Ch. 16
Leo's fumbled with the Wii controller nervously but managed to stop the ship two hundred yards from the island.
"Won't Hercules be on our side?" Piper asked hopefully. "I mean…he's one of us, right?"
Jason grunted. "He was a son of Zeus, but when he died, he became a god. You can never be sure with gods."
"Shut up, all of you," Percy growled. "Zoe and I are going. Alone."
Everyone stared at Percy but his eyes were locked with Zoe's. Everyone was looking at them in shock. They looked like they were having a conversation with their eyes. No, the other five quest members were positive they were having a conversation with their eyes.
After a full minute, Jason spoke up. "Maybe we should all go. Seven will have a better chance if he turns hostile."
"And a satyr," Hedge offered. "We can definitely take him."
Percy waved a hand in front of Hedge's face as the satyr collapsed to the deck of the ship, fast asleep. Percy's eyes never left Zoe's.
Percy finally broke eye contact with Zoe and turned to the others.
"Wait here. Zoe and I will take care of this." He said in the same frigid tone.
Percy held out his hand as a shadow gathered until a hooded sweatshirt appeared in it.
"Sweet!" Leo said excitedly but quickly paled when Percy's eyes flickered over to him with an icy glare.
Zoe put the sweatshirt on and pulled the hood up despite the fact it was like eighty degrees out. The sweatshirt was apparently enchanted as her face vanished from view.
Percy's expression slowly morphed into some type of sadistic smile. He offered his hand to Zoe who took it as they walked to the edge of the ship, jumped onto the railing and jumped down to the sea.
Everyone looked over the edge in shock when they saw Percy and Zoe walking hand in hand on top of the water and straight towards the waiting figure of Heracles a couple hundred yards ahead.
As they walked, Percy gave Zoe's hand a soft squeeze. Although her face was hidden by the shadow of her hood, he could see her smile clear as day.
"How do you want to handle this?" He asked softly.
Zoe stopped walking as she thought about it before she pulled Percy closer, whispering her idea to him as a smile slowly appeared on his face. When she finished, the evil smile of his face would have sent a shiver down even his father's spine.
Before Percy could start walking again, Zoe pulled his head down into a soft kiss. Percy's smile lost any kind of evilness, something Zoe could do so easily to him. Percy looked at her questioningly.
"Just making sure you know I love you." Zoe said softly.
Percy nodded, "I know that. But I also know I've wanted to do this since I had that dream on the quest to save Artemis a few years ago." He said smiling. "Most powerful demigod in the world," he scoffed. "Apparently sons of Jupiter aren't much smarter than the sons of Zeus."
Zoe smirked a bit and pulled Percy along as they continued their walk to the island, Heracles' tall figure looking at them impatiently in the distance. Percy pulled up a hood so it was more difficult to see his face clearly.
As they approached the island, Percy finally got a look at the legendary son of Zeus. He was well built, but not too stocky. His blonde hair was close-cropped, Roman style. He had startling blue eyes like Thalia's or Jason's, but his skin was coppery, as if he'd spent his entire life on a tanning bed. The most surprising thing: he looked about twenty, definitely no older. He was handsome in a rugged but not-at-all-caveman way.
He had a club, which lay in the sand next to him, but it was more like an oversized baseball bat—a five-foot-long polished cylinder of mahogany with a leather handgrip studded in bronze.
Hedge would have been jealous.
Percy and Zoe walked up hand-in-hand though Zoe's face was completely hidden in the shadows of her hood. Heracles eyed them curiously. He didn't see all that concerned by them but Percy couldn't care less. Heracles may not have ever done anything to him but he did hurt Zoe and that was a death wish as far as he was concerned, two thousand years earlier or not.
"Let us pass." Percy said calmly as they stopped about ten feet in front of the minor god.
Heracles raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"
Percy raised one right back, "Let. Our. Ship. Pass." He said slowly as if talking to a toddler.
Heracles eyes narrowed, "Is that how you greet a god?"
Zoe snorted but remained silent afterword. Percy kept his expression stoic.
"It's how I greet you, now let us pass." Percy continued.
Heracles glared at him, "You must complete a quest for me if you want to gain passage into the Mare Nostrum. You must prove your worth."
Percy nodded slowly and began to put Zoe's plan into action, "So, I hear you're the greatest demigod to ever live?"
Heracles snorted, "That is obvious, but what's your point?"
Percy's lips twitched slightly but he kept his expression devoid of emotion.
"So, a great hero such as yourself, especially now that you're a god, you could probably just crush a couple weak mortals like us quite easily, correct?" Percy asked.
Heracles threw his head back and laughed a deep thunderous laugh. When he stopped he looked back to Percy with an amused expression, "Of course I could. Now what is your point?"
"Well, we're a bit on tight schedule and we don't have the time or the desire to do any type of quest for you. How about instead, we fight you. You can use your godly powers with the exception of taking your true form. If we win, our ship passes. If you win, well you can kill us and do what you please with our ship." Percy challenged.
Heracles looked at him incredulously, "Do you have a death wish or something kid?"
Percy smiled, "You aren't worried we'll win, are you?"
Heracles snorted again, "Not in the least little mortal."
"Good, then swear to the terms of our fight on the Styx." Percy said. "Unless you're afraid of a couple of mortals…"
Heracles rolled his eyes, "I swear to your terms boy."
Thunder rumbled loudly overhead as Percy's expression turned downright gleeful.
"Good, now you're going to Tartarus one way or the other. I'd prefer if my girlfriend and I could do it by killing you but a coward like you will probably try to go against your word on the Styx." Percy taunted.
Heracles' glare turned murderous, "You think a weak demigod and a girl can defeat me, a god?"
Percy smirked, "Well together we've defeated three Titans, so yes I believe a little minor god like you will be rather easy for us."
Heracles looked at Percy suspiciously while Percy dropped his hood and pulled out his pen as Anaklusmos appeared in his hand. Heracles' eyes widened, "Jackson," he spat, "the so-called savior of Olympus."
Percy glared at him, "If I were you, I would be more concerned with her than me." He said gesturing to Zoe who pulled down her hood with a smile on her face.
"Hello Heracles," she said in a happy tone. "Long time no see."
"You, the hunter," he growled. "My bitch of a half-sister Artemis has never shut up about me leaving you in the Garden of the Hesperides all those years ago."
Zoe's calm expression vanished and her look was downright murderous, "You dare speak about her like that in my presence. You're going to die painfully."
Heracles glared at them, "I don't care if you supposedly saved Olympus, you will never be able to defeat the greatest demigod to ever walk the earth."
Percy rolled his eyes, "If your father wasn't Zeus, no one would have heard of you. Come get the beating you've been needing for the last two millennia.
Heracles' club appeared in his hand and he took a step towards them but stopped as Percy appeared out of a shadow right in his face. Instead of saying anything, Percy just reached back and decked the minor god in the face. Heracles stumbled back, ichor pouring out of his nose as he looked at Percy in shock.
"You'll die for that demigod." He growled at Percy.
Percy waited for Heracles to charge, the son of Zeus bringing his huge club down in a powerful overhead strike but in an instant, Percy closed the distance and slammed the hilt of his sword into Heracles' stomach.
The minor god hunched over as Percy grabbed his head and drove his knee straight up into his nose, breaking it worse than it had been after the punch.
"Percccyyy, you're hogging all the fun." Zoe whined.
Percy laughed as Heracles lunged at him with a punch. Percy reached up at the last second and pushed Heracles fist just enough for the strike to miss and knock him off balance.
Percy slipped behind Heracles and shoved him towards Zoe who sidestepped but slammed the hilts of both of her hunting knives into Heracles' stomach.
Heracles took a wild swing at her that she ducked before she stepped closer and kneed the son of Zeus straight in the coin purse as Heracles dropped in his knees in agony.
Zoe walked over to Percy where she received a high-five for her work.
"I'm going to kill you both." Heracles snarled.
Percy smirked and waved Heracles over as Zoe stood behind him watching with an amused expression plastered on her face.
Heracles' lunged at Percy with his club but his weapon went through Percy's body as if through air. Percy solidified behind him and kicked Heracles in the back, sending him stumbling towards Zoe who stepped forward and made two deep slashes in his side with her hunting knives.
Heracles roared in pain as more ichor began to leak from his body. He spun on Zoe but Percy speared him to ground and threw another hard punch to his face before he vanished just as Heracles sent a blast of energy at him.
Heracles tried to get back to his feet but receive a steady stream of arrows in his back as he tried. Heracles cried out in pain but was silenced as Percy came and kicked him in the face with a running start knocking the minor god to the ground in motionless heap.
Percy looked over at Zoe to see a satisfied smile on her face, "Having fun Zoe?"
Zoe smiled at him and nodded, "We aren't done yet are we?" She whined.
Percy smirked, "This is your show Zoe. It's up to you."
Zoe's smile grew as she walked over to Heracles and nudged him with her foot. Before she could react, Heracles jumped to his feet and grabbed her before he tossed her to the ground several yards away.
Before he could even see where she landed, Heracles was cut down as a blade sliced across the back of his knees. He dropped to his knees and looked around for Percy.
Percy ran out of a shadow to his left and drilled the son of Zeus with a hard punch but vanished the minute the punch connected. Heracles spit ichor out of his mouth but didn't have time to recover as Percy came barreling out of another shadow to his right and sent a bone crunching knee to the god's face.
Heracles collapsed into a heap as Percy stood seething over Heracles' injured body. Percy thrust his hand out as the sea came in hard stream towards them. It flew right into Heracles, wrapping around his body and pulling him to his feet. The water wrapped around Heracles' wrists and ankles holding him in place.
Percy turned to see Zoe walking back towards them with a murderous look on her face. When she laid eyes on Heracles' ichor covered face and then Percy's hands which were also covered with ichor, a smile wiped the angry expression from her face.
She looked up at Percy's face and saw the look of rage on it after seeing her thrown. She couldn't help but think how lucky she was to have him; he loved her more than anything in this world. She looked at Heracles' bruised and bloody face and almost felt bad for him. He didn't have what she and Percy did and that was almost sad.
She walked up to Percy and slipped her hand into his. "Let's be done with this, we need to get to Rome for Nico and Bianca." She said softly.
Percy smiled and nodded at her, "One second, I want to do something first."
Zoe looked confused but Percy just smirked and handed her Anaklusmos, pulling out a hunting knife as he approached the restrained semi-conscious body of Heracles.
Percy opened Heracles' robes and got right up close to his chest making small slices and cuts. Heracles roared in pain and struggled against the restraints but they water held the son of Zeus in place. After a minute Percy stopped cutting and turned back to Zoe with an evil smirk.
Zoe raised an eyebrow before her eyes widened when she looked at Heracles' chest.
Inscribed deeply in his skin were the words: ZOE NIGHTSHADE'S AND PERCY JACKSON'S BITCH.
Zoe's eyes darted over to Percy before she grabbed his face in her hands and pulled him into a deep kiss. They were forced to break apart as they both couldn't contain their laughter.
After a minute Percy looked at her seriously, "Should we kill him?"
Zoe looked at Heracles for a second before looking back at Percy, "No, he doesn't matter. He isn't worth it."
Percy smiled and nodded before he grabbed her hand as they turned to walk back to the ship.
After a few steps towards the ship, Heracles spoke up, "You're dead Jackson. Both of you will pay for this. I will make sure you both die for this."
Percy stopped. He looked to his left where Heracles club lay on the ground. He let go of Zoe's hand and picked up the club before slowly walking back to where Heracles was still restrained.
"Listen Heracles, it was nothing personal. You could have just let us pass and this all could have been avoided. You need to get that ego of yours in check." Percy said in a casual tone.
"I'm going to kill you. First I'll kill your bitch girlfriend and ma…" Heracles snarled before he was silenced as Percy swung for the fences, connecting with Heracles' temple with his own club.
"No one touches her." Percy growled before smacking him one more time for good measure as he let the water dissipate and Heracles crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap. Percy tossed the club atop his limp body before walking to back to Zoe and grabbing her hand as they resumed their trek back to the ship.
They walked in silence, holding each other's hands as they made the water rise up and give them a path right over the railing of the ship where they came across five pairs of wide eyes from the rest of their quest mates.
"The way is clear, let's get this show on the road Leo." Percy said smiling.
"Did you just kill a god?" Piper asked in disbelief.
Percy raised an eyebrow, "No. Zoe was feeling merciful. We simply convinced him that we didn't have time to do a quest for him to gain passage."
"Why are you both covered in ichor?" Jason asked incredulously.
Zoe smirked, "He needed convincing. Now we need a nap, let us know if you need something."
The couple walked past the still sleeping satyr and to the stairs of the ship where they descended without another word.
Jason, Piper, Leo and Hazel all turned to Annabeth for an explanation.
Annabeth smiled, "What? I told you no one can beat those two together. Besides, they've killed a few Titans themselves, I doubt a minor god was too much trouble."
"That was stupid! We probably angered my father now!" Jason yelled.
Annabeth's eyes flashed with annoyance, "Zeus is probably just grateful they didn't kill him. Percy has the majority of Olympians backing him, along with Zoe, so they aren't in any danger."
"They're dangerous. That was foolish; they should have just done the quest. I don't trust them. They are going to get us killed with their stupidity and recklessness." Jason argued.
This time Annabeth's entire face morphed into a look of anger, "Think of them however you want, but without them, we would be dead. Percy and Zoe are my two best friends and I don't care if you trust them or not but don't you dare insult them in front of me." She growled.
Jason's eyes widened before they narrowed, "Why are you sure they are trustworthy?"
Annabeth's hand twitched toward her dagger but she stopped herself. "After the three of us defeated Kronos, Percy took your father's master bolt for me. I trust him and Zoe more than I trust anyone in this world."
Jason opened his mouth to speak but Annabeth put her hand up, "It's a story for another day. They said they didn't kill Heracles so I assume they knocked him out. Do you think we could get moving before he wakes up and tries to blast our ship?" She said with a glare at Leo who immediately went over to get the ship moving again.
Percy and Zoe stood at the bottom of the steps of the ship both smiling after listening to how Annabeth defended them both against Jason.
"She's a good friend." Zoe said softly.
Percy nodded and dragged her into their room. Once inside, he shut the door and dragged a dresser in front of it making Zoe raise an eyebrow.
"It's for Hedge's protection." He chuckled.
Zoe smirked, "You know me well Percy."
Percy rolled his eyes and stepped closer as he put his arms around her waist, "Are you alright?
Zoe looked at him confused, "Of course, why do you ask?"
"I just thought you would have killed Heracles if you got the chance." He mused.
Zoe smiled, "A few years ago, I would have without a second thought. But I'm happy about what happened all those years ago. I got to join to the hunt for thousands of years and it eventually led me to where I am right now, which is exactly where I want to be."
Percy smiled before his eyes widened as Zoe pulled him onto the bed in a passionate kiss which he was more than happy to oblige to.
After their little make-out session, Zoe had fallen asleep on Percy's chest before he too drifted off to sleep. Despite how pleasant falling asleep had been, his dream was far from pleasant.
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 two twin giants shuffled out of the gloom. Percy could distinguish them only by their hair, one had the green locks braided with silver and gold coins; the other 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 showing that 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.
The giants stood in front of Percy, but they paid him no attention. Instead, they gazed up into the darkness.
"We're here," one 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.
The woman, 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," One of the giants said. "They have already gotten past the golden boy." He sneered, as if the golden boy was not his favorite person.
"Good," the voice said. "It would've spoiled our fun to have them captured already. Are your preparations made?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship." The other stepped forward, and the cavern trembled. A crack appeared under his left snake.
"Careful, you dolt!" Her Ladyship snarled. "Do you want to return to Tartarus the hard way?"
The giant 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 become quite eroded. We must hope this child of Athena proves to be a worthy victim. She may be my last plaything."
The giant 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 one's hair and Percy realized with nauseating certainty that some of them were silver drachma, exactly like the one Annabeth had gotten from her mom.
Percy woke up with a start, his body was sweating and his face panicked.
Zoe jolted upright and looked at Percy worriedly, "Percy what's wrong?"
Percy shook his head nervously, "I… I don't know. I had a dream about the twin giants."
Zoe's eyes widened as she looked at how her shaken her boyfriend was. She gently grabbed his face in her hands. To her relief, he calmed at her touch.
"Tell me Percy, what did you see?" She asked softly. "Was it Nico and Bianca?"
Percy shook his head, "No… They were speaking to some… thing, in a cavern. They were talking about Annabeth. One of the giant's hair was full with those coins that Annabeth got from Athena. The thing, it knows she's coming. It's some type of trap." He explained worriedly.
Zoe looked at Percy's nervous expression and couldn't help but feel worried about Annabeth as well. She leaned forward and kissed Percy softly, easing some of his nerves.
"Come, let's find Annabeth. We will tell her about the dream. Maybe she will know more about what it means." Zoe said as she grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him out of bed.
Percy waved his hand as a shadow moved the dresser away from the door before they walked out to warn Annabeth about what he had seen in his dream.