RED ¹ / Percy Jackson !

46

VIVIENE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS THINKING. Plunging into the water knowing full well she had no idea how to swim.Well, she did know how to swim, but she was awful considering her fear of waters from childhood.

Thankfully, Poseidon answered her prayers and decided to help. Viviene held her breath as a shark approached her. 

He will lead you to Annabeth, daughter of Ares. Poseidon spoke in her mind.

Viviene got onto the sharks back and the shark swam.  The shark jumped out of the water and  Viviene came to the surface and spotted Annabeth, but a wave caught her, sweeping her between two razor-sharp fangs of rock. 

"Go there!" Viviene told the shark. She tightly held onto his neck as he swam towards  Annabeth.

The shark jetted between the two rock fangs and Viviene  found herself in a half-moon-shaped bay. The water was choked with more rocks and ship wreckage and floating mines. The beach was black volcanic sand.

Let go off the shark, Poseidon spoke into her mind.

Are you mental, lord Poseidon?

You'll be floating, Viviene. Poseidon chuckled into her mind. I wouldn't kill my sons crush.

Viviene blushed and was thankful his son didn't follow her. She did as the God said, letting go off the shark and petting him. She suddenly shot upwards, and she really was floating.

"VIVIENE!" Percy yelled loudly. The girl turned around and saw Percy approaching her, swimming quickly. As soon as he reached her he hit her head. "Never do that again!"and pulled her into a quick hug. 

They  looked around desperately for Annabeth.

There she was.

Luckily or unluckily, she was a strong swimmer. She'd made it past the mines and the rocks. Shewas almost to the black beach.

Then the mist cleared and they saw them-the Sirens.Imagine a flock of vultures the size of people-with dirty black plumage, gray talons, and wrinkled pink necks. Now imagine human heads on top of those necks, but the human heads keep changing.

Viviene and Percy  couldn't hear them, but they could see they were singing. As their mouths moved, their faces morphed into people the daughter of Ares knew very well- Ares and Daphne holding hands, Blake, Flynn , Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Elodie.

They smiled reassuringly, inviting them forward. But no matter what shape they took,their mouths were greasy and caked with the remnants of old meals. Like vultures, they'd been eating with their faces, and it didn't look like they'd been feasting on Monster Donuts.

Annabeth swam toward them.

Viviene moved forward, but Percy grabbed her waist.

I'm sorry, he mouthed. It's too dangerous for you, I'll get her.

Viviene looked at him in confusion before she felt a wave scoop her up and send her straight onto their boat.

"Perseus!" Viviene yelled loudly in anger. "Oh, the guts of that boy!" Viviene grumbled.

As soon as Annabeth appeared on the ship, Percy gave her over to Viviene. Viviene embraced Annabeth, cradling her head to her chest, not caring Annabeth was ruining her dress with her wet tears.

They  sailed until the island was completely out of sight, Viviene hugging Annabeth tightly.

Annabeth sat huddled in a blanket on the forward deck. Finally she looked up, dazed and sad, and mouthed, safe.

Percy and Viviene both took out the earplugs. No singing. The afternoon was quiet except for the sound of the waves against the hull. The fog had burned away to a blue sky, as if the island of the Sirens had never existed.

"You okay?" Percy  asked. 

"I didn't realize," she murmured.

"What?"

Her eyes were the same color as the mist over the Sirens' island. "How powerful the temptation would be."

"I saw the way you rebuilt Manhattan," Percy told her. "Blake, Luke and your parents."

"Whoa, time out!" Viviene looked at Annabeth." Blake?!"

She blushed. "You saw that?"

"What Luke told you back on the Princess Andromeda, about starting the world from scratch ...that really got to you, huh?"

She pulled her blanket around her. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."

Percy blinked. "That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"

"No, Seaweed Brain. That's hummus. Hubris is worse." Viviene rolled her eyes at him.

"What could be worse than hummus?"

"Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else ... eventhe gods."

"You feel that way?"

"Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if wecould do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."

"I'm listening."

"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did-that's why the fire is stillburning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better.' Don't you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"

"Um ... no. Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."

"Then you're lucky. Hubris isn't your fatal flaw."

"What is?"

"I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it ... well,they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."

"So was it worth it?" Percy asked Annabeth. "Do you feel ... wiser?"

She gazed into the distance. "I'm not sure. But we have to save the camp. If we don't stop Luke..."

She didn't need to finish. If Luke's way of thinking could even tempt Annabeth, there was notelling how many other half-bloods might join him.

They stayed in silence for a bit, Annabeth still hugging her Best friend Viviene with a blanket covering them.

"Guys." Suddenly Annabeth's eyes widened.

They turned.Up ahead was another blotch of land-a saddle-shaped island with forested hills and white beaches and green meadows.

They had reached the home of the Cyclops.