Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 9: Preparations

Camp Half Blood

Annabeth's POV

"I want you four to go and pack for the trip. You're going to need special equipment once you arrive at Denali, but you will pick that up there. You have the rest of the day off to prepare, we will see you tomorrow morning. Chiron and Argus will have all of your tickets and travel plans." Theseus said. I hugged my mom good-bye and waved to Poseidon, Chiron and Apollo as the four of us left the infirmary. Thalia and Clarisse went to their respective cabins, while Malcolm and I went to ours. It would be great to have my brother on this quest, it was his first and he was well over due for one.

"Annabeth I'm excited about this quest, but I'm also sorry that it has to be this one. I know how you feel about Percy. He's my friend too and I promise I will do anything to help him." Malcolm said. I walked over and hugged him.

"Malcolm, thank you so much for volunteering. I know you always wanted a quest and I do wish that it could be one that was a little less dangerous, but I'm glad you're going with us." I said. Malcolm smiled and then walked into his room to pack. I continued packing for the quest until I had everything stowed away. I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said. The door opened and in came Thalia with a concerned look on her face. "What's up Thals?" She just looked at me and frowned. I knew what she was going to ask.

"How bad was he?" Thalia asked. I didn't answer her, I really didn't want to talk about it. "Annabeth, tell me what you saw."

"Thalia, its too terrible I don't want to talk about it." I said sadly.

"So he's that bad?" Thalia said.

"Thalia you saw my reaction, you saw Theseus and Poseidon. Yes, he looks terrible, if thats what you want me to tell you." I said as I started to cry.

"I'm sorry Annie, but I just needed to know he's my friend." Thalia said as she gave me a hug.

"I know Thals, where's Nico?" I asked trying to change the subject.

Thalia looked a little sad. "He's in the underworld helping his dad. We'll be gone by the time he returns." Thalia said.

"Don't worry we'll be back before you know it." I said reassuringly. Thalia forced a smile.

"Well, we need some sleep the quest starts tomorrow, goodnight brain." Thalia said with her patented smirk.

"Goodnight Thals." I said as Thalia walked out of my cabin. I laid down on my bed and tried to fall asleep. Then I heard a voice in my head say Don't worry wise girl, I love you. I didn't know how, but Percy just spoke in my mind. I smiled to myself maybe everything would be o.k. after all.

Onboard the TS Empire State VI - Somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean

Chris's POV

I was holding Terra again, she had been crying off and on since Percy was taken away. It had been over a day since he was gone. I had a really bad feeling that I would never see my best friend again. I learned from another student that he had overheard two pirates talking about two other storage areas on the ship that are filled with students. It appeared that Percy was right, the pirates kept the students alive, but I knew somehow that the crew and the teachers were all dead. Other students were looking at me strangely off and on. I guess I hid my fear better then they did. I was good at hiding things. How do you tell the mortal girl that you love that your dad is a demigod and a navy seal? How do you tell your best friend the same things? How do you explain that your paternal grandmother was Thetis the greatest of all Nereids and your deceased uncle was one of the greatest heroes that ever lived? Lastly, how do you tell people that you inherited certain abilities from your father such as the ability to breathe underwater, heightened reflexes and the ability to swim through the water at incredible speeds? It's not easy, especially when my dad swore me to secrecy when I was old enough to understand. I can't even tell people that he is a navy seal.

The wheel to the door began to spin again every student except for myself moved to the far wall. The door opened and three pirates pointed their guns into the room.

"We're looking for the kid that came in here with Jackson." One of the pirates said. I stepped forward I could feel Terra's eyes on my back, but I needed to find out about Percy. The pirate motioned for me to exit and when I reached the door the two other pirates grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the room. The last thing that I saw before they closed the door was Terra's terrified look and tears streaming down her face. The guards pulled me into the next room passed the moon pool and the submersible. They sat me down in a chair in the main control area of the loading dock. I waited for at least ten minutes before I saw another student walk in with two pirates holding his arms. It was Steven Snyder, he was senior. He was a good guy and one of the best submersible pilots in school. I had another bad feeling about this. They sat Steven down in the chair next to me, he looked over at me and I gave him worried look. Then came in the biggest guy I had ever seen, he had to be twelve feet tall. I noticed that Steven didn't seem to pay any attention to him then I remembered the mist and that I could see through it, another thing that I inherited from my dad.

"You two children will help or we will start to kill off your fellow students one at a time." The big man said. So much for small talk.

"What happened to Percy Jackson?" I asked warily. The big man smiled at me and motioned toward the moon pool.

"He took a swim." The big man said ominously.

"You killed him you bastards." I yelled. The closest pirate hit me across the face and I could feel the right side of my face swell up.

"What do you want with us?" Steven asked as I winced in pain from the massive bruise on my face.

"Finally a good question." The big man said as he walked our way and stood over us menacingly. "We want the two of you to run the submersible and to retrieve three items for us. If you don't agree we will start to kill off your fellow students one per hour until you change your minds."

"We agree." Steven said quickly as he elbowed me in the ribs.

I looked at the big man with hate in my eyes and then I reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Which one of you is the pilot?" The big man asked.

"I am." Steven said. The big man approached him and lifted him up off the ground effortlessly and carried him to the submersible controls.

"Prepare the sub." The big man ordered. I saw Steven working the controls and prepping the sub. The big man walked over to me and then he grabbed my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. I grimaced in pain as he pressed against my bruised face. "You will ready the robotic arm to pick up three large items, they way over 1,000 pounds each, got it?" I nodded my head as I was unable to speak with his hand squeezing my face. The big man forced me up and just about threw me across the room to the submersible. I started my work prepping the robotic arms to carry large payloads. As I was working I saw a small magnetic tracking devise sitting next to one of the large robotic arm claws. I carefully grabbed it when I grabbed the claw. I turned it on and attached it to the submersible when no one was looking. I hoped someone would be able to track us. We worked for the rest of the evening on prepping the submersible, when we were finished the pirates separated the two of us and I was thrown into a small closet. I grabbed a pack of toilet paper and used it as a pillow while I laid down on the hard metal floor. I tried to get some rest, but all I could think of was Terra and how I had to do this for her to keep her safe. I promised myself at that moment I would do whatever was needed to protect her. I could only imagine the heartache Annabeth would go through when she found out about Percy. Then I thought of my good friend and hot angry tears came to my eyes as I beat the metal floor with my hand until I had to stop as my hand throbbed in pain. I thought about my dad and I prayed to the gods that my dad would come and save us, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I finally fell asleep exhausted and in pain. Today was terrible, but I knew it could always get worse.

Hope you liked this chapter, I got a request to check in on the ship and so there you go in Chris's POV.