madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-cleoooo emmaaa its the dolphiiins-

"Leo, stop!"

Percy whipped around to warn the boy at the helm, Annabeth panicking beside him, but it was too late.

The other boat appeared out of the fog and rammed them head- on. In that split second, Percy registered random details as his ADHD that was meant for these moments kicked in: another trireme; black sails painted with a gorgon's head; hulking warriors, not quite human, crowded at the front of the boat in Greek armor, swords and spears ready; and a bronze ram at water level, slamming against the hull of the Argo II.

Annabeth and Percy were almost thrown overboard, but he managed to catch himself on an open crate, holding Annabeth's shoulder to keep her still as the crate tipped over and let fruit tumble onto the slippery deck.

Festus blew fire out in circle of death, sending a dozen very surprised warriors screaming oddly and diving into the sea, but more swarmed aboard the Argo II in their place. Grappling lines wrapped around the rails and the mast, digging iron claws into the hull's planks.

By the time Percy had recovered his wits and stood up, sword out, the enemy was everywhere. He couldn't see well through the fog and the dark, but the invaders seemed to be humanlike dolphins, or dolphinlike humans. Some had grey snouts on their otherwise normal but angry faces. Others held their swords in stunted flippers. Some waddled on legs partially fused together, while others had flippers for feet, which reminded Percy of polka dot clown shoes.

Leo sounded the alarm bell instantly. He made a dash for the nearest ballista but went down under a pile of chattering dolphin warriors that brandished their weapons. Somehow he was already bruised on the neck.

Annabeth and Percy stood back-to-back, as they'd done many times before, their sharp weapons drawn. Percy tried to summon the waves, hoping he could push the ships apart or even capsize the enemy vessel, but nothing happened. It almost felt like something was pushing against his will, wresting the sea from his control until he was helpless against the rocking.

He raised Riptide, ready to fight, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Several dozen warriors lowered their spears and made a ring around them, wisely keeping out of striking distance of Percy's dangerous sword. The dolphin-men opened their snouts and made whistling, popping noises. Percy had never considered just how vicious dolphin teeth looked, even if they were rounded. 

His only consolation was that they were dolphins and not sharks, though he remembered Teqi's anger at the dolphins that attacked her when she teleported into the ocean accidentally, so maybe they were particularly nasty to demigods.

He tried to think as he glared at the enemy. Maybe he could break out of the circle and destroy a few invaders, but not without the others skewering Annabeth.

At least the warriors didn't seem interested in killing them immediately. Hopefully they weren't planning on saving them for dinner. They kept Percy and Annabeth neatly contained while more of their comrades flooded belowdecks and secured the hull. Percy could hear them breaking down the cabin doors, scuffling with his friends. Even if the other demigods hadn't been fast asleep, they wouldn't have stood a chance against so many in the first place.

Leo was dragged across the deck, half-conscious and groaning, and dumped on a pile of ropes. His face was badly bruised all over, and Percy winced at the literal hole in his cheek from a spear that was dripping blood badly. Hopefully Teqi had a thing for the Joker.

Below, the sounds of fighting tapered off. Either the others had been subdued or...or Percy refused to think about it. They would be fine, they were strong. On one side of the ring of spears, the dolphin warriors parted quickly to let someone through. He appeared to be fully human, but from the way the dolphins fell back before him, he was clearly the leader. He was dressed in Greek combat armour—sandals, kilt, and greaves, a breastplate decorated with elaborate sea monster designs—and everything he wore was gold. Even his sword, a Greek blade like Riptide, was gold instead of bronze.