.||The Curse of the Sea||.

~*Chapter Six*~

- -  Annabeth's POV - -

We've been sailing for 5 days now, and are scheduled to return back to Olympus in 2 days. I was beginning to lose hope, and thought that we wouldn't ever find Percy. It turns out that I wasn't the only one who was doubting this voyage, though my friends tried to keep optimistic. While Festus managed the ship, me and my friends played card games on the deck.

"UNO!~" I shouted. Everyone else groaned as I won for the 5th time in a row. I was the daughter of the goddess of wisdom and strategy after all! "How are you so good?!" exclaimed Jason, throwing his cards down onto the table. I smirked and shrugged at him. He stuck his tongue out at me and continued grumbling. "I wanted to thank you guys for coming with me on this journey... It means a lot to me, even if we don't find Percy..." I said. Everyone smiled. "Anything for you Annie!" said Piper. I grinned back. After a few more hours of talking and playing games, everyone went to their cabins to chill. I stayed on deck, breathing in the salty air which reminded me of him. Percy... I thought. I miss you so much...

Not too long later Jason, who also stayed on deck with me, gasped and almost fell off his chair. He then ran to one side of the ship and pointed at a rock outcropping, with a very familiar person sleeping on it. "P- PERCY!!" he shouted. I scrambled out of my chair to find the one and only Percy Jackson sleeping on a rock, tail and all. I started to cry as anxious footsteps were heard below. Once everyone was on deck, I shouted "FESTUS ANCHOR HERE!" The ship stopped almost immediately and I continued barking orders. I can't believe it... I can't believe it!! We finally found him!! We can't lose him now! "Get the net! QUICKLY!!" I shouted.

Jason used his wind powers to throw a net around Percy, who woke with a start. "ACK! What the hell...?" shouted Percy, his tail thrashing furiously. "C-careful! Don't hurt him." I said warily. "Let me go!" exclaimed Percy, with his tail now completely entangled in the net. Just as Jason was reeling Percy in, a giant tentacle shot out of the water and crashed down onto the boat. Piper screamed and Hazel ran to Frank. Five more giant tentacles shot out of the water and threw themselves onto the boat. Everyone was running like crazy around the boat, trying to avoid the tentacles. Percy smirked at the sight of this, as he continued to helplessly struggle against the net.

The boat was taking severe damage and started sinking. I started to panic and glanced at Percy for some sort of assistance. He looked me in the eye and shrugged, then pointed to the net as if to send the message let me go and I'll help. I thought about this and wondered if let him go, would I lose him again? I glanced back at my friends, who were trying their best to stay afloat. I have no choice but to. Percy smiled mischievously and laughed, then dove into the water. Oh no... I thought. I was tricked!

Thank the gods that Percy didn't abandon us because not long after I released him, a huge wave came crashing over the giant tentacles. The giant octopus released its grip on the boat and swam towards the source of the wave, clearly angry. Percy anticipated this and formed frozen spikes of water, then shot them towards the octopus at a very high speed. The impact of the spikes on the octopus caused a giant tsunami, which pushed our boat away from the scene. The last thing I saw was a puff of golden dust and Frank looking at me worriedly. I then blacked out as a second wave came crashing down upon us.

I remember waking up to the face of my dear seaweed brain, his eyes gazing into mine. He looked worried. "Percy..." I breathed, reaching for his face. He flinched as my hands touched his cheek, but allowed it. "You know my name...?" he questioned. I remembered that part of the curse made him lose his memories.  "Y-you don't remember me...?" I said as tears brimmed my eyes. He tried his best to sit me up and comfort me. "I-I guess not..." he replied, pushing hair out of my face. His warm touch made me feel a little better. I looked around and saw the wrecked remains of the Argo II. "Sorry about your ship." Percy said, noticing that I was looking at it. "Ah, it's fine..." I replied shakily. What's more important is that we found you... I thought. "Thanks for saving us... and sorry for catching you.." I said as I glanced at the sunset. I started to weep as I looked back at Percy, who cocked his head sideways as if questioning why I was crying.

"I-It's just.. that we've been looking for you for two years...!" I said as I started sobbing harder into his shoulder. He looked down at me and frowned sadly. "I don't think you were looking for a loner like me... you must be mistaken..." he said, as his tail swished nervously through the sand. He looked into the sunset and said "I haven't spoken to anyone in almost two years... Even if it's not me you're looking for, talking to you is nice enough..." He looked back at me with a weak smile. "Annabeth. M-my name's Annabeth." I said, hoping that he would remember something. "That name is strangely familiar..." he said as he furrowed his brow.

Hazel, Frank, Jason, and Piper spotted us on the beach and started running over. Percy hid behind me and whispered in my ear "Meet me here, same time tomorrow..." I couldn't resist him leaving without at least hugging him. I pulled him into a long hug, and he hugged back. He looked me straight in the eyes and chuckled as he bopped my nose. As my friends started getting closer to us, he turned away and slid into the ocean hurriedly. I watched as he swam away, and couldn't wait for tomorrow.