Leo slumped forward, fingers drumming on the table, chewing his lip. He swung his legs, hardly able to sit still as Jake and Nyssa studied the diagram he drew of the Argo II, along with the notes he scrawled on the side. They were going back and forth on what adjustments should be made and while Leo knew he should be providing his own suggestions, he found himself becoming too fidgety and unfocused.
I should be searching for clues on the ingredients by now... he thought, feeling a nauseating combination of guilt and uneasiness.
His emotions couldn't be helped, despite his best efforts he still found himself feeling anxious about the others finding out his plan. It wasn't so much as them stopping him that made him unnerved, but how they would react once it was done. If he had felt the way he did when he found out Annabeth and Percy were hiding things, he couldn't imagine how terrible they'd feel when they will find out he died and that he planned on doing this from the start. And planned it right under their noses too.
Gods. They're going to kill me. Leo slowly realized with a sinking feeling. No minutes on a video scroll was ever going to fix the damage he will do. They're going to kill me, bring me back to life, and kill me again.
But it was worth it. It was worth it, Leo told himself firmly. He'd rather them be angry then any of them dead.
He felt his stomach twist itself into knots. He was going to do this, no turning back. Drumming his fingers faster, Leo missed Nyssa's question and the way she narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
His own eyes glanced around the room before landing at Cabin Ten's bench.
Aphrodite looked so out of place, sitting in an elegant pink dress with a chain seashell belt (if there's one thing they shared, Leo guessed Piper and Aphrodite had the same sense of humor), surrounded by a bunch of orange-shirted kids. He was honestly surprised she hadn't given them her usual extreme makeover, instead she held her forehead, eyes were darting from teen to teen, struggling to keep up with what everyone was saying.
"And then she said-"
"She headbutt her in the stomach like a bull! Bobby pins and extensions went everywhere! And-"
"My neighbor had a whole colony of squirrels living in his attic, he tried to remove them himself but-"
"Mom! Mom! Listen to this! So there's this boy in my class-"
"-But she said-"
"So I told them 'His beard his obviously penciled in'. I mean he's always been-"
"Mom!"
"Mother!"
"MOM!"
The Cabin Ten children were all yelling over each other, trying to get their mother's attention. A few were eagerly waving their hands.
Finally, the goddess lifted her hands up.
"Children, children! One at a time, Mother can't hear you all when you're talking at once."
Obediently, the teens went quiet, save for a couple of grumbles and someone complaining 'I was getting to the best part'.
Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, the goddess squinted at one of her daughters. "Now Lily, what was that about the man with the squirrels?"
Said girl's face lit up. She flashed her siblings a smug smirk before recounting her story in more detail. The others listened, fidgeting as they impatiently waited for her to finish. After a while, a couple gave up and began to add their own commentary, others soon joining them. It wasn't long before they all started talking at once, going back to square one.
Leo's attention was pulled away from the scene when Nyssa insistently snapped her fingers.
"Hey, I'm trying to talk to you." she said tightly. Jake was busying himself by rereading the notes, but Leo could tell he was just as annoyed as her by his grip on the paper.
"Sorry," Leo frowned with a twinge of guilt. He was feeling that a lot recently, he noticed, suppressing a sigh. "What were you saying?"
She scowled. "I said, instead of limiting the storage area to where it is, we should expand it to where the stables are going to be."
She tapped at the larger left section of the lower deck. "It'll give us enough space to store more supplies and building material."
Leo tilted his head. "Do we really need that much room? The quest isn't supposed to last long. Isn't that overkill?"
"You had to land to find more supplies," Nyssa reminded. "And with all the monsters that you'll be facing in Rome, I'd rather you be over prepared than under prepared."
"I agree," Jake stepped in, clicking his pen. "With how much damage the ship's taken against Shrimpzilla alone, I don't want anything worse to happen to it when you get to Rome." He hesitated briefly, catching himself on something. "And you, I definitely don't want anything to happen to you and the others. I mean-"
"I know," Leo reassured, swallowing a lump in his throat. Here Jake was worrying about him and he was secretly planning his own death. He shoved the thought away as quickly as it was brought up. "I guess it would help. With all the things Will's going to want us to have, I'll doubt it'll fit in one room."
Nyssa took the pen and paper from Jake. "Well, hopefully he doesn't go overboard with the packing-"
"I think 'overboard' is the definition of Will Solace." Leo considered his words briefly. "That and 'mother hen'."
"Let's write down what we need," Nyssa continued, the sides of her mouth twitching to a ghost of a smile. "Lime and tar, we'll just get those out of the way."
"More wood for repairs," Jake added, Leo nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement.
As they listed off more supplies, Hephaestus stood in the sidelines, watching his children from afar. He couldn't help but feel jealous towards Aphrodite. His wife was always a social butterfly, he knew, but did Aphrodite have to make forming a relationship with her children look so easy? She was hardly putting an effort and her children were so eager to talk to her. No awkward silence, no conversations with undertones of resentment (although he deserved it), it was unlike anything he had experienced before in the rare opportunities he had with his children and he couldn't help but wonder what he was doing wrong.
Around him the other gods were having similar thoughts. They watched with confusion and displeasure as the goddess of love laughed loudly at one of her sons' stories.
"Another tea party?" Apollo asked. Feeling inadequate, he narrowed his eyes at the scene. "I thought she only did those on quests."
"I know, she'll spend time with some of her kids here and there but never like this." Hermes muttered, feeling awkward about the situation. He should be sitting at a table talking with his children as well. After the death of Luke, he really should gather everyone and give them the heart-to-heart they deserved ages ago.
But if I do that now, they'll just think I'm only doing it because of Aphrodite... Hermes grimaced, daring to look in his sons' direction.
The Stolls were in the middle of a card game (and cheating, judging by the extra cards sticking out of Travis' back pocket), but the god caught them giving brief glances at Cabin Ten's table, talking softly to one another, and he anxiously tensed. What were they thinking right now? Did this make them resent Hermes more? What was Chris thinking? Did he regret rejoining the Olympians' side of the war?
He shifted from leg to leg, suddenly unable to stand still. Wringing his hands, he almost didn't hear Demeter snort at the latest spectacle.
"You know, I did it first and I barely got this much attention." the goddess pointed out, pouring more milk into her cereal bowl. "Katie, Leo, and I were enjoying cereal together and no one made a big deal out of it, but Aphrodite finally decides to give someone besides herself attention and it's the talk of the town."
"We heard what you were talking about and it's what you always say to whoever's around." Poseidon said dismissively, watching the scene. "You were blowing off steam, this is different."
So different, the god of the sea was surprised this was even happening. From the way she brags about them, Aphrodite was clearly fond of her children, but she had always seemed content with just loving them from a distance, only popping in their lives here and there to help when needed the most. It was a parenting method that most of the gods had picked up, it avoided showing favoritism and prevented confronting the reminder that you are just now becoming a part of your child's life.
Poseidon wondered what made Aphrodite change and how far will she go. Did Percy's words play a role in this?
At the thought of his son, the god cringed. The next chapter was going to be horrible, he could already feel it.
As if Percy going on this quest and the upcoming war wasn't enough... the god thought tiredly.
As the god was anxiously waiting for the break to be over, the Hephaestus children were finishing up their list. From Celestial bronze to fiber glass, the trio comprised an inventory of enough materials to repair any damages on the ship.
"I just hope we're not forgetting anything..." Nyssa said, sliding the paper to the middle of the table.
Leo picked up the paper and checked the front and the back. Next to his messy writing, Nyssa's tiny words were easy to miss and squished in corners. He hoped other people would be able to read it as he passed it to Jake.
"Doubt it. We have enough stuff to build another ship," Leo remarked with a frown.
His brother took the paper. He squinted and brought it close to his face as he double-checked everything. He tilted the paper to the side a bit then tilted it to the other, earning an eye roll from Nyssa.
"Looks good, if we forget anything we can just add it to the list." Jake said once he finally managed to read the handwriting.
Nyssa simply nodded her head. "Good."
Then the trio fell into an awkward silence. Looking at each other, not sure where to go now that the work was done.
Or at least Nyssa and Jake were unsure, after months of working on the ship, Leo was used to the lapses of silence. Usually they would last for five uncomfortable minutes before someone excused themselves and they would all leave, off to a camp activity or their work on the ship. Leo was wondering what excuse he should use so he could leave the table. Something that won't make them ask any questions and would give him enough time to do more research on the Physician's Cure (Leo ignored a stab of guilt). He couldn't use the bathroom again, you can only use that for so many times before people start thinking something's wrong with you.
Maybe a simple 'See ya' later'? But wouldn't it look suspicious when he just leaves the room?
'Going to go stretch my legs'? Ehh... Still awkward and suspicious.
Just leave?
Twirling a tiny screwdriver in his hand, Leo was pulled out of his thoughts when Jake cleared his throat.
"So, Leo, what are you going to do after you finish the Great Prophecy?" he asked, trying to sound upbeat and not as uncomfortable as he felt.
Caught off guard, Leo fumbled with the screwdriver. Thinking he misheard, he turned to his brother, eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"
Jake shifted nervously. This bonding thing was going to be harder than he thought. He glanced at Nyssa, who gave him a small encouraging nod, and shrugged helplessly to Leo. "Well, this is going to end eventually, right? So I'm just wondering what are you going to do with the rest of your summer when it's over."
"Oh." Leo blinked. For a moment, he was stumped. With the quest, time traveling, and his plan, he didn't have time to think of what happens after he gets everything done. If he hadn't already, Leo guessed the next step would be to find Calypso's island. "Travel, I think."
His siblings sadly slumped their shoulders.
"Oh." Nyssa said, disappointment evident in her voice. When she saw Leo frown in response, she tried to perk up. "That's good! It's nice to explore and relax after a quest! It's just..."
She tried to find the right words. Giving up, she grunted and picked at the Smiley face band aid wrapped around her finger.
"After you travel, maybe you can come back to Camp." Jake suggested. Nyssa looked up from her band aid and nodded in agreement, giving her brother a grateful glance. "Ya' know, hang out? We can do a big project together."
Nyssa shyly grinned at Leo. "Shane and Harley have been talking non-stop about making a hover craft, maybe we can do that."
With a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest, Leo smiled back. He practically see it now: Coming back to Camp, riding a fully-repaired Festus with Calypso sitting behind him. Everyone would be furious at him, but his fantasy glossed over the consequences in favor of imagining him, Cabin Nine, and Calypso working together to make an awesome hovercraft, complete with four seats and cup-holders. Oh! And a stereo they can blast music on when they're riding around Camp! That'd be awesome!
The more he imagined it, the more he looked forward to introducing his siblings to his... er... Calypso. They would love her! She was so resourceful and hardworking! She'd fit right in!
"That sounds great, I know someone who can help us!" Leo found himself saying excitedly. He beat down the small flames that were starting to sprout on his jacket.
Leo's excitement was contagious, soon his siblings were smiling widely as well.
"Really?" Jake said. "Who?"
"Uhhhh..." Leo's eyes momentarily widened in realization of the situation he put himself in. He tried to play it cool as he shrugged. "My friend."
As he choked out the word, Leo had a bad taste in his mouth, but he ignored it as he continued the conversation. "So what are you guys going to do after we're done reading the books?"
Jake talked about going back to high school soon, along with his new schedule and teachers. Nyssa talked about applying for a part-time job at a bicycle shop. They were so caught up in their conversations, leaving to find the ingredients didn't even cross Leo's mind until Zeus announced that break time was over.
As he got up, Leo knew he should be upset at a missed opportunity, and if it was earlier that morning, he would've been. Yet, listening to Nyssa talk about her upcoming interview, he found himself not really minding.
He still had enough time to find out about the Physician's Cure. Right now, he just wanted to convince Nyssa that there was no way she wasn't getting that job.
————
As everyone was sitting down, Jake took the book.
"I'll read," he said, upbeat. Considering the chapter he was about to read, his tone was met with raised eyebrows and bemused frowns.
Hardly noticing, Jake flipped to the chapter they left off on.
"Percy XXX," Jake began.
Poseidon was already biting his lip, staring at the ground as if he were waiting for it to swallow him whole.
Percy sat stiffly in his chair, arms crossed.
PERCY'S HEART DID JUMPING JACKS while Chrysaor walked back and forth, inspecting them like prized cattle. Jake's grin quickly turned into a scowl.
Percy and Annabeth glared at the book as the others anxiously listened on.
A dozen of his dolphin-man warriors stayed in a ring around them, spears leveled at Percy's chest, while dozens more ransacked the ship, banging and crashing around below decks. One carried a box of ambrosia up the stairs.
Will groaned in annoyance. "Seriously? Out of all the things they could've taken.." He gave Leo a pleading look. "Please don't tell me that is your only supply of ambrosia."
With a frown, Leo rolled his screwdriver in between his palms. "It wasn't our last box, but we definitely didn't have enough to share with a bunch of pirate dolphins."
Will didn't like the sound of that. Just how much medical supplies do they have in the Infirmary?
Another carried an armful of ballista bolts and a crate of Greek fire.
The demigods tensed.
"If they're not careful with that, they could end up blowing up both of our ships." Annabeth said, squeezing her necklace.
..."Ha!" Chrysaor said. "We know all about Greek fire, girl. Don't worry. We've been looting and pillaging ships on the Mare Nostrum for eons."
"Your accent sounds familiar," Percy said. "Have we met?"
Confused, Percy tilted his head.
"I don't think so..." he said, racking his brain for answers. "I would've remembered meeting another son of Poseidon." Especially one that's a pirate who wants me dead.
"You don't know him, but you've met his mother." Poseidon muttered, too low for Percy to hear. He sent Athena a venomous glare.
Having a feeling what the reason might be, the goddess of wisdom sneered back.
"I haven't had the pleasure." Chrysaor's golden gorgon mask snarled at him... "But I've heard all about you, Percy Jackson. Oh, yes, the young man who saved Olympus. And his faithful sidekick, Annabeth Chase."
Annabeth bristled. "I'm nobody's sidekick!"
...[Annabeth]"And, Percy, his accent sounds familiar because he sounds like his mother. We killed her in New Jersey."
Poseidon winced.
Percy's frown deepened. "New Jersey?" Then it clicked. The gorgon mask. The accent. "Medusa's his mom?" He sucked air through his teeth and cringed. "That sucks."
Percy ignored Poseidon's disapproving glance.
"You've fought Medusa before?" Leo said in disbelief.
"It was a long time ago, our first quest together." Grover told him. "She used to live in a garden statuary shop off a main highway in New Jersey. Anybody who went in there... well..." he grimaced, thinking about his Uncle Ferdinand.
Getting the point, Leo winced. "Yikes. How'd you beat her?"
"With Annabeth and Grover's help, I managed to cut Medusa's head off," Percy said.
"And he mailed said head to Olympus addressed to the gods," Annabeth added, fondly rolling her eyes.
Percy ducked his head so the gods wouldn't see his smirk. Said immortals were glaring daggers at the boy, especially Zeus.
The blatant disrespect. the god thought with gritted teeth.
The demigods softly snickered as Leo's jaw dropped.
"Wait," Leo finally said, hands motioning a 'time-out'. "You sent the gods the head of Medusa. Medusa."
"Yeah," Percy tried not to sound so smug about it.
"...How are you not dead?" Leo asked. The son of Poseidon laughed at the bluntness of his question.
"The Fates, my dad, luck?" Percy listed out with a shrug, now widely smiling. "Take your pick."
Zeus's glare intensified as Jake continued reading.
..."Medusa is your mom?" he asked. "Dude, that sucks for you."
"Did you have to say that to his face?" Annabeth groaned.
Percy's smile became more sheepish. "Sorry."
Judging from the sound in Chrysaor's throat, he was now snarling under the mask, too.
"You are as arrogant as the first Perseus," Chrysaor said. "But, yes, Percy Jackson. Poseidon was my father. Medusa was my mother. After Medusa was changed into a monster by that so-called goddess of wisdom..."
"She deserved what she got after desecrating my temple!" Athena seethed. "My priestess of all people! Getting romantic at the foot of my statue!"
"Why do these problems always come back to one of Athena's statues?" Leo muttered to himself.
The goddess of wisdom glared at Poseidon. "That was your idea! I know it was!"
"So what if it was?" Poseidon challenged. "There's nothing you can do about it!"
Athena fumed at his words. He was right, although she was a powerful goddess, Poseidon was not the type of enemy you wanted to attack directly. It was what made her choose to curse Medusa in the first place.
Worried that things might escalate further, Jake hastily continued reading.
The golden mask turned on Annabeth. "That would be your mother, I believe...Medusa's two children were trapped inside her, unable to be born.
"Not my problem." Athena scoffed. She and Poseidon glared at each other again.
When the original Perseus cut off Medusa's head—"
"Two children sprang out," Annabeth remembered. "Pegasus and you."
Travis made a face. "A pegasus...?"
"Not a pegasus." Poseidon corrected, breaking eye contact with Athena as he turned to the demigods. "The Pegasus, the first of his kind." he said proudly.
Percy blinked. "So your brother is a winged horse. But you're also my half brother, which means all the flying horses in the world are my...You know what? Let's forget it."
"It's best not to think about it." Katie said, thoughts drifting to familial ties with Arion. She cringed.
He'd learned years ago it was better not to dwell too much on who was related to whom on the godly side of things. After Tyson the Cyclops adopted him as a brother, Percy decided that that was about as far as he wanted to extend the family.
Poseidon felt a pang of sadness hearing that.
"But if you're Medusa's kid," he said, "why haven't I ever heard of you?"
You had to bring it up. Poseidon sighed.
Chrysaor sighed in exasperation. "When your brother is Pegasus, you get used to being forgotten. Oh, look, a winged horse! Does anyone care about me? No!"
"Well, maybe if you looked more like your mom, people would notice you." Percy unhelpfully suggested. He couldn't feel sympathetic even if he tried. "Is that why you wear the mask? So people can make the connection?"
He raised the tip of his blade to Percy's eyes. "But don't underestimate me. My name means the Golden Sword for a reason."
"Because that's the only thing about you that makes you interesting?" Percy pretended to guess.
Percy. Poseidon wanted to sigh, but chose to remain silent. Instead, he rubbed his temples and listened as Jake continued reading.
"Imperial gold?" Percy guessed.
"Bah! Enchanted gold, yes. Later on, the Romans called it Imperial gold, but I was the first to ever wield such a blade. I should have been the most famous hero of all time! Since the legend-tellers decided to ignore me, I became a villain instead. I resolved to put my heritage to use. As the son of Medusa, I would inspire terror. As the son of Poseidon, I would rule the seas!"
"Must not have been that good of a hero for you to turn so easily into a villain." Annabeth remarked with a scowl.
"I know right, that's really the reason he became bad?" Percy rolled his eyes. "Talk about desperate for attention."
"You became a pirate," Annabeth summed up.
Chrysaor spread his arms, which was fine with Percy since it got the sword point away from his eyes.
"The best pirate," Chrysaor said.
"Then why haven't I heard of you?" Percy asked flatly.
"I've sailed these waters for centuries, waylaying any demigods foolish enough to explore the Mare Nostrum. This is my territory now. And all you have is mine."
Percy glared at the book. Chrysaor finally stopped pointing that stupid sword in his face and his big mouth's been talking long enough, maybe now his pen has materialized back and he could catch this guy off guard.
I just need a distraction. he thought.
One of the dolphin warriors dragged Coach Hedge up from below.
And there he is. Percy grinned. If anybody could buy him enough time, it had to be Coach Hedge.
"Let me go, you tuna fish!" Hedge bellowed. He tried to kick the warrior, but his hoof clanged off his captor's armor. Judging from the hoof-shaped prints in the dolphin's breastplate and helmet, the coach had already made several attempts.
"Ah, a satyr," Chrysaor mused. "A little old and stringy,
"Ouch." Leo cringed. Using his screwdriver, he tapped out a beat on the wall.
but Cyclopes will pay well for a morsel like him. Chain him up."
"I'm nobody's goat meat!" Hedge protested.
You tell'em, Coach. Percy thought. Maybe if he was lucky, Coach Hedge will start a back and forth with Chrysaor. The satyr's insults alone should be enough to catch the pirate off guard long enough for Percy to strike.
"Gag him as well," Chrysaor decided.
Percy's shoulders slumped. So much for my great idea.
He sighed, brushing his hair back. All he needed was one good distraction.
"Why you gilded little—" Hedge's insult was cut short when the dolphin put a greasy wad of canvas in his mouth.
Percy sighed again.
Soon the coach was trussed like a rodeo calf and dumped with the other loot—crates of food, extra weapons, even the magical ice chest from the mess hall.
"Did they really have to try and steal my ice chest? Do they realize how expensive those are?" Leo grumbled. Pocketing his screwdriver, he took out a few Post-It's from his jacket.
He folded on of the small squared papers.
"What's so special about a magical cooler?" Chris asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"Man, you haven't lived until you eaten a sundae cone straight from a magical ice chest." Leo told the teen. His mouth watered at the thought of the frozen dessert, if he wasn't always fighting monsters and steering the ship, he'd be eating them all day.
"You can't do this!" Annabeth shouted.
Chrysaor's laughter reverberated inside his gold face mask. Percy wondered if he was horribly disfigured under there, or if his gaze could petrify people the way his mother's could.
"Whatever he looks like, he can't be memorable." Percy said, crossing his arms. "Not like his brother."
"I can do anything I want," Chrysaor said. "My warriors have been trained to perfection. They are vicious, cutthroat—"
"Does he realize he's talking about were-dolphins?" Connor remarked.
...Chrysaor shrugged. "Yes. So? They had some bad luck a few millennia ago, kidnapped the wrong person. Some of their crew got turned completely into dolphins. Others went mad. But these...these survived as hybrid creatures. When I found them under the sea and offered them a new life, they became my loyal crew. They fear nothing!"
Raising an eyebrow, Dionysus looked up from his magazine.
"Really? Guess I didn't make a strong enough first impression." There was a glint in his eyes. "Maybe I should pay their little ship a visit."
One of the warriors chattered at him nervously.
"Yes, yes," Chrysaor growled. "They fear one thing, but it hardly matters. He's not here."
That's more like it, Dionysus thought with a smirk.
"This would've been the perfect time for you to jump up and say 'Yes he is!'" Hermes told Leo.
"Yeah, and they would've laughed in my face and thrown me overboard." the son of Hephaestus deadpanned. He threw his paper air plane. It took a nose dive onto the floor.
Meanwhile, Percy's mind was racing with this new piece of information. So they were scared of Mr. D? Maybe he could do something to convince them that he and his friends were under the god's protection. Or maybe that he was coming on the ship. He thought back to Leo's Dionysus impression. If he could do something similar, he might have the whole crew panic enough to cause a distraction.
An idea began tickling at the base of Percy's skull.
Percy hoped it was something similar to his own idea.
Before he could pursue it, more dolphin warriors climbed the stairs, hauling up the rest of his friends.
Percy grimaced and the others tensed.
Leo continued throwing paper air planes.
Jason was unconscious. Judging from the new bruises on his face, he'd tried to fight.
Thalia winced.
Hazel and Piper were bound hand and foot.
Hades, Nico, Aphrodite, and Cabin Ten grimaced.
Piper had a gag in her mouth, so apparently the dolphins had discovered she could charmspeak. Frank was the only one missing, though two of the dolphins had bee stings covering their faces.
Annabeth sighed with relief. "That's good, if he's somewhere around the ship, maybe he can help cause a distraction. Make the group split up or find a way to free the girls."
Or make them believe we're cursed. Percy realized. The more he thought about it, the crazier it sounded. There was so many things that can go wrong. Leo pretending to be Mr. D was one thing, but with this idea, he had to rely on others who would have no clue what he was doing. He hoped that if his future self came up with the same idea, it didn't end up with his friends getting killed.
..."Excellent!" Chrysaor gloated. He directed his warriors to dump Jason by the crossbows.
Thalia glared at the book.
Then he examined the girls like they were Christmas presents, which made Percy grit his teeth.
Like he was doing now.
The demigods and hunters looked equally repulsed.
Poseidon avoided eye contact with everyone.
"The boy is no use to me," Chrysaor said. "But we have an understanding with the witch Circe. She will buy the women—either as slaves or trainees, depending on their skill.
A few of the teens shuddered.
"It doesn't sound like there's much of a difference." Lacy whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself.
But not you, lovely Annabeth." Jake made a face as he read that line.
Annabeth reared back in her chair.
Athena, Thalia, and Percy glared at the book.
Where's my pen? It should be here by now. Percy thought impatiently. He needed to do something, this was starting to become too much. Just hearing that creep call his girlfriend 'lovely' made him want to throw the pirate into the mouth of a great white shark.
Annabeth recoiled. "You are not taking me anywhere."
Percy's hand crept to his pocket. His pen had appeared back in his jeans.
Finally! Percy silently added.
He only needed a moment's distraction to draw his sword. Maybe if he could take down Chrysaor quickly, his crew would panic.
...The golden warrior tutted. "Oh, sadly, Annabeth, you will not be staying with me. I would love that.
Annabeth crossed her arms and scowled.
But you and your friend Percy are spoken for. A certain goddess is paying a high bounty for your capture—alive, if possible, though she didn't say you had to be unharmed."
"Great, those stupid bounties Gaea made worked." Thalia said sarcastically.
At that moment, Piper caused the disturbance they needed. She wailed so loudly it could be heard through her gag. Then she fainted against the nearest guard, knocking him over. Hazel got the idea and crumpled to the deck, kicking her legs and thrashing like she was having a fit.
The readers perked up.
Now's my chance. Percy thought, feeling a rush of adrenaline.
Having similar feelings, the demigods could barely sit still as they waited to find out what happened next.
Percy drew Riptide and lashed out. The blade should have gone straight through Chrysaor's neck,
Poseidon's breath hitched.
but the golden warrior was unbelievably fast. He dodged and parried
The god let out a silent sigh of relief.
as the dolphin warriors backed up, guarding the other captives while giving their captain room to battle. They chattered and squeaked, egging him on, and Percy got the sinking suspicion the crew was used to this sort of entertainment. They didn't feel their leader was in any sort of danger.
With a flare of annoyance, Percy narrowed his eyes. We'll see about that.
Percy hadn't crossed swords with an opponent like this since...well, since he'd battled the war god Ares. Chrysaor was that good. Many of Percy's powers had gotten stronger over the years, but now, too late, Percy realized that swordplay wasn't one of them.
The demigods sat there stunned. A few whispered to each other.
"Percy's the most skilled swordsman in Camp if he can't beat this guy-"
"What's Chrysaor's training routine? Fight six hydras a day? Percy shouldn't be struggling the way he is."
Realizing he wasn't going to win, Percy's face fell.
You have got to be kidding me, he thought slowly, anger growing. After the sword fights I've had with Luke, Hades and his army, Hyperion, and Kronos, I can't beat this guy? How is that possible?
He was rusty—at least against an adversary like Chrysaor.
"I've fought with Titans!" Percy argued, affronted by those words. "How am I rusty?!"
"You've fought Titans with your Achilles Heel." Annabeth pointed out, looking just as unhappy as him.
"But I'm not a pushover! I was able to beat Ares in a sword-fight when I was twelve!"
"You were lucky, that's all." the god of war said, feeling smug that Percy was being so easily defeated.
He scowled at Ares. "I was not-"
"Percy," Annabeth put a hand on his arm. "Calm down. We'll just have to find another way to defeat Chrysaor."
Percy took a deep breath and let it out. She was right, he needed a better strategy if he wanted to beat the golden boy and his crew and the only way he could think of doing that was by doing his stupid plan.
Hopefully Future Percy comes up with something better. the son of Poseidon thought. There were too many risks and they couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.
They battled back and forth, thrusting and parrying. Without meaning to, Percy heard the voice of Luke Castellan, his first sword-fighting mentor at Camp Half-Blood, throwing out suggestions.
Were they anything useful? Percy thought tiredly.
But it didn't help.
Of course. Thanks anyway Luke. Percy sighed.
The golden gorgon mask was too unnerving. The warm fog, the slick deck boards, the chattering of the warriors—none of it helped.
But I've fought in worse conditions, why am I like this? he thought brushing his hair back.
And in the corner of his eye, Percy could see one of the dolphin-men holding a knife at Annabeth's throat in case she tried anything tricky.
The son of Poseidon tensed.
"I'll be fine." Annabeth assured him.
He feinted and thrust at Chrysaor's gut, but Chrysaor anticipated the move. He knocked Percy's sword out of his hand again, and once more Riptide flew into the sea.
Percy groaned loudly in frustration before burying his face in his hands. Gods, he hated this guy.
Chrysaor laughed easily. He wasn't even winded.
Percy wanted to punch him in his forgettable face.
He pressed the tip of his golden sword against Percy's sternum.
"A good try," said the pirate. "But now you'll be chained and transported to Gaea's minions. They are quite eager to spill your blood and wake the goddess."
"It's not over yet." Percy swore.
"That's the end of the chapter," Jake said. His statement earned looks of disbelief from everyone.
"That quick?" Percy frowned. He knew he shouldn't be complaining but still, he needed to find out what happens next.
Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.
"I'll read next," Nyssa said taking the book.
"Percy XXXI," she read.