DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything you recognize.
:: ::
:: ::
Daughter of Time
Chapter 10:
The Sea of Monsters, part V
::
Percy coughed, hacking water out of her mouth. She gasped for breath, wiping her face and rubbing her eyes to clear her sight. In the confusion, she'd lost her grip on Annabeth and she called out the daughter of Athena's name.
"I'm here!"
"Tyson?" Percy yelled.
"OK!"
She heaved a small sigh of relief. "Thank the Titans," she mumbled, wading through water—it had started to recede, which meant that they were safely sailing, and not in the monster's gut. Thank Lord Kronos, she added mentally. She reached out and grasp Annabeth's hand, pulling the blonde to her feet.
Both girls were soaked through and Percy could see through Annabeth's button-up shirt. Who wears that to quests? Annabeth looked like she was about to go to a job interview, albeit not as neat or fancy. Percy had worn a t-shirt with words like, "If you think I'm cute, you should see my Mom" and it would be see-through even when it's soaked. At least Annabeth had worn jeans.
Before Percy could say her relief out loud, the ship rocked side to side. "What's wrong now?" she demanded.
Annabeth was frowning as well. "Let's go up."
Percy had to shove a few skeleton sailors out of the way, the crew members were rushing about, moaning something. But Percy ignored them, having spotted Alabaster and Clarisse, arguing from what she could see. "What's wrong?" Annabeth asked, out of breath, she shivered slightly as the cold sea breeze hit her.
"It'd be easier to ask them what's right," Percy grumbled, wrapping her arms around herself, wishing she had brought her hoodie with her.
"Well, we met Charybdis," said Alabaster, his voice thick with sarcasm and he was ignoring the sharp look Percy was giving him. "While we're at it, why don't we meet her sister as well?"
Annabeth's mouth slackened in shock. "Scylla? Then hurry up and go!"
"Take another route," Percy suggested.
"That's the problem," snapped Clarisse. "We can't, Charybdis is behind us. We'd just be swallowed up again."
Percy opened her mouth, about to comment, but was cut off when she heard the engine groaning loudly. She didn't need to be a child of Hephaestus to know that something was wrong. As if to confirm her intuition, Tyson spoke up, "Too much strain on the pistols. Not meant for deep waters."
"Get everyone below deck," Percy said. "while the ship chugs past."
Clarisse scowled. "That's our only choice," she agreed miserably. "but if Scylla doesn't get her easy meat, she might pick up the whole ship. Besides, she's too high to make a good target. My cannons can't shoot straight up."
Percy frowned, looking around. The engine hummed. The boilers were heating up so much she could feel the deck getting warm beneath her feet. The smokestacks billowed. The red Ares flag whipped in the wind. Percy refused to accept that this would be the last sight she'd see. If they went back, they'd face Charybdis, if they went ahead, they'd face Scylla.
After experiencing being consumed, Percy thought Scylla's cliffs looked awfully tempting. Before they even got to face Scylla and whatever danger she had to offer, a zombie sailor burst out of the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking. His beard was on fire. "Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"
"Well, get down there and fix it!"
"Can't!" the sailor yelled. "We're vaporizing in the heat."
Percy leaned back, hissing in Annabeth's ear, she said, "Find the lifeboat, we'd get on and paddle away. I'd speed time up for the boat."
Annabeth looked uncertain, she cast Clarisse a look. "So... we're going to leave her here?" The daughter of Ares was barking orders, trying to gain control of the situation. Percy wondered why she didn't considered abandoning ship. If she begged, Percy might let her join their party.
Percy blinked. "If she wants to come, then she can," she said. "Just hurry and go."
"No! We don't abandon anyone!" Percy shot Tyson a dirty look for shouting so loud the whole world could hear. "I can fix it."
Clarisse looked at him incredulously. "You?"
"He's a Cyclops," Alabaster said though he sounded extremely reluctant at the idea of letting Tyson go. "He's immune to fire. And he knows mechanics."
"Go!" yelled Clarisse.
"Tyson, no!" The son of Hecate grabbed his arm. "It's too dangerous!"
Tyson blinked his giant eye, patted Alabaster's hand and smiled, gently removing the hand from his forearm. "Only way, my friend." His expression was determined—confident, even. Percy had never seen him look like this before. She could understand why, he'd be in his own element. "I will fix it. Be right back."
And he left.
Percy hesitated before started forward, about to stop Tyson—because it was not worth it and their chances of survival were higher if they abandoned ship—but the ship lurched, the ship taking a nosedive, hit by an impact from behind. "What's going on?" she yelled, baffled.
"Charybdis sending backup for her sis," grunted Alabaster, scrambling for purchase. "Not good at all."
Percy was about to say run for it when another smoldering sailor burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, almost knocking them both overboard. "The engine is about to blow!"
"Where's Tyson?" Alabaster demanded.
"Still down there. Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer. We have to abandon ship." See? Everyone was thinking the same lines of Percy though she noticed he didn't sound panicked before. Since he was dead, she supposed he didn't have to worry about anything else.
"No!" Clarisse yelled. Percy scowled at the hardheaded girl.
"We have no choice, m'lady. The hull is already cracking apart! She can't—"
He never finished his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched up the captain, and lifted him away. All that was left were his leather boots. A strangled yell of shock left Percy's lips as she scrambled back, pulling Alabaster who looked ready to faint away with her.
"Scylla!" a sailor yelled, as another column of reptilian flesh shot from the cliffs and snapped him up. It happened so fast it was like watching a laser beam rather than a monster. Percy couldn't even make out the thing's face, just a flash of teeth and scales. Whatever, she was sure that the thing was about to kill them.
She withdraw her sword, flipped it high enough for it to transform into the scythe which had a longer reach. Quick as Percy was to swipe at the monster that carried off another deckhand, she was still no match for the monster. Sweat beaded from the daughter of Kronos' forehead, this was one monster she could not beat.
"Everyone get below!" she yelled.
"We can't!" Clarisse drew her own sword. "Below deck is in flames."
"Lifeboats!" Annabeth said. "Quick!"
"They'll never get clear of the cliffs," Clarisse rebuked. "We'll all be eaten."
"Think positive," Annabeth encouraged.
"You be positive, I'll be realistic," Percy grumbled. Annabeth shot her a dirty look and she added, halfheartedly, "We still have to try, though."
Alabaster interjected. "I can't leave Tyson!"
"We have to get the boats ready!"
Clarisse took Annabeth's command. She and a few of her undead sailors uncovered one of the two emergency rowboats while Scylla's heads rained from the sky like a meteor shower with teeth, picking off Confederate sailors one after another. Percy didn't bother defending them, she just concentrated on trying to fend herself and her friends. Percy cast a glance at the boiler room hatch; Tyson had not come up.
Without thinking twice, she ran for the boiler room hatch, when suddenly her feet weren't touching the deck anymore. Percy screamed when she found herself flying straight up, the wind whistling in her ears, the side of the cliff only inches from her face. Scylla had caught her—no explanation for that. Percy's reflexes kicked in and she swung her scythe, the sharp end sinking into the monster's eyeball.
The monster howled in pain and dropped Percy. The fall would've been bad enough, considering she was a few hundred feet in the air. But as she fell, the ship exploded, sending chunks of ironclad flying in either direction like a fiery set of wings.
Percy didn't know what was going on below her. She didn't know if Tyson made it out for not but she prayed that he had managed to; she hoped Alabaster and Annabeth managed to make it to the lifeboats but she was being too optimistic. She was assuming the lifeboats weren't punctured or something and there was no way they could paddle fast enough to escape the next explosion from the engine room.
Then Percy heard a different kind of explosion: the roaring of wind and she felt the air shifting around her; white sheets of wind blasted in every direction, scattering the lifeboats, lifting her out of her free fall and propelling her across the ocean. Percy couldn't see anything.
The scream was torn from her throat. But Percy had been conscious enough to try and soften her fall, struggling to stop and slow time around her.
Percy felt her ankles brushing the surface of the sea before she blacked out.
:: :: ::
Everything around her was a swirling gale of gold—the shade of her eyes.
Percy blinked, dazed, trying to make out something sensible of her dream. Oh she knew she was dreaming because last she recall, she was sinking into the ocean. Or maybe she was already floating, dead and she was about to be judged by Hades. Great way for a family reunion.
Percy felt... warm.
She knew this sort of warmth, back from when she was just a baby in her cradle. "Uh... Dad? Kronos?" Her voice was unbearably loud and awkward in the void.
Her father's rumbling answer was all around her: "Persephone," he acknowledged.
For the first time, Percy entertained the thought that this whole void was her dad. "Am I dead? Dying? Or somewhere in between."
"Unconscious for now," he responded, sounding amused. "The son of Hecate is a handy servant to keep around, is he not?"
Percy frowned. "He saved my life?"
"Be careful of the seas," her Dad warned her. "Poseidon is not fond of you."
The gold particles started surrounding her, bursting into white-hot non-existence, the light blinding her eyes—
She raised her hand to block them out, groaning loudly. "It hurts," she mumbled. A cool hand rested on her forehead.
"Rest," the girl said. "You'd need it."
Alarm bells rung loudly in Percy's head. Regardless of the advice and how tempting it was, Percy forced her eyes open; light scorched her retinas (fortunately, not literally) and she closed them again, turning away, raising a hand to shield her eyes long enough for them to adjust.
Frown on her face, Percy pushed herself up, ignoring how her head was pounding. She was on a beach chair. Weird. Then she remembered there was someone else there with her. Percy turned, blinking the same time the younger did. She had dark skin, rich dark hair and eyes, but she seemed friendly enough.
She smiled shyly at Percy. "Hello," she said.
"Hey," Percy returned, seeing no reason to be impolite. She squinted at her surroundings. It looked like a very fancy hotel resort. "Where am I?"
"C.C's Spa and Resort! Would you like a tour? Your friend Annabeth brought you here and she's being given a special tour and makeover to top it all off!"
"Wh- What about Alabaster and Tyson?"
The smaller girl blinked, her lips curling slightly in an expression of disdain that girls her age shouldn't have. "Boys are given a complete makeover."
"OK..." Percy frowned at the girl. "Are you human?"
She nodded. "I'm Reyna," she introduced herself, smiling. "What's yours?"
"Uh, Percy Jackson. C.C's a weird name, who's he? Your boss?"
"Lady Circe is not male!" cried Reyna, looking scandalized. But Percy did not care whether Circe was male or female. She just cared about the boss's full name.
"Circe?" she echoed in horror. Percy wasn't too familiar with the myth but she knew enough to get the fact that she and her friends were, once again, in enemy territory. Percy tried to calm down and be rational—Annabeth must've known, she must've had a plan. If Annabeth didn't think they were safe—at the moment—then she wouldn't have left Percy alone with Reyna.
Reyna looked young and small and weak, but Percy couldn't tell—the girl might turn into a hydra for all she knew. Besides, she was hungry and her stomach complained loudly too. Reyna giggled at Percy's tinting cheeks. "Here," she said. "These are freshly baked brioche."
Whatever they were, they tasted good. Percy just hoped that the brioche didn't work the same way the food in the Underworld did—trapped there for one bite. It satisfied a short-term requirement but it wouldn't be good in the long-run. Once Percy was partially full (there were only so many brioches on the plate), she asked, "Where's Annabeth?"
"The blonde girl?" Reyna asked, her smile faltering as she frowned, trying to think. "Um, my older sister was showing her around."
"Why don't you lead me to her?"
"Eh? But I have orders to—"
Percy smiled sheepishly, trying to look disarming and hopeful. "Please?" She must've looked pretty pitiful because Reyna quickly gave in.
After many twists and turns and eyesores (how rich was Circe? Percy was very jealous), Percy and Reyna finally came to a halt. Not because they were at their destination. Because Percy came across a grosteque sight. "Annabeth?" she said, incredulously, her mouth going dry when she saw her friend—or at least, what she thought was her friend. "What happened to you?"
Before your imaginations get carried away, Annabeth was perfectly intact, she looked good—too good even. She was wearing a sleeveless silk dress which lifted in the breeze. Her blond hair was newly washed and combed and braided with gold. Worst of all, she was wearing makeup.
Percy and makeup didn't have a nice history together but that was a story for another time. She looked fantastic and boys would probably throw themselves at her feet but it just wasn't the daughter of Athena. The daughter of Kronos thought her friend looked much better without makeup.
Reyna's grip on Percy's hand tightened. "Hylla!" But her voice was cheery. Weird. Did Percy just imagine some dark aura from Reyna?
"Hey, there, Reyna," said the girl named Hylla. She was probably older than Percy and Annabeth both by a few years, she looked a lot like her sister and was as friendly. She smiled widely at them. "Want me to give you a makeover?"
"For free?"
Hylla blinked. "I'm not sure—"
"Then I'm good," Percy said. She liked looking beautiful but needing to pay for it? Percy could just ask her mother to doll her up. "Let me talk it out with your boss first." She glanced around. "Where's she?"
"We're almost there," Hylla assured, still smiling, she didn't seem offended.
They came to a stop before a blue curtain; Annabeth said, "Alabaster's in there," and it made Percy frown because she didn't mention Tyson. The blonde didn't give her a chance to ask, pushing the curtain aside and calling, "Lady C.C?"
Percy ignored the beautiful woman standing by the loom, choosing to look around the room and frowned. "Where's Alabaster?"
C.C. smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry." She turned to Annabeth because there was no way she could say that to Percy with the latter looking like she did now. "You look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"
Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Your library is amazing!"
"And are you quite all right now?" C.C inquired kindly of Percy. Stiffly, the daughter of Kronos nodded. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't relax even thought C.C's eyes were genuinely worried.
"Yes, indeed," C.C. said to Annabeth, seeming to get that Percy didn't like her. "The best knowledge of the past three millennium. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."
"An architect?"
Percy snorted the same time C.C did. "Pah!" C.C. said. "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."
Annabeth took a step back. "A sorceress?" She threw Percy a bewildered glance; the daughter of Kronos mouthed, "Circe," and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. We both admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men." C.C fixed her eyes on Percy. "And a daughter of Kronos... I needn't the news spreading to this land to know. Your power is far greater than that of any children of the Big Three I've encountered in the past."
"Thanks," Percy said, unsure herself if she was being sarcastic. "But we really got to go. Can you call Alabaster back for us?"
"Circe!" Annabeth said, as if she just realized this now. Her grey eyes were narrowed. "Where's Alabaster? What did you do to him?"
"Only helped him realize his true form."
Percy scanned the room. Finally she saw the cage, and the guinea pigs scratching at the bars, all the other guinea pigs crowding around, as if desperate to escape. She nudged Annabeth.
"Forget him," Circe said. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."
"But—"
"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."
"Let me think about it," Annabeth murmured. "Just… give us a minute alone. To say good-bye."
"Of course, my dear," Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh … and so you have absolute privacy …" She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room, beckoning for Hylla and Reyna (who seemed reluctant) to follow, and the locks on the door click shut behind her.
Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances before darting to opposite ends of the room to scan the guinea pigs locked in cages. "All right, which one is you?" Percy heard Annabeth asking. Percy frowned, she didn't think Alabaster would look as old and worn as these pigs. "Percy!"
"What?"
"Eat this!"
Percy turned, seeing Annabeth offering her a miniature Minotaur sweet. Confused, she just took it and swallowed it. "Did you find Alabaster?"
"No," moaned Annabeth, despairing, but before Percy could offer some reassuring words, the door burst open and Circe strode in, flanked by two attendants in business-suits. Percy wondered what sort of monsters they were but didn't think infuriating them further would be a wise move as their lives were on the line. They could lose Alabaster forever. And that was thinking positive, assuming they didn't lose their lives either.
"Done with the goodbyes?" Circe asked, voice sweet, a smile that didn't reach her eyes on her face. "How fast time flies, hm?"
"I know that the best," said Percy and she lunged; she flipped her ring and it transformed into a sword. Blue flames curled around Circe's fingers and she flung it at the daughter of Kronos but the young demi-titan just plouged past it. She swung her sword to ward the attendants advancing on her and Annabeth.
While she was distracting the trio of witches, Annabeth had knocked the top over, pouring vitamins into the cage, ignoring Circe's scream of protest.
Alabaster was the first of the guinea pigs to reform, fortunately, he was not naked. "Thank the gods," he yelled, scrambling to his feet. "I thought I was going to be a rodent forever!"
"I'd never let you live it down!" Percy added helpfully. But Alabaster didn't reply, she turned and she saw her friend gaping at one of the men who had stood up—a huge guy with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same color. Percy grimaced at him.
"Argggh!" bellowed the big man. "What's the witch done t'me!"
"No!" Circe moaned; she sounded so scared, Percy actually felt pity.
Annabeth gasped. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"
"Aye, lass," the big man growled. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through!" The pirate and his crew, roaring in anger, charged down Circe and her attendants.
Percy snorted. "Magic, not much is it?"
"Let's just get out of here," Alabaster said, a shudder ripping through his whole body. The half-bloods tore down the hillside, bypassing the pirates that were causing chaos, setting fire to the beautiful paradise (for the girls) with the tiki torches.
"We can't use the lifeboat!" said Annabeth.
Percy looked around the assortment of vehicles, all belonging to visitors that never left the island and were probably guinea pigs. "There!" she said, pointing at the business jet. "It's fast!"
"We don't know how to pilot it," Annabeth reasoned.
"Doesn't matter," grunted Alabaster, getting to his knees, rummaging around in his backpack that also reappeared whenever he needed it. He had probably enchanted it. He pulled out a suit, sprinkled sand on it and murmured a string of incantations under his breath. "We don't know, but he knows." He jerked his head at the jet. "Let's run for it!"
No one stopped them; the pirates unleashed their vengeance on the ladies and since the trio of half-bloods had helped them escape, they were not on their hit-list, something which all three were endlessly grateful for.
The jet was off just as Percy fell face-first into it, landing on a sofa. She saw Alabaster sitting himself beside the piloting seat. Whatever it was called, the empty suit settled itself in it and started punching buttons. "Uhh," she groaned. "That was a close call."
Annabeth fell into a sit next to Percy who had finally decided to sit properly, breathing heavily. "Yes," she agreed.
For a moment, there was only silence between them as Alabaster gave his magic servant instructions and the engine was humming loudly—apparently preserved in good condition. "Tyson didn't make it," Percy said, not a question, more of a fact.
Annabeth nodded, silent.
"I see..." Good thing they didn't take the sea route then; not only did they not know how to operate a ship, it would take a whole crew to get it working. A private jet was easier and it was actually comfortable.
"You girls rest up," Alabaster called from the front. "We can deal with this."
Percy didn't need anymore incentive to fall asleep. She closed her eyes and reclined in her seat, leaning back, managing to delude herself that she was actually on vacation and that she was safe.
For a safe and happy life, there was nothing Percy wouldn't give.
Except of course, the Fates don't do bargains and trades.
:: ::
Sorry this took so long! I decided to mix both book and movie elements because everyone seem to like the books better than the movies' version.
Let me ask you guys a question: why do you all dislike the movie? I personally find it interesting and well-made, the actors and actresses suit the roles of the characters. I don't see the problem so why are there so many people complaining about it?
I really want to know. Please answer.
:: ::
:: ::