Chapter IV: Piper

Piper is exhausted. The fight with the telkhines was a pretty hard the Argo II was making good progress, Piper somehow feels they weren't going to succeed.

They are in the middle of the Mediterranean, on their way to Crete. According to Percy, whose expertise was sea, they are only 3 kilometers away from landing on the Island of Crete. Hopefully, they wouldn't have too much trouble trying to get in, as that is what usually happens.

"Come on, guys, not that far now!"Jason calls. Hazel and Frank are staring out at the sea, their hands intertwined. Annabeth's head lay on Percy's shoulder, talking to him quietly. The thought makes Piper feel extremely lonely. Of course, she has Jason, but she feels he has become very distant, as if his only priority is the battle. He is the only one in their crew that is focused entirely on the mission. The rest of them are more relaxed and calm. Perhaps it is the weight of being leader, but he isn't the only leader. The crew mainly depends on Annabeth, because she is obviously the smartest. But she wasn't as uptight as Jason.

A sudden thud slaps Piper out of her thoughts. Percy jumps up, immediately alert. Hazel's hand moves to her spatha as another thud erupts below. "Leo! Stop the ship, it's stuck on something!" Hazel says. Leo grabs his wii console remote and presses a button, bringing the ship to a sudden halt. Jason jogs to the railing and looks down. "There's something blocking the ship. I think it's a giant rock."

Piper looks down. They were about three yards away from was no other way out unless...

"Okay guys, we have to jump."

Everyone stares at Piper.

Leo is the first one to speak. "Uh, Piper? This is the Mediterranean. The most dangerous waters in Europe. You could possibly rephrase that as 'walking to your death'."

Piper rolls her eyes at him. "You think I don't know that? It's the only way, unless you want to sit around here and wait for the boulder to move magically."

Nobody argues.

"Okay then, you guys, stay here on the ship while Annabeth, Percy and I look for the materials. If there's something wrong, tell Frank to turn into a goldfish and send Percy a message," Piper instructs.

Frank's shoulders slump. "Why a goldfish?"

Piper sighs. "It doesn't matter, it just has to be a sea animal!"

"Let's go," Percy says, grabbing Annabeth's hand. Piper follows them, pulling Katoptris out of its sheath. "Okay, on the count of three, we jump," Percy says, taking Piper's hand in his left. "One."

Annabeth takes a deep breath. "Two."

"Thr-" Before Percy can complete, a large gust of wind pushes them forward .They all scream as they fall, and Percy tightens his grip on Piper and Annabeth's hands as they splash into the water. The water is pitch-black, and it certainly looked like the most dangerous waters in Europe. Piper couldn't see anything, but she could feel Percy trying to pull her upward. Piper coughed out bubbles, letting the dirty black water fill her mouth. It is simply revolting.

She can hear yells and screams from above the surface, probably Jason's and Hazel's. Percy is continuously trying to pull her, but there is some kind of gravity holding her towards the bottom, and it is very hard to get away. Where was Annabeth? She thinks. Percy doesn't seem to be holding on to someone.

Come to us, join us. Leave your dirty little meddling friends and join us. You won't be missed by them. You will have us! An unusual, male voice rasps. It definitely isn't Gaea. It sounds achingly similar, though. We will have power, we will earn our respect. We will destroy your precious home, destroy everyone you love. Join us, and you will be grateful. Piper yelps in pain when long ropes of seaweed weave around her legs, pulling her down.

Not seaweed.

They are green tentacles, with scaly skin, and Piper tries to scream, but nothing but bubbles emits from her mouth. She lets out a grunt of frustration. She takes Katoptris in her teeth and trusts herself not to cut her legs in half, as she struggles to cut the tentacles off her knee caps. Finally, she cuts it free, and Percy gives one last tug, and pulls her up. She gasps as her head reaches the surface, and Percy helps her to the land. Annabeth is sitting there, a towel around her. She gets up at the sight of Piper.

"Oh, thank the gods!" She exclaims as she hugs her. "We were so worried!"

Jason is there, so he must have flown down. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her forehead. "I'm glad you made it," he says, looking down at her. She smiles. Jason releases her and she hurries to Percy.

"Percy! Thank you," Piper says, hugging him tightly. His black hair is plastered to his forehead, covering the top of his eyes, but she can tell he's beaming. "I'd do it for anyone," he says. Piper releases him and looks at Annabeth apologizingly. She's smiling.

"Come on guys, we have a shopping trip to do."

They reach Ace Hardware by noon. All three of them are sweating like crazy. Piper wishes they could have flown a teeny bit closer. Annabeth and Percy are panting in rhythm. Piper tries not to stare.

Her mind is whirling around the green tentacles, the voice in her head. Who could it be? It isn't Gaea. It sounded old and male. She highly doubts even very sleepy god could sound like that.

Give up her friends...Piper feels sick. She remembers Enceladus and her father. But no one had a bait for her now. Except the fact that they could kill Jason.

"Piper?" Annabeth's inquires.

"I'm fine, just lost in thought," Piper replies.

Annabeth doesn't look like she buys it but nods her head "Percys' gone to get the tape. Any idea where floorboards are?"