It's 2:30 AM and I just finished this. It's a wild one. Some past is revealed. And no matter how weirded out you are by what's happening, PLEASE finish the chapter to read the little PSA I put at the bottom that offers some clarification.
Good job to Violet2971 for picking up on how *convenient* the friendliness between the two crews is. Yes, this is intentional on my part and that thought process is very important. It's important to keep in mind that Annabeth and her crew can't escape very easily, as they're quite literally in the middle of nowhere, so it's hard to have any active escape attempts.
Disclaimer: all characters belong to uNcLe RiCk!
"So now what?" Clarisse demanded. "We've played nice, unlike you," she glared very pointedly at her captain. "And I just want to get out of here."
Annabeth gladly returned the glare. "I haven't played nice because that would be a little suspicious now wouldn't it?"
"It's all just very much do as I say, not as I do." Beckendorf muttered, looking persistently down at the deck below him, as if he stared long enough he could see through it.
"We're going to have to take control of this ship," Annabeth said, meeting the eyes of each of her crew members as she spoke. "And to do that, we need them to trust us."
"Jason's probably our best shot," Reyna interrupted. "Jackson and Thalia trust him."
"Yes, and Will too," Annabeth agreed, turning to the two blonde boys. "Jason's connected by blood, and Will, you've steered this ship multiple times."
"It's also just impossible to dislike you." Hazel added helpfully.
"I should probably let you know that I can't steer this ship alone," Will said nervously. "I will need Leo's help."
"It's just a ship, how different can it be?" Malcolm questioned, looking skeptical.
"No he's right," she said. "Valdez is a mastermind, and he put in place a lot of fancy gadgets. We'll need his help to keep this ship on its course."
"Annabeth, are you sure we need to do this?" Calypso asked timidly. "I really don't think Percy's going to kill us."
"Jackson might not kill us," she snapped, annoyed by her friend's usage of his first name. "But that's not the point. Our job is and always has been to bring him in to face the court of law for the things he's done."
"Oh if you're going to play that game, Annabeth, at least play it right." Reyna scoffed. "This is extremely personal. Don't pretend you're just doing your job."
"Captain. I'm your captain, Reyna." The girl's eyes narrowed at the rebuke, and Annabeth immediately regretted her words. "I'm sorry, you're right this is personal." she finally said after a tense moment of silence.
"That makes two of us." Clarisse grumbled, and not for the first time, Annabeth wondered what had gone down between her crew mate and Jackson.
"I'm sorry but I don't really understand how this is personal." Frank interjected, his arm still around Hazel. "Annabeth, you had never even met Jackson until we were captured."
"That's true," she admitted. "I don't know him very well personally, but he was my first assignment when I joined the navy, and my captain got discharged because we failed to catch him. Couldn't even find him actually. And so when I got assigned to him again, I just became obsessed. I couldn't lose to him again."
"It also doesn't help that he left our ship in the middle of nowhere." Beckendorf added.
"No he didn't," Will countered. "When I asked Leo, he let it slip that Percy asked his friends Grover and Juniper to take care of The Olive Branch."
"Grover?" Clarisse repeated, her eyes wide.
"That name sounds familiar." Annabeth mused. "Isn't he the mayor of some small town off the coast?"
"That's impossible, he died." The buff girl insisted.
"No, I'm pretty sure Annabeth's right." Jason said, looking to Reyna for support, who simply shrugged.
"I think I might have met him once." Reyna conceded.
"No, Jackson and I watched him die," Clarisse continued, not hearing anyone else. "Grace was there as well. Grover's, well, gone." No one said anything as they watched sadness seep through the normally stoic girl. Annabeth was at a loss of words at the rare display of emotion from Clarisse, and an uncomfortable silence fell over the group.
"I trust her about as far as I can throw her." Percy assured Nico firmly.
"Realistically, you're ripped enough that that could be pretty far." Leo pointed out jokingly.
"He's not wrong," Thalia said teasingly. "You sure grew up nice!" she turned to Nico and Leo. "He used to be a veritable stick. Why don't you show us your abs captain?" she winked, laughing as she did so.
Percy sighed. "Leo, it's an expression, and thanks Thals, you've sure gotten more annoying since then."
"Damn Jackson," she laughed. "That one hurt."
"Well I trust Chase about as far as I can throw her, which isn't very far at all." Nico interrupted, getting them all back on topic, and motioning to his skinny arms to reinforce his point.
"She still wants to arrest us," Thalia reminded them. "And if I know Annabeth, she isn't going to give up on that any time soon."
"She hates my guts." Percy sighed.
"She hates everyone's guts." Leo said dubiously. "I really wouldn't take it too personally if I were you."
Thalia clapped Percy on the shoulder supportively. "He's right. Annabeth is a hard nut to crack for everyone."
"I honestly have no clue what to do with them," he admitted. "We don't need a crew that big, not that they would even want to stay, and I can't just drop them off a coast somewhere either."
"Why not?" Nico asked expectantly.
"Because," he said weakly, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another as he did so. "That seems too harsh?" It ended up sounding more like a question then a response and Percy mentally kicked himself for indecisiveness. It didn't do to be an indecisive pirate captain in these parts.
A wide grin formed on Leo's face. "You know what that means ladies and gents!" He pointed at Connor and Travis, who were standing on the other side of the deck, talking quietly to Katie and Tyson.
"What do you want, Valdez?" Travis yelled. "Are we finally invited to your secret little leadership conference?"
Leo let out a loud laugh. "Nothing quite so prestigious! However, we have discovered that Percy does have a heart!"
"Shocking development!" Katie said, laughing along with the rest of the crew.
"I hate you all." Percy announced, sending a foul glare their way. He decided it was about time to get back on subject, now that the teasing had run its course. Or, at least, as much of a course as Percy would let it run. "Do we have someone on the inside yet?" He asked, lowering his voice.
"Other than me you mean?" Thalia asked, as if he was crazy to have missed the obvious connection.
"Yes, Thalia, other than you." Percy said, putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly as she straightened at the implication that she wasn't able to spy well. "I don't want you to be put in a position where you have to doublecross your brother. I don't think your newfound relationship could take that strain."
Thalia's eyes softened as she realized what his reasoning was. "Percy, I'll be fine, no matter what I have to do."
"No, I want you to be more than fine," he said stubbornly. "We'll find someone else."
"Thanks Perce." The black-haired girl said quietly, looking suspiciously close to tears for someone as stoic as she normally was.
"Well Nico and Will..." Leo ventured tentatively, afraid to break the moment.
Nico's cheeks flushed. "Shut up Leo! Care to talk about Calypso?"
Leo blanched at the name. "Isn't the sea just lovely today? Barely any clouds in the sky either."
"No, no, go back!" Percy insisted, suddenly enjoying himself thoroughly. "What was this about Calypso and Will?" His two crewmates grew a bright shade of red, looking intently at the boards below, and avoiding eye contact.
He could see how Calypso had caught Leo's eye, she was breathtakingly beautiful, in a very gentle way, and as kind as she looked. Charismatic to a fault, he saw the appeal in Calypso, and saw how she could easily ensnare Leo. Will, on the other hand, Percy had a harder time with. He knew Nico was gay, and that he had even been the subject of his affections in the past, but it was just so hard to see Nico want to be friends with anyone even half as bubbly and positive as Will, much less be romantically involved. But he did recognize that maybe opposites did attract, and he could already foresee Will bringing more joy and life into Nico then the grim teenager had ever experienced.
It was all so odd. It felt like forever since he had witnessed anything romantic play out on his ship, aside from Katie and Travis, who had been in love with each other since the first day they had met, all the crew was family, and you don't date your family. Piper, his little sister. Nico, his little brother. Leo, his daredevil cousin. Travis and Connor, his nephews. Thalia, his best friend. Tyson, his real brother. Rachel and Katie, his aunt and mother respectively, although he did have sneaking suspicions that Rachel didn't used to feel quite as related to him, he thought embarrassedly. Everyone had a neat little place in his mind. The box checked. And that was his family. And nobody dated within their own family. He tried to imagine being romantically involved with anyone on his ship and his stomach churned with guilt. It was unthinkable. Other than the brief fling that young Percy had had with Piper, just as young and still as wild and carefree as she was now, the ship stayed family oriented. At least, as far as he knew. How would he truly know everyone's mind and actions in the early hours of the day as dawn crept slowly above? He was sure it had happened once or twice, but the more he thought about it, the more he decided he wanted to think about it less. Much, much less.
But farther yet his mind took him into his thoughts. He watched in horror as the last eight years of his life played out before him. Memories he had pushed so far back being triggered by a few moments so short, that they should barely be considered a love life. He felt helpless to stop the onslaught of images flashing in his brain and he reached out for a lifeline, anything to pull him out of his own mind, to no avail. It was ultimately Thalia who unwittingly did it.
"So, Percy what's the verdict?" his best friend asked, putting her arm around him.
He shrunk out of her grasp, decidedly unsettled by his own thoughts. "Just keep an eye on them." Walking away, he felt bad for his odd behavior, but couldn't bring himself to care enough to go back and apologize yet, he reasoned that he could always do it later. He was focused on finding the only person that could steady him at the moment.
He found her sooner than expected, crashing into her as he searched for her below deck. They were somewhere near the engine room, but Percy found his eyes too blurry to truly decipher where they were.
"Percy?" Piper asked, steadying him by putting her hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong?" She brushed his messy hair out his eyes as she had always done and the simple, familiar motion was just too much to bear. He crumpled to the floor, his legs giving out, and how he hated himself for this weakness once again, but the weight on his shoulders didn't allow him to move, to see, to even breath.
"Percy?!" Piper yelped, her voice going up an octave out of concern as she followed him to the floor, cradling his head in her lap before it could hit the floor and give him what he assumed had the potential to be a concussion. He could barely see her through what he noticed to be tears, and he became immediately horrified by the prospect. The last time he had cried in front of someone else had been years ago, and well, it had been Piper.
"How did everything go so wrong?" he murmured, not addressing anyone in particular. He heard her say his name again, and he was glad to realize that she hadn't yet yelled for another member of his crew to help her. He was grateful that she was the only one who would see him in such shape.
"Percy," Piper said gently, running a hand through his hair as she attempted to soothe him. "It's been years since you've done this. What happened?"
He looked at her sadly, wishing he could stop his tears, or the thoughts racing across his brain. Anything to get her to stop worrying, as he couldn't help being afraid of dragging her down with him. But there wasn't anything he could do, and as he had found out over the years, that that was the worst feeling possible.
Now Piper was crying, and Percy numbly thought that he must be the reason why, vaguely feeling sad about it, but he was sure he would beat himself up about it later anyways so he decided to push it aside for now.
"I don't know what to do." Piper choked out through her tears, looking desperately for an answer as she surveyed the room. Unfortunately, that was the moment Clarisse, accompanied by Jason, decided to stumble across the scene. At first she seemed to be confused, but as soon as she saw Percy, her eyes seemed to soften as she kneeled next to Piper.
"What did you used to do?" Clarisse asked quietly and without explanation.
She shook her head. "Nothing we do anymore."
Percy chuckled lightly, gripping her hand tightly as a wave of nausea hit him. "I have a feeling I probably don't want to remember."
"You might want to remind him." Clarisse said grimly.
Piper hesitated for a second, glancing quickly at Jason, who was still standing quietly in the corner, before leaning down and kissing Percy lightly. He felt his vision start to swim again but as he locked eyes with her, he found that her multi-colored eyes kept him stable in a churning world. It was a strange feeling, to say the least. The girl who he had loved for so long, who he now regarded as a little sister, kissing him in front of a rival crew's members as he tried his best not to throw up, well it was less than ideal. But something about it was so comforting and familiar, that Percy closed his eyes, nestling closer to Piper and feeling the warm darkness overcome him as he gave in.
Annabeth couldn't help but gasp when she saw Piper kiss Jackson. It was too unbelievable. She didn't trust that such a valuable piece of information had fallen right into her lap. However, she immediately regretted her noisy reaction as she realized that Clarisse had seen her hidden behind a door near the engine room. The burly girl told Jason to help Piper get him to the infirmary, before making her way over to Annabeth and abruptly grabbing her arm.
"No Annabeth," she said firmly. "You're not using this."
"Why not?" she challenged, feeling all too satisfied with herself.
"Because this isn't fair game, Chase." Annabeth visibly stiffened at the use of her last name, a formality most of her crew had no use for.
"All's fair in love and war." she countered.
"Well last time I checked, we were not fighting a physical war, and unless you want to confess your love for him to me, I don't think it's going to work out."
She was about to respond that they were, indeed, fighting a war, and maybe even throw in a sarcastic comment about falling in love with a walrus before she would with Jackson, but she stopped herself. There was a hardened fire in Clarisse's eyes that Annabeth wasn't sure she wanted to contend with yet.
"Why do you care?" Annabeth settled for asking.
"It's from the arena." Clarisse said softly. "I used to get them too. Looks like Percy must have triggered a relapse somehow." Annabeth noticed with a hint of surprise that Clarisse had referred to Jackson by his first name, which was odd, as she had always made her feelings for him clear. There had seemed to be little lost love between them, but Annabeth guessed she must have misinterpreted, as it got increasingly clear with every minute that went by, that Clarisse was determined to protect him even from her own captain, someone she supposedly owed every allegiance to. So much for that, Annabeth bitterly thought.
"Fine," Annabeth finally amended. "I won't say a word."
Clarisse let out a sigh. "Thank you. It's dangerous for people to know a pirate captain's weakness, Annabeth, especially on his own ship." She gave her a knowing look, as she had correctly guessed her captain's intentions. "It could get him killed and you know it."
Yeah that's like the whole point! She thought loudly, knowing better than to say it out loud. The time would come, she was sure. Annabeth just had to be patient.
"I was 13, and Percy had just turned 14." A voice echoed faintly around the room, and Percy felt himself stirring from his deep sleep.
"We had just met, and it was only a few months after he had gotten free of the labyrinth." the familiar voice continued lightly.
"The labyrinth?" another voice asked, and Percy felt himself stiffen slightly as he realized that it belonged to Jason. He had no desire to share any part of his past with the blonde, but he had no strength to speak up, much less move any part of his body. The voice that he identified as Piper's continued her story, unaware of his discomfort.
"It's right outside the arena, and Clarisse, Luke, Grover and Percy escaped through it."
"Wait, hold on. Luke, as in Castellan?" Jason stopped her, confused.
"The same." she confirmed.
"If they escaped together, then why do they hate each other so much?" he wondered. That makes two of us, Percy grumbled to himself. Ungrateful little bastard.
"Percy never told me," she answered softly, sounding sadder than Percy had expected. "He never told me about Chrysaor either. They're sore subjects. But I know about his time in the arena, and he used to have nightmares, terrible nightmares that he would wake up screaming from in the middle of the night."
"And this is when you were… romantically involved?" Jason finished, rather awkwardly.
Percy saw Piper nod hesitantly, and he felt his insides swirl as he thought of their past. It was a good toss up of feelings, half of which contradicted themselves, but ultimately he always came to the same conclusion; that she was his sister. Although he gathered that most people didn't kiss their sisters when they panicked, he knew that he certainly didn't kiss either of his brothers.
"He was a dashing pirate," Piper admitted. "Young and bold, and after being stuck in a palace for so many years, I had a thirst for adventure, so I joined his crew. I thought he was handsome, and it just sort of happened I guess."
"You don't sound regretful."
She shrugged. "It wasn't ever bad. He helped shape me into a person I actually like, and I helped him through some of his trauma. It just became pretty clear we were better off as friends." Ouch, Percy thought, half delirious. Being reminded of how he got friend-zoned was never fun. It had been mutual of course, but in the state he was in, his mind was too foggy to recall that specific detail.
"Are you still just friends?" the blonde asked, and Percy saw him step closer to her.
"Yes." she breathed, and Percy closed his eyes tightly as Jason leaned forward and kissed her softly.
It hurt, more than Percy cared to admit. A hurt he had never felt before, and while he had no more romantic feelings for Piper, it felt like a piece of her that had been his for such a long time was finally being given to someone else. Someone else that probably deserved it much more than him, and despite her nonchalance, Percy knew that all he had brought her in the last few years was pain and hardship. She'd seen a dark and messy side of him that he dared not ever bring back to the surface, which was exactly what had happened earlier, and he wondered how he had failed her so badly. Piper wasn't his keeper, and he had no right to run back to her and wreck her life every time his own fell apart. He was happy for her, happy that she got the guy she fancied, and all he could was hope that he would treat her well. If not, Percy could always snap him like a wishbone, because well, no one messed with his family and got away with it.
They had stopped kissing thankfully, as that was really not something Percy was prepared to witness more of at the moment, and he started to regain feeling in his hands and feet, moving them around in an attempt to jumpstart his circulation.
"I thought," Piper murmured. "I thought that..."
"Thought what?" Jason asked, his voice deeper, almost rougher than usual, and Percy guessed it was probably from nerves.
"Reyna?" she ventured, and Jason gave her a small smile.
"Used to, but it didn't quite work out, and we're good friends now."
Piper let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good." She then immediately yelped as she made eye contact with Percy, who was struggling to sit upright. "Percy! How long have you been awake?" she questioned nervously, as Jason sheepishly moved away from her, attempting to put enough distance between them to look inconspicuous.
"Awake? I just woke up." Percy lied, gripping his throbbing head as his vision swam from the lightheadedness that came with sitting up too quickly.
A look of relief passed over her features. "You were out for a while there, cowboy."
"I don't remember lassoing any cattle." Percy remarked, mildly amused. "Piper why don't you go tell Nico and Thals I'm alright?" she nodded and left. With her absence, Jason started shifting uncomfortably, still in the corner he had backed into when Percy had woken up.
"So," he started, breaking the silence. "I'm glad you're awak-"
"Just," Percy interrupted. "Don't break her heart." Jason's eyes widened, almost comically, as he realized the implications.
"Percy-"
"Or I will personally feed you to a great white shark," he continued, dead serious. "And trust me, there are lots in these parts. Got it?" Jason gulped, nodding his understanding. "Now get out and let me get some damn rest, something that's apparently impossible to come by around here." The blonde immediately scurried out of the room, eager to escape from the awkward situation.
Percy sighed. He had no doubt that Jason was a good guy, and that he would treat Piper right, after all, the Grace genes were made of honorable stuff. But it was necessary to play the protective big brother card, because if he didn't, then who would?
Public Service Announcement!
This is NOT a Percy/Piper story. I just thought it would be less believable for Percy not to have had a romantic relationship with anyone in the crew when they were younger. Unfortunately, the way I wrote Rachel made her not enough of a main character for the role, but this helps explain how Percy and Piper got so close. But one more time for the people in the back: NOT A PERCY/PIPER ENDGAME FANFIC so hold onto your hats before I get flamed in the reviews haha.