RIPTIDE - Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus, Pirate AU fanfic

17 | What Was and What Is

"Percy!" The voice echoed like an orchestra in the water. Time seemed to slow down and the chaos was droning in his ear. Alarms, screaming, the collapsing of another building.

Percy could feel the vibrations of his friends vocal cords in the water. The pain is his chest flared up at the words. "Percy how could you."

"I-" He struggled to say something, but the merman lost his voice. "I didn't know this would happen."

"Didn't know!-" An explosion shook the landscape and the two of them tumbled onto the sandy floor.

"Are you okay!" Percy yelled over chaos. Blood was streaming from a wound on the man's forehead. Percy went to help, but his hand was smacked away. The young man rose in the water and steadied himself, clutching a petrified shard of coral.

"Leave." The young man's face was turned from him, but he could still see the hard and unforgiving features. "Before I have to kill you as a traitor."

"But I-"

"LEAVE!!" The man screamed it out of rage and agony. Percy backed away, pain etched into his features. Finally after one last glance at the crumbling town, he turned around and sped into the darkness.

Percy woke up drenched in sweat, his heart feeling like it was about to beat out of his chest.

He gripped the sides of his hammock and sat up, his stomach queasy from the rocking boat. A merman, seasick? The thought was shocking.

His gaze drifted throughout the room. Suddenly he blinked and his eyes dilated, shifting his pupils into cat-like slits. The mist swirled in a kaleidoscope of colors, thickening around occupied hammocks. He blinked again and the vision shut off.

It was easy to control the mist with such a small crew. The second he had grabbed the Lieutenant's hand and was hauled aboard, things were set into motion. Annabeth's eyes had glazed over and her face went slack. When her vision returned, Percy was just another crew member who had been with them since the beginning.

Because of this, everyone knew his name, which made him jumpy and anxious. He felt like the mist would dissolve at any moment and his infiltration of the Argo II would be made known. He had to remember he was just another crewman.

"Percy!" Will came up from behind and slapped him on the back. Percy jerked at the touch of the man's hand on his dry skin. Being above water was such an odd experience, he felt heavy and more drowsy, his newly formed legs ached all over and his hearing faded in and out.

"Hey doc." What was blondies name again?

After the room had cleared, Will sat in an empty hammock and started shuffling through his medical bag. "So are you ever going to confess your love for the lieutenant?"

Percy's eyes got wide and he locked his gaze with the man who he remembered was named Will. Was this really what the mist had shown him? That Percy was infatuated with the curly haired lieutenant. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh sure you don't." Will's eyes sparkled with mischief.

To be honest though, Percy had only seen the lieutenant once, and that wasn't exactly enough to go on, he would have to meet her. "Oh, well I can't keep it hidden forever." Percy's laugh sounded fake but the man apparently didn't notice, or didn't care. How did humans see love? How do they go about it? He was literally a fish out of water.

"Man, you're so obvious it isn't even funny. I'm surprised the Lieutenant hasn't noticed yet."

"Why would she notice?"

Will raised an eyebrow. "You must have really hit your head, geeze Percy. Annabeth could sniff out a rat while the rest of us would be having dinner with it."

"Heh... ya, I bet she could."

'Sniff out the rat', a human phrase for finding what doesn't belong. Just when Percy had calmed himself down, the mess hall door swung open and a curly haired woman stepped out dressed in a white blouse with a dagger strapped to her hip.

Annabeth stopped in her tracks and spun towards the two. "Perseus, I'm glad to see you're doing well." She took his hand suddenly and wrapped it in hers, a gesture she apparently never did because Will was just sitting there looking dumbfounded.

She looked at Percy and spoke in an almost wondering tone. "I've never noticed how green your eyes were before."

A chill ran all the way down the back of Percy's neck and straight into his toes. He tried to reply but the muscles in his mouth wouldn't move.

"He says thank you." Will piped up.

Annabeth glanced at Will, flashing him a semi-annoyed look like the ones she always gave when someone interrupted her while she was reading. "Right." She let go of his hand and took a step back. "We're hoping to see if we can get some information from the arrowhead today, Leo-"

"Lieutenant Annabeth?" Hazel's head poked down from the stairwell. "Captain Leo needs you. There's a problem."

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Planning the next chapter to be Leo (Yeah!), and after that, maybe Jason?