The crew, now freed, congregated on the beach. The sun was setting, and the orange light illuminated the men's gloomy expressions. Everything was awash in warm colors, as if the whole land were in the middle of a fire. Percy looked over to their ship. The islanders who had searched it did not move things around, but it was still in a terrible condition from the fight. So many repairs had to be made before they even thought of leaving the island.
He turned away - the sight depressed him. He crossed his arms over his chest protectively and looked at his crew, who glared right back at him.
"We need a captain," he said timidly, "Before we discuss our next move, we need someone to be in charge." The crew still glared at him, and the only ones who didn'tlook at angry at him were Kassuq and Grover - but they were definitely not pleased.
"I think you should be the captain," said Grover after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah," agreed another man, "He's so willing to speak on behalf of us of us anyway."
A bunch of men grunted in agreement and made comments about their dissatisfaction. He wrapped his arms tighter around his chest, "That wasn't my fault, though," he said, "She just chose me to be the one to speak..."
"Well, some of us might not have liked what you said," replied another crewmate.
Percy's heart sank. He knew that he had negotiated and made many promises to the Kyoshi Warriors, all without ever once consulting the crew.
"Look, I realize that I've been a real crappy substitute for a captain," said Percy," But you guys don't have to be stuck with me. Anybody else can volunteer to be captain and I'll be happy to follow them." he studied the crew intently, but no one spoke up or met his eye. None of the older men seemed willing to volunteer, and the younger men seemed too scared to speak.
"You guys are honestly going to do this to me?" he said, "You're really going to force me?" It wasn't that Percy didn't want to be captain. In fact, he had always dreamt of the day he would captain his own ship. The circumstances leading up to this moment, however, were the absolute last way he would have ever envisioned them. They had lost Arrluk and half of their men, the ship was in shambles, the Fire Nation was on their way to destroy them, and Percy, the only one willing to step up to the role as captain, had lost the trust of the whole crew.
There were certain things that sailors like them did before setting off to sea. While many had their own superstitions, there was always the ritual that was automatic for the crew. Before setting off the men would stand before their captain, Arrluk. He would always state the rules of the voyage: no drink, fornication, or looting without his order. And he would always call for a vote on himself as captain, usually followed by a speech.
"I have assembled you men as my crew," he would say, "In the assumption that you will look to me as your captain. If anybody objects, you may speak now."
No one would speak.
"As you have accepted me as your captain, it is my duty to tell you what our journey on the high seas will entail. We will be sailing in the waters of all the nations; Water, Earth, and Fire. We will trade with those who are willing and bring back supplies when we can. We may also discover ways to subvert the Fire Nation or we may raid their ships or their forts. The journey will not be a sheltered one, and any mutineers will be given the most extreme punishment. If you do not agree or do not want to take this journey, you may leave now. Those who stay are presumed to have understood my warnings and will always follow the Captain's orders."
A resounding "Aye" would ring out as every man agreed. They would then board and set off on their journey.
Percy didn't think that he would ever be able to demand the kind of respect that the crew so willingly gave to Arrluk. He knew that the second he declared himself captain he was going to lose some men. And when he told the crew what he expected the journey to entail, he would probably lose the rest of them. He felt as if a dark cloud was hovering over him as he looked around at the faces of the crew. He had come to trust these men with his life, but he felt like he had betrayed them all.
He knew that there was nothing else to be done, and that they had to take some action. He cleared his throat, "I do hereby declare myself as captain of the Anticlea. I have accepted you men as my crew in the assumption that you will look to me as such," Percy bit his lip as many eyes glared stonily at him, "If anyone objects to my standing, you may leave."
There was a tense silence as a handful of men stepped away. Percy knew this would happen. Arrluk was a great captain, and he could never be a fit enough replacement, no matter how hard he tried.
"Okay," he said to those who remained standing in front of him, "As you men have accepted me as your captain, I guess I should tell you what our journey will entail," He took a deep breath - Percy thought that Arrluk always sounded so cool when he gave his speech, but now that Percy was saying it, he just felt foolish. "The first thing we need to do is help Kyoshi Island, because it's our fault they're in danger in the first place. Then we have to fix the boat because it's a wreck. And after that I'm sailing to Omashu to provide the rebels with weapons so they can take back their city. After that I'm basically going to do what we've always been doing. So you can assume that the journey won't be easy. Or 'sheltered'- that's what Arrluk would say. Mutineers will be given... a pretty harsh punishment. I suppose I can't really kill anybody, that's kind of against my moral code," a lot of the men were staring at him oddly now, which affirmed Percy's thought that this was probably the lousiest Captain's speech in the history of sailing, "Well, if you don't agree with what I've said or don't want to take this journey, then you can go stand over there with the guys who weren't cool with me being captain. Those who stay, if there's even anybody left, are presumed to have understood me and will always follow the captain's orders."
There was a very weak sounding "Aye." At the same time, almost the whole rest of the crew left to be with the men who didn't want him as captain. He nodded - he had expected as much. Only four people were left standing with him. Kassuq and Grover - that was going to be a given, he knew - along with a younger guy named Miki and his uncle, Siku. Percy gave his thanks to them.
"Alright, let's get some sleep and we can figure everything out tommorrow."
The very next morning, Annabeth sent for Percy. Thinking that he didn't want to make the same mistakes that he did before, he decided to take his crew with him. Granted, it was a crew with a total of four people, but he told himself that it was the thought that counted. A couple of the warriors escorted them to a one-floor building that he assumed was the warriors training room. Annabeth and a handful of warriors were inside waiting for them. They still wore their traditional dress and makeup, and Annabeth looked very displeased with him.
"I only need Percy here," she said, "We just need to negotiate our battle tactics."
"Well, agreeing to things without the crew's consent kinda screwed me over, so I decided to take them with me this time," said Percy, sitting on the floor across from Annabeth, "I'm kinda hot, do you mind?" he said as he shrugged off his fur coat.
Annabeth looked like she certainly did mind, but she said nothing about it. Instead, she said, "This is your crew?"
He nodded, "Yup. Behold!"
Annabeth bit her lip, incredulous, "This isn't going to work," she muttered, "I was planning on having more manpower..."
"Well, this is all that you have. I couldn't convince the crew to accept me as their captain, let alone get caught up in this mess. They're gonna build or find their own ship and then leave the island as soon as they can. I can't persuade them to do anything, I have no authority over them."
She narrowed her eyes, "That makes no sense" she said, "If you're captain, then they should listen to you."
"Well, that may be the way it works for warriors, but it's not like that for sailors. What's your plan for the Fire Nation?" he asked, not feeling like getting into a conversation about the inner workings of sailing.
"You have a couple of waterbenders in your crew, yes? I was thinking that, since they will be using the bay to invade, you can be stationed there to hold them off as best you can, using your waterbending. And once you have worn them down, the warriors and I will come and try to finish them off. The ship isn't a big warship, so there won't be that many to fight. They should be easy to drive off. Kyoshi Island, until very recently, has not been involved in the war. If they retreat, they will not come back. They might follow your ship, but they won't bother us."
The four crewmates looked at Percy with worried looks on their faces. He nodded to them, "Yeah, I feel the same way," he said to them, then turned to Annabeth, "No, that's not going to happen. I can't agree to that."
Her grey eyes flashed, "It's the most logical way of going about this. I'm the most skilled tactician on this island, and that's how it's going to go. It makes perfect sense - you're a waterbender, you'll slow them down the most. And the only source of water is the ocean, where they will be docked. It's the only way I'm going to do this. You either agree with me, Seaweed Brain, or the Kyoshi Warriors will not be there to finish them off and you and your crew can deal with the Fire Nation yourselves."
Percy was speechless. He made up his mind then and there that if he hated anybody in the world, it was probably that girl. "Um, Seaweed Brain?" he said when he found his voice again. It was all he could think of - he was unable to think of any other response.
"You have to choose," she said, "You fight with us, our way, or you fight alone."
Percy thought hard about that ultimatum. They still had to fix the boat, that was their first priority. Of course, it would be incredibly hard to fix a ship with no crew left. And if they went with the Warrior's plan, it would be incredibly risky. However, while it might have seemed like Annabeth had given them a choice, there really was no other option. He turned to his crew, who looked totally defeated. They're probably regretting accepting me as a captain, he thought.
He took a deep breath, "Okay. I'll accept your plan on one condition," he said, "You have to set Leo free. Our ship needs repairs, badly. We can't do it on our own, and he'd be a real help to us. You don't have to worry about him backstabbing you or anything anymore, he'll be solely my problem."
Annabeth narrowed her eyes and studied Percy for what felt like an eternity. He tried not to falter under her gaze, but he felt like an insect compared with her. He also couldn't get over the fact that she was indeed really, really pretty and could probably really, really kick his butt.
She finally dropped her gaze and sighed, "You're crazy. But we have a deal." She held out her hand. He then proceeded to spit in his palm, and outstretched it.
She slowly brought her hand back to her side, "On second thought, we don't have to shake on it."
The warriors were definitely not happy to hear the news that their only prisoner was to be set free, and Percy tried his hardest to get himself and Leo out of there as fast as possible to escape their wrath. He had already learned firsthand what it was like to be in the path of an angry Kyoshi Warrior, and he never wanted to be in that situation ever again. He could imagine that he felt the angry stares burning into the back so vividly that he often looked back at Leo just to make sure he wasn't using his firebending on him. Percy knew that the best course of action was to get the both of them out of there, quickly. He held onto Leo's upper arm and steered him toward the ship. It wasn't because Percy didn't trust him - the kid had grown on him during the story time they were together - no, it was the simple fact that Leo didn't have much of an attention span, if any at all. Percy could tell that he had bored out of his wits in the makeshift prison, and his mind was going a million miles an hour now that he was freed.
"And this is the ship," said Percy, finally letting go of his arm. He watched Leo as he intently studied the ship and biting his lip. He was finally struck with exactly how young the firebender looked. The fact that he was short and scrawny was a definite factor to this observation, but even disregarding that, Leo could not have been any older than Percy - if not younger. "How, um, just how much experience do you have at fixing boats?" he asked.
Leo snorted derisively, "You're looking at the best nautical engineer in the Fire Nation Navy, son. You better show some respect." He walked up onto the deck, studying every inch of the boat intently, "Wow, you really demolished this ship, huh? What did she ever do to you?"
Percy ignored this, as he was still taken aback by the boys claims. He couldn't possibly an engineer for the Fire Nation, could he? "But, you're just a kid," he said, feeling a little foolish by the way he was following Leo around the deck like a lost puppy.
"So's the Avatar, but I'd say he's a pretty skilled guy, right? You don't have to worry about me, dude. Leo's got this. I'm the man when it comes to anything mechanical. And your ship really isn't that bad, I could probably fix all the serious stuff in two days and it would be sea-worthy. But after that I'd need some extra supplies to fortify it more, maybe. I'm also thinking maybe we can add some other stuff, too. Like thirty cannons, some navigational equipment, maybe a big figurehead in the front. I'm thinking a big dragon head. Nothing too flashy, of course. It's all about subtlety with me. But tell me a giant dragon head wouldn't totally be badass."
"We'll worry about that kinda stuff later," said Percy, feeling a bit out of his league, "It just needs to be able to sail again, first. The islanders gathered up a bunch of supplies on the beach, so I think you should be fine for now. And thanks for doing this for us."
Leo shook his head, "It's nothing, dude. Just consider me part of your crew. And I'll do my best to get it ready for sailing, but we'll have to anchor down some other place with resources for me to work with if you want it to be restored to its former glory. And, you know, totally pimped out."
"I know just the place. Once we leave the island we'll head straight to Nidhi. You'll find everything you need there."
Leo put his hand up in a salute, "Aye aye, Captain. No idea where that is, but I trust your judgment."
Percy raised an eyebrow, "Aye aye, repair boy."
"Are you sure we can trust him?" asked Grover the second Percy stepped off the ship, "He's a firebender. You know what they say about firebenders..."
"People probably say a lot of nasty things about waterbenders, too. Leo seems trustworthy. A little odd, but he doesn't strike me as the kind of person to betray us or anything," he said.
"We barely know him, Percy," said Grover, "Not to mention the fact that we're leaving him alone on a ship full of weapons he could easily use against us."
"You worry too much," he said, "And the magazine is locked up, so even if he were from the Water Tribe, he wouldn't be getting anywhere near that stuff."
"I worry just the right amount, thank you. And with good reason, considering all the trouble you get into. Especially considering all the trouble you've gotten us into recently," he gave him and friendly shove.
Percy shoved him back, "That's why you're here. You get me out of trouble, remember? In fact, I was thinking... Now that I'm Captain, I think it would be a good idea if you were my first mate, you know? I mean, only if you want to, of course. It's a big responsibility so I understand if -"
"Shut up, Percy," he interrupted, "I'm your best friend, of course I'm gonna be your first mate."
"Thanks, man," he tousled Grover's curly hair, "I'll need all the help I can get, what with this upcoming battle against the Fire Nation we've been thrown into."
Grover groaned, "Don't remind me."
The next two days were a blur to Percy. The old crew were still hanging around the island with plans to build their own ship, so things were incredibly awkward. While the old crew hurried to get a boat built, Percy's crew were running around trying to prepare for the arrival of the Fire Nation. Leo was making very good progress with the ship, and the rest of the crew were training to be ready for the soldiers' arrival. Percy spent hours with Annabeth going over the battle plan, and every time he went over it the more nervous he felt. He'd like to think that they had gotten closer those couple of days, but Percy's obvious derision to her strategy made things a little icy between them.
It was during one of these sessions when the news came. Like most other times they've been together, Percy and Annabeth were arguing.
"No, that's idiotic," said Annabeth, "You don't have the numbers to pull off a successful phalanx. Even if you do have your waterbending, you'll still be incredibly outnumbered. You'll be lucky to be able to hold them off in the formation I told you to take, if you think you'll be strengthening your defense with a phalanx then you're really naive, Seaweed Brain."
"You see, this is why my crew feels like you're setting us up for failure. Just give us ten of your warriors and we can pull off the phalanx and hold them off longer," he said.
"No, I need my warriors to be with me. We need all the numbers we're going to get, since we'll be the ones to actually force them to retreat. You don't even have the weapons fit for a phalanx, and even if you did you'll probably still get flanked and we'll be doomed. Why are you so obsessed with it anyway?"
"Instinct? I don't know. Why are you so obsessed with condemning my crew?" he said.
"You're insufferable," she rolled her eyes.
"Don't try to sound smart."
The door flew open, and both Percy and Annabeth turned their heads quickly. It was one of the Kyoshi Warriors, and she looked terrified.
"They're almost here," she said, "Less than a day's time, and they'll be practically on our doorstep."
A/N: Hey, sorry this took a while to be posted, I had finals and then a poopload of homework. But it's up now, and I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, so I don't think it should take as long as it did this time.
Next chapter, the slump of exposition ends (for now) and the crew and Kyoshi Warriors are pitted against the Fire Nation to defend the island. Things go... well, not according to plans. Please remember to review, and thanks to the people who have followed/favorited this story and gave me reviews :) It really does motivate me, so thanks!
