Needless to say, the chapter published on the 1st of April was a prank. This is the actual 18th chapter. The story is coming to a conclusion soon. Not rushed, of course, but regardless, we're approaching the end, kind of. Not gonna answer reviews this time around because lazy. But this is a one off thing, expect responses in the 19th chapter. Shout-out to fellow Bayern fans who had to endure Gnabry last Tuesday.
Enjoy!
Never before had Artemis realized how relaxing the seas were.
It seemed ridiculous to believe she never had much interest in the ocean considering how the moon influences tides – and her past with individuals connected to waters – but that was something Artemis never really focused on. But the goddess now recognized that being on the high seas helped her calm down and concentrate. And as the ship named after her late lieutenant cruised across the Gulf of Mexico, the Goddess of the Moon noticed how much had been in her head recently.
Artemis understood Percy more than he probably realized. For millennia, she hadn't let herself be vulnerable. The stoic attitude helped with this. Even when Hunters fell, she didn't allow herself to show much grief. Do the passing rites, and let them find peace in Elysium. That was it for most of her immortal life. Greek or Roman, for that matter.
But then the Titan War came. And it claimed the lives of so many of her Hunters. And especially Zöe. Her lieutenant for thousands of years, someone that was ironically older than Artemis herself. But when Zoë had died, Artemis wept. And it wouldn't be the only time she felt grief while Kronos attempted to ravage Olympus. Many Hunters would fall in Manhattan, only adding up to the pain. Not to mention Bianca di Angelo, who was the first to meet her demise.
But the worst part was somehow still yet to come. Confronted with a demon of her past, she could do nothing but watch from Delos as Orion, the coward that never allowed himself to confront Artemis directly, slaughtered the majority of her Hunters. Phoebe, the hot-headed daughter of Ares, as all children of the war god tended to be, was struck down by one of Orion's black arrows of death. One of the oldest members of the Hunt, brought down by someone who Artemis had grown to care about in the past.
Had this care for him been love? Artemis did not know. The real question is, had it been romantic love? Because even she understood there wasn't just romance to the feeling of love. She had loved Zoë. And Phoebe. And many others. Artemis had grown to love Thalia. But at any point had she contemplated whether or not she should throw her luck with Orion and see what happened after?
Yes. There had been moments. But before she could make any rash decisions, her friend had revealed his true colors. What happened was better left in the past, but it was confirmation enough that she had placed faith in the wrong man. She had been too naive and dense to not notice the snake lurking around her.
An eye for an eye, Artemis. The voice of her brother after what happened with Orion still lingered in her mind. Or both of them.
And here Artemis stood, once more engulfed in a similar predicament. After so much time, she couldn't have imagined she would be once more harnessing feelings for a male. But at this point, she would be lying to herself if she thought there wasn't anything. Whether or not this was just a simple crush, as a younger soul would suggest, or the start of something greater, she had no way to know just yet. However, there were clues, tracing back to the fact that… Well, Artemis would not search for one-night stands, or something similar to it. The only time she thought she had fallen in love with someone else, it had come to her in a way that made her even want to run away with him, despite how naive that idea was, in hindsight. To simplify, Artemis did not think she shared the polygamy trait that most of her relatives had. There was even one time that Apollo was dating two different people at the same time, without them knowing. If the goddess remembered correctly, one of those dates resulted in a demigod child.
Mere weeks had passed since Artemis had once more met Percy Jackson, and she had already grown infatuated with the man, she just could not get enough. There was an everlasting part of her mind that desired to finally find out about the intoxicating power of love. Aphrodite wasn't the nicest person in the world, but her domain was more powerful than most people realized, even a maiden could see it. After all, the act of sacrificing love in return for something else was a brave and admirable move.
And Artemis had been one of the first people to abdicate love in her life, which made her current plight more difficult than it should be. Unlike the other members of her family, Artemis couldn't hook up with mortals if she desired to. She was a maiden goddess, who had sworn to reject the company of men, with the same oath every member of the Hunt also pledged to follow. But now, her mind was conflicted. Once more, the desire to run away from her life was present, and this time there were actual reasons. After so much, after losing Zoë, Phoebe, Celyn, along with all the other Hunters, and to top it all off having to stare as she watched Apollo flirt with death so many times… Artemis felt lost. The reality shock caused by the wars had left her scarred emotionally, coming to realize that for millennia, she had remained on the same path she walked her entire life. Other gods had adapted to time in some way or another, even if without mortal devotion, but ironically, Artemis, the one with the most freedom to roam around among the Olympians, hadn't changed at all in millennia.
Hunting monsters, killing monsters, repeat. It had been soothing, her comfort zone, but of course, everything changed in a short amount of time, and now Artemis didn't know how to proceed. That was the reason for her to be greatly enjoying these small adventures with Percy. It had awakened something inside of her that had been dormant ever since the goddess had received her bow, crafted by the elder Cyclops years prior. Despite how much the man put himself in danger, it had been fun. The cycle had been broken, and now the last thing the Goddess of the Moon wanted was to return to monotony. And it all revolved around the hero of Olympus, the one that stole her attention without even realizing it.
Sighing softly, she roamed across the ship named after her lieutenant, the last rays of the Sun Chariot barely shining down into the earth. Artemis had the impression that Apollo was always watching her when he could. It could be creepy at times, but it comforted her somewhat, to know that if things got bad, she wasn't alone. And things had gotten bad before. The sky was already tinted in orange and violet, some of the sparkling stars already visible, notably Orion's Belt, like she needed any more reminders of the past.
For a while, Artemis was alone as she strolled, her steps barely audible as her feet collided with the metal of the deck, but she occasionally met some random ghouls. It would be best if Hades didn't come to know of this, she thought. It would undoubtedly cause problems for Percy. And speaking of the devil, or in this case, thinking, and he shall appear. Artemis found the son of Poseidon at the bridge, conversing with Nine-Eyes, the second in command of the vessel.
"And then I said, 'Khione? I barely know her!'" Percy seemed to be retelling a story to the ghoul, who listened as he munched on…
Gods of Olympus, was that a fried rat? Undead beings were extraordinarily gross. The goddess felt a bit nauseated.
"Oh, hi, Artemis." Percy noticed the goddess at the doorway and smiled. He didn't seem bothered at all by Nine-Eyes's little snack. But again, he wasn't the most sane person ever.
"I should be going. Gonna take a nap before we meet the Dutchman." The ghoul announced, to which Percy nodded.
"Rest will be necessary. You can go, I'll see you later." Percy dismissed the ghoul, who left shortly after, but not before taking a subtle but noticeable bow toward the captain of the Nightshade.
Artemis sat down on the chair in front of the controls of the ship. "Do you ever feel bothered by them?"
Percy frowned. "Not in its entirety. Although the human flesh thing is still haunting me."
"If it wasn't, I would be worried about your mental health. Not that I'm not." Artemis glanced over to the control panel, noticing all sorts of buttons and gadgets. She found herself puzzled by the technology before her. "Is this normal for a steam-powered ship?"
Percy approached the panel, bending slightly over it and analyzing the colors and pads. "I do suspect this ship has been modified. By who, I don't know."
A memory sprang up inside the goddess's mind. "Weren't they committing robbery under the previous leadership? They must have upgraded the ship through shady means."
Percy pondered in silence for a moment, his lips forming a subtle pout. He did look cute with that face.
Artemis almost immediately reprimanded herself. These sorts of thoughts were too much for her.
"Well, I did tell you I commissioned my rifle from a blacksmith. There's probably some sort of store or guy that upgrades ships as well." Percy pointed.
Almost instinctively, Artemis's head went back to the Waystation. "That might be the case." Raising her head away from the panel, she set her eyes on the window of the bridge, which revealed the beautiful horizon across them. The sky still had some violet and purple tones to it, but the orange was gone, along with the Sun Chariot. Now, the domain of her father was painted a deep shade of blue that grew dark every second. Soon, it would inevitably reach a black pigment, as it did after every sunset.
"Artemis?" Percy called.
"Yes?" Without taking her eyes from the windows, she answered.
"You seem a bit lost."
This time, she turned her head towards the Butcher. His clothing was ragged and somewhat dirty, but the dark coloring from his jacket and pants matched him. His raven hair was definitely overgrown, ending in waves around his shoulders, but it didn't look bad. Of course, the most breathtaking characteristic of his was his sea-green eyes, that under the darkness of the night and without the bridge's lights turned on, almost seemed to glow, whirling with power.
"I don't get what you mean." She replied shortly, but not rudely.
"Your eyes." He stared directly into her face, silver meeting green. "I know it because I've seen that look many times before. In the mirror."
For what felt like hours, they remained in a staring contest, with both of them trying to read the other, but to no avail. It almost felt like a trance to Artemis, who had to wonder what was going on inside her companion's head.
"I am just thinking, don't worry about it," Artemis replied, and forced herself to divert her eyes away from him, and onto the window. Having his gaze set on her own for so long had been unnerving, and it made the goddess feel strange, a weird feeling in her stomach as he analyzed her entire figure. The goddess wished she was better at reading emotions, because she was not able to detect what was present in his eyes. But there was something that Artemis noticed, a familiar that the goddess had noticed when facing her own reflection recently earlier today.
Desire.
These thoughts were wiped from her mind when she gazed at the windows, finding that there was something on the horizon that was previously not there. "Percy?"
"Yes?" He replied hoarsely, but Artemis didn't even have to let out anything for his question to be answered, since when the demigod glanced at the window, he noticed the oddity beyond them. A few miles away, there was a noticeable form rapidly approaching them. What it was, she couldn't tell, because it was covered by a hellish crimson glimmer.
"Does this ship have an alarm? It would be more appropriate than screaming 'ship on the horizon'." Artemis pointed out.
"Let's see," Percy scrambled across the panel, trying to find anything reminiscent of an alarm. "Here, this should be it."
He proceeded to press a big red button, something that Artemis thought was foolish. Not one second after, they heard a loud noise that resembled explosions, surprising both of them.
"What was that?!" Artemis got up from her chair, trying to see if they were being attacked, but they were still too far from the other ship to be bombarded.
"I think these were just fireworks." Percy guessed, looking a bit embarrassed. Artemis suppressed a snort. He began again looking for buttons, until settling for one that thankfully didn't initiate a self-destruction sequence or anything like that. Instead, it sounded an alarm, with the bridge glowing with red light.
"That should do." Percy ran a hand through his hair, placing a lock behind his ear. "We should be going."
Artemis nodded to that, and they exited the bridge, going downstairs. On their way to the bow of the ship, Artemis noticed that Percy had drawn his pen, swinging it around his fingers nervously. Of course, violence would be very much present tonight, but she hoped that, unlike the last confrontation with a sailor, Percy wouldn't be injured.
At last, they finally reached the bow, the figurehead of Zoë pointing directly at the approaching light. In the distance, the crimson shape was becoming more noticeable, but not yet for her to fully take a look at what the ship truly looked like. Most members of the crew were already present, with only Nine-Eyes missing. She wondered if he ever got the opportunity to actually nap. Percy positioned himself near the figurehead, facing the crew. Artemis followed her companion, standing right by his side.
"Right." He started. "Before us, lies an opportunity. I understand that we met recently, and this will be our first mission together, but I expect precision from such an experienced crew. Failure isn't really an option here. I won't be the one to bring punishment if that happens, that's gonna be Thanatos bringing your souls back to the Underworld." In the crowd, she saw some ghouls flinching. Cora looked very nervous. Just now Artemis noticed Nine-Eyes joining them, walking until he was at Percy's left.
"More than what our captain has said to all of you," the second in command of the ship spoke. "This is our chance to do something remarkable. Think of the stories of the crew who subjugated the most legendary ghost ship that has ever sailed the seven seas. A very big improvement from river-pirating, if you'd ask me."
"And not only that," Artemis stepped forward. She didn't have the sailing knowledge that all of the people around her had, but encouragement didn't necessarily require experience. "But there is a possibility that having your souls bonded to such a legendary vessel might even exempt you from being claimed by Hades. Let this be another reason to motivate all of you towards this herculean task."
And motivated, they seemed to be. Some of the ghouls, noticeably Jack and Jan, cheered at the possibility, while Cora's anxiety seemed to be mostly gone. Even Nine-Eyes had an optimistic glint in his eyes.
"Wise words from a wise woman." Percy acknowledged appreciatively, and Artemis couldn't help but smile back at him. She did feel flattered by his compliments. "At any rate, we have to contact them."
"Morse code wouldn't work, right?" Artemis suggested.
"Yeah, probably not. Even if anyone here had knowledge of it, I doubt they would. However…" Percy seemed to recall something, judging by his expression, before whispering something towards Nine-Eyes, who left right after, presumably in the direction of the bridge.
"What did you tell him?" Artemis inquired.
"That's a surprise. I'm just worried about what we will find aboard them." Percy replied mysteriously. Artemis felt curious about what he meant but didn't push the issue further. The demigod turned his attention back to his crew. "Everyone, gather any weapons you have, for this could be a trap. Scatter across the ship, and be ready to board at any given moment. Now go!"
Following the captain's commands obediently, the crew left in small groups, preparing themselves to spring a possible trap. Artemis drifted her attention towards Percy, who had a smirk on his face.
"You find all of this very amusing, don't you?" Artemis asked with a smile of her own.
"Oh, you don't even know." Percy turned on his back, and Artemis followed the movement. Now, what could only be described as a monstrosity was quite close, near enough to make Artemis shudder.
The Flying Dutchman was an overwhelming presence. The fluyt didn't look like a simple merchant ship, instead, a true bringer of doom. Its hull didn't even touch the water, instead floating above the ocean. Its sails were gray, with the main one having a giant image of a skull, holding a rose in its mouth. The red glow was the worst aspect, the one that sent a shiver through the goddess's body.
And this was to be their foe? The Nightshade, by comparison, paled immensely when faced with this apparent force or nature. She just had to hope that looks were indeed deceiving, and this was a fear tactic, to compensate for the lack of actual power. It wasn't the most unheard thing in the world, after all.
The goddess and demigod watched as the ghost ship floated until it was right by the Nightshade's side, descending until its hull was touching the water. It was still much taller than Percy's ship, but at least it wasn't completely towering up over them.
"Fucking hell." She heard Percy hissing. "That's a big ship."
"Do you still want to do this?" Artemis asked, looking straight into him.
"I think it's too late to go back now." He approached her and extended his hand. "Throw me there."
Artemis blinked. "Pardon?"
"You have godly strength. Just throw me over, and I will probably land."
"Probably?" She crossed her arms, skeptical.
Percy actually dared to look at her with pleading eyes. "Please? You can call for a favor later."
Artemis sighed and uncrossed her arms, unable to resist that face. "Fine. Just don't get murdered until I arrive."
With that, the goddess grabbed him by the torso, in a motion similar to an embrace. Being so close to him, she felt how warm his body was, with him wearing that jacket all the time. That made Artemis realize that this might count as a hug, which made her face heat up ever so slightly.
It wasn't particularly difficult to channel all the strength that she possessed, she only had to focus properly. Finding a balance within her mind, she threw Percy upwards towards the sky, hearing him cry as he flew in the direction of the Flying Dutchman. With a smirk, she commanded herself to turn into a flying animal, and the first one that came to her mind was a mosquito. Really? Artemis scolded her lack of imagination, or perhaps the excess of it, as she floated slowly towards the ghost ship, since, as the goddess discovered, mosquitoes weren't the fastest fliers around.
It took her a whopping two minutes to finally reach the deck of the Flying Dutchman, and when she did arrive, it wasn't the most pleasant of scenes. Percy was standing on his feet, thankfully looking fine physically, but across him, there were around ten undead spirits that looked more like Spartoi than anything else, all pointing muskets at the Butcher. Safe to say, they didn't look half as friendly as the ghouls down in the Nightshade. Percy himself had his revolver pulled, but there were simply too many targets for him to shoot at every single one of the enemies with such a low-capacity weapon. There were other Spartoi around the ship as well, but Artemis didn't spare those many glances.
In the middle of the skeleton warriors, stood a person Artemis could only assume was the so-called Captain Jones, who looked every inch like the type of man Artemis despised. His face had a smug expression, and unlike his servants, he looked fairly human, almost alive. But the dullness behind his dark eyes revealed that he wasn't simply a mortal. The most likely scenario was that he was some sort of daimon that happened to have an alive appearance. Artemis willed herself to go back to her human form, and she landed on the deck, right by Percy's side. Jones squinted his eyes towards her, looking dissatisfied.
"I wasn't aware you would bring the gods into this, Captain Jackson." He mused with a deep voice.
"She's only here for emotional support, don't worry," Percy responded in kind. "I almost hit my head on the fall, you know?" He commented to her.
"Next time don't send off your pegasus to deliver your messages, then," Artemis answered without taking her eyes from Jones.
"I probably won't." Percy once more drifted his attention towards the undead captain. "So… your name is Jones. That could only mean that–"
"Yes, Davy Jones." The other captain interrupted, looking slightly annoyed. "I would rather shorten the chat, Percy Jackson. Unfortunately, I am not in a pleasant mood."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What could be bothering such a mythical figure?"
Jones wasn't oblivious to Percy's sarcasm, glaring at the demigod with annoyance. "You see, I don't get pleasure simply from raiding and pirating, Percy. I had a mission for centuries. Have you ever heard of a land called Ogygia?"
Artemis Immediately saw Percy tensing up at his words. "I do. Been there. Beautiful landscape."
"I see." Davy Jones's glare was still unfazed. If anything, it intensified. "Then you will know of its single resident. For centuries, I vowed to return to Ogygia, in order to retrieve Calypso, despite her claims that a man could only find the island once in his lifetime. And I accomplished it recently, funnily enough. But there was–"
"Nothing there. Because she left." Percy completed. Jones nodded, rage visible in his eyes, but one that was steely, and controlled. Not the mad type or rage.
"Correct." Jones began walking from side to side, his hands behind his back. "And as soon as I left, word came to me that a bold sailor wishes to acquire my ship." Jones emphasized 'acquire', knowing full well what that entailed. He gave Percy another piercing glare. "I do not need another migraine, Jackson."
"It would be a pleasure to end your suffering, captain." The demigod's smile was at the same time smug and threatening.
Davy Jones simply continued to stare at the younger captain, fury in his eyes.
"Fair enough." Artemis Immediately sensed danger in Jones's words as he turned to his legion of spartoi. "Fire at will."
To be completely honest, Artemis panicked. Muskets were nasty weapons, and having almost ten fired at you at the same time wouldn't be healthy at all for a mortal. But in the end, it was clear that she didn't have to worry too much. Right as the guns were fired, Percy jumped from the deck, averting all the bullets with fashion. Artemis withdrew her bow, but with Percy so close to the skeletons, there wasn't much she could do. Jones himself had retreated away from the commotion, watching with stern eyes as the Butcher decimated the Spartoi around him with ease.
However, being what they were, the skeletons did not stay dead, with their bones already piling up again mere seconds after Percy destroyed them. But Artemis realized that Percy wasn't just going for the kill, he was targeting their muskets; she noticed that most of the guns had already been sliced by Riptide. With one last slash, the last musket was cut down by the celestial bronze sword, and its skeletal owner with it. Percy stepped back, spinning the xiphos in his right hand, watching as the Spartoi reformed. This time, without ranged weapons.
"A good show, don't you think?" Percy asked Artemis as he stood by her side.
"Quite fitting." Artemis chuckled. "But you do realize that none of his crew are going to stay dead, right?"
Percy's eyes glinted with mischief. "I picked up a thing or two about formulating plans through these years. So, oh mighty captain," Percy drifted his eyes in the direction of Davy Jones, who had stepped forward once again, standing amidst the moving pile of bones. "Was that convincing enough for you to face me?"
Jones snorted. "Regardless of how well you fight, you do not have hope in defeating my crew, like your goddess has told you earlier."
"She's not my goddess." Percy retorted before Artemis could protest, and she was satisfied enough with his reply. "But you will soon wish that you had a deity on your side, Captain Jones."
Jones proceeded to gather a bronze sword from his belt, pointing it at Percy. "Then, you shall have your fight you seek so much. But you are naive if you think that you not only can beat me but my sailors as well."
In response, Percy did something Artemis wasn't expecting. He grinned.
"It's a wonder I came up with a plan for this situation." The demigod mused, and as soon as he finished speaking, the now bare-handed Spartoi all burst out into flames just as dark as the night sky above them, disintegrating shortly after into dust. Jones was obviously confused, as well as Artemis. Percy didn't have this sort of power! The only ones that could properly kill Spartoi were…
"Oh," Artemis spoke out loud.
"That sounds like an appropriate answer." Another voice answered in a dull tone, one that wasn't too unfamiliar. The goddess noticed that beside Percy, appearing out of nowhere, stood a familiar figure with very pale skin, black hair, and even darker clothing than what Percy was wearing. He held a Stygian Iron sword in his right hand.
"Fancy of you to appear at the right moment, Niccòlo," Percy said with a smirk.
"Be quiet, will you?" Nico di Angelo begged, visibly annoyed. He set his black eyes onto Artemis, and bowed shortly, before turning back to Percy. "You're sure you don't need help with your little fight?"
"I am, Nico," Percy stated. "Concentrate on the skeletons. It's my duel."
Nico nodded, albeit reluctantly.
"So this was your plan?" Artemis asked.
"Of course. Who better to deal with spirits than my wonderful cousin?" Percy said playfully, earning an eye-roll from the son of Hades.
"A cunning plan, indeed." Davy Jones admitted, causing Artemis to realize that the captain was still there. "But these shenanigans won't be enough to bring you victory."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Really? I say that remains to be seen."
With that, the Butcher launched himself at the speed of a bullet in the direction of Jones, who barely had time to react, deflecting his blow with difficulty. Artemis was about to warn Percy about the incoming Spartoi who were marching to aid their master, but she never got to do it, thanks to her being distracted by distant cries of battle. All around the Flying Dutchman, the crew of the Nightshade swarmed the ship like ants, brandishing swords and pistols.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Nico running to fight Spartoi. She had to admit, it was a good plan, to bring one that was guaranteed to kill any sorts of daimons that might have been habiting the ship. Nico slashed the skeletons with precision and speed, the stygian iron disintegrating the bones as soon as it came into contact with them.
As for Percy, he was still brandishing Riptide against the captain of the ghost ship, who was forced to get defensive. Artemis took notice of Percy's fighting style, which was very unorthodox, combining both Greek and Roman tactics. Slash, stab, dodge. He didn't give any breathing ground to his adversary, who gritted his teeth in frustration while deflecting the powerful blows from the demigod.
But Artemis couldn't simply sit back and watch as all of her allies fought. Grabbing an arrow from her quiver, she began targeting every skeleton that was causing problems to either Nico or the crew of the Nightshade, but granted, there weren't many. The surprise attack combined with Di Angelo's sheer power and ability to kill the spartoi had been enough to crack the defenses of the ghost ship. And while Artemis would be happy to aid Percy in his duel, by now it was very clear to her that the man was as stubborn as a mule.
In the end, the goddess was left mostly as a spectator, glancing between the slaughter led by the son of Hades and the duel between the two captains.
"Bored?" A familiar feminine voice spoke on Artemis's left. Cora stood by her side, a lit cigar in her hand. The ghoul ported no weapons.
"You could say that much." Artemis sighed, her eyes set on the duel. "How can you even smoke? I assume you don't have functioning lungs."
Cora simply snickered in reply. "Lady Artemis, you overthink some things. It's scary enough to think that I'm dead but also roaming the earth. Do you know I was a devout Christian for a time?"
"I would have guessed so."
The ghoul puffed from the cigarette, before resuming her telling. "That was until I ran away from home. But I still believed in, you know, God. But now? I died and came back. I try not to overthink, but sometimes it gets me bad at night. And now standing alongside a goddess? It's nuts."
Artemis was quite surprised by that confession. "I have to admit, I rarely think of monsters and other spirits that antagonize the gods as rational, but being around you and the rest of the crew," As she spoke, she peeked at the all-out conflict at the ship, noticing that were only a few skeletons left, along with the two captains still locked in their fight. "It changed my perspective, even if slightly."
Cora grinned amicably. "It's also good to know that gods aren't, you know, all mystical and on top of a pedestal, away from reality."
"I might just be one of the exceptions to that description, honestly," Artemis said, smiling back. "You seem like a good person, Cora. I'd assume you would find some peace in the afterlife."
"Oh, Lady Artemis, you are so, so wrong. I won't even go into the unspeakable things that I did. I'm a pirate, after all." Cora snickered and took another puff, leaving Artemis to imagine what sorts of deeds the ghoul next to her performed in the past. "Oh, I think he's about to win."
Sure enough, Percy had the upper hand in the duel, with Jones desperately defending himself, but Percy kept attacking, an overwhelming tidal wave of slashes. Finally, when Jones left an opening, Percy struck at the captain's face, but not with Riptide's blade, instead with the handle of the bronze sword. It worked flawlessly, with Jones gasping in surprise, leaving him defenseless. Instead of going for the kill like Artemis expected, however, Percy slashed his sword to the side, disarming the ghost captain. She quickly walked to Percy, who had Jones on his knees in front of him. Nico also reached his cousin at the same time as she did, with the spartoi already dealt with.
"Victory tastes good." Percy capped his sword but still held the pen in his hand.
Jones spat on the ground, unimpressed. "Your stunts in combat aren't enough for you to claim victory, Jackson. Remember, if you kill me, you shall host my spirit, or at least what I represent," The captain's eyes burned with presumption as he spoke. "You shall become the devil of the sea, cursed to sail forever, never to reach the coast ever again!"
Percy simply narrowed his sea-green eyes, unmoved by the ghost captain's words. "Then perhaps your fate shall await. Take him to the Nightshade." He ordered two ghouls, who quickly roped Davy Jones's hands behind his back, and began to escort him away from the ghost ship.
"That was eventful," Artemis said after a moment of silence.
"I suppose." Nico turned to his cousin, looking particularly angry. "I really want to punch you in the face."
"Even if I think I deserve it, it's not gonna happen." Percy ran a hand through his hair and stored Riptide in his pocket. "But I'm sorry, for, you know, leaving."
Nico stared at Percy for a few seconds, his face devoid of emotions, until he walked to the son of Poseidon and embraced him tightly.
"Three years, Percy." The son of Hades mumbled as he hugged his cousin
"I know. But you knew I wasn't dead–"
"That does not matter, Jackson," Nico replied coldly, breaking away from the embrace. "Three years of radio silence. If I thought you were dead, maybe it would have been more bearable."
Percy failed hard to hide the pain in his face. Artemis felt incredibly pitiful for him, to see him in this state of guilt. "Again, I'm sorry. I really am. What I chose to do, there are no excuses."
Nico continued to glare at him. "I wonder what you will say to Camp."
"Wait," Artemis interjected. "We're going to Camp Half-Blood?"
"Of course, where do you think I told Thalia to go?" Percy said with a sheepish smile. Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Next time we go venturing around, I want to be more informed. There were too many surprises."
Percy mocked-bowed. "Whatever you say, milady." He looked around the ship, apparently searching for someone. "Hey, Nine-Eyes!"
The second in command of the Nightshade approached the group, looking content. "How may I serve you, sir"
If Percy was annoyed by the usage of 'sir', he did not show it. "Set a course for Long Island. I will handle the Dutchman, you focus on the Nightshade."
The ghoul nodded and called the rest of the crew to the other ship. Cora waved to Artemis, who in return smiled.
"Are you sure you can handle this thing?" Nico asked.
"Please, Di Angelo." Percy scoffed. "I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. A little ghost ship ain't got nothing on me."
I didn't describe Davy Jones's appearance on purpose. If you want to imagine him like Vilgax, then that's fair. If not, imagine him as a boring old man.