Rage of a Demigod
AN: Hello there my dear readers! Here comes the next installment of 'Rage of a Demigod'. Hopefully, you didn't have to wait too long. I know that the last chapter didn't provide much in terms of entertainment, so I hope I can fix that with this one. Enjoy!
Now to reviews.
hawkeyestratos1996: Really? So because this ONE chapter wasn't one of the longest or epic you're giving up on my story. Geez, the official Percy Jackson books have shorter chapters.
Gamelover41592: Thank you.
RedHood001: I once again thank you for your review and the praise.
Nerf585: Sorry, but that would be a bit too big of a detail to reveal.
13 The Tide Is Rising
The two demigods and the former Huntress flew through the air on their Pegasi, the camp behind them growing smaller and smaller until it was completely out of sight, the Long Island soon following after.
Blackjack and Porkpie soared through the air at phenomenal speeds, so much that Percy's and Zoe's eyes began to sting from the wind resistance. Annabeth was located behind Percy so that wasn't really a problem for her.
"Hey, Blackjack! Could you slow down a bit?!" Percy called out to his equine friend.
"Sorry, boss, but we need to do this as quickly as possible! Some other Pegasus may end up waking up and notice we were gone! And we better not raise any alarms!"
Percy knew that it would be stupid to complain since Blackjack did have a point. Not to mention that they would probably need to get there as soon as possible, so he would some wind in his eyes.
Zoe held tight unto Porkpie, her eyes fluttering from the wind. She didn't really get to ride on a Pegasus before, with the exception of last year when they needed to quickly go to Olympus. And it would appear she wouldn't really enjoy this one either.
But that didn't matter as long as they get to their destination quickly. Marcus' life was in danger and considering that Ares is involved it may as well end up worse than it seems.
'I wonder,' Zoe thought. 'Will this finally be the time where Marcus will confront Ares?'
Her mind went back years ago, back to that cabin. She still remembered when Marcus almost committed suicide out of grief for what he did only to have her stop him, and soon after he swore on the Styx to kill Ares one day. After what happened, Marcus obviously won't be a subservient servant to Ares anymore.
But then again… that may as well end up being the end of the demigod. If Marcus can't fulfill his oath, he may end up destroyed, probably even at the hands of Ares.
Zoe shook her head. Right now that didn't matter. She needed to get the man she loved out of whatever peril he is in now.
They flew over the Eastern Coast to the Bermuda Triangle. The trip lasted for a little over ten minutes before they arrived at the border of the Sea of Monsters. The two Pegasi made sure to fly high to avoid the range of Scylla, whose heads only glared and growled as they saw the two of them fly away from them.
Once they flew away from Scylla and Charybdis, Blackjack turned back to Percy. "Where to now, boss?"
"Hey, Annabeth," Percy called to the daughter of Athena. "Where is that island again?"
Annabeth looked around, and despite being it really hard to see during the night she was still able to make out the shapes of the islands, and after a few moments she spotted the right one, the one where.
She then pointed with her finger at one of them. "There! That one!"
"Did you get that, Blackjack?"
"Loud and clear!"
The black stallion then made a quick turn and headed toward the island, with Porkpie following his lead. Soon, the two Pegasi slowed down and landed on a grassy plain, their passengers soon dismounting.
"Thanks a lot for that," Percy said before removing his pack and taking out some sugar cubes. "Here, you've earned it." Blackjack didn't waste any time before taking some with delight. Percy then walked over to Porkpie and gave him some sugar cubes as well.
"Thank you, master," Porkpie said.
"Yeah, thanks a bunch!" Blackjack added. "You're the greatest, boss!"
Percy smiled at the two Pegasi, they truly were very loyal. "Alright, you two, go back to camp. We can't risk having you two missing for too long."
There was a brief silence as the two horses looked at each other as if contemplating if they should leave them or not.
"Alright then," Blackjack said as he turned around and flapped with his wings. "Good luck to you!"
Porkpie gave a small bow with his head. "I wish you the best of luck, master," he said before joining Blackjack. The two of them then returned to the air, flying back to Camp Half-blood.
The trio watched them leave for a few moments. "Well, now we're on our own, in one of the most dangerous monster-infested places on Earth, and things will probably get even worse," Percy commented. "Can't believe this isn't the worst situation we've been in."
"Ever the optimist, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "Now come on, let's get to the safe house."
That's the thing, while the night was the best time for them to get out, they couldn't ignore the rest they needed. So the plan was to get to a safe house that Annabeth and Co used years ago, with this particular one being made closer to the Sea of Monsters. The reason it was built here because back then the five of them didn't know what Bermuda Triangle actually was, until they started to see more monsters appearing in the distance, after which they moved to the safe house near Jamestown.
Percy, Zoe, and Annabeth walked on top of a hill, with Zoe having her bow ready and her keen eyes looking around to see if there anyone, or anything following them. Annabeth then stopped and kneeled down.
"If my memory serves me right," she said as her hands moved along the grass. "Then the door should be… here!" One of her hands moved beneath the grass and pulled it up, revealing it to be a fake layer that covered a secret door. Annabeth smiled. "Alright, let's go inside."
Annabeth pulled open the wooden and motioned for Percy and Zoe to go inside, which Percy did immediately, while Zoe looked around one last time before also descending down. Annabeth went after them and made sure to close the door.
The three of them descended on a ladder, with Percy holding a bright green glow stick to light up the way. He looked around and saw that the place was somewhat smaller than the last one they were at. And it was also a bit low on supplies in comparison, but it still had things like spare arrowheads and speartips. There were also several blankets left here.
"Sorry about the poorer accommodations," Annabeth said. "But we really weren't planning on returning to this place."
"It will serve fine," Zoe said.
Percy then stomped on the ground, causing a small cloud of dust to appear. "Eh, we just need to bring a broom and this place is as good as new," Percy said with a shrug.
"Let us not waste any more time," Zoe said as she took one of the blankets. "We need to be rested for tomorrow, and rise as early as we can. We don't know how much time we have."
"Well, you're awfully concerned about this," Annabeth said.
"What dost thou mean, exactly?" Zoe said as her eyes slightly narrowed at Annabeth.
"I mean, I don't understand your concern over this. You seem to be even more worried about Marcus than even I am."
Percy began looking worried, fearing that this might escalate into something unpleasant. He may have to get between those girls so they don't get overboard.
"Maybe thou art not as concerned as thou should be," Zoe suggested somewhat mockingly, which made Annabeth look offended.
"Not as much as I should be? Marcus was by my side for years, and he is a very dear friend! Of course, I want to get him back as quickly as I can but you seem the most insistent on it. I just find it strange that a former Hunter of Artemis would be so concerned over a man of all things."
Zoe's fist slightly clenched. "Marcus is one of the men that hold my respect. Dost thou need more reason than that?"
"Look, I've met the Hunter of Artemis, and even I can tell what their respect for men holds. Honestly, you seem like-" she interrupted herself as her grey eyes widened.
'Uh-oh,' Percy thought as he recognized the face that Annabeth was making. He saw it several times when Annabeth came to some sort of big realization.
"Zoe… you never told us," Annabeth began. "Why exactly were you kicked out of the Hunters?"
Zoe tried to keep her expression neutral, but she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip. Honestly, she wasn't surprised Annabeth figured it out. Even compared to some other children of Athena Annabeth was pretty smart.
"Um, Annabeth," Percy went to intervene. "I'm sure that's a private thing for her. We shouldn't pry."
"No, I won't hide it," Zoe said making Percy look surprised. "I thank thee for thine concern, Perseus Jackson, but thou should know Annabeth is not so easily fooled." She then turned to face the blonde demigoddess, who looked back in anticipation. "Yes, as thou might have guessed, I have feelings for Marcus. My lady found out and decided I wasn't worthy of being in the Hunters anymore."
A brief silence followed before Annabeth spoke up. "Wow, I… it's really strange to actually hear it. So you had feelings for Marcus and Artemis kicked you out because of it?"
Zoe nodded. "Once we take the oath to serve Artemis, we also sweat on forsaking our feelings for men, or romance in general so we can focus on the hunt. I may have been friends with Artemis for millennia, but there can be no exceptions."
Another moment of silence followed.
"So… does Marcus know?" Annabeth asked.
Percy decided to join in the conversation. "Well, actually, he does. But Zoe didn't tell him."
Annabeth looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about, Percy?"
"During our mission to rescue Artemis, we got a visit from Ares and Aphrodite," Percy explained. "Aphrodite wanted to talk with me and Marcus, and during the talk, she revealed Zoe's feelings for Marcus."
"She revealed her feelings?" Annabeth asked. "Well, whatever her reason is it's definitely not altruistic. She probably thinks it will cause some sort of entertainment for her."
Percy nodded, not really wanting to go further into it. He also remembered what Aphrodite had to say about his own love life and, well, considering the audience he didn't really want to talk about it.
Zoe looked at ground, feeling frustration rise within her. Of course that after she felt love for the first time in millennia, Aphrodite would try to make it hard for her just so the love goddess could have some amusement.
"That's enough for now," Zoe said as she put down her pack, quiver, and bow before lying down and wrapping herself in a blanket. "We have to rest for tomorrow."
While Annabeth wanted to know more, Zoe did have a point. They needed rest. Soon, she and Percy wrapped themselves in blankets and slowly drifted into sleep.
Percy found himself floating in water. Now normally that would be fine, he liked water. He could breathe in it and it made him powerful. The difference this time is that he was currently in some sort of dark and murky water. He made a turn to take in his surroundings, seeing that the water was barely lit up. Perhaps he was in some very deep water. He looked up and saw some light coming from above.
Deciding to go check it out he began swimming upwards but came to a sudden stop. His eyes widened in fear as he saw some sort of giant creature seemingly slither through the water in waving motions. He swam backward but once again stopped as he felt a large current behind him, and turning to see yet another creature behind him. Soon another appeared in front of him, and several more the sides, completely trapping him.
Percy frantically looked around trying to find a way out of this surrounding mass of… well, he wasn't sure what those creatures were. Looked down and saw that there were no monsters there. Before he went to swing downwards, a pair of glowing yellow and slitted eyes appeared, glaring at him. Percy's breath got caught in his lungs.
There were no movements made, with Percy only floating and looking down at terrifying yellow eyes that stared back at him.
"Son of Poseidon," a deep voice came from the abyss below, sending chills down Percy's spine. The young demigod honestly felt like those eyes would petrify him, like he was staring in the eyes of Medusa, just not turning into stone.
There was a soft hissing of snakes before suddenly, a giant crusty and red hand appeared in front of him, its fingers wrapping around him.
Percy then jolted awake, he quickly rose, his eyes wide, and his breath ragged. Then he noticed he was in complete darkness, and panic, thinking that maybe that wasn't a dream. He picked up his pen while his other arm moved about.
The moment he uncapped Riptide his vision was assaulted by a neon light, making him blink.
"What is the matter?" he heard a familiar voice say. Percy saw that the light was actually Zoe who was holding a glow stick, making him sigh in relief.
"Sorry about that," he said as he put the cap back on the tip of his blade, turning it back to a pen before pocketing it.
A groan came from beside him, and he saw Annabeth rising up while rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked.
"I had a nightmare, again. And this one was, well…" he proceeded to explain what exactly happened in my dream.
"So, there is some sort of sea monster after you?" Annabeth said.
"Looks like it," Percy answered. "I honestly wasn't sure what it was. But… those eyes… I could have sworn they would turn me to stone."
"I wish I could tell you what that monster was," Zoe said. "But I don't have enough detail. Based on the eyes I would say it was one of the Gorgons, but considering the deep voice and the fact that it was giant that probably isn't the case."
"Well, would it help if I describe the hand?" suggested Percy, the hand that grabbed him still vivid in his memory.
"I can't be certain, but it could help," Zoe answered.
"Well, it kinda looked like a combination of a human and… crab I think," Percy said as he scratched the side of his head with his index finger, trying to find the best way to describe it. "It had all five fingers and all the joints, but it seemed like they were shaped like a crab's claw. Even the palm seemed covered in a similar crab shell. At least, that's what I saw."
Zoe put a hand on her chin, raking her brain about what that might be. She saw many monsters in her life, and she definitely knew most of them, but this description Percy gave was something she never saw on any monster.
She then thought about the monsters she hasn't met. Perhaps it wasn't even a monster, but maybe a Titan, or a giant. After analyzing what that might be, she came to a conclusion.
"This is only a guess, but I can only think of one creature that might have that feature," Zoe said. "I think that the monster thou art talking about could be Phorcys."
Percy blinked in confusion. "Porkies?"
Both women groaned and facepalmed.
"Not 'Porkies', Seaweed Brain, Phorcys," Annabeth said frustrated. Despite the intelligence he has shown earlier, it still seemed like he lacked it in some areas. "Phorcys is a son of the pre-Olympian sea god Pontus and Gaia, the primordial goddess of Earth. He himself is also a father of some powerful monsters like Echidna, Ladon, and the Gorgons."
"So in other words, he's a pretty big deal," Percy said. "Wait, he is the father of the Gorgons? Would that include Medusa?"
"Yes, it would," Annabeth answered.
"Well, I think I know why he is after me, then."
Zoe looked at him curiously. "What dost thou mean?"
Percy scratched the back of his head. "Well, during my first year at Camp Half-blood I received a quest to return Zeus' Master Bolt and on that quest we encountered Medusa, and soon after we cut off her head."
"Hmm, that could be a reason why he is after thee," Zoe said before looking up and seeing some slivers of light peeking through the secret entrance. "We can't waste any more time, we better go."
The two demigods nodded before rising up and taking their packs. Zoe climbed up the ladder first and softly pushed the door up, giving herself a slight opening to see if there was anyone there. Finding the coast clear, she opened the door fully and got out, with Annabeth and Percy following.
They quickly got to the shore, stopping on a beach overlooking the large body of water. Annabeth took her bag and reached inside it before pulling out a cube-like object wrapped in a red package which read 'INSTANT BOAT, JUST ADD WATER' in bold yellow letters.
"I honestly can't believe what the gods can think of," Percy commented as he looked at the package. This was one of the things they got from Hermes, delivered to them by mail after the whole Labyrinth ordeal.
"Well, time to see if this works," Annabeth said as she unwrapped the paper, revealing the plain white cube in it. The daughter of Athena then threw the cube into the water, sending a few ripples before it began floating. Bubbles then formed around the floating cube before transforming into a full boat.
"Well, looks like we have our ride," Percy said before taking off his pack and pulling out a thermos. "And the ride has an engine, nice and refilled." That was another thing given to us by Hermes, a refilled wind thermos. As it turns out, there are some rewards in being a hero.
The three of us got into the boat, took the oars, and began rowing into the open sea.
"Okay, let's go through this one more time," Annabeth said. "The path through Charybdis will be impossible with the way we are traveling, which means that we will have to go through Scylla."
"For which we will need the thermos to escape quickly enough," Percy said as he continued rowing. "Then we will have to use our anti-Scylla deterrent." He then turned to Zoe. "Do you have it?"
Zoe reached into her pack and took out a bottle of Axe body spray, with the words 'MONSTER' written beneath the label. This was a special product and a rare one. Not only does it make you smell good for the ladies, but it also serves as a repellent for monsters. The catch? The 'anti-monster' part only works for a short while due to the special chemicals evaporating quickly, which means it only buys you a short time before you are skewered.
"Why did it have to be a man's product?" Zoe complained.
"I think Hermes said something about the ones for women still being in development, but the low demands don't make them too profitable so that might get canceled," Percy explained. Not to mention the demigods who use these products don't really go outside the camp too much thus not really fighting monsters so they would normally prefer the regular ones.
"Well, if we must then we must," Zoe said somewhat dejectedly. She may not be a Hunter anymore, but she was sure even regular women wouldn't really want to use a man's product.
"Enough you two, we are nearing the border," Annabeth said as she looked behind, seeing a familiar rock formation and a whirlpool next to it.
After a few more minutes of rowing, they decided they were close enough, so they put the oars back into the boat, before applying the body spray to all three of them. They almost emptied the bottle, making the normally pleasant smell almost unbearable, but with the caliber of monster that Scylla belonged to, they needed as much as they could.
"By the gods, I think I prefer the stables over this," Percy moaned out as the smell from the deodorant was almost choking him.
"Some things we just… have to bear," Annabeth said with her eyes becoming teary, waving her hand so she could disperse some of the smell. Zoe just made a somewhat disgusted face but endured the smell better than the other two.
"Come on, Percy! The thermos!"
"Right!" Percy exclaimed before quickly uncapping the thermos which he pointed behind their ship. A huge torrent of wind flew out of it, making the boat they were in move at incredible speeds, the three of them needing to hold onto the boat tightly.
The boat quickly moved towards the rock formation where the Scylla was, with several of its heads already peeking out of the cave they were in. The monstrous eyes landed on the speeding boat below as their mouths opened.
The trio was nervous to see the monster, which was easier than the last time considering they were going right at it, and saw the draconic heads looking at them with hunger in their eyes.
"Let's hope this works," Percy said as he continued holding the thermos.
Once they were near, one of the heads shot out and went for a bite, with the three of them tensing, only for it to come to a sudden stop before retreating back. The head began flailing around as its eyes shut tight. The other heads were seemingly confused at this development before the five of them also moved to bite at the boat only to stop and retreat back, having a similar reaction to the first.
The two demigods and the former Huntress smiled at the development.
"Alright, now all we need to do is get out of its reach!" Annabeth exclaimed as they passed the monster.
"NOOOO!" a bellowing voice came from the cave making the three of them turn.
A large hand with black claws grabbed the side of the cave before the whole body came out of it. A giant woman appeared, with long black hair that reached halfway down the cliffs, red eyes, and a bare body that had a green hue. She would have been considered beautiful but the sharp teeth she possessed and the fact that the heads of Scylla made up the body bellow her waist made that somewhat hard.
"You cheaters! You won't escape so easily!" the monstrous woman yelled before dropping herself in the water, unsettling the sea and shaking their boat, making them brace themselves again.
The woman then burst out of the water and swiped at them with her clawed hands but the winds made the boat too fast for her to reach, so she swung her arms desperately to try to reach them.
The three of them weren't sure what to think of this as they watched the whole thing with shocked expressions. They never saw Scylla in its entirety but they definitely didn't expect her to resemble a woman. A woman that definitely needed her nails done.
Scylla tried to swing her hand one last time but it stopped in mid-air, seemingly hitting an invisible barrier. The monster cursed as it tried to push through this 'barrier' but couldn't move forward at all.
The boat moved some distance more, as the Scylla remained there screaming at them, her heads also growling. Once assured they were far enough, Percy closed the thermos before letting out a relieved sigh.
"Man, what the hell was that?" Percy asked as he leaned back into the boat.
"Well, Scylla was supposed to be a woman cursed, so I guess some part of her still shows that," Annabeth commented, her best guess on why Scylla looked like that.
"And what was that barrier?"
Zoe decided to chime in. "Scylla and Charybdis were both cursed to watch the entrance to the Sea of Monsters and Scylla probably strayed too far from the border."
"I guess she was too pissed about us going through without many consequences," Percy commented. He then brought a nose to his armpit and smelled it. "Hmm, looks like the smell evaporated."
"Considering how fast we were going it would be surprising for it not to be the case," Annabeth said.
"Great, so what now?" Percy asked.
All of them were silent for a moment before Annabeth let out a sigh. "I'm honestly not sure. I wish we had more time to plan this out."
Despite them having a plan to get past Scylla and Charybdis, what came after that was unknown to them. Unlike the last several quests, they had no proper destination presented to them. All they had was a clue that they needed to find Cottus of the Hecatoncheires in the Sea of Monsters but that was hardly a proper destination considering how big the sea was.
"Well, I guess we will just have to float around until we see a giant with a hundred hands and we're good," Percy said.
"Even if we assume the giant is stationary, it could take us a long time before we find him."
"So, we better not waste any time," Percy said. "I have an idea."
Percy stretched his hand out and focused on the water beneath their boat, and soon, they began moving again. Sure, they weren't moving as fast as they would by wind thermos, but definitely faster than with oars. And considering they didn't want to waste any more of the winds, this was probably the best way to go about it.
They rode for several more minutes, which made the demigods grow bored really fast. Especially since they didn't have a proper destination to go to. And just the sound of splashing water can become annoying quickly.
Annabeth then broke the silence. "So, Zoe," she said gaining Zoe's attention. "How exactly did you come to love Marcus?"
That question caught both Percy and Zoe off guard.
"I mean, what exactly about him attracted you? He doesn't seem like a guy for your tastes, especially after what happened with Hercules."
Zoe didn't speak a word, only staring at Annabeth's grey eyes. Percy was worried that this was the question that went a bit too far. But then again, even he didn't know why exactly Zoe had feelings for Marcus.
The former Huntress finally broke the silence. "Because I was there," she said, making the two demigods look confused. "I was there the night he killed his sister."
Annabeth and Percy's eyes widened at that, not expecting Zoe to be the one so close to one of the most infamous incidents of Camp Half-blood.
"Thou may have been told how he felt, but I was there," Zoe continued. "I saw how Marcus felt, I saw how broken he was, holding Maya in his arms and desperately begging for forgiveness. I saw Ares come to the scene, taunting him about how he was the one who put Maya there so he could trick Marcus into killer her. I never saw a man with so much… care in him. He had so much determination, he even stood up to my lady when she wanted to take Maya into the Hunters. At that moment in that cabin, that determination was gone. All that he was had laid bare before me, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him."
"You…" Annabeth began but paused. To hear this from Zoe, was strange. From what she could deduce, Zoe never saw a man so vulnerable, which led to her feeling sorry for him which later turned into attraction.
"But, you weren't bothered by the fact he killed all those demigods?" Percy asked.
"And why should I be?" Zoe asked dismissively. "I hold no special feelings for demigods. And those demigods were traitors to the gods of Olympus, thus traitors to our mistress. The Hunters would have taken the task of eliminating them if necessary."
"Ah, I… see," Percy muttered. Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised. While the thought of killing other demigods wasn't pleasant in his mind, someone like Zoe probably didn't see the world that way, he even saw her threaten other people with death before. Even some people who just annoyed Artemis met their end by her or the Hunters.
"As thou can see, Annabeth Chase," Zoe continued. "Thou may have known Marcus longer than I have, but at that moment. I'm the one who understood him the most."
Annabeth wanted to argue about it but held her tongue. Yes, she did know Marcus longer, but she also knew how Marcus didn't really get close to people or show too many emotions other than anger, annoyance, or indifference. Sure she saw him smile at the times, but the show of emotion he probably displayed that day was only seen by Zoe, so in essence, she knew Marcus the best.
All in all, now Annabeth understood Zoe's determination.
"Hey you two," Percy said, getting their attention. "Is it just me, or is it getting foggy?"
The two women then looked around and saw that they were indeed slowly being enveloped by fog and quite a thick fog. It wasn't long before the fog covered them completely, to the point where they couldn't even see their surroundings.
"Well that's just great," Annabeth complained as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Not only did we not have a proper destination to go to, now we have it even less."
Zoe also looked annoyed. They honestly couldn't afford so many hazards in their way, they were already pressed for time as it is.
"At least we didn't meet a monster," Percy said.
Their boat continued moving through the mist. If the mood wasn't gloomy before, it definitely was now.
Percy continued to push their boat with water, but with his now limited vision, he needed to do it slowly as to not accidentally crash into something. Annabeth and Zoe just sat in the boat, their expressions somewhat grouchy.
The son of Poseidon wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling about this mist. He then remembered the monster that appeared in his dreams, and how it was planning to go after him. What if it decided to strike now?
Percy shuddered at such a thought. He looked down at the sea briefly, as if expecting to see those glowing yellow eyes appear. He immediately began focusing on looking ahead.
A little while later, they weren't sure if it was minutes or hours, Percy then saw something suddenly appear in front of their making him jolt back a little. Zoe and Annabeth saw him and saw what Percy was looking at.
There was a dark shape in front, a shape that they slowly moved closer to. Percy held his pen, Zoe readied her bow, and Annabeth held the handle of her dagger. After looking at it better, the shape became more clear, more familiar.
"Is that a..." Percy said. "A ship?"
Indeed, the outline of the shape did seem to be a ship, a large one. Though there was something familiar about it to the two demigods.
Their boat got closer until its front tapped the ship and which stopped it from moving. Percy then touched the wood in front of him and saw the placement of planks.
"Yep, definitely a ship," he said.
The three of them looked up until-
A net came falling down at their ship. They had not time to react as the net fell on them, and entangled them, making all three of them exclaim their surprise.
"What the hell?!" Percy yelled.
"Get them on board!" someone yelled from the top of the ship, and the net was then pulled up, taking the struggling trio with it. Percy tried to uncap Riptide but the sudden movement made the pen slip from his fingers and into the water below. Annabeth and Zoe tried to reach for their daggers but the task proved to be rather hard with how their arms were entangled and the fact that they were heaved up every so often.
The net was soon pulled on the deck of the ship, with the three of them being unceremoniously put down which made them groan.
"Captain, we found some strays!" another man called out.
The three of them looked at their surroundings and saw that they were surrounded by several men, each of them wearing a weapon and their dress seemed to consist of light clothing of the eighteenth century.
Percy then got a closer look at the deck, and his eyes widened. "Wait a minute. I know this ship."
"What dost thou mean, thou know this ship?" Zoe asked as she tried to get out of the net.
Annabeth's eyes widened as she also came to the realization of what this ship was.
The sound of heavy footsteps came, and it grew louder as they heard someone approach them.
"Well, well, well," a deep baritone voice said. "What do we have here?"
The trio looked up and were met with a tall man dressed in a black overcoat, red shirt, white pants tied by a belt, black boots, and a hat. He had a cutlass sheathed on his left side and a pistol on the other. The fog cleared up enough for them to distinguish some of his facial features, such as his dark eyes and a long black beard he had.
The trio recognized the man immediately.
The man chuckled as he put his hands on his hips. "Oh, I recognize you two. It was two years ago, on Circe's island, I believe," he said with a smirk on his face. "Ah, but where are my manners."
He took off his hat and gave a bow, a mocking gesture if they ever saw one.
"Welcome to Queen Anne's Revenge. I am Edward Teach, but you may know me as… Blackbeard."
AN: And that's it for now, my dear readers! Now, before you crucify me, yes, I know that Phorcys appears in the Mark of Athena and not in a way I am presenting him right now. But the thing is, I decided to write some things differently compared to what good ol' Rick has written. I'm sure you probably saw it when I had that brief interaction between Zoe and Atlas since Atlas in the books wouldn't say such a thing. So yeah, I'm also writing Phorcys differently, and you can expect other characters to be written like that. And of course, I had to do the 'porkies' joke. I couldn't resist.
And we also had an appearance of Blackbeard. Well, our three heroes are in quite a pickle now, aren't they? Oh, and don't expect Blackbeard to say 'arghh' every five seconds. I try to write my villains less... goofy, shall we say.
I implore you to also check my other stories, they'll be worth your time. And leave a review, they are great motivators.
See you next time!