What was Created by God - [Fate/Grand Order & Percy Jackson and the Olympians]

WyverNine · Aug 7, 2022

What was Created by God

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.1

Percy woke up with a killer headache. Like someone decided he owed them money and that bashing him with a golf club was a valid way to get it back. Actually, scratch that, it wasn't just his head.

Everything hurt.

'Did someone get the number of that volcano?'

Shaking the last dregs of unconsciousness, Percy winced as he tried sitting down, fingers digging into coarse sand as salty waves lapped against his feet. A small semblance of energy returning to him at the contact with the water.

Though it didn't help with the pain.

'What happened?' He tried to remember.

They were in the labyrinth, that much Percy recalled. They were there because a ton of evil folks, and another heap of misled folks wanted to use it to find away into his summer camp and raze it to the ground. You know, fun stuff. He and Annabeth had to go on another errand for another god as part of that quest. You know, basic demigod stuff you need to do unless you feel like spinning the wheel and see whether the god in question was feeling like punishing you for it.

Percy, knowing his luck, obviously accepted.

Okay, so maybe staying behind to deal with the Telekhines hadn't been his brightest moment. And maybe using his powers inside an active volcano wasn't that much better either. But you couldn't blame him for thinking that it might work! The explosion was totally an accident and Percy hoped Hephaestus didn't care too much about the lost forge.

You never knew with gods.

Long story short, there was an explosion and Percy kinda sorta felt he might have died but not really? He certainly felt like death had warmed over but decided to just kick the stuffing out of him rather than just take him kicking and screaming to the Underworld. Percy wasn't looking forward to seeing his estranged uncle again.

If he died, he was pretty sure Annabeth would have found a way to kill him for it.

Well, that or kiss him for not dying after all.

'Okay, stashing that one for later. Getting back to camp comes first.'

Which should be easy, right? Son of Poseidon. Navigating powers. He could just jump into the sea and swim back if push came to shove. So long as there weren't any more giant sea monsters on the way.

There was just one teeny tiny problem.

'Where the Hades am I?'

'Atlantic Ocean' his powers answered.

Well, they gave him a bunch of numbers and coordinates. But Percy wasn't gonna bother with details.

But where in the Atlantic ocean?

'Atlantic Ocean'.

Okay… his powers were broken. Great. Maybe that explosion knocked something loose after all.

'Alright, gotta Scooby-doo this one the normal way then.'
Probably not gonna end well.

Look, Percy wasn't much of a critical thinker. He was someone who learnt by doing, and no demigod worth their salt would consider staying put for more than five minutes. It was just how they were wired. Patience gave away to action more often than not, and unfortunately Percy didn't have a cellphone.

He pat his pockets.

No drachmas either.

'Guess no Iris Messages either.'

Still, he was somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic and it wasn't his first time stuck on an island. First where he didn't have a pirate ship conveniently stashed away so he could sail away. But he was more experienced now.

Surely it would be easier?

It wasn't.

Percy didn't recognize the island he was at. Though that was a faint hope. He had at least expected to find some kind of signal that people were there. But there were no docks or boats no matter where he looked. Only long strips of white sand framed by clear blue waters and the light of sun as it crested over the horizon in the early morning.

Breathtakingly beautiful? Yup.

Utterly useless in helping him get back? Yup.

There weren't any trails or any paths leading to or from the beach. Percy must have walked around half an hour trying to find anything resembling civilization, but had to stop once his legs started complaining. As well as the rest of his body. Seriously, it never took him that long to recover from something like this.

Normally a dip in the water was all he needed to heal.

But he was still sore all over for some reason.

Now, you might be thinking. Aren't you being a bit too cautious, Percy? Thinking ahead is very much unlike you, Seaweed Brain? Maybe you should just uncap that sword of yours and jump into the weird jungle, Jackson? And normally you'd be right, he would have gotten bored and wandered into the jungle by now.

If he hadn't found something.

Well… it was… something.

Like a metal fin sticking out of the sand. Percy had run into it while heading the opposite way from where he started. It was like a piece of the most expensive yacht in the world had broken off and washed ashore. It was as tall as a house and twice as wide, with strange lines running on its sides.

Nothing that Percy could read unfortunately.

Trying to dig it out didn't reveal anything either. It was just a massive piece of metal on the beach.

The only thing he could confirm was that it was made out of celestial bronze.

And that the island wasn't really an island.

Shocker, right?

He'd been digging a fire pit to prepare the food when the beach decided it had ran out of sand. Sleek bronze metal peeking from underneath the dirt, the same as the hunk of junk Percy had been using as his umbrella. In fact, the hunk of junk was an even bigger hunk of junk than he expected.

'Please… please don't be another scrapyard.'

Touching it didn't make any giant robots pop up out of the sand. Percy checked that already. And digging in different spots revealed the same mass of celestial bronze underneath the beach. That was as far as his investigation went before a hungry stomach forced him to hunker down under the shade of the metal fin.

Some foraging later and Percy was now the proud owner of a ruined shack in the middle of nowhere.

Complete with fireplace and fish-on-a-stick.

'It isn't much, but its not death by sun and hunger.'

As it turned out, unseasoned fish filets carved with a legendary weapon tasted about the same as unsalted fish filets carved with a kitchen knife. Percy considered throwing a quick prayer Hera's way. She'd helped their group once, so maybe she would again if he asked really nicely? He was also craving some of that godly all you can eat buffet of hers.

Okay, Seaweed Brain, think! You have a brain, you can use it.

So he got tossed out of the Labyrinth into some random island in the middle of nowhere. Probably got blown up by the volcano and went through another entrance. Which didn't make sense, since he woke up in the middle of the beach… then again… he kinda couldn't drown… and didn't know how much time he was asleep for.

For all Percy knew, it could have been drifting in the sea for hours!

Which meant… he was lost?

If he drifted away from the entrance when he fell out off it, then that just meant Percy had to try and find an entrance to go back.

Simple? Yes.

Easy? Nope.

He couldn't even check the hours! Stupid Kampe and her stupid chasing them around. Percy would definitely have to make it up to Tyson for losing his shield. He missed the wristwatch though. Having to wait was going to suck without anything to let him know how much time he was wasting sitting on his butt.

He was gonna have to do this the hard way until Hephaestus or whoever noticed he was still alive, huh?

Percy sighed.

Hopefully Tyson, Grover, and Annabeth were all safe.

He and Tyson hadn't gotten to spend much time together. And Percy had acted like a douchebag to his friend-turned-brother. Jealous that his father now had someone else to give attention to. Never mind the fact Percy himself at least had his mother, while Tyson was just left behind by his.

'I'll definitely buy him something nice.'

Looking up at the large metal fin, Percy chuckled. Maybe he could bring it with him as a souvenir? Tyson would definitely like working with all the celestial bronze. The idea of being covered head to toe in trinkets made by his friend like some kind of rich celebrity was silly, but it kept his thoughts from wandering.

Maybe help was already in the way.

It couldn't take that long, could it?

Percy barely lasted the hour.

Okay, so maybe waiting for literal divine intervention wasn't much of a plan to begin with. And he wouldn't put it past some of the less helpful gods, looking at you Ares, to show up and gloat at him for somehow blowing himself up. The infuriating war god would totally do it.

So he was faced with a very important choice.

Did he go out to see and pray he found someone willing to guide him back home, or did he try and explore the rest of the island, in hopes that the inner part wasn't as sparse and abandoned as the beaches surrounding it? Finding a better place to stay was definitely more important that swimming around aimlessly.

And unfortunately Fish didn't make for good conversationalists.

"I'm looking for an entrance to the Labyrinth"

'What's a Labyrinth?'

"It's like… a cave that goes really deep?"

'What'sa cave?'

Seriously. You'd think his dad would have instilled some kind of… well… fish school policy? They were literally called schools of fish. They should really have been smarter than this!

He'd spent half an hour trying to explain what a cave was before realizing that, hey, he was explaining what caves were to a bunch of fish. And they weren't even good students. Was this how Annabeth felt like when she had to explain things to him? Couldn't be! Percy was a model student after all!

'And they are gone.' Percy noted duly as his failed school swam away.

Okay, so it was time for Plan B.

Turning his back on the beach, the demigod ran headfirst into the unknown with a sword at hand hoping he didn't trip and get smote by a random island god.

'We have those, right?'

Fortunately there were no angry Island Gods to be found.

But not much of anything else.

Instead all Percy found were trees, a couple clearings, some local animals that didn't seem to have any form of self preservation instinct as they trotted around and besides him. Well, there were also more pieces of celestial bronze. Scattered as they were throughout the island, he found that the deeper he went into the forest, the more metal fins he would find, like it was the world's ugliest garden project.

And yet there were no signs of anything human or any mark that there were people nearby.

And most importantly… he found some bushes with some very juicy looking berries on them.

It wasn't nectar, but it beat having to eat raw fish jerky.

'Note to myself, sacrifice some to dad later.' Maybe that would ping the man's SOS signal.

It was odd just how… symmetric everything looked. The island was a perfect circle. The trees were spaced apart the same way. The animals, few that Percy had seen, were neither too young nor too old. He had yet to see any corpses either. It was like the island itself was artificial, floating aimless in the middle of the ocean.

Like someone just left it there.

Even now, he could feel the currents underneath his feet. Underneath the island itself. Somehow the island was stuck in place, despite not having anything linking it to the bottom of the ocean.

There was just something… off about it.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it. There was this presence about it. Like when you feel yourself being watched. Only it was coming from all around him, all the time from the moment he stepped into the jungle. There hadn't been any ambushes or traps. The animals had been curious at first but soon enough left. Yet the sensation of being watched never let up, like a tingle on his spine.

Or an itch inside his head.

And as he approached the center of the island, Percy could tell that it was becoming stronger.

Uncomfortable.

Like someone was trying to scoop his brains out. It wasn't painful, but by the time he finally made it to the center, Percy could tell his eyes were stinging and his ears were ringing from the feeling of it. The animals who'd been following him had long since fled, perhaps as bothered by the close proximity as he was.

All the smarter for it.

'Seriously, you can't take a hint that something is wrong. You are really a Seaweed Brain!'

Okay, so maybe his Annabeth impression could do with some work. But he was sure Wise Girl would have probably thought of a better plan than plowing straight into what might be a trap. Unfortunately he wasn't all that wise, so onwards he walked until finally arriving at a new clearing.

Like those before, it was perfectly circular.

But unlike the other ones, there was actually something in it.

'A building?' Percy squinted his eyes.

It was hard to tell. There was some kind of haze over his eyes, almost like the Mist. Like there was something both there and not. He could make out a faint outline of whatever it was but it was impossible to make out any details. It was a huge chunk of metal, like the one left behind at the beach, and maybe… and bear with him on this one… just maybe this hazy, clearly hidden, part of the island was the reason why Percy felt like there were nails dragging all over his brain.

Crazy thinking, right?

If he had to make a guess… Percy would say it almost looked like Cabin 1. A massive bank-shaped monstrocity made out of… metal? Stone? Wood? Everytime he tried to notice any kind of detail, his head just fogged over. It was like trying to read sometimes, where the words seemed to get scrambled.

He could see familiar letters, but not read them.

He could see familiar symbols and statues, but the moment he tried recalling them, its like he forgot what they even looked like.

"Freaky buildings do freaky things to the mind, got it."

Still, he wasn't that much of a Seaweed Brain that he would just run head first into it.

So he picked up a stone, gave it a hardy shake for good luck, and then tossed it at the mirage-like outline. Before ducking for cover behind a tree. And was rewarded when the projectile bounced on something metalic. Before the humming on his ears increased and the pebble bounced back, flying right through the tree Percy had ducked under like a cannonball.

Before it kept going.

And going.

And going…

And then there was a splash as it hit the ocean a mile or so away.

'That could have gone better.' Percy patted his head to get rid of the saw dust. No missing ears or anything. Good. He'd consider this a successful experiment. And nothing went wrong…

[Intruder: Detected]

'Open mouth, insert foot I guess?'

A sledgehammer hit the side of his head and Percy nearly fainted. Like someone rang a church bell right next to his ear, the sound reverberated bouncing off of the walls of his skull. The pressure from whatever it was in the middle of the clearing increasing as a monotone voice drilled its way into his head. It wasn't even a voice it was like… he suddenly knew what the thing was thinking because it was warning him.

[Deploying Anti-Siege Countermeasures]

That… wasn't good.

[Power Insufficient - Initiating Backup Defense System]

[Deploying Purge-Type Defense Unit - Atlasia Manticore]

'Purge-what?'

And that's when the ground exploded. Dirt and metal pieces flying everywhere as the island shook, Percy jumping back as something massive and cylindrical rose from the floor. It reminded him of one of those tower elevators he sometimes saw in amusement parks. Only massive and with a single door, made of a very familiar bronze metal with glowing lines of blueish-green light decorated its sides. The machinery shuddered and groaned, the very ground vibrating underneath Percy's feet.

Before opening with a sharp hiss, allowing something to pounce out of the elevator. A long paw covered in dull yellow fur, the part where its arm met with the body was covered in bronze. A long muzzle with dagger-like bronze fangs poking from behind the lips. Its mane was ridiculously long, with a spiked drawing even more attention to it. All in all, something Percy wished he wouldn't have to see again in a long time as the massive beast sporting a lion's head and a long scorpion's stinger prowled into the now empty clearing.

Seriously.

Mr. Thorn? Was that you?

Well, he could tell it wasn't. He was pretty sure Thorn wasn't the Terminator. What with looking like someone had decided to do horrific science to the monster's body. Half of it being made of solid silver. Never mind the honest to Gods wings on its back.

Seriously, since when did monsters have jetpacks? Was this a new model, fresh of the monster making press?

Then its eyes zeroed in on Percy.

"Di Immortales."

Thus Percy Jackson, Hero of Camp Half-Blood… boldly turned tail and fled.

What?

He wasn't gonna fight the freaky cyborg monster in the freaky clearing! It was bad enough having his mind messed around with, but having to actually focus enough to fight while it felt like someone was hammering a nail through his head was impossible. So Percy did the smart thing and skedaddled!

Annabeth would have been so proud!

What was this called again?

Tactical retreat? Strategic withdrawal?

Dramatic exit?

Yeah, that last one felt just right.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

"Well shit." Looking over his shoulder, Percy barely moved to the side as the monstrosity of mechanical mayhem dashed out of the clearing and after him, its chrome body plowing through the trees like a battering ram, eyes glowing the same familiar blue he'd seen on every piece of metal scattered in this junkyard of an island. Only it managed to look twice as terrifying when something was looking at you with it.

That's when Percy's Half-Blood sense screamed at him and he jumped to the side, barely avoiding a barrage of dart-like metals spikes. Their pointy, lethal, ends piercing right through the trees, before an angry sizzle hits his ears along with a strong smell of vinegar.

The trees were melting. Not burning. Literally melting as a sickly yellow goop spilled from them.

He reached for his pocket, finding the comforting weight of a pen, the motion of pulling out the cap coming instinctively just as another barrage of spikes flew his way. Percy's body, however, was already on autopilot. The leaf-shaped sword of bronze barely weighed anything as the parried the first spike.

Then a second.

Then a third.

The banging of metal on metal screeched on Percy's ear as he jumped behind a large tree and started running again, avoid the rest of the barrage as it sunk into wood and the sizzling became even louder.

'Think, Percy. Think!'

He jumped over a fallen trunk, twisting mid air with instinctual grace to parry the fourth.

Then slid behind one of the metal fins to avoid the next.

Wasn't there an end to that thing's ammo?!

Should he go back to the beach? He'd have no cover, but at least he could retreat into the ocean and escape. There was no way he could fight that thing head to head, not when it was shooting those spikes everywhere like a crazy porcupine. The only reason he wasn't a puddle on the floor was because the trees were barely stopping the spikes from catching him.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Unfortunately it didn't story Robo-Thorn from crashing through them like they were wet paper as it roared, electric blue eyes sparking like headlights, lines on its bronze body flickering to life. Percy's ears screamed at the noise of nails on chalkboard, the echo shaking the ground beneath his feet.

"Alright, let's see if you're waterproof."

Everything hurt, but now he put enough distance from the temple that his head wasn't feeling like someone stuffed it with cotton.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the power of the ocean.

And immediately stumbled as it felt like someone punched him in the gut.

[Unauthorized Access Detected]

[Unknown Pseudo-Organic Terminal Detected]

[Divine Corpus Network Access Code Denied]

'You have got to be kidding me.'

Percy moved just in time to block a fifth spike, head swimming with frustration as he batted it away with Riptide, watching the Manticore warily as it seemed to stop chasing him, prowling cautiously as the tubes embedded on its scorpion tale released bursts of steam, the noise reminding him of a train whistle.

Okay… bad news was the freaky temple also messed up with his powers. Good news was that the lion scorpion cyborg thingy ran out of ammo. Which meant he didn't have to keep weaving and bobbing in between the trees and just make a straight beeline to the beach.

Extra bad news though… freaky temple messed with his powers.

If he ran far away, would it stop?

Would he drown if he tried to swim away?

It hadn't stopped him from speaking to the fish earlier, but that was different from diving into deep water with one of Hephaestus' rejected toys on his tail.

Percy sidestepped the monster, cringing as it barreled through another tree.

'I sure hope there aren't important to someone.'

But it did give him an idea.

"Hey, tin can! Getting rusty over there?!"

He wasn't sure if the monster understood him. It hadn't spoken like Dr. Thorn, after all.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Well, that answered that!

Running deeper into the forest, Percy bobbed and weaved in between the trees, looking back as the furious roars and growls grew louder. He was just the glad the monster had run out of whatever ammo it was using earlier, otherwise this stupid plan wouldn't work.

Right. Left. Right.

Dodge!

He rolled under a swipe of the monster's claw, dust and mud clung to his back as he slid closer to one of the creek, the smell of freshwater doing little to comfort him, though he appreciated it healing some of the bruises and scrapes he'd accumulated while running away. The feeling of water as it climbed over his legs and up his back was… refreshing.

If a bit chilly.

But with water came strength, energy and vigor returning to Percy as he planted his feet solidly on the ground, dry despite being sunk knee deep into the water of the creek. Like he'd suddenly got an extra large dose of caffeine.

'At least that's working.'

Head finally cleared, the pain on his stomach was fading. Less of a 'gotten trampled by satyrs' and more of a 'random Ares kid thought I owed him money' on the scale of bodily pain. Still hurt like hell, but he could at least breath without it hurting.

But that was enough.

Twirling Riptide, Percy watched as the metalic monster charged through the treeline, branches and leaves strewn across its body, stinger tail waving wildly as the hissing noise of a train whistle intensified, Percy let it come to him this time. Water splashing about as the manticore surged forth to take a bite out of him.

Percy jumped.

The surge of power left him. But it had carried him off the creek and over the Manticore.

Literally over him.

Percy's arm moved with practiced ease… and the whistle noise died abruptly.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

The manticore roared in agony, a black oil-like sludge pouring out of the stump where its tail should have been. The… dis-tailed member flopped about frantically, stinging at nothing as it sank into the shallows of the creek.

'Okay, that's the tail.'

Now he was just missing the arms, the legs and probably the head too just to make sure.

After this it got easier.

Well… easier-ish.

In water, Percy was stronger and faster, his wounds healed and he had endless energy. And the Manticore was all but dead. Without its tail it couldn't shoot spikes and without its spikes, Percy could just man handle it so long as he stayed in water.

The only problem was the armor.

Seriously, who gave monsters armor?! Killing them was hard enough on a good day. Adding these freaky metal limbs was just plain unfair. And without his water powers, Percy couldn't just drown or crush the thing like the oversized loud soda can that it was.

Dodge, parry, push.

Slash!

Riptide bounced off the monster's metal collar.

'Right, right. They probably didn't want you beheaded.'

Dodge, jump, sink into the creek.

Slash!

The manticore roared, a deep groove carved on its side by Riptide's keen edge. Thick rivulets of black liquid seeping through the wound, wires poking out from beneath monster flesh, sparking and sputtering before Percy kicked the jumbo-sized lion, sending it deeper into the creek.

This was taking long.

Way too long.

"Shouldn't you have gone poof already?" Percy followed it, sword at the ready, eyes trained on the thrashing monster.

This wasn't his first time fighting a machine-like monster, but last time it had at least been a giant killer robot. Pure metal and wiring and all that jazz. Mecha Dr. Thorn over here might not have been pure metal, but there was more than enough of the stuff in it to make it count. And the lack of familiar gold dust meant it probably wouldn't die the usual way.

'Like one of those freaky animatronics.' He shuddered at memories of his Chuck n' Cheese birthday party.

Looking back, maybe that had been a killer robot too.

Even worse. Percy was pretty sure Mecha-Thorn was healing.

Well… not so much healing as gluing itself shut with that icky black stuff. The tail stump had stopped bleeding a while back and his attempt to filet the cyborg was not covered by thick 'bubbles' of back sludge. Like the oily stuff inside Hephaestus' animatronic of doom was helping hold it together.

Percy dashed, water giving way as he sped forward. The manticore lashed out with his metal-covered paw.

Percy dodged to the side… and slashed.

The metal limb finally came off, a splash of black sludge staining the creek as the monster fell backwards, Percy ducking and lashing out with his foot, knocking it out of balance and into its back.

He jumped, momentum carrying him over the prone monster and with a meaty thunk, sunk Riptide into the lower jaw of the Manticore, the bronze blade effortlessly cutting through flesh and bone before leaving the other end of the skull. The monster's struggles immediately stopped, limbs flopping lifelessly against the water as the eerie lights of the monster's eyes died down.

Percy let out a sigh of relief.

'Okay, good to know these things still have brains.' Pulling Riptide free, he climbed out of the monster's chest, nose wrinkling at the smell of bobo-monster blood and gore. Never before had Percy missed the self-cleaning, golden dust variety of monster as much as he did now.

At least they didn't leave behind a mess when they died.

'Still, what the hell was that?' Sitting on the bank of the creek, Percy watched as the water slowly parted around the dead cyborg's body, its sludge-like blood looking like an oil spill as it was carried downstream.

Freaky island made of metal.

Freaky temples with freaky jedi mind tricks.

Freaky monsters that looked like someone watched Terminator one too many times.

'Maybe I should have stuck with the fish.' Though finding out that his powers were acting weird on the island was another can of worms. How was he supposed to get out of here if he couldn't swim away? He still got stronger when he was in water, but that didn't mean he'd be able to breath under it.

Just keeping himself dry had taken way more focus that usual.

[Status Report]

[Atlasia Manticore - 83% damage]

[Artillery-Type Lionete Ballista - Offline]

Again with this?!

Percy jumped to his feet. The water had done its job and helped him fight the monster. But the energy rush was gone and he was already feeling tired. Between the deep seated ache in his limbs and the throbbing inside his head, there was no way he was gonna stick around to see if Hephaestus had programmed this place to have more than one mini-boss.

Then he heard a sound.

He smelled a smell.

A smelly smell that smelled of… oil. Burning Oil.

And it was indeed burning. The oil-like black blood leaking out of the manticore had somehow caught fire, fire so hot it had turned blue, enough that Percy had to step back as it spread over the surface of the creek.

'Greek fire? This thing has Greek Fire for blood?!'

[Initiating Self-Repair Protocol]

[Ichor Replenishmenf - Activated]

[Access Code Accepted - Deploying Atlas Klironomia]

This had to be a nightmare.

Percy wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run away, but could only watch transfixed as the cuts and stab wounds he'd hacked into the monster closed on their own, the oil burning hotter and brighter as molten metal seeped out of the stumps where the monsters arm and tail used to be.

Forget closing wounds, this stuff was rebuilding Dr.Thorn wholesale!

He capped Riptide and ran away.

There was no way he could kill this thing a second time! Not without his powers or some divine help. So Percy did what he should have done from the start and ran for the beach. He ran as fast as he could, spooking the forest critters as he dashed through the ruined forest and to the shoreline.

At this point he'd take the risk of maybe drowning over probably dying.

'Hope dad is listening.' He might have to cash in on one of those 14 missed birthdays.

[Initiating Reboot Sequence]

Crap.

[Reboot Successful]

Double crap.

Percy doubled his pace, hopefully it wouldn't come straight for him.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

'There goes the optimism.' Seriously, could it smell him like monsters or was that freaky temple telling it where he was going? And what was up with the constant P.A announcements inside his head. It felt like someone had hooked his brain into an airport console, what with the constant talking nonsense word in his year. What was he supposed to do about stuff he didn't even understand!

Amidst the continous badgering however, there was one word he recognized.

Atlas.

And that didn't help in the slightest. But he'd worry about that after he was done ditching the tin can with teeth.

'Come on, Percy. Just a bit more!' He could already see the sand of the beach, could smell the salt and hears the sound of the cresting waves mixed in with the enraged roaring of the monster biting at his heels, the crunching and crushing of the trees as it barely managed to keep pace with him by just ramming its way through the forest.

He was close.

So close!

Just a few more steps.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Percy felt the pounce coming, the wind rushing as sand was pushed away into a plume of dirt, the blazing heat of the Manticore flashing across his back as he turned away, knuckles white as he prepared to drive Riptide into the machine monster again. The most terrifying thing about it wasn't the dagger-like teeth, or the Hollywood reject look. No, it was the eyes, hollow blue lights trained on him.

They made Percy finally realize… that it wasn't really alive.

He grit his teeth, ready to scrap the damn thing a second time… before the world suddenly vanished in a flash of light. The roar of a cannonball echoing on his ears as something suddenly hit the Manticore, barely missing Percy as he stumbled backwards, falling ass first into the shallows.

'What the…' Blinking away the salt and the sand, the spots in his sight steadily faded as a crash, just as loud as the first, shook the shoreline. Another flash of light, a literal laser beam cutting through the dust cloud, blasting the Manticore further away into a nearby dune.

There was a man.

Or well… he hoped it was a man. He looked the part of the robot too, like everything else in this floating pile of junk. Black and silver and lines of orange and blue lights running down his body, a cape fluttering in the sea breeze as he stood between Percy and the dazed Manticore robot.

"Target acquired." The Not-Quite-But-Maybe machine man said.

WyverNine · Aug 9, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.2

It was like something out of a movie.

Which movie? Percy wasn't quite sure.

Like one of those Mexican standoffs you sometimes saw in western movies, where suddenly a newcomer intrudes in the middle of a duel to show off how they were actually the main character of the story.

The Manticore robot. The man who might very well be a robot, and Percy standing in a perfect triangle.

Although both of them were focused on the monster, Percy knew the other man was probably watching him just in case. And that was fine. Percy was kinda busy gawking over the guy's armor and the fact he had just seen him shoot freaking laser beams out of it.

The Cabin 9 folks were gonna freak out when he told them about it.

Actually, yeah…

Between the temple, Mecha Thorn over there and the man wearing a full on super suit, maybe Percy shouldn't mention any of this to them. They'd probably try and find a way back here, or rag on him for not having brought them some spicy science fiction stuff from the mystery island that totally didn't belong to their dad.

Maybe he could convince Robot-Man over there to come back with him?

The guy looked like some kinda super-hero flick reject. Like, the ones where the guy wears a suit of armor to fight robot monsters on a floating island in the middle of nowhere. And on that note, holy crap that guy was wearing a suit of armor. It wasn't even the type Percy was used to, it was head to toe black and silver covering with light peeking through the metal.

Were Power Rangers real? He never asked Chiron.

He knew they probably were but…

If demigods were a thing maybe Zordon also was!

'Focus Percy! Manticore first, Blue Ranger later.'

To no one's surprise, the wounds dealt to the monster by the man's sudden arrival were already fixing themselves. If anything, they were closing way faster than earlier, when Percy at least had the time to run away before it recovered. Was it because he stabbed its head? Healing magic or not, it was probably slower to heal something like that than it was to heal some cuts and stab wounds.

And laser burns.

Can't forget those.

It also was acting… smarter?

What was the word for when a monster knows its gonna get killed if it acts stupid, so it decides to sit back and actually plan things out? Strategic? Tactical? Standing around waiting for its body to heal while keeping both Percy and the mysterious armored man in its line of sight.

[Status Report]

[Atlasia Manticore - 53% Damage]

[Initiating Advanced Combat Protocols]

The familiar and unwelcome sound of a train whistle echoed on Percy's ears, eyes trained on the monster's tail as the pumps which lead from its spine to the robotic tail snapped back into place and a glowing, green fluid illuminated them from the inside, the dangerous stinger groaning and shuddering as it flared back to life.

Crap.

Percy rounded on the Manticore, Riptide twirling in hand as he made a decision.

Only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

The armored man gave him an inquisitive look, the blue lights of his helmet reminding Percy of the Manticore's own headlight eyes. There was a piercing quality to them, as if the man wasn't sure about letting him out of his reach without first solving whatever puzzle he thought the young demigod was.

Percy couldn't care less.

"It 's healing. Don't you hear the messages?"

The man tilted his head in confusion.

"Messages?"

"Look, can we leave the chat for later? We need to kill it before that stinger starts working again." Because there weren't any trees to hide behind and with the manticore between them and the forest, they'd be cut to ribbons before they ever made it back into the forest. Well, he would be at least, robot man had his unnecessarily cool armor.

Percy, however, only had two options.

Turn back on the armored man and make a break for the sea, hoping the Manticore wouldn't skewer him with one of those freaky acid spikes. Hopefully his powers weren't so freaked out that they forgot Percy could breathe underwater. And that still ran the risk of him getting shot from behind.

Or he could bite the bullet and hope Robocop over there didn't have the same idea, because Percy wasn't all that confident in going another round with the monster robot by himself. Stupid freaky island and his stupid powers refusing to work. Hopefully they could dismantle this pile of junk before it could go full on Terminator on them.

Yeah, yeah. He watched movies, okay. They had movie nights and everything back at Camp.

Looking back at the armored man, Percy had all of five seconds before he seemingly came to a conclusion, posture adjusting ever so slightly so that he was facing the Manticore fully, his back all but turned to him. Which was… well… nice as far as shows of trust were. Then again, Percy wasn't sure he even could cut through that stuff without the water boosting him.

"I'll take point."

And then… he was off.

Off the ground, that is. Sand blew back as two blasts of light erupted from his feet, throwing him off the ground and towards the Manticore, the force of the blowback nearly throwing Percy back on his ass, barely catching himself just in time to see the Manticore take a swipe at the flying man.

Only for its claws to bounce off the man's shoulder. The return punch staggering the beast as another flash of light blasted out of his knuckles. Then a second punch put the Manticore on its ass. And a third made it tumble through the sand.

Percy gawked

Seriously? Rockets on his boots? Laser knuckles?!

'The gods really like playing favorites.'

It was like watching a house cat trying to fight a grown man.

The man in armor seemed to barely acknowledge the monster despite the clawing, biting and stinging. Everything seemed to just bounce off his body. All the while he continued to turn the monster into a sandbag, fists faster than the eye could see pummeled the manticore's torso to a pulp, black sludge leaking out of its maw like a faucet.

Before he spun around and round housed the poor bastard across the beach.

[Status Report]

[Atlasia Manticore - 78% Damage]

Seriously.

What was up with that guy?

He wasn't the fastest or the strongest Percy had ever seen. But given how just a few months ago he'd watched Artemis fight Atlas, that wasn't a fair comparison. Without hesitation, the man was throwing out fists faster than Percy could follow, the sound of metal bone crunching under their weight enough to make him wince as the Manticore got manhandled.

And he was fast.

Even without the rocket boots, which Percy was still kinda processing, it was like the world was in slow motion every time he moved. Every dodge calculated so he'd have the counter ready when the monster attacked.

Every advantage was exploited.

Every second accounted for.

Just looking at it was breathtaking.

It was like… well… a machine. Perfectly timed strikes. Perfectly timed dodges. Instead of relying on speed or toughness, it was like the man already knew how and where the Manticore would attack before it did, and countered just as it did.

No, it wasn't just that.

He moved strangely. Like a puppet on strings. The Manticore would sting and claw and bite, and the man would jerk out of the way as if something was pulling him away from the strikes, or adjusting his stance so that it was just at the right angle to block or cushion the impact.

Attacks that he couldn't see coming because he was too close to see them coming.

Claws and fangs he was too close to see before they were about to hit him.

Only they never managed to quite hit. A graze here and a hit there. But the Manticore couldn't seem to land any meaningful attacks. It was like the man had eyes on the back of his head. Like he could see every attack coming even if it was from a blindspot. And moved mid-punching to avoid the worse of it.

Then he vanished, only to reappear over the Manticore, hands open as a rain of golden laser beams poured down from onto Dr. Thorn 2.0, its roars of rage and pain drowned out by the sound of the armor as it continued to bombard it from above, before the man disappeared again.

Only for a moment.

'There.' Percy spotted him as he descended foot first on the back of the Manticore. Exactly where the pumps leading from its spine connected with the stinger. The sound of something shattering hit his ears, a mighty crack of thunder which sent another plume of sand up into the air, ground shaking and shifting as pieces of dirt and metal were sent flying before raining down around him.

Good to know he'd taken Percy's warning.

'Guess he didn't need help either.' seeing the battered and broken manticore halfways buried in sand was a sobering, if not relieving, sight. Though Percy couldn't help the slight flash of vindictiveness against the mechanical monster. It had been trying to kill him after all, so he wouldn't feel sad that it got trashed a second time.

The monster itself was… crumpled, like a can of soda that got stepped on. Bent at an odd angle that probably wasn't intended or comfortable for any living creature.

Backflipping off of the monster's back, the armored man landed weightlessly on the sand. Fist resting against the ground, one knee bent and his other resting against the sand as he faced Percy with his freaky glowing eyes on that freaky metal helmet of his. All in all, Percy gave the landing a 8 out of 10 - and the beating a "yikes out of holy crap".

[Status Report]

[Atlasia Manticore - 125% Damage]

Man, talk about overachieving.

This guy wrecked Dr. Thorn's robot brother!

[Atlas Klironomia - Active]

[Atlasia Frame Reconstruction: Initiate]

[Error]

[Emergency Override]

[Error]

[Inhibitor Unit Offline]

[Error]

[Initiating Berserker Protocol]

The Manticore burst into flames once again.

But something was wrong. This time it looked wrong. The black oil-like stuff which was leaking out of the monster wasn't clogging the wounds anymore. It wasn't even trying to close them. It just continued to pool oul more and more, to the point that it was completely covering the monster.

It was… growing?

Expanding?

Like bubblegum, the oil seemed to grow into thick bubbles of black tar, larger and larger as they completely covered the ruined corpse of the monster. The smell of ozone filled the air as it sizzled and boiled, metal and flesh giving way, being reshaped, ballooning grotesquely out of proportion.

In short, this was bad.

Very bad.

"Hey! It's healing again!"

The armored man didn't move.

Percy yelled again. But once again the man-robot thing just sat there on his knees. What was happening? Wasn't he listening? Couldn't he see the monster getting bigger right behind him?!

He just… stood there.

Throwing caution to the wind, Percy ran with Riptide in hand. The Manticore by that point looked like something was growing out of its body, something misshapen and terrifying, almost alien bursting out of its back, wearing the ruined remains of the cyborg monster like an ill-fitting suit.

Two sizes too small.

It swung its claws. Longer than the other, the black tar held it to the body despite it having fallen off.

Waves lapping at his feet, Percy swung his sword with both hands.

It stopped.

His knees buckled.

'Okay, big guy can hit harder now.' Percy strained, pushing it back, his bones creaked. His arms felt like they were about to pop out of his shoulder. Even with the boost from the water, it was just barely enough.

"Hey, can you move?!"

This time he heard something, the sound of metal groaning. This time he also saw something. The struggle of the man beneath the armor as he tried to move beneath the armor. Twitches and struggling as he tried to force himself to move. There was a raspy breath, before a silent voice whispered.

"Get away. Run."

With a monster right at his back?

'Hell no.' Percy was never good at listening to others. Why start now?

He took a deep breath, his tired, still aching body groaning in protest as it drew strength from the water. Not nearly deep enough to fight this thing now that it decided to go full on grey goo on their asses. And yes, Annabeth made him sit through an explanation on what the Grey Goo was.

Not that it would help fighting this thing.

So it was time for the divine hotline after all.

'Dad, sorry for kinda dropping in like this. I know you're kinda busy with, like, ruling the sea and stuff. But I'm kinda lost. Kinda hungry. And there's this huge monster in front of me who's most likely going to eat me. So, I dunno, I'd really appreciate it if you could lend me a hand?'

The Grey Goo staggered back to its feet, the manticore's chromed over skull hanging from the mess of molten metal and oil, limbs hanging from spindly tendrils. Pulsing as it continued to expand and bubble over.

There was a tense pause as the monster seemed to get its bearings.

'Any minute now, dad.'

The sand dollar on his necklace weighed heavily, Percy's knuckles straining white as he hoped against hope that his dad wasn't lying that day when he visited him at home for the first time since they've me. That unlike what Luke was peddling to the other demigods, Percy hoped that his dad at least cared.

'And you, Percy, are my favorite son.'

[Emergency Broadcast Signal - Detected]

[Analyzing…]

[Rogue Combat Unit - Detected]

[Restricted Type-7 Substance - Atlas Klironomia]

[Unregistered Pseudo-Organic Terminal - Detected]

[Analyzing…]

[Emergency Backup Request… granted]

[Establishing Divine Corpus Network Pathway]

The lack of response was disheartening.

For all of five seconds.

Percy sighed, his arms felt heavy. His legs planted firmly on the wet sand, slowly sinking as the Grey Goo monster reared back to strike at him. He moved to strike back, to block again even if it meant hurting himself. He'd rather fight than run away. And there was no way he'd run and leave the guy who saved him behind.

So he swung with all his might.

And then he finally heard it.

Dad's voice.

[Initiating Combat-Type Remote Organic Reinforcement]

[ΑΙΓΑΙΩΝ]

Percy didn't know what he expected.

Maybe his father could have sent a wave and dragged the ruined Manticore into the sea. Maybe he could have fixed whatever was wrong with Percy's powers and let him fight properly. Percy didn't usually ask his dad for help, so he didn't quite know what to expect from the god.

There was a brief feeling of heat flashing from inside his gut.

The sensation of it spreading through his arms and legs. Like a nearly empty glass, Percy felt like suddenly someone decided to pour a whole bottle of the strongest, most caffeinated energy drink down his throat. Like he'd eaten a full plate of ambrosia with a hefty dose of nectar just to make sure.

Percy watched the Grey Goo rear back, preparing for another swing.

He met its strike with his own.

His body burnt from the inside.

He tasted the ozone and salt in the breeze, the world coming into focus as he swung Riptide with all his might, regardless of how much it hurt to move, regardless of whether he'd be able to move or not after that. All he needed was to kill this thing. Kill it so dead that there wouldn't be a corpse left to rebuild with the freaky gooey stuff.

Eyes stinging in irritation as time seemed to slow down to a crawl, Percy watched Riptide meet its mark and felt something break.

His arm.

The Manticore's.

And the sound barrier too.

There was blinding pain for a second. And then the crack of thunder as a cloud of sand erupted from the beach under his feet. A rush of wind blasting upwards, the impact pushing Percy back like a cannon, his ears rung and his eyes stung. His body felt like it was burning from the inside.

And the Manticore was gone.

[Error.]

[Error.]

[Signal Lost]

[Purge-Type Atlasia Manticore is Offline]

[Initiating System Reboot]

Percy smiled, falling on his ass besides the still immobilized man in armor, who despite everything hadn't even moved an inch. Not even when Percy's swing had carved a hole in the island, which was now missing a small section of the beach, where the Manticore used to be, leaving only a small extension of ocean where there once was sand.

'Wow. Dad really doesn't pull his punches.'

"Are you… alive?" He heard the man say as rested his back against the robotman's still unmoving body.

"Somehow. You okay?"

"I am unharmed, merely… drained."

Percy nodded.

"Yeah, that was a bit of a workout."

There was a brief pause, Percy taking the time to catch his breath as the burst of UNLIMITED POWAH his dad shot him full of faded and his body stopped feeling like it was about to pop like a balloon.

He let out a sigh of relief.

"So… you like fish on sticks?"

-

Apparently the answer was yes.

'Where is it all going.' Percy was both bewildered and impressed.

He'd never seen someone eat so much fish before. Sure, the man was probably tired and hungry from their fight against the mechanical monster of doom. But Percy was pretty sure he'd packed enough fish and berries for a guy twice his size… and was still somehow going strong.

And he thought he had an appetite.

Mind you, Percy was also starving after that fight and the salted fish jerky with crushed berry sauce was quickly becoming one of his favorite dishes, if only because of how much there was to go around and how hungry he was after nearly getting killed a half dozen times.

If there was one thing he'd learnt as a demigod was that being hungry made you an easy target. Not only to monsters, but also the seemingly pleasant old ladies who want to turn you into a statue because they happened to have that one fling with your dad back when A.D was B.C and she never got over it.

What was he talking about again?

Oh yeah, right, fish burgers.

"More berries?" He offered a handful of the small fruits to his… acquaintance? Friend? What did you call someone who saved you from a killer robot, and who you ran in to save right after?

"Thank you. I apologize again for intruding."

He was… certainly odd.

Not bad or a jerk or anything like some of the adults Percy had the displeasure of dealing with. No, the helpful stranger who saved his life was unfailingly polite and treated him respectfully, accepting the meager offerings of fish on stick and dry berries as if they were priceless gifts.

Percy did take the time to finally look at him better while eating.

For starters, he was tall, and somehow had white hair despite looking so young. Though the red colored bangs made him consider whether he was just making one of those 'fashion statements' that the girls from Cabin 10 liked raving on and on about.

Though he didn't strike him as the type to care about fashion magazines.

If anything, the man reminded Percy of Chiron.

There was a… serene air to him. Like he knew everything he needed to know about life, and nothing could really surprise him, and even if it did, the man himself would never react like it did.

Oh, that reminded him.

"I never caught your name."

Green eyes met gold.

"I never said it."

Well, that was fair. A bit suspect, but fair. Percy didn't really care about being anonymous. Not after all the adventures and problems he had to solve for his father and the other gods, it was easy to get recognized, and monsters found him regularly. There was just no point in pretending he wasn't who he was.

So he might as well give the man a show of trust.

"Well, you can call me Percy."

He smiled thinly.

"Rider."

Percy choked on some leftover berries.

"Was Ranger taken?" He joked.

"I wasn't aware of that Class Designation. Are you a Ranger?"

… And it flew right over the guy's head.

Percy backtracked.

"I wish! If I had cool armor like yours I'd probably not get into nearly as much trouble as I do."

And wasn't that an understatement. The only reason he'd gotten out of trouble this time was because dad was looking out for him. But there was still something… off about that whole fight now that Percy had the time to think about it. From the freaky temple and robot monster, to the constant voices on his head. It felt like he was hearing a conversation that wasn't meant for him.

Like demigod dreams, only in real time.

And then there was his dad's voice.

Unlike the temple, which sounded robotic like everything else in this damn island, after Percy called his father for help he thought he heard him speak to him. Or well, saying something that he couldn't quite understand. And then made him strong enough to break his army swinging a sword.

Which had then unbroken itself after another dip in the ocean.

But that just created even more questions.

Why hadn't his father talked to him again. Why could only he hear the freaky messages from the temple? Where was this place? And most importantly… was there a way to get back from her to Camp? It had been half a day already and he wouldn't put it past Annabeth to run back into the Labyrinth guns blazing to look for him.

"I don't suppose that cool armor of yours comes with a map of this place?"

The white haired man shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Percy. I find myself to be equally lost. Though I'd wager you'd have a better idea of where we are than I am."

The young demigod shrugged.

"Beats me. All I know is we're stuck in the middle of the Atlantic."

"That is… a vast understatement."

Percy scratched his cheek sheepishly, looking away.

"There's nothing I can really do about it. The freaky temple is doing something to mess up with my powers."

"This is the second time you've mentioned a temple. Earlier, you asked me if I couldn't hear its messages. I'd be interested in hearing more about this."

Percy tried to recall whatever details he could. It was hard to describe something you couldn't actually remember. The sensations and feelings were muted, and whatever images or figures that had been present there were long gone from his memory. He couldn't even say for certain that he knew how big the temple was, only where it was located, and mostly because the Manticore's trail of destruction lead right back to it.

"Hmm, so there might be a bounded field at play."

Bounded what?

"You're speaking Greek, Rider."

Unfortunately the man didn't seem to understand jokes either.

"I'm very sure I'm speaking english. If you are having any issues, I am fluent in fifteen languages, and I can also be a passable Phantasmal interpreter."

Was… this how Annabeth felt? All the time?

"And you haven't heard the temple's messages? At all?" It was weird, asking someone else if they had the same voice in their head, but at this point Percy had seen enough to know when divine shenanigans were afoot.

"I only heard you speak. It surprised me how you seemed to know when the monster would attack or when it would heal. I assumed you had some form of clairvoyance."

Percy the Oracle?

Not a chance.

"Sorry. Can't see the future. I only know what I heard the freaky temple say after we killed that monster. Something about rebooting? For all I know that means it could send out more monsters. We could always try to leave if you can carry us off the island. I'd really appreciate the ride home."

Rider appeared to consider it for a moment, eyes focusing on the distance. A look Percy recognized from himself and the many many hours he spent trying to figure out one math problem or another.

Hopefully the armored man was better at calculus than him.

"Unfortunately we don't have a map. And without a map, we would be flying around blind. If my armor runs out of power again, I will be immobilized and we will be left defenseless at sea."

And considering Percy still wasn't sure whether could drown right now or not… yeah that was probably the right call.

"If you'd allow me to make a suggestion?"

"Sure?" Well, any idea was better than no idea.

"Given circumstances, leaving might be impossible without a more permanent energy source for my armor. However, If the temple is indeed 'rebooting' as you said, than it is possible that its protections aren't active. If the protections aren't working then we might be able to enter the temple if we move fast enough and secure ourselves not only better shelter but also resources. At the very least, I would like us to establish a connection with a leyline."

Percy nodded.

That was a good plan. It made sense to him, even if he didn't like the idea of going back to the freaky clearing. Not having to sleep at the beach and not having anymore of those robot monsters sounded great.

Although…

"Rider?"

The man looked up from his food.

"Yes?"

"What's a leyline?"

As it turned out, Rider was right.

The temple wasn't hidden anymore. And to no one's surprise, looked like a temple. Complete with marble columns and everything.

Percy was reminded of the times he visited Olympus. The style was certainly similar, even if he couldn't point out all the probably infinite differences between them like Annabeth probably could. As far as he was concerned, all temples kinda looked the same once you'd
been to one. Even with the weird camouflage they had to walk through.

'Bounded Field, Percy.' Rider chided him.

Which for a magical force field felt almost… mundane.

"I guess they're still missing a god of architecture."

Rider chuckled, it was soft and barely there, but Percy could hear him bite back a snort of laughter.

"Yes, I suppose the gods don't have much of a sense for aesthetics. Although… It is quite strange. See these statues?" Gesturing to the walls framing the entrance to the inside of the temple, Percy tried to see what Rider meant. But there wasn't much other than the same usual statues.

Twelve of them, as per usual. Because everything had to always be about the same twelve gods. And that was half the reason he was stuck on this island to begin with.

"You mean the Olympians?"

"Yes, temples like this were quite usual back in ancient times, you see. But most were limited to fewer gods, with many gods having regional names and titles associated with those names that they didn't share across locations. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a temple with as… complex a set up as this one."

Okay, so it was lecture time. Percy nodded along, even if he didn't get the whole regional thing. Annabeth probably mentioned something like that before. But she mentioned a whole lot of things Percy tended to forget.

"So not a lot of Temples worshiped all the gods, is what you mean?"

"Very few in fact. There is also the fact that some very important gods are absent. Do you notice it?"

Percy tried to.

The usual suspects were there. Mr. Lightning and Thunder was there. His dad was there. The woman with the spear was Athena. The woman holding the food must have been Demeter. And he could guess at some of the others. It didn't take a genius to guess who was the woman on a fancy dress next to Zeus, after all.

But really, it was just the same set up as usual. Zeus and his brothers, his sisters and some of his kids. So what could he do- wait a second there.

What was Hades doing there?

And who was the young-looking goddess without a bow sitting next to Demeter?

"I don't see Hermes… or Mr. D."

Odysseus nodded gravely.

"Hades was feared, but never directly worshiped, even back then. Some of Zeus' sons aren't included while Lady Hestia has seemingly retaken her seat amongst the twelve."

"But what does that mean?"

Odysseus paused.

"I do not know yet. This could be only an aesthetic choice, as I said. But it is strange that twelve gods are present, yet such important figures as Lord Hermes and Dionysus are missing. I'm afraid I was never one to dab into the deeper mysteries and meanings behind temples. Tactics and strategizing are my specialty."

"Hence the cool armor." Percy wasn't pouting and nobody could prove otherwise.

The silver-haired man gave him a look of exasperation.

"You seem strangely fixated on the subject of my armor."

Percy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well, yeah. I think everyone would like to have something like that. I sure would love to hit monsters with my fists without any trouble and I know some kids who'd probably give an arm to get their hands on something like that."

"Wouldn't they be missing a hand if they had to give an arm?"

Yeah yeah, you're smart.

No need to show off.

"You know what I mean."

Rider smiled thinly.

"Yes, I suppose I do. Though I suppose wanting my armor for its 'coolness' factor is certainly a novelty. Most would have focused on its source than on how it looks." The two of them stood before the statues a moment longer. They were missing something. Percy knew that because he spent enough time at camp and visited Olympus enough times to know their usual set up.

Hell, the cabins at camp were set up in the same order as their thrones!

Speaking of cabins though…

"You're one of Athena's, right? Didn't expect her to be the type to hand out armor."

Rider looked away, eyes trained on one of the statues.

"She happened to favor me in life. This armor is just 'proof'."

"Not one of her kids then?"

Rounding on him, Rider looked a mix of amused and surprised.

"You're an oddly forward young man. It must get you into all kinds of trouble."

Percy snorted.

Yeah, forward was one way to put it. Others would have probably called him impertinent or cheeky, and they'd be right. But Percy wasn't one to sweat the little details. Especially when he was dealing with some kind of older model super demigod project. Who might or might not be Annabeth's sibling.

"Am I wrong?"

Rider shook his head. He seemed to have that same look Chiron had whenever Percy happened to screw up in some unique or unexpected way. Like he wasn't sure whether to be impressed or lecture him on what exactly he did wrong.

"Sorry to disappoint you. But no, I'm not a child of Athena. I just happened to have caught her interest in more… orthodox ways."

So, he wasn't Annabeth's brother.

Then it hit him.

"Wait… so you're one of her, you know, brain hook ups?"

The man looked scandalized, the placidly serene look on his face completely vanishing for the first time since they'd started the conversation. Mouth agape, eyes slightly popping out, the man looked like he was having trouble processing what Percy had just said while his robot brain glitched out.

"I beg your pardon?" He choked out.

"I mean. You're pretty smart, and you're pretty good in a fight. I thought that, you know, maybe Athena was 'interested' in you?"

His mouth closed with a click.

"I assure you that isn't the case."

Huh, okay.

Guess that was that theory out of the way.

Conversation wavered from that point on. Not that there was any awkward silence, Rider was good company, but there was only so much you could talk about with a stranger. And after the revelations about the freaky temple, most of their time was spent skirting around it to make sure there weren't any more clues they were missing or traps.

It was boring work, but hey, it beat fighting about Mecha-Thorn.

Eventually they found themselves back at the entrance, the heavy set of bronze doors framed by the statues, carved on it was a complex star or snowflake symbol. Just looking at it made Percy's eyes hurt.

"Have there been any more messages?"

He shook his head.

"All quiet since we killed the Manticore."

"Then I suppose there won't be any dangers with opening the temple. If you could?" Percy nodded, taking position behind the man, Riptide uncapped and at the ready as Rider pushed against the doors. Only to flinch when the etching on the wall lit up like the world's biggest christmas star.

[Analyzing Divine Corpus]

[Cross Referencing…]

[Match found.]

[Welcome, Siege-Type Strategic Command Warship Pallas-Athena]

[Initiating Reboot]

The doors snapped open with a hiss, sinking into the walls beside them like they belonged to the world's oldest and most expensive shopping mall. A brief wave of light washing over them as they jumped back.

"Did you-?"

"Hear it? Yes, it seems to have recognized my armor."

The inside of the temple was a long, barely lit, corridor. With torch-shaped lights hanging from the sides as it lead further into the building. Half of them weren't work, the others were dim or flickering, giving the temple that much needed but definitely uncalled for horror movie atmosphere.

Percy hated horror movies.

"Should we?"

Rider put a finger on his lips, eyes watching the dark corridor warily. Percy immediately put up his guard when he heard something moving down the barely lit hallway. Slow steps, the tapping of feet on the stone floor as something… no… someone approached them from the inside.

An ominous green glow forming around the figure like wings… or some kind of halo.

"Greetings." She greeted them.

And Percy stared, heart hammering against his chest for a completely different reason.

'Whoa okay, hot robot girl!'

His first thought when he saw the girl walk out of the hallway was something along the lines of a hormonal scream courtesy of the monkey part of his brain. The second thought regarding the mysterious girl was that someone out there really liked robots and wanted to slap them on everything in the island.

Seriously, the girl was covered head to toe in metal!

Never mind the weird glass monocle that Percy felt like he should recognize from somewhere. She was wearing a painted metal head piece, her legs were covered in metal plates and there were shields and what looked like freaking wings hanging out from her hips and back.

Percy looked at Rider for some help, but the usually serene man had the expression of someone who just got smacked in the face by a fish. Mouth hanging agape, eyes blown back in surprise. As if he were seeing a ghost.

Did he know her?

"I welcome you, honorable guests, to the Memorial Island Temple, Atlasia."

WyverNine · Aug 9, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.3

"... and this carving was manufactured following the decisive victory of Olympian Forces in the 7th Year of the Titanomachy. On it, you may have noticed the sudden disappearance of Pillar Metis, who on the 733th day of the conflict, vanished following what was assumed to be a disagreement with Chief Pillar Kronos. It also marks the first recorded deployment of the Pseudo-Organic Siege-Type Manufacturer Unit, Echidna. This variation was believed to be…"

Percy was lost.

Percy was confused.

Most importantly, Percy was getting bored.

He hadn't expected to get an ancient museum tour from some kind of robotic girl after having to fight for his life. And he felt like he should have brought a notebook because at the rate the girl was going, he'd forget half of what she said before they moved onto the next engraving, or painting, or very important piece of metal that didn't look any different from those lying around at the beach.

Of which… there were a lot.

If he ever had to look at a marble statue again, or hear about some VERY IMPORTANT meeting that the gods had at some point in their honestly too long history, it would be too soon.

Unfortunately that didn't keep their tour guide from rambling on.

At first they had been wary of following her into the building, what with the freaky temple playing tricks on Percy and all the problems it had caused him. But Rider had gone… completely silent when she appeared, not saying a word or taking off his helmet the moment they entered.

So they agreed to the tour.

"And this is a celebratory urn containing the remains of Titan Helios-"

Percy raised his hand.

"Is something the matter?" The young woman tilted her head in confusion, staring at Percy's hand as if trying to decipher whether there was anything wrong with it.

"You never told us what this place is."

Her eyes, the clearest and deepest shade of forest green Percy had ever seen, seemed to flicker under the faux-torchlight, her face showing nothing but confusion.

"I have already answered it. This is the Memorial Island Temple, Atlasia. And you, honored guests, were given permission to pursue it as per the Interstellar…"

Percy waved her off.

"No, no. You said that. I just wanted to know what this place is for."

Blinking, there was a spark of realization as the mannequin-like woman rested a hand on her own cheek. The movements were… off. Like something was moving the arm for her while the rest of her body remained still. Percy was used to watching people move. Heck, he helped teach a class on sword fighting back at Camp so he knew that when you moved one part of your body, another one also had to move.

One led to the other.

So on so forth.

But the girl's body just… didn't behave like that. It was stiff and mechanical, similar to how Rider would move in the middle of a fight. It barely shifted or twitched as she walked perfectly uniform steps. Rider at least showed there was a human underneath all that cold steel.

This girl just… didn't.

"This is the Memorial Island Temple, Atlasia. An eternal monument to the victory of the Twelve Olympians over the previous generation of gods. Here, we preserve the memory of their triumph in perpetuity, recording the glorious achievements of Great God Zeus. Currently the temple boasts over 3738 exhibits gathered and maintained by the latest advancements in technology over the course of 9503 standard planetary rotations."

Percy got… exactly half of that.

"That's a lot of days…"

"Years, Percy. Nine thousand years." Rider corrected him, eyes fixed on a nearby exhibit, suspiciously avoiding any and all contact or conversation with their guide. The man looked so uncomfortable Percy thought he might bolt the second they weren't looking.

Whoa, wait a second there.

"Nine thousand years?!"

The girl seemed perplexed at his confusion.

"Of course. This Memorial was constructed on the first anniversary of Olympus' victory during the Titanomachy. All our exhibits are genuine articles, not forgeries and we pride ourselves on maintaining it to our exacting standards for the glory of Olympus and Great God Zeus."

What kind of standards?

The place was abandoned, half the lights didn't work and what didn't have dust on it was probably made of dust.

"When was the last time someone visited?"

"Entry logs state our last inspection was approximately four thousand two hundred and seventy seven days as per standard protocol, all units have been put on stasis and the temple itself entered energy conservation following…"

So it was a long time since anyone has actually been here.

Which meant the gods probably forgot about this place.

Which meant they wouldn't be coming here to rescue him anytime soon.

'Because it's just like them to forget things they don't care about.' Percy was frustrated, he'd had a long day, from getting blown up by a volcano, to having his powers messed around with and fighting a giant killer robot, all while being powered by fish jerky and berries. And now one of his hopes for being rescued and going back to Camp were dumped out the window.

"Can't you just… I dunno, send a message to Hephaestus? Or just call him down here?"

He saw Rider stiffen from the corner of his eyes.

"It is against standard protocol to use communication channels for anything other than emergencies. Additionally… communications have been down for approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty eight standard rotations."

And now he wanted to scream.

"It would be better to not bother the Director, Percy. Lord Hephaestus and Lady Athena are the busy kind and wouldn't take kindly to us bothering them over a simple routine inspection.." Rider walked past them stiffly, carefully avoiding eye contact with their guide as he took in the sights of the museum. Doing all the appreciative hums that someone who actually could pass history class did whenever they recognized something in a museum.

Percy couldn't empathize. He passed Mr. Brummer's classes, but most of the ancient history he remembered was the sort that tried to kill him.

Also, couldn't he at least act bored too?

Or at least so cold?

Seriously, he got it. They were inside the freaky temple being led around on a grand tour by… a surprisingly life-like mechanical tour guide who seemed to put Rider on edge despite Percy knowing the guy could pulverize a Manticore in seconds with his bare fists. So what was the problem with him?

And why was he pretending he actually knew where they were and what they were doing?

"Sorry about him. Probably doesn't like robot people."

The blonde blinked in confusion. The motion as unnerving and artificial as everything else about her.

"Robot?"

"Yeah, aren't you another of Hephaestus' creations? Kinda like that Manticore outside?"

She giggled, the sound of wind chimes tinkling in the breeze taking Percy by surprise. It was a nice laugh and… oh no his cheeks were red.

Code red! Abort mission!

"You are mistaken, Honorable Guest. I am not an automaton but a Steward-Type Administrative Terminal."

And Percy was lost again.

"Don't have a shorter name?"

The not-robot girl seemed pensive, lips pursued as she tried to recall something.

And Percy had to look away again.

Seriously, she wasn't even trying to look cute. Even with how… mechanical she acted, it was completely effortless on her part. Percy found she looked better like this instead of the monotone tour guide. The way her green eyes, a completely different shade of his, lit up with life when they just talked was much better.

Her smile looked more natural and body relaxed.

Like maybe she wasn't a robot after all.

'And I'm shelving that thought.' He was not about to have a teenager crisis while Luke could be getting ready to march on Camp Half Blood any minute now.

"It is an older callsign assigned to the Pleiades Squadron, but you may refer to me as Calypso if it would please you, Honorable Guest."

Percy groaned at the excessive formality.

"Can you please just call me Percy? All this Guest stuff is-"

Pretty robot girl says what now?

"You said Calypso?"

"Indeed, that is my original intended callsign."

"As in the Nymph? From the Odyssey? That Calypso?"

The girl looked confused, as if she understood what he said but not the meaning of the words. Really, that was the most human she managed to pull off since the start of the tour. He could only imagine how bored she must have been staying in this place waiting for someone to give the tour guide spiel to.

And hey, if she really was thousands of years old then maybe she was just rusty being social?

Percy was rusty and he was about 15.

"I'm afraid my records hold no data regarding any form of naval journey, Honored Guest. As stated I am a Steward-Type Terminal and haven't left my post ever since the inauguration of the Atlasia Temple."

A coincidence then? Not every girl named Calypso was probably the one from the stories. Percy sure as well wasn't a Son of Zeus, after all.

"At least you're not gonna turn me into a squid-man. So that's good."

She looked at him, puzzled.

"I lack the capabilities to do such, yes."

Seriously, was nobody on this island capable of getting a joke?

The rest of the tour went by… relatively well? Percy was still bored and didn't get most of the jargon that Calypso threw around. And it wasn't like he didn't know the story of how Zeus and his siblings beat up their dad for eating them and overthrew the older generation of gods.

This was about the same… only everything was made of metal.

"This is the last exhibit of our inauguration tour. If it would please you, we may continue into the adjacent rooms for the next exhibit. Why, I find the strategic aftermatch recordings to be utterly fascinating, and we even have the eye of an Annihilation-Type Typhon stored away. It's believed to have been a sudden mutation caused by a glitch in the…"

Percy snorted back a laugh.

"Man, you're really dedicated to the whole science fiction bit. Hephaestus must have been going through a phase when he built this place."

The long tilted her head.

"Science fiction?"

Wait, what?

"You know-" Percy tried to think of a way to explain.

"A genre of literary and visual entertainment, normally featuring ideas and concepts connected to a faraway future, often taking place in an interstellar setting, with a focus on the conflict between man and technology."

"That. Thanks."

Calypso, however, looked like someone had slapped her with a fish.

"Well, I ever! This is a museum, Mr. Percy. We deal in cold hard facts. Ancient history and the triumphs of Olympian civilization. We would never waste resources and manpower on a simple flight of fancy! I reassure you that every preserved relic present here is 100% genuine, some dating as far back as…"

"Sorry, sorry." Percy apologized hastily. "I guess I'm just… surprised that an important place like this has been kinda left forgotten this long."

"Yes… well, I admit that we could do with some proper maintenance. But please, honored guests, don't see this as a sign of our lack of commitment. Why, I assure you that we will treat an emissary of Vice Director Pallas Athena with nothing but our very best. This I swear on the Twelve!"

Pumping her fist to the heavens, Percy smiled at the infectious energy. The girl was just… plain nice to be around, even if she was a little stiff.

"And as a representative of the Vice Director, I will endeavor to run a thorough investigation of the facilities. And of course, I will be counting on your support should there be any questions. "If possible, I would like to begin a more in depth investigation. Reviewing whatever data is available on the main systems of the temple would be a good start."

Percy blinked.

Huh? Since when was he… oh oooooooh! He was pretending to be someone important. Yeah, the oldest trick in the book.

"But of course, I am Inspection-Ready!"

Percy looked away. Again with the cutesy poses and cheery smiles.

Was she trying to fluster him on purpose?

He fell in step besides Rider, watching in amusement as their guide struggled with a door. Hacing told them not to bother themselves over such trivial manners, they were left to witness the scene of a not-robot girl wrestling with the largest set of automated doors this side of the Atlantic.

And she was losing… badly.

"So, what's the plan?"

His… acquaintance? Friend? Fellow hero stuck on the same island? stopped, putting down one of the carvings he'd been pretending to admire while Calypso ran ahead of them to unlock the 'main' room of the temple. Percy wasn't expecting much other than more dusty pieces of metal. Maybe some books to go along with it.

Futuristic or not, this place was ancient.

"We are running reconnaissance."

Percy very much doubted that.

"By pretending we are…what? Museum inspectors? Doesn't that seem a bit risky? What is gonna happen if she tries to call Olympus and they realize we are in this super ancient memorial place? We'll get in trouble."

And that was putting it lightly. Percy was already on Zeus' list of possible smite targets. And Athena had actually voted to have him reduced to atoms the last time she saw him. He didn't need to give either of them any reason to try and run that vote again just because he washed away on some island.

"I understand your logic, and normally I would agree. However, I believe that current circumstances dictate we avail ourselves to whatever means we have of escaping this island or establishing communications. Unless you have other ideas to propose, I ask that you at least cooperate for the time being."

Lying was.. well… something Percy knew how to do.

Not well, but he'd tricked some stupid monsters here and there. Even snuck into the Underworld one time.

Bur lying to the well meaning peppy tour guide felt… low.

Unfortunately he had already tried asking the local wildlife if they knew of an entrance to the Labyrinth, which didn't work. And Percy wasn't confident just diving and looking for it when his powers were so messed up.

"So… what happens when she calls Hephaestus, or I dunno, Athena. I'm not exactly her favorite person right now."

Rider smiled sardonically.

"Yes, I imagine she'd be rather cross with me if I declared to be acting in her name."

Good to know the cast iron goddess was just as frosty to her favorites. Really made him feel bad for Annabeth.

"Then why?"

Stopping before the next door, Rider gave Percy an appraising look. Obviously trying to see something or understand some grand puzzle. The Son of Poseidon didn't really understand when he or Annabeth would give him these looks, like he was somehow being mysterious or hiding something.

He wasn't. Promise!

"Well, I suppose there are three reasons why I decided this was the best course of action. We needed shelter. We needed resources. And most importantly, we needed information. None of which we could gain by staying at the beach."

"And here I thought you liked fish on sticks."

The armored man chuckled.

"Yes, but I would also like to avoid any more unnecessary fights like that Manticore. We can use this temple as a base. From here we can go about finding out where we currently stand and hopefully find a way to leave."

Yes. Because that's what Percy had been trying to do since he got here. Leave. Because every minute he spent here was another minute something terrible could be happening at Camp. Could be happening to Annabeth, Grover, Nico and Tyson. Just thinking about them lost in the Labyrinth, or fighting a monster invasion made him shake with nervous energy.

They were running on a clock.

"And the whole inspector thing?"

Rider coughed, looking away.

"Well, what Lady Athena doesn't know won't hurt her. This is an abandoned temple after all, so it's unlikely they'll notice our presence here."

So… cross their fingers and hope nothing went wrong?

Percy could work with that.

He still found it strange though. The man he'd met earlier was a bit formal and didn't seem to have a working sense of humor, but he wasn't this stiff before. Nor did he make it a point to keep his helmet on while they were speaking. But the moment they walked into the temple, Rider snapped shut like an oyster. His words were clipped and he was acting as coldly and distant as possible.

He looked at Calypso. The girl didn't seem to recognize him either. Or at least didn't know Rider by face, only by his clear connection to Athena.

Something was off about this and Percy knew he was missing some kind of detail.
"And how are we getting off the island?"

Rider sighed.

"In a perfect world, our host would provide me with transportation. I wouldn't say know to a better fuel alternative for my armor, either. But it would seem this Temple is barely running as it is. Whatever energy source it has won't likely last."

Percy couldn't empathize. He'd always pick swimming over flying.

Less chance to get zapper.

"It would be way easier if we could find a way back into the Labyrinth. At least back to St. Helens."

Rider stared at him, the lights on his helmet flashing in bewilderment.

"The volcano? But what does that-"

"Lord Rider, Mr. Percy, I believe the door's open now!"

The heavy set of bronze doors Calypso had been tinkering with suddenly snapped open with an agonized screech, years without maintenance or care showing their marks. Scratch marks marring the otherwise clear white marble floor as the room opened. And like everywhere else in the building, it was dusty and dark-

There was suddenly light.

Percy was speechless.

Not because they were standing in what might have been the setting of the world's most expensive space opera. Not because he could feel the power thrumming through the walls and the floor as veins of… something ran through them, leading back to the most complex piece machinery Percy had ever seen.

He lacked words to describe all of that and more.

But what really got Percy was the feeling of it.

Just… standing there, at the entrance of the room, feeling the electricity in the air as it washed over him. It was like Percy knew the place from memory. As if he had been here before and the surge of familiarity bordered on the nostalgia and nearly overcame him as the rush of energy made goosebumps crawl up his spine.

This was… just different.

Different from crossing the Camp's Boundary line.

Different from taking the elevator to Olympus.

Like he was suddenly aware of every inch of the room, the humming of the machine in his skin, the low glow of the veins in his eyes. Walking past the threshold, Percy felt like he was walking into one of his dreams. Where the world around him wasn't quite real, the comforting presence surrounding him as if he were wading through lukewarm water, heartbeat thundering in his ears as he approached the 'altar' at the center of it.

Only for a hand to clamp on his shoulders and pull him back.

"Percy?"

And like that, he was back in the present.

"W-What happened?"

Rider looked concerned, glowing blue eyes giving him a once over before aiming a suspicious look at the altar.

"You suddenly stopped talking. The next thing I knew, you seemed… enthralled."

Percy shook his head, the pressure behind his eyes still present, only not as overpowering as before.

"Sorry. I just felt… weird." Like stepping inside the room had suddenly flipped a switch on the back of his head. He still could feel the thrumming of the walls and the rush of something through the veins lead back to the altar. And the most confusing part, Percy was sure he recognized it.

But that didn't make any sense.

The General was gone. Back underneath the sky he was forced to hold.

"What a fascinating reaction." Their guide rounded on Percy, face so close to his he could see the small details on his iris. The inhuman light shining behind them similar to the same intimidating glares of the Manticore. Only instead of a thirst for blood, the robot girl, Calypso, he corrected, looked at him like he was the most interesting thing in the museum filled with priceless divine junk.

Rider parted them, standing between him and the girl.

"You knew that would happen?"

She scoffed.

"Of course not. This is a maintenance exclusive area. The beating heart of Atlasia. Certainly not something fit to be displayed for honorable guests. Just look at this place, it's falling apart. Just being here makes my spine crawl with disgust."

Wait what?

"Then why does everything look so advanced? It's like I'm inside a spaceship!"

Giving him a strange look, the robot girl walked over to the golden glass panel of the 'altar', fingers skillfully gliding over its surface as the curved plates which surrounded the center of the room lit up.

"According to the records, one of our security failsafes was triggered following a long period of inactivity. In order to continue functioning, the Temple started a process of autophagy in which parts of itself were repurposed in order to maintain the core processes of Atlasia. Our Type-1 Klironomia stockpile has also been exhausted after the system used it to manufacture a defective Purge-Type Combat Unit."

"Kliro-what?"

"Klironomia, an experimental technology developed in far away research facilities such as Atlasia. Though we aren't supposed to be using those, there is just so little material to go around… oh I hope Branch Director Hephaestus won't scold me for this blunder."

Percy sighed. Nothing was adding up.

So he was in some freaky metal island made by Hephaestus to celebrate he and the other gods kicking the titan's asses for the first time. Only it was left forgotten for thousands of years to gather dust. And even after all that, it was still made of enough futuristic stuff that Percy felt like he'd walked right into a sci-fi blockbuster.

Which was somehow old as bones.

"Are there any more Klironomia available for use?"

Calypso shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. All we had was the experimental batch in storage, and that was used. We can't even initiate the production process again, the temple will need a complete overhaul and…"

"And?"

"And our connection to the Divine Corpus Network has been breached. I cannot access our main files on Mnemosyne Island nor our main generators on Hyperion Island. Without these and with the Temple being… worn down by its period of inactivity I'm afraid it will take us some time to resume our activities."

Percy… actually understood some of that.

Especially because Annabeth had been making him read up on the first titan war. Names like Mnemosyne and Hyperion did feature here and there. One being the mother of the Muses he saw playing at Olympus, the other being one of Kronos' brothers, who bound and held down Ouranos limbs before their younger brother castrated him.

Funtime family activities, yeah.

So… Mnemosyne, Titaness of Memory equals records.

Hyperion, Titan of Light, equals generators.

'Boy, Hephaestus needs to come up with some better naming schemes.' It didn't even make sense. Why name these places after people they had to fight with?

"What do you have access to, then?"

Calypso pursued her lips, eyes lighting up as she read line after line of numbers and letters that looked as jumbled together as english. At least to Percy, that is. The golden metal altar lighting up beneath her touch like the worlds gaudiest lava lamp.

"Only historical records and a list of all preserved relics. Our capabilities as a research center were limited to experimentation on Type-1 Pseudo Organic Oricalcum Hybridization. And rely on our sister facilities for the needed resources. My deepest Apologies, Lord Rider, but it would seem I overestimated our current capabilities."

Rider waved her off, looking as professional and dismissive as a manager who expected to be disappointed.

"It's well within expectations. Knowing where repairs will be needed is part of the inspection process." Wow, he made his lies sound so natural. He barely blinked at the load of bullshit he was feeding the girl.

"But of course. As to be expected of an emissary from Lady Athena. Your foresight is commendable!" Her being so cheery and trusting also didn't help. Percy already felt bad enough.

"Any other resources we should be made aware of? Emergency supplies, vehicles. Anything you might have in storage that needs to be replaced or accounted for?"

And that was their angle.

Finding a way off the island that didn't involve get caught trespassing.

"Hmm, according to our records we have some emergency failsafes, as well as an old evacuation vessel. Supplies are… limited, though we may harvest raw materials from the island itself. You will be satisfied to know we still have two more Purge-Type Combat Units available, and that despite our… technical difficulties, the Temple's database is still untouched."

So they had two more of those freaky metal manticores? Great.

"A map would be good too." Percy piped in.

"A map?" Calypso blinked confused.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Deflect, Percy!

"I… have an interest in old sea charts and maps. That's why I came here, you see!" He wasn't lying… much. Percy was interested in learning about navigation after the whole mess at the Sea of Monsters. He just… never saw much use for it since his powers always let him pinpoint exactly where he was at sea or which direction he should be going to get where he wanted to be.

He heard Rider chuckle, muffled as it was by his helmet.

"Truly? I'm something of a sailor myself."

"Is that so? Me too! I've always loved the sea, and there is just something so… appealing to the idea of going for a trip. Speaking professionally of course, I'd never abandon my post, but this is one of my favorite areas of study."

Percy rolled his eyes.

Of course the guy with the fancy armor and the girl covered in high-tech doodads would have an easier time. It's not like Percy could use radio or radar to navigate. That stuff would just attract monsters to him. Star navigation? Pilotage? Compass reading? Yeah, he could do all of them.

He prepared just in case he needed to go sailing again, you know, to avoid a mess like the one in the Bermuda Triangle.

He just didn't think it would be this soon.

"Well, you'll be happy to know we do have some nautical charts available for perusal. Some were even uploaded to our records very recently so they should be even up to date in terms of routes!"

Very recent… as in a few thousand years back?

Just how did this girl see time?!

Still, he couldn't be mad at her, not with how energetic and helpful she was despite them having basically attacked her home, destroyed one of her pet robots and then lied about the whole thing to cover their asses. And hey, having someone talk about ocean stuff was always a net positive on his books.

"Let's see… let's see… accessing data files from the Nereus Institute… loading on screen… now!"

[Accessing Divine Corpus Network

[Mnemosyne Data Connection Unavailable]

[Searching…]

[Match Found]

[Marine Environment Administration Temple - ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■]

[Accessing Nereid Star Compass - File# 2566]

[Loading Successful!]

The curved 'tablets' surrounding the altar suddenly came to life, letters flashing in blue light as they projected and image into the air. As if this place needed to cover any more science fiction tropes. A little static distorted the image as the ocean finally came into focus and Percy allowed himself a moment to breath in relief.

Only to nearly faceplant when he actually looked at the map.

Wrong.

It was all wrong.

The islands, the clouds, the turn of the tides and the islands themselves. Everything about the map screamed 'wrong'.

Percy's eyes stung, he felt a strong taste of bile rise from his stomach and the pounding headache which had followed him since they entered the room nearly knocked him out. Like nails on chalkboard, only it was his brain that felt the painful scraping feeling.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

It didn't make any sense.

It shouldn't exist.

Percy may not have been a very good student, and he may have relied a bit too much on his powers when it came to navigating. But he knew the sea. He could go anywhere he wanted to, feel the currents beneath his feet and ride the waves with enough competence to survive even in the Sea of Monsters.

But this was different.

This didn't… shouldn't exist.

This ocean. The scattered islands, like pieces of wreckage rooted in place forming an archipelago of steel. Swirling around a hole in the middle of the very ocean, a massive whirlpool which seemed to go on and on forever.

And just looking at it hurt.

"Percy…!"

Rider was by his side in a moment, arm hooked around his shoulder, keeping him from falling on his face at the sight of that… he didn't even have a word for it. An ocean that shouldn't exist dotted with islands that shouldn't exist, and the whirlpool which seemed to go on and on and on…

"Sorry, just… need a moment."

Calypso ran up from the console, confusion written plain on her face.

"Is he unwell? Should we take him to medical?"

Percy pulled himself to his feet, since when were his hands on the ground?

"No, I'm okay. I'm just…"

[Unregistered Pseudo-Organic Terminal Detected]

[Attempting to Establish Connection]

[Establishing Long-Distance Communication Link]

[Accessing Nereid Star Compass]

[Transmitting Data Package]

Percy's vision swam. The image of the map warping before his very eyes.

As if the map had come to life.

And in the shadow of the lonely whirlpool… he could see it.

See something circling the vast sinkhole in the middle of the ocean. Even here, far away, it was like he could feel it, his eyes drawn to the blurry shape on the map as it turned and turned endlessly on the currents, a sense of nausea invading him, his stomach churned, his chest felt tight as his breathed in and out trying not to drown.

In. Out.

In. Out.

"Shut the video down!"

Calypso blinked confusedly, running back to the console. With a few clicks of her fingers, the map vanished.

And Percy finally could breathe again.

[Connection Lost]

He felt disoriented, his head hurt. Like someone tried to stuff it full of cotton, everything felt hazy and muted. Even the cold touch of Rider's armored hand on his back as the man steadied him wasn't quite as sharp as his world slowly came back into focus and he finally noticed Rider and Calypso watching him warily.

"What… was that?" he croaked out, hand pressing against the side of his head.

Calypso looked at the console, expression pensive.

"I… don't know."

Percy felt just as lost.

WyverNine · Aug 10, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.4

Percy hated hospitals.

He hated waiting.

And most importantly, he hated staying put.

"Is this really necessary? I just got a little tired." Unfortunately his pleas for mercy went unheard as the deceptively forceful tour guide who had been acquising to their every request suddenly pushed him towards another room with a determined look on her face, declaring that she could not allow any of her 'honorable guests' to be harmed in any way by the science fiction museum she worked at.

As for Rider?

Well, the man didn't seem to disagree with her. The traitor. And was now standing back as Percy was forced to lay unmoving on a long table as Calypso walked around him with some kind of device on her hands.

He briefly wondered if this is what it felt like to be abducted by aliens.

The hard metal surface on his back, cool to the touch yet humming just like the main computer of the Temple had been. With the same veins of green light running through it, and made of the same dark blue metal that was unlike anything else on the island.

Just like the small cube floating ominously over him, its 'eye' glowing and flickering as it moved from side to side, like it was looking for the perfect angle to take a picture. Changing everytime Calypso would touch the metal tablet on her hands. Making all the curious noises. All the hmm's and ah's.

"Are we done yet?"

The blond robot girl sighed, fingers gliding over her high tech bronze tabled as the floating cube zeroed in uncomfortably close to Percy's face.

"Please be a little more patient, Mr. Percy. This is a very delicate procedure. Any sudden movements might skew the results and ruin any chance we might have of finding the root source of your… ailment."

The demigod grumbled.

"I'm not sick."

Rider, who was standing to the side, snorted.

"Percy. From the moment we arrived on this island you have been hearing voices in your head, complaining that something was interfering with your abilities and nearly collapse after looking at a map too hard. Forgive me for taking matters into my own hands for the sake of your well being."

Man, why was it so hard to argue with these people.

They were all… caring and stuff. It was way easier to snark back when people were being jerks. Less guilt involved.

And that meant Percy was now stuck with his thoughts. Which, you know, could be a bit annoying. What with the feeling of impending doom the longer he stuck around here. Or the feelings he remembered as he tried to recall the map. It was something out of a sailor's nightmare. An island chain of wreckage floating around what had to be the world's biggest whirlpool.

And he couldn't tell where he was.

When he used his powers to navigate, they often gave him a precise set of coordinates. Something he could use to figure out where he was. But using them here just gave him headaches and confirmation that he was indeed somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, just not where in it.

And then there was the issue with his powers.

Some of them worked. He healed in the water just fine. He could talk to fish, which was next to useless when fish couldn't give directions or understand the concept of what a cave was. He couldn't move the water. He couldn't conjure it either. And his inner GPS was shot, leaving him stranded.

And then there was the thing with his dad.

Which he didn't understand either.

When his voice had popped out of the machine earlier, Percy hadn't said anything. He was otherwise preoccupied with the sensation of having his brain scooped out of his head and the sheer wrongness of the map. But now that it had passed, he had the time to wonder what his dad was doing.

Why help him earlier but ignore him now.

He heard his voice on the temple's computer. He could recognize it anywhere.

'Something's wrong with this place.' Percy concluded.

It was kinda obvious.

The robot monsters, his powers being out of whack, the sea looking like the Bermuda Triangle's older, meaner, older brother. Nothing made sense about it, and Percy had to somehow find a way back. He knew gods weren't supposed to intervene on quests, but Percy found himself tempted to try and call his father again. If only so he'd finally get some answers.

"You've mentioned that he has been hearing voices? Any form of physical pain or discomfort? Outside of what you experienced at the Altar Room?"

"Some? I tried to use my powers earlier, and it felt like someone punched me in the gut?"

At this, he couldn't help but roll his eyes when both Calypso and Rider leaned in interest.

"You've mentioned your powers before. Is that how you reffer to your inherent functions? If there is some form of interference, it might be what's causing your body to behave in unpredictable ways."

Percy blinked.

"Interference? Like a signal?"

"Of course. I'd never presume to interrogate an honorable guest on the physical aspects of their godhood, but if you're experiencing symptoms of some kind then understanding the means by which you process and wield your divinity would be of paramount help in discovering the root cause of your issue."

Wait, what was she talking about?

Godhood?

Divinity?

Did she think he was a god?

It… made sense in a way? If only gods and those sent by then were supposed to come to this island then it wasn't hard to assume he was either one? But what reason could she possibly have to think that he was some kind of god? Percy looked at Rider for help, but the armored man looked just as inscrutable as before. Worse yet, he was leaning in, as if trying to catch as much of the conversation as he could.

"Listen, Calypso. I dunno what those scanners of yours are saying. But I'm not a god. I'm a halfblood. Kinda like a Human but with a bit of god?"

Ya know, the result of the stuff gods did all over Greece back in the day.

He expected… he didn't know what to expect. An apology? Maybe some embarassment since it wasn't everyday you mistook a flesh and blood human for one of the big people running the show behind the scenes.

What he got… was a dubious stare.

"Half Blood? Is this some new experimental model for Terminals? I assure you, Mr. Percy, I won't think lower of you for having an organic body. Gods are gods no matter what their bodies happen to be made of. Here, let me show you!"

Well, that would be nice.

If she weren't ignoring the fact he wasn't a god.

Turning on her heels, Calypso motioned for him to sit down as the cube which had been circling over him for the past ten minutes hovered back to the museum guide, before a flash of blue light projected an image across the room onto one of the walls, Percy flinched, expecting another headache, but let out a breath of relief when the blue light simply bounced back, forming what he… assumed as an image of the human body?

Only it was an outline made up of blue circles.

Which already made it a hundred times better.

Still didn't help him understand what she meant.

"Okay… what am I looking at? What's with the circles?"

Calypso looked… unnerved.

"Mr. Percy. When was the last time you've had a check up? Have you seen a physician at all? It's not normal for a partially developed Terminal to have no inside knowledge of their own functions, no matter how many organic components are a part of their system."

"Look, like I keep telling you. I'm not a god or a terminal or whatever. Rider, can you please tell her she's got it wrong." He looked at the armored man for help.

Surely he'd know the girl's machines were glitching out.

"What makes you believe he is?"

'Are you kidding me?!' Well, that cinched it. This was the last time Percy Jackson would ever trust armored strangers he met on the beach.

Shame on you, Rider!

Zordon would be disappointed!

Calypso looked equally flooded. Like she'd just been asked to explain why the sky was blue, or why water was wet. Cheeks coloring at the intent look on the man's mask covered face. He didn't know whether she was angry, confused or embarrassed. But she was definitely feeling something.

Like he was feeling like getting out of here before some god or another decided to vaporize him for what she was saying.

Pointing to the Percy-shaped projection, Calypso coughed awkwardly.

"Certainly it hasn't been so long that even an emissary of the gods wouldn't recognize the clear presence of Divine Patterns in one's body. As you can see, Mr. Percy's body is covered in them. Even those they appear to be in a vestigial… dare I say atrophied state. They are still very much prevalent across his body, covering 75% of his body. Certainly not something any human should be in possession of. Never mind their quality and composition."

"Similar to Magic Circuits then?"

Percy was so lost.

Divine Patterns? Magic-what? What were these two talking about?

"Circuits? Like the stuff in machines?"

Was he part machine?

"Magic Circuits are a… spiritual organ of sorts. A physical manifestation and connection of the soul on the body. It's something all humans have."

Okay… so… magical soul markings on the body.

He could roll with that. So long as his mom didn't find out. She'd bash him with a cast iron if he ever showed up with a tattoo.

"Which he clearly doesn't have enough of!" Calypso cut in. "Divine Patterns are similar in concept to Magic Circuits, yes, but they operate on completely different levels. Nevermind the differences in composition. They are a byproduct of one's inherent connection to the Divine Corpus Network that links all gods of Olympus since the Titanomachia!"

So… magical soul marks… but for gods?

"What's the difference then? I was born human, you know. Shouldn't I have fleshy normal soul marks?"

The blond looked exasperated. As if she were dealing with a particularly slow students.

Percy would know. He was a particularly slow student.

"I told you… the composition and function of Divine Patterns is completely different. They are what allows a terminal access to the Authority and Divinity of their main body and for descendant units like myself to connect to them and wield a portion for our own means. Humans never have, in all of recorded history, ever been granted that access."

Timeout!

"What about demigods then?"

The peppy tour scoffed. Seriously, where was the attitude coming from?

"A passing trend. Implanting parts of oneself into an organic vessel is so… barbaric and simplistic. Demigods are nothing but enhanced humans temporarily housing the consciousness of a god. At most they would be back ups in case one's main body was destroyed."

Wait… was that how demigods used to be like?

Calypso obviously hadn't seen much of anything for thousands of years. So… maybe she just didn't know that Half-Bloods were a thing? Because there was no way Percy would even entertain the idea that he was secretly some downsized god project.

That was silly.

"And you!" Calypso was promptly on Rider's face, finger poking his chest. "Sir, it is unbecoming of you to take such an ill prepared and uninformed nascent Terminal into official duty. It reflects poorly on Lady Athena, and I have half a mind to report you for gross mishandling of resources."

Okay, so her scolding someone else was pretty funny.

"I assure you, Lady Calypso, I am well aware of the oversights made on Percy's education… or lack thereof. Believe me when I say that they will be rectified in due time."

The blond sniffed in disdain, obviously disatisfied.

"Well, I suppose I cannot fault you for it. You must forgive me for my outburst. I just never thought I'd see the day where a Terminal. Even a Pseudo-Organic one, wasn't fully aware of their own functions. Why, his Divine Patterns are so atrophied its a wonder he can even access the Corpus Network."

Percy was officially lost.

"Okay, so what does any of this have to do with my powers not working?"

The peppy tour guide sighed.

"Well, putting it on your terms. The 'powers' of a 'demigod' are the 'functions of a terminal', meaning that you are allowed access to them via the Divine Corpus Network. If your Divine Patterns, which grant you access to the Network, are atrophied, that means you won't have any access to them unless you establish a direct pathway to the original god whose model of patterns you have."

So… Percy had powers because his dad was giving them to him. That much he kinda understood.

"So… if I'm not connected to dad. That means I'm not getting my powers to work? But that doesn't explain why I still get stronger when I'm in water. Or why can I still talk to fish and stuff like that."

Shouldn't he be completely powerless then.

"They really haven't told you anything, huh?" Calypso clicked her tongue in distaste.

Pressing on her bronze pad, the hologram of Percy's body shifted. Instead of showing the circle patterns on his body, it seemingly switch around, outlining different areas of his body that Percy at least recognized from his biology classes. Like the brain, his lungs, his stomach glowing a soft green on the hollow image.

Rider at this point seemed to be just as lost as him, standing back and looking instead of pretending to know what he was talking about.

Good on him, he wasn't the one getting lectured on Half-Blood biology 101.

Seriously, Annabeth would have killed to get a class like this.

"It is an understandable mistake to make, comparing one's inherent functions as the functions one gains by being connected to the Divine Corpus Network. What you see outlined here are areas of your physical structure which bear the 'Lineage Factor' of a God. Similar in structure to the inner mechanism of a God, you could understand them as the vital organs which mimic the functions of a God's true body… but only streamlined and simplified to exist within organic life forms."

The image zoomed in, Percy feeling slightly queasy at the glowing veins connecting his fleshy bits to the 'patterns' on his body.

Maybe he shouldn't have asked.

"These 'Divine Bodies' within you are precisely the building blocks which make up the foundation of the Klironomia project. To find a way to replicate the basic functions of a God's physical Corpus and impart them upon organic beings. The brain for advanced linguistic functions and cross-species communication. The lungs permit amphibian functionality to a land mammal even in crushing depths. And the stomach, to process ambient mana and circulate it through the body upon contact with a god's domain."

Rider walked past him, intent on observing the Hologram. Percy was annoyed. Those were his fleshy bits he was gawking at.

Let him have some privacy!

Good news, though, he finally had confirmation he wouldn't drown if he went for a swim.

So, you know, progress!

"These are the Blessings of the Sea." The armored man noted.

Calypso lit up in excitement. No, literally. Her eyes were glowing light flashlights, the veins of lime green on her body lighting up as she sauntered up behind his hologram.

"Indeed! Why, this is the most perfect example of Hybridization I have witnessed in my entire stay as Temple Administrator. The Divine Bodies function autonomously, and the Patterns have the potential to remain active and connected to the Network even in low-mana environments… although…"

"Is something wrong?" Percy blinked.

This was the first time she looked glum, not annoyed or excited. Just… brooding.

"Well, I hope you won't take this harshly. But despite how… sophisticated the overall design and how functional it is… your body is made up of really subpar material. The scanners didn't pick up a single percent of True Ether. And you're completely reliant on outside sources of mana to complement what few in-born Magic Circuits you have…"

Now she was talking like he was the robot.

He was pretty sure he wasn't one. Like… 85% sure now.

And- wait… she was still rambling.

"Really, if they wanted to manufacture a purely organic Terminal they shouldn't have compromised basic functions. The clear lack of a Magic Reactor for instance, the idea that you would always have access to an external source of mana is hopeful at best, optimistic at worst. And what is with this needless hybridization schematics? Were you meant to be some kind of low-maintenance surveillance unit?"

"Lady Calypso. This appointment was to discern the source of Percy's episode in the Altar room. You can critique the engineering behind his body at a later time." Rider cut in, snapping her from mad scientist mode back into cheery tour guide mode.

"Yes, of course. There will be plenty of time for such discussions over dinner. But as I was saying, the organic nature of his body and the exposure to the Altar's stronger connection to the Divine Corpus Network are likely what caused his temporary ailment. Continued exposure shouldn't be an issue."

Was that all that was? Percy wasn't so sure.

And what was that about dinner?

So, apparently while he was off on la-la-land, Rider had made arrangements for them to have dinner and stay the night. Which, okay, made kinda sense. Their little tour across the museum of ancient dusty olympian junk had taken up hours, and then even more time was spent on Percy's examination. It was easier to stay, have some food and then try to leave in the morning than to try and sail away in the dead of night.

GROWL!

'This message was sponsored by Percy Jackson's stomach.' He groaned in annoyance. Turns out fish jerky and berries wasn't the cure-all it seemed at the time.

Fortunately, Calypso had been very accommodating. Guiding them to what she dubbed an 'Organic Resources Maintenance Room'. Which yeah, just looked like a simple mess hall, something he'd seen across dozens of schools over the course of a decade long effort to graduate.

You've seen one, you've seen them all.

But something did seem odd.

"This is a lot of empty space. Isn't anyone else working right now?"

Behind the kitchen counter, Calypso was busy wiping a pile of dusty plates. Humming along to a song Percy didn't know.

It actually reminded him of his mom.

"I mentioned before that the Temple was functioning at a limited capacity, no? Before our… unexpected hiatus we boasted a staff of over two hundred, counting auxiliary units such as myself. We worked tirelessly to maintain Atlasia to peak performance. Unfortunately, we were forced to let go of most of the staff when the order came to shut down."

Well, that sucked. Just getting fired like that.

Maybe demigods should unionize?

"What about you though? You're the only one they have working right now?"

Calypso blinked, not understanding what the problem was.

"I assure you, honored guests, I'm more than capable of maintaining the Temple to an adequate degree."

Percy groaned in exasperation.

"Just call me Percy, please. Percy Jackson" All this 'honored guest' stuff was starting to annoy him.

The not-robot girl smiled in amusement.

"As you wish, Percy Percy Jackson."

Wait- no.

"You're joking!" he pointed at her dramatically.

The blonde giggled, hiding her face behind one of the bronze plates.

"How… perceptive of you, Percy Jackson. I am indeed jesting."

She laid out the plates across the table, then a bunch of chalices. All of course made of the same celestial bronze Percy had seen scattered all over the island. It was like they were swimming on the stuff!

And it wasn't like these were the crappy sort.

If anything, they reminded him a lot of the plates and glasses they'd use at Camp for meals or that one time in Olympus after the whole mess with Atlas and Artemis. The sort that just… poofed whatever food you were thinking into existence. Lines etched on the edges of the plate, leaving the very center smooth as a mirror.

Percy's stomach dropped.

He missed Camp.

'Hope they're doing okay.' It couldn't have been more than one day since he washed here. But every second counted. Sure, he'd learnt some neat stuff about the gods. Like the fact they apparently liked science fiction and collected junk to remember that first time they kicked ass together.

But he couldn't stay away for too long.

Not when Luke was planning to attack soon.

"You're distracted, Percy."

Rider, sitting across from him, seemed to have finally removed his helmet again. Not that he could eat with that thing on. The guy still looked uncomfortable and ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Really, he'd been tense and ready for a fight the moment they got into the weird god museum.

The half blood sighed.

"Kinda yeah. Today's been a long day."

The armored man nodded, tracing a finger over the edge of his own plate as Calypso rummaged through what he assumed was a fridge. Too distracted with what she was doing to notice their conversation.

"You've been real quiet too. A lot on your mind?"

The man chuckled.

"Yes, you could say that. Being marooned on an island loses its charm after the first few hours. I'm sure you are just as eager to leave before the gods notice our presence here as I am."

Percy nodded, avoiding getting zapped was always a good thing.

"Yeah. The moment I can I'm swimming away. If there's a door or cave leading back to the Labyrinth, It shouldn't be hard to find. I can't have gotten carried away that far." At least he could try and find his way back to St. Helens, maybe meet back up with Annabeth and tell Hephaestus he might have blown up his forge.

Alongside the volcano.

"I would like to make a proposal."

Okay?

"If possible, I think it would be more efficient if we were to leave the island together. Once we procure a ship, moving at sea should be easier." The way he suggested it made it sound less like a suggestion and more like the right choice in a quiz. He sounded a lot like Annabeth too when she tried to make him come around to one of her plans.

"I… wasn't planning on staying around you know? And I don't really need a ship."

The silver haired man tapped the table with his metal covered finger.

"Do you know where you are headed?"

No, inner GPS was still shot.

"Do you have any plan besides exploring the surroundings of the island in hopes of finding an entrance to this 'Labyrinth' you speak of?"

Well… not really.

"It can't be that hard. I mean, if I look around I'm sure I'm gonna find something." He grunted stubbornly.

"Like more of those mechanical monsters, perhaps? Or perhaps you will get lost at sea without supplies and get picked off. You shouldn't ever act under the assumption of a best case scenario. Think about what you'd do if you couldn't find your way. By your own admission, your ability to navigate these waters are shot, no?"

Man, this guy really liked talking huh?

"And you have?"

"With a ship, you can afford to search longer and carry supplies. Even if your blessings allow you to move effortlessly at sea, you cannot count on them to guide you home. Nor can you rely on them to fight against monsters if they ambush you."

Well, when you put it like that… maybe Percy was being a bit hasty.

"And having me on board helps you actually set sail."

Rider smiled thinly, nodding in acceptance.

"Of course, traveling the seas by one lonesome is dangerous."

"You could have just asked me to come with you, you know."

"In my experience, teenagers listen better when you walk them through your ideas. I have yet to be proven wrong in that regard."

Clever.

Annoying, but clever.

"Apologies for the delay. It took a little while for our rations to defrost. I'm afraid it has been quite a long while since we've had guests."

The doors leading back to the kitchen opened with a hiss, revealing a positively radiant Calypso, oddly proud of herself despite the admitted delay as she pushed a large cart of… what he thought was probably food. The 'rations' she had brought along with her proved to be nothing short of giant blocks of what looked like gelatinous gold. Certainly shiny and pretty, and the sorta thing Percy figured you'd feed to the most filthy rich people in the world.

They also rattled the table when she scraped one of them onto Percy's place. And then a second time when she did the same for herself and Rider.

Just how much did these weigh?

"So, uhh, what's for dinner?"

She perked up.

"Oh, you've never eaten ration-grade Ichor before?"

Ichor? Why did that sound familiar?

"I don't think I have? Is it anything like Nectar or Ambrosia?"

Across from him, Percy noted that Rider had actually gone slack jawed. Oh, right. He was probably a mortal that Athena liked so he probably couldn't eat or drink the stuff they were used to.

Hand covering her mouth demurely, Calypso tittered.

"My, aren't you spoiled for choice. This isn't quite as… fancy as Ambrosia, but I assure you that it's just as nutritious."

Percy looked at the glob of wiggly gold suspiciously.

"And people can eat it and not burst into fire?"

"Or turn into farm animals?" Rider piped in.

"I assure you, Ration-grade Ichor is safe for standard organic beings to consume and it's what we used to feed our own staff. I vouch for both its safety and its quality. Why, back in the day a full portion like this was worth seven days of biological activity, five if you overwork yourself."

She paused, as if she suddenly remembered something.

"Which you shouldn't! Having nutritious meals is no excuse for overworking yourself!"

Raising his hands in surrender, Percy smiled at how… energetic the girl was.

"Alright, I promise not to overwork myself."

Calypso patted his head.

"Good. The last thing a growing godling requires is to cripple their potential growth over short term gains. Please consider stationing yourself here once your maturing period has concluded."

Again with the godling stuff…

"Well, do you guys pay well? Because I don't have a lot of long term plans. So if you're hiring…" It wouldn't be the worst choice either. Even if the museum stuff bored him out of his mind, there was something strangely right about working in a place by the sea, on a tropical island like this.

"Marvelous! I shall forward a request to the Administration Hub at…"

Rider raised his hand, interrupting her.

"Please refrain from poaching my own staff, Lady Calypso. Young or not, I would like to spend some time with Percy before he started receiving offers of that kind. We wouldn't want him to be led astray by the first good option, after all. We wouldn't want to stunt his… future prospects.

Blushing at the perceived faux pas, the blond looked away while scratching her cheek.

"Of course, Lord Rider. I wouldn't ever consider doing such. I'm merely thinking of Atlasia's future, and young Percy's as well."

The rest of the meal was spent over casual conversation and pleasant silence. Contrary to what Percy believed, the Ichor didn't turn him into a pile of cinders or a pile of mush. It tasted a lot like cookie dough and had the feeling and texture of a milty pudding. Percy's favorite flavors.

So, maybe this was kinda like Ambrosia afterall?

He should definitely ask her how this stuff was made,

Bonus points for not turning Rider into a farm animal either. Percy understood the guy's feelings at least. He was never trusting a spa staff again for as long as he lived. Annabeth was never letting it forget it happened either.

Freaky witches with their freaky guinea pig potions.

Wait a second… how did Rider know that?

He… was a human, right? Just a guy that Athena really liked. But then why did he know about stuff that's in the Sea of Monsters? A place that Chiron said nearly nobody had explored in however many centuries it had been there?

Something fishy was going on here.

Pleasantly full, and somewhat… confused over his day, Percy couldn't wait to sleep. Which of course, the helpful temple guide offered to take him to the 'official visitor quarters' which she boasted had actually been kept in pristine condition ever since the last visitor more than a thousand years back.

The room was small.

Comfortable, but small.

Percy liked it. It reminded him of his room back at home. Not to big that he didn't know what to do with the extra space. Though it was a bit barren, it was a far cry from how empty Cabin 3 had felt back when he first arrived at Camp Halfblood. There was a bed, a closet and a desk with a thin layer of dust on it, just like everything else there.

But it was nice.

"I assume the accommodations are to your liking?"

"Yeah." Percy yawned, feeling the weight of the day settle on his shoulders. "Bed looks pretty nice."

The blonde nodded, a small smile touching her porcelain cheeks.

"You're quite the puzzle aren't you?"

'Where did that come from?' Percy blinked.

"Merely an observation. You're… deceptively human for a Terminal. Your superior acts more in line with expectations of an agent of the gods. Your behavior, however, does not fit within those parameters. You're an interesting… demigod, Percy Jackson."

Well… what was he supposed to say to that?

"Uhh… thanks? I think you're very interesting as well?"

Calypso laughed.

Not a demure giggle of amusement. But a full surprised snorted laugh. Hands leaping to cover her mouth, her cheeks coloring and green eyes glittering.

And he was being literal.

They were sparkling in dozens of shades of green light.

It was like she hadn't ever been complimented. Or knew how to handle one.

He was telling the truth, though.

It wasn't every day you met a totally-not robot girl who worked for the gods taking care of a whole museum. Even if he didn't like standing around while someone droned on and on about a fancy piece of art or important person, she was at the very least different from every other god he'd met before. She didn't try to kill him either.

Which was like… already better than half the gods he knew.

"Thank you for the compliment. I wish you plentiful rest and blessed dreams. And please… enjoy your stay, Percy Jackson." The not-robot girl steadied herself, curtsying one last time before closing the door behind her, the sounds of her metal heels on the stone floor hurriedly clacking away down the hall.

'She really is strange.' Percy yawned again, changing out of his clothes as he put on a fresh… tunic… hospital gown? If hospital gowns were made of glowy metal cloth and felt like someone made them of pure cotton and clouds. It was so soft it didn't even look like it was made of… whatever it was the whole island was made of.

It didn't smell dusty either, and the closet next to the door was full of them.

Hmm, maybe he could sneak one of them back with him?

'They are really soft.' Laying down on the mattress, Percy sighed in contentment at how he seemed to sink into the covers, as if it was the perfect fit, and the covers the perfect temperature. Looking up and out the window, he could barely see the light of the moon behind a cloud passing by.

He was so tired.

It really was a long day. And it wasn't helped by all the weird science fiction stuff he had run into.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Eyes heavy and drooping, Percy's chest steadily rose and fell as the warmth and food finally settled in, his mind sleeping further and further into the familiar comfortable darkness. The light humming of the temple's walls lulled him to sleep.

In.

Out.

[Unregistered Pseudo-Organic Terminal detected]

[Non-Authorized Divine Corpus Network Access Detected]

[Isolating Signal]

[Tracking Signal]

[Signal Origin Found]

[Analyzing Emergency Broadcast Data]

[Restricted Access Holding Facility #7 - Atlas Island]

[Enemy Rogue Combat Unit Destroyed]

[Selecting Retrieval Units]

[Dispatching]

[Scout-Type Marine Interception Phantasmal Unit]

[Directive #1 - Retrieve Unregistered Terminal]

[Directive #2 - Retrieve Restricted Access Substance #7]

[Directive #3 - Eliminate all Titan-Class Units]

WyverNine · Aug 11, 2022

Thou, Heroes of Atlantis
Interlude I

Ah, the sea.

The sound of the waves. The smell of salt in the breeze. The feeling of sand on his feet as he leisurely walked down the sunlit beaches that reminded him of a faraway carribean adventure. The squawking of seagulls in the distance and the rustling of leaves as trees danced lazily to the tune of nature.

It was… indeed a beautiful island.

'Establish a foothold in the Atlantic Lostbelt. Eliminate the Fantasy Tree.'

Now, if only this weren't such a desperate situation.

Stranded here without a Master, surrounded by possible enemies in a timeline that wasn't even his own, he breathed in the ether-laden air of the Lostbelt. Such richness in power left a strong aftertaste on the tongue of a servant. The energy of the world itself could sustain him without issue, whereas before he needed the help of The Captain to fight without burning out and vanishing.

This was different.

It was concerning.

And Archer wanted nothing more than to put his staff down, take a nap and think deep and hard about how he was gonna play this one out.

No boat meant no getting out of the island for the time being.

No Master means no getting into fights that might need him to go over the top and start beheading ancient heroes on a fluke.

'That was fun.'

Not.

The clear absence of local beauties also dampened his mood.

Clearly this timeline was slated for pruning because it couldn't give the locals anything nice to gawk at while they contemplated how in the Lord's name they were gonna survive long enough to help their wayward allies. Or dare Archer say, try and solve the situation themselves if the stargazers failed to show up.

And wasn't that a sobering thought.

'I wonder what he would have done in these circumstances?'

Probably start panicking before someone with enough patience and common sense gave his head a good bonking. That was the expected reaction for someone just learning they had to find a way to do the Human Order's job for them and get rid of an entire timeline wholesale rather than just retrieve a cup.

'Less blasphemy this way, at least.'

He wondered if the folks at Chaldea were doing alright.

The time he'd spent with them had been nothing more than a blessing, and fighting alongside them to save human history had been an interesting endeavor, something he couldn't have accomplished as a King or as a Shepherd.

But as a Father… well…

He'd like to think he didn't do a bad job.

'May Chaldea find its way through the peril. And may you watch over them from wherever you are now, Solomon.'

No, that didn't feel quite right.

Romani Archaman.

That was his name as a 'human', after all. The name he picked for himself on the eve of his new life's baptism.

He would respect that.

'And I've gone and depressed myself. Positive thoughts! Positive thoughts! Think of Abishag.'

But even that didn't quite bring up his mood. So he opted for the tried and true method employed by the now dearly departed child. You don't have to deal with your personal issues if you're too overworked to even think about them. Truly a masterful strategy worthy of a great King like himself.

Well first order of business was to establish a base of operations. Maybe a small hidey hole to sneak into until other servants started popping up. He didn't have to worry about mana for the time being, not with Independent Action plus the frankly absurd amounts of mana he could draw from the environment.

Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about leaving the island. He could try and build a raft, but if this really was a sea from the Age of Gods, then he'd just be a sitting duck. And without good footing his fighting abilities would be impeded.

And that meant getting eaten by whatever forsaken beasts inhabited the depths of this sea.

Hmm, maybe he could try and re-enact a miracle or two? Call for some help perhaps.

He wasn't a summoner. That was his son's schtick.

And he didn't have any abilities when it came to sending messages or scrying for information either. In fact, he didn't have any magecraft-related Skills period as an Archer.

But he was still an ancient King blessed by God. The ancestor of the Messiah. So maybe, just maybe, the Heavenly Father would see fit to spare him a revelation or two in this great time of need. If he were lucky maybe he wouldn't even have to worry about that blessed wooden box this time around!

Think positive!

Oh, who was he kidding. That didn't work back at that Singularity and he'd ended up cleaved in half for his troubles.

He shuddered at the memory.

'Evil thoughts begone! Evil thoughts begone'

First shelter. Then he could go about setting up an altar. If he were lucky, he'd get some kind of information to make this world-saving quest a bit easier than the previous one. He might even get picked up by a passing Servant. He just had to stay positive, do the best he could and pray for the best!

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Okay, scratch that.

'New, New Plan. First I need to get some food.' Revelations and miracles could wait.

Hmm, maybe fish on a stick? There were some wild berries back in there. Not a feast by any means, but the Lord worked in mysterious ways.

A harp took shape from the aether, deft fingers plucking the chords lazily as the hero vanished inside the tree-line. The desperate struggle for mankind's future banished from his thoughts for the time being as he embarked on a new journey to find nourishment for his body, mind, and soul.

Maybe that nap too?

The world had already ended. Surely things couldn't get any worse if he got some shuteye to put his thoughts in order.

'What could possibly go wrong?'

"Stand back, a Calydonian is rampaging!"

"Someone call the chief!"

"Call the soldiers!"

The monster was huge. Larger than any specimen of the breed the hunters had seen in the past few hundred of years. With long golden tusks shaped like hooks, and a pitch black pelt which shimmered like spilled blood under the light of Lord Apollo. Its hooves dug deep grooves into the soft ground, revealing the metal underneath as it charged through the treeline, golden eyes shining with intent to harm.

Intent to kill.

Death didn't scare them.

Death was part of life. The final destination intended for humans by the gods as punishment for their past transgressions.

But this wasn't it.

They were meant to die with honor after having served the gods to the best of their abilities. To earn their place back amongst those who still lived under the glorious protection of Lord Zeus and repent for their crimes.

Dying to a random beast in the wilds wasn't it.

It was an insult.

"Archers! Ready! Fire!"

A barrage of silver-tipped arrows rained down upon the monster, good enough to pierce the hide, but not enough to kill it. With a mighty groan, the beast charged through one of the homes, stone and metal bending and breaking as the Calydonian's tusks pierced through them with disheartening ease.

Timi didn't want to imagine what it would do to a person.

'Oh mighty Poseidon. Ruler of the seas. I beseech you. Grant me the strength of your limbs. The power to shake the sea, the land and the very heavens.'

New strength flowed through his limbs, the prayer resounding through every fiber and pore of his body as a familiar, reassuring glow of the god's protection flowed through his limbs, the very earth beneath his feet giving way as he charged the demonic boar.

His sword flashed through the air.

And crashed with the beast's tusks with the roar of thunder.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Before his sword broken into a hundred pieces, and the roar of the beast threw him backwards. The last vestiges of the temporary blessing ebbing off as his body left a dent on one of the houses, his organs rattling at the force of the blow. The monster had been toppled backwards, the tusk he'd aimed for cracked and brittle from the blow.

Strong.

Too strong.

Was this some kind of punishment? Was this an omen that the gods were finally acknowledging them through an ordeal. Timi pulled himself free, dazed but otherwise unharmed. The boar was dazed, but their weapons were merely grazing its skin. It was simply too strong. Too different.

As if it were a beast of the gods.

Timi despaired.

And then… the sky darkened, and a strong smell of aether became overwhelming as the light of Zeus descended upon them. A beautiful purply flash of light heralded by a golden spearhead as the lightning blasted the oversized Calydonian backwards once again, the roar of thunder echoing in his ears.

And then… a goddess descended.

Clad in the divine light of glorious Zeus, she was dressed in some unknown form of ceremonial garb in rich purple, armor unlike any he had seen before covering her shoulders as she brandished her spear, a large shaft of pure gold adorned as only something belonging to a god could be.

A mane of raven black hair sprawled across her back like angry thunderclouds and from where he stood, the warrior could feel the blessings of divinity emanate from her body in intimidating waves as it washed over them.

The sky rumbled, the sign of Zeus' fury.

He could smell it in the air.

Could feel it on his skin. The familiar prickling sensation of power as it coarsed through the air, flashes of lightning arching and coiling around the woman's form, a warriors body honed through a lifetime… nay… several lifetimes of dedication and training to the art of war and the blade.

Without losing any of her natural beauty and charm.

'An emissary of the gods?'

The Calydonian snorted and squealed as it rose back to its feet, pungent mana wafting from its form, a scourge of mankind. A punishment of the gods given flesh and allowed to rampage to its heart's content. Its breath was a gust of wind carrying pestilent. It's pelt a mesh of pitch black oricalcum needles.

Aeolus felt his heart thunder against his chest.

This was it. His chance. The one chance he'd ever have to impress the gods. If he fought alongside this emissary, if he impressed her and helped kill that monstrous Calydonian then there wasn't any doubt in his mind that she would surely reward him for his bravery. That he would finally be acknowledged by the gods.

'Sword. I need a sword.'

His broke from the fight. A simple wooden one he'd carved to practice.

The Emissary's mana, her divinity, resonated across the village as she swung her golden spear. Arcs of lightning shooting forward, scorching the ground, blasting the monster back into a smoldering heap as the skies above them darkened. Timi charged forward, hand clenching around the remains of his practice sword, the war god's prayer on the tip of his tongue.

If he could kill it.

If he could prove himself.

She stopped him with a glare, purple sparks flying from stark white orbs. His body just… locked in place, as if he had been caught doing something bad by his mother and she was displeased. The Emissary twirled her spear, the mana in the air growing thinner as it was drained by the golden weapon. Timi felt his breathing grow shallow, eyes stinging as the familiar tingling feeling of mana in the air grew muted.

The goddess standing before him took a stance, her weapon spinning on her hands before she took a sharp turn.

And launched it.

"Shakudai Kan'in - Kongōsho!"

Those were words he didn't know. With a meaning he didn't understand. Even so, as his eyes burnt and he choked on dry land. The mana which had suddenly disappeared, rushed back like a wave, crashing over as it pushed him backwards as the spear rocketed onwards with the roar of a furious god.

"HYAAAAAAAAAH!"

Run!

Dodge!

Sharp turn to the left!

'Duck!'

A massive cleaver whizzed past his head, barely grazing his hair before slamming against a wall of brick and mortar, the impact shaking the tunnel as a cloud of loose gravel and dust burst out of the wall, the perfect cover for him as he took a sharp turn down the corridor, legs carrying him as far as he could, ground shaking a longer, louder steps followed after him with a mighty roar.

Not that running would do him much good.

He was lost, after all.

'Of course I'm lost! Why did it have to be the Labyrinth?!'

Because it had to be the Labyrinth. Never mind the whole mess with that Singularity and damn near getting killed by the overgrown prize bull of that blowhard, Minos. No, of course the one place he'd be summoned to is one of the few places in his own damn mythology he hadn't been to.

'Theseus, you asshole, you better answer me!'

Unfortunately his wayward crewmate remained silent. Because, well, he was kinda lacking in the magical energy department right now, and that meant his glorious Noble Phantasm was unavailable. And that meant he, a glorious general and king whose glory transcends generations and resounded through human history… was stranded.

He was alone.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Okay, so maybe not completely alone.

Looking over his shoulder, he could see it. The shadow of the monster chased after his scent like a bloodhound. A massive man wearing the face of an iron ox, his massive horns casting shadows of their own as the very ground beneath his feet trembled, stale air burnt with its breath.

'Seriously, just how much mana do you have.'

The Minotauros he faced on that warped sea wasn't this powerful. Wasn't this large. And it certainly didn't look like something had replaced its head with a mesh of metal and ivory. There was a rush of air. The roar of the legendary monster echoing through the hallway

Duck!

He slid under the strike, knee guards grinding against the stone with a shrill screech.

'Run! Run! Run!'

His mind ran just as fast.

The beast was massive. His reach was long and the weapon he wielded couldn't be guarded again. The impact alone would crush him if he stood his ground and tried to guard against it. In this way, his smaller size helped him escape, loath as he was to admit there was nothing else he could do.

Not without mana.

Not without his Argonauts.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

If only he could summon them. Medea would have been able to support them. Atalanta would pelt the beast from afar with her arrows. Heracles, well, Heracles would have done what Heracles did best and destroyed the monster with his bare hands. Just like he'd done with the Minotaur on the singularity.

He'd even take Hector at this point.

Hector?

'Damn Singularity memories. Hector isn't even part of my legend!'

Not that they weren't completely unhelpful.

He wouldn't know about how the Labyrinth worked otherwise. Or how strong the Minotaur was. Or how long the reach of his weapons was. Of course, none of that helped when this Minotauros made the one he knew look like a teething cub. Just what in damnation were they feeding it?!

Leaping over a spiral staircase, Jason's hair stuck to his brow with sweat as the spot where he'd just been standing at was just obliterated by the downward swing of a cleaver, Sword hissing as it left its sheath, Jason turned around, mind running a hundred million miles per hour as what little mana he could draw answered his command.

"Behold Jason's Glory!"

It wasn't enough.

The mana. His own power. The circumstances under which he could utilize his Noble Phantasm to its greatest extent were far away now. But when it came to the basics of it, his Noble Phantasm was a Summoning Spell. A set of dice cast by him to find out whether his aims were truly righteous.

Here and now… fleeing for his life, struggling to survive… there weren't many who would answer his call.

And neither would he be capable of summoning them.

Not as weak as he was.

Not without the necessary preparations.

But that didn't matter. Because there would always be one man who answered his summons. And even now, as his Noble Phantasm fizzled out and an amorphous shadow formed from the aether, Jason couldn't help but grin in wild satisfaction as the obsidian giant of ancient greece smacked the monster with a mighty fist, sending it flying backwards into a nearby wall.

Only to vanish in a puff of black smoke.

"Hah! Didn't see that one coming did ya, you overfed cow!"

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

And the Minotaur was back on its feet. A bit scuffed and with a noticeable crack on its 'face'. But otherwise unharmed.

And angry.

Can't forget angry!

'He's definitely angry!'

And then he was back to running. Where to? He didn't know. The Labyrinth didn't make any sense, and once the Minotaur had you on his sights, it was like the place modified itself to make escape all but impossible. Losing the monster was impossible once he had your scent. And Jason was already running out of steam.

Right or left?

'Left.' his gut told him.

He slid under a cleaver swing.

'Come on, come on' There had to be an exit. Any kind of exit that didn't involve fighting a monster with no mana to spare. So that's what he did. He kept running. He kept looking, dodging and running again.

Until he ran into a dead end.

Because of course there were dead ends. It was a freaking labyrinth.

And the monster was turning around the corner.

5 seconds.

Look for an exit. There was none? Look again.

4 seconds.

Were there any secret passages?

No? Crap!

3 seconds.

He pulled his sword out. Faint wisps of mana flowing outwards as he prepared to kill the monster or die trying.

2 seconds.

1…

The ground beneath his feat broke apart as he fell through a trapdoor.

"HYAAAAAAAAAH!"

WyverNine · Aug 12, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.5

We have a message for all of humanity.

This planet will soon be reborn as an old, brand new world.

Human civilization was a mistake.

The path of our growth was incorrect.

And so I have made my decision. I will revolt against all of human history - Proper Human History.

We are about to fill this world with inhuman Mystic secrets.

We will restore the Age of Gods

To that end, the gods have descended from a far-off galaxy, and in their wisdom, they have used seven seeds to select new leaders. These leaders will remake the world as they see fit. And the one who reigns supreme shall be given the right to renew the world itself.

The life forms from Proper Human History will not be permitted to take part in this war, or even to view it from the sidelines.

The roots of cosmic fantasy have descended upon us.

Trees of Creation have sprung up all across the land.

Now, all of the old humanity's endeavors will be set aside, frozen.

Thus shall you atone for your sins.

■■■■… the year that Proper Human History came to an end

My name is Wodime.

Kirschtaria Wodime.

On behalf of the seven Crypters, I have a message for those of you who escaped from ■■■■■■■

No, rather, I have a message for the scant few remnants of the human race:

WE will be the inheritors of this world's history.

Sinking.

Percy was sinking.

Deeper and deeper into the shadows, he sank without being able to move an inch. He couldn't breathe, but simultaneously didn't feel the need to breathe. He couldn't move, yet the immense pressure of the depths didn't crush him; his own weight dragged him deeper and deeper into an ocean unlike anything he had ever seen before.

It was warm and cold.

Light burnt his eyes even though all he could see was darkness.

'Where am I?'

Was this another dream?

Deeper and deeper Percy sank, the echoes of something in his ear as ribbons of light swam past him like a school of fish. Twirling and swirling about as they illuminated the bottomless abyss to reveal massive spires of stone rising from the deep towards the unseen surface. Or maybe they were growing side to side?

Or from the ceiling to the bottom.

Percy couldn't tell.

The freaky water stung his skin, leaving a prickling feeling. Like he hit his funny bone and his whole body was feeling it. Kinda like when Thalia hit him with lightning that one time, his skin tingling and his head swam as he drifted along the current, unable to move or even really make sense of what was happening.

It was like he was both here and not. Like everything was everywhere and not at the same time, changing form and place the moment he took his eyes off of them, the faint light of what looked like a grid pattern flickering to life in the far off distance as distant shadows swam through the empty void.

Fish, or well… something that looked like fish swam about, glowing in and out of existence in the void.

Was this how the bottom of the ocean looked?

Somehow Percy doubted it. There was just something unreal about what he was seeing. Something he couldn't explain. As if this was a dream inside a dream, and everything that existed here was both here and not.

And then he spotted it, movement.

Something massive floating in the distance. A body glowing with soft blue light. Massive curved horns covering its back as the creature, monster, whatever it was, blinked in and out of his vision. Drifting aimlessly as it was carried by the currents like the ghost of a shipwreck obscured by the shadow of the stone pillars.

Before suddenly it was right on top of him.

The biggest monster Percy had ever seen. With the head of a dragon and a vague human body. Massive claws and wings laying in pieces as the creature, whatever it was, passed by Percy harmlessly. As if being lulled to sleep by the currents of this strange, otherworldly ocean. Veins of light illuminating the thing's body and letting Percy finally get a good look.

The problem was when it looked back.

One massive eye the size of Percy's head cracking open to reveal a glowing pink eye with a pupil shaped like a butterfly. She, and Percy was sure it was absolutely a she, blinked lazily, eyes glowing for a second before closing once more. The monster's fanged maw cracking open as it let out a long drawn out howl.

'Is she… singing?'

The sound was so powerful it blasted him backwards, farther and farther away as the massive monster drifted back into the depths. The ribbons of light trembling and scattering as the sea shook with the sound of her voice. Before, just as suddenly disappearing from his view as everything else in this weird dream.

Okay.

Take a deep breath, Percy.

These dreams only happen when someone is trying to show him something. And he was pretty sure the giant monster woman singing wasn't it.

'Huh. I can move now.'

Well, he could actually swim at least. The water, like everything else he'd run into since waking up on that freaky island, seemed hellbent on not being helpful in the least. Though he'd assume this time around it was because of the dream, and not because his powers decided to be difficult.

Swimming away from the shadowy giant, Percy followed the ribbons of light, carried forth by a current that seemed to go everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He was starting to get the handle on how to move around in this freak dream-like ocean. The weird fish ignored him, and there was no sign of anyone…

'Me and my big mouth.'

The ribbons of light around him started swirling together once more, dancing through the air as their ends connected and merged, forming a massive underwater star which illuminated the depths of the ocean. Percy's skin crawled at the sight, the water around him vibrating as the light exploded outwards.

And a car flew out of the fissure.

Wait what?

Alright so it was less of a car and more of a tank. A massive metal monstrosity emerged from the hole in space, the impact of it echoing on Percy's bones as the vehicle shot out into the deeps, ribbons of light forming around it just like they had with the giant monster woman. Looking from where he stood, it might look like a small submarine. Or maybe one of those science fiction escape capsules.

'Man, this is one strange dream.'

Still, he followed after it.

It wasn't very large. At least any larger than a bus or pickup truck. That it was made out of solid metal and shaped vaguely like a boat were the only things he could make out as he swam closer to it. It looked solid. More solid than anything else in this place. And he could make out a feeling of 'something' coming from it. It rode along the current, letting the ribbons do the work as it glided past a few of the stone pillars.

Percy approached, careful not to be seen.

Well… it's not like he could actually be seen. So it was more out of force of habit than anything else. Pushing himself towards the floating tank as it sailed deeper and deeper into the sea.

Before entering…

"Percy, are you functional? My scans indicate you should be just about finished with your allotted period of rest."

Percy started awake. Heart pounding against his chest as he suddenly came down from the weird demigod vision-dream, skin crawling. A frigid feeling gripping his heart as he took deep calming breaths. Giving the blond robo girl standing next to his bed a perplexed look as he came down from the… surprise wake up call.

"Calypso? What gives?"

Tilting her head, the not-robot seemed to take her time trying to puzzle out what he meant.

"My apologies for interrupting your rest. But Lord Rider asked that I fetch you. He has been inspecting the docks and wishes for your presence promptly!" Completely uncaring for the fact she had just… barged into someone's room to wake them up the world's peppiest butler, Calypso seemed as… cheerful and professional as always.

Was that even a thing?

One more thing!

"You have docks here?"

"Well, of course. Although they are more of a storage and launching area. It's where we keep most of our utilitarian vehicles and cargo. There is a whole network of tunnels underneath the terrestrial layer of the island."

"Those weird tube elevator things?" Like the one that spit out Mech-Thorn?

Beaming, the tour guide vibrated in place.

"Indeed! Our Atlasia comes fully equipped with multiple delivery and transportation pathways."

Percy couldn't help smiling, the last of the annoyance and fright draining away as he watched the blond not-robot girl ramble on and on about how the divine tech doodads they had worked and why they were so impressive. Like everything else about the island, she seemed intent to let her know how great of a place it was and how proud she was to be working there even if Percy didn't understand half of what she said at times.

It was nice.

"Oh, and before I forget. I have brought you this."

One of the shields floating next to her leg opened up with a hiss of steam, producing a neatly wrapped package. The wrapping was metallic… like everything else on the island, but it looked soft and bulky like a pillow.

He gave it a small squeeze.

"Clothes!"

Calypso nodded firmly.

"Affirmative! I noticed that your current outfit was damaged and had them removed for cleaning and fixing."

He was going to ignore that part about her coming into his room to take his clothes away for now and focus on the very nice and thoughtful gift. That was always the best way to go about dealing with gods. He was also sure that if he brought it up she'd just wave him away with some more science fiction jargon and cheerfulness.

It was super effective.

Instead, he focused on the package and undid the wrapping.

'It's a…toga?' He was pretty sure that wasn't the name for it, and that togas were probably a Roman thing, but the clothes Calypso had gift wrapped for him were most certainly in fashion back when the gods were a public thing. Just a tunic similar to the one he was wearing with a belt and a cloak.

There was also the same snowflake-like emblem on the right side of it.

"Thanks." He said, half heartedly. "Don't you have anything more… modern?"

He was sure he'd look silly on it.

"Sorry, Percy. We don't have anything here in the style and fashion you arrived wearing. If you'd like, I could go fetch your old ones instead?" She sounded disappointed. Like she had somehow missed the mark with a very thoughtful gift and was now blaming herself for ruining someone's birthday.

Good going, Jackson.

You made the peppy tour guide sad.

"Sorry, no. You don't need to do that. Those were probably ruined anyway."

She nodded firmly.

"I will say! However would one ever conceive of clothing an individual of divine heritage with such substandard materials. No resistance to damage, and basic temperature control functions. The fabric wasn't half bad, but it completely lacked any ability to deal with extreme conditions. I guarantee you that these are of a much superior grade."

Well, at least Percy got to keep his underwear.

He patted his hips, just to be sure.

'Okay. Crisis averted.'

Looking at the whole get up, Percy immediately noted that the material was just as soft and comfortable as the tunic he wore to sleep. Even if the color was a bit more… shimmery for the lack of a better word. It just seemed to shine. The cloak looked like something out of a cheap Hollywood flick.

Only it was just as high grade as the rest of it.
"Does this one come in orange?" Look, orange wasn't his favorite color or anything. But he'd feel weird walking around in serious demigod business without some orange splashed in. It also just happened to remind him of camp.

Calypso blinked, touching the clasp of the cloak.

There was a sudden flashing of… something… as the shimmery fabric suddenly decided it was a moody chameleon and jumped through a full spectrum of colors before landing on a familiar burnt orange.

"These models are fully customizable as a matter of course." He thought he heard a note of smugness from her.

Okay, he got it. She thought his clothes were shoddy.

Not everyone got to dress in divine high-fashion.

"Cool. So, mind giving me some privacy?"

She tilted her head.

"What for?"

"So I can get changed?"

"You do not have anything to be ashamed of, Percy. Despite the circumstances and quality of your making, your aesthetic value is rather high."

Groaning in exasperation, he lightly guided the weird goddess out of the room. And no, he wasn't blushing.

It was just hot in the morning.

"You didn't need to wait on me, you know? I'm not gonna get lost."

Falling in step beside him, Calypso looked satisfied with herself. Something he wasn't all that mad about. As promised, the clothes were of the same material as the nightgown he wore to sleep. Perhaps a bit smaller, going just down to his knees. With a belt tied around his waist with a simple buckle of bronze and the coat fastened over his shoulder.

He felt like a movie extra.

A very expensive movie extra.

"I assure you, it's not a problem. I was just about to return to the Altar Room myself."

Right, the freaky altar.

Percy wasn't sure what to think of… anything really. That weird dream didn't help matters either. He still didn't know where exactly he was or how he was gonna get back home. Sailing east until he arrived at the continent sounded good. And from there he would just have to find a way back to camp.

It would be way easier to find the door back to the Labyrinth, though.

He was starting to understand what Rider meant when he said he might need that boat. If what he saw in his dream was anything to go by, there might be some really dangerous and large monsters around. Even if it didn't feel like he was dreaming about this ocean, what else could he had been dreaming about?

And what was that tank?

Where did it come from?

Why was his dream showing that to him? It had to be important if he was being shown, but he couldn't help but think it didn't have to do with his current quest. That it might have been a clue on how to get back.

"You appear distracted, Percy."

Blinking, Percy snapped out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, just… thinking about home."

"Yes, I imagine you must be feeling a tad homesick. Why if I ever left Atlasia, I don't think I'd be able to stay away."

That didn't sound right.

"Don't you want to go out, see what's out there? It can't have been easy to spend all your time alone here."

She looked at him, eyes glittering on the light of the hallway.

"I wasn't always alone. My sisters used to work alongside me, and our human followers were pleasant company, dedicated to the cause of the gods. It must be hard to believe, but at some point, this island was bustling with activity, these hallways were full of people dressed just like you, conversing and debating while we worked towards the betterment of humanity and the gods."

She paused, eyes closing as if trying to recall it.

"My home wasn't always this empty, Percy. Even now, I cannot conceive of abandoning it."

But that didn't make any sense. Even if the people left.

"What about your sisters?"

"They have been… decommissioned. Left in stasis in order to conserve Atlasia's remaining power. As it stands, I am the sole unit allowed to function within our current parameters. They will simply deactivate should I rouse them from their rest."

Percy didn't know what to say.

He couldn't imagine having to spend years without seeing a loved one. He barely tolerated being away from his mother for a few months. There was no way he could have gone without seeing or talking to her for this long.

"I'm sorry."

The gesture seemed to confuse Calypso, who smiled politely.

"Your concern is appreciated. It goes without saying that your presence and company has been of great importance. It has been a very long time since I could converse with anyone about these matters. I can only hope that when you and Lord Rider depart, Atlasia will regain at least some of its former glory."

"We're leaving? Today?"

She looked glum.

"Yes, Lord Rider was very insistent on it."

That was good news. Great news, actually. Percy didn't know how long it would take them to find a boat. It was the whole reason he was planning to swim away from the island as soon as he got confirmation he couldn't drown. But it seemed like the armored man was making good on his plans.

As expected of the Blue Ranger.

He should have been happy. Excited even. But looking at the resigned expression on the peppy tour guide, Percy couldn't help but feel guilty. For leading her on this whole time because Rider was pretending to be someone important so she'd help them. She gave them food, gave Percy clothes, and was now giving them a ship to sail away.

It just didn't sit well with him.

"I mean. The guy's really serious and we are kinda working. So we couldn't stay too long. And hey. Maybe when we're done I can try and visit."

It was a little bit farther away than he was used to, but Blackjack was whining a lot lately over traveling farther from camp.

So hey, tropical science fiction island. Annabeth would love it.

"I would very much like that. Percy Percy Jackson."

He snorted back a laugh.

"You're really not gonna let that one go, huh?"

"I have no idea of what you speak. I am as prim and proper as required of my station."

Sure.

Like he'd believe that for a second.

"Good morning, Percy. I see you have rested well."

Rider was, to nobody's surprise, covered head to toe in armor as per usual. In his hands, he carried a tablet of polished bronze, symbols and numbers flickering through its 'screen', which he didn't even take his eyes off of when they left the main building of the temple and walked into the… port? It was a port or some kind of massive pool of crystalline water which glittered under the light of the sun.
They hadn't been to this part of the temple before, had they?

He would remember if they had.

"Been up for long?"

The machine-like man nodded idly.

"I have started preparations for our departure. Every second matters."

Percy could get behind that. Time was money and all that. He was also not one to stay put and do nothing while problems happened. Like with the Golden Fleece or when they had to rescue Annabeth. In fact, you could even call him a bit impulsive. Constantly meddling in quests that weren't even his.

So he could appreciate Rider taking initiative.

Just getting away from the island would be good. Less chance to run into an unwelcoming committee headed by an angry god. Percy was sure he was in Hephaestus' to-smite list after blowing up his forge at St. Helens. And invading his little science fiction themed museum wouldn't help either.

"Lord Rider, I've retrieved the supplies you requested."

"Thank you, Lady Calypso. Did you upload the navigational data I specified?"

She what now?

"Of course. The ship's navigational systems have all of our up to date oceanic routes. I'm afraid I was only able to retrieve the coordinates to Helios Island and Mnemosyne Island. If you'd like I could try to establish communications with Olympus?"

"That won't be required. So long as we can investigate the islands and link them back to Atlasia, it shouldn't be a problem."

The way Calypso smiled hurt him. Full of cheerfulness and excitement at finally getting some help running this island. She was probably thinking of how to hire people again, or maybe ever waking up her sisters like she said. It was all Percy could to keep a straight face as the young woman carried boxes of stuff they would need for their trip. Pushing a cart inside the ship and then back into the temple to grab more.

Fiddling with the clasp of his coat, Percy felt awful.

'It's so unfair.' He couldn't help but think.

He didn't get how Rider could lie so easily to her. Not after hearing her story like he did. One thing was tricking monsters, but Percy was a bad liar and he knew from all the times a god had tripped him up or figured out he wasn't telling the truth. Heck, his mother could tell that and she didn't even need divine powers. So he never felt bad about tricking stupid monsters into dusting themselves.

He did kinda feel bad for that one time he gave Grover the slip though. But in his defense he was acting kinda suspicious.

Like how Rider was now.
Seriously, had he even taken off his helmet? Percy hadn't seen the man's face since they got into the temple. He hadn't even taken off his armor either, or well, maybe he had but Percy and Calypso weren't there to see. It was like he was constantly on high alert, looking for any signs of danger. Or at the very least wanting to hide his identity.

It was suspicious.

He was one of Athena's favorites right? But he didn't want Calypso to see his face? He recognized her. Of that he was certain.

So what was the angle here?

"I didn't expect you to work this fast."

"It was necessary. The longer we delay, the higher the risk." He stopped, finally looking up from the tablet he had been reading from, electric blue eyes meeting his own sea green for the first time.

"You disapprove."

No shit, Sherlock.

"I don't like it."

The man nodded.

"Good, I don't like it either."

"Then why…?"

"Why am I doing this? Keeping up this facade while we could have simply played the part of stranded sailors? It would have been an effective way to garner sympathy. But we wouldn't have gained cooperation as easily, at least not without risking her reporting our arrival."

So it was easier and saved them time.

"Are we even gonna help her?"

Rider stiffened, putting down his tablet flat against the surface of a nearby box. Turning to face him fully, Percy thought the man was trying to puzzle him out again. Trying to find some kind of meaning to what he said that wasn't exactly what Percy meant to say. He sure got the Athena stare down to an artform.

"She is a goddess. She needs no help. None that we could offer, at least."

Percy glared at him.

So, they were just gonna leave her here… hoping they'd come back?

"For our sake. I expect you to maintain cover."

Percy's fist clenched. Chest pounding on his ears when armored fingers clamped around his wrist like a vice. Inches away from striking the man's armored face. The same emotionless facade looking down on him as the man held the demigod's fist from hitting him. Inches away from touching it.

He held him there for a moment.

"Calm down, young man."

Percy looked over Rider's shoulder, hissing a breath out in frustration as he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair peeking around the hallway, followed by a line of floating metal boxes. She seemed focused on her task. Enough that she didn't notice Percy throw the punch before he pulled back.

Much as he wanted to try again.

He just… couldn't agree with Rider on that. Not when she was right there in front of them doing her best to help and he just… lied to her face. Well, he was lying too, but he didn't think they should just get her hopes up like that.

"I don't like this." He repeated.

The frustrating cool headed man just nodded.

"I understand. Even so, we still need to get out of this island."

He was right, of course.

Percy didn't like that either. So rather than stick around and try to punch him again, he walked up to the ship Calypso had prepared for them. A trireme of solid polished wood. It reminded Percy of some of the schematics he'd seen in Hephaestus' Cabin whenever he wanted to visit Beckendorf. It was also a bit smaller than he expected, more of a lifeboat than anything.

"Not made of metal?" That part surprised him.

Calypso sighed.

"Unfortunately. These were… antiques bequeathed to Atlasia's care by Vice-Director Athena. They were originally meant to be put on display, but… we had a lot of them and not enough space."

"How many of these do you guys have?"

She tilted her head, humming in thought.

"I'd say… a medium sized fleet? Three hundred or so? These were being decommissioned after all. Or course, not all were sail worthy so we used at least a third for spare parts, and half of the remaining ones were used by our trained human staff to leave the island when ordered to."

"That was still a hundred of these ships though. And its still kinda big just for two people, don't you think?"

She stopped in place, placing a box down with some of the others.

"Oh dear. I feared this would be the case. You weren't really taught how to sail, were you?"

Percy blinked.

"Kinda? I can sail boats just by being on them. Or well, I could. Not sure if I can with my powers like this. I sailed a ship just once but my powers were working."

She beamed.

"Wonderful! No time to learn like the present then!"

And dragged him up the stairs and to the wheel. To no one's surprise it looked like a wheel, but it was actually make out of metal as expected. A block of solid celestial bronze shaped with the same bluish-green veins spreading over it and into the floor. There where three massive gems embedded into it, all three of them shining with the same light. Plus a massive polished mirror in the center.

It looked almost like a screen.

"Now, place your hands on both sides like this." She guided his arms, closing his hands around two of the handles. The veins of light pulsed under his skin, warming up the cold metal to a comfortable lukewarm as the gems on the wheel lit up like small headlights. Numbers and symbols flickering through the 'screen' in the center.

[Carrier-Type Organic Resources Vessel - Activated]

[Requesting Access Code]

[Pseudo-Organic Terminal Unit - Detected]

[Compatibility Rate: 250%]

[Initiating Calibration Process]

"Oh dear. You weren't jesting when you implied you could operate a ship by your lonesome. This compatibility rate is quite impressive."

Percy sighed.

Again with the science fiction jargon. Couldn't he just get something that didn't speak robot?

Well, whatever.

"Impressive?"

"Quite so! Why, if it weren't for your hybrid nature I would have classified you as a specialized sailing unit! Captain class at least. Lord Poseidon didn't skimp out on your schematics and functions. This… general compatibility isn't something one can achieve without heavy investment."

Great.

Now he was thinking about the 'investment' his dad put on his mom. Evil thoughts be gone. Shelve the traumatic images back to the corner of his poor teenager mind, never to be unearthed again.

"So, how do I work this?"

Calypso, fortunately, detected his desperation and chose to not torment him further.

"Well, once the calibration process is done you should be able to pilot through intent-based commands. Of course, the engines are quite old and rely on an outdated Ichor-based distill to function, so I would suggest relying on the Kinetic Tissue Sails during your journey to avoid losing speed."

So… they were sailing and the engine existed but was kinda iffy.

Percy was getting way too much practice translating her sci-fi jargon. He couldn't imagine talking like that all the time.

It sounded tiring.

"One more thing."

She handed him a small bundle of cloth. Tied together by a neat bow wrapped around it. Like someone trying to wrap a gift for christmas, then realized they didn't know how to, so just decided to do it anyway. With the only thing keeping it from falling apart being the hefty helping of tape around it.

It was… clumsy and endearing.

"Thanks?"

"I hope you like it. It is our… customary token of appreciation." She looked away, ears lightly coloring as she refused to look at him.

So this was like a souvenir? Or something from a gift shop?

This place really was a museum.

She gave him an expecting look, bouncing in place while he still held the package. Obviously waiting for him to open and see what she had gotten him. Like Percy didn't need any more reason to feel guilty over the whole lying and leading her on thing.

"Alright, alright. I'm doing it."

Undoing the bow, Percy was careful not to crumple the wrapping too much before he reached inside.

It was… metal.

To nobody's surprise.

Some kind of bracelet made out of light silver metal with a clear glass covering and lots of circuitry inside. Like, Percy wasn't and would never be any kind of tech whiz but he was sure that this was the most expensive piece of metal he had ever seen. Never mind the small lightly glowing alongside the 'circuits'.

It was… so damn cool.

Like his own power ranger morpher!

"Thanks!"

Calypso patted him on the shoulder, smiling as she helped him put on the gift.

"Now Percy Jackson is sailing ready!"

He couldn't help it.

He laughed.

"Alright, mission control. Let's get this ready for launch."

As it turned out, letting the ship 'calibrate' or whatever would take the best part of the morning, which Rider had them spend putting away the supplies like rations, clothes and repair parts for the ship all while he went through whatever information he asked Calypso to provide. And the not-robot-goddess-girl was all too happy to help, which equally helped Percy's mood but also frustrated him.

He wanted to tell her.

He really, really did. But he was on the clock and needed to get back. People were counting on him. So he bit his tongue and distracted himself carrying boxes and listening to Calypso's droning lecture over what each gem on the wheel represented and what to do in case the fancy god-engine stopped working.

By the time they were done, it was midday. The sun hanging directly above them with its tropical glare.

She really wasn't kidding about the whole 'one meal worth seven days' thing.

"So, how exactly are we getting the ship down to the beach?" They were still in a large pool behind the temple, after all. And while he could bench press a lot if he got a boost from the water, Percy wasn't about to try and carry a whole ship to the beach.

"I, too, am curious regarding that." Rider was quick to join in. Having climbed aboard to help move some of the boxes himself. The least he could do, really. But Percy wasn't saying anything until they were out of earshot.
Calypso smiled, the scouter-like gadged she wore beeping to life with a press of a button.

"Requesting Island Authority."

[Authority Acknowledged]

"Prepare launching bay."

[Request Granted]

Then everything started shaking.

Earthquake?

There was another tremor as the pool and the island beneath it started to part in half, a widening stream of water leading down from the temple's pool towards the beach shaped faintly like a theme park slide. Saltwater rushing downstream to connect the pool to the ocean surrounding them, creating a long wide path.

It was like the island was parting in half.

'Is this entire place just a huge robot?' Percy gawked watching as bits and pieces of earth and stone fell off to reveal the familiar celestial bronze beneath. The channel leading the pool to the beach washing away the dirt further down the stream.

"Will this suffice, Lord Rider." she said smugly.

Percy couldn't help but chuckle.

Yeah, she was showing off.
From there it was just a round of pleasantries as Rider paid another round of lip service, complimenting Calypso about how pleased he was by her ability and that her willingness to help them would surely be taken into account whenever he reported to their unresponsive superiors.

'More like nonexistent.' Percy sighed glumly.

He really was in a rotten mood.

"It was a short stay. But an enjoyable one. I hope you will find it in your heart to welcome us again in the future."

"Of course. We of Atlasia are always willing to welcome visitors. I hope that you find success in your mission and that you think kindly of our humble island in the future. It was an honor to host emissaries of the gods."

Percy's mouth, faster than his brain, blurted out.
"I'll visit again, after everything is over."

And Percy meant it.

As soon as this whole mess with the Labyrinth was over. As soon as the fight against Luke and the titans was over, he was going to grab the first boat he could get his hands into and sail back here. If only because he lied to her, he didn't want to leave her with false hope.

Nobody deserves being left alone like this.

Not for a week.

Not for a month. And certainly not for hundreds of years.

Calypso looked like she wanted to say something, eyes doing that twinkling glittering thing they did when she got excited or was pleased with something. Her lips quivered into a radiant smile before she schooled her features and gave him a professional bow.

"Atlasia will of course receive you. Please… come back as many times as you wish."

It didn't take them long to leave after that. Just like Calypso said, the ship did what he wanted it to do. It wasn't as… instinctive as when he used his powers to sail the Queen Anne's Revenge. But it was smooth sailing from the temple's pool down the stream leading to the beach.

And he felt horrible.

They were finally headed out of the freaky metal island full of broken down machines in an abandoned museum. And all he could think about was that he should have done something for her. And as the island started to grow distant and the waves lapped against the side of their new ship.
Percy's hand traced the bracelet she'd gifted him, taking a deep calming breath at the feeling of cold glass and metal on his skin.

Yeah.

He'd definitely come back.

Rider moved beside him, peering over his shoulder and at the 'screen' on the wheel. Who knows what thoughts were running through his head.

"You will regret that promise."

Percy took a deep calming breath… turned around…

And punched him.

WyverNine · Aug 13, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.6

Percy took a swig from a canteen, savoring the fresh water as it cascaded down his throat. It was truly a refreshing sensation that he would never get tired of. A small thing he started to enjoy way more once he discovered his dad was the commander in chief of the greek subdivision of mythological ocean bullshit.

For Percy, fresh water was like a dose of caffeine.

And an extra large one at that.

It energized him, kept him awake and aware.

It was also a very good painkiller.

Which is why, after taking another hearty gulp, he dumped the rest of it on the black and blue mess of bruises that was his hand. Wincing ever so slightly as the broken remains of what had once been healthy bone and muscle complained at the sudden touch… before the flash of pain dulled and his skin started lightening.

'Okay, so… maybe punching the armored guy wasn't my brightest moment.'

He could hear Annabeth's 'oh duh' in the distance, carried forth by the mocking laughter of seagulls as they flew overhead. The winged rats had seemingly followed them from shore, eagerly looking for any kind of scrapS or food they might leave laying around for them. But they did make for a pretty good distraction.

Anything to not think about how pissed off he was.

Yeah, he was the one who punched the guy.

And yeah, maybe he shouldn't have done that since they worked out a deal to travel together and help Percy find a way back home. But that didn't mean Percy had to like how the man acted or how he treated other people. Especially a clueless lonely girl who did her best to help them, only to be left behind with fake promises.

Percy winced.

He was clenching his fist again.

Taking another swig of water, he looked over his shoulder.

Rider had taken up steering the ship while Percy fixed his hand, and didn't say anything after getting decked in the face. He didn't even try to hit him back, or even tease him over thinking he could punch a suit of armor that was made and gifted by Athena. If the goddess ever heard of this she might let him leave only to laugh about it privately.

Gods could be douches like that.

He knew for a fact Annabeth would tease him for it. Which is why he was never mentioning this again.

It had already been an hour since they left, and the freaky robot island had long since disappeared. Percy couldn't help but think better of it now. Sure, the metal monsters were a bit… odd and he wasn't gonna miss the way the place messed up with his powers, but at least the stay at the temple had been fun after it was done trying to melt his brain with super god computer noise.

And wasn't that another fresh can of worms.

That the gods were actually high-tech enthusiasts didn't seem that weird. Hephaestus was bound to get better and get on with times as people developed and invented new toys for him to tinker with. But… that place had been up and running when most gods were still in diapers.

When Big Z and Percy's dad decided they didn't like being part of their dad's meal plan.

Man, Beckendorf was gonna freak.

Scratch that, Annabeth was gonna freak.

It was a museum after all. And one left behind by her mom. Just another reason for them to try and come back once the whole mess with Luke and the impending doom of western civilization was done with.

'And there goes the good mood.'

Gazing out over the edge of the ship, the ocean looked like an endless blue carpet. Percy didn't even know where to start looking. Maybe there might be an entrance to the Labyrinth underwater. Maybe there was one on an island somewhere, maybe somewhere monsters going in and out of the Labyrinth. He couldn't have been the only one blasted out of the volcano.

"Mr. Jackson."

Percy snapped out of his thoughts.

Rider had moved away from the wheel, one hand keeping it steady for him, the other flat against his leg. Like he was trying to reassure him that he wasn't gonna hurt him for getting closer.

And that was the most confusing part of all of this.

How come he acted so calm?

It's not like he got hurt.

The only things to get hurt were Percy's hand and his pride.

"The wheel, if you please."

"Sure, sure." Percy sighed.

Well, if the guy wanted to pretend it didn't happen that was fine with him. But he had gotten tricked way too often by gods and random douchebags in his quests. He was gonna keep Riptide in his hand, and he was keeping it there until he was sure there wasn't a payback wedgie in his future.

"How is your hand?"

"Bruised. Hurts a little bit, but I'll heal fast."

He nodded, as if expecting the answer.

"Indeed, your blessings appear to be quite potent. I hope you're feeling better."

He probably didn't mean to say it like that. But after letting Percy hit him, it did sting a little bit.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. The stupid demigod punched your fancy armor." Not like he regretted it, much. He had still been horrible to Calypso, and Percy hated when good people were taken advantage of.

"I understand. I didn't stop you for a reason."

Because he could have.

Percy knew he could.

Instead, he focused on steering the ship, his grip on the handles tight. The feeling of his bruises fading as the water did its best to fix him up. It was so far he was even surprised. Normally he'd have needed to eat some ambrosia to fix something like a few broken fingers. Water handled cuts just fine, but it felt like it had been turbo charged.

The only thing he had eaten was that golden jello that Calypso gave them. And that had been last night.

"Got a laugh out of it?"

He snorted.

"I'm not the type to delight in simple hazing, Percy. You had a reason to strike me. So I let you do it. Else the resentment would just fester."
"Still got hurt."

"We both learnt valuable lessons today."

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Mind explaining it for the classroom, Wise Guy?"

If he noticed the nickname, he didn't react to it.

"It's not hard to understand. You're an impulsive young man, from what I could gleam you're the type who acts upon their emotions and later reflects about them. Like many demigods you've been trained to react and focus on surviving. It's what makes you a good fighter."

Nothing Percy hadn't heard from Annabeth or Chiron before.

"There's a 'but' there somewhere."

Rider nodded.

"But that can lead to issues. I won't count what happened this morning against you. It was a reasonable position to take. However, attempting to strike me in plain view of a third party was ill advised. Had you approached me with your misgivings regarding my plan, we could have discussed any issues before moving forward."

He had a point.

But Percy was stubborn.

He wasn't sorry about feeling angry at how he had treated Calypso. Nor was he going to just forgive his comments about her not needing help. It was like… she wasn't really a person to him. Goddess or not. And he hadn't even taken his helmet off since they met her.

He obviously had something against her.

"You didn't need to lie to her like that."

"No, I didn't. I calculated what the most cost effective means of deception was and acted upon it."

And like that, Percy felt like punching him again.

"Do not act. Speak. What do you think?"

Percy glared at the man.

"You didn't have to lie to her like that. She didn't deserve it."

"She didn't. And you're right to feel angry for her. You are a very empathic young man, and she was kind and helpful towards you. I can only imagine you have a high opinion OF and fondness FOR her."

There was another but there. There always were with Athena's people.

"From here on out, our voyage will be more difficult. Having disagreements ON land is more preferable, and I need to know that you won't allow your resentment to cause us problems while at sea."

"So you let me hit you."

"So I let you hit me, yes."

Figures that someone would let themselves get punched just because it was the smart thing to do. The guy hadn't been anything but cool headed and calculating. It was a big help against the Manticore, but Percy wasn't sure he could always run with the guy's ideas. Not when they pissed him off.

"So what do you want me to say? That we're even?"

"Hardly. You won't change your way of thinking to suit me. So I only ask that we bury the hatchet here and that you tell me when you disagree with my plans going forward. This might be a long journey, and trust is important at sea."

Trust, huh?

That was a bit much.

Did Percy trust this guy? Well, he had trusted him well enough after they fought against Mecha Thorn, and then when they were exploring the island. But there was this feeling that the man was hiding something that he couldn't shake off. And then acting like he did with Calypso, which he just couldn't approve of.

"And you're gonna listen to me if I talk to you?"

"I am not going to force you into anything, Percy."

Well, that was a good thing at least.

"So, where do we go from here? If we're gonna be sailing together I at least wanna know what's the plan."

The man took a seat on top of a nearby barrel, hands in his lap in what Percy thought might be his way to say he wasn't being threatening.

Not that he needed much to look intimidating. The guy looked completely out of place. Like a stormtrooper had decided to come down and hang out at a pirate ship. And wasn't his life weird enough that the contrast didn't affect him nearly as much as it would before his stay at the science fiction island.

"I assumed you'd have questions."

Questions. Yeah.

Lots and lots of them.

Rider raised his hand, stopping him from voicing it.

"I have questions as well, but wanted to wait until we were off the island before we could be frank with one another. You never know which god might be listening in on us, and I would rather not have said something that could have tipped off Lady Calypso to our deception."

Yeah, Percy could understand that.

He still didn't have to be a dick about it.

"What's so important about us being here that we have to hide?"

Sitting there, Rider was almost pensive for a moment before, after looking out at the sea himself, he gave the tiniest nod.

"You're still upset about Calypso." It was a matter of fact statement.

"I know I'm being… redundant." Annabeth would have been proud of him for that. "But yeah. I am." His grip on the wheel tightened a little more. He was being stubborn and thick headed, but he couldn't let it go.

Not until he had a straightforward answer.

"Would it be the fact she trusted us, then? You feel this is a betrayal of sorts." A leading question and one Percy hadn't had to answer, at least not with words. "To react like this to even a small betrayal tells me you have endured a much greater one. A friend or lover, perhaps?"

Choking on air, the demigod almost fell over at the question.

"No, no, not a lover!"

Chuckling, for the first time since they'd met, Rider gave him a small smile.

"Good. The love of another is perhaps the most corrupting and civilizing influence in all of humanity. Still, I will say this - I do not take pleasure in lying, it is truly necessary we avoid the attention of those powers around us. For more than just our sakes, we must not be found."

Grunting, the teenager made his understanding clear.

"One of the gods is after you, aren't they?"

Pausing, the power ranger slowly answered in turn.

"Indeed."

No more information was volunteered.

Sighing, this time the demigod couldn't help but commiserate with his armored battle buddy.

"Eesh. Must be pretty bad. I take it you kinda have it coming, then? But whatever you did to piss them off was very, very important. I… don't suppose I could just ask my dad to sort things out for you?"

Still speaking slowly, Percy's traveling companion looked almost pleasantly surprised.

Before he winced.

"Unfortunately, no, as it is more what I must do, than what I have already done… though I suspect your father in particular might have cause to oppose me too."

I mean… yeah.

One of Athena's favorites. His dad probably wouldn't like him.

'Who are you, really?' He thought.

Some random guy with armor given by Annabeth's mom. Who also just happened to be super smart like her kids, but didn't wanna get found out by gods for doing… something that they didn't like. Could he be involved with Luke and the Titans. Was Percy sailing around with a guy trying to take down the gods?

"Do you want to know?"

Crap, he said that outloud!

The man smiled thinly, but seemed more amused than insulted.

"I told you, didn't I? From now on, if you have questions you should say them outloud and I will answer them honestly to the best of my abilities."

Well, wasn't that ominous.

"So, what? We'll play a game of 20 Questions?"

"That's not a bad way to go about it." Rider chuckled.

Percy nodded.

He'd start small then.

"What's your name?"

"Well aren't you blunt. I suppose I should have expected it. Rider, as you might have guessed, isn't a name. It is something of a codename used by… individuals like myself who need to remain anonymous in order to work properly. If people knew who I was then they'd know what to expect from me."

…

Wait. Wasn't that a spy?!

Was he a spy?!

It wasn't as cool as a Power Ranger, but at least it made more sense.

"So, who are you? Agent 007?"

"You're really fond of pop-culture references, aren't you? But the concept is similar. I'm what you could call a secret agent on a mission looking to investigate an insidious plot supposedly taking part in these waters. A restricted section allowed only to the gods, you could say. My callsign, if you would call it that, is Rider."

Neat. Codenames.

He'd have to remember that.

"And your real name?"

He sighed. Probably hoping Percy would be too distracted to remember the actual question?

"My name is Odysseus." He spoke gravely, as if expecting lightning to start shooting out of the sky. Or some other kind of divine punishment the smite-happy gods decided to throw his way for having a name. It wasn't even a bad one, either.

"Cool. My name is Perseus."

He looked at him strangely.

"Perseus, the Perseus?"

Wow, did they really know about him over at the demigod secret service?

"Yeah, Percy Jackson. First son of Poseidon in like… forty years? That 's me. Retrieved Zeus' Lightning Bolt. Helped find the Golden Fleece. Saved Artemis and kicked Atlas' butt. I even held up the sky for a little bit. But I guess you secret agent people already know all of that."

Why was he looking at him like he had two heads?

Rider… sorry… Odysseus looked like he just found out the earth was flat after all, eyes blown wide, mouth closing with a click. Really, he was being quite dramatic. As if people weren't tired of hearing about all kinds of trouble he had gotten up to since he was brought to Camp Half Blood.

Didn't he know?

"But… you're a son of Zeus. The one who slew Medusa."

"Oh, you're thinking of the other Perseus. I killed Aunty Em too, but that's when I was looking for the Big Guy's lightning."

And now he was all silent again.

"I feel like we'll be here for a while."

-

Two hours later and they were still at it.

"So, your name is Perseus Jackson."

"Percy for friends."

"You were born in New York."

"Uh huh."

"Your parents are Sally Jackson, and Poseidon, the God of the Sea."

"Didn't know about dad until a couple years ago."

"And for the last few months you have been embroiled in preparations for a battle against the returning forces of the Titans, who have reformed in modern day and seek to supplant the reign of Olympus… which is located on top of the Empire State Building and has been in the Americas for as long as they have become the center of Western Civilization."

"You keep repeating those. You sure you really understood?" Because he never had to explain this stuff to someone more than once. And the way the man looked seemed like he was having trouble believing it. Which was strange. Didn't Athena tell him about Half-Blood or Camp? He was a mortal guy, sure, but she didn't strike him as the sort to leave that kind of detail off.

Unless she didn't want him to know.

'Oops. Guess I fudged that plan of hers then.' You could hear how sorry he was. Percy Jackson was very very sorry for the cast iron goddess who suggested he be turned into a pile of demigod ashes.

Very sorry.

"Yes. I'm just… processing the information and the implications. And you're sure you go here through a passage on Daedalus' Labyrinth rather than being summoned here? Through a burst of light and smoke perhaps?"

As expected, neither one of them made sense.

Was that how the secret service demigod people worked?

Not going to lie. Having someone just capable of shooting you through a puff of smoke anywhere in the country and across the sea would have been pretty handy a couple years back. Would have certainly spared them all sorts of expenses and trouble like sneaking into transportation or paying people with magical credit cards.

Really, they had been at it for so long that the sky had gone dark.

Wait, no.

Those were storm clouds.

"Uhh… Rider?" No, he wasn't gonna stumble his way through ancient Greek names just so he could talk to people.

"Yes, Percy?"

"Were these clouds always here?"

Because they'd been sailing for the best part of an hour. Maybe two. And the sky was clear ever since they left Atlasia. Only to suddenly darken as dark clouds popped out of nowhere and the sea around them started churning angrily, as if something decided to stir it. Percy could feel as the waves beat against the side of the ship, the rumbling of thunder echoing on their ears overhead.

Odysseus was promptly on his feet.

The man was like a machine, running through every knot and package they had on board. Checking them over and tying them twice fold even as the ship rocked from side to side at the mercy of an increasingly angry sea. Nothing Percy couldn't deal with, but at the same time, not something he had to deal with before.

Even Bermuda wasn't this temperamental.

"The supplies are secure! Do we have a heading?!" The armored man shouted over the roar of a wave.

"The Ship's saying to keep heading north! There is an island that way!"

Then another wave broke over them, the strength of the tide washing over like a moving wall as if attempting to push them off the ship and into the depths. Percy struggled against the pull of the wheel, pressing his feet against the slippery floor.

Not that it did any good.

Percy wasn't dry.

Neither was the floor. Yet he couldn't feel the strength he associated with the feeling of water. If anything, for the first time, Percy felt like he was struggling against the storm itself. Both him and the ship taking quite the beating from the churning sea. And while Percy normally didn't have any trouble staying afloat, he was sure that if he ended up going overboard, he might actually drown this time.

"Let me try something!"

His powers were still shot, yeah. But if his dad listened to him once. Then there was a chance that he could get another freebie just this once. Sinking Calypso's boat would make him feel horrible too. And while fishing Rider out of the water would be funny, he didn't want the guy sinking to his death.

'Hey dad. If you're listening, can you lighten up on the storms a bit…'

[Access Denied]

[Signal Interference Detected]

[Divine Corpus Network - Disabled]

[Attempting to establish connection]

[Access Denied]

[Atmospheric Modulation Authority - Disabled]

[Signal Interference Detected]

[Access Denied]

That… didn't sound good.

"Any luck?!"

"It 's not him!"

The man's armor lit up in an instant, helmet forming over Rider's face and shoulder guards spreading from his collarbone as he avoided a jet of salt water.

"Not him?"

"This is not my father! Something locked him out!"

And that terrified him more than he'd like to admit.

His dad was Poseidon.

King of the Seas.

Guy who loved throwing tropical ragers like these as if they were party favors. The guy who got angry and caused typhoons to wreck places at random. Who had a pissing match with his brother so great that they were ready to destroy the world. And for some reason he couldn't do anything about what was going on.

The storm wasn't even his fault. Which meant it was somebody's fault. Somebody who could just play in his dad's backyard like they owned it.

"Hang in there! I'll steer us to the closest island!"

Kinda hard to do when they only had a simple map to go on.

Looking down at the wheel, Percy watched as the image on its center shifted to show one of the maps Calypso probably put in it, the image of the whirlpool and the nonsensical islands that hurt him to just look at.

'The closest one is… Phobos Island.'

Seriously, what was with these islands and being named after gods? It felt like he was in some kind of amusement park.

The wind whipped against Percy's face, blowing back his hair as the howling grew louder and louder. Arcs of lightning traveling between clouds overhead. Almost as if something was moving through the storm. The sea buckled, a wave smashing against the back of their ship, sending it forward despite Percy's efforts to keep it steady.

And that was when the sea exploded.

Okay, so maybe that was a bit too dramatic.

Rather, something hit the side of the ship and blew up, causing a spray of salt water as the impacted sent the shit floating sideways before two other explosions rocked the boat, the roar of cannon fire mingling with the crack of thunder and the angry churning of the sea as more explosions surged around them.

"Enemy fire!" He heard Rider call from the deck, his armor flaring to life as he shot one of his laser beams, hitting something midair that exploded before it could hit the water.

Where were these coming from?

Gritting his teeth, Percy kept a tight grip on the wheel as he tried to keep it steady.

The freak storm. The angry sea. And now cannonballs coming from outta nowhere. There were far too many coincidences for it to be anything other than an enemy. And without his powers, he couldn't tell where exactly they were. So imagine his relief when they decided to show up either way.

It was a massive ship. Certainly bigger than the one they were using. It was also bright red and looked vintage enough to be something out of an actual real-life museum. Moving through the stormy seas completely unhindered, the ship didn't feel like it was quite there. It had a presence to it, something that make Percy want to avert his eyes from it as the sea exploded around them.

"It's coming straight at us!"

That much Percy could see. The ship appeared out of nowhere and going at a straight line despite the churning waters.

"Friends of yours?!"

"Pirates!"

Percy turned the wheel. Almost slipping in surprise.

Pirates? Really?

Rider didn't elaborate, blasting another laser beam at the approaching ship. Again, it seemed to shit something just before making it to the target. It was difficult to make out what was happening with all the rain and wind. There was a golden glow and the sound of cannons blasting away, keeping the ship from adjusting course.

It was a frustrating feeling.

Normally Percy would just… sweep away an enemy at sea. Get the tides to shove them backwards or even sink them. But the sea was a stranger now. He couldn't even make out what was beneath the ship. Not like he could before the freak storm hit. Percy felt blind. He felt numb, like someone had taken away limbs he had lived with his entire life and forced him to do without.

Even the salt water stung his eyes, adding insult to injury.

It was like… he was mortal.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Another explosion. This one closer, right on top of them. The blowback nearly knocked Percy on his back as he heard the sound of something tearing apart. One of the sails splitting in two as it whipped about with the wind.

[Kinetic Sail #2 Disabled]

[Initiating Repairs]

[Activating Backup Engines]

Wait.

Didn't Calypso say something about the engines…

[Backup Engines Offline]

[Rebooting]

[Rebooting]

Crap!

Rider wasn't doing much better than him, either.

While he could blast away at the cannonballs. Percy knew it was only a matter of time until his armor shut down. And without a way to evade the honest to gods Pirate ship headed their way, the demigod thumbed the cap of his pen, eager to release Riptide and deal with whoever was screwing with his powers even more so than before.

Percy reached out for the sea instinctively but felt no familiar connection as the enemy ship closed the gap between them.

Odysseus shot upwards, rocket boots carrying him over a cannonball before shooting again. This time they were so close that the explosion caught the side of the Pirate ship, hungry flames eagerly lapping against the wooden deck despite the torrential rain. Another blast and the ship now had a massive gap on its side, water rushing in to fill the gaps left by Odysseus.

He really should look into getting some armor.

Preferably of a lighter blue.

'Was that it?'

Then why was Rider still shooting?

"Now, now, boys. Is that any way to treat a lady's ride?"

Percy blinked. The world stopped for a second. The rain, the storming sea, the crackling of the pirate ship as it sank to the depths. The humming of Rider's power suit as he pointed his glowing palms at him. Or rather… pointed them at the one behind him. The cool feeling of a gun barrel touching the back of his head.

There was a click.

Odysseus raised his hands.

"See? That 's much better. Wasn't expecting this rinky dinky ship to be important enough to have an escort, but shows what I know about this weird sea."

Percy tried to make out who was behind him.

The woman was a pirate.

There was no other way to describe her. Not with the large hat and reddish coat. Everything about her screamed 'yohoho and a bottle of rum'. He couldn't make out much. But he could see that she had a very large jagged scar across her face. A mocking grin on her lips as she tapped the barrel of the gun against the back of his head.

"Do us a favor lad. Don't go and do something stupid while the adults are talking."

The only thing unusual about her was the color of her hair. A deep rich pink that almost seemed fake. Kept off her face by the hat and a bandana, the woman pirate kept her eyes trained on Odysseus as she pulled Percy backwards, his head laying flat against her chest as the hand holding the gun shifted to point at Odysseus.

Instead, a second gun seemingly appeared out of nowhere on her hand, the tip resting against the back of Percy's stomach.

He swallowed try, fingers clutching Riptide's cap.

Not that it would help him.

The moment he moved, he was sure she was going to shoot him.

It was something surreal.

The storm which had been raging around them for so long seemingly disappeared as the remains of the pirate ship sank. Like it hadn't been there to begin with, the whistling wind stopped and the waves calmed. Unfortunately that didn't help with him now being at gunpoint. Seriously, to think that after fighting monsters and gods, what kept him from doing anything was a plain flintlock?

Annabeth was gonna make so much fun of him.

"Let the boy go."

Percy decided that maybe he should forgive Odysseus after this was done.

Maybe.

"Now, I don't think you're in any position to make demands."

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅

Percy winced at the loud bang next to his ear as a bullet whizzed through the air. and hit Odysseus. It bounced off his armor, but Percy could tell the shot hit him with enough force to bruise. Forcing the man to step back. Had he been inching forward to try and hit the woman without hurting him.

He couldn't tell.

"Chill out, boy scout. The kid's just insurance."

He swallowed dry, realizing settling in.

'I'm a meatshield.' It would be a first. And certainly unpleasant.

Things were tense now. The pirate woman keeping her pistol trained on Odysseus, who couldn't be hurt by a shot. Which just meant she'd sooner shoot Percy than try again.

Not good.

He'd like to not be shot.

"You boys know the drill. This ship is mine now. If mister tall, dark and metallic over there has something to say about it, the boy get's shot. If you wiggle too much and do anything but pilot the ship, you get shot. If I feel like you two are trying to be clever and fool me, you get shot. If you sneeze and get some on me, you get shot."

Well, wasn't she honest.

"Is there an option where I don't get shot?"

She barked a laugh.

"Cheeky. I like you. But I ain't got the time for the usual saler's pitch. Consider yourselves recruited. Since you wrecked my ship, I'm taking this one along with everything on board. We'll take this tub to the nearest island and part ways. Sounds fair, right? Nobody gets hurt and I get to replace my ship."

What kind of logic was that?!

Rider seemed to share his thoughts, golden eyes shining much the same way Annabeth's would whenever she found a challenging puzzle. That he didn't want to risk him getting turned into swiss cheese was heartwarming, but Percy knew that at this moment he was the only thing keeping Odysseus from attacking.

But it was different now.

Before, the 'storm' had been blocking his powers. Keeping him from even drawing strength from water as he usually did. He had been blind and powerless. But as soon as the ship was destroyed and the storm stopped…

So did whatever had kept his powers from working.

And Percy was soaked. Newfound energy pumping through him as his grip on Riptide tightened.

Then he heard it.

Dad 's voice.

[Connection Reestablished]

[Emergency Request Acknowledged]

[Adjusting Course]

[Directive #1 - Initiated]

WyverNine · Aug 14, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.7

So, as it turns out, being a hostage was a bit boring.

After standing around for a couple minutes, the three of them had kinda settled into an uneasy truce. It wasn't like the pirate lady could hurt Odysseus or sail the ship without them. They couldn't fight her without Percy getting turned into swiss cheese and the ship getting even more damaged either.

The deadly wound part of par for the course.

An occupational hazard, really.

What he didn't want to do was damage the boat, or even worse, sink it. It was a gift from his new friend after all and their only way of traveling around. So Percy was forced to stay very still while keeping the wheel steady. The pink haired woman and his armored friend just… stared at each other, waiting for the engines to start working. Or maybe for an opportunity to start shooting again.

Not a whole lot of conversation going around.

And Percy was stuck down the middle.
Seriously, things had gotten so much more complicated since that accident at the volcano.

From untethered islands of metal with cyborg monsters and cute robot girls giving tour guides about the secret history of the gods. To getting ambushed at sea by a pirate who looked like she had jumped out of an amusement park if not for the fact she had laser pistols like some kind of outdated Han Solo.

Was it too much to ask for a normal ride home?

They hadn't even started looking for the labyrinth yet, and now the three of them were stuck staring at each other while the ancient but still too advanced ship they were on got done rebooting its god jelly engines.

Because apparently they'd been eating rocket fuel.

"Brat. My eyes are up here."

He blinked.

Oh, he'd been looking at her. Right.

"Sorry about that. Was thinking about something." He laughed sheepishly.

Mom had always told him it was rude to stare.

The pirate lady snorted.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Feeling mighty flattered that a young thing like you would give this dusty old hag the time of the day. Gonna rub it all over Teach's face if I see him again. Damn idiot always saying I was too old to have any game. Shows what he knows."

And that was another thing.

The Pirate Lady was actually pleasant company once you got to know her. And ignored the fact she still had her gun on him while Odysseus was forced to stay across from them, but on the other side of the ship. He hadn't taken off his helmet again, and Percy was starting to notice a pattern with the guy.

Very paranoid.

Didn't like others seeing his face. Probably secret agent stuff.

That helped. Knowing that he and Calypso weren't the only ones getting the cold shoulder from the man the first time they met.

By contrast, once they got past the whole 'do something funny and I shoot you' phase, Percy found he got along much better with the Pirate Lady. Even if she were still pointing one of her flintlocks at him. She seemed more interested in keeping an eye on Odysseus.

Which yeah, fair enough.

He was the one wearing the big fancy armor.

"So, what're you and your tall scary metal friend doing around these parts?"

"You know just… sailing around."

She grinned.

"Sailing around?"

He nodded.

"Sailing around."

"This is a pretty big boat for just two folks though. And I see a couple barrels too many for just a quick jaunt around. Seems to me the two of you were planning on going on a small expedition of your own. And hey, more power to you. The sea is full of adventure and romance. Don't think anyone would fault you for getting sweet-talked by an older, more experienced sailor."

He didn't like where this was going.

"Eww."

She laughed, holding her stomach at his grossed out expression.

"Aye, aye. I can already tell you got your eyes trained on more soft cuts of beef." She stuck out her chest proudly. And to be fair, Percy had to admit he hadn't seen any that large since Aphrodite paid him a visit back when they were trying to rescue Annabeth and Artemis.

Was she a goddess in disguise or something?

He wouldn't put it past one to disguise themselves like a pirate just to mess with him.

"So, fess up, where were you guys going? Got a map on you?"

What was with this woman?

Just a moment ago she had him at gunpoint and threatened to put a new hole in him if Odysseus didn't agree to stay as far away from them as possible. And now she was just… chatting with him. It wasn't even like she had put away the gun. Like she wasn't planning to shoot.

Not that he was willing to test her patience.

Percy wasn't at all trained to deal with guns.

Especially magical ones.

"No map, sorry. At least not a physical one." Shifting his grip on the Wheel, Percy moved aside to let her see the image on screen. Just a vast stretch of ocean with very few dotted islands.

"We were gonna take a look at those. Maybe try and find a way back home."

Looking over his shoulder, the pirate hummed.

"You guys lost?"

"I don't know about him. But I kinda am. Need to find some fancy lost Labyrinth and run all the way back home. Dunno how that works but that's the way it is."

She whistled.

"Labyrinth, huh? Well, talk about coincidences."

Percy started.

"You know where it is?!"

Only to deflate when she shook her head.

"Sorry brat. Only had a run in with the damn place once. It wasn't fun, but the rest of the trip was great. These other pirates were after a goddess, and we were running for them so we ended up inside the place when we stopped at an island. Nearly got my head taken by a big bullboy himself."

Percy whistled.

"Wow, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth? You sure your name isn't Theseus or something?" It wouldn't be the first time Percy met someone else with an old hero name around these parts. Not even the second, since Calypso wasn't really the Calypso according to Odysseus.

The Pirate Lady scoffed.

"That old guy? He's got shit on me, brat."

Percy was pretty sure he should have felt a little bit bad for his famous half-brother. He wasn't used to people dunking on the guy like this. At least it was just him and not heroes in general like Mr.D was fond of whining and griping about. The miserably sober god of wine definitely could carry a grudge.

Much like the pirate lady was carrying a bottle of rum.

Wait what?

"Where… did you get that?"

She looked at the bottle on her hand before taking another sip.

"I have no idea. Comes with the package I guess. How's that engine coming along?"

Well, according to Percy's expert opinion on highly complex and advanced ichor-guzzling ship engines. Which didn't exist. The flashing red lights on the wheel had now turned yellow from their original flashing red, meaning that either they were nearly ready to go, or the ship was about to blow up.

Either or.

[Ichor Engines Status: Disabled]

[Rebooting]

[Rebooting]

[Time Estimated: 2 minutes.]

"Well, according to the ship it's still gonna be a couple minutes."

She groaned, laying her cheek flat against the palm of one hand.

"Man, this is one slow tub you guys got."

"You kinda shot at us, miss. Can't do anything about that."

That earned him a light smack to the back of the head.

"Brat, normally I'd appreciate the cheek. But in case you haven't noticed, being stuck in the middle of an ocean like this isn't good if you wanna keep living. So I'd save the rebellious teenager shit for after I've dumped your asses on the nearest island."

Percy snorted.

"Stuff like this happens all the time, Lady. Can't always have it easy."

She blinked, confusion overtaking annoyance.

"You're being very carefree about this. Ya know I'm just one finger slip away from putting a new hole in you, right?"

"Still would be stuck here, wouldn't you?"

She gave him a too-sweet smile.

"Yes, but it would make me feel hella better."

Yeah, yeah he knew that already.

It should probably scare him a lot more if not for the past few years.

Really, everything since he was about thirteen had been an ongoing adventure.

From retrieving the Big Guy's boomstick, to traveling to the Sea of Monsters in search of a golden blanket and going through a small Odyssey of their own. Getting guinea-fied by Circe, attacked by his asshole of a Cyclops half brother who wasn't Tyson, he forgot the guy's name, Tyson was great and Percy still felt guilty about being a dick to him. Plus there was also how he had nearly gotten eaten by Charybdis, his other half sister.

Seriously, what was with his siblings and wanting to kill him?

[Ichor Engines Status: Online]

[Navigation Systems Online]

[Control Interface Released]

Freaking finally.

Operation Impertinent Asshole was a go.

'So, uhh, dad. When's that back up coming in?'

[Extraction Unit en-Route]

[ETA - 10 Minutes]

Talk about express delivery. Maybe Tyson was coming in with another school of seahorses? He hadn't gotten the hang of riding them last time so it would be pretty neat to have a second go at it. For now though, all he needed to do was buy some time and maybe do his best to cause a distraction. Which wasn't that hard.

Percy had a master's degree in 'impertinent annoyance' according to Annabeth.

"Hey, I think it's gonna take us a little bit longer."

The pirate gave him a suspicious look. After all, he had been telling her the timetable for the engines up until now pretty accurately. Unfortunately, her being friendly and easy to get along with didn't change the fact she was still using him as a meat shield while holding a gun to his kidney.

"How much longer?"

Percy shrugged.

"A whole day? I dunno. We just got this ship."

Unfortunately for her, that masters also gave him the ability to pop off with the exact attitude to piss off adults.

"You're shitting me. You've gotta be shitting me! You can't expect me to believe the ship stopped working the moment I climbed aboard." Her grip on his shoulder grew tighter. Painfully so considering the barrel of the pistol digging into his back.

"Maybe don't shoot at us next time?"

"Now listen here, brat…."

There was a lurch as the engines suddenly came roaring to life. The sudden force pushing the boat suddenly and causing everyone to stumble. Everyone but Percy, that is. Who lurched backwards, the back of his head banging against the Pirate's face with as much strength as he had left.

Enough for a pretty meaty crunch.

'And there goes her nose.'

He turned, thumb flicking Riptide's cap off, the pen morphing into its larger sword form as Percy spun around. The back of his head was pounding. Like he had hit a door and not a person, but he ignored it and slashed at the Pirate, batting a pistol from her hand just as she pointed the second one at him.

"Bad choice, kid." The pirate's eyes were cold, almost empty, and the barrel of the gun thrummed with power that seemed almost limitless… like she was shooting a tiny piece of a star.

There was a flash of light and a sudden heat as something whizzed past Percy's head, knocking the other pistol away.

Percy sighed.

Okay, that was…

And then she pulled a sword of all things from thin air.

She swung, he blocked. And nearly was sent flying back at the weight of the sword. The only thing keeping him from being bowled over the energy he'd gotten from the earlier downpour after whatever was blocking his powers stopped working.

He pushed back.

Tried to.

She kicked him back, right in the stomach. Percy grunted as his spine slammed into the captain's wheel as the space behind the pirate warped and rippled as a cannon of all things started to rise from nowhere. Thankfully, a blast of energy from Percy's currently favorite person in the world came rushing in as a gust of wind seemingly carried a shower of sparkles as the pirate's cannon burst apart.

Percy pushed forward, the wet floor was to his advantage and a long fight would go poorly for them all. As such, he decided to get in close with the woman, aiming to prevent her superior reach from keeping him at a distance and then blowing them all to Hades with her heavy artillery.

Driving forwards with a knee, he smacked her first strike away - it was an off balance overhead attack and her cutlass would have probably cleaved him in two if she'd struck. However, the woman was no swordmaster. Her strikes were like those of a brawler, who relied more on strength of arm and viciousness to win than any true skill. So he pushed her, hard, and had the pirate stumbling back without her footing.

Unwilling to draw this out, he swung at her hand with the flat of Riptide's blade and missed, the suddenly far more skilled woman ducking under his blow and rising with the point of her cutlass driving towards his throat. She performed what amounted to half a spring forwards that let her use the awful stance she'd been in to generate a degree of momentum for the thrust and he was forced to take a step back and block.

Once more surprising him, her reflexes immediately degenerated as she sloppily began slashing away at him. And while she was way too fast to try a counter, the pirate was only just that: faster and stronger than him. She genuinely didn't seem to know what she was actually doing.

Still, he went in for a lock, using another overhand swing to trap the bottom of her cutlass against the hilt of Anaklusmos. The wet floor once more aided him, granting him an almost unnatural degree of stability that let him pivot their lock about the spot and once more send the pirate stumbling. This time, however, he did not try to disable - his own sword darting out at her stomach and scoring a fine, thin lines through the fabrice.

As, once again, she suddenly danced out of his reach with a three step spin that Percy would have been jealous of if he wasn't in a fight for his life.

'That looked almost like something Zoe might have done!'

Yet, the moment she was out of danger, her skills once more disappeared! It was infuriating! Percy felt it was almost like… almost like fighting a roach! No matter what she did, he was skilled enough, and aided by the water enough, that her hits wouldn't land and his bones wouldn't break. Yet it was simply impossible for him to land a telling blow of any kind.

Ultimately, having been forced to take several deep breaths while his foe was trying to slip back into range, Percy decided that all he needed to do was just keep hindering her.

Harrying her, aggressively, he kept attacking her dominant arm and even used a two handed slash to simply jar the pirate and try to shock her into dropping her blade. She didn't, of course, but when she rebounded it put her well clear of both Percy and the ship.

Odysseus shot again.

She stepped to the side. Percy swung and she ducked, despite having had to move out of the line of sight of the sword stroke. All he'd managed was to cut the tip off of a feather stuck in her hat.

Frustrated, and aware that could very well cost him his life, the demigod stepped to the side, keeping her in Odysseus's view.

It was a hard fight. Not because Percy wasn't strong enough to engage her, but because she just… seemed to always have an out. Even worse was the fact that, after realizing he could attack her weapons and that stupidly high survival instinct wouldn't save her, he'd been forced to realize that the pirate could simply endlessly conjure both more swords and guns! No matter how he swung or how many times he disarmed her, she always seemed to just inch out of the way of actually taking damage and come just a millimeter closer to injuring him. All the while keeping Percy just close enough that Odysseus couldn't freely open fire without hitting them both.

And his boost was slowly but steadily wearing off.

His swings were growing slower and he couldn't match her blow for blow. Not while having to disarm her every few seconds because she kept pulling pistols out of nowhere. They just… appeared in wisps of blue light, as if they had always been there.

She took aim.

He ducked out of the way, the dying embers of his boost starting to flicker out just a bit faster. And straight into a kick to the chest which nearly knocked him to the floor. She was really strong. Way too strong to be just a mortal woman dressing up like a pirate for fun.

"You're getting predictable, brat! You wanted to tussle with a pirate? You better start fighting like one!" She tossed her saber to the side, a second pistol appearing out of nowhere. Which she aimed at him.

Because of course.

'Crap!'

Fortunately Rider was onto her. Sniping the gun from her hand before she could shoot.

He swung with both hands. Hitting her other hand with the flat of the blade. Sending what must have felt like the hundredth flintlock tumbling away from her while also leaving what he hoped was a painful bruise for her to remember him by. Not that it helped much… she just punched him.

As in, literally punched him.

When was the last time he'd had a fist fight? Clearly too long because she ducked under a swing of his sword and hit his stomach with a knee before slapping Riptide from his hands. Like they were having a cage match for a fancy belt on live television, Percy tackled her. Grappling across the deck, Percy used all his experience of getting creamed by Clarisse to wrestle with the pirate.

Keep her hands occupied? She can't shoot.

But damn if she didn't fight dirty.

"Will you stop trying to kick me downstairs!"

"Watch the face, brat! That's the moneymaker."

"You're a pirate! You have a scar on your face!"

Oww!

"Did you just bite me?!"

They never really tell you how fights tend to be less than heroic. It's not like in cartoons where there would be a well planned sequence of moves to amaze the audience like a pro-wrestling show. Percy wasn't even that good at wrestling. And he was really glad that the pirate lady didn't know what she was doing either. Other than kicking and biting, that is.

Lots of kicking.

"Hey! Hands off the merchandise!"

"Stop trying to kill me!"

She punched him, deceptively fast despite the cloak that should have been restricting her. He slipped under it and behind her, unhindered by the slippery ground. Hands locking around her stomach as he grit his teeth and heaved, pulling her off the floor and getting plenty elbow to the face for his troubles.

"Rider!"

The man seemed to take the cue. A rush of wind blowing back Percy's damp hair as the man came flying towards them like a rocket. Arm outstretched as it met the woman's chin and shoved her and Percy onto the floor in a maneuver that would make wrestling fans the world over whoop with joy.

"That was reckless, Perseus."

Was this what an angry father sounded like?

Percy was very sure this was the 'I'm not angry, I'm disappointed' look that so many teenagers dreaded living under. The kinda thing Percy never thought he'd really experience since he didn't respect Gabe in any way shape or form to ever feel bad for disappointing the lazy drunk.

Chiron wasn't that bad either. He just thought of him as that one teacher that he didn't wanna disappoint by getting bad grades.

Normal school life stuff.
This?

This was uncharted territory.

"It worked, right? I knew you were gonna be on the ball."

The white haired man didn't see it that way. Instead, he seemed to get even more frustrated.

"You're missing the point. Just because I was there it doesn't excuse you coming up with a random plan that could have most certainly gotten you killed if I had been even a second too late to react."

"Why are you mad at me? She's the one who attacked us."

Gesturing over his shoulder at the captured Pirate, Percy couldn't help but feel frustrated. So what if he hadn't communicated every step of the plan to a guy who was far away while he had a gun pointed at him. He'd dealt with worse than this and it had worked out. He wouldn't have even done anything if Rider wasn't there to help. He'd have jumped overboard and swam back to Calypso's island to get another boat.

Now he was all bruised, a pirate had bitten him, and he was getting chewed out like this was a parent teacher conference.

"Kid, are you blaming the pirate for raiding you?"

Percy gave her an annoyed look.

"Quiet you. We're in this mess because of you."

Rider failed to see the wisdom in his words.

"No, Perseus. You're in this mess because you made a terrible decision under the assumption that I would back it up and not panic the moment you started hitting the pirate pointing pistols at you."

"They're technically flintlocks."

"Miss, I'll get to you in a minute."

Said pirate was covered head to toe in as much rope and chains as they could find in storage, back laid against a barrel with Odysseus' glowy hands pointed at her while Percy snacked on some ichor jelly. Not that he was hungry, but after the whole being taken hostage thing happened he was craving something nice.

Though his good mood was quickly spoiled when Odysseus turned on him.

"We just had an entire conversation about trust. Was there anything I said that you didn't understand?"

Yup, definitely spoiled.

"Look. It worked. We got her. Now we can keep going. Isn't that what matters?"

Though he couldn't see the man's face, he imagined he might be shooting him quite the ugly look.

"Guns. Hostage. These are words, Perseus. Do you understand them? Do you understand how hurt you could have gotten if that harebrained scheme of yours hadn't worked? I assure you, demigod or not, getting hit by a blast of magical energy on your head wouldn't be nearly the same as a bee sting."

"There wasn't…"

The man cut him off.

"There wasn't what? Enough time? Did you even consider how far we were to the closest island? How long would it take us to get there? Whether we would be able to go after the ship or find a new one? There were a hundred different ways we could have handled this problem. Very few involved risking your own life."

Percy refused to answer.

Why would he? He didn't have an answer to that and the man knew it. At the same time, he refused to apologize for getting them out of trouble. He wasn't going to hold back just because he was in danger. If he did he'd have died already.

"Aren't you being a little hard on the brat?"

Great. Now the pirate was defending him.

This just wasn't his day.

"Shouldn't you be angrier? Since we kinda beat you up?"

The tied up pirate shrugged.

"It happens, ya know. You win some, you lose some. Luck isn't always on your side and it wasn't like this was some impossible task. You guys needed the ship. I needed the ship after you guys sank mine."

"After you attacked us."

"Pirate." She singsonged.

Seriously. How could someone be so easy going yet so frustrating. Percy felt he might have been missing some sort of grand cosmic joke. Annabeth would definitely be getting a chuckle out of him getting a scolding after nearly being pasted by a Pirate.

"You can always try again after we leave you on the next island."

"We won't be leaving her."

Robot man say what now?

"What?"

"She is coming with us."

And he apparently got to make decisions again.

Percy took a deep breath. This was exactly why the two of them were having such a hard time working together. The man would just spring his brilliant plans without explaining them and he was supposed to roll with it. But when Percy did his thing, suddenly he was the one putting himself at risk over nothing.

"Not that I don't mind the extra hands. But can I ask… why?"

That seemed to please the man, who stared at him as if discussing something with himself.

"She is on our side."

"The whole fighting and getting a gun pointed at me really makes me doubt that, Rider." And no, he wasn't gonna keep repeating the guy's real name over and over again. Percy didn't go around telling people to call him 'Perseus' after all. So he wasn't gonna be all formal with a guy who preferred his fake name.

The pink haired pirate perked up.

"Hey, so you're a Rider too? That 's neat! I didn't expect to find any other Servants this soon. Guess that makes us buddies."

And now Percy was officially confused.

How did the random pirate in the middle of nowhere know what the guy's name meant? And why was the enigmatic armored man just now saying something about it? He was missing a lot of information and had the impression that Odysseus hadn't told him everything about what they were doing.

"Odysseus, explain."

"Ooh, Odysseus… the throne decided to get fancy."

Percy started to feel what was definitely a migraine.

"Please explain." he begged a second time.

The man in armor sighed.

"It's complicated. But the simplest way to put it is that her and I must have been brought to this ocean for the same reason. To handle the same issue. It's not unheard of for the Counter Force to send multiple agents to handle a single problem. We just… aren't aware of how many there are, who they are, or even where they are."

Counter Force? Was that how this super secret agent club was called?

Questions for later.

The pirate lady, however, seemed annoyed.

"Really? You're going for the whole secrecy schtick now? Didn't you tell the kid anything before you roped him into helping?" She met Odysseus' glare with her own, neither backing down. It was like they were having a conversation in a language Percy didn't understand. And he very much disliked being left out.

"Time out. What is she talking about?"

The older man sighed.

"It's an… important topic. I was hoping we could have found a better base before talking to you about this."

Percy huffed.

"Well, you better start talking before my ride gets here then."

Rider started, his body going stiff as he turned fully on Percy, his helmet breaking apart into motes of blue light as he stepped close, way too close for comfort, to the young demigod. His golden eyes looked… panicked.

"Perseus… what have you done?"

He shrugged.

"I called dad for help. He didn't hear me the first time but while we were handling the pirate lady he sent me a message. Sent someone to come pick me up, so I guess you don't need to worry anymore about me getting in the way of your secret agent stuff."

The man flinched, before with a flash of movement, cutting the ropes holding the pink haired woman.

She looked as surprised about it as he did.

"We need to go."

She pursued her lips.

"That bad?"

"He is a demigod. His father is the God of the Sea."

She whistled.

"That's bad alright."

Now that was just rude. Percy didn't go around saying how mortals were stupid and couldn't see anything to save their lives. Not that he voiced it since the two adults started running around the ship, tying things down and preparing to set sail again. There was a frenzied energy to them. Like they expected the sky to blot over again, or for some disaster to hit the ship.

"Look. You two obviously are on the same page about… whatever you two are doing here. So I'll be out of your hair in a bit. Get a ride home and you two can do… whatever it is you're here to do."

"Rider!" Odysseus called.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it." She yelled back before turning to me. "Listen kid. Whatever the scrapheap over there told you probably isn't the whole truth. This place is wrong, yeah. And we're here to solve a problem, yeah. But if you called your dad here then we need to get going. This place is different. Everything behaves differently. Even the gods."

Even the gods?

So then… the one he called wasn't….

'Crap.'

It was like an earthquake suddenly hit them. The waves churned and beat against the side of the ship. Unlike before, not a cloud covered the sky and there was no wind pushing them around. No, if anything it felt like something larger than the boat had just passed them by. Percy held onto the railing of the ship, his senses spreading to the waters beneath as a powerful current dragged and jerked them around.

Like something was swimming around them.

Someone must've been a big fan of Jaws.

The ship shook in place and then buckled when a blast of saltwater erupted like a geyser beside it and a shadow rose from the sea and towered over it.

Percy blinked. Unhindered by the water.

Whatever it was…it looked like a horse.

A very big horse.

Or at least it would be one if it weren't for the massive crab legs sticking out of its front and back.

Or for the fact that its body seemed to be made out of coral and stone, clear shining water surging between the gaps on its armor as an ominous light peeked through the translucent surface of the body, as if there was something else inside they couldn't quite see.

The monster roared, splashing them all as its tail, a massive segmented thing that should belong to a lobster or shrimp, thrashed from side to side. The ship slid further back, nearly capsizing at the sheer force of the waves.

Percy pulled out Riptide, the sword looking like a toothpick compared to the massive sea monster. And without his water powers, even he felt small in front of whatever the thing looming over them was.

"The hell is that?!"

Rider II, screw it, the pirate lady pointed her guns at the thing, the space behind her back rippling as two massive cannons sprouted from thin air. Two blasts of golden light shooting from the barrels, crashing against the horse crab thing with a massive explosion, shaking the deck as Percy turned the engines on again.

"Hippocampus!"

Rider, well, the other one called from the side, armor snapping shut once more as a blast of heat and light carried him off the deck and into the air.

Percy started.

Hippocampus?

'What the heck is wrong with this sea.' First the science fiction metal island. Now the giant monster who wouldn't be out of place in some vintage japanese movie with old as dirt special effects. Where were the cute hippocampi Tyson liked to talk with so much? And why in the blue hell was this just as armored and outlandish as everything else in this damn wreckage of an ocean?!

[Scout-Type Marine Interception Phantasmal Unit]

[Callsign: Hippocampus]

[Directive #1 - Retrieve Unregistered Pseudo Organic Terminal]

Percy swallowed dry.

There it was, dad's voice again.

Basically confirming his worst fears.

It wasn't his dad.

Not really.

He thought it might have been weird that his dad was answering his prayers and requests so much lately. He thought the answer machine way he was speaking might have been a joke to go along with being stuck in the metal islands. Or that it was just a thing gods did when they were too busy to have a chat but still wanted to help.

Whatever he had been talking to. Whatever the 'Poseidon' who had been helping him was… it wasn't like his dad at all.

Which means….

'I brought this thing to us.' And the realization made him ill.

The monster snorted, a feeling of something in the air as its eyes, bright headlights that reminded him of Mecha Thorn, zeroed in on Percy.

[Target Found]

[Commencing Extraction]

He didn't like where this was going.

"Fire!"

Laser blasts and cannon balls flew, Percy turning the wheel and activating the engines before they even hit. The seahorse monster whined in pain, a shrill metallic noise like nails on chalkboard. A gust of wind whistling in his ears as the ship's engines roared to life, pushing against the powerful tide.

The Hippocampus was quick to follow.

And the chase was on.

WyverNine · Aug 15, 2022

Thou, Heroes of Atlantis
Interlude II

Ah, the sea.

What fathomless beauty.

What an adventure, filled with infinite blessings and wonders.

Was it anything but fate that a man like him was drawn to the sea even in the afterlife? Was it anything but love that he, one of the greatest to set sail during an age of perilous adventure and piracy would rise from the ashes like the phoenix of legend to once again haunt the seas in his search for everlasting glory?

He might have missed the call when history was incinerated, but it would seem that the Counter Force had changed its tune. Looking for those like him who had for their entire lives dedicated their all to the sea.

Truly, there was no greater honor.

Now if only his companions were more appreciative of his reasonable requests.

"I only ask that you consider growing out your hair. Maybe allow it to fall over your eyes like such. It will definitely improve your popularity."

Stepping to the side, he deftly dodged a bullet as it whizzed past his head.

It had become a matter of habit at this point.

"Truly, Ms. Bonny. Such violence isn't necessary. I was merely imparting some sage advice upon our friend."

Anne Bonny was a legend amongst those who dedicated themselves to the sea of adventure. Perhaps not a powerful Servant of her own right, but under the current circumstances she was one of the most effective allies one could have aboard a ship. With sharpshooting skills refined and trained to be highly effective even in the unpredictable and temperamental ocean.

With looks of a mermaid, and a personality that was most agreeable for a buccaneer, Anne Bonny was perhaps one of the best crewmates one could ask for.

'Now if only she weren't Irish.'

Stepping to the side, he dodged another bullet.

"And that one was for?"

The blond gave him a milk curling glare.

"Call it intuition."

Fair enough.

All things considered, Rider thought himself fairly lucky. He got an early start to gathering a crew, with two very adept Servants who knew the ins and outs of sailing and combat at sea. People he could trust not to sail his ship straight into a whirlpool because they weren't paying enough attention.

Having their mana available also allowed him to keep his ship afloat without too much of a drain on his personal reserves without hindering their fighting ability.

They were a perfect match.

Now if only they'd consider growing out their bangs.

"Oww!"

Hopping side to side, Rider grabbed his leg as a fresh burst of pain bloomed across the skin and bone. The smaller of the two and with a less… impressive physique, the white haired young woman wore a black coat with high collar which concealed most of her face save for her vibrant eyes and a scar which ran across her face. He'd have normally suggested some of his favorite brands of self care products but the massive sword sheathed behind her gave him pause.

He was a sailor and a merchant, not focused on fighting individual battles. Not that it stopped the little gremlin from delivering a swift kick to his shin, much to her partner's amusement as she rolled around on the ground with laughter.

"Why?!" He couldn't help but ask.

She shrugged.

"Felt like you deserved it."

'Was this what Captain Jack had to deal with?' He sighed. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and he was afraid that under current circumstances the two stronger pirates might tie him to the mast and just take the Royal Fortune for themselves. They didn't need the captain, after all, just the ship.

So he would keep his mouth in check for the time being.

"Have you two found anything."

Anne Bonny, hawk-eyed sharpshooter she was, had taken upon herself to be their spotter leaving the crows nest only to report whenever she saw something. Which didn't stop her from coming down when bored.

Which was very often.

"Afraid not, Captain. Just the usual blue carpet."

Which was… worrying.

At sea you never had the reassurance of finding land for supplies. It was why navigation tools and maps became such a hot commodity even back in his own time. You needed access to those in order to keep sailing and not starve to death, or get murdered in a mutiny. As Servants summoned by the World, they didn't need to worry about the passive costs of their presence.

But being sitting ducks in the middle of the sea wasn't good.

They had left the island where they were summoned a little bit over a week ago, after he had accumulated enough mana to summon his Royal Fortune, but from then on it had become distinctly visible that sailing this ocean would be trickier than they thought.

Why?

Because the islands were moving.

It should have been impossible. He knew that better than anyone else. But when they tried to double back and regroup at the starting point of their journey, they found it had completely disappeared from where they left it. The three of them had, of course, promised to not share this tale with anyone.

What good pirate would admit outloud that they lost a whole island?

Blackbeard would never let him live it down.

Navigation instruments still worked to a degree and he was an expert in steering a ship at night through the stars. But none of those could help if the island was already gone by the time they came back.

How did the people of this Lostbelt navigate and not get lost?

"Captain."

Was there some kind of instrument they used?

"Captain."

Maybe they shouldn't have been too quick to leave the island after all.

"Oi, dumbass!" The white haired pirate kicked him in the shin.

"Oww! What was that for?!"

He rounded on the woman, but quickly paled as he noticed what she had been pointing at. A massive hole in the middle of the ocean. To call it a whirlpool would be like comparing the moon to a star. Even as far away as they were, he could see the massive swirl in the middle of the ocean.

He could feel the slight pull of the tide on his ship as it tried to lure them closer.

'Crap.'

Hot.

Too hot.

Way too hot.

"Seriously, what were they thinking? Summoning me here of all places." It was one thing to take her to a familiar stomping ground like North America. She had grown used to its climate over her lifetime of travels, and even grown to love the country of her dear friends as if it were her own.

But this was pushing it.

Caribbean heat wasn't something she was equipped for dealing with even as a Servant.

"Madam, are you feeling unwell?"

She smiled, turning from the ship's wheel to her newly found ally and acquaintance.

They hadn't interacted much. In fact, the only memories she had was of the man actively opposing her old friend's efforts to unify the country over his warped vision of a prosperous utopia. A man who was a fierce warrior but also a wise sage whom she would have loved having more time talking to.

Unfortunately he had died fighting against the Mad King.

That much she remembered.

"Apologies. My thoughts were getting away from me."

He smiled. It was a small one, but held incredible kindness. Truly, the Mahatmas had blessed her by making this encounter possible.

"What have your patrons revealed to you this time?"

She sighed.

"Nothing more, I'm afraid. They have shown me the path to the next island. Perhaps a place where we could find more allies. These waters are dangerous, Sir Shaman, even the eyes of Mahatma struggle to point me the way forward."

It was disconcerting. To lack the guidance she had her entire life.

Everything in this world was vivid yet muted in some ways.

The stars shone vividly at night, yet the heavenly voices which she had come to associate with her patrons and mentors were oddly absent. As if there were a barrier between the heavens and humanity, her spirit could not ascend and hear the words of what lay beyond the stars.

"Madam?"

She shook her head, smiling thinly.

"Forgive an old lady for letting her thoughts wander. Have your familiars found anything?"

Her companion hummed in thought.

"The spirits of this ocean are powerful. But they lay beyond my influence. As if the very foundations of what they are belong to a greater entity. I cannot interfere with them without drawing too much attention to myself."

It made sense.

A shaman was one who understood and communed with the spirits of the land. Or in this case, the spirits of the sea. But if this world was so different that the very sea beneath their feet was alien to their understanding, then even a powerful shaman wouldn't be able to call upon the spirits who inhabited it.

It was like trying to speak a language you hadn't heard before.

"Perhaps I could be of help then?"

A third voice chimed in.

This one she chose to ignore.

Mister Geronimo, however, was a much kinder sort than she could ever hope to be. Looking from his post as helmsman, his eyes turned to the form of the Servant which she had beaten and tied to the mast of the ship in a fit of righteous fury. Something unlike her usual way of problem solving.

But what few memories she had spoke loud and clear on how to deal with this one.

"Just ignore him, Mr. Geronimo."

That one was pure trouble as far as Heroic Spirits went.

"Madam, I feel like you might be exaggerating. I merely offered you safe passage on my ship. There was no need for such violence."

She didn't know whether the diminutive explorer really didn't remember her, or if he was feigning a bout of memory loss to get away from the very much earned consequences of his own actions in Agartha. Namely, that one time he attempted to murder her because of unrelenting greed.

She didn't appreciate it one bit.

But they still needed the boat.

So she compromised by keeping the possibly murderous little chit tied to the mast of his own ship.

Tying him upside down was just for fun though.

Geronimo looked at her oddly. Sensing the obvious past between the other two Servants he had been sailing alongside for the better part of his stay in the wondrous and strange sea governed by foreign gods. That this was the strangest thing he'd seen so far proved that perhaps Proper Human History wasn't that far behind when it came to strangeness.

"It's entirely warranted, Mr. Columbus. Let's just say that I'm very much familiar with your methods and reputation."

The young man grumbled, trying to wiggle out of the heavy set chains keeping him tied to the mast. This version was a bit different from the one she knew. Younger, perhaps reflecting the young man who set out to sea rather than the scourge that he became. It was perhaps a bit extreme to restrain him, but she had been fooled once.

"I don't even remember you."

Ah, the amnesia.

An old favorite scheme. Pretend or not, she wasn't falling for it today.

"And even if you don't, I remember you and your shenanigans. So just indulge an old lady's whims and sit pretty for the ride."

She would very much like to remain un-stabbed this time around.

The young man sighed, muttering something under his breath.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing, ma'am!"

She snorted, keeping an eye on the young conquistador.

He was far from their own concern, however. Without any guidance and both lacking any form of experience with marine expeditions, the two of them were being forced to rely on the knowledge of their diminutive captive. And even that wasn't much help considering they were lost.

"I don't reckon you might have some Skill to help us out of this pickle, Master Shaman?"

The man smiled wryly.

"I'm afraid I have no such miraculous abilities, madam. Though shapeshifting would have been a very useful boon."

There was a sudden tremor.

The Santa Maria sliding backwards as a massive shape rose from the depths.

Columbus, mouthy brat that he was, reacted first.

"That's one ugly sea-horse."

"I'm terribly sorry, good sir, but have you seen this woman?"

The young man, looking like he was on the cusp of manhood looked at the drawing offered, an appreciative whistle leaving him as his eyes roamed over the beautiful face of a woman with eyes as blue as the sky and hair the color of peeled apples, with a mischievous gleam, her hair was put on a unique style, a ponytail flaring behind her head, held in place by some sort of headpiece.

She was indeed a beautiful woman, with a fierce look which hid the danger beneath her easygoing smile.

"Sorry, can't say I have ever seen someone like that around here."

Another failure then.

Unfortunate.

"I apologize for the inconvenience." Offering a short bow of thanks, he moved away from the bewildered villager, stepping past a small group who had gathered nearby to watch their exchange.

They must have been starved for drama.

Not that he'd blame them. The last two villages had been much the same.

And he didn't say that lightly. Every village he had visited in the past few days had been much the same. Small insular communities built up around the large monolithic temples which existed in the center of the island. He'd measure the distance between them, as well as the distance between each village and the temple itself.

The distance between them was always the same. As if the island itself had been made to accomodate for them instead of the other way around.

When he'd asked about it, none could tell him why that was so.

Even the elders of each village could only offer him platitudes regarding the will of the gods or somesuch.

In the end, his cover as a worried husband looking for his lover had been easily accepted.

Though that was in great part due to the villager's trusting nature. He doubted anyone had approached them with the intent to deceive them for a very long time. Then again, what reason would someone have to deceive them when everything they owned was easily offered without a second thought.

They were truly strange people.

Without a concept for 'foreigners'.

Without a concept for 'change'.

Without a change for 'growth'.

To them, the world was as the gods willed it to be and nothing was beyond their scope of understanding. Even he, a man clearly from another time and land wasn't seen as anything but another intended result of the gods' will.

Regardless of how different he was from the locals.

His clothes, a much more different style than commonly worn, was easily waved off as the whims of a man with strange tastes. Even his sword, much longer and of a completely different making than those used by the locals, didn't receive anything but passing curiosity from those training to become soldiers.

Such naivety would be an indictment of a pure hearted community if not for the fact they well and truly didn't possess anything resembling distrust. Nor were they curious, or innovative or even adventurous.

Coming from an island nation himself, it somewhat rankled on him that these people were just content to linger.

Wasn't there anything beyond this sea that they desired.

Wasn't there anyone they wanted to meet?

Any challenges they wished to overtake?

Everywhere he went, all he heard about was how the people of the island wished to be acknowledged by their gods. But when asked how they planned to make that a reality, the passivity of this humanity reared its ugly face. There was not a drop of ambition to them, only resignation.

'Why do something that the gods can do for us?'

'If we continue to worship them dutifully, I'm sure our time will come.'

'I want to become a soldier of the Atlantis defense force. To give my life to the gods.'

Those were the answers he received.

How curious.

As a lowly farmer, he could appreciate the simplicity of their lifestyle. But as a swordsman, he wouldn't hold back from taking advantage of them.

'There are no rules in a fight to the death.' That was the creed of a nameless man who had only achieved one thing and one thing only in his lifetime. Wishing only for a battle where he would be able to use the legendary skill which he spent years learning and improving upon to meet the blade of his destined rival.

And what a fight it had been.

Now, if only that lazy idiot would show up.

This was the end of the world after all. There wasn't any doubt in his mind that she would take up her blades and meet the challenges of this sea head on.

And he'd be here when she arrived.

She owed him a rematch, after all.

Until then he'd wait.

With no ship of his own, or really any sailing ability to speak of, the only thing he could do was stay out of sight and continue his search for other Servants. There were surely others like him scattered throughout this strange ocean, and they would be looking for him soon enough. Yet he couldn't help but feel… uneasy.

Because surely the gods who ruled this Lostbelt would soon take action.

There was no way the traitors who attacked Chaldea wouldn't be doing their very best to stamp out whatever resistance there was left.

'Hmm. Perhaps this would be a good chance to start training?'

He had heard about an abandoned temple from the villagers. Somewhere isolated and devoid of life where he could lay low and prepare for the battle to come. His heartbeat skipped with excitement, hands sweating as he threaded the loamy soil of the forest, leaving behind the village and the sea.

As a farmer, he should be terrified.

What could a single human hope to achieve against a god?

But as a swordsman, he relished the challenge.

Musashi's blades weren't the only ones capable of reaching the heavens. And he couldn't wait to prove it.

'Rip and tear!'

'Kill them all!'

'Hang them by their entrails!'

Ah, the joys of matrimony. The feeling of absolute bliss one had while beholding the love of their life. Witnessing their dulcet tones. Understanding that no matter how far away you moved, there was always a part of your loved one deep within you to offer counsel and reassurance through the darkest of nights.

`Kill!'

'Destroy!'

'Pillage!'

'Ransack this god-beholden wreckage until the divines themselves descend from their thrones in the sky!

Truly, there was no greater joy for a man than to receive the blessings of a woman who deemed him worthy of showing the truest shape of their heart. No matter how warped and twisted it was.

That honesty could only be called love.

And so he swung his trusted axe. The gift of a maiden in love with a man she saw as a King. The weight was negligible. The handle melded into his hand as if it had been carved with the intent of only ever being held by one man and one man alone, even as the familiar red veins of dozens of phantasmal beast pulsed and thrummed with the mana of the monsters which now lay slaughtered at his feet.

Not enough.

This was not nearly enough.

The beasts of this faraway sea were different.

Unlike any he had seen or fought before. They were not the demonic wolves and giant bears he'd wrestled into submission as a young lad. Nor were they the wyrms he had slain at the behest of his lover when creating the axe which he now wielded. They were beasts of a faraway world he had never touched.

But they bled just the same.

Their bones broke.

Their claws pierced his flesh much as those of his home would have.

The pain gave him comfort. A cold sharp feeling he could use to center himself even as the madness and rage of his beloved wife seeped through their shared bond, a heavy powerful feeling that threatened to overcome him and push him over the edge of sanity and into the comfortable embrace of oblivion.

Yes, that feeling couldn't be anything other than 'love'.

'Kill them.'

'Skin them.'

'Let their blood paint the soil red.'

His darling was indeed feeling inspired today.

Normally her temper didn't flare while it was only the two of them. But being unceremoniously summoned by the Counter Force to save human history yet again had put a damper on her mood. His dear wife's temper had been stoked and thirsted for death like a funeral pyre. He was surprised she hadn't found a way to be summoned alongside him for once.

'And let others see the wedding gown Darling so graciously gifted me?'

'Madness!'

'Insanity!'

'Kill! Kill all those who see what's meant for Darling alone!'

'Rip and tear!'

'RIP AND TEAR!'

'Of course dear.'

If it was for his beloved Gunnhild then he would rise from the grave as many times as needed. Swing his beloved axe until his arms fell off, march on the enemy until his legs rotted off. Though he lacked the power of a legendary warrior, so long as he had the words of support of the woman who made him king, his Bloodaxe would continue to slaughter whatever lay between him and victory.

Even now as he waded through the silver blood of his enemies, watching as the creatures sprouted plates of armor as they pulled themselves back together, the Berserker felt his own bloodlust stir.

This.

This was a challenge.

A real fight against enemies he couldn't just trample underfoot. Against whom even the might of his axe wasn't enough to completely destroy.

'Oh darling.'

He heard a giggle. An uplifting tinkling in the wind as his wife let him know how amused she was.

'If all you wanted was a challenge, then you only had to ask.'

His body, wounded and bloody as it was after being rendered by the claws and fangs of the chimera, suddenly started to burn up feverishly as the mana of the world itself was drawn to the open wounds by his wonderful witch of a wife. Her connection to nature and the world itself made manifest through their eternal bond.

Cuts were closed.

Bones were mended.

His eye was completely regenerated.

His faithful companion, the axe bound beast which he had slain with his bare hands, stirred to life as it drank greedily from the metallic blood which stained the ground beneath his feet, black iron lightening as it feasted on the divine metal and its mysteries, incorporating the strength of the monsters into itself as it replaced damaged parts with sleek chromed orichalcum.

Berserker smiled.

It was an ugly, teeth filled thing. Much like a beast baring its fangs at the enemy.

His vision swam, all color replaced by a familiar red as he felt the soft embrace of his wife's presence as more and more of her madness seeped through the cracks. The wish for carnage and death overtaking all reason as his mind became as one with the savage wyrm within his chosen weapon.

A weapon for murdering one's enemy.

A weapon for conquering the sea.

A weapon made by a witch out of love.

Half-Dead Blood Axe
Blood-sipping Bestial Axe

Monsters surrounded him once more.

Large wolves the size of horses snapped at his heels, their eyes glowing balefully as liquid metal poured down their pelts to form blades and spikes. Their fangs, long and jagged like daggers dripped with blood as they circleD around him, looking and watching for an opening to pounce.

His trusted shield, a simple hunk of iron with no enchantment or legend of its own lay ruined on top of a pile of sand wrecked beyond recognition.

The was fine.

It let him grip the axe with both hands.

The beast was heavier than usual, its hunger for blood filled his veins just as the love of his darling wife plunged him deeper and deeper into the depths of Madness. Muscles painfully bulging as fresh mana rushed to fish the damage to his bones and organs. The monsters surrounding him sensed the change, staying in place and watching warily as the man they sought to make into their meal grew into a beast of his own.

"Give. Me. Your. BLOOD!"

WyverNine · Aug 16, 2022

Thou, Child of the Sea
0.8

'I might have screwed up.'

Okay, so there definitely wasn't any 'might' about this particular situation.

Percy Jackson screwed up.

Somehow, the one he had been talking to until now hadn't been his father playing a joke on him, but something else altogether. What was it? He didn't know. Why did it pretend to be his dad? He didn't know that either. And the questions kept piling up with no end in sight, no matter how many answers he managed to drag out of Odysseus.

Frankly, he didn't know who he was more annoyed with.

Himself or the faux-ranger.

Percy didn't like secrets.

He didn't like it when he didn't have the full picture. Or when people hid part of the truth because it was inconvenient or when it made them look bad. Between the whole prophecy thing going on, Luke pretending to be his friend and then secretly planning to screw him over to cause a war, and whatever else the gods weren't telling them, Percy was starting to really hate secrets.

And Odysseus had tap danced all over that line.

Seriously, it requires a pirate taking him hostage and then straight up telling him that something was wrong with the gods for him to actually get an answer.

Not secret service stuff.

No sneaking around.

Percy was being unfair. He knew that he shouldn't blame someone else for his mistakes - least of all when he ended up calling down an actual monster on their heads. Which was now chasing them across the ocean as the demigod did his level best to keep ahead of the horse-crab monster thing, without full access to his powers and the fact he was probably the target of the attack hanging over him too.

He was, unfortunately, the only one who could steer.

The other two were busy trying to kill the damn thing with Rider's laser blasts and honest to the gods cannonballs flying through the air, exploding in showers of salt water as they blew up. The pirate lady didn't seem to run out of ammo, the barrels floating besides her glowing with a strange golden light, the echoing explosions ringing in his ears.

Somehow he had even more questions.

Who was she?

How was she doing this?

Why was Odysseus so sure that she was on his side? And why did she accept helping them even after fighting and getting beaten up?

Percy didn't know.

Something was happening. He didn't know what, but he knew that it was way too much of a coincidence for people like these two, both with powers or magical weapons, to be present in the same place at the same time, using the same codenames and hiding their identities, expecting everyone around them to be an enemy.

Were they demigods?

That didn't sound right.

Odysseus, despite the name, didn't have any of the weird machines reacting around him the same way they did around Percy. The only thing he had was that armor of his, a gift of Athena, and something he wasn't wholly convinced wasn't because Annabeth's mom wasn't sweet on the guy.

Maybe that was how Athena flirted.

'Here, take this armor and fight monsters with attitude and I'll give you a baby.'

He snorted.

Not that he wouldn't kill for one of those right now.

Because right now… he was useless. Less than useless, he didn't have anything he could throw at the problem to make it go away. A problem he had called on them because nobody had thought to tell him this place was full on crazy, with machine monsters popping out of nowhere and no sign of the gods at all.

Percy was confident he could outspeed the monster…

If he were swimming.

But the boat was slower than him, and the monster would probably sink the boat either way regardless of him being there or not. So acting as a distraction was out of question. They had to do something now, or risk losing their only footing at sea. And Percy wasn't about to turn tail and leave the other two to deal with a problem he caused.

If you make a mess, clean after yourself.

"It's speeding up again!" He heard Odysseus call.

Unfortunately, the ship was already at top speed.

"Shoot at it, slow it down. We're already pushing the engines as it is!" Percy had gotten a handle of the ship at this point. Not that he was now one with it or whatever, but he could tell how stressed it was getting. Like how he could feel it connect to him through whatever magic technology doohickey the gods made it with.

"On it!"

The Pirate Lady and Odysseus reacted immediately, a fresh barrage of cannon balls and laser beams shaking the sea with explosions as dozens of blasts were fired at once. The light of the armored man's blasts illuminating the deeper waters, letting them see the silhouette of the giant horse monster as it chased after them.

Percy wracked his brain for any information he might have known about hippocampi.

Not that there was much. They were usually peaceful and sometimes helped people cross deeper waters by letting them mount. Something he had seen with Tyson back at the Sea of Monsters.

They weren't violent.

He was pretty sure they didn't even eat people.

But this one was different. Larger than any he had seen before. More aggressive too. And Percy had to guess that it was because of the machine shenanigans going on in this sea. Either that or because he asked his father to send someone to help him. To come pick him up and take him home.

'And that's supposed to be my ride.'

Mom did say he should never go with strangers. And dad was definitely acting strange if his answer to his asking for help is to send a giant machine monster to come get him. Which seemed to track with what the pirate said. That this ocean was different, and that even the gods were acting weird.

Unfortunately that wasn't their biggest problem right now.

[Engine #1 has reached 70% Capacity]

[Engine #1 overheating]

[Engine #2 has reached 85% Capacity]

[Engine #2 overheating]

He should have seen it coming.

Calypso did say that they shouldn't push the engines.

And it made sense. This boat had spent however long it did in storage, with just a single not-robot girl to look after it. No machine, no matter how well made, lasted forever. Engines could last longer if you left them in the right environmental conditions and ran proper maintenance.

What?

He liked boats.

And its not like they could switch to the sails. Because the Pirate did them the favor of tearing them when she went and did the pirate thing.

'Any news on that?'

[Kinetic Sail Repair - Requested]

[Repair sequence - Started]

[Once the Repairs have been finished, all systems will reboot.]

That wasn't good either.

If the engines stopped to reboot. The monster would catch up and sink them before they had time to use the sails. But if they kept just using the engines eventually they would overheat and the robot seahorse would catch up to them either way.

Percy could feel the tension building up on the ship.

It was a weird feeling.

He had controlled ships before. He had been inside other ships too. But actually sailing one for this long, he felt a connection with it. Like he could tell how each plank of wood was handling the harsh journey. Like it was part of his own body, he could feel the building heat lower down where the engines were hard at work.

They weren't gonna last much longer at top speed.

This he knew instinctively.

Percy gripped Riptide, a wave of frustration hitting him as the ship buckled at the turbulent waters. He wanted to do something, anything to help. He might not have liked Odysseus' way of doing things and the pirate lady might have been skeevy as hell and probably would have killed him… but this wasn't their fault.

It was his.

"Kid, its speeding up again!"

There was a large burst as the monster dove out of the water, jumping into the air with its armored crab legs poised to strike, the horse head roaring unnaturally, its eyes glowing like flashlights as it descended on them.

Percy was on it, deftly spinning the wheel, he felt the ship lurch to the side as he pushed the engines further.

A short burst of movement as the pirate fired her cannons at the thing.

Before it crashed besides the ship.

A massive wave hit them from the side, the force of it pushing them away sideways from where the monster hit the water. Gripping the wheel as tightly as he could, the son of Poseidon felt his arms hurt and legs strain as he tried his best to keep it from capsizing, the rush of wind blowing his hair wildly.

"We're getting blown off course!"

Odysseus appeared besides him, metal hands claming the handles of the wheel.

And he was right.

The small map showing on the screen of the wheel showed their chase was taking them far off course of their next destination, Phobos Island. The hippocampus probably figured out they were headed for shallower waters and was trying to steer them away. How it knew? He could only guess that it was more god machine stuff.

That's what everything in this place seemed to work.

"It's… going away?"

The Pirate, Rider, who he still had to come up with a nickname for, shot another barrage at the monster. Though they mostly hit water as the robot horse sank deeper into the water, becoming a shadowy blur.

"Nay, it's preparing to charge us. Hard to dodge from the side than it is from the back. It's gonna sink us before we can make landfall."

All that just to get to him.

He felt Odysseus stare on his back.

"You're planning something."

Sheesh, it really felt like dealing with Annabeth.

"It 's after me. I'll jump ship and have it chase me. If my dad or whatever sent that thing because of me, then its gonna come after me first. You guys can just reboot the ship and sail away. I'm faster in water anyway."

"Are you faster than the hippocampus?"

The man stared at him, silently judging. Or maybe he had considered the same thing?

"I can deal with it."

It wasn't his first time dealing with a monster. It wouldn't be the last. And there was no way he was gonna let that thing take him. He still had to make it back to Camp Half Blood. Still had to stop Luke from leading an army of monsters into the one place he felt he belonged to after so long.

He still had a lot to do before he visited D.O.A Records again.

"Well, if you're gonna do it you better do it soon! Its circling back!"

Nodding Percy, let go of the wheel.

"Wait."

Before being pulled back before he could dive.

"We don't have-"

Odysseus was glowing.

No, rather, his armor was glowing, lines appearing along the metal plates as they seemed to vibrate, letting out a low hum. The man pulled Percy back, taking point in between him and the incoming monster. Flames of ethereal blue as a long black cape appeared from thin air along with pieces of lighter, silver plate on his shoulders.

'What's happening.' He wanted to ask.

But was distracted by the sight of the man's arm shifting into what looked like a barrel, plates forming a cannon of his own.

The Hippocampus wasn't intimidated.

If anything, it was coming at them even faster now.

Percy felt chills crawl down his spine as the tip of the barrel lit up with a bright blue glow. A feeling of electricity on his skin making his hair stand on end, the smell of ozone, all too similar to Thalia's lightning bolts, clung to his nose as arcs of energy slithered through the air, the humming on his ears reaching its peak before vanishing with the roar of thunder.

"Tear it apart… Penelope!"

There was a flash of light.

And then a rush of wind nearly blew Percy off his feet as a massive laser. Bigger than any he had seen Odysseus shoot until now, blew through the air like a thunderbolt, a line of pure energy swirling through the air, vaporizing the water and then blasting through the monster as it tried to dodge.

Before taking half of its body.

But no explosion.

'No, wait. There it is.'

Complete with the man turning around to face him dramatically.

"Catch me." He said.

Percy, slack jawed, caught the man as his body went limp.

Percy breathed out a sigh of relief.

He had completely forgotten how Odysseus had killed the robot manticore back at Atlasia. Maybe because the man didn't make it a point of spending too much energy. That blast he shot at the hippocampus was something out of a saturday morning cartoon. All that was missing was the screaming and flashy auras.

It was still enough to burn off a good chunk of the monster though.

Even if the armored man was now immobile.

"That's a hell of a Noble Phantasm you're packing there, old man."

Odysseus grunted, either at the weight of the armor or the dig at his age. Probably both.

"Noble what?" He turned to look at her.

"Wow, he really didn't tell you anything other than the basics huh?"

Yeah yeah. The robot man liked secrets.

"I don't see you saying anything either. Mystery Pirate Lady."

She chuckled.

"You got a point there. Just call me Drake, kid. Or Francis. Whatever sinks your ship."

Percy chuckled.

"Ain't that some dude's name?"

She rolled her eyes, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"I'd like to think I'm plenty manly myself! And hey, maybe the Spanish were a bunch of weenies who didn't wanna admit they lost a fight to a girl."

And she wasn't making any sense.

Maybe it was all the rum?

"Is he gonna be okay?"

Physically there wasn't anything wrong. He hadn't gotten scratched or even bruised from all the fighting they'd been doing, but Percy could tell Odysseus was struggling from the weight of his armor again. Sitting against the side of the wheel, he panted, taking deeper breathes. That last shot had probably taken a whole lot out of thim.

"Yeah, he just spent a hell of a lot of magical energy on that last shot. Gotta ask though, why not do it from the start?"

The silver haired man smiled wryly.

"When traveling, its only makes sense to conserve one's resources for as long as you can. Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

The pink haired woman snorted.

"I'd just go out and find some more. You're looking at the wrong pirate if you think I'd be a careful spender. Took me a whole day of hunting to get enough juice to summon the ship you guys sunk."

"Uhh, sorry?"

She waved him off.

"It's whatever, the old girl wouldn't last in this sea anyway. There's a lot of magical energy in the air, but it's gonna do jack shit if we don't find a Caster to tap into the stuff or a Master who can give us the extra kick we need to fight."

Caster? Master? Rider?

Percy was starting to see a pattern here.

"Wait a second. How many of you are here right now?"

"Dunno. Could be just us, could be a dozen. Could be hundreds. I didn't expect to run into another Servant this soon, but I'm not complaining." The pink haired pirate sat on a nearby barrel, eyes looking out to sea as if searching something.

Servant? What did that even…

"Can any of you explain to me what's happening? Who are you people, really? How can you two know you're on each other's side but never met. And what is this place that's so dangerous that even the gods are acting weird?"

Percy was tired.

He was tired of waiting for answers.

Tired of playing along with Odysseus' half truths when the man wouldn't explain what mattered the most. He was willing to accept the whole secret agent for the gods thing a while back. But the whole thing with Drake was suspicious. And she didn't seem to have anything to do with the gods' whatsoever.

She didn't ever know who Odysseus was or that they were allies.

He wanted answers.

"I will tell you." Odysseus rasped.

"You sure, old geezer? I don't mind telling the kid if you wanna take a nap."

He chuckled.

"If I can't move, I might as well talk. But first… what's the ship's condition?"

Percy turned to the wheel, hands clamping comfortably around the handles as the screen on the center came back to life, the tingly feeling running up his arms increasing in intensity as the ship rebooted.

"Engines are just about done. Sails are being repaired though. It shouldn't take very long. Ten minutes, tops."

He nodded.

"More than enough time, then. Please sit. Ms. Drake, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya! Gonna go play lookout."

With the ship down for self-repair, Percy didn't need to keep holding the wheel. Instead, he sat in front of Odysseus. Coming to think of it, he did keep Percy from jumping off and using himself as monster bait. And then wasted all his energy on killing the monster. Something they both knew left him defenseless.

It was a nice gesture.

But a risky one coming from the guy who told him to think before acting.

"So, where do we start?"

"The beginning sounds nice."

The older man chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose it does. I should properly introduce myself then. I am Odysseus, a Servant of the Rider Class. I already told you my name, but I'd hazard a guess and say that you don't have any idea of what a Servant or class is? Yes."

Percy scratched his head awkwardly.

"I mean, you work for the gods right? But calling you a servant seems a bit much."

"No, Perseus. I do not work for the gods you know. I haven't been at the service of the gods for centuries."

Centuries?!

"What do you-"

"Please, let me continue. I'm sure you have questions and I promise will answer them. But it is important that you have a full understanding of our situation."

He didn't like the sound of that, but the promise of actual answers from the man was just way too tempting to resist.

"A Servant, Perseus, is a copy of the soul of a human who has done great deeds in life and ascended to the Throne of Heroes. You could think of it as an afterlife which exists solely by those who became important to human civilization and history. Their legends passed down through the generations. For that reason we are also known as Heroic Spirits."

Copy of a soul? Heroic Spirits?

Odysseus was right, Percy did want to ask a dozen questions off the top of his head. People who became important in history went to a different afterlife? Clearly Hades' was a dirty, dirty liar then. Could he sue the underworld for false advertisement?

"Does that mean you're a ghost?"

"After a fashion, yes. My body is made up of magical energy and can enter a ghost-like state, but I can still interact with the world just like a normal human. This comes with a certain… reliance on magical energy."

"So the reason you're stuck like this…"

"Is because we weren't brought here through normal means. The world itself summoned us to deal with a crisis present in this sea. Normally I would be able to fight far less… conservatively. But as Ms. Drake pointed out, my equipment comes with a hefty cost in energy."

Percy turned to look at Drake.

"So, you're both heroes? Like, important people summoned here?"

The pirate snorted.

"I dunno about being a 'hero'. I just did what a pirate does. Sunk some ships, drank some rum, made a mess of things up until the day I died."

And then it finally hit him.

Francis Drake.

Odysseus.

Heroes of the past, summoned to deal with some kind of problem. Not people with fake names pretending to be secret agents. If everything they were saying was truth then that meant…

"You're Odysseus."

The man nodded.

"Yes, I've told you before." He said it in a carefully neutral tone. Not a hair out of place.

The guy was making fun of him. Percy just knew!

But he couldn't be too mad about. He was still trying to process everything he learnt. One thing was meeting someone you thought was named after someone famous. Another was to meet the guy himself. One of the old heroes Percy heard about all the time at camp. The guy who half blinded his jerkass brother and got into a pissing match with his dad.

That… actually explained a lot, actually.

Why he was so weird around him.

"Man, don't I feel stupid."

The legendary hero chuckled, smiling thinly as the new pieces of armor and his cape vanished in wisps of blue light, making it easier for him to sit.

"Don't be. I was needlessly obfuscating about it. Though I didn't imagine I would meet someone who wasn't aware of Servants here. You've proven yourself to be a valorous ally, Perseus. I was fully intent on revealing the full truth of my identity once we've reached the next island."

Well, that felt nice to know.

Didn't mean he was gonna just forgive all the secrecy stuff. And hey, ghosts of dead heroes weren't even the strangest thing he had run into since he got pulled into the demigod business.

The Olympus-destroying sea cow monster was still a heck of a lot more impressive than anything a power ranger ghost could do.

[Reboot Complete]

[Kinetic Sail Functionality has been Restored]

[Engine #1 deactivated]

[Engine #2 deactivated]

Percy sighed in relief. They were finally done being sitting ducks. He also couldn't help but feel happy that the ship wasn't too banged up. What could he say? After going through this whole mess steering it, he was starting to get attached to the ancient but somehow futuristic boat.

[Helmsman thankfulness detected]

[Compliment accepted]

A smart ship? That was neat.

"Good news though. We can finally get out of here."

A hand stopped him.

"Before that, there is something I would like to ask of you, Percy."

The demigod blinked in confusion.

"Can't this wait? We might get into trouble if we stick around."

"I shall be quick about it then. Make a contract with me."

Despite everything going on. Despite the literal race for their lives against a robotic sea monster. Despite the fact that he'd been running himself ragged keeping the ship afloat and in course for Phobos Island, and the sudden earth shaking revelations about who he'd be traveling with since he washed up on Calypso's island, the son of Poseidon felt a fresh wave of confusion wash over him. His mouth ran before his brain could catch up.

"Do I need to call a lawyer?"

He knew there was something more to this.

There always was with this guy.

"Not a formal contract, a magical one."

"So like, an unbreakable vow? With wands and stuff? Look, I know we were in a bit of a pinch for a while there but I'm not about to pull a deep cover Agent Snape deal right now."

The armored man wasn't phased.

"A magical contract, Perseus. No obligations or lies or trickery. The contract will allow us to properly work together and let you transfer me the extra magical energy I need to fight."

To the side, Drake whistled.

"Ballsy, just asking the kid like that."

She sounded like she was having way too much fun watching them.

"We weren't gonna stick together for long, right?"

It was a little petty.

But Percy felt petty.

Was this another secret Odysseus was keeping? It wouldn't be the first time someone wasn't telling Percy something because they thought they knew better. Was he even surprised at this point? The guy had run out of energy for his fancy suit before so he definitely could have asked earlier than this, when their lives were in danger.

"It wasn't necessary. If our intent was to part ways, I didn't want to force the responsibility onto you."

"So what changed-"

There was an explosion. A pillar of salt water rushing upwards, spraying the ship as it bobbed aimlessly on the waves.

And then Percy heard it.

[Damage Report - 75%]

[Deploying Combat Measures]

[Loading Poseidon Klironomia]

[Rebooting systems…]

[Requesting Backup Units]

[Okeanos Poseidonis Temple Network - Access Granted]

[Dispatching Model Charybdis]

"We need to go! That thing is healing!" With a spin of the wheel, Percy felt the ship come to life, sails glowing as they fluttered back into place and the ship started moving again. Slower than when they were using the engines, but with the engines down, it was all they had to escape the monster before it came back for round two.

Seriously, why did everything in this place have extra lives?!

Percy was starting to miss the normal monsters. At least they had the sense to stay dead after they got killed… at least for a little while.
And that name… Klironomia.

The same name of the technology that Calypso was talking about early. The kind that was inside Mecha Thorn and made him such a pain in the ass to fight. Only this time his father's name was slapped on it. Mocking him for believing his father was ever involved in this whole mess.

Like he'd give so much help just because he asked for it.

But it didn't make any sense.

Drake said that there was something wrong with this place. That even the gods were behaving differently. And he could believe that much, because he hadn't seen hair or hide of them since he washed away at Calypso's island. Nothing other than the weird messages he somehow got when machines acted out around him.

And when he called his dad for help.

He heard him. That was his voice who talked to him. Percy hadn't spoken a lot with him, but he remembered how he sounded, even if the way he spoke was different and stiff and used words he was sure would have been scrambled if he tried reading them.

As if he were there… but not.

This just added another question to the pile of unanswered ones. Like what made his powers stop working right. What was happening with this ocean, and why the Labyrinth spat him out here of all places.

"The ship can't outpace it like this. Once it regenerates, it will catch us before we make it to the island."

"Any sign of the island, Drake?" Percy hollered.

"I see nothing, kid!" she responded in kind

They were stuck.

The ship was fixed and they had a map, but they were still stuck getting chased by a monster.

"There 's no time. We have to make the contract now." Odysseus pressed firmly.

Percy figured he'd ask. They were stuck. The monster was coming back to life and the only one who managed to deal with it was down and out. Even if Percy didn't understand this whole thing with contracts and magic. He was pretty sure he got turned into a guinea pig once but he wasn't telling Odysseus that.

"You're gonna have to explain this one to me then. What do we do? A funny dance? Some magical words. Do I gotta drink anything weird?"

Odysseus moved to stand besides him. Unsteady on his feet. The man looked like a stiff breeze would knock him over.

"No potions or tricks. You just have to say these words, and I will do the rest."

Of all the things Percy thought he'd have done today, learning about magical deals and chants from a man wearing a high tech robot suit gifted to him by an ancient Greek goddess wasn't quite what he expected. And while he understood the words Odysseus was telling him, they didn't seem Shakespearean enough to be magic.

There wasn't any latin involved either.

'Worst spell ever.'

"That thing is back mateys!" What Drake said next was drowned out by the sound of her cannons firing and the explosions as a familiar and not at all appreciated shape rose from the water and started swimming towards them again. Percy turned tail immediately, hands tightly gripping the handles of the wheel

Odysseus hand grabbed onto his shoulder.

Percy sighed.

They were really gonna have to do this, huh?
"Do you trust me?"

Percy wanted to say no, he didn't completely trust the man who kept secrets and basically lead him by the nose since they met. But after being saved by him over and over again… he couldn't deny the man at least had good intentions. He was a hero after all, and if he really were Odysseus… that made him one of the best.

One of the few who made it back home.

So hey, maybe this was a sign after all.

"Let it be declared here."

The words felt unfamiliar.

"My will creates your body."

But he could tell there was meaning to them. There was something there, something that tapped deep within him, a warmth he hadn't felt before. Completely unlike the pulling sensation he felt when conjuring water to clean up the stables.

This was different.

"And your sword creates my destiny."

Percy gasped.

He felt like he had been shocked. A surge of something rushing up his spine. Only for Rider's hand to firmly clamp on his shoulder and the feeling to vanish.

"Under the name of Rider. I, Odysseus, accept you as my Master."

He swayed, vision whiting out for a second before sharpening back into focus.

"What was…"

[Combat-Type Mystic Armament Access Granted]

[Single Use Missile Destroyer Response Unit]

[Χαρυβδις Class Firing Sequence - Start]

"Oh what now?!"

Odysseus stepped back, surprised

"I heard that."

There was a sudden burst of silence. Slightly oxymoronic, Percy's demigod instincts immediately picked up on the situation and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Not only had Drake stopped shouting, she'd stopped shooting. The hippocampus had disappeared beneath the waves and the son of Poseidon was forcibly reminded of the fact that it was a scout unit. Something meant to be discrete. Rider was silent, eyes fixed on the water around them, desperately searching for a hint of what was to come.

The demigod was quiet, frustrated and angry as helplessness sunk in and snapped his jaw closed.

Right now his powers weren't working and he didn't really have any advantage over a normal human - not spectacularly at least and definitely not above water. But Percy had been through a great deal of nonsense. And so, the second his gut said to do it, he wrenched the captain's wheel violently to the side.

Kinetic sails humming, the damaged ship creaked and groaned, and several missiles exploded out of the ocean in a spray of salt water. Each weapon was about twice as long as a grown man was tall and they were made out of grey and blue metal, tiny details that his eyes could spot. Never mind the fact that they were shaped like a distressingly familiar tube of celestial bronze.

"A Charybdis-type…" Odysseus muttered out as Drake opened fire, pistols blasting away at the weapons as the ocean violently churned - dozens upon dozens of tentacles now burst out in the wake of the first attack.

Rider said a very ugly word in Ancient Greek and launched himself forward, armor lighting to life as he engaged the appendages in close combat. Percy's stomach lurched, the feeling of electricity beneath his skin dulling as the elder hero attacked the tendrils that were ten times as long as their ship and half as thick while he forced the boat to its absolute limits.

Somehow his desperation seemed to coax out a bit more from the ship, as if it too wanted to protect its occupants, and Percy gave a quick prayer to whatever form of A.I the ship possessed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll burn a whole plate of food for you when I can."

Was it even a spirit?

Frankly, it mattered little if the prayers actually helped. It made him feel better and it seemed… maybe… possibly like the boat actually did appreciate the vow.

He just chalked that up to the general weirdness going on around him.

"Kid, you better get this hunk of junk moving faster, I've got no idea how long I can take care of these missiles!"

Sounding a bit desperate, the other Rider was doing her best to hold off the waves of projectiles Percy's probable sister was unleashing. Apparently, every time either of the power rangers got to grips with it, the Charybdis would pull back, fire off a few waves of projectiles, then rush back into the fight. A good pattern that forced at least one of the two fighters to focus solely on defense at all times.

However, even with all that it was still closing in.

So Percy did something crazy.

"Hold on everybody!"

He shut off the sails.

Having been mid turn, the momentum of the ship moved the back end and managed to bring the whole of the vessel around into a great curve - the sails aiding them no matter which way they were pointed - only for Percy to restart them and kick into what was the magical equivalent of high gear.

Wood and metal groaned, something inside their ship snapped, and when the vessel started moving forwards again it was straight into a small cluster of tentacles. And this was a trireme.

Suffice to say, the very rapidly moving wood and metal hull met the thinnest part of the Charybdis's tentacles and smashed right through them. Both Drake and Odysseus used this opportunity to destroy the remaining missiles and blast into the missile launchers themselves. This caused a chain reaction of explosions that rippled across the thing's back.

Roaring, burning, thrashing about, the machine monster caused several massive waves to slam into their vessel even as it violently and openly died. Percy did his best to keep things stable and even managed to, despite nearly being swamped twice, keep them from going under.

However, all three of them had forgotten something very important.

The Hippocampus reared up out of the water and lashed out with both of its metal claws right at Odysseus, the Rider blocking the first attack but buckling from exhaustion as the second claw came right for his gut.

Percy's body moved before he could think.

Odysseus yelled something.

Riptide snapped up and blocked the cutting edge of the claw while the other claw pulled away from Percy's favorite power ranger and coiled around him instead. And as that crushing, cold metal closed around his torso he was violently pulled off the ship

And into the mouth of the monster.

The last thing the younger hero as he saw as he vanished down the maw of the hippocampus were the horrified face of the silver haired hero, before darkness closed in all around him.

[Target Acquired]

What was Created by God - [Fate/Grand Order & Percy Jackson and the Olympians]

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