A/N: This is about pirates, don't ask me why. I'm working on a long chapter for the 90th so it might take me a while to update, but I promise it's coming. Hope you like this one, please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

Since his days on the Argo II came to a rather dramatic end, Nico di Angelo had spent most of his free time at Camp Half-Blood, hanging out with his penguins, and with Percy or Will, going about his business and trying to prove to the world how awesome he was at every chance he could.

But he kinda missed being on a boat.

Nico stepped out of the shadows onto a marina wharf in eastern Maryland, flanked by his two most trusted penguins, Gerald and Richard Spaghetti, Jr.

"Leave this to me, boys," Gerald announced, stepping forward to the edge of the boardwalk and spread his flippers dramatically. "I'm an expert at this sort of thing."

"You're an expert in buying a boat?" Richard asked doubtfully.

"No," Gerald said, shooting the other penguin a glare. "I'm an expert in stealing a boat."

"Well, that sounds fake," Nico muttered. But he gestured for Richard to come along and followed Gerald toward the line of sailboats and cruise ships sitting in the water.

Gerald stopped in front of a tall, three-masted yacht. "This one'll do," he said decisively.

Nico peered up at the boat, shielding his eyes against the blinding sun with a hand. "Sure looks like a pirate ship," he agreed.

Richard looked around. "So what happens next? Do we need to find whoever's selling, or…?"

"What? No, what are you talking about?" Gerald said. "We just take it."

"Wait, he was serious?" Richard asked Nico. "We're really just gonna… steal a pirate ship? Cause that's, like, really illegal."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Will you calm down? We're gonna pay for it." He pulled a fat wad of cash from his jacket pocket. "We're just gonna take out the middle man because I don't like talking to adults." He snapped his fingers, and the money disappeared in a swirl of shadows. Nico reached out to take each of his penguins by the flipper and whisked them away too.

They reappeared on the deck of the boat. "I'll take the helm," Gerald immediately offered. "Rich, do the sails, will you?"

"Aye, aye, Captain," Richard Spaghetti, Jr. grumbled, but he followed Gerald's orders with only a little reluctance.

Nico grinned, tilting his head back to feel the warm sun on his face. "And I will be doing what I do best." He stepped back into a stray puddle of shadows and vanished. A second later, he was standing in the crow's nest, looking down at where he'd last been standing.

He sank into a chair and kicked his feet up on the edge of the basket. It felt good to be a pirate again.

Percy Jackson swore he could feel a disturbance in the Force.

Okay, not actually the Force— he'd just watched a lot of Star Wars movies recently— but in the water. He'd been sitting calmly in his cabin, practicing some cool (totally not based on lightsaber) moves with Riptide, when he'd suddenly felt a shiver run through him, like the temperature in the room had dropped. Somehow, he knew with absolute certainty that something had just disturbed the water on the outskirts of Camp Half-Blood.

Something big.

Percy hurried out of his cabin without bothering to cap his sword. At first, he considered going to the Big House to warn Chiron of potential danger, but then he caught a glimpse of the sizable crowd starting to gather down on the beach. They weren't congregating for battle, but more swarming the docks to stare in wonder and awe at something massive looming in Long Island Sound.

Even before Percy saw the pirate ship, he knew whatever was going on was Nico di Angelo's fault.

"Oh, hey, Percy!" Nico shouted from the crow's nest of the giant boat manned by a crew of penguins, as the son of Poseidon drew closer to the shore. Nico was wearing a pirate hat, as were each of his penguins, but instead of a feather stuck in the hats, each one had a bright red flower in it. "Look, I'm a pirate again!"

Percy sighed, even as he couldn't stop an amused smile from tugging at his lips. "Oh, Nico."

A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review!