━━ chapter thirty-eight
the most feared weapon!
(diet coke?)

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

    ━━Percy and Fiona were almost thrown off-board. 

    As Festus blew fire, sending a dozen very surprised warriors screaming and diving into the sea, Percy twisted his body right, grabbed Fiona and they hit the deck, narrowly missing a grappling line as many of them wrapped around the rails and the mast. 

    By the time he had recovered his wits, it was too late. The enemy was everywhere. He couldn't see well through the fog and the dark, but the invaders looked to be ... half-dolphin? Half-dolphin and half-pirate? Some had snouts, others had human faces, some had human legs ... it was very disturbing. 

    Leo sounded the alarm bell. He made a dash for the nearest ballista but went down under a pile of chattering dolphin warriors. 

    Percy pulled Fiona to her feet and they stood back to back with their weapons drawn. Percy tried to summon the waves, hoping he could push the ships apart or even capsize the enemy vessel, but nothing happened. It almost felt like something was pushing against his will, wrestling the sea from his control.

    Great.

    Fiona spun her pugio, lunging at a nearby dolphin and pushing through the pain on her knee, but they were surprisingly very agile, jumping out of her way. Percy raised Riptide, but he knew they were hopelessly outnumbered. The dolphin-warriors lowered their spears and made a ring around them, wisely keeping out of striking distance of Percy's sword.

    "Are they meant to be dead?" Percy whispered back to Fiona desperately, and she closed her eyes, concentrating. 

    She saw her hand twist and she tilted her head, as if searching for a sound or feeling to let her know whether she could take control. When she sighed, annoyed, Percy gritted his teeth. He didn't mean to sound annoyed, but he had just lost what he hoped to be an advantage. 

    He tried to think of something else, eyeing the dolphin-men as they opened their mouths and made whistling, popping noises. (To be honest, he never thought he'd find dolphin teeth vicious, but gods these were very vicious-looking). Maybe he could break out of the circle and destroy a few invaders, but not without the others skewering him and Fiona. Not to mention, Fiona couldn't fight as well as she would want to with her knee, nor could she run fast. Percy felt that bout of guilt again. (No, he can't be woeful right now. Focus, Jackson).

    There was something positive to focus on: so far, these dolphin-pirate-people didn't look they wanted to kill them, which gave them time. They kept Percy and Fiona contained while more of their comrades flooded belowdecks and secured the hull. Percy could hear them breaking down the cabin doors, and he suddenly felt sick. Even if their friends hadn't been fast asleep, they wouldn't have stood a chance against so many. 

    Leo was dragged across the deck, half-conscious and groaning, and dumped on a pile of ropes. Below, the sounds of fighting had tapered off ... either the others had been subsided, or ...

    (No, Percy couldn't think of that).

    On one side of the ring of spears, the dolphin warriors parted to let someone through. Percy narrowed his eyes, trying to look as menacing as he could. This guy━obviously their leader━was full human, dressed in Greek combat armour━sandles, kilt and greeves, you know, the whole look━and everything he wore was gold. Even his sword, a Greek blade like Riptide, was gold instead of bronze.

    The golden boy, Percy remembered a bit from his dream. They'll have to get past the golden boy. 

    The worst part about him was his helmet: his visor was fashioned like a gorgon's head, and Percy has seen far too many of those in his life for it to be healthy. And the likeness of this one was good━a little too good for his taste. 

    Fiona turned so she was shoulder to shoulder with Percy. He wanted to put his arm around her protectively, but he was sure that was the last gesture she'd appreciate right now. Not only that, but he didn't want to give this golden guy any indication that Fiona was his girlfriend. No sense giving the enemy more leverage than they already had.

    "Who are you?" Percy demanded. "What do you want?"

    The golden warrior behind his gordon visor chuckled. With a flick of his blade, faster than Percy could follow, he smacked Riptide out of his hand and sent it flying into the sea.

     Percy's heart jolted. His lungs may be thrown into the sea━never has been disarmed so easily. 

     "Hello, brother," his voice was rich and velvety; it seemed vaguely familiar, even though Percy has never met this man in his life. "Always happy to rob a fellow son of Poseidon. I am Chrysaor, the Golden Sword. As for what I want..." he turned his metal mask to Fiona who scowled. "Well, that's easy. I want everything you have."

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

    ━━Percy learnt how this man's accent was so familiar. He killed his mother in New Jersey. Yeah, completely decapitated her, sent her head to Olympus ... fun times. Chrysaor was one of the babies to come out of her head when the first Perseus killed her. Yeah, nothing like having a child who's a psychotic pirate and a Pegasus. (Which means that every pegasus is Percy's ... yeah, he's not going there). 

    Chrysaor and his crew of dolphins looted their ship. Fiona shouted at them at nearly everything they took━crates of food, extra weapons, even the magical ice chest from the mess hall.

    "You can't do this!" she seethed, and Chrysaor's laugh reverbrated inside his gold mask. Percy hoped he couldn't turn them to stone with a single glance like his mother could.

    "I can do anything I want," he said. "My warriors have been trained to perfection. They are vicious, cut-throat━"

    "Dolphins," Percy noted.

    Chrysaor shrugged. "Yes. So? They had some bad luck a few millennia ago, kidnapped the wrong person. Someo f their crew got turned completely into dolphins. Others went mad. But these ... these survived as hybrid creatures. When I found them under the sea and offered them a new life, they became my loyal crew. They fear nothing!"

     One of the warriors chattered at him nervously.

    "Yes, yes," Chrysaor growled. "They fear one thing, but it hardly matters. He's not here."

    Percy tried to keep his best poker face as an idea began to tickle at the base of his skull. Before he could pursue it, more dolphin warriors climbed the stairs, hauling up the rest of his friends. Jason was unconscious. Judging from the new bruises on his face, he had tried to fight. Hazel, Piper, Sam and Annabeth were bound hand and foot. Piper had a gag in her mouth, so they must have figured she had charmspeak. Frank was the only one missing, through two of the dolphins had bee strongs covering their faces.

    Wait, could Frank turn into a swarm of bees? Percy sure hoped so. That would be great if he was free somewhere aboard. That is, assuming Percy could figure out how to communicate with him. Percy met Annabeth's gaze, and tried to tell her, Annabeth! This is my brother! His mother is Medusa?! What the actual━?

    "Excellent!" Chrysaor gloated. He directed his warriors to dump Jason by the crossbows. Sam struggled in his bonds as the Golden Sword examined the girls like they were Christmas presents. Percy gritted his teeth, wanting to run his sword right through him.

    "The boy is no use to me━nor is this one━" he pointed at Sam. "But we have an understanding with the witch Circe. She will buy the women━either as slaves or trainees, depending on their skill. But not you, lovely Fiona."

    Fiona scowled. She spat at his shoes. "You are not taking me anywhere!"

    Percy's hand crept to his pocket. His pen had reappeared back in his jeans, and he only needed a moments distraction to draw his sword. He wished he knew a weakness. Usually it was Annabeth that provided him with information like that, or Fiona, but neither of them knew━or maybe Chrysaor didn't have any legends, so they were both in the dark.

    Chrysaor tutted. "Oh, sadly, Fiona, you will not be staying with me. I would love that, though. But you and your friend Percy are spoken for. A certain goddess is paying a high bounty for your capture━alive, if possible, though she didn't say you had to be unharmed."

    The, Piper caused the disturbance Percy needed. She wailed so loudly it could be heard through her gag. Then, with her best acting, she fainted against the nearest guard, knocking him over. Hazel, Sam and Annabeth got the idea and crumpled to the deck, either thrashing their feet like they were having a fit, or completely feigning unconsciousness like Piper. 

    With reflexes that were like muscle memory to him, Percy drew Riptide, flicked off the cap and lashed out. The blade should have gone straight through his neck, like it had his mother, but the golden warrior was extremely fast. He dodged and parried as the dolphin warriros backed up, guarding the other captives while giving their captain room to battle. 

    Percy hadn't crossed swords with an opponent like this since ... well, since he battled the war god Ares. Sure, he battled against Kronos, but that was scythe-to-blade combat. This was completely different. Chrysaor was that good. Many of Percy's powers had got stronger over the years, but now, too late, Percy realised that swordplay didn't seem to be one of them.

    He was rusty━at least against someone like Chrysaor. 

    The battled back and forth, thrusting and parrying. Percy gritted his teeth, concentrating hard. Without meaning to, he thought back to Luke Castellan, hearing his voice in the back of his mind; giving him tips and suggestions in how to manouver his blade. But it didn't help. And then Percy saw one of the dolphin-men holding a knife at Fiona's throat in case she tried anything tricky, and his anger got him into trouble. He feinted and tried to thrust at Chrysaor's gut, but the golden warrior anticipated the move. He knocked Percy's sword out of his hand again, and once more, Riptide flew into the sea.

    Chrysaor laughed, not even winded. The point of his sword pressed against Percy's sternum, and he was pushed back. "A good try," he mused. "But now you'll be chained and transported to Gaea's minions. They are quite eager to spill your blood and wake the goddess."

    Percy was next to Fiona again, and the warrior removed the knife. She growled and elbowed him in his gut, making him double over. She grabbed the knife and went to attack, spinning it and throwing it with great accuracy at Chrysaor while he was distracted. It got him in the shoulder. He staggered, surprised. Percy grinned. There she is. There's the Fiona he knows and━

    Um.

    Moving on.

    Fiona straightened up, glaring. But her glare fell away to see Chrysaor rip the knife from his flesh with a grunt. He laughed, a little crazed. "Oh, Fiona, it'll take more than this to kill me." He chucked the knife and it imedded into the wood of the deck. 

    It was here, that Percy's great plan started to unfold.

     (Nothing like a great big failure on his part to make a plan, right?)

     Of course, Chrysaor couldn't be beaten. At least not in single combat. But without his crew, maybe they could overwhelm him; attack him all at once. But how do deal with his crew? That's the great plan. Percy had put all the pieces together: the pirates had been turned into dolphin-men millennia ago when they kidnapped the wrong person. Percy knew that story. That, and the wrong person in question had threatened to turn him into a dolphin on multiple occassions. Percy glanced towards the stern and spotted Frank, in human form, peeking out from behind a ballista, waiting. Percy resisted the urge to smile. The big guy clamed to be unless and clumsy, but he was always in the right spot when Percy needed him. Always.

    "Fine!" Percy shouted, so loudly that he got everyone's attention. "Take us away, if our captain will let you."

    Chrysaor turned his golden mask. "What captain? My men searched the ship. There is no one else."

    Percy raised his hands dramatically, "The god appears only when he wishes. But he is our leader. He runs a camp for demigods. Doesn't he, Fiona?"

    Fiona was quick, understanding immediately. "Oh, yes!" she nodded enthusiastically. She knew who he was talking about and used the Greek name without hesitation. "Mr D! The great Dionysus!"

    (Percy is━gah, he doesn't have the words to explain her). 

    A ripple of uneasiness passed through the dolphin-men. One dropped his sword.

    "Stand fast!" Chrysaor bellowed. "There is no god on this ship. They are trying to scare you."

    "You should be scared!" Percy announced. He glanced at the pirate crew with sympathy. "Dionysus will be severely cranky with you for having delayed our voyage. He will punish all of us. Didn't you notice some of us falling into the wine god's madness?"

    The girls and Sam had stopped the shaking firts. They were sitting on the deck, staring at Percy. He glared at them pointedly. Annabeth glared right back as if to say, I can't believe you're making me do this━and they started hamming it again, trembling and flopping around like fish. The dolphin-men fell over trying to get away from their captives. 

    "Fakes!" cried Chrysaor. "Shut up, Percy Jackson. Your camp director is not here. He was called to Olympus. This is common knowledge."

    "So you admit Dionysus is our director!" Percy said.

   "He was," Chrysaor corrected. "Everyone knows that."

    Percy gestured at the golden warrior wildly. "You see?" he gasped. "We are doomed! If you don't believe me, let's check the ice chest!"

    He stormed over to the magical cooler. No one tried to stop him. Kicking open the lid, he rummaged through the ice. There had to be one. Please━aha! He found one. Pulling it out, he brandished the silver-and-red can of soda to the dolphin warriors, as if spraying them with bug repellent. 

    "Behold!" he cried. "The god's chosen beverage. Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!"

    The dolphin-men grew into a panic. They were on the edge of retreat. Percy could feel it. 

    "The god will take your ship," warned Percy, still holding the soda. "He will finish your transformation into dolphins, or make you insane, or transform you into insane dolphins! Your only hope is to swim away now, quickly!"

    "Ridiculous!" Chrysaor's voice turned shrill. He didn't seem sure where to level his sword━at Percy or his crew.

    "Save yourselves!" wailed Percy "It's too late for us!" 

    Then, with his final performance, he gasped and pointed to the spot Frank was hiding. "Oh, no! Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

    Nothing happened.

    "I said," Percy repeated, louder this time. "Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

   Frank stumbled out of nowhere, deserving an OSCAR for his big show of clutching at his throat. "Oh, no!" he croaked, like he was reading from a teleprompter. "I am turning into a crazy dolphin."

   He began to change, his nose elongating into a snout, his skin becoming sleek and grey. He fell to the deck as a dolphin, his tail thumping against the boards. Percy threw his arms out towards him as if to say, tada! 

    The pirate crew disbanded in terror, dropping their weapons and fleeing. They jumped overboard. In the confusion, Fiona moved quickly to cut the bonds on Annabeth, Sam, Hazel, Piper and Coach Hedge. Within seconds, Chrysaor was alone and surrounded. Percy and his friends had barely no weapons, but that didn't matter. The Golden Sword could tell he was doomed. 

     He backed to the edge of the rail.

    "This isn't over, Jackson," he growled. "I will have my revenge━"

    Frank changed again. From dolphin to eight-hundred-poud grizzly bear━he rammed straight into Chrysaor, raked the golden mask off his helmet and the warrior screamed, instantly covering his face with his arms and tumbling into the water.  

    They ran to the rail. Chrysaor had disappeared. Percy thought about chasing him, but he was unsure of these waters, and he didnt want to confront that guy alone again. Especially when he had taken him down so easily. 

    "Percy!" Fiona exclaimed, grinning. "That was amazing!" 

    "It was brilliant!" added Annabeth, proud of her best friend.

    Fiona wrapped her arms around Percy's neck and tugged him down for a kiss on the cheek. It made him feel a little better. 

    "It was desperate," he corrected them, however, keeping an arm around Fiona. "And we need to get rid of this pirate tireme."

    "Burn it?" suggested Annabeth.

   Percy glanced at the Diet Coke in his hand. "No. I've got another idea."

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

    a/n: percy, i love you. 

    also, writing this, i'm like. PERCY LOVE NO YOU'RE AMAZING AT SWORD FIGHTING YOU'RE LITERALLY THE BEST THE CAMP HAS SEEN SCREW CHRYSAOR! 

     heheh. bEHOLD, the GOds chOSEN bEVERAGE

    (this is short. but we're getting so close to the juicy stuff in rome. gahhhhhh i'm not ready)