𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, PJ2

𝟎𝟏𝟏.𝟒

Percy honestly did not give a shit. There, he said it—he was done.

So far, some giant turtle had tried to turn them into fish food, Jason and Hazel had had their epic boss-fight bonding moment with Sciron, they'd met Hecate (who spoke in riddles, because of course she did), and Hazel had learned how to bend the Mist like origami. Good for her. Seriously, ten out of ten, round of applause.

But Percy? Percy couldn't bring himself to care.

Because none of it mattered. None of it got him any closer to the one thing he wanted: the other side of the Doors of Death. To Juliet. To Annabeth.

Every monster fight, every "lesson in personal growth," every little side-quest where somebody discovered they'd been insecure all along but—surprise!—they were actually awesome? Percy didn't give a flying fuck. This wasn't a road trip. This wasn't some therapy retreat for demigods to work through their issues.

It was Tartarus. And his girl and his best friend were down there.

The longer they stayed up here, the longer Juliet and Annabeth were trapped in that nightmare. The longer they had to keep clawing their way through horrors that made the turtle, Sciron, and all the rest of these so-called "challenges" look like campfire stories.

So yeah, Percy was out of patience. He wasn't here to play cheerleader while his crew got their character development arcs. And fucking Jason? Jason was officially on his shit list. The guy had literally crash-landed from the sky asleep not two minutes ago, and now he was barking out detours like he was the grand questmaster. Percy could name fifty reasons why that was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.

"This ain't a role-play game, Grace," Percy snapped, Augustus' hand tightening on his arm to keep him from lunging. "You keep making the worst choices. You wanna just stop by Split? Like what, it's your little on-the-way scenic detour? A road sign caught your eye?"

"Look, I had a dream—" Jason started.

"Pack it up, Sleeping Beauty," Percy scoffed, the words dripping with venom.

"A demigod dream," Jason shot back, voice tight. "About Reyna. Octavian. And—" He hesitated, because he knew he was throwing a live grenade into the middle of Percy's anger. "—about Juliet. And Annabeth."

That was enough to stop Percy cold. His jaw clenched, eyes flashing dangerously as if Jason had no right—no right—to even say their names out loud.

Jason reported on his midair vision and this time Percy listened. The ship creaked as it sailed through the Adriatic, its remaining oars still out of alignment from the giant turtle attack. Every once in a while Festus the figurehead creaked and squeaked through the speakers, reporting the autopilot status in that weird machine language that only Leo could understand.

"A note from Annabeth." Augustus shook his head in amazement and fondness. "Of course she found a way to send a not."

"She's alive," Leo said. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce."

Percy glared at the guy for the joke and Leo immediately held his hands up. Frank slid over a jar of salsa. "I can't believe Reyna would try to find us. It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Daphne said. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with seven demigods and a warship."

"And me." Coach Hedge belched. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

"Coach please," Percy sighed before turning to Leo, "How long will this detour thing take us?"

"Um dude, totally depends on what we do at Split," Leo said and that annoyed Percy more, thankfully Augustus pulled him down.

"We could do everything way faster if Percy decided to contribute." Piper chirped, "It's always the rest of us helping while you stay aboard not doing anything."

"Try me," Percy started, his voice sharp as a blade. He was already leaning forward, muscles taut, ready to unleash a tidal wave of words that would scorch Piper straight through her charmspeak.

But Augustus shoved harder on his shoulder, forcing him back onto the bench. "Easy," he muttered, though his tone carried more warning than comfort.

"Guys, let's just focus on getting to split, and then to Diocletian's sceptre," Daphne said calmly, "The sooner we finish this job, the better,"

Finally something Percy agreed with, so he only nodded this time.

"I know," Jason said. "We won't take long in Split. But looking for the sceptre is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking for Epirus."

Nico nodded. "The sceptre of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You'll need my help."

Jason tried not to show his discomfort, but his skin prickled at the thought of going anywhere with Nico di Angelo.

Percy though looked overjoyed and nodded, "Yes I trust Nico to get it done quick."

Daphne shrugged, "Hey, sounds fun. I'll go, too."

Jason wanted to yell: Thank the gods!

But Nico shook his head. "You can't, Daphne. It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely ... ah, spook him. And I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won't be able to do that."

Nico's eyes held a gleam of challenge. He seemed curious as to whether or not Jason would protest.

"Nico can handle it," Percy said and that clearly was indicator for Jason to keep his mouth shut.

The ship's bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker.

"We've arrived," Leo announced. "Time to Split."

Frank groaned. "Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?"

Jason stood.

"Frank, you're in charge of defending the ship. Leo, you've got repairs to do. The rest of you, help out wherever you can. Nico and I ..." He faced the son of Hades. "We have a ghost to find."

"And I'll go take a nap," Percy said, standing up and stretching.

Author's note; Since we have all read the books, I won't be cover much events except the major ones cause it gets boring otherwise. I'll be covering events that are directly affecting the plot, such as events related to Percy and Juliet, nothing much.