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ALL TOO WELL

EXTRAS
[ M A G N U S   C H A S E   A N D
T H E   S H I P   O F   T H E   D E A D ]

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NATALIA FLYNN, ALTHOUGH a bit confused why Percy had dragged her with them, sat aboard the USS Constitution. It was the ship he was using to train Magnus Chase, cousin of Annabeth, to not die when falling into the ocean. Apparently Magnus was the son of a Norse God named Frey, which was all fun and dandy to Natalia, but the guy was immortal. She means he could die, and was already dead (that was just so mind-blowing to her), but as long as they got him in the boundaries of Hotel Valhalla, he would die and then be completely fine afterwards. That had only happened once so far when he broke every bone in his body.

She's seen some pretty weird stuff, but what the actual fuck.

Nevertheless, she was enjoying herself. It was a sunny day and the sea breeze felt good upon her skin. She sat next to Annabeth and Magnus' friend Alex Fierro (though she suspected they wanted to be more than just friends). Alex was good company and had apparently chosen take the role of a man today (he's gender fluid, got a problem with that?). Anyways, he was funny, and all three of them shared stupid stories of Magnus and Percy.

Percy and Magnus stood talking by the rail on the yardarm. It looked like Percy was giving Magnus the lowdown of why he needed to do this, yet Magnus looked absolutely terrified and didn't want to. Natalia found that extremely relatable. Magnus then glanced down at them.

"You got this, Magnus!" Annabeth cheered.

Alex gave him two thumbs up.

"I only met you this morning, but I already have faith in you!" Natalia called up.

Percy then jumped overboard in a perfect spread-eagle form. Natalia rolled her eyes. Show off. He surfaced with his palms raised and looked at Magnus. Annabeth, Natalia, and Alex clapped for Percy.

"Okay, Magnus!" Alex exclaimed. "Your turn! Be a man!"

"You got this, cuz!" Annabeth hollered.

Magnus jumped. He looked pretty calm and confident for a few seconds until something weird happened. A sword appeared out of thin air and Magnus flailed, landing in the cold water. Percy came back on board, looking down at the water in confusion. Suddenly Magnus was lurched upwards, landing on the deck gasping and shivering with the sword in his hand.

"Woah," Percy said while taking a step back. "That was different. You okay, Magnus?"

"Fine," Magnus coughed out.

Percy eyed the sword. "Where'd the sword come from?"

"Hi, I'm Jack!" the sword spoke.

The sword. The fucking sword was talking.

Annabeth stifled a yelp. "It talks?"

"A talking sword," Natalia mumbled. "A talking sword. That's it, I'm officially crazy."

"It?" the sword demanded. "Hey, lady, some respect. I'm a Sumarbrander! The Sword of Summer! The weapon of Frey! I've been around for thousands of years! Also, I'm a dude!"

Annabeth frowned at her cousin. "Magnus, when you told me about your magic sword, did you perhaps fail to mention that it — that he can speak?"

"Did I?" Magnus asked.

"Be polite, Magnus," Alex told him. "Introduce your friends to your sword."

"Uh, right. Jack, this is Percy, Annabeth, and Natalia. They're Demigods — the Greek kind."

"Hmm," Jack hummed, not sounding very impressed. "I met Hercules once."

"Who hasn't?" Annabeth murmured.

"Fair point. But I suppose if you're friends of Magnus' . . ." Suddenly, Jack went completely still. His runes even faded. He leaped out of Magnus' hand and flew towards Annabeth. "Where is she? Where are you hiding the babe?"

Annabeth moved to stand behind Natalia's back. "Woah, there, sword. Personal space!"

"Jack, behave," Alex scolded. "What are you doing?"

"She's around here somewhere," Jack insisted. He turned his attention to Natalia. "Do you have her? Take out your weapon!"

Natalia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She tapped her silver bracelet, making her silver bow appear in her hand and her quiver sling across her back.

Jack seemed a little intimidated by her weapon, but flew over towards Percy. "Aha! What's in your pocket, sea boy?"

"Excuse me?" Percy asked, a little nervous about the fact a sword was hovering above his waistline.

Alex lowered her Ray-Bans. "Okay, now I'm curious. What do you have in your pocket, Percy? Inquiring swords want to know."

"Is Jack talking about Riptide?" Natalia questioned.

Percy pulled out his ballpoint pen from his pocket. "You mean this?"

"BAM!" Jack shouted. "Who is this vision of loveliness?"

"Jack," Magnus cut in. "It's a pen."

"No, it's not! Show me! Show me!"

"Uh . . . sure." Percy uncapped his pen.

Immediately, Riptide sprung out, a three-foot-long blade of glowing Celestial Bronze. Next to Jack, Riptide looked almost petite, but Natalia knew better. She had seen Percy wield it on the battlefield and he was perfectly fine taking down monsters on his own.

Jack turned to face Magnus, his runes glowing burgundy. "See, Magnus? I told you it wasn't stupid to carry a sword designed as a pen!"

"Jack, I never said that!" Magnus protested. "You did."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing. So I guess this is the famous Riptide? Annabeth told me about it."

"Her," Jack corrected.

Annabeth frowned. "Percy's sword is a she?"

"Well, duh."

Natalia thought about it for a moment. "It oddly makes sense."

"I don't know," Percy replied. "Are you sure—?"

"Percy, respect the gender," Alex said.

"Okay, fine. It's just kinda strange that I never knew."

"On the other hand, you didn't know the pen could write until last year," Annabeth teased.

"That's low, Wise Girl."

"Anyway!" Jack interrupted. "The important thing is Riptide's here now, she's beautiful, and she's met me! Maybe the two of us can . . . you know . . . have some private time to talk about, er, sword stuff?"

Alex smirked. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. How about we let the swords get to know each other while the rest of us have lunch? Magnus, do you think you can handle eating falafel without choking?"

As they settled down for lunch, Natalia nudged Percy with her elbow. "Watch out, Percy. Your sword might have a boyfriend by the end of this trip."

"Ugh, that's so weird," Percy groaned. "And could you please put your bow away? I really don't want to be under your line of fire right now."

"Yeah, yeah." Natalia tapped her bow, and slipped her bracelet back on her wrist.

Alex watched in amazement. "Woah, where'd you get that? It's sick."

"I got it from my mother, Artemis, when she brought me to Camp when I was ten."

"But I thought Artemis—"

"Was a maiden Goddess?" Natalia finished. Alex nodded. "Well, she was. I'm the only exception. Don't worry, I get it a lot."

They began to eat their picnic lunch. Riptide and Jack were propped up in a coil of ropes. Percy's sword continued to act like an average inanimate sword, but Jack kept inching closer to her and chatting her up, his blade glowing the same Celestial Bronze color as her. Natalia watched in amusement as Jack continued to joke, flatter, and name-drop Gods, such as You know, Thor and Odin and I were at this tavern one time . . . She couldn't tell if Riptide was impressed. Riptide was only a sword after all.

Percy wadded up his falafel wrapper. Natalia blinked. He ate so fast.

"So," Percy began. "When do you guys sail out?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at Magnus. The blonde shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Soon," Magnus answered. "We don't exactly know where we're headed, or how long it'll take to get there—"

"Story of my life," Percy cut in.

"—but we have to find Loki's big nasty ship of death before it sails at Midsummer. It's docked somewhere along the border between Niflheim and Jotunheim. We're estimating it'll take a couple of weeks to sail that distance."

"Which means we really should've left already," Alex announced. "We definitely have to sail by the end of the week, ready or not."

Natalia could see underneath his dark lenses that Alex was worried. She understood. Natalia then turned back to Annabeth. Her long blonde curls were tied back into a ponytail, and she wore a dark blue t-shirt that had COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, UC BERKELEY in yellow letters.

"Heroes never get to be ready, do we?" Annabeth asked. "We just do the best we can."

Natalia shrugged. "It normally turns out all right."

"We haven't died yet," Percy added.

Annabeth elbowed him. "Though you keep trying."

Percy put his arm around her, and Annabeth nestled comfortably against his side. He softly kissed her head. Natalia smiled at the interaction. They were so comfortable with each other. It reminded her a lot of her own relationship with her own boyfriend, Jason Grace. Natalia was almost out of high school and Jason had one year left to go. That was the most dangerous time for Demigods and they had been able to survive. In the fall, Natalia would be attending college in New Rome at Camp Jupiter with Annabeth and Percy while Jason finished up his senior year. They could finally have a chance at a normal life . . . unless, you know, Magnus succeeded in his mission. It was just Natalia's luck that there were threats from other Gods.

"What about you guys?" Magnus questioned. "Straight back to New York today?"

"Yeah, but I have to get back to California tonight," Natalia replied.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "You're driving all the way back to California?"

"And be in the car with Moon Moon for more than a day?" Percy scoffed. "Absolutely not."

Natalia rolled her eyes and pushed his head to the side a little. Percy slapped her hand away.

"Gods, no," Natalia responded to Magnus. "I'll take my Pegasus, Treasure. He'll bring me back to my school in California. I was only visiting Camp for the weekend, but Percy and Annabeth will go back to Manhattan after dropping me off there."

Percy's face brightened. "I gotta babysit tonight. I'm psyched!"

Natalia smiled. Percy's baby sister was the cutest little girl ever. She'd only met her a couple of times, but so far, Estelle had loved her and Annabeth.

"That's right," Magnus remembered. "Your new baby sister. Congratulations, man. What's her name?"

"Estelle," Percy answered. "It was my grandmother's name. Um, on my mom's side, obviously. Not Poseidon's."

"I approve," Alex said. "Old-fashioned and elegant. Estelle Jackson."

"Well, Estelle Blofis," Percy corrected. "My stepdad is Paul Blofis. Not much I can do about that surname, but my little sis is awesome. Five fingers. Five toes. Two eyes. She drools a lot."

"Just like her brother," Annabeth commented.

Natalia laughed. She remembered the first time Percy came to Camp and how much he had drooled when he was unconscious. Annabeth had even told him, You drool when you sleep.

"Hey." Alex threw a piece of pita at a sulking Magnus. "Stop looking so glum."

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm looking forward to meeting Estelle someday, when we get back from our quest. And I appreciate you guys coming up to Boston. Really."

Percy glanced over at Jack, who was still flirting with Riptide. "Sorry I couldn't be more help. The sea is" — he shrugged — "kinda unpredictable."

Alex stretched his legs out. "At least Magnus fell a lot better the second time. If worse comes to worst, I can always turn into a dolphin and save his sorry butt."

Percy smirked a little. "You can turn into a dolphin?"

"I'm a child of Loki. Want to see?"

"No, I believe you." Percy gazed into the distance. "I've got a friend named Frank who's a shape shifter. He does dolphins. Also giant goldfish."

Natalia frowned. "I tried to contact him yesterday, but it's like my Iris-messages are getting blocked. I hope him, Hazel, and Reyna are doing all right."

"We'll make do," Magnus stated. "We've got a good team."

"That's important," Percy agreed. "Probably more important than having sea skills . . ."

He suddenly straightened up and furrowed his eyebrows. Natalia watched him with a questioning glance.

Annabeth unfolded herself from his side. "Uh-oh. I know that look. You've got an idea."

"I hope it's not another dumb one," Natalia voiced.

"Shut it, Tals. It's something my dad told me . . ."

Percy rose. He walked over to Riptide, interrupting Jack's story about how he once embroidered a Giant's bowling bag. Percy picked up his sword and studied its blade.

"Hey, man," Jack complained. "We were just starting to hit it off."

"Sorry, Jack." Percy pulled out his pen cap and touched it to the tip of his sword. Riptide shrank back into a ballpoint pen with a faint shink. "Poseidon and I had this conversation about weapons one time. He told me that all sea Gods have one thing in common: they're really vain and possessive when it comes to their magic items."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That sounds like every God we've met."

"True, but sea Gods even more so. Triton sleeps with his conch shell trumpet. Galatea spends most of her time polishing her magic seahorse saddle. And my dad is super paranoid about losing his trident."

"You're saying I'll have to use their own stuff against them," Magnus guessed.

"Right," Percy confirmed. "Also, what you said about having a good team — sometimes being the son of a sea God hasn't been enough to save me, even underwater. One time, my friend Jason and I got pulled to the bottom of the Mediterranean by this storm Goddess, Kymopoleia? I was useless. Jason saved my butt by offering to make trading cards and action figures of her."

Natalia's jaw dropped. "Woah, woah, woah, back it up."

Percy winced. "I knew I shouldn't have told you that."

"Jason?" she asked, a teasing smile on her face. "As in my boyfriend, Jason Grace? Blonde hair, blue eyes, cute smile, sixteen years old, about six feet tall—"

"Okay, okay, we get it."

"I can't believe this," Natalia laughed. "Sparky, the son of Jupiter, saves Fish-Boy, the son of Poseidon, at the bottom of the ocean."

"The point is," Percy urged, ignoring Natalia's slight laughs to herself. "Jason knew nothing about the ocean. He saved me anyway. It was kind of embarrassing."

Annabeth smirked. "I guess so. I never heard the details about that."

"But I am so glad you told me." Natalia leaned back on her palms. "You're never gonna live it down."

Percy's ears turned as pink as the jeans Alex was wearing. "Anyway, maybe we've been looking at this all wrong. I've been trying to teach you sea skills. But the most important thing is to use whatever you've got on hand — your team, your wits, the enemy's own magical stuff."

"And there's no way to plan for that," Magnus agreed.

"Exactly!" Percy exclaimed. "My work here is done!"

Annabeth frowned. "Percy, you're saying the best plan is no plan. As a child of Athena, I can't really endorse that."

"Yeah," Alex added. "And, personally, I still like my plan of turning into a sea mammal."

"I'm gonna be so honest with you, I literally don't know why I'm here right now," Natalia admitted. "But since I am, I'm gonna tell you one thing: that is literally the stupidest fucking idea I've probably ever heard. I'm no child of Athena, but Artemis also has her steps to figure out a problem. There's always a way."

Percy raised his hands. "All I'm saying is the most powerful Demigods of our generation are sitting right here, and one of them isn't me." He nodded to Annabeth. "Wise Girl can't shape shift or breathe underwater or talk to Pegasi. She can't fly, and she isn't super strong." He then nodded to Natalia. "And Moon Moon has some special moonlight powers and is absolutely wicked with her bow, but she's just like Annabeth. They're crazy smart and good at improvising, especially when they work together. That's what makes them deadly. Doesn't matter whether they're on land, in water, in the air, or in Annabeth's case, Tartarus. Magnus, you were training with me all weekend. I think you should've been training with Annabeth and Natalia instead."

Natalia's heart warmed. She had no idea Percy thought that about her.

She reached over and ruffled his hair. "Aw, you do love me, Fish-Boy."

"Yeah, yeah, well don't go telling people," Percy muttered, straightening his hair out. "I don't want anybody getting the wrong idea."

Annabeth was silent for a moment. "Okay, that was sweet." She kissed Percy on the cheek.

Alex nodded. "Not bad, Seaweed Brain."

"Don't you start with that nickname, too," Percy murmured.

Suddenly, a deep rumbling sound of warehouse doors rolling open came from the wharf. Voices echoed off the sides of the building.

"That's our cue to leave," Magnus announced. "This ship just got back from dry dock. They're reopening it to the public tonight in a big ceremony."

"Yeah. The Glamour won't obscure our presence once the whole crew is aboard," Alex warned.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Glamour? You mean like your outfit?"

Alex snorted. "No. Glamour as in illusion magic. It's the force that clouds the vision of regular mortals."

"Oh, like the Mist," Natalia said.

Annabeth tugged on the ends of Natalia's hair gently. "Whatever we call it, we'd better hurry. Help me clean up."

They all cleaned up their wrappers from lunch. Just as they all reached the bottom of the gangplank, the first group of sailors were arriving. Jack the sword floated ahead of them, singing Walk Like a Man in such a terrible falsetto that Natalia thought her ears were going to bleed. Meanwhile, Alex changed form from a cheetah to a wolf to a flamingo. The sailors gave them blank looks and kept their distance. Just to be sure, Natalia snapped her fingers and bent the Mist so they wouldn't see what they were actually doing. Nobody challenged them.

Once they were clear of the docks, Natalia noticed Jack turn into a runestone pendant and Magnus reattach him to a chain around his neck. She had to admit that was pretty cool.

Percy turned back to Magnus as they walked on Constitution Road. "What was that back there — the shape shifting, the singing sword? Were you trying to get caught?"

"Nah," Magnus responded. "If you flaunt the weird magical stuff, it confuses mortals even more. It kind of short circuits mortal brains, makes them avoid you."

"Huh." Annabeth shook her head. "All these years sneaking around, and we could've just been ourselves?"

"You should always do that." Alex was back in human form, yet he still had some flamingo feathers stuck in his hair. "And you have to flaunt the weird, my friends."

"That's a really great quote." Natalia nudged him with her elbow. "We should put it on a t-shirt."

Alex raised his hand for a high-five, which Natalia happily obliged to. "Let's do it."

They stopped at the corner, where Percy's car, a Toyota Prius, was parked at a meter. Natalia shook hands with Magnus and gave Alex a hug.

Annabeth took Magnus by his shoulders, her gray eyes flashing with concern. "Take care of yourself, Magnus. You will come back safely. That's an order."

"Yes, ma'am," Magnus promised. "We Chases have to stick together."

"Speaking of that . . ." She lowered her voice, and Magnus and Annabeth had a conversation that Natalia couldn't quite hear.

The three Greek Demigods then walked back to the Prius. Natalia got in the back seat and buckled her seatbelt as Percy began to drive off. He immediately turned on the radio and a Led Zeppelin song blasted from it. Percy joined in with the singing, but his voice was horrible. Annabeth laughed at him.

"Oh, Gods," Natalia groaned, putting her head in her hands. "I'm never going to survive this car ride."

Despite her acting annoyed, she was having the time of her life. Natalia Flynn had never been happier, but a feeling in the back of her heart told her she wouldn't be for much longer.

★彡

apparently I like inflicting pain upon myself by making natalia's heart break. sorry y'all, the next "extras" scene is the burning maze. prepare yourselves.