A Pirate's Life For Me

Aye Aye Captain

The two boys were long gone by the time Light's search parties even got into the water.

"How are we moving this fast?" Leo yelled from the bubble he was in as he was pulled along by the black haired son of Poseidon.

"It's an inherited gift!"

"Where are we going?"

"Not a clue!"

Leo leaned against the bubble. "Great. Absolutely fabulous."

His friend ignored him.

After several minutes of silence, moving at a high speed, the boys slowed.

"What are you doing?" Leo sat up.

"Contacting my finned friend."

More silence.

"A-ha!" Green-Eyes shouted, startling the scrawny boy so badly that his hair lit on fire.

"What?"

"I got her! Maurai will be here in a minute."

Leo frowned. "The mermaid?"

"Yeah. She's gonna help us find our destination."

"Which is?"

"You'll see. Sit tight." The boy swam off, leaving Leo to his thoughts.

After 2 minutes, those thoughts consisted mostly of ways he could die if his friend didn't return. The most prominent among these was being crushed by water pressure, as they were at least 200 feet under the surface.

A shark drifted lazily past the bubble, causing the dark-skinned boy to yelp and frantically try and move the bubble without popping it.

"Calm down, she's not going to hurt you."

Leo spun in the bubble. "You can back! Thank the gods. Know where we're going now?"

Green-Eyes smirked at him. "Yes."

A sudden thought leapt into the son of Hephaestus' mind. "What's your name? You never told me, even when you revealed that you could speak."

His companion flashed him a smile. "Tell you when we get to where we're going."

"Which is?"

"A surprise."

"Ugh." Leo slouched dejectedly. "You're the worst."

"I'm really not."

"So which way are we going?"

"Straight up." The black haired boy jabbed a thumb upward, then the two of them shot in that direction.

A scream tore itself from Leo's throat before he could stop himself. The other boy whooped like it was the best fun he'd ever had.

Leo's bubble burst as they hit the surface.

"Where the Hades are we?"

His friend ignored him and began to wave his arms. "HEY! OVER HERE!"

Leo looked up to see a massive black ship directly to their left. Shouts could be heard on board as what looked like skeletons bustled around, occasionally followed by a shimmery thing that could have only been a ghost.

A life-ring, made of wood, was tossed out to them. Leo grabbed it and hung on for dear life. Green-Eyes calmly latched a single hand onto it. Another shout was heard on deck and they began to glide through the water towards the huge ship.

It took a few minutes to get both boys onto the ship. Leo looked up to see two women and a man standing above him. He winked at the women.

"Ladies."

His friend socked him in the stomach, then stood and offered a hand to the man in the center.

"I'm Percy Jackson, and I just escaped from Light's ship."

The captain took his hand and shook it, eyeing him.

"Nico di Angelo, but most people call me Dark. Welcome aboard the Erebus."

Leo scrambled to his feet and saluted messily. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, at your service." He winked at the younger looking girl, a dark skinned teen with wild cinnamon curls and gold-hued eyes.

Her gaze swept over him rather condescendingly. "Hazel Levesque. You're supposed to salute with your right hand."

Leo deflated slightly as Percy and Nico both chuckled. Then the young captain turned to business.

"You just came off of Light's ship, aye? We'll be needing to have a talk then."

"Of course, Captain." Percy said calmly.

"Come with me." The boy pivoted and walked toward where his quarters were, his ivory skin shining a bit eerily in the half light that had settled over the ship like a blanket.

"Hazel, Bianca, with me. Clarisse!" A bulky girl with stringy brown hair jerked to attention. "Show Valdez here what he can do and keep an eye on him. I haven't decided if he should go in the brig or not yet."

Before Leo could protest the captain's last statement, he swept through a door that led to his rooms.

Inside the ship, Nico rounded a desk and then faced Percy, planting his hands on the solid wood. "What were you doing on Light's ship?"

"I've been her prisoner since the age of 6, sir. That was back when her mother ran the ship, actually."

"Interesting. And why did you leave now?"

"I wanted to see if I could get any information. And of course, we had to wait until your ship was near enough that I could get myself and anyone with me to you within a day."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "What kind of information are we talking about?"

Percy grinned rather wolfishly. Gone was the meek prisoner, gone the beaten mute. This was a pirate at his finest.

"What if I told you I know Light's true name, and her plans for you?"

[A/N finally! Okay, I really love this fanart! It's Nico drawn as Tulio from The Road to El Dorado! Enjoy the chapter that I wrote at 1:00 AM, hope it still makes sense tomorrow morning! XD if not, I'll fix it. I'm sure Ihrschatz0307 will find the mistakes and point them out]