A Pirate's Life For Me

Two More For The Floating Prison

To be honest, Frank had no clue if his idea would work. He didn't pretend to be an expert on mythical islands that shouldn't exist.

"If we die out here-" Leo said.

"I know, I know, you'll find my spirit in the Underworld and kill me again. You've said it a couple times."

13 to be exact. And they'd only been there for an hour or so.

"Seriously, Valdez. We aren't gonna die. We've got food, and if it becomes obvious this isn't going to work I can get ahold of Captain Reyna."

"Right." Leo was clearly unhappy about this.

"Do you want to sit on top of the barrel?" Frank suggested. Leo seemed to hate water with a passion, which was unsurprising considering his heritage. Fire and water didn't mix well. 

Leo made a noncommittal noise and shrugged. Frank rolled his eyes.

After another few minutes, Leo started to say something, and Frank purposely dunked his head under the water in an attempt to ignore him.

Leo tried to kick him.

"Valdez, knock it off-"

"Look!" Leo gestured with his head, seeming too nervous to move his hands away from the barrel.

Frank looked to where he was motioning. A small island was on the horizon. He didn't recognize it, and his heart jumped excitedly.

"I'm going to try and propel us closer, okay? Hang on." He told Leo before letting go of the barrel and transforming into a dolphin.

Figuring out how to move the barrel was a bit of a struggle at first, but he finally settled for planting his forehead against it and swimming forward slowly, pausing every so often to make sure he wasn't going in the wrong direction.

Soon the tide caught them and began to push them closer. Frank changed back into his human form and grabbed the barrel, content to be swept along.

"What if it isn't the right island? Or what if it is Calypso's Island but Percy isn't there?" 

"Leo. Shut up."

The son of Hephaestus glared at him, but did as he was told.

Soon they could make out a figure on the beach. Frank was fairly sure it was a woman, given the long, caramel colored hair that waved in the breeze as she watched them.

"Hey!" Leo shouted. "Where are we?"

"Come to shore first." She responded, her voice carrying easily over the waves.

Frank kicked his legs out sideways, swimming towards the shore as best he could. Leo just curled himself around the barrel in an infuriatingly unhelpful way. Frank spared him a glare, but didn't say anything.

As they got closer, the girl's features became more noticeable. She had extremely light skin and her hair, a cinnamon-y-caramel color, was loose, except for a small beaded band holding it back from her face. She was wearing a simple white dress and no shoes. 

Frank's feet hit sand and he began to walk rather than swim. Leo caught on a few moments later and let go of the barrel, rushing towards the shore eagerly.

"Oh thank the gods."

The girl's face twitched, a cynical smirk passing over it. "I wouldn't say that quite yet. Welcome to Ogygia."

"The prison island." A new, familiar voice added. Frank reached the shore and looked in the voice's direction.

A man was leaning against the palm tree behind her. He pushed himself upright and walked forward.

"Captain!" Leo grinned. "You're alive!"

He looked down at himself. "Would you look at that. I am."

Frank snorted. Percy's wit hadn't deserted him in the time he'd spent on this island.

"You know each other?" Calypso asked. She seemed to be directing it more towards the captain. Frank frowned, wondering why.

"I recognize you." Percy pointed to Frank. "And I know your name. Frank. You..." He turned to Leo and made a helpless gesture. "I don't know your name. I'm sorry."

Leo looked confused. "But... we've known each other since you were six! What do you mean you don't remember me?"

"He hit his head at some point." Calypso explained quickly. "He said some things have been coming, names and such, but not much else. He gave me a few names he remembers, but that's it."

"That's all I remember." Percy said defensively.

"I know, calm down." She sighs. "Anyway, you two know him?"

"He captains the ship we work on." Frank informed her. "At least he did before a harpy carried him off."

"Reyna's been on a mission to find you." Leo told Percy. "You remember Reyna, right?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes. I remember her. My first mate, correct?"

"And now temporary captain, as she all too often reminds us." Frank told him.

He laughed quietly. "From what I remember of her, that's quite easy to envision."

"So we found him. Now we get back to the ship, right?" Leo asked.

Surprisingly, it was Percy who shook his head. "You can't."

"What do you mean? Of course we can, unless you don't want to go back...."

"No, I mean you physically can't. This entire island is a prison. Once you're in, you rarely get out."

"You have a better chance than me." Calypso muttered.

"So we're stuck here?" Frank asked.

"As far as I know, yes." Percy sighed.