Disclaimer: All rights belong to Rick Riordan. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.

Rating: T for dark themes and violence

Author's Note: RR really underused this villain

Chapter 15

"Percy!" Annabeth screams, the winds whipping her back and forth and the rain drenching every inch of her skin. "Percy!"

A low chuckle cuts across the wind, and a figure appears out of the storm, not a drop of water on him nor a hair out of place. As he walks closer, Annabeth recognizes the figure that's been haunting her nightmares for the past several weeks.

"You," she says, clutching her knife in her hand. "What have you done with him?"

"That's not your concern anymore, now is it?" Evil Not-Percy smiles coldly. "You chose to leave. What happens in this world - to the people of this world - is no longer your business."

"Where is he?" Annabeth brandishes her knife in front of her. He stares at it like it's a child's toy.

"You're going to need a lot more than that to stop me, darling. Now, why don't you just run along home and spend your last few hours alive with that blond soldier boy of yours?"

"I'm not scared of you."

"No? Well, you should be." He flicks his hand, and the water around her turns into a giant hand that grabs her by the ankle and dangles her upside down. Her knife slips from her hand and he leans down and picks it up, waving it in front of her face. "You got in over your head. Now just accept defeat. There's nothing you can do to stop me. And there's nothing you can do to bring him back. It's your fault he's gone, you know."

Annabeth stops thrashing. "What?"

"That line of the prophecy. The betrayal of one may be the end. He's been turned on before, manipulated, and used as a pawn. It's part of being a demigod. But nothing was worse to him than your betrayal. It utterly destroyed him. I didn't even have to do anything!" He strokes his chin with his free hand. "Maybe you are more powerful than you look."

A sickening feeling spreads through her stomach. Before she can try and put together a response, the pirate waves his hand. The water surges forward, closing over her face. She holds her breath as long as she can, but eventually her chest contracts and she sucks up a lungful of water. Everything goes dark as she chokes.

Annabeth sits up in her hammock, breathing hard. Her hand is still clutching at her chest, which burns as if she'd actually been drowning. It takes her a few deep breaths to calm herself down and reassess her surroundings.

She's back in her cabin on the Pax. The ship is rocking slightly, which means it's in motion. Her eyes are swollen and crusted with salt - she'd cried most of the night even before she'd fallen asleep and had been plagued by nightmares. Her hair is a gnarled mess, and her clothes are strewn haphazardly over the floor.

Her cheeks burn red with shame as the events from last night replay through her mind, overtaking the quickly fading memory of her nightmare. Last night had been both the best night of her life and worst.

Dancing with Percy, laughing in a group of their friends, letting loose...it had been the most amazing feeling. She can still feel where Percy had touched her, a ghost sensation lingering on her skin. Her cheeks are still sore from smiling.

Then she'd ruined it all. She'd led him on, let him get too close. She shouldn't have let him take her away from the group. She'd been letting things cross the line already, but with all those people around them, she wouldn't have slipped and he wouldn't have tried anything more. They could have ended the night on a fun note.

Instead they had an intense heart-to-heart on Temple Hill, they'd almost kissed, and Annabeth had ran away. She ran all the way to Silena's house, where she'd curled up in a ball on the floor and cried for an hour until Silena finally returned for the night. She'd spilled everything to the girl, who had simply listened and rubbed her back.

It was probably a mistake to confess everything to Silena, since she probably told Beckendorf everything and the last thing Annabeth needs is two people aboard ship to hate her, but she couldn't keep it all bottled up inside. She explained how she was confused about her emotions and how she felt torn between Percy and Luke - how similar they were, yet how different her life with each of them was. She missed Luke desperately, but she also felt pulled towards Percy like the tides to the moon.

Is it possible to love two people at the same time? In two different ways? To see happiness in two different futures?

Silena listened without judging. When the last sob finally burst out of her, the older girl swept Annabeth's hair back from her face and then walked to the kitchen to return with a bowl of cool water and a rag. Annabeth pressed the cool cloth to her face until at least some of the swelling went down.

"Love is complicated," Silena finally said. "It isn't black and white. You have a hard decision ahead of you, Annabeth. I don't envy you."

"When I saw you with Beckendorf tonight, it made me really sad. It reminded me of how Luke and I used to be. I used to love him unconditionally, but now I'm worried that when I return, I'll always be bitter about giving this life up."

"You said 'when I return', not 'if I return'," Silena pointed out. "Maybe that's a subconscious sign of what choice to make."

"There is no real choice," Annabeth replied dryly. "I've been in love with Luke for ten years. I've only known Percy for ten weeks."

"People change over time. Our loyalties to and our feelings for people change over time. Don't get hung up on your past, or else you'll always be unhappy. You need to think about the present and future - those are the only things that truly matter."

Annabeth shook her head, feeling the tears spring to her eyes again. "I don't know what will make me happy. But I know I've hurt Percy. He's already so unhappy. I've just made things much worse." She pressed the cold rag over her face, trying to suffocate her tears before they came spilling out of her again.

"Percy is strong," Silena said, rubbing Annabeth's shoulders. "This won't be the first time he's had his heart broken."

Annabeth peeked up. "It isn't?"

"He and Rachel used to be a thing. I'm not sure exactly how serious it was, but she dumped him and became the Oracle. You've seen how they are now. They patched things up and are still good friends."

She remembered seeing a painting on Rachel's wall of the two of them in a carriage together. She hadn't thought much at the time, but now she's curious as to their past.

"Then there was Calypso. Percy was marooned on her island for a few weeks. Of course, with her curse, she was destined to fall in love with him. She offered him an eternity of peace and happiness with her, far away from the worries of the world. He would never have to do the gods' bidding again. He would never have to fight another monster, or Titan, or giant. Over time - and he'd have an eternity of time - the pain from his past losses would fade away."

"And he didn't accept the offer?"

"That was another part of Calypso's curse. The hero that found her was always in the middle of a quest. His ship was in danger. If he took her offer, he was dooming his crew to the Underworld. He left, but afterwards he told Beckendorf that Calypso was his greatest what-if. He said he'd always be haunted by what his future could have been."

Maybe that was part of the infinite sadness that Annabeth had seen in his eyes. Maybe he regretted not staying with Calypso. Maybe he had fallen in love with the possibility of a painless, peaceful future, if not the girl herself.

"It sounds to me like Percy is your Calypso," Silena said, running her fingers through Annabeth's hair gently. It was almost a motherly gesture, even though Silena is only slightly older than Annabeth - and even though they'd only known each other for a few hours. "Either choice you make, you're going to hurt someone. So don't base your choice off of Luke or Percy's feelings - base it off of yours. At the end of the day, you have to live with yourself."

Silena's advice was good, even if it doesn't help Annabeth at all with the choice she has to make.

"How am I supposed to face him tomorrow? I've never felt so embarrassed in my life."

"Face him with confidence, but don't rub it in his face. He knew you were engaged, and he was the one who put himself in this situation. You did nothing wrong."

"I led him on," Annabeth argued.

"So you made a little mistake. He still should have known to have a discussion with you about it and Luke before he made a move. He's not a victim, Annabeth. You're both adults."

Annabeth's lip curled up in an almost smile. "You're really wise, you know that?"

Silena shrugged one shoulder. "I'm good at giving out relationship advice. Beyond that, you'll find I'm a bit lacking."

Annabeth changed out of the dress that Silena had loaned to her and back into her pirate attire. Silena offered to let her stay the night, but Annabeth thought it would be better if she was back on ship. She didn't want to oversleep and cause the Pax to be late for the final stage of their mission. If all goes to plan, they'll find the pearl tomorrow. Then it's a few weeks of straight sailing back to England, where Annabeth will be reunited with her family and Luke and say goodbye to the Pax, its crew, and its captain for the last time.

Although Annabeth had felt better after her talk with Silena, her lonely trek through New Rome and back to the ship had let her doubts and insecurities creep in. By the time she was back in her cabin, all she could see when she tried to close her eyes was the sad look in Percy's eyes. She couldn't believe that she contributed even more to that already bottomless well of sorrow.

It took her a long time to fall asleep and when she finally did, it was with tears streaking down her face.

Now Annabeth stands in her cabin, trying to find the courage to walk out on deck. She has no idea what awaits her - will Percy be angry? Will he yell at her, or turn a cold shoulder? Will he be upset that she boarded the ship again?

Or worse - will he be sad? Will she have to look in those sea green eyes and see so much sorrow that she bursts into tears?

And what of the others? Has Percy told anyone else anything? Did Silena tell Beckendorf what happened? Or maybe someone saw them? Nico is really good at fading into the shadows, maybe he witnessed everything.

Annabeth wishes she could hide in the cabin forever, but that's what a coward would do. She's already been cowardly enough, running away the way she did last night. There's no point in hiding when she'll eventually have to come out.

She pulls on her clothes, slides her knife into the sheath around her belt, and ties up her hair into a messy ponytail. Then she takes a deep breath before forging out.

The first person to see her when she climbs up on deck is Beckendorf. Her heart instantly races, but he just smiles at her.

"You're up pretty late. Too much to drink last night?"

She manages a tight smile. "Something like that." She glances around, startled to see the ship sailing through an extremely narrow pass, two land masses on either side of them. "We're in the Straits of Messina?"

"The very same." Beckendorf pulls on a rope, tightening up a sail. "The storm that we think the pearl was lost in happened right on the opposite mouth. We should be there in no time."

"We're sailing at twelve knots per hour!" Frank calls from the ship's wheel. "The straight is seventeen nautical miles long, and we're an hour in. Should be just a few minutes!"

Percy is standing at the bow of the ship, his arms spread out as he pushes the ship. With just the sails, the Pax peaks at about seven to eight knots. With Percy pushing the currents in their favor, he nearly doubles their speed.

Annabeth is relieved that he's too preoccupied with his sailing duties to notice her.

True to Frank's word, not too much longer later and the mouth on the opposite side is in view. Annabeth can see the damage from the recent hurricane - trees blown sideways, stones and wood planks and other housing and ship material blown askew over the land. She wonders what pissed Poseidon off for him to do so much damage.

Suddenly Frank screams out a warning. Percy brings his arms in, and the ship shudders as he reverses the currents, slowing it down. The wind still strains against the sails, but it's fighting the very sea itself.

The cause for Frank's shout comes into view: a massive ship, so big that it dwarfs even the Queen Anne's Revenge, sails into the Strait, heading straight toward them. As it gets closer, Annabeth sees that the flags are black with the skeleton of a mermaid. She's sure she's seen that before somewhere…

As the ship pulls up alongside them, Annabeth sees the massive snapping turtle figurehead. A chill runs through her spine, and she reaches for her knife.

Percy moves to the middle of the deck, marching straight up to the railing. Frank jumps down and stands at one of his sides, Beckendorf flanking his other. Annabeth stands to the back, next to Will and Nico. Nico stares up at the ship and shakes his head.

"Not possible. He shouldn't even be alive."

Will and Annabeth exchange confused glances, but neither of them have time to ask him to elaborate.

A figure dressed entirely in golden armor steps to the forefront of the ship. The other sailors - thankfully human and not skeletons - grip nasty-looking weapons and leer down at them.

Percy blinks as he raises his hand to shield the glare coming off the golden armor. "Chrysaor?" he calls out, sounding perplexed.

"Not quite!" The figure pulls off the helmet, revealing familiar-looking black curls, a red bandana, and stormy blue eyes. Annabeth staggers to the side, and Will reaches out to steady her.

It's the pirate from her nightmares. Evil Not-Percy. Of course the ship looks familiar.

"Who are you?" Percy demands. "And what are you doing with Chrysaor's armor?"

"You don't recognize me? I'm offended." The pirate sets the helmet down, along with the shield, which has the uncomfortably life-like impression of Medusa's head carved into it. "These were spoils of war. Chrysaor was a worthy opponent, but he's a bit old fashioned. Brought a sword to a gunfight. You're welcome, by the way."

"For what?" Percy grips his sword hilt with a hand, his knuckles white from the tension in his muscles.

"For killing him before he could get to you. He wasn't very happy that you killed his mother. He was on his way to get his revenge when I intervened. I needed a ship, and his riches were an added bonus. Do you like the renovations I've made?" The pirate points to the turtle figurehead. "My old friend hasn't been reformed from Tartarus yet, but I brought him back in spirit."

"Who are you?" Percy repeats.

The pirate sighs. "The hints are all here! But of course I shouldn't expect you to recognize me. I was before your time." So fast that Annabeth doesn't even see the motion, he whips out the twin pistols tucked into his belt, fires a few rounds, twirls them between his fingers, and then replaces them. Everyone turns to the Pax's mast, where his bullets have ripped the perfect shape of trident into the wood.

"I'm Sciron," he says, sounding as if it were obvious. "Poseidon's favorite - and most gifted - demigod son."

Sciron is the most arrogant person Annabeth has ever had the displeasure of meeting, and she's met a prince once. As he stands up here on the deck of his stolen ship, still wearing Chysaor's golden armor - who Annabeth has realized was one of the sons Medusa and Posiedon had together, aka Percy and Sciron's half brother - and bragging about himself, there's nothing she wants more than to punch him in his pearly white teeth.

"I was actually born in Ancient Greece," Sciron continues. "I'm a pretty famous legend. I used to stand atop one of the cliffs in the Isthmus of Corinth. I would ambush ships with my impeccable aim and speed with my bow - thank you, Apollo - and force them to come meet me with all their treasure. Then I'd trick them into washing my feet, which I purposefully kept extra stinky, and when they got woozy, I would kick them right off the cliff into the jaws of my giant turtle. It was a good life. Got a couple of nice ladies that way, not to mention super rich."

"You're a demigod. How are you still alive?"

Sciron shakes his head. "My, my. They did warn me you were oblivious, but I didn't know that was polite for ignorant. I was killed by Theseus, as part of his fourth labor. Can you imagine? Being killed by my own half-brother! I trusted him and he turned on me, tossing me over the cliff. He knew I was also a son of Poseidon, so he made sure to throw me to the rocks and not the sea."

"I heard that you were a respectable warlord, not a bandit," Frank interjects, looking confused.

Sciron scowls. "That fool Plutarch tarnished my reputation! He tried to paint me as a hero and he ruined my image forever! How they ever let him be a philosophist, I have no idea."

"So you escaped the Underworld," Percy says, glancing briefly back at Nico. His eyes flicker to Annabeth, but she can't get a read on him before he turns back to face his half-brother. "But why?"

"Why?" Sciron scoffs. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You turned down immortality twice! You have to understand, brother, that not all demigods are born equal. Some of us are born more powerful, more important, more favored than others. People wrote legends about me, argued about who I was, made art depicting me! They named a whole set of cliffs after me! What do you have? A recycled name, and from a son of Zeus, no less! A barnacle encrusted ship that should have stayed at the bottom of the ocean. A ragtag crew that you can barely keep alive. You're weak, Perseus Jackson. An embarrassment to sons of Poseidon everywhere."

Percy doesn't react. He simply stands there, listening to this crazy, resurrected pirate. Annabeth wonders if he's actually taking anything Sciron says to heart. It's ridiculous, hearing this second rate criminal who made it on one vase trying to brag about how great he is. Of course, knowing Percy's self doubts and insecurities, there's a chance he believes him.

"What do you want?" Percy finally asks. "Besides glory."

"Glory?" Sciron shakes his head empathetically. "No, you misunderstand me. I've already tasted glory, had my fill of it! That was my mistake in my past life. I grew complacent, cocky. That's why Theseus was able to defeat me. He wasn't more powerful, or smarter. He took advantage of my pride. No, I don't care about glory anymore. What I want is power."

"If you're Poseidon's favorite child, then why don't you just ask him for more powers?"

Sciron grinds his teeth. "I will not ask our father for more power! I am a bandit. If I want something, I take it!"

Annabeth's dreams all click into place. "He wants the pearl," she murmurs, under her breath. "He's after the pearl."

Will and Nico, the only ones close enough to hear her, look at each other in alarm. This is exactly what they feared - someone else getting to it first and abusing the power.

"I heard you had some clues on where it might be located. I already paid your little Oracle friend a visit." Sciron grins at Percy's reaction. "Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't dare harm the Oracle's spirit or host. I don't intend to get sent back to the Underworld so quickly. But I can be quite convincing when I need to be."

"We're not telling you anything." Percy glares across the water.

"I thought that might be your answer. You little heroes are all the same." Sciron turns back and motions behind him. "That's why I have an ultimatum for you - and a special guest."

Suddenly all the port doors along the side of the ship snap open, revealing dozens of cannons pointed right at the Pax. There's enough firepower in one round alone to blow the Pax to pieces. And unlike in the fight with Clarisse, Percy doesn't have the element of water exclusively on his side. Sciron has just as much dominance here.

"Here's what I'm thinking." Sciron leans casually against the railing of his ship. "You come on board my ship and tell me everything you know about the pearl. You surrender your ship, which I'll junk because it's an absolute disgrace. Your crew may go free in the little boats - I don't care about them. And my special visitor - come here, don't be shy - has come a long way searching for someone who you have on board."

Another figure steps up, right next to Sciron, and now Annabeth really is about to have a heart attack. Standing on the deck of that terrible ship, next to that atrocious pirate, is none other than her fiancé.

His hair has grown out since she last saw him. Has he gotten a haircut since she was kidnapped? He's wearing more casual clothes, but he still has on his red British army jacket with the gold trim and buttons. The rest of his outfit is more casual, better for fitting in among pirates. His light blue eyes lock on Annabeth, and his entire facial expression relaxes instantly.

Annabeth has imagined what this moment would be like a thousand times. She pictured running and jumping into his arms. She imagined them breaking into wide smiles and talking for hours on end, retelling their stories. She imagined him taking her hand and never letting her go again.

She never imagined that she would feel conflicted. She glances over at Percy, who's turned back to stare at her. For a moment she glimpses that sad part of them, and then he turns back to Sciron.

"I accept your offer," he says.

Frank reaches out. "Percy, wait! What are you doing? We haven't discussed this yet!"

"It's not up for discussion. He'll blow us right out of the water. I won't sacrifice the crew." Percy turns back to the small, loyal crew he's built up over the years. "You all have been with me through thick and thin. I couldn't have asked for better men to go on this journey with me. But this is where our journey ends. For those who choose to stay, Frank is now in charge. For those who wish to strike out on their own or find a new ship, I wish you the best of luck."

"That's it?" Annabeth hisses under her breath, glancing at Will. "It's over?"

Will frowns, his eyebrows pulling together as he examines Percy from behind. "It can't be. Percy always has a plan. He must have something in mind."

"Not this time." Nico stares at Percy, who's having an inaudible argument with Beckendorf.

Annabeth looks back up at Luke, who hasn't torn his eyes off of her. She manages a weak smile, though her head is spinning.

This isn't what she imagined would happen at all. She was supposed to be a hero, make her mark, help Percy retrieve and return the pearl. Then they would have a few weeks together as they sailed back to England. She'd have plenty of time to sort of her inner conflict and come to a decision about which future she wants.

Now the choice is being made for her. Luke came after her, and somewhere along the line teamed up with Sciron. This is the last time she'll see Will and Frank and Beckendorf and Percy - oh gods, she'll never see Percy again. His last memory of her will always be her breaking his heart. She won't even get the chance to explain herself, to explain that she really did have feelings for him.

"Well? I don't have all day," Sciron snaps, his patience wearing thin. "Those who don't want to die better get to land. I have a pearl to find and power to steal."

Frank grabs Percy's arm and exchanges a few words with him before they nod. Frank doesn't look happy about it, but he begins ordering the crew into action. They prepare the smaller boats and set them into the water, climbing in and pushing out towards land. Annabeth gives Will a hug and says goodbye to Frank before they disappear over the side. It's much too short of a goodbye, and it doesn't feel real at all.

Soon it's just Percy, Beckendorf, and Annabeth left on board. Beckendorf adamantly refuses to leave Percy behind.

"We started this journey together," he says, crossing biceps the size of Percy's head. "We're going to finish it together."

Sciron lowers a gangplank (a very steep one, since his ship is so much taller) and the three of them cross. Instantly Sciron's crew members disarm Percy and Beckendorf and secure their hands behind their backs. Annaeth watches them in concern until Luke crosses over and pulls her into an impossibly tight hug.

"Annabeth," he breathes into her hair. "I'm so sorry I let you down. I can't imagine what you've suffered through."

"I missed you, too, Luke." Despite her confusion, she practically melts in his arms. "But it really wasn't too bad."

He pulls slightly away from her, brushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face. "You have some new scars," he says, glancing at her arm.

"I finally used that knife you gave me." Annabeth smiles and pats her sheath. "It's saved my life more than once."

"I'm glad to hear that." His eyes look troubled. "I should never have left you. I didn't think the pirates would travel so far out of town. I thought we had them contained in the city. Your mother saw what happened. She assured me that you were smart, that you'd be able to handle yourself, but I had to come after you. I had no idea what they were going to do to you." He leans forward and buries his head in her shoulder. "I almost lost you."

Annabeth strokes his hair, but even as she's holding him she's looking over across the deck where Percy and Beckendorf are watching silently. Her face grows hot and she looks away.

"I just love when love wins," Sciron says mockingly. He grabs Percy's confiscated sword from one of his crew. "Here, have a wedding gift. A memento of your reunion."

Luke takes it, and Annabeth has a flash of memory from her nightmare where she's on the beach. Sciron has the pearl in his hand and he's causing storms; Luke is there, too, and he has Percy's sword.

Too many of her nightmares have already come true for it to be coincidence. Sciron is going to get his hands on that pearl. Annabeth has to find a way to warn Percy.

But Percy and Beckendorf are already being escorted down to the brig, and Luke is pulling Annabeth away. Sciron sets sail down the Strait, back in the direction the Pax had sailed from this morning. In the distance, Annabeth sees the retreating crew of the Pax reach land.

Sciron shouts out an order and the cannons fire. She watches as the bronze cannonballs absolutely shred through the smaller vessel. Her heart aches as she sees it sink beneath the waves, and a part of her is glad that Percy didn't have to witness his ship being sunk. It would only make things worse.

Not that things can get much worse for him. He's imprisoned by his powerful, resurrected half-brother (who has a god complex to boot) and his crew is scattered. Luke has arrived to whisk Annabeth back to England. Who knows what Sciron is going to do to him to try and pry out information about the pearl, not mention what he'll do when he gets the pearl.

And Annabeth can't help but think about the scene in her nightmare where Sciron taunted her: "It's your fault he's gone, you line of the prophecy. The betrayal of one may be the end. He's been turned on before, manipulated, and used as a pawn. It's part of being a demigod. But nothing was worse to him than your betrayal. It utterly destroyed him. I didn't even have to do anything!"

Annabeth didn't just break Percy's heart - she may have sentenced him to die.