Hi everyone :D First of all, thank you thank you thank you to the two hundred and forty-four visitors that have read chapters one through three of "Going Home"! The support is amazing! I hope you guys like this next chapter just as much!
Just wanted to recommend urqueenizhere's story "The Transfers"! If you love Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, then it's definitely worth reading!
PLEASE READ AT THE BOTTOM FOR IMPORTANT INFO ON CHAPTER FIVE! :D
Chapter Four: Frank
Frank didn't exactly enjoy being a dragon taxi. He, of course, realized that making sure a giant serpent didn't eat his friends and destroy the Argo II was a bit more important than his feelings, but still. As he, Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth landed on the ship, Frank almost wanted to ask for a couple of drachmas as a tip.
"Nice set of scales, man!" Jason shouted from above as Frank slowly phased back into human form. He could vaguely feel his bow on his back as he took a moment to catch his breath. Dragon-form was really tiring.
"Frank, duck!" Piper shouted from his right. He was still a little woozy, but was luckily good at following orders, so he hit the deck just as a five-ton serpent head flew over him and smashed into the main mast.
"Thanks!" he called back while getting to his feet. Now filled with adrenaline, Frank quickly took in his surroundings. The serpent's body was wrapped once, twice, three times around the ship, with half lying on the deck, and half below the water's surface. The magical bubble was completely gone, and the serpent was slowly crushing the Argo II.
However, the head and tail were what kept the demigods on their toes. They both lashed out separately; the head with fangs, and the tail with a sharp barb that was oozing what they had determined to be a poison. Annabeth and Piper were dueling with the serpent's tail, which was having a fun time punching holes through the deck. Leo, who was now standing in the crow's nest, and Jason, who was flying around, were distracting the head so Hazel could attack its body. Even Festus was helping by torching the serpent and snapping at him with his razor-sharp metal teeth.
"Die, gummy-worm!" Leo shouted as he chucked flaming balls of white fire at the serpent with one hand and frantically worked the Argo II's portable controls with the other.
"Frank, can you talk to this thing?" Annabeth called as the tail sailed over her head and into the lowest mast with aloud CRACK. "Maybe persuade it to leave us alone?" Frank paused.
"What?" he thought, confused. Annabeth seemed to hear his silent question.
"As a snake," she continued, "or a serpent of sorts?" Oh. That made more sense.
"No need, son of Mars." a low, slow voiced hissed into the air. Everyone stopped moving, and it was eerily quiet. The only sounds Frank could hear were the waves crashing on the ship's hull, and its wood creaking under the serpent's pressure.
"I believe I am quite capable of speaking for myself", the voice continued. Frank turned and saw that the beast was slowly eying each of the demigods in turn, and when its gaze flickered over him he shivered. The serpent made a deep humming noise that Frank thought might be laughter.
"Demigods," the beast murmured while slithering its head along the deck. Its tongue flickered in and out of its mouth as it spoke.
"You all posses courage of likes I have not seen in decades, but your efforts are futile." Frank puffed up in indignation.
"Who are you?" he shouted more confidently than he actually felt. "What's your name?" Hazel was staring at him like he had lost his mind, which, Frank thought, was possible.
The serpent turned its massive head towards Frank and studied him with one, large, platter-sized eye. Frank stood motionless, but he could see Hazel and Jason creeping up behind the beast out of the corner of his eye.
"A name," the serpent hissed, "is not something I have, nor need."
"No name?" Leo taunted from above in the crow's nest, as he leaned causally against the basket's edge. The serpent whipped its head up, ignoring Frank for the moment to look at Leo.
"Not important enough, eh?" he continued breezily. "We'll give you a name! How about, hmm…what do you think, Pipes?"
"Rank?" she suggested, holding her nose and waving the air in front of her face. "Seriously, when was the last time you took a bath?" Frank saw that they were trying to direct the serpent's attention away from Hazel and Jason, who now together held a large, Imperial-gold net between them. The serpent was too infuriated to notice. It was spitting wildly and swishing its tail erratically, and Leo winced when two of the Argo II's oars were snapped off by it.
"I am stronger than any of your gods could ever hope to be!" the beast roared furiously. "Zeus cowers in my presence! Gaea did not dare risk waking me in her attempt at resurrection. And you children dare offend me?" The beast's tail slammed onto the deck, and cracks appeared where it landed. Its eyes were livid.
"I have stayed quiet for centuries," it continued in a soft hiss, "as I let my weak cousin Apophis have his pitiful attempt in swallowing the sun-"
"Ew." Piper muttered. Frank had to agree with her. He glanced over at Hazel and Jason, who were getting closer and closer to the serpent's head.
"Wait," Annabeth cut in. "You're related to Apophis, as in the evil Egyptian snake god?" The serpent continued as if it hadn't heard her, but it now had a maniacal look in its eyes.
"And now that he is banished yet again, you ignorant demigods wish to conquer me? You believe the mere blessing of Poseidon's son could protect you? This was my domain long before his father even existed!"
For a full beat, no one moved. In the silence, the scrape of the magical net against the deck could clearly be heard. The serpent whirled around towards where Jason and Hazel were crouched so quickly that Frank didn't even have the time to blink before they were sent flying overboard by the beast's tail, net and all.
"No!" Frank roared as he tried to rush towards the railing, but the serpent turned to look at him. Frank was seeing red, and was about to morph into a giant bear to claw the things face off, but Annabeth stopped him. He hadn't even noticed her, along with Piper, come over to him, but her hand now held him back from charging at the serpent.
"Wait." her eyes pleaded. Frank could only guess how she kept her cool during this.
"Hey, Smelly!" Piper yelled to the serpent, her voice laced with charmspeak so powerful that Frank had to resist checking to see if he stank. He saw Leo sniffing his armpit above them.
"Turn this way!" she commanded. The serpent spun its head lazily towards her, its eyes filled with amusement.
"Piper McLean," it hissed, "your mother's magic won't work on me. I'm much-"
"But it worked anyway, didn't it?" Annabeth deadpanned. The serpent's eyes narrowed as confusion fogged its brain.
"You're facing us now anyway," she continued, "so I guess you're not as strong as you thought, listening to weak demigods like us.
"But-"
"One of the oldest tricks in the book, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Leo added, shaking his head in mock pity.
"I-"
"You're not even that scary," Piper continued, "a little unnerving maybe, but that's just because of the smell.
"You-"
"I've seen garden snakes creepier than you," Frank persisted, feeling better about the situation by the second. The four demigods continued to verbally attack the serpent, and it slowly backed its head towards the railing in shame, until-
"ENOUGH!" The sudden outburst surprised the demigods, and they fell silent. The serpent glared at each of them individually, until finally resting its eyes on Annabeth.
"Clever, daughter of Athena." the humming started up again. "But stalling will do you no good. You lack a plan, and you know there's nothing you can do to stop me. I'll let you have the decision-would you and your friends prefer to sink along with your puny ship," the serpent flickered its tongue greedily, "or will you help me appease my eternal hunger?" Annabeth didn't respond, and no one moved.
"Are the choices not satisfying enough, my dear?" Frank could practically see laser beams shooting out of Annabeth's angry eyes at this point.
"No matter," the serpent continued, tightening its body around the Argo II, "I'll just have to-MRGHF!" A mouth full of water blasted from over the railing stopped the beast from continuing. Frank turned towards the water canon's source, but saw nothing.
"What-" the beast started, but was again effectively cut off by more water, this time from the other side of the ship. Frank couldn't help but smirk at the serpent's annoyance.
"How DARE-" more water, this time from the stern.
"Still thirsty?" a familiar voice called from the bow. Frank turned to see Percy, looking a bit pale but quite alive, leaning against his sword with a cheeky grin on his face next to Festus, who was making happy whirring noises as Percy rubbed his nose. Frank was also relieved to see Hazel and Jason standing next to him, completely unharmed and dry. They were even still holding the net. Frank caught Hazel's eye and worriedly mouthed, "Are you okay?" to her. She smiled and nodded back, "I'm fine." Frank saw Piper grin at Jason, and Annabeth looked positively giddy with relief at Percy's return. Leo fist-bumped the air and yelled, "Go team!" Everyone smiled at that, but the serpent's eyes narrowed.
"I'm impressed, son of Poseidon," it hissed. "I expected Oceanus's minion to find you faster."
"Oh, he found me all right," Percy admitted, twisting to show that the majority of the sides of his shirt were covered in nasty-looking claw marks. Frank didn't want to see the damage under them.
"Oceanus must be disappointed in you," Percy continued. "I think he was expecting me wrapped up in a pretty bow, delivered to his doorstep." Frank had the sudden mental image of Percy in a large, colorful holiday box with a ribbon tied to his head. The serpent grew still, and everyone tensed.
"Well," the beast drawled, "I guess I'll just have to try again." The serpent lunged.
PLEASE READ:
I have not started Chapter Five yet because I'm not really sure where to go with this story, so I want you guys to choose! :D I will write the next chapter when at least TEN reviews with votes on the below scenarios are chosen, or your own ideas, are submitted! Whichever plot line has the most votes will determine what direction "Going Home" goes in! Only one vote per person to make it fair, so choose wisely! :D Not hard, right?
The results can be found on my profile :)
a) they all go home and live happily ever after
b) they get lost
c) character(s) go missing/are kidnapped
d) Argo II is too damaged to continue, so they have to make a pit stop somewhere
e) challenge(s) in specific relationship(s)
f) another prophecy
g) character death (oh nuuu D:)
h) sickness/injury in character(s)
Any other ideas that you guys come up with are welcome! :D