"Percy?" a firm but cautious voice drew him out of his sleep. He'd been dreaming of Annabeth—his Annabeth—laughing good-naturedly at his attempts to plan, but then applauding him for making progress. Groaning, he opened his eyes, shifting on the stiff material he lay on. It smelled bad… like something that had been left to decay. Not as overwhelming as the stench from the hold, but still disgusting. Though now that he thought about it, the hold-stench was back too.
Turning to the side, he saw Luke standing in the doorway, watching him warily. "We're almost there."
Percy nodded and put his hands under his chest, shoving himself up. Right. The old mattress that seemed to be more dust than anything, in a room that looked about to cave in on itself inside a boat that looked (and felt) much the same. They were probably luckier than he wanted to admit it hadn't collapsed on them while he slept.
"Is…" Luke started as Percy brushed by him, maybe a little too quickly, "everything okay?"
No, he thought. You fear me, and hate the people I relate to the most. Not that I blame you, but… the wrong end of 'guilty by association' sucked.
Huh, Linkin Park was still around, weren't they?
No, focus. Here and now. Good bands with good music later. He wasn't a child of Apollo.
"Yeah. Just tired," he said, not wanting to really get into anything just then. Not if they were coming up on the entrance to their quest.
He stepped onto the deck and into the heat of the summer day. The winds and waves were perfect for sailing, and the heat hadn't bothered him for a long time, even after he'd come back. The only thing marring the lovely day were the cliffs in the distance under what looked like a storm. A perpetual storm that not everyone could see. Because those cliffs, according to every map in the world, shouldn't be there.
He'd asked Hecate once why The Mist showed mortals such strange things sometimes, and she'd laughed.
"It's gained a sentience of its own, Perseus," she'd said. "Even now, it is not something I could ever fully control again. The Mist is The Mist, and it exists on its own whims."
He hadn't much liked that answer, to Hecate's amusement. He was convinced she was a sadist.
As he thought, the storm itself didn't actually exist. Even as they drew closer, it had no effect on the water or winds. It also began to fade the closer they got. Was this how it looked last time? He couldn't remember. That had been a… rough ride, after all. Hopefully this one would be smoother.
He mentally winced. He'd had to jinx himself.
"Alright," he turned to Annabeth. "Keep an eye out for which side Scylla is on and which side has Charybdis. Also, I'm not entirely certain of my stamina in this body, so the closer we can get, the better." He thought he remembered Scylla being on the right, but he could be wrong.
"Of course," Luke muttered.
"Right," Annabeth said sharply, a pair of binoculars held up to her face. She'd seemed to get over her seasickness a little, or she was just too focused again. That was so like her.
"I'm going to get into the water once everything's in sight without binoculars," Percy decided. He'd need the power boost… or at least the stamina boost, because he really didn't want to exhaust himself too much when just getting into the cursed sea.
"Isn't that a little close?" Luke asked.
Percy shrugged. "Probably."
"Di immortales," the older blond muttered.
"For now, secure everything," Percy said. He may not be able to control the boat very well, but he still knew what needed to be done. If they'd been on a sailing ship, he'd probably be scurrying around and fixing the sails. Right now, though…
"Everything below deck is as secured as it can be," Luke returned.
Percy raced over to a coil of rope. Yup, it looked like something they'd brought on board, so probably something they could mostly trust. He held the rope out to Luke.
"Including yourselves."
Luke blinked, just staring at the rope. He looked surprised.
"Look," Percy could tell Annabeth was listening in too, "I'm a child of Poseidon, sure. But so are they. And even with my memories, they are much, much older than me and I am very much a demigod right now. If this comes down to who can manipulate water the best, I don't know if I can win. I can definitely put up enough of a fight to get us through, but I think it would ease all of our minds if everyone was secure. Redundancies exist for a reason."
Luke's eyebrows furrowed, but he still didn't look happy about it. He did, however, nod and take the rope. "Right."
"I'm going to get all the packs. Tie them to you too."
"Just in case," the older boy deadpanned. Percy shrugged and rushed off to get his and Luke and Annabeth's packs. Within two minutes, he was back with all of them. He double checked them, making sure zippers were up and drawstrings tied tightly as Annabeth and Luke tied themselves together, and then to the post holding the ship's helm.
Funny, this wasn't the same ship Percy remembered Clarisse taking on this quest, but it was similar. More modern but more run down too, and still close enough to trigger memories.
Leaving them to prepare, Percy climbed a ladder into a lookout post so he could have a better vantage point. He'd wondered why Annabeth hadn't come up here, but got his answer after his first step almost had the floor giving way underneath him. Still, he managed to get to the front-facing window and knelt on the ledge to give himself something stable to brace against.
He could see the break in the cliffs getting closer… not fast enough, though. Oh, right, he wasn't controlling the ship. Mentally kicking himself, he reached out to the water underneath them and the whole vessel picked up speed. It didn't take much, and they all wanted to get this over with. He heard some shouts of surprise from below, but no one said anything else.
"Scylla's on the right!" Annabeth yelled a couple of seconds later.
"Acknowledged!" he called back, not releasing his hold on the water as he carefully made his way back out of the room and down the ladder.
It took them minutes at that speed to reach a point where Percy felt he could release his control and prepare himself to take them all below
"I'm going in," he called.
"Acknowledged," Annabeth called back.
Percy almost smiled as he dived over the side of the boat. A rush of strength, home, and belonging washed over him and he reveled in it for a moment before he registered something nearby. It was, for lack of a better word, enormous. The power and presence… overwhelming. Unable to stop himself, he turned towards the sea's entrance. Last time, he didn't remember anything like this but now… he could see the rocks in the distance, deep and dark in the water. Light filtered through the gap between them, allowing him to see a massive, well, worm. Like someone had taken the Sarlacc from Star Wars and the sandworms from Dune, mixed them together and made them aquatic. Even from where they were, a relatively safe distance away, he could see folds of skin undulate as the whole body swirled slowly, sucking in the water overhead, sort of dangling there and disappearing when the light stopped penetrating the ocean.
It took him a minute to shake himself out of his surprise and he shot upwards, popping his head out of the water.
"Brace yourselves!" he yelled.
He didn't wait for a confirmation before slipping back under the water and taking a deep breath. Trying to ignore the presence, he grabbed a hold of the water, lifting it over and around the ship, before dragging it down. The giant air bubble certainly wanted to return to the surface, but Percy kept a tight hold on it and guided the ship forward. On the deck, he could see Luke and Annabeth holding onto each other and one of the poles in the center of the fore deck. He approved of them not holding onto the helm itself, even if they were still tied to it. The wheel could and would likely still turn and Percy didn't want them to get hit and hurt.
They approached the gap carefully, but quickly.
Who?
The thought didn't come in words, but intention, ramming into Percy so hard it almost took his breath away.
Percy, he found himself responding before he realized. He kicked himself just before the impression of confusion also slammed into him. Yet, as overwhelming as the presence was—not concentrated like a god's, but still massive—he did not sense anything actually malicious.
He kept an eye on the boat as he mentally pushed it forward, but he turned his attention on the enormous, worm-like being, following the nearly cylindrical body down to where it merged with the depths.
His domain.
He could sense how she connected to the earth, probably for stability, and could stretch her body up or contract it depending on where she needed to be to eat.
And he could feel how she needed to eat.
Who? She asked again, this time more forcefully.
Percy gulped. Around them, she had control of the water, and he couldn't fight that, not without using too much power himself. At least he was below the enormous toilet-like whirlpool… which was strange. Large bodies of water needed undercurrents to make a whirlpool like that. Then again, most whirlpools weren't exactly enormous monsters drinking as much as they could to get as much food as possible… or maybe she was actively not attacking him, and by extension, the boat? But why? Curiosity? Or something more sinister?
Brother, he answered, maybe a little desperately, hoping that wouldn't make her want to kill him like so many others would. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luke and Annabeth staring at him, saying something, but he couldn't hear them. He still forcefully pushed them on, having entered the trench between the cliffs now. And the currents hit them. He grit his teeth, doing everything he could to keep them on track.
Brother? The surprise in the question surprised him, drawing his attention away again. He could still sense no true malice from her.
And somehow, the rest of the world faded away around him, except for that one, small tie to the boat and bubble. He found himself swimming towards the enormous presence as if in a trance. He didn't know why he felt so drawn to her, but one moment he was several yards away, and the next he hovered in front of her. Somehow unafraid, he lifted a hand, reaching out. She didn't move except to watch him with a giant, brown-green eye he could only see due to proximity. His fingers brushed her skin. It reminded him of sandpaper, but both smoother and rougher at the same time somehow.
With a thought, the water brought him even closer and he brought his forehead down to rest on the strange surface. It tickled.
Sister, he thought. Because she was family. And maybe that didn't always mean something, but sometimes it did, and he could sense no reason why she shouldn't be included.
Brother, the rough impression came back, still confused but pleased. He smiled.
Hungry, she said after a moment, voice longing.
His smile vanished. Right. He remembered how she looked from above, with those rows of teeth and the swirling water around them… with the awful smell and the sound of an enormous, flushing toilet. Of course she was hungry. The thought brought him back to the present, and he sensed the boat with Annabeth and Luke, still moving forward, thankfully.
Sorry, he thought sadly, genuinely meaning it. I can't let you eat my friends or my boat.
A sense of frustration and anger rushed through him, followed by resignation. Understanding.
Lonely. The thought reached him, sounding so heart-broken. He reached back almost immediately, even as he lifted his head back to stare at the blue-gray skin before him. It pulsed and undulated, but it didn't seem like she could move much. Not really.
Scylla? He asked.
Mean. Many heads. All yell at me.
He frowned again, glancing back to the barely visible wall on the other side of the trench. I'm sorry, he said again. You don't deserve that.
A wave of that same sad resignation rushed over him and he found himself drawing closer to her a second time.
How about I come to visit you when I can?
Surprise slammed into him, followed by excitement, and then skepticism.
It might take me a while, he promised, but I will return.
Please!
So polite, even despite her monstrous appearance, size, and nature. Suddenly, he was reminded of Tyson, and how the cyclops wasn't there on this trip as he had been in the past. Percy suddenly very much longed to see his brother.
Pushing that aside, he instead projected his own satisfaction and anticipation to her. Yes, they may not have a lot to speak about, but he still sensed she could teach him something, and he'd love to just bask in this overwhelming but surprisingly calm presence. Then he glanced at the boat and bubble, just barely visible in the distance now.
I have to go.
Stay.
I can't. I have people relying on me to finish this quest.
Lonely.
He leaned forward and put his forehead against her again.
Sister, he said. Always.
She still didn't want to see him go, and he felt guilty doing so, but he still pushed away from her and swam towards his friends. She could have stopped him. They both knew it with the amount of power he'd shown. She could have prevented the water from releasing him, from letting him pass through… but she didn't.
For being so hungry and massive, he was a little shocked to find that she was one of the better Greek monsters he'd ever encountered.
Eventually, he left her sphere of influence and the sense of just water returned, even if it obviously didn't want to bend to his will. Different from normal water in that sense. Usually the waves almost scrambled to obey him. He'd noticed it before, when he'd come, but… not to this extent. Pausing, he reached out to the water trying to sense and understand it. It felt… old. And it reeked of magic. Not anyone's magic, per se, but just… magic in general. It felt like it had a sentience all its own, not connected with his father, or anyone really.
Well, maybe Pontus or Hydros. To be fair, the sea had its own sentience in and above the gods, but not so… disconnected. Almost rebellious. Ancient. Untamed.
And truthfully, it felt refreshing in a way. He was happy to continue to let this sea not actually answer to anyone as a whole, as long as he could use his powers to help his friends.
Speaking of…
He politely asked the sea to let him through. It wasn't instantaneous, but eventually it conceded and he found himself rushing through what the ancient, Greek seas must have felt like. Moments later, he found himself next to the bubble holding the old steam ship inside. It looked fine, although Annabeth and Luke were arguing heatedly with each other.
He frowned and moved the ship upwards. Within seconds, it had breached the surface and he released his hold on it. Almost immediately, tiredness set in. He let himself just drift in the ocean for a couple more seconds before he forced himself to move to the edge of the boat and let the water bring him to the railing and over the deck. He may or may not have stumbled when he set down. Looked like he was due for another nap… and here he'd just woken up.
Ugh.
"Percy!" Annabeth ran over to him, followed by a relieved looking Luke. "What happened?"
Percy blinked. "What… do you mean?"
"You were there, next to us, and then you weren't. You were gone and we didn't know what happened! I was about ready to turn the boat around."
"No, you weren't," Luke said, arms crossed. "We would have continued on."
"Luke—" Annabeth started in her 'I'm right and I'll make you understand why' voice, so Percy cut in.
"Good thing you don't have to," he said placatingly. "And I'm sorry I worried you. I just… Charybdis had a larger presence than I remember. She's far more powerful than I thought and it was hard to focus on anything else."
"You fought her for control of the sea back there?" Luke asked, face paling.
Percy shook his head. "No. I just talked to her."
Silence, then, "What?" they both asked.
"She wanted to know who we were."
"You didn't actually tell her, did you?" Luke asked. Annabeth nodded emphatically.
"I told her my name, and that we're siblings."
More silence. The other two were staring at him.
"What? You both know she's a daughter of Poseidon, too. My father is the father of monsters. And yes, I've asked myself what that means about me many times in my life, so please don't go there." He didn't have the ability to deal with that at the moment. "Not right now."
More exchanged glances, but his fellow demigods said nothing, so he just went on.
"Anyway, she's very hungry and… lonely. I promised her I'd come back to visit."
"You what." Luke sounded so done.
Percy shrugged again. "I'll have the ability to visit whenever I want, eventually." And again, he may or may not have sounded all too bitter about that. Luke didn't seem to notice, although Annabeth frowned thoughtfully.
"You know what," Luke said, "whatever. We got past that. We're good. Great job." He said it as if he were washing his hands of everything. Which Percy really couldn't blame him for.
"Anyway, I gotta go find some ambrosia or take another nap," Percy said, smothering a yawn. "That took… a lot out of me. For now, just keep sailing ahead and try to avoid any islands. Unless there's one with a lot of ships around it. Then come find me."
"What island is that?" Luke asked warily.
"Circe's island," Percy replied tiredly. "Which, normally I'd avoid, but there are some important demigods there I need to at least try and talk to."
"Important?" Annabeth asked carefully.
Percy nodded. "As in potentially very necessary for likely future problems."
"Let me guess, world-ending problems?" Luke muttered.
The time traveler smiled, a little sharply but didn't say anything otherwise. Let them draw their own conclusions. "Anyway, do you two need me for anything before I head below deck?"
They shook their heads.
"Okay. If something happens, wake me up. Otherwise, I'll take over when I wake up. If you two want to sleep while I take night watch, that's fine. Just let me know."
More nods before he trudged over to his backpack and untied it from the line. He rummaged through it and pulled out a cube of ambrosia, nipping off the corner and reveling in the warmth that spread through his body before putting it back and making his way below deck and the dusty room. It wasn't great, but it was something and he could still sleep, so it would have to be enough.
He lay there on the lumpy mattress for several minutes, listening to Annabeth and Luke talk somewhere above him. He couldn't make out words of their conversation, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. What were they discussing? Probably him again. Or maybe Thalia. Or both. Either way, he tried to ignore the ache in his heart for his old friends and eventually managed to drift off.
xXx
He found himself in a fairly familiar wooded area, following two demigods and a satyr as they trudged through it all, looking a little miserable, but also focused.
"This way! Can't you smell that?" Grover asked.
"Yeah," Bianca said, hurrying. Clarisse even nodded excitedly.
"It smells like food," the daughter of Ares said after a moment.
Wait… did that mean…
Sure enough, when the three of them came across a familiar, abandoned-looking diner with a warehouse in back and several statues out front, Percy felt his jaw drop.
Seriously? He really wanted to give the Fates a good reaming. Maybe they just wanted to make sure Medusa was taken care of, but by two twelve/thirteen-year-old demigods and a 28-year-old Satyr?
His demigod domain was not happy right now.
"No!" he yelled out. "Stop it! Don't go in there!"
No one so much as twitched their eyes away from the sight in front of them.
"Come on, guys! Grover, man! Grover!" But the satyr must have been even more tired or frustrated than in Percy's memories because he just kept marching forward.
"Clarisse!" he tried next, but to no avail.
"Bianca! Please Bianca! You can't go in there! It's Medusa!" Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to get through, though, the dark-haired girl paused and looked around, blinking.
Percy felt hope rise inside him. "Yes! Yes, Bianca! Stop them! Don't let them go any closer! Get out of there!"
"Um… guys," she said, still blinking and frowning, as if trying to figure something out. "I think something's wrong."
"It's just your imagination," Grover said almost automatically. Percy frowned. He'd always thought it had been the monster smell that had set Grover off previously, but maybe the magic just latched onto anyone in the lead? Although Clarisse didn't so much as acknowledge that anyone had spoken.
"It's Medusa!" Percy yelled again. "Bianca! Listen to me!"
The daughter of Hades kept looking around, still puzzled. "I… um… guys…"
"It's a diner," Clarisse said. "What could be dangerous about that?"
So much. Percy just focused on Bianca. "Don't listen to them! Come on!"
"I… suppose," the smaller girl said hesitantly.
"No! Don't listen! Bianca, come on!" Percy kept trying, but the three of them wove through the statues and up to the door. "Don't do it! Run away!" But Bianca couldn't seem to hear him after all as all three of them waited calmly (for a demigod) while Clarisse knocked on the door. At least Bianca still looked uneasy.
The door opened and there stood Medusa, sunglasses on and skin covered almost from head-to-toe. She looked older than he remembered too.
"Well, what have we here?" she asked gleefully, looking at the three children in front of her and licking her lips. Had she seemed so creepy before? Percy didn't think so… but had that been the magic back then? Probably.
"Bianca…" he tried again, pushing power through his demigod domain out to her, reaching for her presence. She jumped a little, whipping her head around worriedly. Percy kept pushing until he noticed Medusa's gaze was directly on him. He stopped half-way through calling out again, staring at the monster like a deer caught in headlights.
"You look just like your father," she said, reaching a hand up to her glasses. Percy tried to back away but couldn't really. He tried to close his eyes, but nothing happened. She moved her glasses down ever so slightly, just enough for him to see her eyes, but not the others.
For a moment, he was lost in the gaze there, purple and glowing and gorgeous and… he felt himself begin to stiffen from the tips of his fingers, the sensation slowly spreading up and then—
"Percy!" He yelped and jumped up. Annabeth stood in the doorway worriedly. The boat rocked hard as his power reacted, reaching out around him. The younger version of his wife braced herself as the boat tipped roughly, but settled.
"I'm… um…" he started, not knowing what to say.
"You were shouting, yelling for Bianca."
He closed his eyes, trying not to remember the gaze of a gorgon. Even if it had been in his dreams, shouldn't he be turned to stone? Apparently not. Thank Chaos.
"Yeah. I dreamed I saw her group walk up to Medusa's warehouse."
Annabeth's eyebrows rose. "Medusa?"
Percy nodded.
She bit her lip. "I mean… I'm sure she's okay."
The time traveler just nodded again, then got up. What else could he do about it? If he left now, he might get there in time… but while the forest had been near the river, he didn't know where it was and could he find them? Would it be worth it? Just after he'd gotten into the Sea of Monsters? Could he leave Annabeth and Luke right now?
He concluded it wasn't worth it, but he hated that fact.
Rely on others once again.
He would have to trust Bianca, Clarisse, and Grover. Didn't mean he had to like it.
"You've only been asleep for a couple of hours," Annabeth said slowly, drawing him out of his reverie
Percy shrugged. "I don't think I'll be able to go to sleep after that," he muttered. His fellow questgoer nodded, understanding.
"Demigod dreams."
He joined her nod. "I really hate them sometimes."
"Luke told me to try and get some sleep next, so I'm going to take the room next door." She thumbed over her shoulder.
Percy took a long breath for a moment. Holding his wife for comfort would be very helpful at the moment. But yeah, not this Annabeth. He just nodded in acknowledgment. She returned the gesture and disappeared from the door. Meanwhile, Percy just sat there and breathed, still doing his best to avoid the rotten stench, before he managed to get to his feet and trudge up to the deck.
xXx
AN: Still reading comments! Thank you so much to everyone who has read and/or commented! A special thanks to my beta readers, discord helpers, and tier 3 and 4 readers: Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, Harlequin, Speedster, Snow, Starlightluv, Squirps, and The Chronomancer! Also, all of my discord peeps and my readers here! Thank you! (If I've missed anyone, PLEASE let me know!
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