STORMS AND ALL

"how about no"

     LEO HAD ANCHORED the Argo II a quarter of a mile out to sea.

Percy—god, she loved that boy—had to hold Annabeth back from slapping the shit out of the daughter of Dionysus when she had told her best friend with a grin about her fight with the goddess Nike. Apparently, the girl didn't appreciate Ariadne picking fights with anymore immortal figures after just escaping the literal birthplace of monsters, nor the assortment of golden blood splatter on her clothes.

Grover had fretted, knocking a tin can into Ariadne's head, and she huddled in a ball in the corner of the deck while cradling her head. A scared and angry Grover was scary, and Percy was no help, as he laughed at her.

Piper and Frank had been sent to investigate Pylos port. Currently, Ariadne was helping her boyfriend reset the ship's desk, raveling ropes and hanging them on the hooks against the wooden walls. She admired Percy working. He did it with no effort, hauling the heaviest of items over his shoulder, arms flexing and she was caught up in staring rather than helping.

Piper and Frank had arrived back to the ship and shared a hug. It was sweet, the way most of them grew close.

The crew gathered for a hurried meeting on the foredeck—mostly because Percy was keeping an eye on a giant red sea serpent off the port side.

"That thing is really red," Percy muttered. "I wonder if it's cherry-flavored."

"Why don't you swim over and find out?" Annabeth asked.

"How about no."

Ariadne raised an eyebrow at the duo and sighed. They were at each other's throats sometimes, but what brother-sister duo wasn't?

"Anyway," Frank said, "according to my Pylos cousins, the chained god we're looking for in Sparta is my dad...uh, I mean Ares, not Mars. Apparently the Spartans kept a statue of him chained up in their city so the spirit of war would never leave them.

"Oo-kay," Leo said. "The Spartans were freaks. Of course, we've got Victory tied up downstairs so I guess we can't talk."

Jason leaned against the forward ballista. "On to Sparta, then. But how does a chained god's heartbeat help us find a cure for dying?"

Hazel mentioned something about visions, but Piper was dazed.

"Piper?" Hazel asked.

She stirred. "Sorry, what?"

"I was asking you about the visions," Hazel prompted. "You told me you'd seen some stuff in your anger blade?"

"Uh...right." Piper reluctantly unsheathed Katoptris. Ever since she'd used it to stab the snow goddess Khione, the visions in the blade had become colder and harsher, like images etched in ice. She'd seen eagles swirling over Camp Half-Blood, a wave of earth destroying New York, a hand reaching from the ground. She'd seen scenes from her past: her father beaten and bound at the top of Mount Diablo, Ariadne and Percy fighting giants in the Roman Colosseum, the river god Achelous reaching out for her, pleading for the cornucopia she'd cut from his head. "I, um...I don't see anything right now. But one vision kept popping up. Annabeth and I are exploring some ruins."

"Ruins!" Leo rubbed his hands. "Now, we're talking. How many ruins can there be in Greece?"

"Quiet, Leo," Annabeth scolded. "Piper, do you think it was Sparta?"

"Maybe," Piper said. "Anyway...suddenly we're in this dark place like a cave. We're staring at this bronze warrior statue. In the vision I touch the statue's face and flames start swirling around us. That's all I saw."

"Flames." Frank scowled. "I don't like that vision."

"Me neither." Percy kept one eye on the red sea serpent, which was still slithering through the waves about a hundred yards to port. "If the statue engulfs people in fire, we should send Leo."

"I love you too, man."

"You know what I mean. You're immune. Or, heck, give me some of those nice water grenades and I'll go. Ares and I have tangled before."

Annabeth stared at the coastline of Pylos, now retreating in the distance. "If Piper saw the two of us going after the statue, then that's who should go. We'll be all right. There's always a way to survive."

"Not always," Hazel warmed.

Ariadne and the younger girl shared a look of mutual understanding. They were the only ones in the group who had actually died and come back to life (Ariadne, multiple times), and their observation sort of killed the mood.

Grover pointed to the vial of Pylosian mint in Frank's hand. "What about that stuff? I really don't want anyone drinking poison anymore."

"Store it securely in the hold," Ariadne said. "For now, that's all we can do. Once we figure out the chained god situation, we'll head to the island of Delos."

"The curse Of Delos," Hazel remembered. "That sounds fun."

"Hopefully Apollo will be there," Annabeth said. "Delos was his home island. He's the god of medicine. He should be able to advise us."

Off the port bow, the cherry-flavored sea serpent spewed steam.

"Yeah, it's definitely checking us out," Percy decided. "Maybe we should take to the air for a while."

"It took you that long to figure it out?" Ariadne asked Percy casually, giving him an irked look.

Percy only tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and began walking down the stairs. Their crew watched as she hit his back and made him cry out in pain, almost dropping her, therefore making them trip on the stairs and they fell down. Ariadne yelled at her boyfriend before she was silenced.

Yeah, Ariadne was okay.

***

     AFTER DINNER, WHERE Leo had made his "famous three-alarm tofu tacos", Ariadne, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover sat in the brunnette's room. 

Ariadne leaned against the bed with Percy beside her, head on her shoulder as he cleaned Riptide with a soft cloth. Grover was on his stomach with his reed pipes in hand as he played a small tune of hope, and Annabeth was trying to sleep on her sheets, but her friends weren't helping.

"Grover," Annabeth said, "I love you, but do you need to do that now?"

The satyr pursed his lips. "Sorry. But we need as much hope as we can get right now." 

It was silent for a few minutes and Ariadne took the time to reminisce on their group. Five years ago they were barely keeping it from screaming their arguments, and now all four were sitting in one room, missing each other because of life. The last time they were like this was the previous December when all four (plus Andrea and Thalia) took a trip to see Christmas lights before Percy had gone missing. She could recall Grover getting his horns stuck in the strings, forcing Percy to start unwrapping his best friend, only to end up entangled, too. Thalia was busy laughing and taking photos to show the Hunters, Andrea stopping Annabeth from tripping them, and Ariadne was on the ground as she cackled a lung from her body. That memory brought a smile to her face.

Ariadne snorted into the open air as one thought crossed her mind. 

Percy side eyed his girlfriend before placing the cap back on Riptide. He positioned his head upright and nudged her shoulder.

"What's so funny?" the son of Poseidon asked.

"I'm just recalling what I told you the Pegasus bay reminded me of," she said. Purple eyes darted to Annabeth who grumbled about being quiet. "Remember? I said they reminded me of that stupid truck holding those animals on our first quest."

Grover nodded excitedly. He fiddled with his reed pipes. "I was just thinking about how young we were back then."

Percy looked at him incredulously. "Dude! You were twenty-four! How could you spring that on me?"

"I thought your mom told you!" Grover cried, slapping Percy's foot with his hand. "But man, did I want to hit you and Ari every time you guys fought."

Ariadne gasped mockingly. She reached behind her body and slapped Annabeth's leg, hard. She didn't stop until Annabeth rose from her slumber and tugged on her hair, forcing her head into the end post of the bed. Ariadne shuddered at the heavy sensation but kept a glare on her best friend. 

The blonde finally looked at them. "What do you need?"

"Join us!" Ariadne told her. Despite getting knocked in the head, and Percy cradling her skull carefully to ensure about damage, the girl was vibrant in the room. "You're being so moody."

"We're on a quest that could very well end the world."

Percy shrugged. "So?"

He shuffled Ariadne between his legs and tangled them. Keeping her back to his chest, he pressed a few light kisses to her hairline while Grover sat before them, Annabeth moving to his left. Their rag tagged group finally all together again like at the Half-Blood bonfires back home. Minus the s'mores, singing, and centaur camp director. 

Ariadne's head began to sting lightly. The headaches had been more frequent since Tartarus, no surprise. Her head was radiating pain most of the day and only so much nectar and amortenia could fix her wounds properly before she struggled. They would come in fluctuations that became quicker as the due date for the rising of Gaea approached, and she knew that wasn't a good sign. Her lips dug into her cheek, tasting blood on her tongue to hold off the hisses in her throat, but Grover noticed. He always did. 

"Ari?" Grover asked quietly. "Do you need more ambrosia? Nectar?"

At her silence he continued. 

"I can play a song to help you sleep, see if the pain ends there?"

Annabeth shook her head at the brunette. "How bad have they been?"

"Bad," Ariadne replied. Her voice was muffled while buried in Percy's ams, which the boy tightened at her response. His fingers moved to her temple and applied pressure but it only alleviated some of her pain. She gritted her teeth and gave her friends a wary stare, eyes blinking at the sudden surroundings behind them.

Dark, red sky, ashy taste on her tongue and she panicked, head throbbing before her vision went purple and she was back. Ariadne hardened her look, Annabeth and Grover standing up as they knew what that look meant, the blonde patting her arm and leaving, the satyr squeezing her tightly and muttering some sort of prayer for health, hooves clopping out the door. Percy stood and shut the door, locking it for good measure incase she has another episode and starts swinging on people like last time (Poor Frank had been so scared when he collided with a fighting Ariadne). 

Her boyfriend tucked her beneath the purple covers and sat next to her, slipping a cool hand to her forehead, and when the pain subsided, Ariadne slipped unconscious.

The Acropolis. 

It rose four hundred feet over the nighttime sprawl of modern Athens, the sheer cliffs were topped with a crown of limestone walls. On the clifftop, a collection of ruined temples and modern cranes gleamed silver in the moonlight. 

In her dream, Ariadne flew above the Parthenon--the ancient temple of Athena, the left side of its hollow shell encased in metal scaffolding. 

The Acropolis seemed devoid of mortals, perhaps because of the financial problems in Greece. Or perhaps Gaia's forces had arranged some pretext to keep the tourists and construction workers away. Ariadne's view zoomed to the center of the temple. So many giants had gathered there it looked like a cocktail party for redwood trees. A few Ariadne recognized: those horrible twins from Rome and the Bane of her father. Otis and Ephialtes, dressed in matching construction worker outfits; Polybotes, looking just as Percy had described him, with poison dripping from his dreadlocks and a breastplate sculpted to resemble hungry mouths; worst of all, Enceladus, the giant who she had fought and destroyed Lunacy to stop. His armor was etched with flame designs, his hair braided with bones. His flagpole-sized sea burned with purple fire.

She knew of the twelve giants who opposed a particular god, but there was way more than twelve giants gathered in the Parthenon. Ariadne counted at least twenty and, if that wasn't intimidating enough, around the giants' feet milled a horde of smaller monsters--Cyclopes, ogres, six-armed Earthborn and serpent-legged dracaenae.

In the center of the crowd stood an empty, makeshift throne of twisted scaffolding and stone blocks apparently yanked at random from the ruins.

Ariadne watched, a new giant lumbered up the steps at the far end of the Acropolis. He wore a massive velour tracksuit with gold chains around his neck and greased-back hair, so he looked like a thirty-foot-tall-mobster--if mobsters had dragon feet and burnt-orange skin. The mafia giant ran towards the Parthenon and stumbled inside, flattening several Earthborn under his feet. He stopped, gasping for breath at the foot of the throne.

"Where is Porphyrion?" he demanded. "I have news!"

Ariadne's old enemy Enceladus stepped forward. "Tardy as usual, Hippolytos. I hope your news is worth the wait. King Porphyrion should be..."

The ground between them split. An even larger giant leaped from the earth like a breaching whale. 

"King Porphyrion is here," announced the king.

He looked just like Ariadne remembered from the Wolf House in Sonoma. Forty feet tall, he towered over his brethren. In fact, Ariadne realized, he was the same size as the Athena Parthenon that had once dominated the temple. Her stomach turned queasy in remembrance of the statue. In his seaweed colored braids, captured demigod weapons glittered. His face was cruel and pale green, his eyes as white as the Mist. His body radiated its own sort of gravity, causing the other monsters to lean towards him. Soil and pebbles skittered across the ground, pulled towards his massive dragon feet. 

The mobster giant Hippolytus kneeled. "My king, I bring word of the enemy!"

Porphyrion took his throne. "Speake"

"The demigod ship sails around the Peloponnese. Already they have destroyed the ghosts at Ithaca and captured the goddess Nike in Olympia!"

The crowd of monsters stirred uneasily. A Cyclops chewed his fingernails. Two dracaenae exchanged coins like they were taking bets for the End-of-the-World office sweepstake. 

Porphyrion just laughed. "Hippolytus, do you wish to kill your enemy Hermes and become messenger of the giants?"

"Yes, my king!"

"Then you will have to bring fresher news. I know all this already. None of it matters! The demigods have taken the route we expected them to take. They would have been fools to go any other way."

"But, sire, they will arrive at Sparta by morning! If they manage to unleash the makhai--" 

"Idiot!" Porphyrion's voice shook the ruins. "Our brother Mimas awaits them at Sparta. You need not worry. The demigods cannot change their fate. One way or another, their blood shall be spilled upon these stones and wake the Earth Mother!"

The crowd roared approval and brandished their weapons. Hippolytus bowed and retreated, but another giant approached the throne. 

This one was female. Not that it was easy to tell. The giantess had the same dragon-like legs and the same long braided hair. She was just as tall and burly as the males, but her breastplate was definitely fashioned for a woman. Her voice was higher and reedier.

"Father!" she cried. "I ask again: Why here, in this place? Why not the slopes of Mount Olympus itself? Surely--"

"Periboia," the king growled, "the matter is settled. The original Mount Olympus is now a barren peak. It offers us no glory. Here, in the centre of the Greek world, the roots of the gods truly run deep. There may be older temples, but this Parthenon holds their memory best. In the minds of mortals, it is the most powerful symbol of the Olympians. When the blood of the last heroes is spilled here, the Acropolis shall be razed. This hill shall crumble, and the entire city shall be consumed by the Earth Mother. We will be the masters of Creation!"

The crowd hollered and howled, but the giantess Periboia didn't look convinced. 

"You tempt fate, Father," she said. "The demigods have friends here as well as enemies. It is not wise--"

"WISE?" Porphyrion rose from his throne. All the giants took a step back. "Enceladus, my counsellor, explain to my daughter what wisdom is!"

The fiery giant came forward. His eyes glowed like diamonds. Ariadne loathed his face. 

"You need not worry, princess," Enceladus said. We have taken Delphi. Apollo was driven out of Olympus in shame. The future is closed to the gods. They stumble forward blindly. As for tempting fate..." He gestured to his left, and a smaller giant shuffled forward. He had ratty grey hair, a wrinkled face and eyes that were milky with cataracts. Instead of armor, he wore a tattered sackcloth tunic. His dragon-scale legs were as white as frost. 

Other monsters kept their distance. Even Porphyrion leaned away from the old giant. 

"This is Thoon," Enceladus said. "Just as many of us were born to kill certain gods, Thoon was born to kill the Three Fates. He will strangle the old ladies with his bare hands. He will shred their yarn and destroy their loom. He will destroy Fate itself!"

King Porphyrion rose and spread his arms in triumph. "No more prophecies, my friends! No more futures foretold! The time of Gaia shall be our era, and we will make our own destiny!"

The crowd cheered so loudly that Ariadne felt as if she were crumbling to pieces. And, when waking, her heart felt heavy, her soul on fire, and she could only pray the pain in her head stayed away. 

***

     WHEN SHE RECOUNTED her dream for Percy, the ship's toilets exploded. Apparently, her boyfriend didn't appreciate his girlfriend (and Piper) having dreams about a giants' meeting. Ariadne pinched the bridge of her nose as Grover complained to his best friend about his sopping hooves. 

"No way are you two going down there alone," Percy said to Annabeth and Piper. 

Leo ran down the hall waving a wrench. "Man, did you have to destroy the plumbing?"

It's kind of his thing, Ariadne said to herself. She wrapped an arm around Grover who was sulking about being ignored by Percy, seeming to be feeling the demigod boy's nerves through the link the two had. She had to ask how weird it was for him to have that when Percy was amnesic. 

Water ran down the gangway. The hull rumbled as more pipes burst and sinks overflowed. Ariadne guessed Percy hadn't meant to cause so much damage, but his glowering expression made her know this conversation wouldn't be pretty. 

"We'll be alright," Annabeth told him. "Piper foresaw the two of us going down there, so that's what needs to happen."

Percy glared at Piper like it was her fault. "And this Mimas dude? I'm guessing he's a giant?"

"Probably," Ariadne said. "Porphyrion called him our brother."

"And a bronze statue surrounded by fire," Percy said. "And those...other things you mentioned. Mackies?"

"Makhai," Piper said. 

"It means battles in Greek," Grover commented, "but I don't know how that applies, exactly."

"That's my point!" Percy said. "We don't know what's down there. Someone needs to go with you."

All eyes went to Ariadne who stared back blankly. Being underground again, in the dark and surrounded by heat, sounded exactly like her nightmares because of Tartarus, and Grover even began clacking his hooves against the wooden floor beneath them in anxiety. The poor satyr probably remembered the Labyrinth. Annabeth sensed the look behind her purple eyes and stepped up.

"No." Annabeth held her hand up to stop him. "If the giants want our blood, the last thing we need is a boy and Ariadne down there together. Remember? They want one of each for their big sacrifice."

"Then I'll get Jason," Percy said. "And the two of us--"

"Kelp Head, are you implying that two boys can handle this better than two girls?" Ariadne questioned, moving to Percy's side and elbowing it. 

"No. I mean...no. But--"

Ariadne kissed him. "Then shush."

"We'll be back before you know it," Annabeth reassured. 

Piper followed her upstairs before the whole lower deck could flood with toilet water. 

Ariadne was fighting for life as she clung to a wooden mast on the ship. It tilted violently. Cutting through the roar of the wind, the goddess Nike screamed from the stables: "YOU CAN DO BETTER, STORM! GIVE ME A HUNDRED AND TEN PERCENT!"

Hazel had already run off for the bathroom, holding her stomach, and Grover gave up playing his reed pipes for a calming song due to the wind, and settled on helping Percy tie everything down. He would check on Ariadne every now and then, who was still shuddering against the pelting rain on her skin, no help with the pounding headache in her skull that seemed to rattle like the sky behind her eyes. She squeezed them shut with there was a particularly loud crack of wind on the boat. 

A wave of a skyscraper crashed over the forward deck, washing the front crossbows and half the port railing out to sea. The sails were ripped to shreds. Lightning flashed all around, hitting the sea like spotlights. Horizontal ran blasted her in the face. Leo had latched himself to the console with a bungee cord harness above her. That might have seemed like a good idea when rigged up, but every time a wave hit he was washed away, then smacked back into his control board like a human paddleball. 

Piper and Annabeth (who had not yet managed to recount their story) were trying to save the rigging. Since Sparta they'd become quite a team--able to work together without even talking. Ariadne wouldn't necessarily ever be jealous, but seeing as everyone on deck pretty much benched all her efforts due to her pain, she had a bit of the feeling brewing in her stomach at not being of any use, or helping her own best friend. Frank had turned into a gorilla. He was swinging upside down off the starboard rail, using his massive strength and his flexible feet to hang on while he untangled some broken oars. They had tried to get the ship airborne, but, even if they managed to take off, it wouldn't have been any safer. Even Festus was trying to help. He spewed fire at the rain, though that didn't seem to discourage the storm. 

Ariadne gave up on her pain and let go of the mast. She rushed to her boyfriend--well, more like tilted with the ship--and held onto the mast beside him. His ocean eyes widened, and he shouted something at her, but she only forced his head back to the waves, and he relented. Grover handed her a rope for some rigging and they worked together, ignoring the smell of wet goat filtering in through her nose, and let out a sound of disapproval at the sight of Jason up and walking around. 

He was focused on Percy. The boy held his hands extended like he was on a tightrope. Every time the ship tilted, he pushed the opposite direction and the hull stabilized. He summoned giant fists of water from the ocean to slam into the larger waves before they could reach the deck, so it looked like the ocean was hitting itself repeatedly in the face. 

The blond grabbed Percy's shoulder. 

Percy nodded like 'sup. He didn't look shocked, or demanded Jason to go back to the sickbay, which he appreciated. 

Her boyfriend could stay dry if he concentrated, but obviously he had bigger things to worry about right now. His dark hair was plastered to his face. His clothes were soaked and ripped. 

He shouted something in Jason's ear, but Ariadne couldn't make out anything. Ariadne pulled herself and Grover to the mast behind them, letting the satyr lock onto her arm while she locked onto Percy's other shoulder. 

Percy pointed over the side. 

Jason asked something, but Ariadne only pointed to their ears while Percy grinned. He made a gesture with his hand like diving overboard. Then he tapped Jason on the chest. The girl already didn't like this plan and motioned Percy to her, but he only shook his head and started off, Jason not far behind. The son of Poseidon ran to the starboard rail, pushed another massive wave away from the ship and jumped overboard. 

Ariadne screamed, "No!" 

She rushed after the two boys but Grover yanked her body backward, avoiding a tidal wave about to crash into her form. The girl struggled relentlessly in his arms, and proved difficult for him, and Ariadne wondered if this is what Percy felt when she dropped herself and Annabeth into Tartarus weeks ago--the agony, the burning pain of torment at the sight of seeing her love go overboard into a massive sea storm that could kill them all. Yes, his father ruled the seas, and yes, they possibly had faced worse, but everything now was so much more terrifying knowing that there was no prophecy predicting he would die by sixteen, anymore. 

No more than five minutes later, had the storm died down into nothing. The sun poked through small dots before bursting into the scene, and Ariadne felt the ship steady on open waters. Frank was still forced to hold onto her shoulders with pear paws, as she wrestled his gorilla form to the ground and almost threw herself overboard. She waited for a sign of life from the two forbidden children on board and saw a tuft of blond hair poke from the sea's surface. A cyclone of wind and air erupted from the mild waves and launched two bodies onto the deck, dropping them and dissipating completely. 

Ariadne was already hugging Percy before he had a chance to fully take a breath, gripping his body so tight he swore he was being wrangled by a snake. The girl sniffled into his shoulder, sopping curls tickling his cheek and he hugged her back. His tan arms looped around her waist and kissed the spots he could reach on her neck. Percy knew the feeling of fear, and they both couldn't stop it from erupting an anger in the two soulmates. 

Grover also joined the two, scolding Percy for such drastic measures but expressed his happiness he was okay. 

The pain in her head raged, reminding her of their inner clock--five days.

Five days until the world ended, possibly. 

authors note:

I know this is months late. Things have just been so difficult recently. As you all may have guessed, I started college, and it's been a journey. Many ups and downs, but I went to New York for Christmas! It was amazing, and I went on the top of the Empire State Building at night and did everything a tourist would accomplish. 

I'm nineteen now, and recently, my grandfather passed away. It was a shock, and so sudden, but I'm doing better. It's my goal to get this book finished for you guys for closure. I will be writing a "final" chapter, but there will be the continuation of the Chalice of the Gods trilogy between, but I want all the books to be released first. I am also planning on releasing a book of Ariadne and Percy based on the tv show. Thank you @saturnsstar for helping me. 

Many people may not be interested in Ariadne anymore, and I completely understand. I've taken too much time between chapters and it's inconsistent, and for that, I'm sorry. Just know I'm trying to do better. I've also gotten back into my Red Queen phase so idk if something will come from that. 

Any ideas on what I should do for the tv book?

Q: What has been the best thing to happen to you recently? Big or small, it does not matter

A: I may get one of my grandpa's old jackets (one of his favorites)

Thank you all

Love you