Percy Jackson
Percy sat in the control room as the submarine continued on its plotted course. The quiet hum of the sub's electrical system at work was all that could be heard through the room. He could feel the sub as it slowly pushed through the water.
A few lights on the main control room blinked on and off, Percy had learned quickly to ignore most of them. The only real light he had to worry about was the warning for structural integrity. He had realized quickly that the submarine had a automatic depth regulator system built in. That meant the sub wouldn't go below crush depth. The main threat to the sub was it hitting something or a monster attacking.
So far, Percy didn't have much to do except play Minesweeper on the main computer. The submarine was pretty automatic for the most part so he actually didn't have to do much of the work. There was manual mode but Percy wasn't about to engage it, he had no idea how this thing worked, plus, Annabeth had warned him not to fuck around with anything.
Annabeth said she was going off to study the engine to see how it worked just in case they needed to fix anything. Percy had no problem with letting her do that. He never got around to learning how the Argo II's engine worked, he doubted he could learn how this sub's engine worked.
Percy had just clicked on the last tile in Minesweeper, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as the victory screen popped up. He was about to click the replay button when a high-pitched pinging noise caught his attention. He looked over at the radar and GPS screens.
"Oh, that's not good." He muttered as he stared at the huge blip on the radar screen.
The GPS screen already had some preset coordinates that were in the Sea of Monsters, he wasn't sure where they led to but he figured there was no harm and trying to find out where they led to. Worst case scenario, they'd just use the submarine to dive away from any threat.
He had a feeling he knew what the big blip on the radar screen was. The radar only detected underwater and surface vessels, it didn't detect aerial threats unless they were above water. He really had to hand it to the demigods who designed the submarine, they really had shoved everything they could into it.
He grabbed the intercom microphone, "Hey, Annabeth, you might want to get up here, I think we're about to pass Charybdis."
He wasn't sure if the submarine could slip past her without any issue, maybe the propellers would give them away. He looked around on the control panel for anything that might help him. Some of the buttons were pretty self-explanatory, like the SLBM launch button or the main power switch, but then there were buttons like S-mode activation and TWS mode on the radar.
"What do half these things mean?" Percy asked in a frustrated tone.
Annabeth opened the control room doors and walked in, a huge smile on her face, "I figured out how the engines work!"
"Great, but we have a problem." He said.
Annabeth's smile disappeared, "What?"
"We have to pass Charybdis but the issue is I don't think we're stealthy enough to do that. The propellors might wake her up." He explained.
"The engines had a control manual." Annabeth said as she took out a small blue book that was about the size of a iPhone. She opened the book and flipped through the pages, "There's a anti-monster protocol section in there. Can you believe they have a protocol for dwarves on here?"
"Dwarves? On a sub?" Percy asked.
"Yep." Annabeth said, "Alright, here it is!" Her eyes lit up as she read the protocol for dealing with Charybdis, "First step, select choice of god. Second step, pray to said god."
Percy's face couldn't have been more disappointed than it was at that moment.
"Third step, activate S-mode. Fourth step, in case of detection, prepare nuclear missile for launch." Annabeth said as she lowered the book, "And that's it."
Percy found the S-mode button and pressed it. Instantly, the button glowed an ominous red. A low drone hummed through the sub before all the lights shut off, save for the screens. The low hum of the sub's electrical system was so faint that Percy thought the whole thing had shut off for a moment.
He looked at the engine modules and found they were still running, though they were running slower than before. They were even moving slower but they were still indeed moving.
"So, S-mode just lowers the engine performance?" Annabeth said with a confused tone.
"I don't know." Percy said.
The truth was, he wasn't sure what had happened but if he had to guess, the submarine had shut down all its non-essential functions to try to be quieter. Maybe that's why the engine ran at a lower speed as to make the propellers move slower and thus generate less noise.
Percy and Annabeth watched the radar contact move slowly past them. They held their breath, the movement was so slow that it almost felt like they weren't moving at all. Annabeth put a hand on Percy's shoulder as they watched the radar together. Percy knew she was just as anxious as he was. If anything went wrong now, they could find themselves becoming monster chow within seconds.
Minutes passed, each one felt like an eternity. Percy was drenched in sweat, this was one of the most tense moments since they had boarded the submarine. He was willing to admit the sailors who manned this thing had guts of steel, it took a special kind of person to sit in a giant metal tube and spend days, no, weeks under the sea where one mistake could destroy the entire sub and kill every single crew member aboard.
Finally, the sub managed to slip past Charybdis with no issue, she didn't even know the sub was there. As soon as her radar blip disappeared, Percy turned off S-mode and everything came back on. The lights in the control room came back on and the humming of the electrical system could be heard.
The electrical system wasn't the only thing that was making noise however. Percy and Annabeth both let out sighs of pure relief. Both demigods were stressing themselves out over the possibility of Charybdis waking up and swallowing the whole sub like it was a midnight snack or something.
Percy wasn't sure how the nuclear missiles in the sub would work but he was certain the protocol meant for the crew to take the monster down with the sub. He had no doubt that his past siblings fully intended to blow themselves up if it meant taking down a monster as big as Charybdis.
Annabeth took a seat next to him, "Gods, I can't believe that actually worked."
"I can't believe we're still alive." Percy said.
Annabeth got up, "Come on, you need some rest, you've been up here all day. I don't think we have to worry about anymore monsters for now."
Percy didn't resist as she grabbed his arm and hoisted him up. He followed her out of control room and through the halls. The hall lights weren't the pure white color he was expecting. Instead they had a very faint greenish hue to them, it gave him old hospital vibes. He wondered if that was their original color or if the lights were so old that the bulbs had started changing color.
Annabeth steered him into the crew quarters, laying him down in one of the many bunks. She even tucked him in, giving him a kiss and saying, "Sleep well, Seaweed Brain."
The last thing he saw was Annabeth climbing into his bunk with him and making herself comfortable.
Ω
When Percy woke up, it was because Annabeth was shaking him. She was already dressed and judging from her wet hair, she had just gotten out of the shower. He could smell the scent of lemons emanating from her, her signature scent. He may have had an ocean scent, Annabeth always had a lemon smell to her, he never understood that, Athena wasn't the goddess of lemons the last time he checked.
"Wake up, sleepy head." Annabeth smiled as she shook him awake.
"Huh?" Percy sat up and wiped his eyes, "Where are we?"
"I don't know but the submarine stopped. I checked the control room after I showered and it said we're at the coordinates." She said, "We've been underwater since then but I think we should surface and check it out."
"Alright." Percy said as he threw his legs out of bed. When he stood, he found Annabeth smiling at him. "What?" He asked.
She walked over and straightened his shirt, "Oh, nothing. Your hair is messy." She ran her hands through his hair, "Oh and go brush your teeth, I'm not kissing you until you do so."
Percy groaned before walking off to the restroom. Much to his surprise, he found a cupboard stuffed with spare toothbrushes and fluoride toothpaste. It seemed the crew had quite literally stocked the submarine with everything they needed. He figured the crew was prepared for a nuclear war so they probably stocked up with as many luxuries as their sub could fit.
After brushing his teeth and splashing some cold water on his face, Percy met up with Annabeth outside the control room and followed her to the nearest ladder. When Annabeth opened the hatch, the sunlight that shined in nearly blinded Percy. He hadn't seen sunlight for who knows how long.
"Fuck, I can't see shit." Percy complained as he climbed the ladder. He could hear the sound of water lapping against the side of the sub.
Percy hoisted himself out of the sub and looked around. Miles and miles of ocean surrounded them, save for the docks they were next to. A flurry of storm clouds was gathering in the distance, in fact, he could hear the faint rumble of thunder coming from that direction. Sailing on the surface in that weather was not advisable to say the least.
The smell of the sea smelled like home to Percy. For some reason, being at sea made him feel way better, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The air was surprisingly cold around him, even though it was in the middle of summer in one of the most tropical areas in the world.
"Perce, look." Annabeth said.
Percy looked over at the docks. It was kind of cool that the submarine had auto parked itself, but that may have been a preference set by the crew since the coordinates themselves were also set by the crew.
The island the docks were connected to was huge. A mountain rose from the middle of the island but there was something off about it. Unlike normal mountains, this one seemed to have trails that led to the top.
"Well, let's take a look around." Percy said, "Anything could be here."
Annabeth nodded, "Yeah."
Together, they both climbed onto the docks and started making their way onto the island. Percy heard the sounds of tropical birds chirping among the trees, he only other sound he could hear was the sound of vegetation being crushed as he and Annabeth moved through the dense forest. He kept Riptide capped but he had his pen out just in case he needed his sword in a hurry. Annabeth already had her bone sword drawn.
The jungle seemed to get denser the further they moved into it. Percy couldn't help but feel that they were in some sort of danger, it felt like they were being watched. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he shivered, he had no idea what could be watching them. For all he knew, some monster or demon was following them.
He looked back at Annabeth. She too was looking around nervously, he could tell she thought something was off too. Her grip on her sword got tighter, at least, that's what the whitening of her knuckles signified.
"This place is creepy." Annabeth said as she caught him staring.
"Yeah, it is." He agreed, "I think we should get out of this forest, something doesn't feel right."
They wasted no time in running through the forest and all the way to the other side of the island. It took them a while to even break out of the forest and even then, they didn't even each the other side of the island. Instead, they found evidence of a past adventure.
In front of the two demigods was a wrecked and abandoned resort. The pool was drained of water and showed signs of decay due to absent maintenance. The spa chairs were flipped over, cracked in half, or left sitting in their original places.
Percy drew Riptide, he knew this place and he knew how dangerous it really was. Just because it looked like there was no one here didn't mean that it was actually empty. The last time they were here, Circe and her servants were busy battling pirates.
He had almost forgotten this place, seeing it again was like a mental flashbang. Seeing it in such a state of ruin surprised yet saddened him, this place actually looked nice before, now it looked decrypt and broken.
He walked past a beach bungalow, judging from the empty cocktail glasses, they used to serve drinks there. He wouldn't know since there was a whole World War 2 era fighter crashed into the roof of it. Splinters of wood and straw laid around the cottage, along with pieces of metal from the crashed aircraft.
When Percy peered closer at the plane, he nearly jumped back in horror. In the cockpit was the skeletal remains of a pirate and he'd gone out in such a brutal way, a metal beam had went straight through his forehead and basically impaled him to the seat.
"That looks like one of Blackbeard's crew." Annabeth said.
"It probably is." Percy agreed, "It looks like he tried to fly his way out of here." He didn't expect a pirate to know how to fly a fighter plane.
The fighter itself hadn't exploded, which was surprising. Maybe the plane had ran out of fuel and just crashed, but thanks to no fuel being onboard, it didn't explode into a fireball. There was no way that plane could be fixed and used, the propeller had to be broken. The blue roundel and white star made it abundantly clear it was an American fighter, so at least the instruments would be in English.
Percy found the shipyard and airfield, but it was all empty. No aircraft, no ships, the only vehicle on this part of the island was a washed up row boat with a huge shark bite on the bottom. He felt bad for the poor guys in the boat who probably ended up as shark food.
"Do you think Circe is still here?" He asked as Annabeth stared at the main resort building.
"I don't know, she might've been able to beat Blackbeard and his crew." She said, "I doubt he'd be clever enough to beat her."
The idea that either of those two could be wandering around the island made Percy nervous. He was certain he could take Blackbeard in a fight but against Circe, he'd have some problems. She was a sorceress who knew her craft well, even now she could still pose a very real threat.
"Let's go check the resort out." Annabeth suggested, making her way to the resort with Percy behind her.
The resort wasn't in any better shape. Most if not all the windows were shattered. The white marble had started to crack and erode yet the building was still standing. When Annabeth walked into the lobby, she let out a sigh of relief.
Percy stepped in beside her, mainly because he wanted to be as close to her as possible, he didn't want anyone jumping out and grabbing him or Annabeth. The lobby was empty, which was probably why Annabeth seemed so relieved, he was certain that she didn't want to fight Circe or Blackbeard.
The front desk was completely torn up. Slash marks carved up the front part of the desk while pamphlets laid scattered around the floor. A few had bites taken out of them, probably due to some dim-witted pirate mistaking them for food, either that or the pirate was very desperate and trying not to starve.
Percy followed Annabeth since she seemed to know the resort better than he did. He remembered she was allowed to be shown around while he was turned into a guinea pig. He hoped she didn't get hit by a sense of nostalgia and try to turn him into a guinea pig.
When Annabeth opened a set of double doors, he was surprised to see that she had went to the library. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised but he was, after all the hallways and twists and turns, she still remembered where the library was.
"We might be able to find something useful in here." Annabeth said, "The rest of the resort looks pretty torn up."
Percy knew that was just an excuse for her to browse the library. She was right though, the library seemed to be untouched. The first thing he noticed was the gargantuan size of the place, it was far bigger than any library he had ever been in, it was even bigger than the one in cabin six. The bookshelves were each the length of a school bus and as tall as a fully grown Cyclops. Each shelf had hundreds of books, all of them organized by alphabetical order, judging from the golden letters above each column.
Annabeth had started taking some books off the shelves and reading through them. He figured he'd make himself useful and see if the library had something more than just books. It would take them decades to be able to read every single book in the library's collection.
Percy walked deeper into the library, the smell of old books filling his nostrils. Sunlight shined through the windows, giving the library a heavenly glow. He found a few empty tables in the back of the library, most likely for studying.
As he examined the tables, he noticed the dust on them had been disturbed. He and Annabeth hadn't been back there so there was no way any of them could have messed with the tables. The realization crept up his spine like a spider, someone else was in the library with them.
Percy instantly took off and started running through the shelves, looking down each one for Annabeth. He tried running back the way he came but the bookshelves formed a labyrinth that kept him trapped like a fly in a web.
"Annabeth!" He called.
"You have a lot of nerve coming back here, you little pig." An angry woman's voice sneered.
Percy turned in the direction of the voice and was greeted by the sight of Circe. Her straight black hair was now messy and all over the place, her dress had slash marks running down the shoulder to her thigh. Her eyes were full of a rage that Percy had only seen when someone saw a person they truly hated.
"Uh—"
"Shut up, scoundrel." Circe snapped, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused? All my servants, gone! My resort and spa, out of business! It's all because of you!"
"You turned me into a guinea pig!" Percy argued.
"Because that's what you are!" She shrieked.
Percy raised Riptide as she stepped closer. She growled and eyed the blade, he wasn't sure if Riptide could hurt her but he figured if it could hurt Ares, it could definitely hurt her. He just doubted it could kill her.
"Put the blade down, Percy." She said, "We can make a compromise."
"How about no?" He asked.
Circe shook her head, "As angry as I am with you, you do have value to me. Now, you could go ahead and kill me, but you'll still be stuck in this library, or, you could hear me out."
Percy hated to admit it, but she had a point. He didn't know if the library was magic or not, but he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. He really wished he hadn't left Annabeth.
"Now, my proposal is actually quite simple." Circe said, "Someone as stupid as yourself could follow along. I need a new servant, someone who can at least clean this place up. Since you're here, that servant has to be you."
"I'm not for hire." Percy replied.
"Oh?" She asked, "I can make it worth your while."
"I'm not interested in money or whatever the hell—" Percy paused when Circe bit her lip and seductively leaned against the shelf.
"Not what I was offering, Seaweed Brain."
"Fuck off, only Annabeth calls me that!" He yelled.
"Does Annabeth know what you like?" Circe asked as she inched closer to him, "Think about it, Percy, I can fulfill every desire in that demigod body of yours. I'm sure you'd be very appreciative after you see some of my skills in action."
Maybe if Percy was single and an absolute moron, he'd consider her offer but he wasn't about to betray Annabeth, no matter what Circe did or said. He didn't like Annabeth just for her skills in bed but because she had quite literally been through almost everything with him. He wasn't going to throw all of that away just because a attractive woman told him to.
"Sorry, but no." Percy denied, "I won't cheat on Annabeth, not now, not ever."
Circe sighed through her nose, "Very well. You've made your choice."
Percy barely had time to react before she shot a beam of purple energy at him. The blast hit the shelf behind him, knocking it over. The books inside spilled out as the wooden frame hit the floor with a loud boom. Percy took the opportunity to run through the opening, Circe hot on his heels.
"You can't run forever!" Circe yelled from behind him.
Percy didn't give a flying fuck, he wasn't about to stop and try to fight her. All it took was one blast and he was done for. She probably had an arsenal of magical spells she could cast on him and he in no way wanted to find out what they were.
Another purple blast flew overhead. This time, it crashed into a bookshelf that nearly fell on top of him. He made a sharp right turn and kept running. He looked over his shoulder and found Circe was still chasing him, he was wondering how she could run so fast in that dress.
Percy made another turn and crashed right into Annabeth, who let out a shriek as she dropped the book in her hands. They both tumbled to the ground as they lost balance. Percy let out a grunt as Annabeth landed on top of him.
"Percy, what the fuck is your problem?!" She snapped at him.
"Circe is coming!" He panicked, looking over her shoulder. To his horror, Circe was running towards them.
Annabeth looked behind her and as soon as she saw the sorceress heading towards them, she got up and dragged Percy with her. Together, they ran through the library shelves, eventually finding the way out after nearly getting blasted by Circe. It was a miracle that neither of them had gotten hurt, save for the bruises they both got when Percy ran into Annabeth.
"Let's go!" Annabeth cried out as they ran through the halls of the main resort building.
"There you are!" Circe shouted down the hall, "Come back here now!"
Percy had no issue with leaving the resort, this place sucked before and it still sucked. The second they were out of the main building, they took off into the forest.
The forest was still alive with wildlife, birds squawked and shrieked overhead, squirrels scurried up trees to avoid the pair of demigods charging through the forest.
Percy's legs felt like they were made of iron, he had ran a lot before but this was getting ridiculous, the last time they had sat down was when they were still in the submarine. The submarine sounded like the best place to be at the moment, and he couldn't wait to be in there, sailing away from the absolute menace that was Circe.
Annabeth was getting tired too, he could hear her panting loudly now. Her face was covered in sweat as she pushed to run faster. It was times like this where Percy saw just how capable Annabeth was. Even if she wasn't overwhelmingly muscular, her demigod nature made it to where her body could keep up.
"I still see you!" Circe screamed from somewhere behind them, Percy didn't look because frankly, he just wanted off the island.
By the time they got to the docks, Percy was so tired that he was starting to see stars. His feet felt like someone had hit them with a hammer and forced him to run uphill in weighted boots. His black and white Converses weren't meant for running, so that probably was what was causing most of the pain for him.
"Just a little further!" Annabeth pushed.
Percy jumped onto the cold metal of the submarine and watched as Annabeth landed gracefully next to him. He twisted the hatch open and motioned for Annabeth to go first. She shot him a thankful look as she climbed down the hatch.
"NO!" Circe bellowed from the docks.
Percy looked up just in time to see a purple ball of light coming straight at him. He jumped back just in time to avoid being beheaded by it. Circe got ready to shoot another ball but before she could, he jumped into the hatch, shutting the door and twisting the lock to let it lock itself.
Just as Percy started to climb down, his hands slipped due to his sweat and he fell all the way down. He landed at the bottom with a sickening crack coming from his left leg. He let out a shout of pain as he grabbed his leg.
"Percy!" Annabeth ran over to him and knelt beside him, "What happened?!"
"I fell, fuck!" Percy gritted his teeth.
Annabeth looked at his leg which was covered by his jeans, then she looked at the hatch, "Your leg is probably broken, stay here, I'll get us moving." She got up and ran down the hall and disappeared.
"Not like I'm going anywhere." Percy grumbled as he looked down at his leg.
He slowly reached towards it, recoiling as soon as his hand touched it. A sharp pain shot up his leg, nearly bringing him to tears. He knew he could heal from this, he just needed some nectar and water.
The sub jolted as it started to move. He could hear the electrical system start to power up. Loud metal clanging came from the top, probably thanks to Circe shooting at the sub with her magic blasts.
Annabeth came back to him, a red medical kit in her hands. She opened it and found a splint, quickly putting it on his leg and helping him up.
"I'm going to carry you to the crew quarters, okay?" She said, "You need some rest. I'll get an ice bath ready for you."
"Gods, I love you." He groaned as he basically limped down the hall.
Annabeth smiled at him before kicking open the door to the crew quarters. She laid him down in the nearest bed she could find, "Take a nap, I'll wake you when your bath is ready."
Percy was so tired the pain from his leg couldn't even keep him awake. He just remembered staring at the bottom of the bunk above him before passing out, hurt but alive.