Chapter 12 I Question My Life Decisions

Annabeth scolded her cowardice that night after Pietro left.

She had been so close to telling him everything. How could she have lost her nerve? It wasn't like this was a life or death situation or anything. It was just a simple conversation between two people!

And yet…

A small part of her still dreaded it. The reasonable part of her kept saying the worst he could do was say "no", but that other part kept wondering all of the what ifs. What if he thought she was crazy? What if he thought she was obsessing over him and because she was on the Argo II then it didn't matter how much he cared about anyone else and he wouldn't go back with them to Long Island and she'd never see him again-

Stop, Annabeth told herself, you're blowing everything way out of proportion. It's not like rejection is going to kill you.

Which was very true, on one hand. Besides, she'd only known the guy for a short time. You couldn't possibly know exactly how you feel about someone after just a couple weeks-

But what if what Piper said was true, and Annabeth did nothing? What if they really were- she barely dared to think it, let alone say it- soulmates- but they just kept living their separate lives?

Annabeth shook the thoughts from her head. What was done was done. She couldn't go back and tell Pietro how she felt. She'd just have to find another time to do it.

She sat down and opened her laptop. Maybe working on the Hermes cabin design would help take her mind off of it.

Unfortunately, all that did was stir up memories of her explaining the design to Pietro and teaching him how to play Smash Bros.

She facepalmed. Everything she did with him just felt like home. Like it was how things were meant to be. She didn't know how to explain it, she just knew.

And, gods, she'd almost completely forgotten about Nico's conspiracy theories. She was almost certain now his accusations held no weight (after all, how could Pietro of all people be a traitorous villain?)

But what if Nico was right?

Once again, Annabeth forced the thought out. If it turned out that Pietro had been lying to them all this whole time, she didn't know how she'd handle it.

Annabeth sighed. That was a problem for another time. With that, she turned back to her work on the cabin design, trying her best not to think about the guy with sea-green eyes and messy black hair that had crashed into her life, working late into the night until her eyes felt like sandpaper and her eyelids could no longer hold themselves up.

She passed out on top of her desk, the Hermes cabin design still open, and dreamed of the vision from the sirens once again, throwing her into fitful and low quality bouts of sleep.

Ooooooooooooooo

Nico awoke extra early (for once, much to his annoyance) to another typical morning aboard the Argo II. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

Which meant he already had a bad feeling about the day.

First it had been Scylla and Charybdis, then Circe, then the sirens, and then that weirdo Luke. It seemed as though they couldn't go two seconds without a monster attack, so for everything to be peaceful just felt like a sign that everything was about to go wrong again.

He didn't want to get out of bed, but Leo was yelling about something and Nico was much too curious to go back to sleep, so he left his cabin and made his way to the mess hall. Of all things on the Argo II, why couldn't Leo have installed thicker doors? There he ate a granola bar (he'd never been much of a breakfast person, but if he didn't eat anything the others would come after him for it) as he listened to Leo argue about some movie with Jason. Piper ignored them, focusing instead on a waffle in front of her. The others were nowhere to be seen, which meant they were probably still sleeping. Nico envied them.

"Come on, the prequels weren't bad," Jason said, "I thought they were good. And the memes-"

"Seriously!?" Leo burst out, "Did you not watch Phantom Menace? That movie sucked."

Jason winced, "Yeah, that one was pretty bad. But the others were good."

Leo shrugged, "I guess. It's just not as fun to watch a movie trilogy when you already know what's gonna happen. Like, we already knew Anakin was going to become Darth Vader. And nothing beats the OG movies."

"I don't know," Piper jumped in, "The original ones aren't bad, but you can really tell their age, and Return of the Jedi started out really slow."

Leo glared at her, "You take that back!"

Jason held Leo from attacking Piper, "So they weren't perfect. No big deal. Nothing is."

Leo rolled his eyes, "You two just don't appreciate a masterpiece when you see it."

Nico frowned, "What are you two talking about?"

Leo pointed at Jason, "He thinks the Star Wars prequels are better than the originals!"

"I never said that!" Jason yelled, "I only said they weren't as bad as you think!"

Nico had no idea what they were talking about. He'd vaguely heard of Star Wars before. Will talked about it occasionally and had once asked him which character he'd rather date. Nico had chosen Darth Vader, mostly because that was one of the like three characters from the franchise he could name, but other than that he knew very little about the series. He wasn't exactly up to date on pop culture. Being stuck in a time-warping hotel for eighty years really had that effect.

"…The what?" Nico asked.

He soon realized that was the wrong thing to say. Leo spun on him, "What did you say?"

Nico just shrugged.

"Don't tell me you don't know what Star Wars is!" Leo said.

Piper spoke up, "Lotus Casino?"

Nico nodded, "Lotus Casino."

Jason understood after that, but Leo was still not having it, "I don't care that you were living in a magical hotel for nearly a century. You've been with us for, what, six years now? And you haven't watched Star Wars? And isn't Will like, the biggest Star Wars fan ever?"

"What can I say?" Nico told him, "Guess I just haven't had the time to sit down and watch them yet. Trust me, Will's tried."

Leo shook his head, "Unacceptable. I'll find a way to stream Disney Plus from the TV. This uncultury ends now."

"Is that a word?" Jason whispered to Piper. Piper shook her head.

Suddenly thunder roared outside, shaking the ship. Leo stopped talking immediately and looked up.

"You don't think that's Zeus bringing down his wrath on us, do you?" Piper asked.

"Not sure," Leo said, "Could just be a normal storm."

"Is anything normal around here?" Jason pointed out.

Nico agreed. There was a very low probability that whatever was out there was a normal effect of nature.

"Whatever it is, I should go check up top." Leo said, "Make sure Festus is doing okay. Nico," Leo turned to him, "Go wake up Pietro. He knows the ocean better than any of us. Maybe he can help get us out of here." Leo began walking away, "And don't think I've forgotten about this. We're binge-watching the series, whether you like it or not."

Great, Nico thought, but he kept that to himself. Now not only did he have to sit through a 25-hour movie marathon, he was also in charge of retrieving the guy who'd threatened him. He may have been warming up to Pietro, but he still didn't trust that he wouldn't throw them all overboard and sail to Wadelisle to retrieve the lyre alone. Then he'd probably jet back to Poseidon and help him take over the world.

You don't know that, Nico reminded himself, It's just a theory.

Yeah, but it's a pretty good one, He shot back.

But he hasn't shown any reason why he'd hurt anyone here. He saved your life, even.

True, but he also threatened me.

Well, yes, but think about all the good he's done.

It was a fair point. Despite Nico's doubts, Pietro had saved their whole crew as many times as days they'd been on this quest. Surely if he was out to get them he wouldn't be so self-sacrificing.

Nico crept down the hallway, careful not to disturb any of the others who were asleep, although he wasn't sure how anyone could sleep through that crack of thunder and Leo's incessant yelling.

He made it to Pietro's door and raised his hand to knock gently when he heard voices from the other side.

He's probably talking to his dad again, Nico thought.

That thought led to another one. This was his chance to test his theory. Just who was Pietro talking to? Was it actually Pedro, the god of missing objects?

Nico held his ear up to the door. Leo had created a ton of great things on the Argo II, but soundproof doors, as showcased earlier by Nico waking up to Leo and Jason's bickering, were not one of them. Ironic how the thing he'd been pissed at earlier was the very thing he was grateful for now.

"…Dad, are we sure about this whole lyre thing? I mean, do you really need it?"

Nico frowned. Needed the lyre for what?

"Where's this coming from Percy?" Percy?! Who was Percy?!

"Well, you already have the entire ocean. Isn't that enough?"

That was definitely Pietro responding to the name. Nico had to place a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet. He was right. Pietro wasn't who he said he was. He'd been lying the entire time. His name wasn't even Pietro.

And the whole "you have the entire ocean" thing? It only made his evidence stronger. His mind yelled "I knew it" while his heart dropped. He may have been right, but it hurt to accept that at the same time.

What happened to the real Pietro? Nico wondered. He hoped this Percy guy hadn't… well…

Nico took a deep breath and continued listening. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he shouldn't walk away from eavesdropping mid-conversation.

But he'd basically confirmed his theory at that point.

Pietro Mendoza had disappeared off the face of the planet to only the gods knew where, and had been replaced with a son of freaking Poseidon.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Percy hadn't even needed to find a way to call his dad. Poseidon had Iris-messaged him first thing in the morning. The storm outside didn't seem like a very good omen. Thunder shook the boat as the image of Poseidon came into view.

The conversation had started out fine. Poseidon told Percy about some new renovations he was thinking of starting on the palace. Percy nodded along until he was done. His dad was always building something new. Probably a side-effect of the boredom that came with being immortal.

Then he asked Percy how the quest was going. That's when he got nervous. This was his last chance to back out and just be a good little obedient servant.

But he knew deep down that he couldn't betray his friends like that.

"You know, Dad, are we sure about this whole lyre thing? I mean, do you really need it?"

The holographic Poseidon on his holographic throne frowned, "Where's this coming from, Percy?"

Percy hesitated. Now or never, "Well, you already have the entire ocean. Isn't that enough?"

Poseidon said nothing for a moment, "I thought you knew the importance of this mission."

Percy raised his hands up in defense, as if his dad was going to zap him through the Iris-message, "I do Dad, really. But… this whole fight you've got going on with the other Olympians- is it really worth it? I mean, do you really need to take over the whole world?"

Poseidon sneered, "So you admit you are unable to complete the one task I have given you?"

Yes. "No! It's just that…things have gotten complicated since I got on the ship."

"You befriended the other demigods, didn't you?" Poseidon asked.

"Maybe." Percy admitted.

Poseidon didn't get mad. He just stared off in thought. Percy shrunk back from the image. That was never a good sign.

"Well, we can't have you betraying your friends, now can we?" Poseidon finally said after a horrifyingly long minute.

Percy faltered. Had he heard him right? Did he really mean-

No. Percy could see it in the god's eyes. He wasn't done yet, "I'll have to send someone else to retrieve the lyre. Clearly you can't be trusted. And as for your friends," He said "friends" the same way he'd say "barnacles on the side of a ship", "I'm afraid I'm going to have to use them to teach you a lesson." He grinned, "I believe Kym is hanging out close to where your ship should be. I'll send word to her."

Percy's eyes widened, "No!" Kym. Kymopoleia. The storm goddess. She'd break their ship into smithereens. Percy was confident he could survive the wreck, but his friends…

He highly doubted it.

"This is what you get," Poseidon said, "I'm truly sorry Perseus, but this is what must be done for your own good. You need to learn your place."

"Wait!" Percy yelled, but the line went dead and Posiedon disappeared.

Another crash of thunder shook the boat, twice as strong as the last. Percy's blood turned ice cold. What had he done?

Percy flung his bedroom door open. He saw Nico running toward the mess hall. The little jerk had probably heard everything he'd just said.

Whatever. He could deal with him later.

Percy ran up to the top deck. Driving rain pelted him from black storm clouds above. As always, the raindrops bounced off of him. He didn't even try covering it up. The wind howled as waves rose and fell, nearly grazing the deck of the ship.

Leo stood at the wheel. Piper was shouting at the dragon head from the bow. What was his name? Francis? Fester?

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Percy said, racing over toward Leo.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Leo shouted back over the rain and wind, "THERE WAS A COUPLE OF LIGHTNING STRIKES SO I CAME UP TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG AND NEXT THING I KNEW WE WERE IN A HURRICANE!"

Percy looked out into the blackness. This was his fault. The storm had been strengthened infinitely by his father.

He'd doomed his friends. He knew there was no getting out of this storm. As strong as he and the others may be, they couldn't go up against a god. And one of the big three at that.

He forced the thoughts away. There was always a way out. That's what his mom had taught him. There was always a bright side, no matter how grim the situation.

He knew he could survive the storm. He knew the others couldn't. Maybe Frank with his shapeshifting powers, but the rest would be helpless in the ocean.

That meant he needed to get them out of the way.

"LEO! PIPER! GET BELOW DECK! MAKE SURE THE OTHERS ARE SAFE!" He yelled. After the two looked at him like he was crazy, he added, "I GOT THIS!"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Piper yelled, "YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!"

"I'LL BE FINE!" He shot back, "TRUST ME! PLEASE!"

Leo gave him the wheel. Immediately Leo was knocked over by the wind, which seemed to have gotten even stronger even in the short time since Percy came up.

"THE WIND'S TOO STRONG!" He said, "WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT!"

Leo was right. The second he tried to run for it he'd be blown off the side of the ship. The wind wasn't exactly Percy's territory, but this was the heart of the Sea of Monsters. A pinpoint of his dad's domain. With all his strength, he focused on the wind and rain and pushed.

And just like that, they were in the eye of the hurricane.

The wind stopped. Rain froze midair. The waves fell. Percy strained with every last bit of power he had. Leo and Piper stared at him. Leo's mouth hung open.

"You're not just the son of Pedro, are you?" Piper asked.

Percy shook his head. The secret was out, "No." Percy felt sweat beading on his forehead. He wouldn't be able to hold this for long. When they didn't move he yelled, "GO!"

Piper grabbed Leo's hand and hauled him down the ladder to the lower deck.

As soon as the hatch was closed, Percy released the storm. Immediately it flung at him with vengeance stronger than ever. Percy tried to take a deep breath but found himself gasping. That had taken a lot out of him. But now he could focus. Everyone was below deck. Everyone was safe.

Now he just had to steer them away from Kym. If he could get them far enough out of her range, they would be fine.

At least, that was his plan. Hopefully it worked. If not, then…

He didn't want to think about that.

Suddenly, the hatch flipped open again. Percy squinted in the darkness. It was hard to make out, but he definitely saw a face framed by curly blonde hair peeking up.

"PIETRO MENDOZA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Annabeth climbed up onto the deck and the wind threatened to sweep her off her feet. She dropped down and crouched as she made her way toward the steering wheel. If the situation hadn't been so dire it would've been extremely funny.

What was she doing? She should've been down with the others, safe and sound, or at least as safe as she could be in the middle of a storm.

"I GOT THIS!" Percy yelled back, "DIDN'T LEO AND PIPER TELL YOU?"

"TELL ME WHAT? THEY JUST TOLD ME YOU WERE UP HERE AND I RAN BEFORE THEY COULD STOP ME!" She shouted as she waddled closer, trying to keep as low to the ground as possible.

Great. So she didn't know. And Percy definitely didn't have the energy to calm the winds and waves a second time.

"DOESN'T MATTER THEN! JUST GO BACK DOWN!"

"NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE ALONE!" She stood a little straighter. Percy couldn't tell if it was intentional or not, "I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE ON MY WATCH. PIETRO I-"

She was cut off as a wave crashed over the edge of the ship. Annabeth screamed as the wave took her with it. The ship rocked dangerously on its side. Annabeth slid down, down, down-

Right off the side and into the darkness below.

"ANNABETH!" Percy yelled. Time stood still. It felt as though Percy really had frozen the storm again.

Annabeth had fallen overboard.

Annabeth had fallen overboard.

What did he do? He couldn't leave her down there.

But then she'd know. The very thing he'd tried so hard to cover up would come out.

Then again, Piper and Leo had reacted alright. Of course, they didn't know the full story. For all they knew, he just had some crazy powers. This would reveal the truth completely.

That he wasn't Pietro Mendoza. That he was nothing but a fraud. That he'd done nothing but lie to them since they'd met.

That he'd lied to her.

Could this be the choice the prophecy had warned him about?

If this was the choice destined to change the world, it didn't seem a very difficult one. At that moment Percy didn't care what happened to him. He went full tunnel-vision. Annabeth would die if he didn't do this. He supposed he could try that air bubble trick from before, but he wouldn't be fast enough. Annabeth wouldn't survive a minute in those churning waters.

He looked up ahead. The bronze dragon. He had to get his attention. Leo had said his name before…

"FESTUS!" Percy yelled, praying to whatever god felt like listening right then that the bronze dragon heard him and that he got the name right, "KEEP THE SHIP STEADY!"

Percy saw a flash of fire up ahead, hopefully signaling the dragon's understanding.

With that, he let go of the steering wheel and bolted off the side of the ship after Annabeth.