Happy 3rd anniversary to this story! (Coincidentally, I'm reading The Chalice of the Gods as we speak).

I came up with this idea way back when writing chapter 31 and figured that it was chaotic enough to use for this special occasion.

Story #47: It's Been Five Minutes and Someone Drowned, Caught Fire, and Turned into a Dolphin

"I bet that I can make it across the lake faster than you," Percy states.

Standing on the edge of the water, Jason looks ahead at the lake. They're surrounded by a forest of tall trees, circling a round lake that stretches as far as the eye can see.

They've taken a quick pit stop while on their voyage on the Argo II. Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel went foraging with Coach against their will and left the boys with their ship. Leo was tinkering with some while Frank was kicking some sand to pass the time and Nico was napping under a bush. At the sound of Percy making a bet for a race, Leo and Frank's ears perked up as they made their way over. Even Nico awoke curiously.

"Are you saying that because you basically live and breathe water?" Jason asks.

"Maybe," Percy responds.

Jason looks at Percy for a moment before facing out at the water again. The skies were clear and the water was calm. Besides, they needed something to do to pass the time.

"Any rules for getting across?" Frank asks.

Percy shrugs. "Your transportation of choice. Just make it across first."

"Cool!" Leo exclaims. "I just finished building this."

The boys turn and see Leo opening his arms to a shifty-looking speedboat as if it was the grand prize on a game show. It was a dark brown with speckles of green like soaked tree bark and held together with patches of duct tape. Argo II Jr. was scrawled on the side in permanent marker, possibly spelled wrong.

"When did you build that?" Nico questions.

"Just now," Leo responds. "It'd make a cool lifeship should anything happen on our big vessel."

Percy sucks in a breath. "Yeah, I'll just count my blessings if we reach that point."

Leo glares at him as Jason, Frank, and Nico laugh amongst themselves. "Suit yourself."

The boys line up at the edge of the water. After arguing about whether to go on three or go on go following the countdown, Nico opened a shadow portal and jumped through as an indicator to start the race. He might have gotten a half-second head start, but that means nothing to the others since they believe they would win regardless.

Jason leaps in the air and shoots ahead as Leo's ship sets sail at top speed. Frank morphs into a dolphin and dives in at the same time as Percy, following the Argo II Jr.

For a moment, the race looked like it was smooth sailing. Jason was soaring above the group, Frank occasionally dove up from the surface to wave at them all, and Leo cruised along the lake. At first glance, Percy should win since Jason can't fly faster, Leo's ship is holding on by a thread of duct tape, and shadow-travelling drains Nico (hence why he was napping earlier). If anything, Frank is Percy's real competition since he took on an aquatic form and can now ride along the waves.

But then, as mentioned, shadow-travelling exhausts Nico.

Leo jumps when a black portal opens above him and Nico falls out. He lands on Leo and they both fall to the ground. Leo lightly pushes Nico off of him as his boat jerks. Once he's standing, he smells something burning. At first, Leo doesn't think much of it since that's his natural scent, but then he sees his boat's starboard burning.

"How?!" Leo yells. He must be cursed since they're literally on water. "Nico, now would be a good time to wake up!"

Even with nudging, Nico was dead asleep.

Leo panics, grabbing Nico and holding him up. He didn't really have a plan since he didn't expect Nico to fall onto his boat let alone sleep through the race.

"Help!" Leo yells.

The boys look over from their different places in the race. Percy and Jason thrust forward some waves and wind, respectively, to put out the flames. The elements collide, cancelling each other out before they reach the boat and returning to their owner. Percy stumbles in a whirlpool of his creation and Jason spins in a small wind cyclone.

Leo throws Nico overboard at Frank who, keeping his dolphin form, still manages to catch him. Percy dives back in to give Nico an air bubble like a scuba helmet as Jason falls in the water next to them. He can't help but laugh and even Frank squeaks like the mammal.

"Take him!" Percy yells at Frank.

Frank shrugs, clapping his dolphin flippers. Suddenly, Frank conveniently can't hold Nico to the finish line despite being perfectly capable of catching him.

"Don't play dumb with me. I can still speak to you!"

Frank makes some sounds before swimming away. Percy groans and drapes Nico on his back before swimming ahead. For a moment, he thought it would be a straight swim to the end. He'll take a tie with Nico … or cross first and then bring Nico.

But then the Argo II Jr. explodes above them.

-o-

"And that, Cupcakes, is how I became the satyr I am today," Coach states.

Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel nod, showing various expressions of interest and amazement at Coach's fifth story about trekking the forest with nothing but a hammer he bummed off a nymph back in the '90s. They were supposed to go foraging for supplies, but it was really a chance for Coach to share his wild and chaotic stories since he knew the girls would better appreciate them than the boys.

"I'm truly inspired," Piper states. She isn't sure if she was being sarcastic.

"I know you'd respect it, McLean," Coach responds.

They walk out of the forest, expecting to see the boys passing the time on the shore. Maybe they're playing a game or resting. Instead, there's a fire in the middle of the lake. Percy and Jason circle the flames trying to take it out as Frank dives in and out as a dolphin. Nico floats on his back nearby and Leo is nowhere in sight.

"It's been five minutes!" Coach screams, nearly exploding himself. "You Cupcakes better get out of there before I fish you out myself!"

Coach clops over, stepping into the lake and dives in. He grabs Nico and drags him to shore. He starts giving compressions, digging a hole for sports medicine, and yelling for Gatorade. Hazel runs back to the Argo II for a bottle which Coach dumps on Nico's head.

"Coach, was waterboarding the best solution given that Nico was drowning?" Annabeth asks.

"Absolutely," Coach states.

Annabeth opens her mouth to interject but isn't sure what to say.

"Typical," Piper scoffs as they watch the boys.

"I would've loved to have participated," Hazel says excitedly. "We could've won."

"They didn't even make it halfway through the lake," Annabeth states. "Kinda embarrassing."

"I would've travelled under the lake. Avoid the water at all costs."

"Or catch a ride with any of them, jumping from ship to ship before they go down."

Piper shrugs. "I could charm someone for a ride."

"Actually, Aphrodite is lesser known for being associated with the sea but she is. She would protect mariners and seafarers whenever she would like. She did rise from sea foam."

Piper raises a brow, thinking that over. "Beautiful and dangerous, I like it."

"So your plan could be seafaring," Hazel suggests.

The girls laugh until they see Leo crawling onto shore in front of them. He spits water and pants, looking back at the disaster in the middle of the lake and pumping his fist in the air.

"Ha!" Leo yells. "Told you my ship was a blessing!"

"Should we ask?" Annabeth wonders, pointing her dagger at the chaos ensuing.

"We were bored."