Percy Jackson
"Here we go," Annabeth announced grimly after finishing applying sun lotion to her skin. She had gone through two bottles already on this trip. He was yet to ask why she had started being so fussy about the sun.
Percy pushed the throttle forward and they began to boat their way towards the island.
They had filled the pilot house with spears, javelins, and one bow with a few dozen arrows for Annabeth. They had considered putting on armor as well but had decided against it. For one, against what they were fighting, armor was next to useless. For another while he would be perfectly fine, Annabeth would not be able to swim in armor and drown rather pathetically. Especially because there was a very real chance their boat might not survive this enterprise of theirs. It wouldn't be the first time he had lost a boat in these waters, though in his defense the last one had been lost to a daughter of Ares's stupidity and a blue-balled Cyclops, not his poor seamanship.
"Raytheon knockoff online," Annabeth reported, manning the second seat as she armed their new defenses.
"All hands, man battle stations," Percy announced, trying to sound grave.
"Hand, reporting to battle station," Annabeth replied, and they glanced at each other before cracking up.
"You know, if this doesn't work I am kicking Leo's ass," Annabeth announced.
"I will make sure your foot gets back to Camp Half-blood," Percy offered lightly.
As they approached, the sea became rougher and their yacht bounced up and down on the choppy sea. "Scylla ahead," Annabeth declared, pointing at the cliff where the monster would be hiding. "Stick as close as possible to the cliff."
Despite having faced it before it took him a while or so to get used to the changing tidal scheme as Charybdis gobbled down millions of tons of seawater in the world's largest whirlpool and spewed it out again followed by a few moments of relative calm before going back to gobbling down seawater. As they approached, the sea only grew more volatile, the boat was visibly being sucked into the whirlpool. The challenge of the safe navigation of the narrows offered could not be understated.
"Well," Annabeth announced. "Raytheon knockoff is armed. I will be on deck," she announced and rose from his chair.
They had argued over breakfast over who should be bait. Percy had argued that he was a god and as such Scylla couldn't kill him, Annabeth had argued that he was needed at the helm with his genetically encoded seamanship.
In the end, she had convinced him, for if she was at the helm they ran the risk of shattering against one of Scylla's cliff, or being gobbled up by Charybdis.
With a sword at her waist strapped the quiver to her belt as well and grabbed the bow.
"I love you, Seaweed Brain," she replied and kissed the side of his head
"You too," Percy replied. "Quicky? You know, before we go in?" It was clearly offered as a joke, but regardless Annabeth gave him a slightly exasperated look.
"Then no," Percy replied in a good mood and eased off the throttle again as the boats bow smashed through the choppy water and he became worried that they might damage the fiberglass hull.
"On second thought, if I had asked dad to raise the Bismark Sylla would have just broken have face ever time she tried to snatch something..." Percy mused. Over the past few days, dropping Bismark references had become something of a joke between them. Annabeth grabbed her binoculars and looked out at the area ahead. "Scylla ahead, di immortales she is ugly."
Percy snorted.
"Just don't go out too early, I don't want Leo's fuckery to kill you," Percy warned.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and finally they reached the opening in the line of reefs and island that separated the real world from the sea of monsters and suddenly the sea erupted again as Charybdis consumed the surrounding sea, creating a whirlpool over two thousand feet across.
"Here we go again!" Percy announced as he drove them right into the water-funnel and hit the rotating water.
For a moment Percy had to fight with the currents, but finally he was on his way towards Scylla's island, moving a lot faster than he liked. Far up ahead, he could see three monstrous reptilian heads glaring down at them with glowing yellow eyes.
"You are right, she really is ugly," Percy agreed.
Suddenly Annabeth froze, all colour draining from her face.
"Annabeth?" Percy asked nervously.
"Just realized, I haven't taken the pill in like three months...," Annabeth exclaimed.
"What?" Percy asked, glancing back and forth between the rough sea outside and the woman sitting next to him. It took a few moments before he finally made the connection and a very new sort of anxiety came to life in his stomach. "- I've been dumping loads in you all week!"
"I had other things on my-...is this really the right time?" Annabeth asked, blushing deeply.
"You brought it up, woman!" Percy argued and gunned the boat into flank speed just as Charybdis stopped gobbling up the sea. Just as the water-funnel smoothed out and stopped rotating Charybdis expelled what she had consumed, driving them back a few hundred feet as they were hit by a ten-foot high water surge.
They barely made any progress until the expulsion of water ended and the sea calmed again, allowing them to regain lost ground before Charybdis went back to consuming the water. Slowly, the ocean began to start turning clockwise again, driving them back towards Scylla's ocean, leaving Percy almost idling the engine out of fear of being shattered against Scylla's clifts.
Once they were a thousand or so feet away Annabeth grabbed her bow and headed out towards the front deck, an arrow notched, and sank down to one knee to minimize the effect of their defense systems side effect.
He hated seeing his woman so open and exposed. His affection for Annabeth sometimes made him forget how formidable of a warrior she was.
Soon though, he was fully occupied with keeping their heading true and not foundering in the rough seas. Still, despite all this he marveled at Annabeth's dexterity.
Her bearing on the shifting and bucking boat was impeccable and a worthy display for even a huntress. As they approached Annabeth raised the bow up high and just when one of Scylla's head came into view she lost an arrow.
The arrow missed but soon a second one followed which bounced of the top of Scylla's scaled head.
Annabeth then sent up another arrow in her ongoing attempt to aggravate Scylla. Her efforts were soon awarded as more of Scylla's heads appeared at the top of the cliff to glare down at Annabeth.
A fourth arrow whizzed through the salty air, this time striking Scylla in one of her massive jaws. Annabeth winked back at him before returning to her task.
Even over the roar of the engine and ocean, he imagined he could hear Scylla hissing in fury.
Annabeth managed to lose two more harassing shots by the time they came in range of Scylla's heads. In anticipation of Scylla's cobra-like lunges, he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers turned white.
Just as Annabeth looked back at him Scylla finally struck. As fast as a lightning strike two of Scylla's head descended down towards the boat to gobble up the offending daughter of Athena. Just as fast a yellow and white flash of light almost blinded him, followed by an almost deafening crack that let the entire boat shudder. Thick smoke and splinters of composite materials and plastic casings lay thick in the air. Icky green and brown gore splattered across the front windows, forcing him to turn on the windshield wipers.
"Annabeth!" he yelled, but no answer came. Even if there were, his ears were still ringing.
When the swift wind pushed the smoke aside, he spotted Annabeth staggering around, clearly disoriented.
Above all Scylla's earsplitting screams filled the morning. His ears still ringing, he rose from his chair, ignoring the risk of being washed up against the cliff, and made his way to the opening and grabbed hold of the back of Annabeth's shirt.
The daughter of Athena, covered in dust and debris, still desth and probably half blind and deaf, and completely disoriented from the pounding her brain had just gotten, would have likely continued staggering around for quite a while had Percy not dragged her back into to the pilots house and dumped her on the floor.
(A rare AN added here for the sake of a disclaimer. Originally I misspelled and wrote "Half blond and deaf " with LastRonin pointed out was kind funny seeing as Annabeth...well is rather blond. Instead of removing it, I at least had to bring it in some way or form. Curse you Ronin for pointing it out, I would have totally not noticed and it would have been a feature I could have claimed for myself)
In his rush to aid his woman, they had progressed a lot further than he would have thought possible, the sheer rock face of the cliff now seemingly mere feet away.
"Shit!" Percy snarled and lunged back to his assigned post and turned the rudder hard to Starboard and pushed the bow back into the maelstrom.
"Fuck, what the fuck was that," Annabeth groaned, clutching the sides of her head as lay rolled up in a fetal position.
It seemed Percy had pulled back just in time because just then another flash of light and earsplitting crack filled the cabin as Leo's handiwork fended off another attack that he had not seen coming seeing as Scylla was now just above them.
Percy gritted his teeth and instinctively tried to push the throttle up even further, despite already being at full reverse.
As if to say fuck you, Charybdis chose that moment when she had gobbled up enough water and the ocean slowed down again, adding painful seconds to their escape. Two more times in rapid succession Leo's rear-mounted defenses triggered as Scylla struck again and again before finally she seemed to finally get the message that eating explosives was bad for her health.
They weren't out of danger yet for just that moment Charybdis discarded the vast amounts of water she had consumed earlier in a single massive surge.
"Shit!" Percy growled and braced moments before the wall of water knocked them in the bow and almost smashed up against the cliff.
If it happened by the grace of Fero's own strength, or perhaps some of his water-related powers, he could not say but they somehow survived. However, as just as they began to pull away again the engine spluttered and died, leaving them dead in the water.
"Oh fuck!" Percy explained and began to frantically fire the engine ignition.
Another earsplitting crack filled the air as Scylla attacked again, apparently not having had enough just yet but Percy barely paid it any head.
For the next half minute or so the air was filled with Scylla's screeches, his curses, and the stuttering cough of the engine. How much power did the batteries have? How many tries?
To make things worse Charybdis began sucking on the ocean again and this time Percy was helpless against the maelstrom.
"What's going on?" Annabeth groaned. "Percy?" she began as she began to sit up. Just then he realised that Annabeth was covered from head too toe in green gore, caked in white dust. Bits of bone and meat spoiled her normally shimmering blond hair.
"Stay down," Percy ordered. When,as so often, Annabeth did not do as she was told Percy knocked her back down with his foot, instantly feeling rather horrible over the gesture. He did not have the time to deal with her and cuddle her into submission.
Ahead he could finally see Charybdis, a giant maw, rimmed by teeth the size of a man and clogged up by pieces of lumber, metal bars, and broken hulls.
Again and again, Percy started the engine, praying to Hephaestus, Athena, and the Omnissiah simultaneously, forgetting that he himself was a god until with a grunting splutter the engine finally came back to life. Percy gunned the turbocharged engine and they began to accelerate clockwise and into the outer slower water. Finally he pointed the boat outwards and kept it there, creeping further to the edge of the whirlpool until the current took them to the opening on the other side and they could finally drag them out of the worst of the current. Percy grabbed the binoculars and looked out at the back, where Scylla's remaining heads were screaming in agony and rage. Five of her heads had taken a brutal beating, with parts blown off, the flesh cleanly from an upper jaw, a lower jaw missing, and deep shrapnel wounds.
After making sure they were safe from Charybdis's shifting currents Percy knelt down next to Annabeth who had gotten the assignment to stay down until either her faculties reported back in or he let her know the coast was clear.
"Wise Girl?" he asked, squeezing her hand.
She squinted at him, trying to focus her eyes. Were she not drenched in gore, and what he realized might be her own blood, it would have looked cute. Having her eyes out of alignment made her look a lot less smart, and a lot less intimidating.
"I see stars dancing in front of my eyes and I can't hear anything. Fucking tinnitus!"Annabeth yelled. Being all mucky it might have not been the most hygienic thing, but as cute as stupid Annabeth was, it was disconcerting so he forced two squares of ambrosia into her mouth, and a few moments later her gaze cleared up again and she pointed at her eyes. "I can't hear anything. I think I busted my eardrums! Should have seen that coming, eardrum go at around fifteen psi!" she yelled. "Tinnitus is gone at least!"
"Thanks for sprouting useless facts," Percy yelled back, somewhat amused by the situation. "The ambrosia should heal your ears up quick enough!"
"My ears should be fine by tomorrow!" Annabeth yelled back and Percy rolled her eyes.
Finally, Annabeth looked down herself, at her hands, and made a face. "Ewww!"
"You don't smell much better either! I can get used to this urban look though," Percy confirmed with a small grin.
Percy half helped, half led Annabeth down below deck, and sealed her skull off with earplugs he helped her strip out of her clothes and get into the shower.
Sighing deeply Percy returned back up above where he realized that the boat looked even worse than after the Kraken incident. It was now covered in gore and green monster slime. Pieces of meat, much, and occasionally bone fragments were scattered around what had before been a clean deck. Close to the bow lay half a jawbone as long as he was.
"Fuck!" Percy muttered. "I am definitely going to be cleaning that up," he muttered, empathizing with Silena for a moment, and headed back inside and hastily disarmed the defense system.
Deciding that he didn't quite trust Annabeth's faculties yet he checked on Annabeth and found her rinsing herself off.
She spotted him and smiled, pointing at her ear. "Still can't hear you!" she announced loudly. "Might start temporarily smoking so I can blow smoke out of my ears!"
Percy shook his head in exasperation and helped Annabeth get all the bits out of her hair.
Once they had returned Annabeth to her normal, radiant self.
"I'll clean up!" Percy yelled after she dried herself off and tossed the earplugs in the bin.
Ignoring him she began to head to the hatch so Percy spun her around and threw her over her shoulder.
"I can walk!" Annabeth yelled, punching his back until he set her down on the bed.
"Rest, you took it rough there."
"Yes, mom," Annabeth replied and rolled her eyes, not bothering to get dressed yet.
"That's daddy for you, Ms. Chase!" he replied because she couldn't hear a word of what he said.
Annabeth Chase
It turned out their engine had taken a bigger beating than they had initially expected, during the rough seas the maelstrom the sea chests had pulled air, and it had caused some damage. Not that Percy could tell her, that she had to figure it out herself.
So after Percy was finally satisfied she was okay he finally allowed her to get up from the bed without putting up a fuss. In the end, she had rested for two hours, not being able to say no to Percy's concerned baby seal eyes in which she had been mildly aware of Percy using his powers to clean the boat off. Though finally he came in, and had informed her of their engine problems in ancient Greek script on paper.
So Annabeth led Percy down into the boat-crapped engine compartment through a hatch and went to work. It wasn't the easiest task. Percy knew jack shit about engines and Annabeth had only a little experience in marine engineering. It also didn't help that the maintenance manuals were all in English and she couldn't hear anything Percy was saying with her eardrums still out of commission.
So it took her two hours to figure out what had actually happened, and three more to actually fix the problem.
When she returned to the boat's main area close to the evening, her last clean and not torn-up shirt covered in oil and grime stains she was rewarded with a smile from Percy. It was open, unbothered, and full of affection and made her heart do a little skip, and was already doing the laundry, and was trying to wash her older shirt. Being a sea god, he was having a surprising amount of success with the task.
"What is the verdict?" Percy asked, at least that was what she thought she had said, judging by his lips. She wasn't deaf, not exactly. It was like she was underwater and hearing people talk above the surface. Faint, distant, and incompressible.
"She'll run, I think," Annabeth announced loudly. "Not my area of expertise though. I'm not a tinkerer like Leo."
Percy popped her two thumbs up and held her almost clean shirt up. "You'll probably need a new one," he announced.
Hoping that it was what he had actually said she grinned and nodded. "You have no idea though how many of those I've gone through over the past few years."
Percy hung it up to dry and then a moment later she felt the boat begin to tremble again as the engine pureed to life and they were back underway.
Annabeth soon joined Percy with two bottles of coke. He had done a reasonable job cleaning up topside,...or showing husband material how Silena used to put it when a guy showed potential for more serious things. Keeping things orderly had never been a specialty of hers.
They quickly checked in with Silena, only to find her halfway through a Lord of the Rings director's cut edition with Silena and Clarisse cheering as the elves marched into Helm Deep. They quickly ended the call and didn't disturb them any further.
After a few hours, they passed the burned-out and crumbling ruins of Circe's former residence.
The patch of buildings was burned to the ground. If the beach's sunscreen only the center poles and wire ribbing was left and it looked like Blackbeard had gibbeted a few of the Spa's former employees. Their exposed skeletons had already turned yellow under the exposure of the elements.
They moored up to the pier and walked up to the beach. Written in charcoal on a wooden board stood in ancient Greek a message signed by one Edward Teach. While she could barely read English on the very best of days, the ancient Greek was easy enough to decipher.
The following women have been declared witches with only malice in their hearts. For many centuries these women have lured the men of the sea to their lair with welcoming words and friendly smiles, only to betray the rules of hospitality. My crew has taken its compensation from these women for a week, and now it is on me as the Captain, chosen by the crew to lead us in our endeavors, to finally pass judgment and so consign these retches to the Elements. My only regret is that two Spanish women have escaped our justice so we may only curse their names. May no man of honor or otherwise fall victim to their venomous charms.
Signed by Edward Teach
"This would explain why Reyna was so cross with you when the two of you first met," she exclaimed, hoping sincerely that these girls had been dead by the time their bodies had been stuck in their cages. Though judging by some of the bronze restraints and rotting ropes she doubted the pirates had shown their former captors any such consideration. No, they had raped and then either enslaved or killed the lot of them. There weren't enough skeletons hung up for all the employees she had seen years ago, so she figured the pirates had found other uses for the rest.
Percy didn't answer and looked off into the sea with a faraway look in his eyes.
Percy said something but she didn't catch it.
When she gazed at him with an empty expression he repeated much louder. "We should take them down," he announced, much louder this time. "It just doesn't seem right." By now Annabeth was getting the hang of lip reading so she nodded and helped Percy take down the cages and gather all the bones they could find in an old and rotting rowboat that had somehow survived all this time. After piling up pinewood around and over it, and finally pouring half a gasoline over the top they lit the funeral pyre on fire.
As they left the island Annabeth repeatedly looked back at the bonfire and the pillar of smoke rising into the early evening sky. It was rare that she got confronted with the fallout of her exploits in such a direct manner. Did it change much? Not really. These were tactical decisions made under extreme duress and she hadn't been afforded the chance to weigh her options more carefully. Such was the lot of a daughter of Athena. Still, it had been a good reminder.
She shot Percy a few tentative glances. Percy had always been softer than her and she figured he might have taken this a lot harder than she had.
Once the island had disappeared over the horizon, Percy idled the engine and began to stare at the maps of the sea of monsters.
"What?" Annabeth asked, brushing his arm with her hand.
When she couldn't understand his response Percy sighed and typed it in on the computer. "Why didn't Circe just rebuild here?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Why does Circe do anything? Why didn't she defend her servants or offer them a proper burial? Perhaps she couldn't handle the humiliation? Or Blackbeard and his band of merry rapists got the better of her and she dared not to return to the same place out of fear they might return. Honestly, it is quite baffling that we haven't heard anything from Blackbeard since the incident. I spent a few months expecting him to turn up at camp but obviously, nothing came of it."
Throughout the night her hearing returned. After eating a square of Ambrosia every thirty minutes or so the healing process had sped up considerably. For a few minutes, she felt an odd pressure on her ears that quickly dissipated as if she were surfacing from a deep pool. Once again she could hear the sound of waves striking the hull and the motor's relaxed hum.
"I can hear again," she announced with a grin. "I think."
"Damn, I was lining up blond jokes," Percy muttered and Annabeth slapped his arm.
Here we go. Big things happening in the next two chapters. I hope you enjoyed yourselves regardless.
Do leave a few Reviews and stuff. This less than 0.3% of readers dropping reviews thing is kinda, dunno. ;) Yes, I am a whore for those reviews. Every email alert provides me a small dopamin kick.
Henry Locker over and out.