*August 24 XXXX*
***
"Well, this seems familiar!" Luke called out.
He was standing at the foremost point of the army, directly in the center. Even to someone who'd never seen him before could easily tell that he was the leader, despite his lack of height and muscles compared to many of the others. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, legs slightly apart and an ugly expression on his face. The shadows that the dim lights cast on his face folded deeply into his scar, making it appear more sinister.
"Did you really just break out of my prison only to be captured again, cousin?" Luke asked. His tone, however, stated to Percy that the question was rhetorical.
"Nope!" he answered anyways, shoving Annabeth and Tyson over the railing of the ship.
Annabeth let out a scream as she fell, spouting a healthy stream of curses at Percy, both in English and Greek. Tyson remained silent, a perfectly frozen expression of shock on his face. He merely stared up at where Percy stood next to the railing, his brow furrowed, lip pouted, and his single brown eye wide with confusion.
Percy then went to shove Grover, but the satyr avoided his friend, shuffling skittishly across the deck. "Are you crazy, man?" he yelped, his hooves tapping against the polished wood.
"No, seriously, Grover! Go overboard! I have a plan!" Percy replied, but it was too late, for Grover's hooves had brought him within arm's reach of one of the monsters, who immediately took his chance to snatch up the satyr.
"Ahh! Let go!" Grover cried, shaking his shaggy hindquarters as he struggled to get out of the monster's grip. His hooves flailed around, uselessly hitting the belly of the monster that held him. The monster squeezed his arms tighter, and Percy winced when Grover yelped. He knew for certain that Grover's arms would soon be covered in bruises.
"What will you do now Percy? You've left half of your team in the ocean as shark bait and the other half is still trapped aboard my ship." Luke interrupted himself to chuckle. "Did you really think you could win this one?"
Percy looked between the raging ocean over the railing and Grover, who was still struggling, though it was no use. Percy couldn't decide whether to leave him and help the others escape or let the others bob in the ocean for a bit longer so that he could help Grover. He knew that Tyson would be okay as a son of Poseidon, but Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, Poseidon's sworn enemy. And on top of all that, the last watery situation she'd been in with him had been extremely traumatising.
At least this time there were no spiders.
"Grover, we'll come back for you. Luke won't hurt you because there would be no need to. If he wanted us dead he'd have killed us already. You just stay strong and know that we'll be back as soon as we can."
Before Grover or Luke had a chance to ask what he was talking about. Percy dove over the side of the ship and down into the ocean. His face smacked into the water and it was not the force - as one would expect - but the shock of the cold that awakened his senses.
He felt one with the sea.
His gut tightened and water formed up around him, solidifying into a watery boat. It was almost like half-melted glass - translucent, but still shifting and dripping. Annabeth and Tyson were carried up in the boat as well, and the three of them sped off west, where Percy's gut was telling him to go.
Percy didn't look back. He couldn't bring himself to, for fear that he could see Grover's expression. He couldn't face the betrayed look in his short-time friend's eyes as he left him behind.
Annabeth finally asked the question he was dreading: "Where's Grover?"
"I had to leave him behind. There was no other choice." Percy didn't even look at Annabeth, his voice being the only thing that acknowledged her question.
"What? How could you do that Percy?" Annabeth demanded, suddenly standing up. The boat rocked slightly but kept going, the water propelling it forwards by Percy's will.
"I had to, okay!" Percy yelled suddenly. He stood as well, but unlike with Annabeth, the boat didn't rock. "It was either leave him on the ship and get the fleece or stay with him, captured by monsters, while you two were floating in the ocean with no way of escape! You're the daughter of Athena, what would you have done?"
Tyson sat in the middle of the boat, watching helplessly as his brother and his brother's friend fought over their other friend. His eye looked from Annabeth to Percy as they shouted insults and accusations at one another, much like he was watching a tennis match, but he wasn't amused. More like, he was upset because they were upset, and any moment, his teary brown eye would let loose its first tear.
"I wouldn't have left our friend behind! I would've saved him and gotten away!" Annabeth yelled.
"Well-" Percy was cut off because of the loud, wrenching sob that exploded from Tyson's throat. The two demigods turned to see the cyclops, sitting in the middle of the water boat, crying to his heart's content. His chest heaved and his mouth was wide open, letting puffs of air enter and exit at random.
Percy was immediately at his baby brother's side. "Tyson, what's wrong? Was it something we said?" he asked softly, putting a hand on Tyson's shaking shoulder.
Tyson nodded, squeezing his eyes shut tight, his lip trembling as he held in another sob, which escaped as a whimper.
Annabeth knelt down next to Tyson as well. She didn't touch him, nor did she know what to say, so she just knelt there, her grey eyes watching Percy intently.
"Sorry, buddy. We'll stop arguing now," Percy assured. "We're just both worried about Grover is all. It's a weird way of showing it, but we care."
Tyson nodded again, this time opening his eye a little. He looked up at Percy, tears still gathered on his face, some still prepared to fall. "Really?" he asked.
Percy smiled, patting Tyson on the back. "Really, buddy."
"So no more fighting?" he asked.
"Yeah, bud. We promise. No more fighting." Percy put his right hand over his chest as if he was swearing an oath in a court of law, but the smile on his face told his two companions that he was joking. As he spoke, Percy sent a glance at Annabeth, silently telling her to agree as well.
"Yeah," Annabeth said suddenly. She sent Percy a glare. "We promise."
Tyson sniffled a little but smiled. "Okay."
***
The three traveled many miles in their small water-boat, directed by Percy's adept sense of direction on the ocean. When Annabeth asked, he said he could see map lines. At first, she'd stared at him, her eyebrows slowly escaping off the top of her head, but eventually, her eyebrows returned to their original position when Percy explained about Poseidon's powers at sea.
"Whatever you say," she'd said, and left it at that.
After that brief exchange, they fell into a lapse of silence, all just staring out at the ocean in different directions, though all seeing the same thing. The ocean stretched out endlessly every way they looked, and it was only due to the blessing of Percy's father that they were not hopelessly lost and in the clutches of death.
Night soon approached. Annabeth and Tyson watched as the sun set in the west, admiring Apollo's handiwork. Percy, however, had his eyes on the eastern horizon. His sea green eyes, illuminated slightly by the dim light, watched patiently. Even after the sun was long gone and stars blinked to life in the dark black expanse of space, Percy watched and waited, his eyes focused east.
"Percy, what are you looking for?" Annabeth asked, after hours of her friend's mindless staring.
"I'm waiting. She shan't be long now," he replied. His voice was slightly distant, but his answer was plain and short.
"Who?" Tyson asked.
"You'll see."
Suddenly, as if on cue, the eastern horizon grew brighter, illuminating the line where the sea met the sky. A small smile appeared on Percy's face. It was barely noticeable - the subtle upwards tilt on his mouth - but Annabeth had been looking for it.
She couldn't help but feel a spark of jealousy ignite in her chest as she realized who had arrived. The one person in all of the world that could make Percy smile so easily. The one person who knew him better than anyone else. The one person who traveled the earth by day and the sky by night.
Artemis.
Annabeth wished so dearly that Artemis wouldn't have shown up to help. She'd done that the last quest they'd been assigned and for Annabeth, everything had been messed up. They didn't need Artemis' help to prove themselves. According to the Ancient Laws, Artemis shouldn't even have been able to help them before, much less now.
She didn't know what came over her, but as the moon chariot grew closer in the sky, Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand, pulling him to her side. She curled herself into him subtly, shivering slightly. Of course, according to plan, he wrapped an arm around her, so as to protect her from the cold.
Annabeth almost failed to hide her smirk of triumph as Artemis' chariot reached the water, quickly transforming into a magnificent boat as soon as the wheels were caressed in waves. It grew even more difficult to hide her victory as she saw the look on Artemis' face as she peered down at them from the bow of her newly-created ship. Her dark eyebrows grew closer together, not so much that it was noticeable, and her mouth fell into a frown, but otherwise, she kept herself composed.
"Come aboard. We must sail into the triangle, and once we pass its borders, your godly powers will be relinquished."
The three heroes followed the goddess' instruction without question, boarding her silver vessel. As Percy and Annabeth walked past her, Artemis held out a silver parka for Annabeth, a clear sign for Annabeth to let go of Percy. With the parka, she obviously wouldn't need him for warmth.
Annabeth took the coat begrudgingly, but she allowed a sly smile to shine through - while Percy wasn't looking, of course. Artemis let a glare show, her silver eyes burning into Annabeth's back.
Percy, clearly not realizing the tension between the two women, smiled and hugged Artemis tightly before helping Annabeth put on the parka. Then, he retreated to the bow of the ship and worked his magic, steering them in the right direction.
Once he'd set their course, he returned to them.
His three companions were sitting in the circle around a small round table, upon which were piles of sandwiches. Tyson was digging in, barely having time to chew before another sandwich entered his mouth. Annabeth and Artemis, however, were sharing an intense glare, which immediately vanished as they heard Percy approach.
He gave Artemis a toothy grin. "You're always right on time," he complimented. "And you sure know what I like. This ship is amazing." He turned away for a second, looking out to admire the ship once more. In that moment, Artemis send a triumphant smirk in Annabeth's direction, the latter glaring back.
Percy turned back towards him, and all expressions became neutral once more.
"Of course, Perseus. I pride myself on my punctuality. Besides, we have been friends for years. I would hope that you'd take insult if I did not know you as well as I do by now," Artemis replied with a hint of a smile.
"I never doubted you, Arty, but you must be busy. I was surprised to even hear your reply to my prayer. I never meant to take you from your duties." Percy sat down on the chair that Artemis summoned. It was between herself and Tyson. As Percy sat, Artemis sent another secret smirk towards Annabeth.
Annabeth's eyes narrowed. The game was, indeed, on.
"Oh, it is no trouble. I find myself rather bored these days anyway. Usually, we spend more time together, but since the prophecy has taken effect, you've become overrun with duties of your own. I wished to see you more, but as I've said before: what the Fates decree is what shall happen, and they see us apart."
"I wish this whole prophecy could just be over and done with. Your father is worried that I'll turn against Olympus even now, but you should know that I'd never turn against you," Percy paused. "Any of you."
Artemis' eyes lit up but dimmed slightly as Percy finished his sentence. Annabeth bit her lip to stop herself from smirking slightly.
"Percy, don't you think that we should head to bed now? It's getting late and we have to be well rested once we reach Polyphemus' island in the Sea of Monsters," Annabeth said.
Percy nodded. "You're right. Let's get going. Artemis," Artemis looked up, "How many rooms do you have aboard?"
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "It's a small ship. Two are for sleeping," she replied.
Percy nodded. "Good, then, if you don't mind, I shall share a room with Tyson and I hope that you and Annabeth won't have any trouble doing the same."
Artemis and Annabeth immediately looked towards each other with hate flashing in their eyes. The mere idea of sharing a room with the other was met with disgust and repulsion in each the women's minds.
"Sure," they both said simultaneously.
A smile appeared on Percy's face. "Great," he said. "Then we should get some sleep. We're on course so we should reach our destination by daybreak."
***
Published: Saturday, April 8, 2017
~CSP2708~