"We've got a ship coming up on our stern! Gaining!" Frank was ripped out of his book by a crewmate coming into his cabin.
"Colors?"
"She isn't flying any." the crewmate, Phineas, responded. Frank's stomach curled, and he looked out the windows in his cabin, seeing the large galleon that was full-canvas and gaining on the Fuso, a battleship from Japan that Frank had smuggled into the caribbean.
"Full canvas, we evade until she flies colors, and we fight if we must." Frank responded, following Phineas out of the cabin and walking up to the helm. He pulled his telescope from his belt, scoping out the ship. He'd recognized it quickly- English.
"Prepare to fight!" Frank yelled over the crew. The Fuso did not boast the highest firepower, but certainly could decimate any over confident sailors that took it for weak. Forty gun ports below deck opened in an instant, revealing dragon-clad cannons. Frank took another look at the ship.
"They're signaling for a parley." he said, closing his telescope and tying it back to his belt. "Parley!" he called to the crew, who groaned in disappointment. "Raise sails, but let's be ready now." Frank turned his back to his crew and looked to the English ship steadily approaching, and his heart started to burn. Frank fell to a knee, clutching his chest, before the pain subsided and he rose again.
The unnamed English ship, now flying the King's colors, stood broadside to broadside with the Fuso. Frank waited patiently on his deck, staring down the many englishmen that opposed him. One man stood above the rest, signaling for the ship to lower a boarding to the Fuso. Frank took a step on the board, over the edge of his own deck, as the man opposite of him did too.
"Captain Frank Zhang?" the man spoke. Frank nodded. "We come to respect the terms of parley, and our captain simply wishes to speak with the notorious Asian captain."
"Yet he won't come and face me himself?"
The englishman, Frank assumed he was a first mate, chuckled, "our captain isn't too fond of the Caribbean daylight… and he prefers he meets over tea." the right mate beckoned Frank forward. Frank looked back to Dakota, the quartermaster, raising an eyebrow. Dakota just nodded in response- stay ready.
Frank crossed the board and onto the english ship, his dirty pirate robing sticking out far too much from the clean English clothing that surrounded him. He followed the first mate into the captain's cabin, where a man sat with his back to the door.
"Captain." the first mate said, leaving and closing the door behind him.
"Captain Frank Zhang?" the man in the chair spoke.
"Should I know you? Your ship remains unnamed." Frank spoke, and the man laughed, standing and turning to face Frank, and Frank instantly caught his golden eyes.
"I am Admiral Hyperion of the Royal Navy, you are aboard the Kinesis, my flagship."
Frank nodded, unimpressed. "Why would an admiral of the Royal Navy seek me out?" Hyperion moved around the table, grabbing a closed-glass pitcher containing alcohol and pouring two glasses, grabbing and handing one to Frank. Frank accepted it, but didn't drink. Hyperion swigged the entire glass all at once.
"I'm sure you've heard of the King's ambition for an escapade into the caribbean, Frank."
"Captain Zhang." He corrected, and Hyperion just shrugged.
"I like to be friendly in these parleys. A change of pace from the usual dynamic between people like you and me." Hyperion said, standing over a map of the Caribbean he had painted on the wall to Frank's right. "Anyways, I simply come with orders from my higher-up to make you an offer, Captain Zhang."
"Whatever offer you're going to make me, you can go tell Castellan to shove it." Hyperion scoffed, turning to Frank.
"Admiral Castellan is my equal here, Captain Zhang. We report to someone else. Have you not been informed?" Hyperion asked, and Frank shook his head, "Ah. It's not of importance to you, anyways. About my offer, we've recently come across a certain woman from King's Head with an infatuation for magic." Frank clenched his fists, and the pain in his heart started to return.
"Ah. You know her." Hyperion's face twisted into a smirk, "then you'll be happy to be informed that she's in safe keeping, completely unharmed. That can change though."
"I'd rather let her die than turn my back." Frank spat.
"That's not what she said. She said you'd do anything to free her, including turn your back. Even if what you said is true, you can't let her die, can you?" Hyperion frowned, "Do you wish for Hazel Levesque to rot in an English prison for the rest of her young life, Frank Zhang?"
The Yorkshire was landed in Port Elizabeth, England's staging grounds for the time being. It was less than ideal- far too North to be any sort of a direct threat to Port Royale, the end goal, but good enough to keep most of the armada near by and under a watchful eye. Luke was currently engulfed in rage in what used to be his former office, now under command of Grand Admiral Kronos, appointed to lead the expedition of the East India Company, who'd brought in his own people to do most of Luke's job.
"What of this… ghost ship you speak of? I've only read the rumors." Kronos sat in Luke's old chair, writing a letter on Luke's old desk.
"A captain- Perseus Jackson, had gained command of a ship with the ability to fully submerge itself into the water, moving completely undetected, and appearing at any time. We don't know who he serves, or who he fights for, but he remains clearly tied to the rest of the pirate council."
Kronos just hummed, stamping his seal on the letter, and handing it to a servant, who ran out of the room. "As I said when you arrived, Grand-Admiral, we may outgun these pirates ten to one, but there are things in these seas that are irregular."
"I know, Admiral Castellan. That is why we are here, is it not?" Kronos stood, his long beard standing with him, "We must find out more… about this, Jackson, you said?" Luke nodded.
"How do we do that, sir?"
Kronos stood over the balcony that Luke had brought Bianca to, hand running through his beard, "we must take his closest allies, and make them believe that they've no other choice but to turn their backs to him."
Luke nodded numbly. He wasn't accepting his place as Kronos's inferior.
"I have a job for you, Admiral." Kronos turned to the younger, "You must seek out the witch Juno, who lay deep in the mountains at Catalonya. She will be the only one in these seas capable of informing us as to who this Captain Jackson truly is."
"If I were in an accepting mood, what would I need to do?" Frank asked, and Hyperion shrugged.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just break course tonight, sail a few more miles east than Jason Grace has you charted for." Hyperion said simply.
"What am I searching for?"
"There's a ship that sails these seas. A Chaos's Fury." Frank's eyes widened. "I know you're familiar. The captain of that ship is Perseus Jackson, a former member of your council." Frank's heart dropped. "Oh. I see." Hyperion muttered.
"A cruel reality- him keeping this secret from you. The rest of the council too- I presume. We want you to get into contact with this Perseus Jackson, and board his ship."
"Just board?"
Frank slammed a piece of cloth onto the table. Frank grabbed it shakily and opened it. A key- no, not an actual key, a drawing of a key was on the cloth.
"What's this?" he asked.
"A key that we think is in the possession of Perseus Jackson. We want you to find that key, and return it to us."
"What does it open?"
"You will be informed if you return the key to us, Captain Zhang." Hyperion muttered. "In return, we will leave Hazel Levesque alive, and return her to you."
It'd been over a week since their meeting, and Frank had sailed further East every time the Fuso made pass at Catalonya, straying further and further from the course charted. The crew had started to notice, too, which made Frank worry slightly. He hadn't told anyone of Hyperion's job for him, or the ransom that was being held over his head.
He remembered her last words to him before she'd cut a line and boarded an english ship, over five years ago.
My life is yours.
He didn't understand it at the time, but since she'd been captured, he'd experienced more and more pain by the day. They were torturing her, and he could feel it. He wanted to call Hyperion's bluff, but knew that as soon as she took any mortal blow, he'd feel it the same. The Fuso groaned through the eastern waters, mirroring its captains' pain. Jason had them charted to a one-stop route, Tortuga to Catalyona to King's Head, then the opposite order back to Tortuga. Frank stared over the starboard side, the moon beaming down above him. The water below him shimmered and shined, but something was present. Frank leaned further and further over the railing, looking deeper into the sea. A ship was down there.
"Set anchor!" Frank yelled to nobody in particular. He looked back, and the two deckhands, not nearly enough manpower needed, stared at him wide-eyed. Frank scowled and ran into the lower deck, screaming his head off, waking the crew. The Fuso jumped to life, anchor quickly being dropped in the eastern water. Frank just stood on the starboard side, staring at the mossy, gold-plated ship that was below them.
"Sir?" a crewmate came beside Frank, who just hushed him and pointed out to water. The rest of the crew soon leaned over the railing, spotting the enormous ship below them.
"Wreckage?" Phineas asked.
"Not enough damage." another responded. Frank left his spot and grabbed Phineas's shoulder.
"As long as I am gone, you are the captain of the Fuso. Do everything Jason tells you to do. Tell him you are an extension of me."
"Captain?" the crewmate to Frank's left asked, Phineas just wide-eyed.
"Frank, what are 'ya talking about?" Frank ignored him, sprinting below-deck and grabbing a chained cannonball, returning to the upper deck.
"Captain!" Phineas asked again, as Frank tied the weight to his ankle.
"I will return, Phineas. You are the captain now." Frank said, walking back to starboard, the crew in front of him parting a path for him, all in shock. Frank stood above the ladder, the sea looming below him. He shook his head and jumped.
-not fathom the unnecessary conflict that this would bring, Jason. If you wish, I will be stationed alone, just me and my flagship at the isles just northwest of Port Royale, awaiting your parley. I do think we can come to an agreement before this conflict gets bloody, and more lives are lost than need be.
It is time you stopped running from family.
Kronos.
Jason sealed the letter and folded back into his coat pocket, staring down the King George's triple gundecks. Jason had never seen such a high armament on a ship outside of the Chaos's Fury. The colors were english, obviously, but the white flag flew just below them, signaling Kronos's parley. Jason pulled his telescope and spotted a man seated on the beach of the isle, a table pulled in front of him, a singular chair opposite.
"Pull a rowboat. I'll meet him alone."
Jason stepped foot on sand, making his way across the beach to Kronos's table. The man's wicked smirk grew wider and more sadistic as Jason walked closer. He noticed Kronos was completely unarmed. Jason pulled the chair out and sat opposite of Kronos.
"Tea?" the englishman spoke first, and Jason shook his head. "Hm. You always liked this. Back home, you know." Kronos stirred his cup slowly, before sipping it.
"This is my home. These seas. Not England."
"You were born English, Jason. You and that Annabeth Chase. Just because you fled to these isles and claim them as your own does not make this your home. You and I are one in the same." Jason spat on the ground.
"We are not the same."
"How is she, anyways?" Kronos hummed, "Under the moniker of Captain Chase, and the fearless leader of Athena's Heart, the all-female crew more merciless than any. Sounds like she's outdone herself."
"What do you want Kronos?" Jason asked, not meeting the man's eyes. He just looked over his shoulder to the large English ship behind him.
"I just wish to catch up. Your father has been rather rash since you've fled, not that I blame him. Clearly he's lost out on a son that could make him more proud than Hercules ever dreamed of." Kronos waved behind Jason, towards his ship. "I won't sugarcoat things, Jason, the world is changing. The edges on the map are being filled in. You are a dying breed now."
Jason scoffed, "Just because you've marched your armada into these seas does not make us a dying breed."
"But it does. I've manipulated many of your companions into my allegiance, but you are different."
"How so?"
"You are family. I cannot lie to and manipulate a family member." Kronos waved in the air, "that'd be blasphemy. I simply want you to forfeit Port Royale and let us spread influence down in these seas, and in return I'll look the other way to some of your… habits." Kronos eyed Jason.
"Port Royale gives you prime position to every major trade route in these seas, and those routes will be flooded with your ships soon after, no doubt. You're not getting anything, Kronos."
"I was afraid you'd say something like that." Kronos sighed, "Well then, you may fight, and you will all die, or you may come begging for mercy at a later point, in which only some of you will die."
"You will not beat us cleanly." Jason growled, and Kronos just shrugged.
"I wasn't expecting to. I wouldn't be fighting you if it was clean, would I?"
Frank sunk, and sunk, and sunk. The oxygen he had grew scarce almost instantly, and he found himself drowning. Cannonball sinking him, he started to choke on water. He scrapped at his own neck, hoping to anything that there was some way oxygen would come, but it never did. His vision started to fade, and as he lost consciousness, the ship no more than a hundred feet in front of him lowered its sails.
The line was cast, and the Heart docked. Annabeth was first off the boat- as always, the groaning of Tortuga's port familiar to her. She turned to Thalia and told her to mind the boat, making off into the town's dirty streets. The council's chamber was nearly full when she arrived- Jason sat at the head.
"Finally." Jason spoke first, quieting the chamber down for Annabeth's arrival.
"Where's Frank?" she asked, and the room stayed quiet. "Where is Frank." her voice was a demand.
"We haven't received any form of word from him since a week." Annabeth sat at the opposite head from Jason, in Percy's seat.
"What did you call this for?"
Jason sat, "There is nobody outside of this room we can trust anymore, I fear." He looked around. "The Lord Kronos commands the english company now, and he intends on war." The room burst into outrage.
"Silence!" Jason commanded. "We have no choice. We cannot outrun this any longer. We must fight." he insisted. The council looked around at each other wearily. "In this room is knowledge of these seas that nobody can rival. If anyone can fend from the English, it is us."
Annabeth knew that something was left unsaid:
We need Percy.
Jason didn't want to say it, clearly. Annabeth just watched as the room started to come to the agreement. They will fight.