The Animal Within

Chapter 49 - Scorpio

As far as plans went, Percy trusted Annabeth to come through for him.

Disembarking from the Argo II right above the Acropolis could cause problems, since Percy doubted that the Giants would wait for them to leave the trireme and find their footing before attacking. Leo set down the Argo II in the open stretch between Hadrian's Arch and Zeus' Temple. Percy stared at the remnants of the old temple, only a few pillars remaining though they were large. There was a rustling from above him, and Percy craned his head back to see Aquila had settled down on the mast and was watching Percy with beady and hungry eyes.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the eagle, and he could have sworn that Aquila narrowed his straight back. "That eagle's freaking me out," he said.

Jason nodded slightly. "Me too." He sighed, turning his eyes away from Aquila and back towards his armour he was slipping on. Percy shifted in his own, not really used to the metal encasing his shoulders any longer. Percy wasn't even sure if it would stop a blow from a Giant – there was a high chance that any impact would smash his bones with or without the armour.

Percy took a deep breath, fingering Riptide in his pocket. "You ready for this?" He asked quietly, nerves running high. There would be a moment when Percy would settle and everything would calm down, but until then he was tense.

"No," Jason admitted. "You?"

Percy shook his head. "No." He snorted softly. "The fate of the world once again."

"It sucks," Jason agreed.

"Oh, definitely," Percy mused. "But I couldn't care less about the world." He offered Jason a small smile. "No, I'm doing this for my friends."

"We all ready to go?" Frank asked, bow slung over his shoulder. He gave Percy a wary look, no doubt remembering that Percy had caused someone to choke on their own blood only a short while before. "You look better."

"Thanks," Percy muttered. He grimaced slightly. "It's been... a rough few weeks," Percy added.

Frank nodded slightly. "Yeah, definitely. I'll be glad when I get back to New Rome."

Percy nodded slightly, though his thoughts were more on his mother. "Home would be nice," he agreed. Perhaps it was recent events, but Percy found his mind on Alabaster Torrington. From what the son of Hecate had claimed he had no home anymore. What were him and the rest of Kronos' displaced army doing while Percy was trying to save the world with his friends?

The son of Poseidon didn't know, and he found that worried him.

"Where are the girls?" Percy asked Leo once he'd materialized at their side.

Leo grimaced. "Piper saw something in that knife... creepy stuff."

"What was creepy?" Percy asked. "The knife?"

"Is she alright?" Jason asked, shifting slightly and looking more than prepared to rush back onto the Argo II. Percy rolled his eyes.

"They'll be fine," Percy said. "The knife won't suddenly attack them. Aquila, on the other hand..." The eagle paused in his self-care, a few twisted or broken feathers in his beak which he'd plucked from the underside of a wing. He chittered at Percy, unsurprisingly clearly recognising his own name and that he was the topic of discussion. Percy imitated the sound back at the bloody bird and Aquila recoiled sharply, flaring his giant wings out as he screeched in response and dropped his feathers. The eagle looked even more irritated, going from his reaction. His sharp, celestial bronze talons gauged marks into the ancient marble pillar he was settled on.

Percy spared a moment of sympathy for the archaeologist to discover the blatant damage to the ancient Greek remnant.

"He wants to eat you," Jason stated. "Specifically your intestines."