Shipping and Ripping with Alyx, Claire and Tori

Rackjack / Blachel. (It's better this way.)

DISCLAIMER: This is taken from chapter 1 of the Last Olympian so it mostly belongs to Uncle Rick: Characters, plot line etc. The ship is ours, though, and we have changed the order of things a bit.

Percy's POV

The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car.

Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin.

Now, I know what you're thinking, Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah, but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so I managed to talk him into letting me take his car a few hundred yards, seeing as it wasn't the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.

Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day, but it was cool beside her fire. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachmas.

She was so distracting that I missed it - the spot I'd scouted out yesterday, for the perfect romantic scenery. I reversed back to the turning and we parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favourite places, but today it was especially beautiful - glittery green and smooth as glass. I muttered a silent thanks to my dad. He must have heard my prayers.

After a minute of gazing at the ocean, Rachel turned to me, reflections of the waves still sparkling in her emerald eyes. I leaned forward eagerly.

"So." Rachel smiled at me, shattering the moment. I fought the urge to simultaneously scowl at and kiss her. "About that invitation."

"Oh...right." I tried to sound enthusiastic, when really it was the last thing on my mind. She'd asked me to her family's vacation house on St. Thomas for three days. It would be the perfect time to get to know each other, but I couldn't go. I was 'on call' for a mission. Something big was supposed to go down any day now. I imagined what would happened if Camp called, like, Percy Jackson, we need you on the front line NOW, and I was just like, sorry, can't come, I'm in the Caribbean.  That was why I needed to create bonding time now, because if I went off on this big quest destined for my birthday, all my hard work in growing our fledgling relationship would be wasted, and Rachel would move on. I needed to make it serious.

"Percy?"

I looked up guiltily. She's been talking this entire time. Something about her dad.

"Look Rachel, I'm really sorry, but you know why I can't come."

She sighs and turns away from me. The sunlight makes her hair look like fire.

I lean forwards again and tap her on the shoulder. She turns her head, plump lips coming closer, and I feel like I'm seeing it in slow motion. Three milliseconds to contact... two... one... Something heavy lands on the roof of the car, making it wobble and jerking us apart. I scramble out, Rachel in my arms. I check she's okay, but she's staring at something behind me. I follow her gaze to the jet black pegasus on the hood of Paul's Prius.

Blackjack, I groan, that's my stepdad's car you just trampled.

But Blackjack ignores me.

Rachel's POV

I see nothing but the magnificent creature in front of me. I thought I had feelings for Perseus Jackson, but now I'm sure they were just fate's way of bringing my path to meet this gorgeous, majestic, magical - horse. His eyes lock on to mine, and I see intelligence and something else - love? You are more beautiful than donuts, his eyes seem to say. He rears onto his hind legs and spreads his wonderful wings wide. They seem to encompass my world. I want to hold him, and never let go. This is more than love.

Percy is shouting. One word pierces my daze. "Get down Blackjack! Get down! Are you even listening to me?"

Blackjack. A beautiful name for a beautiful being. Blackjack leaps gracefully from the ruined car, and suddenly I am on his back and flying and there is nowhere in the world I would rather be.

Beckendorf's POV

Ow. My head hurts. Did Blackjack just throw me off? I roll to my feet just in time to see the pegasus spiral into the clouds, with a figure on his back. I think I'm hallucinating because he never willingly lets anyone but Percy ride him, but Percy is also gawking at the sky.

"How could they?..."

"Well, there goes our ride," I say with mock cheer. "Wait. Did Blackjack just kidnap your mortal friend?"

And they all lived happily ever after. They couldn't reach the ship, so Beckendorf didn't die. Annabeth never found out about Perachel, so she didn't kill Percy. Kronos was so surprised when he saw them making out that he laughed himself to death, so the world didn't end. And Rachel never became the Oracle, so there were no more prophecies.

It's better this way.