck.
(Y/N) fired his last bullet, but the creature held up one of it's comrades to take the hit. As the sacrificial creature died, (Y/N) took his opportunity, lunging forward to stab at the man, but with a familiar move, the creature spun to avoid the strike and used it's momentum to hit (Y/N) with the pommel of it's blade.
Hitting him not in the nose, but in the throat. If he were a normal human, it might have killed him outright, but (Y/N) didn't die, he just couldn't take a breath, feeling after a few more seconds of fighting that he didn't have any more strength, breathing alone took up all his energy.
Despite all his efforts, (Y/N) collapsed on the spot. He tried to hold onto the leg of the man, before he reached (Y/N)'s friends, but found a deep gouge on the back of his hand before he could even extend his fingers. That was the point (Y/N) realized he didn't like the idea of being boarded anymore.
It was just too much, eventually there were so many he could barely swing a sword at them. As he blacked out he saw Leo sound the alarm bell. He made a dash for the nearest ballista but he also went down under a pile of chattering dolphin warriors.
Percy's POV
Annabeth and Percy stood back-to-back, as they'd done many times before, their weapons drawn. Percy tried to summon the waves, hoping he could push the ships apart or even capsize the enemy vessel, but nothing happened.
It almost felt like something was pushing against his will, wresting the sea from his control. He raised Riptide, ready to fight, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Several dozen warriors lowered their spears and made a ring around them, wisely keeping out of striking distance of Percy's sword.
The dolphin-men opened their snouts and made whistling, popping noises. Percy had never considered just how vicious dolphin teeth looked. He tried to think. Maybe he could break out of the circle and destroy a few invaders, but not without the others skewering him and Annabeth.
At least the warriors didn't seem interested in killing them immediately. They kept Percy and Annabeth contained while more of their comrades flooded below decks and secured the hull. Percy could hear them breaking down the cabin doors, scuffling with his friends.
Even if the other demigods hadn't been unprepared they wouldn't have stood a chance against so many. (Y/N) was nowhere to be seen, swarmed by the sheer amount of enemies on deck, they eventually just piled on top of him.
Leo was dragged across the deck, half-conscious and groaning, and dumped on a pile of ropes. Below, the sounds of fighting tapered off. Either the others had been subdued or...or Percy refused to think about it.
On one side of the ring of spears, the dolphin warriors parted to let someone through. He appeared to be fully human, but from the way the dolphins fell back before him, he was clearly the leader.
He was dressed in Greek combat armor—sandals, kilt, and greaves, a breastplate decorated with elaborate sea monster designs—and everything he wore was gold. Even his sword, a Greek blade like Riptide, was gold instead of bronze.
The golden boy, Percy thought, remembering his dream. They'll have to get past the golden boy. What really made Percy nervous was the guy's helmet. His visor was a full face mask fashioned like a gorgon's head—curved tusks, horrible features pinched into a snarl, and golden snake hair curling around the face.
Percy had met gorgons before. The likeness was good—a little too good for his taste. Annabeth turned so she was shoulder to shoulder with Percy. "Who are you?" Percy demanded. "What do you want?"
The golden warrior chuckled. With a flick of his blade, faster than Percy could follow, he smacked Riptide out of Percy's hand and sent it flying into the sea. He might as well have thrown Percy's lungs into the sea, because suddenly Percy couldn't breathe.
He'd never been disarmed so easily. "Hello, brother." The golden warrior's voice was rich and velvety, with an exotic accent—Middle Eastern, maybe—that seemed vaguely familiar. "Always happy to rob a fellow son of Poseidon."
"I am Chrysaor, the Golden Sword. As for what I want..." He turned his metal mask toward Annabeth. "Well, that's easy. I want everything you have."