Hi everyone :D I'm so happy that you guys like "Going Home"! Thanks for the reviews, and please keep them coming! Chapter Four should be posted within the next couple of days, but Chapter Five is going to take a bit longer, so here's an extra-long chapter. I hope you like it! :)

Also, I've been thinking about starting another fanfiction...any ideas? I could do another HoO, or maybe a PJO. Or I could do a completely different book/TV series! I would love any suggestions! :)

Enough blabbering; here's Chapter Three!

Chapter Three: Annabeth

No sooner than Percy's warning had reached Annabeth's ears did Leo take action. He immediately spun around, grabbed Annabeth's shocked form, and pulled her down to the deck while shouting at Frank and Hazel to do the same. They obliged and quickly flattened themselves, Frank putting his arm over Hazel's back and as they both tucked their heads down.

Out of the corner of her eye Annabeth saw Jason fly out of the crows nest with Piper, but she lost sight of them when the Argo II started to tip. It was slow at first; Annabeth and Leo's side rose into the air while Frank and Hazel's sank towards the sea. Annabeth could hear something tumbling across the deck, and spotted the Monopoly pieces slipping away. The two demigods hastily grabbed the railing and held on for dear life, but the ship groaned and paused in its flipping. It was silent.

Then, with a sudden flourish, everything flew past Annabeth as she and Leo rocketed upwards. Annabeth heard Hazel scream, but couldn't see because she had already closed her eyes tightly to avoid nausea. She prayed that Frank had turned into a large bird or sea creature so the two of them didn't drown.

Water rushed into the lower side of the Argo II, and soon the whole ship was being tugged down. Annabeth and Leo were hanging with their feet dangling in the air, pointed straight towards the churning sea below. Annabeth squinted her eyes open to look down and saw a pair of giant fangs clutching the railing, pulling the Argo II towards the water. She then looked up towards Leo, whose face was full of horror.

"If it keeps tipping, we have to jump!" Annabeth called over the sound of rushing water.

"Won't we drown?" Leo shouted back, but he readjusted his grip nonetheless. His nose was on fire, which slightly concerned Annabeth.

"Hopefully not!" Annabeth answered grimly. The Argo II gave another lurch, and the ship started racing down towards the swirling water below.

Everything was happening so fast. The warship, on a normal day, got attacked at least a dozen times. That was nothing new, and between the seven of them, a metal fire-breathing dragon, and a craft rigged with catapults, Greek fire, and enough defenses to last a lifetime, they were set. Whatever monsters were trying to bombard them could be taken care of without so much as batted eyelash. But this? This…this was new.

"Let go, let go!" Annabeth screamed, but found that she couldn't. With a quick glance towards Leo she saw that his hands were still holding on tightly, fear making them too stiff to let go.

Annabeth found it slightly ironic that she, the girlfriend of the sea god's son, would die underwater. She thought of Percy; he was probably somewhere in the water below, too injured to help them. She hoped with all of her heart that he survived this.

Suddenly all of the moments they'd shared together were racing through Annabeth's mind like a slide-reel: meeting at Camp Half-Blood, going on their first quest to recover Zeus's lightning bolt, retrieving the Golden Fleece, rescuing Artemis, traveling through the Labyrinth, stopping Kronos, that underwater kiss…then Percy went missing, and Annabeth could clearly remember the pain and worry she had felt for those long, long months, but it all washed away when she and the others had found him again in the Roman camp. Then they, along with her new friends, had journeyed across the globe, even to Tartarus and back, together.

Annabeth didn't want all of their efforts to be for nothing, so, with a sudden burst of fury, she spun around and faced the water, her face hot with her anger. Her hands were still clutching the railing, but she still felt a bit better. Leo soon followed her actions so they were both facing the rapidly approaching sea, but now smoke was curling out of his ears, and his hair was ablaze; from nerves, Annabeth guessed. At the last possible moment Annabeth and Leo glanced at each other, and, with grim faces, took deep breaths.

As they plunged down into the cold, murky water, time seemed to slow down to an agonizing pace. They finally let go of the railing and struggled, but fighting against the forcible pull the sinking Argo II made was useless. A large, dark, swirling shape loomed in front of them that definitely didn't look friendly, but Annabeth couldn't see much in her bleak surroundings. The water started to chill as she and Leo sank deeper. Annabeth was angry with herself for not thinking of a plan earlier and letting grief consume her. As a daughter of Athena she always had a strategy, and here she was, failing at the only thing she was good at.

Great lot of good I did, she thought bitterly. Her lungs were tight, begging and pleading for oxygen, and her vision started to dim. She gave a few pitiful kicks before finally stilling and letting the gloomy shadows overcome her.

…...

Time sped up again as Annabeth suddenly realized that she could breathe again, and she fell into a coughing fit, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. In her struggling she also felt that she was perfectly dry, and that she could hear Leo gasping next to her. After calming down Annabeth opened her eyes to find that she and Leo were kneeling in a large air bubble, which was slowly floating towards the surface. After a few moments Leo stopped coughing and also looked up, his eyes wide with shock.

"How…?" he started.

"I don't know," Annabeth said, shaking her head in amazement. She gently touched the bubble with her hand and it simply bounced like a balloon.

"Weird," she muttered quietly. They were both quiet for a few moments; too busy peering out of the bubble and into the water, but it was like trying to look through a foggy window.

"What's that?" Leo asked after they had risen closer to the surface. Annabeth turned and saw, aided by surface light, the Argo II. But instead of seeing a broken, disheveled shape sinking, she saw the ship rising majestically in the water. It was surrounded by a bubble similar to theirs, but enlarged to fit around the ship, keeping it ideally dry.

Next to the ship Annabeth saw the dark shape from earlier, but it now had a form. It was a monster: a long, dark, serpent. Annabeth had, of course, seen serpents, drakons, snakes, and practically anything else that slithered before, but this thing was different. It was by far the largest monster she had ever seen, which was saying something. Thicker than a building, and Annabeth couldn't even tell how long it was, for its middle sank down so deep that she couldn't see the end. The thing was encrusted in scales that flashed in the water, and sharp spikes traveled down its spine to its tail, which was sticking up, ending in a dangerous-looking barb. Spines fanned in the water around its face, similar to a lionfish's fins; that wiggled around, as if trying to escape the serpent. The dozens of razor-edged teeth that lined its mouth were brilliantly white and taller than Annabeth was, and its head was easily half the size of the Argo II. The serpent's eyes glowed an evil, intelligent red as it tried to sink its fangs into the ship's magical bubble.

"Oh my gods," Annabeth whispered, terror coursing through her veins like a toxin. Gaia, the earth herself, almost came in second place as the scariest-thing-she-had-seen next to this creature. Even her memories of Tartarus were dimmed by the serpent's horribleness. She almost wished for spiders instead of this thing. Almost.

"Hey!" Leo cried angrily, pressing his hands against the bubble. "That's my ship!" The monster took no notice of him and continued to attack the magical bubble. It flickered weakly occasionally, but stayed intact, working hard to keep the ship protected.

Annabeth suddenly noticed something swimming towards them, and as it got closer, realized that it was a large tiger shark.

"Leo," Annabeth said nervously as she pointed towards the shark. He turned and yelped in surprise. The shark was coming at them with alarming speed.

"It can't get through this bubble, can it?" Leo asked fearfully, grabbing a screwdriver out of his magical tool belt. Annabeth didn't answer, but instead shifted away from the approaching creature. She didn't really think that a screwdriver was their best defense against a shark.

The giant shark hit their bubble and slid through without letting any water get in. Leo shrieked, but once the shark was completely inside, it quickly shifted form, and they were looking at Frank.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked, looking them over. "Leo, are you alright? I heard you scream."

"Just fine," he muttered while putting his tool away, a blush slowly creeping its way onto his face.

"What's happening out there?" Annabeth asked, indicating the battle between the serpent and the Argo II's bubble. Frank glanced back towards the ship.

"You can't really see much from here," he started, "but it's Percy-"

"Percy?" Annabeth interjected. "Is he okay? And where's everyone else?"

"Everyone's fine," Frank reassured, "well, mostly at least-"

"Mostly?" Annabeth asked sharply. "What-"

"Annabeth, let the man talk!" Leo interrupted. Annabeth blinked, surprised.

"Sorry Frank," she said anxiously. "I'm just really worried."

"It's okay," Frank answered sympathetically. "Hazel, Jason, and Piper are fine," he continued. "Jason's keeping them in the air above us. I came down here to look for you two, and luckily you're okay." As Frank spoke, their bubble finally reached the surface, and with a pop, the three demigods were sitting on an air cushion just on top of the water's surface. Annabeth was surprised to see the sun still up. They had only been underwater for a few minutes, but it had felt like an eternity.

"Hey!" a voice called from above. Annabeth looked up, shielded her eyes from the sun's bright glare, and saw Jason, Piper, and Hazel drifting towards them. They landed on the cushion, and everyone stood.

"Glad to see you guys are alright." Jason stated, his voice filled with relief. His eyes looked a bit unclear and foggy, like he was looking right through them. Annabeth glanced questionably at Piper for an answer.

"He hit his head on the mast." she deadpanned. "Hazel and I gave him some ambrosia, so he should be fine soon, if he stops hitting it."

"Hey!" he cried. "It's not my fault, go blame…oh." Jason trailed off and looked into the water a few hundred feet off, which had started to bubble.

Everyone turned to watch the Argo II's tallest mast break through the ocean's surface, quickly followed by the rest of the ship. Annabeth could even see Festus spluttering on the bow as he creaked, but he looked okay.

The magical bubble, however, did not, because the serpent had also followed the boat into the air. The creature had its long, horrid body wrapped around the ship's bubble, squeezing it tight. Annabeth could finally see that the beast was a dark royal blue color as its scales flashed vibrantly in the afternoon sun. It's maw, which was similar to a beak, opened and spewed an inky liquid onto the bubble. The liquid started to disintegrate the ship's protection, and the bubble wasn't reforming.

"Is that poison?" Hazel asked in horror. Annabeth noticed that the liquid also dripped out of the spines on it's back.

"What's trying to protecting the ship?" Annabeth asked as they watched the serpent attack the bubble furiously, trying to quicken its destruction.

"We have to help!" Piper added anxiously as she drew Katoptris out of its sheath.

"That's what I was trying to tell you earlier," Frank said nervously as everyone's attention turned to him. "When I went underwater to find you guys I spoke to Percy...you know, as a shark." At this point Annabeth was straining in the effort of holding herself back from asking questions, but she kept quiet for Percy's sake.

"He made the bubble to save you guys," Frank continued, "and he's the one protecting the ship. But if the bubble's almost gone now, that means…" He didn't have to finish. Everyone was quiet for a few moments. Annabeth's thoughts were racing; she was so worried about Percy that her stomach hurt and she felt ill. She decided that worrying wasn't going to help him, so she quickly made the decision to come up with a plan instead, wishing that it would make up for her pathetic performance earlier.

"Jason, can you and Leo fly over to blast wormy? And Frank, can you take the three of us over to the ship to defend it?" she asked, hoping that no one would object.

"Sure, good strategy," Jason agreed as everyone else nodded, "come on Leo, let's go."

"Wait," Leo started, "how am I supposed to get over there? I can't exactly f-" but whatever he was going to say was cut off by his shout as Jason grabbed him around the shoulders and started flying towards the ship.

"Don't drop him!" Piper called. Annabeth could hear Leo cursing wildly as Jason laughed, but then their voices were lost in the wind.

"Okay," Frank said, clapping his hands together. His form slowly started to grow and lengthen until a fierce, charcoal-colored dragon stood next to Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth. Annabeth didn't think she'd ever get used to that. Dragon Frank snorted fire and tossed his head, signaling them to climb on his back.

"Nice," Piper said with a grin as they stepped forward.

"Are you sure you can take all three of us?" Hazel asked, concerned. Frank turned and gave Hazel a look, as if saying, "puh-lease, I can do this in my sleep!"

"Fine," she grumbled. "But if you drop us I'm going to send Arion after you."So, the three of them climbed up; Hazel in the front, hanging onto Dragon Frank's neck, Piper in the middle, and Annabeth on the back; and Frank lifted off, flapping his large wings to gain altitude, and started soaring towards the Argo II.

Sorry for the cliffy D: Please review!