Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Warnings: Language. Violence.
Daughter Of Time
Chapter 8
Percy landed soundlessly on the swaying surface of the ship. She felt slightly queasy but force it down to help Annabeth off. They each grabbed Alabaster who looked green and pulled him off. Tyson landed loudly, eliciting three-way glares from his friends, but he ignored them, rummaging in his pocket for the sugar cubes he'd pocketed earlier.
"Here you go, Rainbow..." he murmured, low enough only for his friends to hear. He tossed the four cubes in one go, blinking in awe when the hippocampus snapped it up in one go.
"Come on," said Percy, crouching low; her green eyes contrasted eerily against the glow of the blue sea. She edged her way into the lounge, peering past the glass doors. "I don't get it," she muttered, more to herself than to Annabeth who was beside her. "Why build a pool when there's a sea out there for you to swim in?"
"Some people are scared of drowning," said Alabaster who was studying their surroundings, straining his ears as hard as possible to hear anything. "And it's not like you can make a mistake during swimming lessons in the sea, right?"
"True," muttered Percy.
Annabeth snagged their arms, pulling them back out to the deck when the sound of footsteps drew closer. Tyson looked at them in confusion but a death-glare from Percy has his mouth clamped shut.
Who? mouthed Percy silently to Alabaster—who was the only one capable of seeing anything from their vantage point of view.
"—heard that he's got it—"
"—finally, we'd be able to put the Olympians in place—"
Annabeth tensed; her grey eyes darted to Percy and Alabaster who seemed more interested in the stinger's tail sweeping about than what they had heard. No wonder. They were not the children of Olympians so they weren't too worried about the Olympians fate.
Deciding to take charge this time, Annabeth darted away from the group of four, ignoring the hisses and gasps. Silently, she edged to the stairs, climbing high enough to peer upstairs, to see what was going on.
She only saw his back, but she knew instantly that it was Luke. Her heart thudded loudly against her chest as she climbed another step to get a better look. Something long and gold glinted—the menacing aura she felt permeating in air was coming from it, she knew the instant she saw it.
Someone's hand dug into her elbow.
The sarcophagus was the same shade as Percy's eyes. "Come on," the daughter of Kronos hissed, pulling her away.
Too late they realized there was a monster with very keen sense of hearing.
Fear churned in Ananebeth's gut when she saw the monster's beady eyes narrowing in on them. Abandoning all pretense of stealth, she pulled Percy and they tore down the stairs to where the boys were waiting.
"What's wrong?" Tyson asked, rather loudly.
"Run!" yelled Percy.
When half-bloods yelled to run, usually, everyone did. Tyson, however, was not a half-blood and knew not of the dangers that came with simply breathing. The Cyclops blinked. "Huh?"
Alabaster had to double back, grab his arm and drag him up. They clambered up the deck— "Shit," swore Percy, brushing long dark hair out of her eyes. "We went the wrong way. Come on, back up—"
"Uh-oh," mumbled Tyson, blinking his Mist-eyes when the manticore landed behind the half-bloods.
Percy scowled when she heard the dark chuckle.
"Luke."
xxx
"Told you they have a brig."
"I am going to kill him."
"Leave some for me," growled Annabeth in a rare bout of violence. She paced the length of her cell. From her peripheral vision, she saw Alabaster leaning against the wall, staring into space. Percy was flat on her back, blinking lazily—Annabeth hoped she was thinking of a plan instead of trying to fall asleep. The vehemence of Annabeth's statement belied the pain of betrayal and what unnerved the daughter of Athena was the knowing look in Percy's gold eyes.
The daughter of Kronos wasn't an idiot, she wasn't too intelligent either—she was just perceptive and being surrounded by freakishly intelligent people such as Annabeth made everyone's intelligence pale in comparison.
"It's okay, Annabeth," said Tyson from the opposite cell. His voice drew Alabaster's attention; Percy was still ignoring them all. "There's a simple solution to this."
"What is it?" asked the son of Hecate.
The Cyclops looked at them. "Does anyone know what it is?"
Annabeth threw her head back in exasperation. "Oh, for the love of Athena..."
"We can use Hermes' tap gun," said Alabaster, throwing the bag a sour look. "It's a good thing they put it here and didn't rummage about."
"There's one teeny problem with that plan," said Annabeth. "We can't reach it." The daughter of Athena was being sarcastic, she knew, and she was mildly surprised Percy hadn't been the one to say this. She didn't care she was being mean, she was too high-strung. Thaddeus was dying all over again and Luke didn't seem to realize that. Sighing, she slumped down against the metal, burying her face in her arms.
"Hey," said Percy's soft voice from behind her. "It really is going to be okay, you know?"
"How do you know that?" Annabeth's voice was muffled by the fabric of her shirt but there was no hiding the misery in her voice.
"...Do you know why my mom named me Andromeda even though that chick ended up sacrificed?"
The son of Hecate tried to block the girls' conversation out. It was pretty obvious Percy wasn't someone who go around spilling her guts to just anyone and he didn't know whether she wanted to share with him and Tyson or not—it was very obvious she was closer to Annabeth than either of them cared to admit. Alabaster had acquaintances, yes, but not a best friend—he wondered if best friends were like being with Annabeth, Percy and Tyson; the time they shared and the emotions.
He couldn't help overhearing the answer, however.
"No," mumbled Annabeth.
"She nearly died—but Perseus saved her, remember?"
"Are you trying to tell me that a son of Zeus will save us? We only have one son of Zeus who's a tree now and is dying from poisoning—by our old friend."
Percy sighed softly, leaning against the metal-net. She could still feel Annabeth's body heat even though there was a thin material separating them.
"The moral of the story, is: don't lose hope. Andromeda thought she was going to lose her life them, but someone swooped in to save her. Hope's the last thing we lose—we have Tyson, remember?"
Annabeth blinked, once, twice, before she raised her head. Her hopes were high now as she turned to where Percy was smiling sardonically at her.
"Cyclopes have got super-strength, right?"
Tyson nodded enthusiastically; happy that Percy was acknowledging him for once and he sprang to his feet. He lunged, crashing his shoulder against the bars. Where Annabeth expected it to bend, it didn't.
Tyson tried, again and again, but he ended up slumping on the ground, dizzied by his efforts. Annabeth and Alabaster groaned loudly.
"It's useless," moaned the son of Hecate. The Cyclops whimpered and he hurried to add, "No, not you. You're not useless, Tyson, I'm sorry for being insensitive... just... I was just commenting on the uselessness of this situation."
As opposed to how the rest of them felt, Percy seemed rather calm. "Tyson is the son of Poseidon, remember? And we're at the sea. He just got to ask. Listen carefully, Tyson: we need Poseidon to rock this ship. Hard enough for the bag to fall. Can you ask so much from him? Tell him your life depends on it."
Tyson nodded, sitting up and clasping his hands together, lips moving in silent prayer.
It took five minutes for Tyson's wish to be granted. With a lurch, the half-bloods were thrown off their feet.
"Annabeth, keep a look out! You're closest!"
"What about Alabaster? Why do I have to do all the work?"
"Don't you think Alabaster is too fat for his hand to slip through the space?"
"Hey— whoa!"
"What's Poseidon doing?" yelled Alabaster, rubbing the welt forming on his forehead where it'd connected painfully against the floor of the ship.
"I think he's trying to kill us," muttered Percy as she rubbed her sore elbow. "Me in particular."
"Oh, don't talk rubbish," breathed Annabeth; she struggled to her feet, nearly flying when the ship rocked even harder. She lunged when she saw the bag falling. She barely caught it in time. "Easy peasy..." she wheezed, feeling her arm throbbing in pain as she maneuvered carefully, unzipping the bag and wriggling the tape gun out.
With great difficulty, she made a small hole, allowing her hand and the tape gun to slip into her cell before she proceeded to tape a space large enough for her to get through.
"Wonderful," said Percy happily. "Now get us out."
xxx
In hindsight, they should not have expected for their captors to let them waltz out as long as they have Hermes' magical tape gun.
With a grunt, Alabaster bashed his opponent's head against the glass. Ouch, he didn't know beating the shit out of others would be this painful. Percy made it look fun. Rubbing his sore knuckles, Alabaster stepped over the unconscious body, heading over to where he saw Percy cracking her knuckles, looking like a maniac.
"Good to see someone enjoying herself, at least," he grumbled. He wasn't made for fighting.
Percy seemed to pick that up to because she smirked at him. She was probably going to comment something sarcastic and mean but she didn't even got started when enemy demigods poured out from both sides.
"Go," she said, jerking her head. "I'll deal with them. Help Annabeth and Tyson free the lifeboat."
He hesitated but when he saw Percy taking both guys out with a kick, he decided that listening to her was in his best interests.
Percy grabbed the offending demigod's wrist, hearing the satisfying sound of bones snapping when she twisted. The demigod howled in pain—which she thought was pathetic—and she punched him in the face to shut him up. Years of getting into fights and breaking bones with her knuckles had made her practically immune to the pain—and she was just that durable, now that she thought of it, it probably had to do something with her Titan-bone and flesh.
Despite how good she was at fighting, the sheer number this time was overwhelming.
It didn't help that there were monsters in the mix too. Percy didn't dare swing her weapon—she liked fighting but she was no killer.
Turning, Percy decided to make a run for it. A tactical retreat, she called it, instead of running with her tail between her legs. She jumped, climbing onto the roof of the ship. The demigods and monsters didn't follow, but she had no idea how to escape either. She hoped Annabeth didn't have the sense to wait for her —she had time on her side, but they didn't.
"Percy."
She turned, scowling down at Luke. He frowned up at her, not in displeasure but he looked like a disapproving parent at his kid's behavior. "Don't walk on my roof," he said.
Percy sulked. "I hope you're happy that you got a twelve-year-old cornered. Pedophile, pervert."
The son of Hermes snorted. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Ass!"
"I know I have a nice piece."
Percy stomped her foot, infuriated. "I swear, I'm going to kill you someday—" She broke off into cusses of multiple languages.
"Percy!"
The daughter of Kronos turned when she heard Annabeth's voice. She was relieved to see Tyson, Annabeth and Alabaster drifting in the lifeboat.
"Come on!"
"Go!" yelled Percy. "I'll catch up!"
Alabaster shot her a look of disbelief; she could see very well despite the distance. "How?" he yelled. "You're no child of Poseidon!"
"But I can freeze time," she murmured. She look at the sea, the waves crashing against the ship. Could she do it?
"Don't be insane," called Luke. He seemed to know what she was thinking. "Your father entrusted you to me. Told me to get you convinced to join his side." He sighed heavily, spreading his arms. "Why are you so stubborn? Lord Kronos cares about you and he wants you on his side, so that he could protect you better. If you continue to hang out with Annabeth and Torrington, your safety won't be guaranteed."
"Are you threatening me or them?" she snarled back fiercely.
"Why do you reject your father's love when he gives it so readily?"
"Love? Hah!" Percy barked out a harsh laugh; she relished in the discomfit in Luke's expression when he saw her face. "What does Kronos know about love? Did he phrase it that way to you? What do you know about love?"
"Enough to know that he cares more about you than my own father will about me!"
Percy had the fleeting impression that this went beyond matters concerning herself and Kronos. She hesitated; Annabeth called her name again and she knew she had to leave.
"I'm no one's minion," she said. "I make my own decisions."
And she jumped.
Even though she had basically just rejected her father's offer, she was only mildly surprised when the ocean froze—ice spreading around the ship, halting its movements as she brought about winter sooner. She hoped this winter wouldn't extend to other countries because then, she'd be in big trouble of exposing their world to the mortals.
Her friends—yes, because no one could go through life-and-death experiences without considering their current company something more than that—looked at her in shock as she clambered onto the lifeboat.
"Go!" she yelled.
Alabaster snapped into action first; bringing out Hermes' thermos, he unleashed the four winds and the half-bloods were off.
Percy threw a mocking salute to Luke, snickering.
"See you next summer!"
xxx
Answer: Some of you got it right! Yes, I was implying something on Hermes' part—he is in love with Ted though whether I'm expanding on this peculiar relationship remains to be seen. I want more drama so I'm going to include a few crushes on a few characters' parts.
Question: Who do you wish to see paired with one another? Regardless of the gender.
