Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor do I own The Heroes of Olympus.
Story: Champion of Olympus: The Sea's Wrath
Chapter 14: What Are Friends For?
Onboard the Thalassa
Annabeth's POV
I walked out of my room; Clarisse was still snoring like a bear on her bunk. I thought boys could snore, but daughters of Ares snored worse than anyone, except for sons of Ares, I guess. I walked up the stairs to the galley, and grabbed a bowl of cereal. I didn't see Tyson or Percy, so I walked up on deck with my food. The sun was shining brightly, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I saw Tyson standing in the control room operating the boat. He gave me a big smile as I walked by. I made my way to the bow of the boat; Percy was sitting on the very front of the boat with his feet dangling off the deck. He was smiling, and I could have sworn that he was laughing at something. I walked up to him, and sat down next to him with my breakfast in my hand.
"Morning, wise girl." He said.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself. What are you laughing at?" I asked. He gave me his crooked smile, and then he pointed down toward the water. The water was breaking across the hull of the boat as we moved through the water. Then I saw two bottle-nosed dolphins break through the wake. They just oozed happiness and fun; they flew through the water like a torpedo. I couldn't help, but smile. Then Percy chuckled to himself as he looked toward me. "What?"
"They said that you have pretty kelp on your head." Percy said.
"What?" I asked dumbfounded.
"They don't know what hair is, so they think you have some type of kelp on you head. I thought it was funny considering what you call me." Percy said with amusement evident in his voice. I couldn't help, but laugh as well.
"So, I was just insulted by two dolphins." I said sarcastically.
"They don't know any better, besides to them kelp is the most natural thing in their world." Percy said. I nodded as watched the dolphins, until they veered off, and swam away. "They just got a call from their pod; I guess the fun is over." Percy stood up, and lowered his hand to me. I took it gratefully as he lifted me to my feet effortlessly. Then I noticed Percy's face grow serious. "I need to talk to you." I looked at him warily, but I nodded in agreement. We walked over to two bench seats that were attached to the hull. We sat down across from each other; he looked at me carefully.
"Are you going to tell me, or not?" I asked. Percy sighed, and then he ran his fingers through his hair.
"I had a dream last night. I saw Grover, and he was captured by Kronos's minions." Percy said.
"Was Luke there?" I asked, Percy's face turned pale, and I knew it was because I had asked about Luke. Why did that upset him?
"Yes, Grover looked like he had been tortured. Luke tried to persuade Grover to join them, so he wouldn't have to be tortured anymore." Percy said.
"Why did they capture Grover?" I asked.
"Kronos didn't want Grover to find the fleece, and then tell us where. They want us to search at our own pace, so they can be ready to destroy me." Percy said. I felt my stomach tie in knots at the thought of Percy dying.
"Where are they now?" I asked.
"They're on some ship, near the location of the fleece. They'll wait until we retrieve the fleece, then they will attack, and use Grover as leverage against me." Percy said. They were going to use his fatal flaw against him, again. I looked at him curiously; he's planning something.
"What are you planning?" I asked. Percy gave me an amused smile.
"I'm going to free Grover from that ship." Percy said.
"How?" I asked. Percy cleared his throat, and then he looked into my eyes confidently. I felt self-conscious for a moment as his sea green eyes bored into my grey ones.
"You and the others will continue on the quest for the fleece, while I leave the boat, and find where their keeping Grover. Then I'll break into that ship, and free him." Percy said. That's the craziest idea ever.
"You're crazy; who knows how many monsters are on that ship." I said. Percy laughed at my comment.
"This will work, I'll have the element of surprise on my side, plus I can always sink the damn thing, if I need to." Percy said. He's getting awfully cocky about his powers.
"Wow, if your head gets any bigger you might float away." I quipped. Percy gave me the death glare.
"I can do this; I owe it to Grover." Percy said.
"This is what they want you to do; they'll use your loyalty against you, like they always do. One of these days all your powers aren't going to be enough to save you." I said. I could see the anger flash in Percy's eyes, I flinched at the sight.
"I'm doing this, and you can't stop me." Percy said.
"You're right, I can't, but I'm not going to worry about you anymore. If you don't care enough about your friends to take care of yourself, maybe you don't deserve friends like us." I said as I stormed off to the other side of the boat. I heard a loud splash; I turned around to see Percy no longer on the deck of the boat. He was going off to risk his life for Grover. I wiped a stray tear from my eye as I turned away. I tried my best to wipe any thoughts of Percy from my mind, but I couldn't. "Stay safe, seaweed brain." I whispered to myself.
Percy's POV
Annabeth's words stung my heart, but I willed the pain in my chest to go away as I remembered Grover, and the condition he was in. I jumped over the side of the boat, and as I hit the water, I saw a large whale about thirty feet below the boat, swimming gracefully. I willed the currents to pull me toward the whale.
My lord, how may I help you?
Have you seen a large ship nearby?
Yes, its a days swim towards the sunrise.
Thank you
You are most welcome my lord.
I willed the currents to push me through the sea at incredible speeds. I swam at speeds unheard of for any sea creature. I felt a sudden pull in my stomach. I surfaced to see an island only a few miles away, somehow I knew the fleece was there. Suddenly, I felt tremendous power from behind me, I turned to see a large ship. I swam closer, and saw a large white cruise ship, with the sculpture of a woman on the bow. The sculpture would have been beautiful; the woman had raven colored hair, and bright blue eyes, but the image was ruined as the woman's face was morphed into a blood curdling scream. I swam to the aft of the ship, the name on the rear of the vessel was the Princess Andromeda, I froze, she was the princess that the original Perseus saved from certain death at the clutches of an evil sea monster. The ship was anchored about three miles from the island. I concentrated, and I could feel the Thalassa about twenty miles from my current position.
I dove down under the ship, and concentrated until I felt the vibrations from the engine room. I memorized the location of the engine room; I located one of the anchors of the ship. I climbed the giant chain until I reached the deck of the ship. I peered over the edge to see monsters of all varieties on the deck. I saw a dark haired demigod walk to the aft of the ship, he had a pack of cigarettes in his hand. I crawled along the side of the ship until I saw him stop, and light up a cigarette, he began to smoke excitedly. I crawled over the edge of the ship, and landed quietly on the deck. I walked up to the demigod carefully.
"Don't you know those are bad for your health." I said he turned around immediately, but in one quick motion, I tapped the pressure point on the side of his head sending him into unconsciousness. I pulled his body along the deck, and into the nearest hatchway. I put on his baseball cap, and light jacket. Then I walked out onto the main deck, the monsters didn't even give me a second glance. I walked down the nearest stairway until I reached a dimly lit hallway. I moved along the hallway carefully, stopping to read a sign on the bulkhead that said engine room. The sign pointed down a flight of stairs that were opposite the sign. I was about to go down the stairs when I instantly stopped, as a sudden feeling of immense power hit me. I looked around until I saw a doorway at the other end of the hallway. I approached the door carefully, and then I opened the door quietly. I walked in, and then I looked around the room until my eyes saw a gold coffin at the far end of the room. I walked over to the large ornately designed coffin, and then I slid open the lid. Suddenly, I was hit with images of ancient battles, hellfire, torment, and evil thoughts. I shook my head, but then I heard the evil laugh of the titan lord, I closed the coffin lid quickly. I ran out of the room as fast as I could.
I walked down the flight of stairs that were supposed to lead me to the engine room. I reached a red door that said engine room. I opened it carefully; the room was dimly lit, the smell of diesel was evident in the air just like in my dream. I concentrated until I felt the power of Hades within me, instantly I could see in the darkness. I searched around the room until I saw movement along the far wall. I ran toward the movement, and the I found my friend Grover chained to the wall with cuts and bruises all over his body.
"Grover" I whispered, as I touched an uninjured spot on his arm. His head moved slowly, and he looked up at me with tired eyes. His eyes grew wide once he recognized me.
"Percy" I nodded thankfully.
"Its me, I'm going to get you out of here." I said. He nodded as I willed all the power within me to focus on increasing my strength. I grabbed the chains, and then I pulled tightly. The chains broke apart easily, I freed Grover's hands, and then I did the same with his feet.
"Thank you" He said gratefully.
"Can you walk G-man?" I asked. Grover nodded as I helped him to his hooves. I motioned for him to remain quiet, and then to follow me as we left the engine room. We made our way quietly up on deck, but when I opened the hatch to the main platform we were met with more monsters than I had ever seen in one place in my life. Grover and I froze at the sight.
"I see that you made it Percy." Luke said as he walked forward between to giant Cyclops. I glared at him angrily.
"I've come here for Grover, don't make me destroy you." I said. Luke began to laugh, then the monsters around him began to laugh in support. I narrowed my eyes, and then I pulled Grover behind me. Suddenly, I felt the power of Zeus and Poseidon flow through my body, and then I saw Luke flinch in fear. "You can't say I didn't warn you."
AN: A showdown on the Princess Andromeda, more to come.