Ch. 14

Zoe shook her head and smiled at Percy, so loyal to those he loved. She leaned towards him and kissed him softly, "You're a good brother Percy."

Percy shrugged modestly making Zoe's smile grow. She leaned forward to kiss him again when the ship shook violently, sending Zoe flying backwards over the railing. Percy dove forward and grabbed her hand at the last second.

"Oh no you don't, you're not getting away from me, never again." He said seriously as pulled her back over the railing.

Zoe smiled at him before the ship shook again. Percy steadied them from falling as sirens and alarms blared on the ship and Percy looked out into the night sky, trying to see what was attacking them. He paled as he finally saw what it was; what could only be described as a flock of dragons circling around for another attack on the ship.

"That is not good." Percy muttered worriedly.

Zoe was still trying to get a look at what was attacking their ship before her face turned a ghostly white color. "There's got to be close to ten of them." She said with worry laced in her voice.

Leo and Jason came running up to the deck followed closely by Annabeth, Hazel and Piper.

"What is it?" Jason asked as Percy and Zoe ran over to them.

"Dragons… close to ten of them." Percy said quickly before turning to Leo, "Whatever you have for weapons on this beast, it's time to put them to the test."

Leo paled and made beeline for the controls of the ship as two dragons made another run at them. Both monsters opened their mouths and spewed torrents of fire at the ship. The celestial bronze ship held against the attack but one of the dragons noticed and moved its mouth so the fired was launched at the members of the quest.

Hazel and Piper dove to the left behind a ship mast while Jason grabbed Annabeth and shot them upward using the winds. Percy and Zoe were stuck in the middle with nothing to hide behind. Percy dove towards Zoe, tackling her to the ground as the fire reached them. He used his body to protect her as the fire hit his back igniting his clothes as he let loose an agonizing scream.

When the torrent of flames stopped, he rolled off Zoe trying to put out the fire on his clothes as quickly as he could. Being a son of Poseidon was the only reason he managed to survive the attack without being burnt to a crisp.

Two more dragons made to take a run at the ship from the right when a huge boom sounded from that side of the ship as a few celestial bronze cannonballs along with a mess of shrapnel were fired. Two cannonballs clipped one of the dragons in the wing, puncturing large holes in it and sending the monster into a downward spiral towards the earth below.

The second dragon took a face full of shrapnel but remained airborne before turning away from the ship and back towards its brethren to regroup.

Zoe raced over to Percy, "Gods Percy, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

Percy took a deep breath and nodded, "I'm fine Zoe, go regroup the others and help Leo with the weapons as much as you can."

Zoe nodded but then paused, "And what are you going to do?"

Percy smiled, "Nothing dumb, I promise I won't get myself killed."

Zoe's eyes narrowed, "You better be right or you'll wish you were never born."

Percy grinned as he sat up at last, "Consider me warned." He said before pecking her on the lips as he climbed to his feet.

Zoe raced over to Leo who was barking orders to the demigods, telling them to get down below and reload the cannons. She and the others quickly raced downstairs to do as he said.

Percy made his way over to Leo once the others had gone below. "What do we have for Greek fire on board?" He asked.

"Below the ship is an armory, on the bottom. There are a few dozen crates of it down there, why?" Leo asked.

Percy didn't reply, instead running off into a shadow only to reappear a minute later with a pack filled with a half-dozen of the jars.

Leo looked at Percy confused but had to turn back as two more dragons made a run at the ship. Leo looked down at the monitors, his Wii controller in hand as he adjusted his aim and fired. This time he completely missed one of the dragons while the other took the full brunt of the attack, taking multiple cannonballs and shrapnel into its body, a number breaking through the beast's tough scales and puncturing its body. The dragons began to dissolve in midair until only a skeleton began to fall to the earth below.

Leo looked up as the second dragon let loose a blast of fire at the ship before taking off below the ship. He looked up and saw Percy watch the dragon go below the ship before sprinting to the other side of the ship and diving off making Leo's eyes go wide.

Leo looked in disbelief until he saw an enraged dragon trying to shake off Percy who was clinging desperately to the monster's back.

Percy had both his hands clasped firmly onto the dragon's scales as he cursed himself for not thinking through more clearly before jumping off the ship. The dragon tried to buck him of but Percy held firm, slowly starting to climb his way towards the monster's head one scale at a time.

He looked up and noticed they were heading right for the rest of the dragons who seemed like they were getting ready to launch another attack.

Just as he reached its head, he saw two more dragons begin to fly in the direction of the ship. He gripped a scale as tightly as he could with one hand before his other crept back towards his pack where he pulled out a jar of Greek fire.

He waited until the dragons were about to fly past him before he jumped into a crouch and smashed the jar atop the dragon's head before launching himself at the passing dragons.

As he was airborne, Percy thought he was the stupidest demigod to ever live as he completely missed the two dragons he was aiming for. To his credit, they were a lot faster than they looked.

He thought he had missed his chance as the dragons flew by, just out of his reach until he saw a third dragon, flying towards him below, apparently trying to attack unnoticed as the other two led the charge. Percy focused on the darkness all around him, using the shadows to propel himself towards the beast, barely managing to grab hold of a scale as the beast sped by.

He looked up and saw the ship opening fire on the first two dragons, both being hit and wounded by the attack before the third dragon shot upwards well above the ship before launching itself downwards as Percy slid down the beast's back, grabbing hold of a scale on its neck at the last second,

He looked down to see them barreling towards the ship with way too much speed before he realized the dragon was going kamikaze style in its attack, likely killing them both.

Percy let go with one of his hands before ripping off his pack and swinging it as hard as he could into the monster's face as several jars of Greek fire exploded, blasting him off the dragon and into the night sky.

He could feel himself losing consciousness before he used the last of his strength to shadow travel to a spot that would at least land him on the ship before he let the darkness consume him.

After watching Percy hanging on for dear life off the back of the dragon, Leo had called for help from someone down below. He flinched involuntarily when Zoe had been the one to come up from below.

"What is it Leo?" She asked quickly.

Leo looked at her nervously, "See that dragon?" He said pointing out to the dragon flying erratically in the distance.

"Yes, why?" She replied confused.

"Watch it closely so I can make sure I don't fire at that one." He said drawing another confused look from Zoe before her eyes widened. "Yeah, Percy is on its back and I don't want to kill it and him." He finished quietly.

A look of horror, followed by rage, followed shortly after by worry appeared on the face of the ex-huntress. As she watched, her stomach and heart clench painfully when explosion of green fire lit up the sky coming from the dragon that Zoe could barely make out in the distance.

Zoe looked at Leo whose face was pale white for a second before he looked down at the screen as it began to beep again.

"We have incoming. I will target them but I'll wait for you to give the okay. As soon as you see if Percy is on one of them, let me know." Leo said seriously.

Zoe nodded and peered into the night, waiting for the dragons to come into view. Slowly they did but the lack of Percy being on top of either did little to make her feel better. If anything she felt worse, unsure if he was even still alive.

"F..Fire Leo." Zoe said, her voice cracking a bit when she spoke.

The side of Argo II erupted with cannon fire, celestial bronze projectiles ripping the two dragons to pieces, bringing a bit of relief from the attacks.

"Shit!" Leo yelled as a third dragon shot up from below the first two, flying high above the ship. "Reload! Reload!" Leo yelled frantically as everyone below scrambled to do as ordered.

Leo looked up in horror as the dragon came barreling down from above them. "Take cove.." He yelled before the dragon's head erupted in a massive explosion of Greek fire, lighting up the night sky in a bright green light.

Zoe barely had time to look up when a crash a few feet beside her cause her to jump. She looked and saw her boyfriend lying in a motionless heap on the deck of the ship, his right arm bent in a horrifyingly unnatural angle.

She sprinted to his side, cradling his head in her lap as tears sprung from her eyes. She put two fingers to his throat and felt a wave of relief enter her heart as she felt his pulse, still strong.

Zoe vaguely heard the ship erupt in cannon fire a couple more times but she was oblivious to anything outside of her and Percy's broken body on the deck of the ship.

A few minutes later Annabeth and Hazel were at her side, both with tears in their eyes as well.

"I…Is he… de…dead?" Hazel chocked out.

Zoe shook her head, "No but he is hurt badly."

"Nectar and ambrosia! Hurry up!" Annabeth screamed as Jason and Piper scrambled down below to do as ordered.

Percy found himself in an all too familiar place in a courtyard on Olympus. He knew he was hurt, he remembered what happened to put him in this place. He looked around, expecting to find Hera or Artemis and couldn't help but smile when he noticed the little eight-year-old goddess sitting indian style in front of the statue of him in the courtyard.

"My lady?" Percy asked softly.

Hestia turned around but her expression was not what Percy expected. She stood up and slapped him across the face, which to Percy's shock, was just as painful as when he was awake.

"Don't you dare do something so stupid again." Hestia growled before taking a deep breath. "Perseus," she said calmly. "You need to be smarter. You no longer have the Curse of Achilles to protect you. You are lucky you are not dead."

Percy bowed his head in shame, knowing she was right. "I know. I am sorry Aunt Hestia."

Hestia's expression softened a bit, "Percy, you cannot die on this journey. Without you, Nico and Bianca will not survive. The quest will not succeed. As much as it pains me that it is put on you again, you are the key to the survival of Olympus and western civilization."

Percy sighed loudly but nodded, "I understand my lady, I will not be so reckless again."

Hestia nodded, "I was watching you on your journey and when I saw you how you came to be unconscious, I felt the need to let you know how stupid you were acting. You are my champion. I expect you to be intelligent as well as brave."

Percy bowed his head, "Yes my lady."

Hestia smiled warmly at him, "Good. Now prepare yourself, I believe Zoe will not be as forgiving as I was."

Percy paled making Hestia chuckle before she planted a soft kiss on his forehead as the dream slowly dissolved from his vision.

Percy felt himself slowly begin to wake up. There was a gentle pressure on his chest and he felt someone clutching one of his hands. He slowly opened his left eye to see Hazel clutching his hand, her eyes red from crying. Percy felt guilt worming his way into his body as he could already guess who was lying on his chest.

He gave Hazel's hand a gentle squeeze making her eyes go wide, "Percy!" She said excitedly.

He smiled softly at her before looking down at Zoe who looked both relieved and angry, "Sorry." He whispered softly.

Zoe's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything, instead just pressing her head more firmly to his chest. Percy looked down at his other arm to find it was all wrapped up.

"What were you thinking?" Annabeth yelled from across the room.

Percy smiled, "Obviously I wasn't thinking very intelligently but I did manage to kill two of them."

"Bro, you saved our lives. If you hadn't killed that third dragon, it would have destroyed the ship." Leo said grinning at him.

Percy shrugged, "It was lucky but at least it did work."

Annabeth shook her head a Percy, "Don't be such a dumbass Percy… I know for a fact you are not that stupid." She said before locking eyes with Zoe and nodding.

Annabeth quickly began to shoo people out of the room, "Come on guys, I think Zoe would like a word with Percy alone." She said smirking.

"Yeah, yeah, no funny business you two." Hedge said from behind Annabeth. "I'm watching you Jackson."

Percy rolled his eyes but soon paled as he saw he was now alone with Zoe's head still resting on his chest.

"In all fairness, I only promised I wouldn't die," Percy said quickly. "But I am sorry Zoe."

Zoe looked up at Percy but instead of being angry, she looked sadder than anything else and it broke his heart. She scooted herself up closer until her face was in the crook of his neck.

"Percy," she said softly. "You can't do things like that anymore. I… I can't lose you." She said, her voice cracking a bit.

Percy wrapped his uninjured arm around her, "I know Zoe, I'm so sorry. I promise I won't be that reckless again."

Zoe looked up at him only to find sincerity in his obsidian and sea green eyes before she nodded and leaned up, pressing her lips to his softly. "You've never broken a promise Percy, you better not start now."

Percy smiled and kissed her forehead as he whispered, "I won't. Not to you, ever."

Zoe nodded and lay back down with her face in his neck, "Rest. You're injured and you're not leaving this bed until I say so." She said firmly.

He smiled and traced circles in her back with his uninjured hand, "I can live with that."

Line Break

Despite his protests, Zoe kept Percy in bed for almost six hours before she finally allowed him to get up and walk around the ship. His arm was stuck in a sling while he spent his time nibbling on ambrosia trying to heal it as quickly as possible.

So far it had been a little over a day since they left Camp Jupiter but they were forced to put the ship down in the sea, the ship needing repairs before it was safe to take airborne again. The dragons had done quite a bit of damage before they had been destroyed. Leo was spending his time with the repairs while the ship was being sailed by Zoe and Percy who were doing what they could to increase the speed in which they travelled with their powers over the sea.

One thing that Percy had picked up on was the way Leo was looking at his little sister Hazel. He was very flirtatious and much to his chagrin, Hazel wasn't put off by it. It took Zoe and Annabeth together to stop Percy from throwing Leo overboard when he saw Leo walking across the deck with his arm around Hazel.

Now Percy and Annabeth were manning the ship while Zoe caught a few hours of sleep and everyone else was helping Leo with the repairs.

"So Annabeth," Percy said with a mischievous smile on his face, "what's going on with you and Thalia's little brother?"

Annabeth's face turned a few shades redder before she glared back at Percy only for him to start laughing at her.

"Shut up Percy." She growled.

Percy rolled his eyes, "What? He seems cool. As long as he treats you well then I won't have to kill him."

Annabeth looked at Percy disbelievingly before she started to chuckle, "I never knew you cared, Percy."

Percy glared at her, "Seriously? I took Zeus' master bolt for you and you think I don't care about you? You're my best friend Annabeth. Well other than Zoe, but that's different."

Annabeth smiled, "Sorry, I know you care. You're my best friend too Percy. But to answer your question, none of your damn business," she said with a glare.

Percy chuckled and was about to reply when an unfamiliar feeling in his gut made him feel uneasy. Annabeth noticed this and looked at him worriedly.

"Percy, what's wrong?" She asked.

Percy was silent for a minute, "I don't know… something feels… wrong."

Percy looked out into the sea to look for any signs of danger but there was a thick layer of fog blocking his view.

"Get Leo." Percy said as he continued to try and look through the mist.

Annabeth nodded and ran off to find Leo, returning a minute later with the son of Hephaestus who looked at him confused.

"What's up Percy?" Leo asked.

"This ship, does it have radar?" Percy asked quickly.

Leo nodded as he grabbed his Nintendo Wii controller, hitting a few buttons before a screen appeared in front of him. He looked at it confused, "There's nothing in sight."

Percy nodded to him before his body tensed.

"Stop." Percy's skin felt washed with ice. "We have to stop."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"Leo, stop!" He yelled.

Too late. Another boat appeared out of the fog and rammed them head-on. In that split second, Percy registered random details: another trireme; black sails painted with a gorgon's head; hulking warriors, not quite human, crowded at the front of the boat in Greek armor, swords and spears ready; and a bronze ram at water level, slamming against the hull of the Argo II.

Annabeth and Percy were almost thrown overboard.

The Argo II blew fire, sending a dozen very surprised warriors screaming and diving into the sea, but more swarmed aboard the Argo II. Grappling lines wrapped around the rails and the mast, digging iron claws into the hull's planks.

By the time Percy had recovered his wits, the enemy was everywhere. He couldn't see well through the fog, but the invaders seemed to be humanlike dolphins, or dolphin-like humans.

Leo sounded the alarm before he made a dash for the nearest ballista only to go down under a pile of chattering dolphin warriors.

Zoe bolted onto the deck of the ship where a pair of dolphin warriors charged at her. They only got within about five feet of her before an arrow imbedded itself in the back of each of their heads courtesy of Percy. Zoe darted over to where Annabeth and Percy stood back-to-back with their weapons drawn. Percy tried to summon the waves, hoping he could push the ships apart or even capsize the enemy vessel, but nothing happened. It almost felt like something was pushing against his will, wresting the sea from his control.

He raised Anaklusmos, ready to fight, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Several dozen warriors lowered their spears and made a ring around them, wisely keeping out of striking distance of Percy's sword. The dolphin-men opened their snouts and made whistling, popping noises. Percy had never considered just how vicious dolphin teeth looked.

At least the warriors didn't seem interested in killing them immediately. They kept Percy, Zoe and Annabeth contained while more of their comrades flooded below decks and secured the hull. Percy could hear them breaking down the cabin doors, scuffling with his friends. Even if the other demigods hadn't been fast asleep, they wouldn't have stood a chance against so many.

Leo was dragged across the deck, half-conscious and groaning, and dumped on a pile of ropes. Below, the sounds of fighting tapered off. Either the others had been subdued or…or Percy refused to think about it.

On one side of the ring of spears, the dolphin warriors parted to let someone through. He appeared to be fully human, but from the way the dolphins fell back before him, he was clearly the leader. He was dressed in Greek combat armor—sandals, kilt, and greaves, a breastplate decorated with elaborate sea monster designs—and everything he wore was gold. Even his sword, a Greek blade like Anaklusmos, was gold instead of bronze.

What really caught Percy's eye was the guy's helmet. His visor was a full face mask fashioned like a gorgon's head—curved tusks, horrible features pinched into a snarl, and golden snake hair curling around the face. Percy had met gorgons before. The likeness was good—a little too good for his taste.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded. "What do you want?"

The golden warrior chuckled. With a flick of his blade, faster than Percy could follow, he smacked Anaklusmos but Percy held firm, not losing his grip, something that stopped the warrior's laughter immediately. He seemed confused; like this was the first time he had failed to disarm someone with just the flick of his wrist. He took a step closer to Percy who stepped in front of both Annabeth and Zoe protectively. He pulled his arm out its sling, flexing it experimentally and was relieved to find he was mostly pain free.

"Hello, brother." The golden warrior's voice was rich and velvety, with an exotic accent—Middle Eastern, maybe. "I am always happy to rob a fellow son of Poseidon. I am Chrysaor, the Golden Sword. As for what I want…" He turned his metal mask toward Zoe. "Well, that's easy. I want everything you have."

Percy narrowed his eyes at being called a son of Poseidon but ignored it. He didn't know who this guy was but he was quite arrogant and it was getting under Percy's skin. The way he looked at Zoe made his blood boil. He decided to wait to hear more before making a move.

Chrysaor walked back and forth, inspecting them like prized cattle. A dozen of his dolphin-man warriors stayed in a ring around them, spears leveled at Percy's chest, while a dozen more ransacked the ship, banging and crashing around below decks. One carried a box of ambrosia up the stairs. Another carried an armful of ballista bolts and a crate of Greek fire.

"Careful with that!" Annabeth warned. "It'll blow up both our ships."

"Ha!" Chrysaor said. "We know all about Greek fire, girl. Don't worry. We've been looting and pillaging ships on the Mare Nostrum for eons."

"Your accent sounds familiar," Annabeth murmured before her eyes widened, "Medusa."

Chrysaor snarled in Annabeth's direction, "Yes… I believe you and another son of Poseidon killed my mother five years ago. You will pay dearly for that Athena spawn."

"Medusa is your mom?" Percy asked. "Dude, that sucks for you."

"You are as arrogant as the first Perseus," Chrysaor said. "But, yes Percy Jackson, Poseidon was my father. Medusa was my mother. After Medusa was changed into a monster by that so-called goddess of wisdom…" The golden mask turned on Annabeth. "That would be your mother I believe…Medusa's two children were trapped inside her, unable to be born. When the original Perseus cut off Medusa's head—"

"Two children sprang out," Annabeth remembered. "Pegasus and you."

Percy eyed the man in front him warily. He saw Hazel, Piper and Jason being brought up from behind by some of the dolphin warriors. He looked back at Chrysaor with narrowed eyes.

"So, what, your pissy about having a monster for a Mom and now you think so some type of big tough butt-pirate who thinks he can rob anyone he wants?" Percy growled.

Chrysaor stared at Percy for a second before lunging at him. Percy kicked out Annabeth's and Zoe's legs, knocking them to the ground before he vanished, reappearing behind Chrysaor and grabbing the back of his armor where he shoved him away from the girls and into a few of his comrades.

Percy spun and drove Anaklusmos through a dolphin warrior's throat before slicing open the stomach of a second with a wide arcing strike.

"Move again and your friends die!" Chrysaor roared as he grabbed Hazel roughly and put his golden sword to her throat.

One of enraged dolphin warriors tried to run Percy through with its spear but Percy sidestepped and elbowed the creature in the throat crushing its windpipe before it collapsed slowly suffocating.

"Enough!" Chrysaor bellowed but it was unclear if he was talking to Percy or his own men. Both followed the order.

One of the dolphin warriors dragged Hedge up from below.

"Let me go, you tuna fish!" Hedge bellowed. He tried to kick the warrior, but his hoof clanged off his captor's armor. Judging from the hoof-shaped prints in the dolphin's breastplate and helmet, the satyr had already made several attempts.

"Ah, a satyr," Chrysaor mused. "A little old and stringy, but Cyclopes will pay well for a morsel like him. Chain him up."

"I'm nobody's goat meat!" Hedge protested.

"Gag him as well," Chrysaor decided.

"Why you gilded little—" Hedge's insult was cut short when the dolphin put a greasy wad of canvas in his mouth. Soon Hedge was trussed like a rodeo calf and dumped with the other loot—crates of food, and extra weapons.

"I believe you are mistaken brother," Percy growled. "You are not going anywhere with that satyr or any of our shit. I'll give you one chance right now to get off my ship before you lose the opportunity to do so still alive."

Chrysaor looked at Percy appraisingly like he was trying to decide his merit, "As much I would love to kill you, you and your friend Miss Nightshade are spoken for. A certain goddess has offered a very high reward for you, alive."

Percy shook his head slowly as he looked around at his friends. Zoe and Annabeth had stayed on the ground much to Percy's relief although he had a feeling he would feel the wrath of both of them later. Piper was bound as was Jason who was unconscious but Percy's attention was on Hazel who was still being held by Chrysaor, the only person Percy was wary of.

Deciding not to waste another minute, Percy put his quickly thought up plan into action.

A.N: Another chapter down… Let me know what you thought. Also special shout out to JamesTheAce for being the 1,000 person to favorite me as an author… all the support you guys give me in much appreciated. A few people didn't like my little rant at the end of the last chapter of God of Night… If I hurt your feelings, I'm sorry… but seriously… get a little tougher… I didn't call anyone in particular out. Just saying. I will try to update God of Night later this week but again, no promises.

Thank you for reading and don't forget to review.