Chapter 7
Percy
The girls all complained about having not slept well due to a weird dream, and after some discussion over breakfast it was decided that they had all shared the same one. The guys? We all slept great. Leo was in particularly rare form this morning, cutting up, demanding tofu tacos for breakfast, the usual Leo stuff. Frank was stoic Frank. He was becoming the perfect Roman Praetor everyday. I wondered how both he and Renya could go on the quest, but he told me that like Camp Half Blood, the students of Camp Jupiter often left for real world schools. Counselors stayed with the year round campers there, like at Half Blood, it just so happened there were a lot more of them. Like the whole army had been given up to wolves when they were young. In any event, the gods had ordered it so they had no choice. If there was one thing the Romans were good at it was following orders.
After breakfast we decided to meet at the dock. Since my father was providing transportation, we assumed it would have something to do with water so the dock made sense. As we were going for a year we all packed heavy. I had my entire backpack full of cloths, gear and things that kill and thought I was too heavy given that my sword Riptide was in my pocket already and was probably the only killing instrument I would need. I also had a Savemart bag filled with my paperwork for Hogwarts and my wand. As it turned out, I packed the lightest. Most of the guys hauled a steamer trunk and a pack, while the girls had several trunks each.
"I hope however we travel there is room for everything." Hazel said to no one in particular.
"Why don't you go ahead and put it all in the Leodis?" Calypso asked and since this made such good sense, after Leo explaining that through the use of negative space it wouldn't add anything to the weight. "Festus weighs in right at 50 tons but in brief case form just a couple of pounds are in this dimension."
"Doesn't he need to get out and run?" Piper asked.
"Oh he does, its just he is tethered in this dimension. In the area of negative space, he had an entire barn, fields and forest to hang out in." Calypso answered.
"I told you she knows all about this stuff, I just build what she tells me to, well me and her air servants." Leo smiled.
We waited on the pier for just a few minutes and this gave us time to stow everything, when on the horizon a cruise ship appeared, and as it came close I knew it was Luke's old ship, the Andromeda. Apparently dad had fished it up from where we had blown it up and had his cyclops fix it. As it approached it was clearly in great shape and spotless. The paint of the aft showed that it had a new name, "Argo III". It parked itself about a hundred yards out and a smaller boat was lowered and came to the pier. Dad was of course helming it.
"Welcome aboard!" Poseidon said while everyone knelt. "Oh get up! I only have a few moments."
"Hey dad" I said as I helped the girls into the launch.
"Hey son, Annabeth you're looking well, ladies welcome, gentlemen come on I must leave soon." He replied as we each go in.
Soon we were at the Argo III and Poseidon showed on a map pinned to the wall where our state rooms were. He asked Hazel, as our quest leader, to get everyone situated, then he asked me to join him on the bridge. The ship was already moving.
"It runs completely by itself. You have a a few wind servants to clean and such, and they can pilot the ship as well. Of course you're welcome to, I had your brother and his friends lay out the bridge controls like on the Argo II. Your friend Leo was quite clever with that, but as it is in seven days you will arrive at port on the River Thames, just in time to shop for school and the next day catch the train. Your travels should be safe and monster free, I have sent warnings to leave this ship alone to all the denizens of the North Atlantic.
"When did you see the bridge on the Argo II?" I asked.
"Even with split personalities I made it a point to track your progress. You were on and over my oceans after all." He smiled.
The bridge was much like one would expect on a cruise ship, but the helm was dominated by several Archimedes spheres and a Playstation controller here and there.
"So, can you tell me what is really going on?"
"What do you mean Percy?"
"The gods have never helped us on a quest this much before, last time I knew, Hecate wasn't in good graces as she may have given her loyalty to Kronos along with some other minor deities in the first war, although she helped a lot in the second, and being body guards, well, isn't that a bit simple compared to hiking through Tartaurus or fighting Gaea?"
"I should have know you would figure something was afoot. You truly are my smartest child. And you're right. The quest itself shouldn't be difficult, but it is of the gravest importance. What Calypso was saying about faith and proof? That's the challenge here. For thousands of years Hecate has been, through her followers, training magicians, which are called witches and wizards. Most are good, some are bad, both were useful from time to time to effect outcomes when the gods could not directly intervene, and the group is strengthened by the struggle between them. The rest of us have generally ignored her and her students but a situation has arisen, thanks to her indulgences with her followers, that threatens, well, existence. "
"So we are going to make sure good wins? How will we know who that is?"
"No, we couldn't care less who wins except for one problem. The leader of the dark side is a wizard named Voldemort. For hundreds of years the magic community has been hidden within the regular world. Any time magic was noticed by a non magic person, the mist corrected it. This leader, Voldemort, intends to change that. He wants the magic community to rule over the muggles as they are called, and you can see the problem with that."
"Proof would replace belief."
"Exactly. The effect could be cataclysmic. That is why Zeus is sending all of you when the weakest one could do the job and why he has approved all the assistance. Now, remember, you and your team must blend in too. You must not provide proof to the magic users even at least initially, but certainly not to the muggles. Some must know of course, the headmaster, the boy you're protecting and his immediate friends that assist you will figure out something is different about you and the other heros, but other than the headmaster and those few, try to avoid confirmation with the rest of the magicians at first. The children who you will be staying with and protecting will also be the ones ultimately to fight the leaders of the dark side. You must train them in our arts to give them the edge they need with the time comes. Your adversaries only know skill with magic and that will be their weakness in the coming fight. They use magic solely and fight as a mob of individuals. You must make sure the protected one and his friends have an understanding of combat skills, strategy and tactics."
"Finally, know this. As you said in the first of the last two wars Hecate gave her loyalty to Kronos. As I recall someone forced a promise from my brother and the rest of the Olympians to pardon these and the other minor deities, hmmmm, I just can't recall who that was, can you Percy?"
"Uh, yeah. I guess that was me."
"It was well intended, and although as a result we can't punish Hecate, at the end of this quest there will be a reckoning. Her assistance in your last quest, and the loyalty it showed, is noted. Accounts will be balanced and paid. Some duties will be taken from some deities and given to others more trustworthy. Right now, you and your colleagues are in the good graces of Olympia and our Roman facets as well. Keep it that way, ensure that mortals keep faith, not proof. By the way, speaking of proof, I understand your fellow heros have already figured out Calypso's identity? That was sooner than even I had imagined."
"Got it. Kill evil, be discrete, teach the kids to fight like us and most importantly don't allow proof of the gods to become knowledge. Think you could take an requisition for gear to Tyson for me? As to Calypso, yeah it didn't help that Piper or Hazel, one of them, had draw a picture of her for Leo from his descriptions even before he rescued her, but we should be able to limit it to just us."
"And don't get cocky. There are things there that can kill you. You are not immortal so do not let your guard down. I am not Apollo, but I see you being in grave danger from your own over confidence. You will be the first demigods there in a thousand years and the monsters will be out in force to take you out. As to the gear, just message Tyson through the mist. I will make sure the forges create whatever you think you need. Oh, and since many of your new enemies will be mortals I had Riptide tweaked to handle mortal threats. Watch out for the dragon." He said, then disappeared.
The ship was already out of the harbor and onto the open sea when Leo opened the door with a grin.
"This place is awesome!" He shouted when he saw the control panel.
"Yeah, Poseidon says we can run it ourselves, but if we just leave it alone we get there just in time."
"You know I have to be here! I can just watch it all and make sure its working right!"
"Fine by me. You might check with Hazel though, she's in charge. Oh, and Calypso. She's in charge too." I grinned.
There was a long silence between us, which I finally broke.
"I happy for you Leo, and thanks for keeping my promise."
"Man it wasn't your promise, it was mine. I love the girl. when I was on the island with her, you and Annabeth were on your hike through the underworld then, I, well I just fell for her. I knew I had to come back after the war was over and rescue her. That was when I started working on, you know, the plan. I love her Percy, more than life, more than anything."
"I know, and she loves you. And she should. You are the bravest person I have ever known."
"Says the guy who hiked the underworld. Three or four times." He grinned.
"Which is weak compared to the guy who gave his life to save everyone else's with only a cockamamie plan to be revived. Either way, I hope there's no hard feelings left."
"None man. We both have great girlfriends. And real bravery is getting Annabeth pregnant before you finished high school. Athena is going to kill you! What were you thinking?" He laughed.
"She's not pregnant!" I shouted as Leo burst out laughing.
Even though Annabeth and I had already talked about it, I needed to talk again. I left Leo on the bridge and began to explore the ship. I followed the maps on the walls until I thought I was about where Poseidon had pointed and fortunately ran into Piper in the hall.
"Hey, have you seen Annabeth?"
"Yeah, we're in Calypso's cabin talking about uniforms. Its right here." She said as she opened a door.
Like most cruise ships the cabins were small. Ours were the largest on the ship but that was setting the bar low. It was like comparing a pop up camper with a pup tent. Either one is cramped. Of course, thanks to Leo and Calypso's generosity and hospitality that didn't matter. No one was in the cabin Piper and I entered. Instead, everyone one was in the Leodis as Leo called it. Piper led the way and soon we were in a long room near the library with a conference table. Annabeth jumped up as I entered.
"Don't you love the study room Leo made for us?" She exclaimed.
"Well, uh, yeah. Its really nice. When did he..."
"Oh, it kind of makes itself." Calypso explained. "Once you bring negative and parallel space into account in your architecture, the wind servants just do the rest. It only takes a few minutes."
"Oh. See I had this image of Leo staying up all night and framing it in, then finishing and furnishing it, then getting it to fold down."
"I think we both know it doesn't work like that. This is more magic than engineering I'm afraid."
"So Percy! You have to see the designs for our school uniforms!" Annabeth said.
"Uh, uniforms?"
"Yes, apparently Hogwarts has everyone in wizard robes. I saw a picture in one of the portfolios. Eeeuuukkkkk!" Piper said.
"And I said, 'well go ahead and design uniforms for our school and we'll wear them instead. My first command decision!" Hazel smiled.
"So this is what we're thinking" Calypso said as she held up a drawing pad with a drawing that was clearly supposed to look like Jason and Piper. Jason was wearing black jeans, a white tee shirt, aviator mirrored glasses and what appeared to be a bombardier jacket. Piper on the other hand was wearing what appeared to be a naughty school girl outfit, a short mini skirt like a kilt about as wide as a band aid, a white button down tied off in the front like a halter with a red cropped sweater over it. Thigh high white stockings and 4 inch high red spiked heels completed the ensemble. Of course both were carrying swords and wands.
"What do ya think?" Calypso asked.
"Uh... isn't that kind of revealing?" I suggested, which caused them all to break out laughing.
"We have a winner!" Hazel declared, Annabeth! You were right!
"Right?" I asked.
"We had a bet as to which boyfriend would be the first to balk at our uniform. Show him the real one now Rachel"
Rachel held up another drawing, but in this one the uniform Piper was wearing was more conservative. The skirt went almost to her knees, the button down was tucked in and the sweater was... well a cardigan sweater with a crest on it. Renya and Hazel would wear purple cardigans, the rest of the girls more of a burnt umber color since they had decided orange just wouldn't do. The shoes were cross trainer type gym shoes and the outfit was completed with a tie that was purple with tiny orange stripes. The size of the stripes meant nothing except that the girls preferred purple to orange.
The guys uniform was much the same, but the jacket had been replaced with a sports coat and the black jeans with khakis but with the same tie as the girls. I pointed out that I personally preferred the bombardier jacket and there was some movement towards doing both, the jacket for outdoors, where the girls would have them too, and the sports coat for indoors. Oh well, I'd let them figure it out.
"Well nice, you have this under control. Hazel do you need me to do anything?"
"Uh, no. Wait, do you think you should be doing something?"
"No, Leo is on the bridge, probably rewiring it. I don't know where Frank and Jason are."
"Oh, they were going to shoot skeet off the back deck. There's a range there. Good idea, why don't you get some practice in with your wand?" Hazel asked.
"I think I will. Annabeth could we talk for a moment?"
"Not that wand Percy." Piper said.
"Oh my gods Piper! You cut that out!" Annabeth shouted as she grabbed my hand and led me from the room, her catty little friends giggling at us all the way.
Annabeth led me to the suite she had chosen and put her things in, led me in and shut the door.
"What?" she asked with anger in her voice.
"Whuuu, uh..."
"Percy, did you intentionally let my friends laugh about us when you had nothing to say to me at all?
"Wha,, no! I, well, I just wanted to talk."
"About?"
"You know, what Calypso sai"
Before I could finish Annabeth was rolling her eyes and stamped her foot once.
"Look I know you're ADHD and all that, but did you totally sleep through biology?"
"No."
"Okay, did you take it at one of those fundamentalist schools that teach that babies are a creation of God and sex causes earthquakes?"
"What? No, of course not..."
"Well, do you think maybe, just maybe you're leaving out a step in the 'Is she or isn't she pregnant conundrum'?"
"What do you mean?"
"The part where we sleep together dummy."
By now her arms were crossed and I could have swore I saw steam coming from her ears.
"Well we have slept together, I mean, you know, slept."
"Yes I remember us giving each other our virginity that first night in Tartaurus, the beach of broken glass really cut my butt up, but it was totally worth it." She continued to fume.
"Well okay, but, like, your mom and dad, well, they didn't and.."
"Thats because Athena doesn't have kids that way! Here, maybe you never noticed." Annabeth lifted her shirt up until I thought her breasts were about to spring free.
"Uh, no, I've noticed those, believe me, I've noticed."
"Look down seaweed brain!"
"At what?" I asked, she had the most beautiful abs... pronounced but not so ripped as to look masculine.
"My belly button"
I looked again. Then again.
"You don't have a belly button."
"That's right, because my mother doesn't give birth that way. She's a goddess. I'm not. When we have kids it will be the old fashioned way. Sorry to disappoint but you're going to have sex with me. Now, we haven't talked about this, I never saw the need to, but since its out there, yes I would, but I'm the goddess of wisdom's daughter and it wouldn't be wise for a teenager with a boyfriend who regularly fights Titans, Giants and monsters to have kids, or sex. I'm just not there yet, I mean, I'm there as far as loving you, that will never change, but I'm not there personal growth wise. Someday I will be, when things are more normal and we're in college at Jupiter, and,,, well, I love you, you know that. We're doomed to be together. I want to have your children with you and I love you and..."
She sat down on the bed crying.
Well, when I screw up something emotional I do it right.
"I'm sorry. Its just Calypso, well, I thought maybe she could see the future or something, I don't know what powers she has. And if you were pregnant, well, I would be the happiest guy in the world. But I already am, because we're together. We made an oath to never be apart again. Not after Rome, but at the bottom of the lagoon when we kissed, what, three years ago? I'm never breaking that oath."
Annabeth pushed me back onto the bed and lay above me.
"Calypso was just fucking with you, you know that right? When I get pregnant, you'll know, because you'll be there. Got it?" She asked as she kissed me, a nice long one.
As our lips parted she added, "And, uh, you know I would if you asked, right, I mean, I don't think its wise but"
This time it was my turn to cut her off with a kiss.
"So you would if I asked?"
"Yes"
"Really? Because that would look really hot on you,"
"What?"
"The uniform design, you would wear it if I asked?"
"Seaweed brain!" she said as she hit me with a pillow.
