Thinking of You- A Percy Jackson Story

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

On the morning of June 5th, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, and Leo met outside the cave where the Argo II was being built. Chiron was already standing at the entrance with someone else. Annabeth knew that it was Gleeson Hedge, the satyr who found Jason, Piper, and Leo in the Grand Canyon.

“Good morning, heroes, “Chiron greeted the children, and the four kids muttered. “Gleeson will be accompanying you four on the quest. I know that it wasn’t originally planned, but I feel that it would work better if you have a certified protector with you. He seems to be the most qualified since Grover isn’t here.”

Annabeth nodded at Chiron and then followed her friends and the satyr to the ship. Once they were aboard, Chiron wished them well and gave them his goodbyes. Leo automatically went to the wheel to steer and Jason was lifting the ship into the air. All the while, Piper and Gleeson Hedge were talking by the stairs on the ship.

Annabeth, on the other hand, was staring at the ground as it passed her by.

We’re coming soon Percy, I promise

 

 

Ten Days Later- June 15th

Leo was steering the wheel as Annabeth was below deck, working on some designs for Olympus. Not that I’ll ever be able to put them into place, she thought. If I don’t die in this battle, that is. Currently, she was working on Aphrodite’s temple. It wasn’t one of her favorite things to design, but Annabeth figured it was one way to keep her busy.

Suddenly, she heard some yelling above deck. At first, she thought that Piper was yelling at Leo for doing something stupid, again, but the yelling seemed more urgent. Annabeth saved her work on her computer and shut it. Then, she walked up to the deck to see Piper handing tools to a crazed-looking Leo. Leo was hunched over the engine, while it was smoking.

“Oh my gods, Leo, what happened,” Annabeth asked as she walked up closer.

Leo shook his head and dropped his wrench. “Those freakin’ Stolls!”

Piper smirked. “What did they do now?”

“I don’t think they touched it since April Fools’ Day. The thing is, just like before, us using this thing has caused the engine and the samophlange to get messed up.

“The what,” Piper asked incredulously.

Leo rolled his eyes. “It’s a thing that’s by the engine… ah- nevermind. You won’t get it anyway.”

Piper’s smirk widened. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But anyway, what does this mean for our quest?”

Leo sighed. “We’re going to have to land so I can fix it properly.”

Annabeth’s eyes widened. “How long are we going to have to stay on the ground?”

Leo looked helplessly at the blond. “I don’t know. It could be five hours, or five days. Or even worse, it could be longer.”

Piper’s jaw dropped. Annabeth’s eyes were even wider, but she stayed silent. Gleeson Hedge was standing in the corner of the deck, eating a soda can. Jason, on the other hand, was the only one to react. “What do you mean it could take longer? We only have six more days until the solstice!”

“I know that Jason! Trust me, I know that! We’re going to land as soon as possible to prevent any other damage. Then I will take a further look into what is going on.”

Jason looked at Leo again and sighed. “Alright, we’re just going to have to hurry as much as possible.” Jason then turned and walked away. As if sensing his frustration, Piper followed Jason.

Annabeth looked back and forth between Jason and Leo. Leo was hunched over the engine again with his wrench. Jason was sitting on some steps on the other side of the ship. Piper’s arm was around Jason’s shoulders and she was talking to him, probably telling him everything was going to be okay. Chances are, Jason believed her because of Piper’s charmspeak.

Annabeth then decided to walk up to Leo and try to calm his nerves. She took one step before he said, “If you’re going to yell at me about how I can’t even build a stupid ship correctly, or lecture me about our little time limit, then you can save it. I already know all of this and I will most likely hear some of it from Jason later.”

Annabeth hesitated. “I’m not going to yell or lecture you. I just wanted to make sure you are okay. This quest is giving all of us a lot of stress. I was going to tell you that if you needed any help, that I would like to help. If nothing else, my help would get us in the air a lot faster.”

Leo stopped moving his wrench and stood up. “Thanks Annabeth, that means a lot. I’d like your help.”

Annabeth offered a grin. “No problem, Leo. If nothing else, it’ll get me out of designing Aphrodite’s temple. There are only so many mirrors you can put in once place.”

Leo let out a small laugh. “Not if you’re Aphrodite, you don’t.”

“No kidding, you should have seen her last summer. Once it was announced that I was going to rebuild Olympus, she couldn’t wait to tell me what she wanted everything to look like. Of course, everything that I’m designing for her is nothing like what she wanted me to do.”

“Naturally,” said Leo. Then without preamble, he turned back to the Argo’s engine and started tinkering with his wrench.

Annabeth took that as a sign that the conversation was over with. But Annabeth noticed the way Leo’s shoulders were slumping. Percy used to do the same thing when he was either stressed or upset- or most commonly, both. She spared another glace at Jason and Piper on the steps across the ship. Piper was still calming Jason down, and it was working. Leo still looked upset.

“Jason’s just upset about the Roman camp and Gaea destroying the camp. You’ve done an amazing job building the ship. It’s just that his so upset, he’s starting to think irrationally. He never meant any of it, I promise.”

Annabeth then turned to leave the deck. As she was walking down the stairs, she heard Leo mutter a thank you to her.  

I am sooo sorry that this hasn't been updated sooner! I just have had practically no time to work on writing... like AT ALL! I hope you all liked this chapter.

The Son of Neptune (and the Camp Half-Blood Wiki)  mentioned the samoplange breaking on the Argo, but I have no idea what that means. I even looked it up on the internet for a definition and couldn't find anything. With that being said, if anyone knows what that is.... let me know :)

One more thing, while I was writing this chapter I mentioned two sets of stairs. I was picturing the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean series (just if anyone was confused on what the interior was supposed to look like)

Thanks for reading!