***Hi guys! So, here is Chapter 23, which I hope you enjoy reading. Chapter 24, from Piper's POV, will be up by Thursday, May 22. Thanks again for the reviews! Also, good news, the real Blood of Olympus preview comes out tomorrow—yay!***
XXIII. PERCY
Making a plan took the rest of the day, partly because there were so many details and partly because they kept being interrupted by monsters. Several times an hour, two or three members of the crew would have to run from the mess hall where they were drawing up their battle plans to fend off first Stymphalion birds, then gryphons, followed by several venti attacks, and culminating in an attack by what looked like a skolopendra junior, which took all seven of them to defeat. By the time that monster sank back into the sea, blazing green with Greek fire, everyone was exhausted. Every muscle in Percy's body ached; he felt like he'd taken the final for his "Monster Fighting 101" class. And the real battle hadn't even happened yet.
"I believe this day can be called 'sucktastic,'" Leo said as he set the ship hovering a little ways over the ocean, to hopefully prevent any more marine animal attacks.
"That sounds about right," Percy muttered.
Leo told Festus to call them if there was an issue, then the crew trooped back to the mess hall for dinner and to finalize their plans.
"The timing's going to be tricky," Jason said, scrutinizing the plans as they all wolfed down their food (nothing like fighting monsters to give you a great appetite, Percy thought), "but I think this is going to work."
"It's like a machine." Leo swallowed half a slice of pizza in one bite. "Separately, it's just a lot of random pieces, but when you put everything together, it's greater than the sum of its parts."
Annabeth froze with her fork suspended in the air. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, staring into space.
"Annabeth?" Piper asked.
Annabeth blinked, but before she could answer, Percy said, "That's your 'I'm planning something' look."
"I do not have—."
"You do."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. Percy grinned. "And that's your 'I'm annoyed at Percy again' look."
"She makes that one a lot," Hazel said.
They all laughed, even Annabeth. Percy gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. "So, what's your brilliant plan?"
"It's not really a plan, more of an idea," Annabeth admitted, "but Leo made an interesting comment."
"Excuse me, all my comments are interesting, thank you very much," Leo said. Piper smacked his arm. "Geez, Beauty Queen!"
"Go on," Piper said to Annabeth as Leo rubbed his arm and glared at her.
"Like I said, it's really just more of an idea, or a feeling, but the concept of a machine being greater than the sum of its parts, well, I wonder if that would apply to us, too." She looked around the table, seeming, Percy thought, surprisingly nervous. "The prophecy specifically mentions seven half-bloods. What if it's not just referring to the quest as a whole? What if it'll actually take all seven of us, working together, to put Gaea back to sleep?"
"That makes sense," Hazel agreed. "But the problem is still how we do that."
"That," Leo said, pointing his fork at her, "is the million drachma question."
Annabeth shrugged. "Anyway, it's something to think about. Maybe somebody will have a brilliant flash of insight tomorrow."
"Here's hoping," Percy said.
Silence fell around the table. As far as Percy could tell, everyone had finished eating. Now they were all, like him, eyeing their battle plan, checking for any last mistakes. Percy had to admit, it was a pretty sweet plan, if it worked. Annabeth had been right in nominating Frank for commander; the big guy was seriously skilled at utilizing everyone's strengths to create a hopefully winning strategy. As far as Percy could tell, the only problem with the plan was their one major wildcard: the gods. They thought they had figured out a way to defeat Alcyoneus, but there was no way they could take out Porphyrion without some serious godly back up.
Jason must have been thinking along these lines, too. "Aphrodite sent Apollo to heal Piper," he said. "Surely one of the Olympians will help us out tomorrow, too. I mean, they don't want the world destroyed either."
"Sure," Leo said. "Though it's too bad we don't have another trireme of gold to sink as a tribute."
Hazel drummed her fingers on the table. "The gods—Hecate, Dionysus—they've all forced us to prove ourselves before they step in to help. Maybe that's what we'll have to do in Athens. If we defeat Alcyoneus and the monsters—"
"—and put Gaea back to sleep," Frank added.
"Right," Hazel said. "Then maybe the Olympians will show up to help us finish off the other giants."
It got quiet again. Percy knew they had all been skirting around the issue of how to put Gaea back to sleep as they'd made their plans. The truth was, he had no clue how that was supposed to work. They were putting a lot of faith in Demeter's torches, hoping that once they were lit, a way to knock out the demented earth goddess would become clear. But, although he hated to admit it, Percy didn't have a lot of faith in that particular part of the plan. He was trying to stay optimistic, but the truth was they were relying on luck just as much as strategy.
Leo clapped his hands and the others jumped. "Good pep talk. Now, everyone who's not on first watch should probably get some rest so we can be up bright and early to kick some monster booty."
Hazel, Frank, and Piper drew dish duty. Percy found it baffling that there were magic plates that could produce any food you wanted but couldn't clean themselves. Leo went up to check with Festus about the ship's status and Jason accompanied him, since he'd drawn first watch with Annabeth. Annabeth moved to follow Jason and Leo on deck, but Percy held her back.
"I'm supposed to be on deck for first watch," Annabeth said.
"Yeah, I know, but this'll only take a minute," Percy replied, pulling her into his cabin. He shut the door, then leaned against it.
"Look, about Calypso," he started to say, but Annabeth stopped him.
"Percy, it's fine," she said. "Honestly. We've talked about this. You came back and we're together now. That's all that matters." She met his eyes and he remembered the conversation they'd had shortly after they started dating, about Calypso and Rachel and Luke. It hadn't been particularly enjoyable (actually Percy had been terrified Annabeth would stab him when he said he'd kissed Rachel), but they had agreed it would be easier to hash everything out so they could start fresh without having to feel guilty or hide things from each other. Now, Annabeth continued, "But we're going to have to make sure the gods keep their promise when we get back. Calypso deserves a chance to be happy, too."
"Yeah, I hope—I hope all our friends can be happy," Percy said.
Annabeth looked at him quizzically. "Was that all?"
"No, not really," Percy said, suddenly nervous. He had planned out what he wanted to say in his head, but now, standing here with Annabeth in his dimly-lit cabin, everything he'd planned to say went right out of his brain.
Instead he blurted out, "Before the drakon attack, at the Empire State Building last year." Annabeth raised her eyebrows, and Percy hurriedly continued, "I wanted to pull you aside then and tell you—but there wasn't time. And now with the battle tomorrow, I just—if it all goes wrong, I don't want—I mean, I think you already know but still—"
Annabeth took his hand. "Breathe, Percy. Just spit it out."
He squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. "I just wanted to tell you, you're my best friend and you mean everything to me."
Annabeth looked surprised for a moment, but then she smiled slowly. Her gray eyes sparkled in the dim sunset light from the porthole as she slid her arms around his neck. Percy's pulse began to race.
"Ditto, Seaweed Brain," she said. Then she kissed him. Percy experienced the now familiar sensation that his brain was melting. He would have given a lot to just stay in this moment.
Eventually, Annabeth pulled away, but Percy kept his arms around her. He was afraid to let go. "Everything's going to be fine tomorrow, Percy," she said. "We have a good plan; it'll work. We'll put Gaea back to sleep, take care of the giants, and sort out the mess with the camps. And then—."
"And then what?" Percy asked.
"Ask me when we get back to New York." She kissed him again. "Now, I need to get on deck. Try to get some sleep; you'll need it."
Reluctantly, Percy let her go. She gave him a last, quick kiss, then disappeared into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
Percy tried to sleep, but his brain didn't want to shut down. He tossed and turned for a while, going over the plan for tomorrow and trying not to think about everything that could go wrong. He thought about his father's advice: "How do you put to sleep that which is not awake?"
"I don't know, Dad. What the heck does that even mean?" he muttered.
None of the others had asked him about Poseidon's message again, probably because of the way he reacted when he first heard it. Percy was pretty embarrassed about that, to be honest. He hadn't meant to lose control, it had just been such a shock. Annabeth was right, though. His dad wouldn't have given him that message unless it was important. Percy just had to trust that when the time was right, he would understand what it meant.
When he finally managed to fall asleep, his dreams were even less restful than usual. Percy felt like he was falling into Tartarus again. He was surrounded by darkness, but this time, Annabeth wasn't with him. He was alone in the dark, tumbling over and over, unable to get his bearings. Most disturbing of all was the rumbling noise that seemed to be coming out of the darkness around him. Without knowing how he knew, Percy recognized the sound.
It was the sound of Gaea laughing at him.
An urgent voice shocked him out of his nightmare. "Percy. Percy! Jackson, wake up!"
Percy opened his eyes to see Leo standing over him. "Leo, what—?"
"They're gone," Leo said. His face was ashen and his hands were shaking. "Hazel and I went up on deck, to take second watch, but there was no one there. Jason and Annabeth, they're—they're gone."