On Board (Pirate AU)

Chapter Six - Haha, Nice Joke. Wait, You Really Killed Him?

Nico POV

The Argo II was quiet until they all burst into my cabin for a quick meeting. Or, what was supposed to be a quick meeting.

I growled in frustration. "Percy, leave my cabin right now if you insist on arguing. We're not keeping him. He's not a lost puppy you found, for God's sake."

Percy splayed both just hands on my desk. "No, he's a doctor. He's someone who could keep us alive, Nico. If you make me return him, I'll just go get another."

At least then it wouldn't be Sun-boy. "You will not."

"I thought you guys were done kidnapping people," Sun-boy said.

"We are," Percy answered. "But Annabeth got sick last year, and then we all got sick, and we almost died. So we need a doctor. It's serious. I'm sorry, Will, but you have to stay."

Will. That had been his name. Will Solace, the boy with sun-gold hair.

"He does not, and I'm not arguing with you about this," I told him. "I'm serious. Leave if you can't control your mouth. As I was saying before you interrupted, I think our best option is to sail to Rontmion for supplies, and try to figure if the weather will be good to sail south again after that. If it is, then we just have to backtrack to Honnet again, and you'll be back home, Will."

"How long will the journey take?" He asked.

Jason tapped his fingers. "I would give it two weeks, if the weather is good."

"And after you return me home, I won't be bothered again, will I? I've heard stories of families being harassed years after their kids disappeared."

"We're not returning you home," Percy said. Piper huffed and dragged him out of the cabin, muttering about how "all of you are way too stubborn."

"Those rumors are false, at least within the last four years. You'll be safe from us as soon as you leave," Annabeth promised.

Will seemed satisfied with that, so we moved on to the next order of business: Rontmion. I pulled a map from my desk drawer and tossed it onto my desk. Every year, we plan out our travels to the best of our ability. Unfortunately, this reroute was going to mess up everything else we had planned. We wanted to be in the northern hemisphere by April to avoid the beginning of the wet season, but we were adding two weeks of sailing time. That was definitely enough to throw everything off.

"Maybe we need to skip the Isle of Lenk after we drop him off. I don't know how else we'll get out of the rainy season," Annabeth said from over my shoulder.

Leo analyzed the map alongside us. "That means we'll need double the supplies. Maybe if we try to steal more from Rontmion this time, then again from Honnet, and then extra from Rontmion when we pass by the second time, we might be able to build up a stash? I'm not sure if it'll be enough to get us all the way to Alaquati, though. I say we resort to cannibalism."

Will practically choked. "What?"

Travis Stoll grinned at him. "That's right. I say we start with Captain di Angelo, and then he can't stop us from eating you, too, Mr. Doctor."

I waved them off with a bored look. "He's joking, Will. But I think you're right, Leo. I'm not sure if we'll have enough. Maybe we could steal a net or other fishing supplies from Honnet when we go, and we could try to catch our own? I heard Percy knows how to use fishing nets. He says they're not hard."

"So, it's agreed, then?" Jason asked. "We stop at Rontmion, then Honnet and steal fishing supplies, then back to Rontmion and into the northern hemisphere?"