Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Divided Soul
Chapter 22: The Blues
On board the Argo II
The Argo II reached the Pillars of Hercules at the opening to the Mediterranean Sea. Leo was piloting the ship when Jason and Scipio approached him. He turned and smiled at the two children of the big three.
"Guys, what's up?" Leo asked.
Scipio smiled at the son of Hephaestus. He had to appreciate Leo's good humor even though the son of Hephaestus was far from disciplined. "Well, we're heading toward the Pillars of Hercules, so it might be fitting, if we landed in the water, so that the thousands of mortals don't see a flying celestial bronze trireme," Scipio said with a glint in his eyes. Leo's face paled.
Jason held in his laughter. "Land the ship in the sea, Mr. Valdez," Jason ordered. The color returned to Leo's face before he gave Jason a two-fingered salute. Jason rolled his eyes. Scipio just shook his head in amusement as he walked toward the bow of the ship.
The ship quickly, but carefully descended until it somewhat softly hit the waves below. Jason would have fallen overboard as the ship lurched forward, but Scipio was there to catch the son of Jupiter. Jason turned to glare at Leo, but the son of Hephaestus just stared at Jason. Leo's face was as white as a sheet and his eyes were twice their normal size. He froze when he saw Jason glare at him. Scipio tried not to laugh at Leo, but it was hard. Scipio covered his hand with his mouth.
"Leo, don't kill our fearless leader before we even reach Greece," Piper chided as she walked passed him Leo's pale face turned red with embarrassment.
"I didn't mean to, it just sorta happened," Leo whined.
Piper smiled at her friend. "Sure it did Repair Boy," Piper teased.
Jason and Scipio walked toward the two demigods. Jason was about to yell at Leo when Scipio intervened.
"Leo, you look pretty tired, maybe you should get some rest," Scipio said.
Piper smiled before adding, "Yeah, you look terrible, go get some sleep." Leo looked between Scipio and Piper before nodding and running down the stairs to his quarters.
Jason turned toward Scipio and Piper. He knew what they were doing. "Teaming up on me, I see," Jason said.
Piper smiled at Jason. The son of Jupiter couldn't help but stare at the beautiful daughter of Aphrodite. Scipio smiled at the affect she had on his friend. "I'll take over, don't forget we're in my territory now," Scipio said, but to Jason he didn't sound very happy about it.
Jason was about to say something when Piper grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away. She had a mischievous look in her eyes. Jason's eyes widened at the sight. Scipio looked on in amusement as Piper pulled their leader away from the ship's controls.
Scipio held onto the wheel of the ship. He looked at the mast and sails. The ropes and pulleys began to move as another sail unfurled. Scipio smiled at the control he had over the ship. The son of Neptune looked forward and watched as the Argo II sailed easily through the Strait of Gibraltar. Scipio willed the sea to push the ship forward. The wind in the sails and the movement of the sea propelled the ship forward at a speed unheard of for a sailing vessel. By Scipio's calculations they would be in Greece in a day.
"You're a pretty good sailor," Annabeth said as she climbed onto the deck. Scipio turned slightly to see the daughter of Athena smile at him.
"A perk of being a son of Neptune," Scipio said, but Annabeth could tell that he wasn't proud of his heritage.
"Sounds like you have a problem with your dad," Annabeth asserted.
Scipio looked at the blonde daughter of the wisdom goddess. "How can I have a problem with someone I never met," Scipio said sarcastically.
Annabeth hid her surprise. "You never met him?" Annabeth asked.
Scipio looked down at the wooden deck of the ship as he tried not to remember all of the pain and anger he felt toward the sea god. "He had no time for me, so why should I care about him?" Scipio asked.
Annabeth nodded reluctantly. She knew that Scipio's memories were very different than Percy's, but she never thought that he would hate his father. He sounded so much like Luke when he spoke about Hermes. "I can't relate. I've met my mother a few times and I know she cares about me," Annabeth explained.
Scipio looked at her curiously. "Well, you're a lucky one then. Most gods could care less about their kids." Scipio's expression darkened. His eyes became a dark green color and Annabeth found it hard to look at him. She never thought Percy could look that scary.
"If you hate the gods, then why do you serve them?"
"I serve Mars and I serve my fellow demigods. Neither the Titans or Gaea give a crap about demigods," Scipio explained. His voice was filled with anger and pain. "I want to protect my fellow half bloods. They do not deserve the terrible life they lead. They should be protected and not used as pawns."
Annabeth realized that this was the true difference between Scipio and Luke. Luke let his hatred of the gods cloud his judgement, but Scipio never would. Scipio didn't like the gods, except for Mars whom he considered his mentor and friend. That realization wasn't lost on the daughter of Athena. She wondered what Percy would think about that. "That's very noble of you."
Scipio laughed. Annabeth looked at him curiously. "That's the first time anyone called me noble. Thanks, but nobility has nothing to do with it. I protect demigods because I owe it to all those friends of mine that died in the war.
"So you don't care about demigods; you're just repaying a debt?"
Scipio shook his head. "At first, that's the reason I came to Castra Semideus, but now, I care about them. I care about the Romans and Greek campers as well." Annabeth smiled. "Don't tell anyone that. I have a reputation to uphold." Scipio smiled in return.
Annabeth just rolled her eyes. Scipio was a lot different when he wasn't in command. "Your secret is safe with me."
Suddenly, the Argo II lurched forward as something struck the bottom of the ship. Annabeth would have fallen to the ground, if Scipio hadn't grabbed her. He held her protectively in his arms. She stared up into his eyes. Their faces were only inches apart. Annabeth felt his warm breath on her face. They both got lost in each other's eyes, but the ship lurched forward one more time. They broke apart; both of their faces were red, but the embarrassment didn't last long. Jason and the others ran up from below decks. They each had a few cuts and bruises because of the shock of the ship hitting whatever it was.
"What's going on?" Jason yelled.
Scipio broke his gaze away from Annabeth. "Something struck the ship, twice," Scipio said. Jason looked at Scipio worriedly. "I didn't see anything in front of us. I think it struck us from underwater."
"Everyone to weapon stations," Jason yelled. "Leo activate the automatons."
Leo ran to a control on the side of the ship and hit a large red button. Suddenly, a part of the floor opened up and an elevated platform lifted with ten metal soldiers on it. Leo ran in front of the automatons and yelled, "Command sequence, Vulcan's Forge." The eyes of the robots turned red and they raced to the ballistae and catapults.
Scipio stood at the wheel to the ship. Jason was in the middle of the ship's deck with the rest of the seven and the robots. Suddenly, six red tentacles as big around as the mast of the ship appeared next to the port and starboard sides of the ship.
"Leviathon," Scipio yelled over the sound of the waves crashing against the side of the ship.
A massive tentacle moved quickly toward Annabeth and Piper, but Scipio raised his hand and one of the thick ropes that held the sails in place shot across the deck like a whip. The rope snagged the tentacle and slashed a large gash into the flesh of the giant octopus. Annabeth and Piper both smiled at the son of Neptune. Scipio pointed toward the others as they tried to fight off the monster's advances with their weapons.
"Leo," Scipio yelled. The son of Hephaestus heard his name. He ran toward the son of Neptune just as a tentacle smashed against the deck. He would have been crushed to a pulp under the weight off the appendage.
Leo reached the son of Neptune and held on tight to the base of the wheel. "What do you need?" Leo asked.
"Take the wheel. I need to help them," Scipio said. Leo held onto the wheel tightly. "Watch the ship captain." Scipio ran toward the side of the ship. His friends watched him as he dove over the side before his body entered the churning sea below.
Below the waves and the hull of the ship, Scipio swam. He could make out the silhouette of the leviathan as it straddled the underside of the ship. He touched the trident and gladius symbols on the necklace he wore around his neck. The imperial gold armor covered his body, but it didn't weigh him down in the water. The sea held him like a child in its mother's womb.
The giant octopus turned. Its large red eyes glowed in the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. For some reason Scipio recognized this creature, but he didn't know how. He shook his head to remove the feeling of déjà vu. The leviathon's tentacles moved away from the ship and toward the son of Neptune. Scipio dove deeper and willed the currents to push him toward the sea floor. The monster was behind him swimming like a jet plane in the water.
Scipio swam and willed the water to push him towards the rocky bottom of the sea. The leviathan followed. At the last moment Scipio willed the water to push him sideways away from the bottom. A large shockwave erupted from the water as the giant octopus struck the rocky sea floor. Scipio knew that the creature wouldn't be hurt for long.
He could feel the monster move off the bottom slowly. Scipio turned and swam towards the creature. The monster could sense him approach, but it was too late. Scipio began to twist his body into a circle as he held his gladius in his hand the point of the blade facing forward over his head. He flew through the water. The monster turn to face him, but Scipio's blade sunk into the tough hide of the giant octopus. Scipio began to twist his body faster. The water moved around him like a whirlpool. His blade spun around like the blades of a blender. The gladius ripped into the flesh of the monster ripping it to shreds. The son of Neptune propelled himself through the creature's large head severing arteries until his blade contacted the large bulbous brain of the monster.
The glowing eyes of the leviathan faded to black as the creature's mind was destroyed. Scipio's body continued to spin as he broke through the other side of the creature's head. He stopped spinning as the now dead creature sank to the bottom of the sea. Scipio was covered in blood and gore from the creatures body. He willed the seawater to push him up to the surface. The water began to clean the mess from his body, but as he broke the surface of the sea his body was blue; the color of octopus blood. He looked up just as a rope landed in the water beside him. He grabbed a hold of the rope as his friends began to pull him up onto the deck of the ship. He landed on the deck with a loud thud. His friends stepped back. His six friends held their noses because the son of Neptune smelled horrible.
Scipio stood up careful not to slip because of his slimy shoes. His body glowed as his armor disappeared along with his gladius. He sat down on the deck of the ship. His face and hands were still covered in the blood and slime of the Leviathon.
Jason stepped forward. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Scipio looked up at his friend and smiled. "Well, I'm still breathing, so yeah, I'm fine," Scipio quipped.
Annabeth stood above him looking down worriedly. "You could've gotten yourself killed," Annabeth said.
"No worries; I've fought tougher monsters than that," Scipio boasted.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I think your head is swelling from the lack of pressure above the water," Annabeth said sarcastically.
Scipio smiled. "Maybe, is everyone okay?" Scipio asked.
"Yeah, we're okay. What was that thing?" Jason asked.
"You said Leviathon," Annabeth said as she looked at Scipio curiously. She knew that Percy had seen the monster during the war when he had visited his father during the battle with Oceanus.
Scipio looked at Annabeth curiously. "I did," Scipio said. "I'm not sure how I knew."
Jason looked between Annabeth and Scipio; he wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew it had something to do with Percy Jackson. "We're just glad that you're okay," Jason said. "You should go downstairs and cleanup."
Scipio smiled at Jason. "Is that an order boss?" Scipio asked.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Yes and don't call me boss," Jason said. Scipio smiled mischievously, but something in the back of his mind told him that the name boss was familiar somehow.
AN: A little action and some humor hopefully. Yes an octopus has blue blood, weird, huh?" Stay tuned more to come.