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Chapter Text

Most stories start with the sea, and many end with it too. 

This story begins with a house by the shore. It isn’t lived in for long, because its two residents are more often offshore than on it. Callisto and Alek Fallon were living the greatest of lives—they were sea monster hunters, and no beast nor storm could ever hope to seperate them. The two spent many a time at sea, and had only spent a month on shore to get married. 

The longest amount of time they had spent on land was with the birth of their son, Percy, in which they had spent five happy years in their seaside home. The sea was as much a part of them as they were each other‘s, and so they taught their son to love it, too. Days were spent swimming in the salty water, and nights were filled with tales of the beasts that lived in it, far off shore. They were happy, but the itch to be on the sea and the ache for the chase grew in Callisto’s heart, and so with a goodbye, she set sail again for what she said would be one last adventure. 

And one last adventure it was, when the only thing that returned of her was the word of her ship’s sinking. 

Alek went near mad with grief, anchored only by their young son, who was too young to understand why his mother was gone, but old enough to understand she was never coming back. Alek lived two more years consumed by sorrow, before succumbing to heartbreak. People used to say there was not a beast who could part them, so why would death? 

And so Percy was whisked away to an orphanage, where he held out for another six years before running away, itching for the sea his family loved, the sea that bound them together. A little lie about his age was all it took for a desperate merchantman to agree, and it was with him and his crew that he set out for the sea the very first time. 

He learns a lot with the crew. They always warn him about the sea beasts. It’s not unlike his parents' stories, but it's obvious to him that those were watered down to be more appropriate for a young child. Here there is no such mercy. There may be no hunters on the ship, but every sailor worth their salt knew how to swing a blade or pop a bullet when the need came. They remark that their routes they take are often undisturbed, but every now and then they catch sight of a horn or fin in the distance. 

When those on deck aren’t telling him stories or giving him tips on self defense, the doctor, Doctor Jiang, takes him to her office below deck and teaches him how to treat wounds and stitch them up. 

“There is no use in knowing how to swing a blade,” she says, “when you can’t help yourself after you cut yourself on it.” 

So this makes up the bulk of Percy’ first few years on sea. He learns how to manage sums and funds with the merchant, Sir Gimlison, who has begun to grow out of his desperation as his wares start selling more often. He gets himself a few blades with nicks to match as he travels to different ports. He treats the odd wound every so often, and starts writing his own stories when kids at different towns start asking for them. They always seem to be a huge hit or a complete miss; the children seesaw between being easy to please or very, very picky about what happens. 

He is content with this, until one day they port at the same port the Inevitable does. There’s no person on this side of the world who doesn’t recognize the ship’s red sails, and their famous crew is especially rowdy today. Percy tries to keep an ear open, but he is running to and from the ship, ferrying out goods to other stalls and traders. He’s carrying a crate filled with tall rolls of parchment back to the ship when he bumps into someone, sending all the rolls clattering to the ground. 

“Sorry!” Percy calls, ducking immediately. He hurriedly picks up each roll, mentally tallying which are still clean and those that are now soggy with the sea water that inevitably gets onto the port’s docks. Another pair of hands join his, and when he looks up to grab the parchment from them, he is met with brown eyes and a youthful face. 

Across him is a boy his age, seventeen years or so. His sandy brown hair is crisp with sea salt, and his skin is kissed pink by the sun. There’s something proud about how his shoulders are set, but still his hands are kind as he hands back the parchment. Their fingers brush as Percy takes back the paper, and he can feel how calloused the other’s hands are. 

“…Thanks,” Percy says, momentarily at a loss for words. The boy’s lips part like he has something to say, but someone from the ship calls Percy’ name. Startled, he gives the boy a small wave goodbye as he runs back to the ship. When he's boarded and empty handed, he turns back to the port, but the boy he’s met has all but melted into the bustle that lines the port’s streets. 

He wonders if he’ll ever see him again. 

Chapter Text

He gets his wish a little over a year later. They’ve docked at Three Bridges, and will be for longer than usual. It’s rare they ever visit the capitol, so the merchant gives him an equally rare day off to go around. The capitol is buzzing with life, and Percy feeds off it ‘til he’s practically buzzing himself, weaving through the bustling crowds. Over the tops of peoples’ heads he makes out familiar red sails, and he pushes through the masses until he gets a better view of the ship itself. 

The crew just started unpacking. The ship is a bit worse for wear, but it's clear why when the crew start unloading large sea beast horns, scales glittering in the light. Percy watches wide eyed as Captain Crow himself walks off the ship with first mate Sarah Sharpe at his side, and his jaw drops a bit when they’re followed by the same sandy haired youth he met once before. 

He’s a little taller now, a little broader at the shoulders, and peeking out beneath the edges of rolled up sleeves are the beginnings of a wicked scar making its way up his arm. Perhaps it was fate then, because the boy—though now it feels a bit like a disservice to call him that—turns his head, and they meet eyes for a moment. Percy brings his hand up in a little wave, and the other begins to make the move back, before he is pushed forward by Captain Crow’s proud hand on his shoulder. The captain cheers something on, and it gets the crowd moving, and Percy gets lost in a sea of people. 

It is later that night that he finally learns the other boy’s name. Jacob Holland. The name bounces around in the tavern Percy finds himself in. A tavern-goer—a heavy set woman with cheeks red with alcohol—tells him about the boy the legendary Inevitable picked up seven years ago, and how he’s becoming a legend in his own right. 

“What a lad,” she grins, cheeks round like red apples. “They say he’s only killed a beast himself a year ago, and he hasn’t stopped since.” She takes another swig of her bubbling brew. “The horns they bring in get bigger and bigger each year.” 

Percy sighs in awe, and it seems that this jolly woman’s words were the ones that took down the floodgates, because soon enough it seems that the rest of the tavern were giving their two bits on what the boy was like. 

“I’ve seen him carry filled barrels a shoulder!” A man cheered, drink slipping as he raised his flagon of mead above his head.

Another patron scoffs. “And you think that is a great feat? Aye, I’ve heard he’s fought off Bricklebacks with his bare hands!”

This sends the crowd into another round of cheers. The tavern is filled with raucous laughter and tales of the Inevitable’s crew. Ale flowed and people danced, and Percy lost himself in the night. 

….

When Percy wakes the next day, it is to a headache. He hadn’t realized he drank so much the night before, but it’s easy to get lost in the drink when you get lost in the tales of the sea. 

He tips himself out of his hammock, and climbs up onto the deck. He laces up his shirt and pulls on his boots when he makes his way to the rails. It’s only past daybreak, and he can already make out the crowd that surrounds what must be Captain Crow and the Inevitable’s latest catch, to be brought to the Crown. He makes his way down to the crowd, weaving through the curious townsfolk. Captain Crow hops onto their carriage, accompanied by Sarah Sharpe, and Percy can make out the tips and ends of the sea beast horns that lay covered by the tarp lining the back of the cart. The crowd and the rest of Crow’s crew cheers and waves him goodbye. 

Percy watches him go until the carriage can no longer be seen. By then, the rest of the Inevitable’s crew has gone back to work, purchasing supplies and fixing their ship. It reminds him of his own ship waiting, and he turns back on his heel to meet with his own crew. 

He gets sent out on short supply runs. All miscellaneous things—personal knick knacks for everyone in the crew. Sir Montergomry always wants him to pick up a new book. Doctor Jiang asks him to visit the local apocrathy with a list of tonics and liniments he can’t pronounce. Whenever they’re at Three Bridges, the cook, Lance, asks him to head to the one inn they always trade recipes (and gossip) with. The list of things to do is about a foot long, and it's a busy day of running back and forth to attend to each errand. 

He’s on his last trip back to the ship with a full bag in hand when he bumps into someone. To his surprise, it’s Jacob Holland again. Nothing goes clattering to the ground like last time, but still apologies are made. 

“Perhaps we are always destined to meet like this,” Jacob smiles, and Percy lets out a light laugh. “Perhaps,” he agrees. 

“Me name’s-“ 

“Jacob Holland,” Percy finishes for him. “I know. Your reputation precedes you.” Jacob smiles, “and who are you? If I may ask.”

Percy sticks out his hand, which Jacob shakes. “Percy Fallon, at your service.” They shake hands for a moment longer than usual, before Percy lets his hand fall back to his side. 

There’s a brief moment of silence, before Jacob clears his throat and speaks again. “Would you like a drink, maybe?” He says. At Percy’ confused look, he continues. “As an apology for bumping into you all the time, if you’ll take it.” 

Percy lets out a thoughtful humm, appearing to think about it. It’s amusing to see Jacob grow a bit flustered when it takes him a moment to respond, so he smiles and nods his head. 

“Aye, let’s. I just need to put these down.” 

Jacob walks him to his ship, where Percy deposits the last of his goods. Doctor Jiang’s bottles clink together when he passes a carefully wrapped bundle to her. He spins on his heel to leave, when the doctor clears her throat expectantly. 

Percy turns to her with a sheepish smile. “Doctor Jiang…” 

The doctor sighs, shaking her head. But the corners of her lips quirk up in what he knows is fondness. “We are leaving midday tomorrow,” she warns. “Make sure you’re back before then. 

“I will. Thanks!” Percy says, making his way back to the portside where Jacob stands waiting. 

“Let’s go!” 

… 

The night is still young, but the crowd in the tavern they chose is as alive as ever. Some of Jacob’s crew are present, and everyone sober enough to recognize them treat them with respect and awe. A few braver folk reach out to pat Jacob on the shoulder and congratulate him. 

Jacob buys him a drink, a bubbling tankard of ale, and they toast to one another before taking a swig each. 

“So,” Percy starts, leaning forward towards the other on where they sit at the bar. “Jacob Holland of the Inevitable, you’ve built quite a name for yourself. Tell me, is it true you’ve fought of Bricklebacks with your bare hands?” 

Percy grins when Jacobs rolls his eyes. “That one’s new,” he sighs, taking another swig. But the corners of his lips are upturned where they rest on the edge of his cup. 

“So is it true?” Percy asks, smiling. Jacob smiles too. “Hardly… It was just one Brickleback, and I didn’t actually go into it empty handed.” 

“Oh yeah?” Percy drawls, taking a sip himself. “Tell me, Sir Jacob, what other rumons are ‘hardly’ true?” 

Jacob begins story after story of his own travels. He’s got the voice for it, and something about him attracts a crowd not long after he begins his tales. When he notices, the stories switch to those of the crew, too. He speaks of Captain Crow with adoration, and not a word not laced with utmost respect is said about First Mate Sarah Sharpe. Soon enough older, but no less rambunctious, members of the Inevitable take over, and soon the two of them are left to their now silent corner. 

“You’re a good story teller, Mr. Jacob.” Percy sighs. “The kids would love you.” 

“The kids?” 

“The kids,” he reaffirms. “When we dock at ports a few gather around and I tell them tales of sea beast hunters. All secondhand, of course. Or make believe.”

Jacob looks curiously at him. “Wouldn’t want to try to be a hunter then? You’re already on ship, aren’t you?” 

“A merchant ship, yes.” Percy says. “But I guess I never really thought about it… My parents were hunters, but I’ve never seen a beast up close myself. Never felt the urge to.” 

Jacob hums. When Percy looks back at him, he’s deep in thought, looking into his drink. The other speaks. “The urge to hunt… sometimes it consumes you like a wildfire.” 

“I would’ve thought fire and the sea wouldn’t mix.” Percy says with a thin smile. 

Jacob lips twitch up at the thought. “Maybe. But the feel of the chase… It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s like nothing else matters, then. It’s just you, your crew, the beast, and the sea.” 

Percy thinks about it, rolling the idea in his head with another swig of his drink. What was the hunt like? Alluring enough to lure his mother back in one last time, wild enough to create this sense of intensity in Jacob’s eyes when he talks about it. Hesitantly, he offers, “perhaps I would like to try it one day.”

Jacob turns to him, offering his drink in another toast. “I’d like to be there, if I could.” 

Percy presses his drink towards him. “We are not people who stay in one place for long. How could we, when we are bent to the rule of the sea?” 

The other laughs, and something warm burns within him. “Then if we meet again, we will know it’s fate.”

The rest of the night is a blur. Ale poured near constantly. When Percy wakes, it is to the dawn’s light shining through the tavern windows and into his eyes. He’s curled up on one of the tavern’s long tables, and when he drapes himself over the edge in an attempt to get up, he catches sight of Jacob curled underneath the same table. His eyes throb something fierce, and he distantly remembers dancing, but he’s too busy looking for his missing boot to focus on it too hard. When he finds it, he shakes Jacob awake, and wishes him goodbye. 

“I’m going now,” he says to the limp form of his new found friend. “When we meet again, Jacob.” 

He leaves the tavern, passing a few crew members of Jacob’s who seem to be faring better. Satisfied that his friend will be relatively fine, he sets off. 

He looks back at Three Bridges once their ship sets off, and he moves forward thinking of what the future had in store. 

Chapter Text

It’s been a few years since he last heard from Jacob. Their ships have yet to dock together, but Percy gets by with the gossip he catches. Jacob continues to grow in renown, and it makes Percy curious to how much he’s changed, and what the hunt for sea monsters are like. 

Life on the merchant ship stays mostly the same. Some people leave the crew, and others join. Lance finally gets married to the tavern owner they get all their gossip from. When they’re home, they help her run an eatery that turns into a bar when night falls. It was a beautiful wedding, with the couple backlit by the setting sun and the glimmering sea. They stayed for two weeks then. 

Sir Gimlison seems to have found a sweetheart himself, since he disappears for a few hours each time the dock, with missives in hand. Percy knows they’re love letters, because in the one rare time he had to receive the letters on Sir’s behalf, they smelt light and fragrant, like the were perfumed. 

Doctor Jiang stays single, but she developed a reputation for being one of the fiercest doctors on this side of the archipelago. Her no nonsense attitude, combined with her skill make her a fearsome figure, but a trustworthy one. Everyone on the merchant ship knows they’re in safe hands as long as they’re in hers. Percy endeavors to learn as much as he can from her, and often proclaims his gratitude to have such a master as a teacher. 

And Percy is happy. He picks up more books on sea hunters, but for himself this time. He finds his parents in one of the chapters, and teared up at the thought of them together forever, memorized in ink. He learns how to throw knives with near perfect accuracy. The crew joke that they’ll lose him to one of the hunting ships one day, but Percy brushes them off with a laugh. 

“It’ll take more than that to get rid of me!” He says, punching the crewmate in the arm in mock offense. 

Life on the merchant ship stays mostly the same, until one day, a storm rolls around. It’s not the first time the ship’s had to weather through one, but this storm is more unforgiving than any that came before it. It had rained for days, and most of the crew were kept below deck, feeling the ship tremble between the thunder cracking above it and the water toiling around it. 

Everyone below deck is worried. Sir Gimlison does not say it, but Percy can read it on his face. Being late with a shipment is no longer the issue—it is getting there at all. On the third day of the storm, Percy goes to bed with a sinking feeling in his gut. 

He wakes up, in the middle of night, when something massive hits the side of their boat. 

All of the crew jumps from the beds and hammocks. Everyone explodes into action. Half the crew, including Percy, heads up to the deck. Sir Gimlison is there, along with their captain. The sky is dark, and only flashes of lighting show how thick the clouds are and how choppy the sea is. It’s also only thanks to lightning that they catch sight of the beast that circles their boat. It’s twice the size of their ship, with markings that stand out against the skin of its back like the lightning bright against the dark sky. It lets out low groans, circling and nudging their ship. Whether it is the beast or the weather, the waves around them swell, tipping the boat this way and that. 

“What is that thing?!” Percy cries, clutching at the rails as the ship tips back. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead with the rain. Lightning flashes in the sky, and it thunders more and more frequently. The beast gets more frantic, hitting the ship harder. 

The crew clamor and shout. Though they have spoke of killing beasts before, none of them are hunters, none of them are equipped to kill a beast, nevermind one this size and in this weather. 

The captain barks out orders as the ship’s rocking gets more frantic. People are crying, and the beast that surrounds them is wailing. The beast thrashes continue, and the last thing Percy remembers is its figure as it breaches that water. Wide fins are backlit by the lightning behind it, and it crashes into their ship, bringing darkness with it. 

… 

When Percy comes to, it is to a throbbing headache and crusted eyes. He remembers the storm, thrashing in the water, a shadow larger than life swimming over him. He doesn’t recall how he got here—here being worn sheets, dry and warm, opposite of what he last remembers. He blinks his eyes open, squinting at warm candlelight, and he makes out the form of a bespectacled man hovering over him. The man brings a candle closer to Percy’ face, and with worn hands, cups his cheeks and uses his thumb to look into his eyes, one at a time. Percy groans, tipping his head to the side, but all it does is make vision swim. 

Murmurs fill the room. He can hear planks creaking as people walk in and as a door opens then closes. A calloused hand grabs his. “…Percy?” A voice asks, and it;s recognizable enough to have him turning his head to look for its owner. 

“Jacob…?” Percy asks, pushing himself up despite his head disagreeing with him. A hand at his shoulders helps him up, and he meets eyes with the worried ones of Jacob Holland, casted with golden candlelight. He’s grown; a man now, broad chested with strong arms. His face is painted with worry, brows furrowed. 

Percy’ throat dries. “What… What am I doing here? Where…?”

He looks around the room, some sort of makeshift infirmary. It reminds him of Doctor Jiang’s office, with different vials and bottles and the scent of herbs. He meets eyes with Captain Crow, face grim. 

Percy looks back to Jacob, silently begging for answers. “The storm… Everyone…?”

“Wrecked,” Jacob shook his head. “The weather was better when we found you, but everyone else was… gone. Beast and crew.” 

Something in Percy breaks, then. He falls forward, curling into himself. All other sounds are drowned out with his wailing sobs. 

…

He cried himself to sleep. When he opens his eyes again, the sole window of the room fills it with bright light. Now he can feel the gentle sway of the ship around him. He can hear the sounds of the crew in the distance, and realizes finally that he is in the Inevitable. The door opens, and in comes Jacob, eyes widening in surprise. 

“…You’re awake,” he says, stepping into the room and sitting on the chair next to the bed. “How are you feeling…?”

Percy only shrugs. Jacob nods, leaning back. They sit in silence for a while, before Jacob speaks again. “The Captain wants to speak to you.”

Percy sighs, but nods, slipping off the bed. Jacob provides a steadying hand, and leads him to the Captain’s quarters. The door is strangely ominous, and Percy takes a moment to breathe. Jacob’s hand comes to rest on his shoulder, warm and heavy. “I’m sorry,” he says, and after he knocks, Percy reaches for the door’s handle. 

He steps into the office alone. Captain Crow sits behind his desk. He has a book open in front of him, but Percy isn’t a fool—he knows the Captain has had his eye on him since he stepped into the room. 

“Come sit,” he asks, and Percy does, only after a slight moment of hesitation. “You are Percy Fallon, son of Callisto and Alek.” He says, a statement and not a question. 

Percy nods. “Yes, Captain.”

Captain Crow sighs, reaching for a flask and taking a sip. “I knew your mother,” he says. He doesn’t meet his eyes. “We found her ship too. Your father…?”

“Dead, captain. Two years after her; they say it was heartbreak.” 

The Captain sighs again, “They were good folk.” He takes another sip. “Tell you what, Percy, how’d you feel to join my crew?” 

Percy looks up to the Captain in surprise. They meet eyes, and the Captain continues. “Another hand is only a boon. And I can see a storm in you; you’ve seen what these beasts have done. First your mother, and now your crew. Join us, and we can put a stop to it all.”

“I…” Percy stutters. He turns the Captain’s offer in his mind. He isn’t wrong. The offer to do something about the beasts that have only caused him misery is a great temptation. There is no one else waiting for him now, but on this ship, he could find something more. The Captain’s offer brings forth memories of another, one of experiencing the hunt alongside another. There’s nothing left to him but this one road. 

“If the Captain will take me,” Percy says, “I swear I’ll do everything I can to put an end to these beasts.” 

The Captain’s answering nod is pleased and proud. 

Chapter Text

Introductions are made, then. Percy meets First Mate Sarah Sharpe, who greets him with the tip of her hat and the glint of the knife she was sharpening. Jacob needs no introduction, but he’s there anyways with a pleased grin. He meets their medic-on-board, Sir George Greyhem. Percy thanks him for his service, and offers his own help in return. The mention of Doctor Jiang is enough to wipe the reluctance of his face. 

He meets more faces with names he can’t quite pin down. His joining is used as an excuse to get ale running, and soon kegs are rolling down the deck. The jaunty tune of a bagpipe fills the air and soon the Inevitable becomes the host of a big party. Percy dances around and through the crew. The welcome is nice, and the people are kind, but as the night goes on, Percy’ heart grows wearier, so he heads to the back end of the ship and away from the heart of the party.

Jacob finds him then, sitting under the ship’s rails. The sea tonight is calm. The moon hung bright and heavy above them, and the still water reflected its twin. 

“Sorry for the crew,” he starts, leaning against the rails next to him. “Any excuse to drink is the best, these days.” 

“A drink wouldn’t be too bad right now,” Percy says, eyes locked on the water. It’s deceptive; a beautiful sight that hides the worst kind of demon. 

“So you’re really staying then?” Jacob asks. When Percy looks up, Jacob is staring back at him with a spark of hope in his eyes. 

Percy answers with a smile. “It seems like fate will have us side by side hunting, after all.” 

Jacob returns his grin, and sticks out a hand for him to take. Percy grabs it, and accepts the tug that helps him up. He stands next to him, but neither of them let their hands go. 

“To the greatest of hunts?” Jacob asks. 

Percy shakes on it. “To the greatest of hunts. Together.” 

“Together.”

After their oath, Jacob shows him to below deck, where the crew lodges. Some of the crew are already down for the night, but still from the deck comes the roaring sound of song and laughter. Jacob has already gotten ready for bed and in his hammock, so Percy does the same. The sound of breathing and the gentle sway of the ship lulls him to sleep, and for a moment he pretends everything is alright. 

…

The first few hunts were rough, but Percy finds himself a bit of a rhythm after a while. He learns how to throw a spear, shoot a harpoon, and finds that he has quite good aim with both. He catches Sharpe’s attention with it—just a nod of respect, really, but something about it makes you chest puff with pride. She pulls him aside to teach him neat tricks sometimes. He gets to help with administrative work with what he learnt from the merchant ship too. Keeps track of supplies, updates the ledgers, helps out Sir Greyhem when he needs it. He learns of how they keep track of what beast goes where, and the best way to take them down. 

Now, they chase a serpent, its scales bright yellow against the blue sea. It’s only his fifth hunt. Serpents are tricky, he is quick to learn. They thrash like the devil’s on their heels; the coil around ships and squeeze ‘til the ship pops. This one is the same. It winds its way around the Inevitable and tries its best, but the ship and the crew are better. The Inevitable was built to fight greater foes. 

Captain Crow lets out a bark of a laugh, brandishing his sword as he hacks at the serpent’s writhing body. “Is that all you got, ya slimy dog?” He turns back to his crew. “Go for the eyes!” 

Percy picks up a spear, sends it flying at the serpent’s face. It sinks into its eye, and the thing screeches in pain as blood gushes from the wound. It thrashes its coils, and the serpent loosens its hold on the ship. 

“Atta boy!” Captain Crow shouts. “Sarah!” 

“On it, Captain.” The First Mate replies. She cocks her gun and pulls the trigger. The serpent’s other eye pops, blue blood flying when her shot hits. The serpent pulls its head back, the rest of its coils falling away from the ship. 

Seeing the opening, Jacob picks up his own spear and runs off the deck. He grabs a rope, swings over the crowd, and sinks his spear into the soft flesh that lies at the base of the serpent’s neck before falling into the water. It lets out one final wail, and the Captain answers it with a battlecry of his own. The beast’s body begins to sink, and the Captain dives after it to go after their prize. 

The rest of the crew regroup, with the job done. Percy rolls his shoulder as Jacob returns, drenched. He grins, “Nice swim. Was the rope dive fun?”

“Ha, ha,” Jacob says, sick of Percy’ antics but used to it by now. He unties the red sash around his waist to wring the water out of it. Percy smiles earnestly this time, holding out his hand. “Another great hunt, I’d say.” 

Jacob smiles back and shakes his hand. “Aye.” 

The crew rounds up and helps the Captain back onto the ship, serpent horn in hand. It’s a swirly yellow thing that glistens like a second sun, and it’s quickly wrapped up and stored below deck with all the other horns. 

Captain Crow shrugs off his coat, holding onto his belt as he looks at his ship and crew. The damage is minimal, and the crew’s in good shape too. “Another job well done,” he says simply, but still the crew cheer. He heads back to his office, likely to plan their next course. Percy rounds up those who need the medics’, and grabs Jacob before he can make his escape. His stories seem to always leave out the parts where he gets injured and pretends he isn’t, the stubborn idiot. 

“Think I didn’t see you get hit out there? Your ribs will be black and blue tomorrow morning, I bet.” Percy says, leading him and the others below deck where Sir George waits for them. They divy up the work between them as Jacob washes his arms up to his elbows. It’s an unspoken rule that the doctor always leaves Percy to deal with Jacob.

Said idiot rolls his eyes. “I can take a hit- ow!” He bats away Percy’ probing hands, keeping him away from his side. 

“Tell me that again when your ribs aren’t at the threat of breaking, Mr.” Percy counters. It’s a familiar enough game to them now; Jacob only seriously protests a third of the time. The injured hunter complies, stripping off his shirt so that Percy’ can assess the damage. He leans closer to look at the wound better, prodding with gentler fingers now that his point’s been made. 

“You haven’t broken anything, so I won’t need to bind you up.” Percy remarks. He smears liniment on his side, before stepping back and washing away the excess in a nearby basin. He grabs a towel to dry his hands. He looks back at Jacob, shirt halfway back on, and puts his hands on his hips. “You got any other secret injuries I need to know of?” 

“No, sir,” Jacob says, giving him a mock salute and brushing past him to make a quick escape. “You’re the best, doc!” 

Percy tosses the damp towel at the back of Jacob’s head. The idiot manages to dodge. “I damn have to be when my most frequent patient is you!”

Jacob escapes to the deck with a laugh.

Chapter Text

They chart a course for Three Bridges the next day. The ship is fine, but they’re due for a resupply, and they have more than enough horns to justify the return. The news bolsters the crew, and the next few days pass so quickly. One moment, Percy was looking at a never ending blue sea, and in the next he sees the white stone pillars that mark the beginning of Three Bridges. 

“It’s good to be back,” Jacob says, leaning leisurely at the rails. Percy hums in agreement, closing his eyes to savor the feeling of the wind gliding across his face. He loves the sea, he really does, but you don’t realize how much you appreciate the land until you’re away from it for weeks and months at a time. Sarah Sharpe nods in agreement next to them, popping the cork from her flask. 

The ship docks a little after the sun sets, the sky darkening quickly. Still, the arrival of the Inevitable draws quite a crowd. As ropes are tied and the ship secured, Sarah steps up to the edge of the ship to address the crowd. Sarah Sharpe is a no-nonsense individual, but like everyone else on the ship, she has a flair for dramatics. 

“It is good to be back!” She calls to the whispering crowd. “But we’re not staying for long. The Captain will be visiting the Crown at dawn, and after that, we’ll be back at the hunt again!” The crowd cheers. 

The crew begins to disembark and unload. Captain Crow leads the way, followed by a parade of horns that shine in the lantern light. Sarah is at his side, and they begin loading the goods into the carriage that will take them to the castle the next day. 

Jacob disembarks, and Percy follows him. Tomorrow dawn, he’ll have to get the supplies going, since they’ll only be staying a few days at the most. But tonight, the crowd and crew are up and roaring for a party, and so they head to the nearest tavern to dine and drink. 

The band comes alive at their arrival, and the jaunty music is accompanied by the sound of coins clattering on wood and the drumming of tankards hitting tables. People immediately get to dancing and cheering, and Percy chugs his drink before joining them. It’s a tangle of folk spinning and twisting and ducking, and it gets his heart sweating. The band finishes their first song and gets started on a second song when he ducks back to the bar to take a breather. And get another drink, while he’s at it. 

“Having fun, are ya?” Jacob asks, the metal of his tankard clinking as he knocks it against Percy’ cup. 

Percy grins, toasting to that. “A lot more fun than being stared at in awe, I bet.” The band starts a third song, and the familiar notes have his heart spinning. He gasps, tugging Jacob forward. “I love this one! Let’s go!” 

“Hey-!” 

His protest falls onto deaf ears, as Percy tugs him into the heart of the crowd. Jacob falls into the song though, and soon he and Percy have their arms intertwined as they dance and clap and stomp to the beat. 

“Captain Crow is our hero…!” 

An uncountable number of drinks and dances later, Percy and Jacob stumble back to the ship, laughing as they lean against one another. There are definitely people from the crew who will be spending an uncomfortable night sleeping wherever they end up in the tavern, and Percy had experienced it one too many times—enough times to brave the trek back to the ship. 

They miraculously make it back to the ship, and stumble to Jacob’s room. It’s an open secret that Captain Crow is preparing Jacob to be the next captain of the Inevitable, even if it won’t be happening for quite some time. But still, being the Captain’s (practically) adopted son has his perks. Jacob has his own room now—it's small, but it's his own, and away from the rest. 

Jacob falls heavily onto his bed, tugging off his boots and belt. Percy pushes him over, stealing a seat next to him. 

“Hey!” 

“Let me sleep here tonight,” Percy asks. “Your bed is better than a hammock down there,” he says, unlacing his vest. 

Jacob pouts. “Yeah, and it’s mine.” He says, pulling off his shirt and reaching for his pillow. He falls flat on his back, pressing his face into the thing. 

“Don’t be greedy!” Percy scolds, pushing him over. “The bed is big enough!” He wrestles his way to his side. They do fit, but it’s a tight squeeze, and Percy ends up laying on half of Jacob’s arm. 

The bed’s owner sighs. “I am way too drunk for this,” he mutters, throwing an arm over his closed eyes. Percy snorted, then the room went quiet. All he could hear was Jacob’s breath and heartbeat, with how closely he was pressed against his side. 

‘Fate is pretty funny,’ Percy thinks, rolling onto his side as Jacob’s breathing evens out beside him. ‘The sea has ripped people apart, but she brings them together too.’

When he wakes the next morning, he’s flat on his back with a headache. Golden sunlight spilt into the room, and a quick glance at the window showed that the sun had just risen. Percy groans and moves to get up, but he finds himself pinned. He squints down at Jacob, who’s moved to lie on his stomach. His arm is tossed across Percy’ chest, and he’s drooling where his cheek is squished against his pillow. 

Percy nudges him. “ Jacob.” He hisses. “Jacob!” 

All he gets is a mutter, but Jacob does move his arm away to curl his hand under his chin. Percy sighs in relief, getting up and putting his boots back on. He grabs his back and vest, and with a hand on the doorway, looks back at Jacob, who was still slumbering peacefully. All the twisting he’d done has left the blanket tangled around his legs. Percy smirks a bit, before heading back to the bed and tugging the blanket free. He tucks it around the other properly, and after a moment’s hesitation, reaches out to brush a bit of hair away from Jacob’s eyes. 

Satisfied, he gets up and finally leaves, and prepares for the long day ahead. 

…

And a long day it was. Normally securing supplies in bulk would take longer than a few days, but Percy is familiar with the merchants he deals with, and they merchants know him. They know especially that he works for the Inevitable, and so they always have stock put away for them, easy to prepare in short notice. He manages to secure everything, arranged to be sent in starting tomorrow. He shakes the last merchant’s hand, dropping the correct number of coins in her waiting palm. 

When he returns back to the ship, the sun has already peaked above him. It seems that the Captain and Sarah are back, and when the First Mate catches sight of him, she beckons him to follow her. 

“Sarah?” He asks curiously, following her to her quarters. “Is everything alright?” 

“The Crown’s still looking for the Red Bluster,” she says, checking the sharpness of her knife. “It’s got the Captain ansty. We’re leaving in two days for it.” 

“Oh.” Percy nods, understanding. He knows that the beast took the Captain’s eye, but their history runs longer than that, and he is not privy to that information. 

“The Captain doesn’t say it, but he’s worried.” Sarah continues, in a rare moment of vulnerability. She sharpens her blade absentmindedly; the motions come naturally to her, she could do it in her sleep. “It’s no secret that he’s training Jacob to take over.” Percy nods again. 

“And when Jacob does become captain, we hope that you’ll be there to support him, as his First Mate.” 

Percy looks up at Sarah in surprise. Her head’s still turned to her blade, but he knows she’s looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “M-me? But you-“

“I’m not going anywhere.” She reassures. “This ship is all I know. I’ll be damned if I leave it under anything but me own terms.”

“Then why…” 

“Jacob will need someone loyal to him, and him alone. He will need that support.” She puts down her whetstone. “The Inevitable and her legacy’s eternal. But we are not.”

She stands then and pats his shoulder, opening the door. “But don’t worry your pretty little head over it. It’ll be some time yet.”

She walks away, full confidence in her steps, and leaves Percy quiet and thinking. 

When he makes his way back to the deck, the crew is bustling with activity. Captain’s probably already announced their departure, and Percy seeks out Jacob, who's helping carry crates in. He joins him, and he can tell the new weight resting on his shoulders isn’t from the physical load. 

“Captain’s spoken to you too, I take it,” he says, attempting small talk. The other is uncharacteristically solemn, but he nods. Percy humms. They carry their loads below deck where it’s dark and quiet. They put down their crates, and before they leave again, Percy grabs Jacob’s arm.

“I’m here, if you need me.” He says, dropping his arm when it’s clear that Jacob isn’t going anywhere. “We’ve still got a lifetime of the greatest of hunts together, don’t we?” 

Sarah’s words echo in his head, but he knew his heart was set on this even before they were said. 

Jacob smiles, something soft and strangely vulnerable. “We do.” 

Percy returns the smile, sticking out his hand. “To the greatest of lives together.” It’s a sister to their old oath, but this feels different. Greater. 

“Together,” Jacob agrees. An oath heard only by them, and the darkness around them. 

Chapter Text

Sarah is right. Captain Crow pushes them to leave as soon as they’re able, throwing himself back into the hunt with vigor. It bolsters the crew, and they too throw themselves into hunting at the best of their capabilities. 

Sightings of the Red Bluster are few and far in between. They take down the few serpents they come across in their search. Any trips to portside are quick, limited to the essentials. Captain Crow keeps an ear and eye out for any news of the great red beast. No one says it, but the frustration is getting to the Captain, and it’s only the continuous slaying of beasts that soothes him now. 

Sarah pulls Percy aside often to train him. If it’s not knife and spear work, it’s to work on his aim with a harpoon and a gun, and if not that it’s on how to run the ship. Wanting to make her and the Captain proud are the only things keeping him afloat amongst the cycle that is lessons and the hunt. That, and sneaking into Jacob’s room whenever he misses sleeping in a bed. 

Even now, Sarah teaches. It’s his first time fighting off a Bone Eater, a fish-like beast with hard armored skin the color of ivory. It has a gaping maw filled with blunt teeth, perfect for crushing. Now it gnaws on the ship like a teething toddler, screeching and thrashing as it looks at the ship with its beady red eyes. 

“For a thing like this, best to crack the shells with the cannons first.” She says, easily side-stepping the beast’s flipper when it crashes into the deck. “If not, aim for the eyes and belly. Skin’s softer there.” Her point is proven when Jacob comes running up past her, arm rearing back to shoot the lance in the soft flesh where the beast’s flippers connect its body. It wails and begins to retreat. Captain Crow leaps up with his own lance to finish it off. The beast stills and begins to sink, and the captain clings to it’s armored plates to get its horn as it goes under. 

“Well done everyone,” Sarah says, returning her gun to its holster. “I want a full report on the ship’s damages in an hour.” She commands, as the captain returns with a bone-like horn under his arm. 

“Well done, boys.” Captain Crow says, handing the horn and his water-heavy cloak to the nearest crew member. “The Red Bluster will be good as ours.”

“Aye, captain!” They cheer, and Captain Crow spares them a rare smile before retreating to his office. 

The sun sets soon after and everyone gathers below deck for supper. It’s a hearty stew tonight, prepared by the ship’s chefs, Borris and Dahlia. A few kegs are popped open too, one of which is Dahlia’s devilish brew. It’s stronger than the other drinks, and does what 3 tankards take with one small glass. 

Percy steals a glass himself, and controls himself to take only a few small sips at a time. It goes down like fire in his throat. The rest of the crew don’t take the same precautions, and they’re bumbling around in no time. Percy finds Jacob off to the side, nursing a tankard of normal ale. When Percy takes a seat next to him, he makes a face at the drink in his hand. “Is that Dahlia’s devil’s drink?”

“Yes!” Percy laughs. “Want a sip?” It’s more out of courtesy; he knows Jacob doesn’t drink as much on the water as he does on land, so he’s surprised when the other agrees. Jacob grimaces as he swallows, and Percy laughs at the face he makes. 

Percy doesn’t ask for what changed his mind, and he doesn’t say anything when they finish the glass between them. He does get a raised brow when he gets a second, and he returns the look when Jacob takes a swig anyways. They stay hidden in their quiet corner as the crew begin to burn out. Those still conscious leave for bed on their own, and those unconscious won’t be waking up ‘til daybreak. They finish the second glass, and it’s only Jacob’s flushed face and heavy hand on his leg that keeps him from getting up for a third. 

“Something on your mind, big guy?” Percy asks, patting Jacob’s shoulder as the other stares into their empty cup. He realizes then how huge Jacob actually is. He’s taller than Percy, and his shoulders look like they’ve doubled in size since he first saw him as a teen all those years ago. He’s got a strong chest and arms to match too, and something compels him to leave his hand on his arm from where he was patting it. 

Jacob mumbles something, leaning to the side a bit, and Percy reaches out to steady him. He tugs on his arm, helping him stand. He leads him up the stairs back to his room. “Let’s get you to bed,” he says, helping the other out of his boots and his belt when his fingers fumble. Percy moves to stand when he’s done, but Jacob grabs him by the arms before he could stand all the way. 

“Jacob?” He asks, puzzled, but the other doesn’t reply. Instead, he winds his arms around Percy’ shoulders and tugs him forward. Percy clumsily follows, and ends up kneeling over him on the bed, practically on his lap. “Jacob?” 

“…Stay with me,” the other murmurs, breath brushing against his ear. Percy shivers at the feeling, but nods his head. They stay in that position for a while, before Percy is able to gently coax him to let him go. Jacob protests where he lies on his back, but Percy soothes him back down. “I’m just taking off my boots. I’m not going anywhere.” 

And he’s not. It’s clear that Jacob won’t let him, so he’ll stay with him rather than risk him stumbling after him and waking everyone. He settles back onto the bed, and he keeps his surprise to himself when Jacob pulls him closer. 

Percy reaches over and brushes a soothing hand down the other’s back. “Are you alright?” The other isn’t normally this clingy, and Percy doesn’t know if it’s the alcohol or something else. “You know you can speak to me, right?” 

Jacob hums, but doesn’t say anything else. He’s so quiet in fact, that for a second Percy thought he fell asleep, but he mumbles something again. 

“What?”

“…Tell me about you. About your family,” he murmurs. Percy blinks at him in surprise, but Jacob hasn’t moved from where his curled up next to him. “Please,” he near whispers. 

He looks so vulnerable like this—a normal man with his own troubles, not a sea beast hunter of legend. 

“My parents were hunters too,” Percy began, reaching out to absentmindedly brush his hand up and down Jacob’s arm. “My mom had red hair that glowed like a fire when the sun hit it. I wanted to have hair like hers so badly as a kid, but I took after my dad.” 

The silence of the room was replaced with Percy’ quiet tales. Little bits of his life from before that never had the chance to grace another's ears before. Memories of his mother’s laugh, or of gardening with his father. Of his mother’s fantastical tales and his father’s steady voice accompanying hers as they sang. Percy pauses in his telling when he feels Jacob take a shuddering breath next to him. 

“Jacob?” He whispered. “Are you alright?” 

“…I don’t remember my parents,” he admits. “Nothing good. Nothing before the night they…” 

Percy searches for his hand then, squeezing it in comfort. He stays silent, and lets Jacob continue. “I realized, earlier, that I don’t remember my mother’s laugh. Just the terror in her eyes when our ship began to sink.” His voice cracks. 

“No mother, no father, no family.” Jacob whispers, “just me and the big empty sea.” 

Percy swallows, parting his lips to whisper. “…No blood family, maybe.” He says. He’s scared, and not sure if this is correct to say, but he wants Jacob to hear it. “I thought so too, once, when my father died. But family doesn’t have to end in blood. It can be something you can choose, too.”

He looks down at their joined hands, and brings his other hand to trace the lines in Jacob’s palm. “Captain Crow… maybe he doesn’t say it, but he loves you. I- we love you. We could be your family if you let us, Jacob.” Jacob curls closer, and Percy lifts his arm to properly embrace him. 

“It won’t be the same, I know. But loving them doesn’t mean you love your parents any less. You’re not alone, Jacob.”

The other takes another shuddering breath. The room falls into a silence lPercy cannot muster the bravery to break. Time passes, and before he knows it his eyes slip shut, and he falls asleep. 

If Jacob remembered anything from that night, he didn’t mention it. When Percy woke the next day, he was alone in the bed with the covers tucked all the way up to his ears. When he headed out onto the deck, Jacob was back to normal; Famed hunter of the sea, not a sign of the man last night before him. He makes no mention of what they talked about, so Percy doesn’t either. He wonders if he remembers, if he thinks Percy is wrong for saying such things, but he never asks, so he never knows. 

Chapter Text

The hunt continues. Other beasts are killed, yes, but the Captain’s thirst for the Red Bluster’s blood grows and grows. Rumors are chased, but not a glimpse of red is found. It’s frustrating, but rumors are all they have. They cannot kill the beast if it refuses to be found. 

It’s been three years since Sarah first told him of her hope that he becomes the next First Mate. Since then, he and Jacob had accompanied her and Captain Crow to the palace for their annual deliveries. The king and queen are not kind people, Percy learns quickly. Nothing they do is ever enough for them—Not unless they kill the Bluster. 

Every month that passes without a glimpse of the Bluster fuels the flame in the Captain’s heart. They search the seas thoroughly, and for a while it feels like there’s nothing to be found, until one day, there is. 

The sun shines bright above them when the first sighting is called. 

“Captain!” Lea calls, spyglass in hand, calls from the crow’s nest. “Something big is up ahead! Something red!” 

The crew stand at full attention. Percy’ hands come down to his belt, checking for his blade and gun. The crew turn to Captain Crow, who has brought out his own spyglass. He looks to the distance now. 

He pulls the glass down, and turns to the crew. “Ms. Merino,” he says, and the woman stands at full attention. “Full speed ahead. We got it.”

The crew explodes into action. “All hands on deck!” Ms. Merino cries, followed by the chime of the bell. “All together now! Heave away! Hold your tongues!”

Jacob wraps bandages around his palms and wrists as he walks towards the main mast. He tugs on his belt, before leaping up and climbing the ropes up the crow’s nest. Percy busies himself with Sarah, making sure the cannons are loaded, the ammo was fresh and plenty, and that each harpoon was ready to go. 

“Looks like today’s the day, Sarah,” he grins, standing next to his mentor-slash-friend. The woman had guided him since the day he came, even more that past few years. Her companionship is something Percy holds in high regard. 

“Aye,” she agrees, sending him a smirk. “Best keep our heads in the game.”

Jacob slides down from the crow’s nest, heading towards Captain Crow, who’s moved to the front of the ship. Sarah and Percy move towards them. 

“…30 years since that thing took me deadlight. Now I’ll have me revenge.” 

“Aye,” Jacob agrees with the Captain, looking back at the horizon. 

“Well, we’ve passed Rum Pepper Island,” Sarah announces, reaching into her coat. “It’s heading to the Dregmorr sea.” She says, popping the cork off the flask she’s pulled from an inner pocket. She takes a hearty swig. 

Jacob crosses his arms and looks at her in amusement when she passes the bottle to Percy who takes swig as well. 

“If we’re gonna do battle with the greatest and most terrible thing in the sea, it’s best not to wait till after,” she defends. 

Percy hands the bottle to Jacob, who concedes with a grin. “There might not be an after,” he says, taking a swig. 

“Chin up, Jakey,” Percy grins. “We’ve been after it for years. We’ll get it.”

The sound of crashing waves and Ms. Merino’s orders fill the air, accompanied by the sqwacks of the gulls that follow the Red Bluster. 

Lea calls from the crow’s nest again. “Captain! It’s another hunting ship under attack!” The four look back at the behind them, and in a cloud of fog comes the golden flashes of cannon fire. The sound of metal clicking follows as they open up their spyglasses. 

“It’s Jim Nicklebones’ ship.” The Captain identifies. 

“It looks like he’s found a Brickleback,” Jacob adds. 

Sarah scoffs, “I’d say it found him.” 

Jacob looks back at Captain Crow. “We have to help him.” 

The Captain looks back at the horizon. A flash of red teases them—a large tail peeks out of the water before diving again. 

“What now, Captain?” Percy asks, looking at Crow’s hulking figure. 

The Captain squares his shoulders. “We press on.” 

“What?!” Jacob looks back at Sarah and Percy in surprise, before turning back to the Captain as he speaks again. 

“If Jim Nicklebones were half the sea dog he says he is, he wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Jacob walks up to the Captain’s side, looking at his face even when the Captain stubbornly locks his gaze to the sea. 

“Captain, you know the code.” Jacob pleads. “It binds us to all who came before, and all who come after.” 

The Captain stays silent, and for a second Percy thinks that he wouldn’t change his mind, but he knows Jacob’s won when the Captain drops his shoulders and turns back. 

“And even that rum gagger Jim Nicklebones.” He relents. “Ms. Merino, set a new course.” 

“Aye, captain!” She says, barking out new orders. “Strike the spanker! Clew up fore an’ main!” The ship tilts with her words, and the sails flap in the wind as they turn back. 

Captain Crow sighs, voice thick with frustration. “Thirty years I’ve waited,” he says, staring back at the horizon. “Thirty years! Blast!” He curses, beating his first against the rails. 

“We’ll get that beast, Captain.” Percy consoles. “We’ll see to it.” 

The ship heads towards Nicklebones’ ship at full speed, diving into the fog. They can see the flash of cannon fire, and the tentacles it illuminates. The bell tolls again as they brush past the other ship. Nicklebones’ cheers. 

“Let it know we’re here!” Sarah orders, and a red flare is fired, its color eerie against the fog. They know they’ve got the creature hooked when it screeches, and they lure it out of the fog and into the light again. 

“Ready up!” Percy cries, directing crewmates to carry out cannon load, watching as people grab their spears. 

“Hard to port, Mr. Crisp!” Captain Crow directs. “I’ll have her into the wind as high as she’ll bear, Ms. Merino.” 

“Hurl the main and fore! Ease your headsails, swabbies! Mainsail, haul!”

Jacob comes down next to Percy. “Here we go!” He says, taking the spear Percy passes to him. They make their way down to the edge of the ship together. They’re hit with salty spray as they look at the rest of their team. Percy ties his hair back with a leather band, brushing away the fringe that falls into his eyes. Ever the hero, Jacob begins his little speech. Percy rolls his eyes fondly. 

“All right, ya fish killers! We’ve come all this way for a proper fight, and now, we’ll get it!” 

The crew cheers, and soon they head out to their positions. Percy tethers himself to the ship, clipping the rope to his belt. They lean forward as the Brickleback comes, horn cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. Percy tightens his grip on his spear as it approaches. Jacob looks back to him and nods, and he returns it.

When it comes close enough, Captain Crow makes the call. “ To port, Ms. Merino. And cross the T!”

She relays the orders, and the ropes are pulled as the Captain speaks again. “Make it scream, piper!” 

Bagpipes fill the air as the beast heads right towards them. “Fire!” Crow calls, and above them cannonballs fly, cracking into the beast’s armored back. The beast doesn’t fall back even after the metal connects with its shell. It pushes forward, red eyes glinting. 

“We’ve not discouraged our prey. Quite the opposite, I’m afraid!” Jacob calls back. He looks to the Captain, who’s hanging off a rope at the edge of the ship. 

“Not to worry, Jacob. Clew up aloft, Ms. Merino… Loose!” 

Arrows fly overhead, some sinking into the craters left behind by the cannonballs. The beast growls in protest and dives, going under the ship. Percy curses as he undoes his tether. 

“It’s diving!” Jacob warns, jumping back onto the deck. He attaches a buoy to a harpoon, climbing up the ropes to a diving pole. As the pole swings down, he sinks the  harpoon into the Brickleback’s shell. The momentum has the pole swinging back, and he falls back onto the deck with a grunt. The ship tips to the side as the Brickleback swings under it. Percy yelps as he falls back against the rails. When the ship rights itself, he runs to the otherside, looking at the buoy bobbing in the water. 

The Captain frowns. “Clever fish. It’s gone upwind.” He turns back to the crew, “Stand to. Wait for the word!” 

Jacob pulls out his spyglass, looking at the buoy. 

“Where are the birds?” Percy asks, and Jacob puts down the glass, face grim. 

Jacob turns to the Captain. “It’s smarter than we think. The line’s been severed.” A gull cries out, landing onto the rails. Percy looks up to see the rest of its flock waiting in the sails. 

“It’s below us,” the captain says, right before the ship gets knocked on its side. The Brickleback leaps from the water, headbutting the ship and roaring. Percy cries out as he falls backward, and his back hits the main mast with a loud thud. He brings up his arms to guard his eyes against the spray of sea water, holding onto the mast as the Bricklback slams its head onto the deck. People and crates are sent flying, and he curses. The beast has its jaws clamped onto the ship, and its tail and tentacles whip out of the water. 

One tentacle grabs him off the mast, and he curses. He lifts his free arm and grabs his gun out of his belt. He fires, but the bullet only hits the shell near the beast’s eye when the tentacle yanks him to the left. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Jacob climb back onto the mast. A tentacle tries to strike his back. 

“Jacob!” Percy cries, taking aim and firing. The tentacle recoils, and Jacob stays momentarily unharmed. 

“Thanks!” He cries, jumping and running up the mast. He frees a few more buoys along the way, and walks a rope to free another crew member, captured by tentacles. 

Percy curses when the tentacle holding him jerks again, and he aims for the base of it, firing. It takes two bullets to get it to let go. He drops onto the deck with a loud thud. The Brickleback draws back, and Percy looks up to see its gaze directed at Jacob with the piper in his arms. He jumps back when a tentacle slams against the deck in front of him. He curses, drawing his blade and slices the thing into two. He looks up and around again, but he can’t find Jacob amidst the chaos. 

He cuts another tentacle, freeing a crewmate, when Jacob falls from the sky and rolls onto the deck He dodges tentacles whipping about, and throws a harpoon in on the craters on the Brickleback’s head. The creature recoils with a cry, falling back into the water. 

The ship rights itself suddenly, and Jacob rolls to a stop on the deck. He sits back next to the companionway, and Percy runs to him. 

“You idiot-!” He says, punching Jacob in the arm but gathering him in a one-armed hug, blade in the other hand. A boy peeks out from behind them, face terrified. 

“Look out!” 

Percy turns back to see a tentacle heading their way. Percy prepares to swing, and Jacob holds his hand up in a stopping motion like the idiot he is, but the tentacle’s too fast and soon enough they’re in the air falling into the water. 

The impact against the water stuns him for a bit, but soon enough Percy starts kicking. He breaches the water, looking around. He locks eyes with Jacob, and the two swim towards one another, before heading towards the boat. 

Percy yelps when the water around them rises and they’re caught in the beast’s open maw. He lets out a cry and sinks his knife into the nearest piece of flesh he could find, and it shocks the beast enough that it tilts its head to the side. The fall into the water, pushed back down by the current the beast makes when it dives after them.

Percy swims upwards, but a tentacle comes rushing past his side. It flings him out of the water, and onto the beast’s thrashing back. Ahead of him, Jacob nearly gets crushed between the plates of the beast’s shell. 

“Jacob!” He shouts, but the other hunter does something that has the beast standing upright, sending them flying into the water once more. Percy surfaces, sputtering and coughing as he does. He sees Jacob next to him, and swims towards him. Together, they swim past the beast’s felled body and back onto the ship, where a rope ladder was thrown over the edge for them. 

“Damn you, Holland! You attract trouble wherever you go.” Percy says, accepting a helping hand from Lea as he climbs on deck. 

“Hey! I didn’t do a damn thing!”  Jacob cries indignantly. They both turn back to the water, watching with the rest of the crew as the horn of the Rickleback comes floating towards the surface. But a heartbeat passes, and another, but the Captain does not follow. 

“Captain…?” Jacob calls out. “Captain!” 

Chapter Text

The crew is silent, below deck. The infirmary is full tonight. A bulk of the crew’s wounds have already been dressed, and Jacob sits on the bench shirtless as he unravels the wrapping around his hand. Behind him, Percy stands with a needle and thread,  stitching the worst of his wounds closed. Around them, the crew talked. 

“If ya know what’s good for ya, you’ll keep clear of the captain,” warns Mr. Crisp.

Fen frowns, tightening her hook. “He was close enough to smell that red devil.”

“But if he can’t have the Bluster’s hide, he’ll have ours, to be sure.”

The crew grew somber at Old Man John’s words. The Captain’s been waiting 30 years for this moment, and they let it go to save another ship. It was the right thing to do, Percy believed, but it was still a bitter feeling. Jacob jerked up in front of him, looking around the room. 

“Why, it’s gloomy as the Helgrad trenches in here.” He jumps off the table suddenly, and Percy gives him a warning pinch to the side for pulling a reckless move mid-stitch. He doesn’t stop Jacob talking, however, because he knows the crew needs this too. 

“We’ve taken some right proper monsters on this hunt, and the royals will pay us accordingly.” Jacob reminds them. Percy darts forward to get the last of the stitching done before he does anything more beyond the current marching he was doing. “And then we’ll come back, and we’ll take that red devil.” 

The boy from earlier, Finnigan, Percy recalls, steps forward. “Can we beat it, Jacob? They say the Bluster moves the very sea.”

“Aye,” Jacob says, reaching for his shirt and tugging it up as his arms Percy finishes the last stitch. “And it shoots fireballs out of its eyes, they say. It’s enough to make your knees wobble,” he teases. 

“But I ain’t afraid, ‘cause I’m on the Inevitable with you lot. This ship has taken more of them beasts than any other, and she’s got the scars to prove it.” 

“As do we, Jacob!” Old Nick crows, showing off the lines on his arms. 

“Aye,” Jacob says. “Every hunter’s scar is a life saved.” 

He goes around the room, reminding the crew of what this was all for. They hunt beasts to keep the people safe. To keep the seas safe. To make it so people like them, people who hunt beasts because they suffered from them, don’t have to experience the horrors they did. “All hunters die of the same thing.” 

Fen laughs, “Aye, being a hunter.” 

“That’s right! Being a hunter,” Jacob agrees. “But every hunter dies a great death. Because every hunter lives a great life!” 

Jacob’s words bolster the crew. They smile for him, crowding him and patting his shoulders. Percy will always be amazed with Jacob’s way with words. 

Sarah’s voice cuts through the crowd. “Jacob!” Everyone falls silent as they turn to look at her. “Captain would like a word.” 

Old Nick snorts. “Speaking of dying a great death,” he fake-whispers. He and Fen explode into laughter. “Nice knowing you, Jacob!” 

They follow him to the stairs, and Percy leans against a support beam as they watch Jacob go. “Don’t let my good work go to waste!” He calls. 

Jacob disappears for a while, but there’s no gunfire or screaming, so Percy counts it as a win. Supper starts rolling out while he’s gone—it’s roasted fish tonight, seasoned with hot and sour spices. Dahlia's homebrew does not make an appearance, thankfully. The crew’s not as rowdy as they could be, injuries and all, but the mood was lighter than it was before. 

When Jacob comes down, his steps are light. People congratulate him jokingly when he passes, and he settles into the seat next to Percy. Percy pushes towards him the plate he saved, which Jacob takes with a grateful nod. 

“Congrats on your survival,” Percy jokes, spinning in his seat so he could lean back against the table’s edge. “And how was the battle, hunter?” 

Jacob rolls his eyes, but even Percy’ teasing doesn’t wipe off the grin on his face. “…Crow called me his son,” he says, smiling around his spoon. Percy grins back at him, a genuine one this time. He pats Jacob in the back. “We all knew it. I’m glad you know now, too.”

Jacob shoves him again, but still he smiles happy and light. 

…

The next few days pass in high spirits. Their trip back to the capitol is uneventful, but everyone’s excited to come back. They come up to the chain gates that mark the capitol’s entrance, and even from a distance Percy can see the crowd that’s begun to form. 

The ship docks, ropes thrown overboard to secure the port. The crew assembles on the deck, as Sarah announces their return once more. 

“It’s good to be home at last, but it will be a short stay, I’m afraid. Captain Crow will visit the king and queen at first light. And when the ship is ready, we’ll be off to kill a monster!” 

Old Nick jumps up to her side. “We’re going after the Red Bluster!” He says. “So if this be our last visit to Three Bridges, I expect some right, proper debauchery!” 

The crowd cheered at their words, and soon they began to unboard. Sarah leads the way, asking the crowd to part for them. Percy and Jacob are quick to follow her, and they are followed by a line of crewmates who bring down horns of varying colors and size. 

“The Crown will pay well for them horns,” Jacob remarks. “So the drinks are on us! No one goes thirsty tonight, swabbies!” 

They make their way to the nearest tavern. Jacob pushes his way to the front, dropping a dozen golden coins on the bar. The band starts up quickly enough, playing Percy’ favorite—Captain Crow’s theme. Tankards start rolling out by the dozen. Percy and Jacob down one each before Percy ropes him into dancing. 

Jacob’s hand is warm in his as they spin and dance. They step back to clap and duck under other patrons as they do, and when the song comes to an end, Jacob excuses himself to find another drink. Percy lets him go, and seeks out Sarah instead. He finds her with her own table in the corner, nursing her own drink. 

“Lookin’ lovely tonight, Sarah!” 

The other hunter smirks. She raises a brow at him over the lip of her drink. “Your dance partner got bored, so ya looking for another one, aye?” 

Percy pouts, taking a free seat. “he didn’t get bored. He’s looking for a drink.” 

“A drink he’s found, aye. And another partner it looks like.” Sarah points to somewhere behind him. He spins on his chair and gasps with delight at Jacob’s uncomfortable face talking to a kid. He can’t quite make out what they’re saying, but it’s clear as day that the kid’s got him beat. Percy laughs out loud when Jacob gives up and tows the kid out—probably to send her back to wherever she came from. 

When he comes back in, he looks exhausted for a guy who wrestles sea monsters for a living. Percy snorts into his drink at the thought. A legendary hunter, bested by a little girl. Fitting. Jacob grabs a tankard and heads to their table, sitting down with a sigh. 

“New friend, Jacob?” Sarah asked, just as amused as Percy was. 

“Ah, just some kid.” He sighs, taking a swig from his drink. 

Sarah groans, “Ugh. Horrible things, children.” Percy cracks up again. When Jacob looks at him funny, he explains. “You do know that the child Sarah’s had the most contact with is you , right? 

Jacob rolls his eyes, but he accepts when Percy leans forward to clink their drinks together. The three of them make a toast together in their little corner, and they drink the night away.

Chapter Text

Percy groans, wedging his face between Jacob’s back and the walls of the carriage in an attempt to keep the unforgiving morning light away from his eyes. Jacob groans above him, and Sarah is lying back with her hat covering her face. Captain Crow steers their cart. A sensible man he is, Percy thinks. He knew they would be going out early today, and thus did not partake in last night’s festivities. Soon enough they roll up to the gates—large ornate things made with white and green stone and gold detailing. Despite having visited multiple times before, the richness and wealth the castle displays never fails to render him speechless. 

They are welcomed into Castle Whiterock, where staff help them unload the horns to be brought to the king and queen. They walk into their receiving room, made with the same green, white, and gold material that makes up the rest of the palace. Captain Crow leads the way, followed by Sarah, Jacob, and Percy. The castle staff bring in the horns last, which are unloaded one by one to be seen by the Crown. 

“Well, if it isn’t Captain Crow and his loyal mates,” the king greets. Percy looks around the room, still fascinated with all the wealth. To the side was a long table dressed in red and laden with different fruits that Jacob headed straight towards. 

Captain Crow took off his hat, holding it to his chest as the horns were wheeled past him. “Your Grace, as you can see, the oceans have offered abundant prey.”

“And I see you’ve taken a full-grown Brickleback. A specimen like that garners quite a bounty.” the queen remarks. But her face twists into a scowl, because the Crown only ever wants the one thing. “But there’s something I don’t see. The horn of the Red Bluster.”

Percy frowns at her tone. Queen or not, something about her attitude makes his stomach twist. He scoffs in his head; did the queen think it was so easy, to get the horn of the most feared beast of the sea? 

She gestures to the man standing to her left. “Admiral Hornagold has reported a rumor.”

The four of them raise brows at him, confused with the man’s presence. The queen continues. “You spotted the Red Bluster, but abandoned your pursuit because of a certain… code.” She says the word like it’s dirty, and it adds to the long line of tally marks Percy has against the royals. 

Admiral Hornagold steps forward, bloated with overconfidence and the feeling of self importance. “They royals don’t pay you to honor such codes. They pay you to kill monsters. How many more ships will be lost because you let the Bluster slip away?” He taunts. 

The king beckons them out onto the balcony. The gold lined doors swing open as he speaks. “This was once a small kingdom with a big idea. To send hunters out to repel the beasts from our shores, and usher in a new era of peace.” 

“It’s been hundreds of years since the dark times,” the queen continues. “But as long as the Bluster lives, people will still look to the seas with fear. 

Before them waits a tall ship, decked in royal colors. The king gestures to the ship, standing back as to let them walk forward and look. “Today makes the beginning of a new era.” The king says. “The Crown will no longer support the hunters.” 

Admiral Hornagold walks up next to them, looking at them almost mockingly. “She’s quite a sight, isn’t she? The Imperator is the most heavily-armed ship ever to set sail. The Royal Navy will push deep into the unknown world, and eradicate every sea beast in our path.”

“Not in that thing,” Captain Crow scoffs. “She rests too low. And them fixed cannons is useless. And her Captain is an ass.” 

Admiral Hornagold gasps, hand coming to the pommel of his sword. “It’s time for you to leave, Captain.” He turns his back on them, marching back to his king and queen’s side. “Your time is up.”

“Admiral,” Crow calls, “have you ever seen one of them beasts that wasn’t hanging from the ceiling? Don’t send your soldiers to die in a ship like that,” Captain Crow warns. “It’s not built for hunting, and neither are you.” 

“I assure you, I am not afraid of those beasts.”

“Then you’re a fool!” Captain Crow proclaims. “And you’ll take a lot of good sailors down with you!” 

The queen’s voice cuts through. “General, see the hunters out. We’re done with them.” The general and their guards marched forward as Crow continued to shout. 

“We hunters have shed blood while you lot hid behind walls, and drew lines on maps!” He cried, pointing at the royals and their white castle walls. “You’re cowards! The lot of ya!” 

“General, the Captain is to be placed under arrest, and the Inevitable decommissioned.” The queen barked. Percy’ hands went to his own blade as the general’s hand went to theirs. Fingers drew near triggers, and it seemed like the confrontation would only end in blood, until Jacob slid forward. 

“Wait!” He begged, hands held up placatingly. “Your grace,” he stammered, “the, uh… The Captain is well-known for his temper, but his talents as a hunter have served you well. He’s opened the seas and made your empire the envy of the known world!” 

“Now, I believe the world still needs the hunters, so prove me wrong.” Jacob offers. “Give us one more try for the Bluster.” He asked, moving forward and ducking under muskets. “If we take it, you keep your promise, and we continue our alliance. If the Imperator takes the Bluster, well, you can tear down the Inevitable for scrap, and the days of the hunters will be over.” 

“Either way,” he shrugs, “you win.” The thought brings smirks to their mouths. The admiral steps forward, “I, for one, would relish the opportunity.”

“Then we have a contest,” the king says, waving around his ringed fingers. The general sheathes their blade at the king’s words, and Percy lets go of his own. 

The king speaks again, “Ready, get set. Go.” 

“We’ll take the Bluster and bring it to your doorstep,” Captain Crow promises. “The days of hunters are not over.” 

Soon enough they are escorted out of the palace and back to the carriage, and they make their way back to the Inevitable. Her repairs are complete and their supplies restocked, and by midday, they head out to the open sea once more. 

The Captain, Sarah, and Jacob talk strategy. Percy keeps the ship running while they do. They speak from dawn till dusk these days, and they only step out before supper to let everyone know the battle plans. 

The ship is fortified; the sails are checked and secured, and additional cannons line the ship’s rails. Captain Crow lets all the crew know just what the Crown thinks of doing. 

“We are hunters!” He cries, brandishing his spear. “And we will bring all of our skill, and all of our rage down upon this beast. And there will be justice!” The crew clap and cheer at his words.

“But that will not be the end of this great ship, for no one has sailed past the Dregmorr Sea. No one knows what dangers lurk in that terrible unknown.” he says. He lifts his spear up and points the blade at Jacob. “But it will be this ship under Jacob Holland that will pierce the darkness!”

The crowds cheer, reaching over to pat Jacob on the back and shoulders. Percy reaches forward to give one himself, patting extra hard. Kegs are rolled out at the announcement. 

“So let’s drink to a successful hunt, with many more to come!” Crow cries, nodding to Jacob as he’s carried away by an excited crew. The kegs are popped open, one, two, then three. But from the third is not the fizz of ale. Instead, it’s the sound of a little voice. The crew quiets quickly, looking back. Jacob jumps from the arms of his crewmates, heading towards the keg as people whisper. He reaches down and tips it upside down, and when he lifts it up again, the curled up body of the same little girl from the tavern is revealed. 

“You stowed away?!” Jacob asks, unbelieving. The little girl smiles sheepishly. “I stowed away…” 

Jacob runs an exasperated hand down his face, sighing. “You stowed away…”

The little girl pops up, smiling. “I… yeah.” 

“Well, we’re dropping you off at the nearest port. We’re going after the Bluster, and we can’t have a kid mucking about-“

“What’s this?” Captain Crow asks, approaching them both. He looms over the little girl, who stutters out her name.

“The name’s Maisie Brumble… but you need no introduction!” She exclaims. “You’ve been swallowed whole, shot through the heart, and cut to pieces. But the worms won’t eat you, and hell won’t take you, so here you are! The right, proud commander of the second-greatest hunting ship what ever sailed!” 

“Second greatest?” Captain Crow asks. He leans forward. “Which then, may I ask, is the greatest?” 

“I’m partial to the Monarch,” Maisie says, losing a bit of the excitement that came with meeting the Captain Crow. “It’s the ship my parents served on.” 

Captain Crow leans back. “I see. Then they died heroes, didn’t they?”

“Aye.” She agrees, clutching at her bag’s strap. 

Captain Crow looks down at her in consideration. “I like this kid. She’s all vinegar.” 

“B-but, Captain-“ 

“Sarah, be good enough to take her in, would you?” 

“Aye, Captain.”

Maisie’s face brightens, and after a quick look around, she grabs the tankard nearest to her. She looks back at Jacob with an all too pleased grin, “Congratulations, Captain Someday.” She knocks her cup against Jacob’s, but fails to get away with it when Jacob takes it from her in the end. She follows after Sarah, who leads her to the spear bunk in her quarters. Percy doesn’t miss the tongue she sticks out at Jacob on the way. 

“Jacob Holland, one of the greatest hunters on this side of the world, bested by a little girl. Who would’ve known?” Percy grinned, taking the extra tankard from Jacob’s loose hands. He stands there still, gobsmacked, before he realizes what Percy said and scoffs. 

“I haven’t been bested by anybody,” he tries, but Percy grins. “We were all there, Jacob. A little Maisie Brumble would say otherwise.” 

They head for supper, and don’t see Sarah until halfway through it. She marches straight to where they’ve sat, grabs the glass out of Percy’ hands, and doesn’t speak until she’s finished the whole thing. “That kid’s gonna be a right menace,” she says, and Percy cackles. He gets two nasty glares for it. 

“You keep her in line,” Sarah orders, before leaving again. Percy snickers, “gladly!” He says to her retreating form.

Chapter Text

The party wraps up quickly between the surprises, and they head to bed soon enough. They’re up at dawn the next day, and Percy watches as two red flares are sent out into the still dark sky. He heads to Sarah’s quarters, and before he gets to knock, Maisie tumbles out. She looks back at him with a smile, before she very deliberately sits herself near where the Captain and Jacob are standing. They don’t. notice her yet, so she turns back to Percy and brings her pointer finger to her lips as she brings out a small blade and a whetstone. Percy smiles and nods, copying the motion. 

She catches their attention as soon as she finishes her first swipe, and Percy keeps his laughter in as she starts fishing. 

“I wonder if I might need something a little… larger?” 

Jacob frowns at her, “hey, where’d you get that knife?” 

“Sarah gave it to me ‘cause I’m a hunter now,” she explains, bouncing on her heels. She brandishes the blade, swinging it around as she fights off an imaginary foe. 

“A hunter that needs to go to bed,” Jacob says, finally catching sight of Percy where he’s watching them. His eyes beg for help, but Percy only grins, giving Jacob a thumbs up. 

“But I’m too much awake to sleep,” she complains. “I’m on the Inevitable with Captain Crow! Them pictures in me books come to life, and exacting bloody revenge!” She swings her knife around again, and gets stuck when it embeds itself into the wood. 

“Go, get your rest,” Captain Crow says. “Percy.” 

“Aye, Captain!” Maisie and Percy says together, and once she’s freed her blade, she stumbles to his side. She looks back at the Captain once last time. “We’s gonna kill that thing, ain’t we?” Maisie asks. “And they’ll make statues of us.” 

“We’ll kill it, alright. Now get!” Crow orders. Maisie gives them one last salute, before Percy tugs her off.

“Hey,” she says thoughtfully, “I’ve never caught your name, sir.” Percy leads her into Sarah’s quarters and helps her settle into her top bunk. 

“Percy Fallon, at your service.” He salutes, and he smiles when she giggles and returns it. “Now you better rest, we don’t know when the beast will strike, so we best be ready.” 

“Have you really seen the Red Bluster before?” She asks, reaching for her book as her pulls her covers up. 

Percy smiles at her. He remembers being like this too, when his parents told him stories of their own adventures. “Aye. Only it’s tail, mind you, but it was as big as our main sail, I’d reckon. Red to match, too.”
 
Maisie sighs dreamily, leaning back into the pillow. “Wow.” 

“Aye,” Percy says, now that she’s all tucked in. “I’ll come back for you in the morning. I’ll tell you more then, too.” 

Maisie sighs, but she stays in bed still. “Fine. Good night-“ 

Something groans outside, something loud. Percy reaches for the bunk’s ladder as the floorboards creak, and the lanterns and blades hung around Sarah’s room rattle. People begin clamoring outside, and the bell rings with urgency. Maisie bolts up, afraid. “Percy-“ 

“It must be the Bluster,” he breathes, looking back at her. He jumps toward the room’s open window, and shuts it tightly. 

“What do we do?!” She cries, and Percy shushes her gently. “We are not doing anything. You need to stay here, it’s about to get bumpy.” 

He leaves the room and shuts the door tight behind him. He tightens his belt and grabs a harpoon. He checks if the rope’s secure, and joins those standing at the front of the ship. A crowd of gulls aproach them, just as Sarah shouts, “brace!” 

The ship lurches to the side, and Percy grabs onto the rails next to him. A loose grenade falls into the water and explodes, righting the ship forcefully. In the distance the Bluster groans, tail breaching the water. 

“The ocean has sent us its worse, and we’ll send it right back.” Captain Crow barks out orders, and Jacob runs past Percy with a crate of carcass shot in hand. 
 
“Percy!” A voice calls, and the hunter’s eyes widen as he sees the little girl out of her room. “Maisie!” He cries. “Jacob!” 

Jacob follows Percy’ gaze and curses. “I got her!” He hands off his crate to another sailor, picking up Maisie and bringing her back to the room. Knowing she’s secure, Persues turns back to their broadside, where the Bluster’s coming at them with all the force of a storm. Cannons are loaded, lances ready, and the beast’s red horn peeks out of the water as it swims. Jacob returns to his side, lance at the ready. 

The Red Bluster leaps up, casting the ship in its large shadow. The cannons aim and, “fire!” Captain Crow calls. The beast changes course, hitting the head of the ship. “Now’s our chance! Spears!” 

Percy lets his harpoon go flying, watching as it sinks into the Bluster’s red flesh. The beast. growls and dives, tugging the ship forward as it tries to swim away. 

“Full sail, Ms. Merino!” Captain Crow orders. 

“Square the yards! Get it off the pins!” 

Captain Crow grins. “It’ll fight the very wind till there’s no fight left in it!” 

The Bluster thrashes and swims, the Inevitable following after it. It dives with a groan, and makes a hard right. The ship leans to follow it. The Bluster’s speed and force forms a whirlpool, and the ship leans forward after it. Percy holds on to the mast as the ship tips to its front. The whirlpool grows more and more viscous, the ship’s back end raises higher and higher. A screaming blur falls towards Percy, and he’s just able to catch it. 

“Maisie!” He cries, pulling her closer and keeping her between him and the mast. The ship jerks, and the two of them slip forward. Percy keeps Maisie from hitting the rails too hard when they make it to the back of the ship. Maisie slips from his grasp, but she doesn’t fall far, hitting the ropes. “Maisie! Hold on!” 

“The ship can’t take it! We have to cut the lines!” Jacob cries. 

The Captain doesn’t listen, and continues forward. “I’ve never run from a fight, and I won’t start now.”

“We must!” Jacob begs. “Even dead, it’ll drag us to the bottom!” 

In front of him, Maisie brings out her knife. She looks back at him, afraid, but he knows what she’s planning. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, her eyes look back. She’s afraid, but the fire burning within her is fiercer than the storm around them. 

“Go,” is all he says, and she turns back and begins sawing at the rope. The first line snaps, and the ship jerks with it. 

“Maisie Brumble!” Captain Crow roars. “Cut those lines and I’ll kill you for a coward!” 

“Maisie, go!” Percy urges, and she turns back to the rope, cutting once more. 

The Captain growls. “Percy! Jacob, stop them!” 

Percy looks back and watches as Jacob swings down. Percy reaches out to grab him. “Jacob, no!” The other hunter looks back at him, and Percy begs. “Please, Jacob, let her finish it.” 

The crew around them calor and shout, nearly slipping off themselves. They look back at Maisie, who’d stopped cutting when Jacob arrived. When he doesn’t move, she goes back to cutting the final rope. The last rope snaps, and the three of them slide forward as the ship violently slides back. They crash into the water. 

Percy lands next to Maisie, and Jacob turns to swim back to them, when the Bluster appears from the depths and stares. They wait still, and with baited breath, but the beast does not go after them, and sinks into the darkness. They kick up towards the surface and head towards the rowboat the crew set out for them. 

Percy pulls himself up the ship, tugging Maisie up, and gives a hand to Jacob as well. From the Inevitable, the Captain shouts. “Bring them to me!” Her orders. 

“What are you gonna do?” Jacob asks, and the Captain slams his fist on the rails. “I said bring them to me!” 

Percy moves to stand next to Jacob, pushing Maisie behind the other hunter. “She’s just a child!” Perseus begs, but the Captain is unrelenting. He shouts, and pulls a gun at them. “I’m giving you an order!” 

“Captain-“ Percy tries again, but the Captain shoots, and Maisie screams. Percy looks for her, afraid, but she’s unharmed. Jacob calls his name, and he finally looks down at his shirt. A patch of red blooms at his side. Oh. He’s the one who’s shot. The pain catches up to him, and he falls into waiting hands. The roar of the Red Bluster is the last thing he remembers, before it all goes dark. 

Chapter Text

“-ercy… Percy!” 

Percy blinks his eyes open. He’s on his back, his side aches something fierce, and there are two worried faces hovering above his.  

“Jacob…? Maisie…?”

“You’re alive!” The girl cries. She’s careful with his side, and she winds her small arms around his neck. Percy brings his free hand to brush a hand soothingly down her back, because the other is taken by Jacob’s. He looks at him questioningly over Maisie’s head. “What happened…? Where are we?” 

“You were shot by the Captain.” Jacob says, and Percy remembers what happened better now. “You’re lucky it’s more of a graze. I’m no doctor, but I wrapped it best I could.”

Jacob guides his hand to the tight makeshift bandage on his side. Maisie sits back, and she and Jacob help him sit up. He realized his head was resting on Jacob’s lap, then. They’re in the rowboat still, now they are sitting in a dark cave, with only a single lamp for light. 

“Where-?” His question’s cut off with an animalistic groan, and Maisie tightens her grip on his arm. He looks around, taking in the fleshy walls and large, glinting teeth. “Are we in the…?” 

“The Bluster? Yeah.” Jacob sighs. “We’ve been here for about two hours now. We’ve been waiting for you to wake up. But I’ve got a plan. So…”

Jacob’s plan was terrible, but it was all they got. Percy helped Maisie secure the rope around her waist as Jacob secured the other end to the buckle on his belt. He would’ve tied the other end to him instead, but it would do his wound no good. Jacob grabbed his lance, and they watched as he took the first step off the boat and into the Bluster’s fleshy mouth. He slowly walked towards its throat where light glowed blue. 

“Jacob,” Maisie whispers, tightening her grip on the lamp. “What if it swallows you?”

“…Cut the rope.” Jacob whispered, looking at them from over his shoulder. He adjusted the spear in his hand, and walked further away from them.

“Percy,” Maisie asked, pressing closer to his uninjured side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, brushing a gentle hand down her arm. “Will we really cut the rope if Jacob gets swallowed?” 

Percy shakes his head. “No, we won’t. If the beast wanted to eat us, it already would’ve.”

“R-right…” Maisie stammered. They watched as the rope grew tauter, heading upwards. Percy beckoned her forward. “C’mon.” 

They walked to the end of the beast’s throat, where Jacob was waiting with the rope in hand on a ledge above them. Percy helped the girl up first. “Go on, Maisie.” Jacob pulled her up with the rope until he was close enough to reach, and he grabbed her and set her down at his side.

Jacob reached down for him next, and Percy jumped, catching Jacob’s hand midair. Jacob pulled him up, and murmured a quiet apology when the movement put strain on his side. “I’m fine.” Percy said. Together, they moved towards the end of the fleshy tunnel. The source of the glow was some sort of window, and on the other side of it is an underwater landscape. A school of fish swims past them. 

“Holy shit,” Percy whispers, before the Bluster makes its way to the surface. They all fall back with a yelp, and Maisie is caught by Percy, who is caught by Jacob, who holds all three of them steady as the Bluster breaches the water. Through the window they watch as the beast makes its way to an island. Jacob pushes them forward, grabbing his fallen spear. 

“What are you going to do?” Maisie asks fearfully. Jacob looks back at her, then back out the window. “I’m going to kill it.” 

“Kill it?” Maisie echoes, “How!?” 

“Well, I don’t know. I just get pumped up and kind of wing it. Look, I don’t want to overthink this, alright? I’m just gonna kill it.” 

Their window opens suddenly, sending in strong gusts of air. Percy reaches forward to grab both Maisie and Jacob, lest one of them slip away. He looks at Jacob, “that’s not a good plan!” He warns, shouting over the rush of the wind. 

Maisie looks at Jacob, unsure. “I don’t know about this!” 

“I’m Jacob Holland, remember?” He says, “Who killed five of them beasts in a span of two days!” He reaches to the side and leans the spear against the wall as he kneels down to look at Maisie in the eye. “And this is just another beast.”

“A beast that nearly tore our ship in half!” Percy reminds. “You can’t just rush out there and hope for the best! There has to be another way.” 

Jacob reaches for the rope around Maisie

“Can you kill it from the inside?” She asks suddenly. Jacob looks up to her in question. The beast suddenly jerks its head, then, and violently sneezes. 

“Jacob!” Percy screamed, watching the other shoot out of what was apparently the Bluster’s nostril. He groaned as his injured side slammed into a wooden pole. The spear Jacob left lodged itself into the beast’s flesh, stuck, and Maisie and Percy held on to it as the other hunter flew through the air. The beast tossed its head around, and they watched as Jacob was tossed around with it, still attached to the rope around Maisie’s waist. Jacob swung around freely before he caught a palm tree, sinking his knife into the bark for extra security. He looked back at them, where they were huddled by the lance, and jumped onto his blade. 

He started gathering the rope, shouting “hold on!” 

The Red Bluster lifted one curious flipper to the rope, bringing it to its face. It gave a tug, and Maisie and the lance slipped out of Percy’s arms. “No!” He tried to reach out and grab her, but it pulled on his side and he curled back up in pain. 

Maisie screamed as she swung, and Percy looked for her, but he couldn’t see her past the beast’s lip. “Maisie!” The beast’s head tilted to the side and back, and when Percy looked back up, Jacob was on top of the palm tree across from him. “Jacob!” 

He heard Maisie’s voice shouting at her to wait, but Jacob leapt from the tree and swung, aiming for the beast’s chest. From below him, Maisie swung back, and the countermovement had Jacob falling to the sand and Maisie flying up to where he once stood on the tree top. 

“Wait, Jacob, no! Stop!” She cried. Percy could not see what Jacob was doing, but Maisie pulled out the knife and tried to cut the rope around her chest but froze. The beast’s head tilted to the side as it raised a giant flipper, and sent a tidal wave to the shore. 

“Maisie!’ Percy called, watching as she swayed with the tree as the water came up to only a few feet below her. “Hang on, I’ll-!” He shouted as the beast started walking away. He could hear Maisie shout for him, but he was stuck. He couldn’t jump out, because there was nowhere to go, and he couldn’t jump back into its mouth either. 

Shit!  

Chapter Text

The beast walked for quite some time, before it settled down into a large crater at the base of the mountain. The sky was already red with the sun set when it did. The crater was filled with flattened leaves, and it laid down its head. Percy froze as it curled up and stilled. Its breath settled and it seemingly fell asleep. With its head near the ground, Percy very carefully slipped out of its nostril so as to not wake it. 

He fell down to the ground, impact softened by the leaves and plants that lined it. He carefully made his way to the edge of the nest, scaling the wall. His foot slipped, and he cursed under his breath as he tumbled down. He hit a branch on his way down, and he hisses as it hits his side. He hunches over in pain, grabbing his side, and grimacing when his hand comes back red. He straightens up and sighs, and when he looks up he locks eyes with the Red Bluster’s curious yellow ones, practically glowing in the dark. 

Percy froze, holding up his hands placatingly. “Easy there…” He said, stumbling back as the Red Bluster crept forward, sniffing the air. “Nice… nice sea beast…” He cursed himself in his head. No weapons, no plan. Sarah would let the beast eat him now; she didn’t teach him to be an idiot. 

The beast froze, cocking its head out the side as it brought its face closer to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and brought his hands up in a last ditch attempt to protect himself, freezing when the beast growled. The beast didn’t do anything else but growl, so he chanced a quick glance. The beast wasn’t looking at him, but his hand, palm stained red with blood. It dipped its head closer to his injured side, and he flinched back as it sniffed at him curiously. He screamed when it opened its maw above him, but it only gently bit down at his vest, carrying him back to the center of its nest. 

He tried to make a run for it again, but it growled at him when he tried to get up, and so he got the message and sat down again. The beast, satisfied with his compliance, turns back and leaves the nest, disappearing into the dark. He considers trying to run again, but when he stands his side throbs in protest. That’s him told. He sits in the dark, waiting for the beast to come back. When it does, it carries an uprooted tree in its mouth. It drops it right in front of him and he yelps in surprise. When he looks back up at it, it blinks, and almost looks pleased with itself. When he doesn’t move, it snarls gently, nudging the tree forward again. Percy looks back at the tree, and realizes its branches are heavy with furry red fruits. 

He blinks back up at the beast in surprise. “You brought me fruit…?”

The beast blinks back at him, and it doesn’t look away until he tentatively grabs one fruit from a nearby branch. He peels the soft shell away, biting into sweet white flesh and spitting the pit away. He finishes the first one, and gets another, and another. The beast croons, and curls back up again. It doesn’t go to sleep yet, and instead watches him with an eye half open. 

Full, Percy leans back, watching the beast with hesitant eyes. “Thanks… I guess.” The beast purrs, and its eyes slip shut. Strangely enough, Percy doesn’t feel compelled to take this as a chance to run. He’s full, and the events of the past few days have caught up with him, leaving him with a bone-deep feeling of tiredness. The beast he’s been taught to know as an unforgiving monster from the deep, the demon of the sea, spared him. Fed him, even. It even seemed angry for his injury on his behalf. It’s confusing, but a full stomach and the sense of tentative safety has his eyes drooping. He convinces himself that he’s safe here, for now—no beast would want to come close to the Bluster’s nest, right?

‘I’ll only close my eyes for a little while,’ Percy tells himself. ‘Only a little while…’ 

His eyes slip shut, and he falls asleep. 

…

Percy rolls over, trying to find a more comfortable position. His side twangs with pain, and he frowns. He bats away a leaf tickling his cheek, and he remembers where he exactly was. He sits up, groaning as his side protests the movement, and looks around. There at the edge of the nest was the Bluster, watching him and waiting. Percy’s heart skipped a beat. He had no weapons, no tools, and a gunshot wound that throbbed something fierce at his side. He didn’t know where Jacob and Maisie were, and all he could do was hope they escaped. All he could rely on now was himself, and the mercy a monster has shown him. 

It was puzzling, he thought, staring at the beast who was laying at the edge of their nest. A beast who’s said to leave no survivors, a beast regarded as death itself, the most terrifying foe a hunter ever has the misfortune of meeting… technically saved his life. It fed him, watched over him, hell, it even saved him from Captain Crow. He didn’t think the man would ever shoot him, and he never thought he’d ever look at the Red Bluster with something other than hatred, but here he is. 

The morning sun shone bright above them. Percy looked at the beast, watching as its- her , maybe, scales shining like rubies in the sun. Outside of the battlefield, Percy could admit that she was beautiful like this. A mighty creature. She looked at him with almost curious eyes, and it made him wonder what kind of intelligence lived behind them. 

“Hey…” Percy starts. He feels a little silly talking to her like this, but he continues. “Thank you, again, for saving me.” She doesn’t move. He swallows, and speaks again. “Do you, do you know if Maisie and Jacob got off the island?” The beast doesn’t reply, of course, but she looks into the distance. Percy wonders if that’s a yes or a no. 

He spends the day in her nest. She allows him out of it, but she starts snarling and tries to corral him back into it if he gets too far. He finds a flat-ish stone and gathers enough dry wood to make a fire on it, not wanting to burn the rest of the nest down. The beast never leaves for long. She disappears for an hour or two, and brings down another fruit tree. This one has golden fruits with thin, soft skins and large pits. The golden flesh is sweet and juicy when he bites into it. He thanks her again.

The sun had peaked above them when Percy heard the first wail in the distance. It’s faint, but sure enough, there’s a chorus of animalistic calls. Next to him, the Bluster raises her head, pupils narrowing into slits as she looks to the direction of the sound. She croons, and he looks back to see her lowering her head. She looks back at the direction of the calls, then to him again. 

“Do… Do you want me to get on your back?” She croons again, and she doesn’t move, so he takes it as a yes. Carefully, he climbs on to her back, finding purchase on her leathery skin. He settles down by her horn when a louder, deeper cry echoes, and the ground shivers in evenly spaced thuds. “What is that?!” 

He yelps, and clings onto the Bluster tighter as she stands, moving towards the beach in slow, heavy motions. When they make it to the beach, a large yellow monster passes them, surrounded by smaller, squeaking versions of it. They entered the water, and in the distance, there stood a titanic purple crab. In its pincers was something small and brown, and it brought it closer to its mouth. It had just shoved it in when they approached, and the creature froze at the sight of the Bluster. 

Percy recognized the boat, with its red sails. “Jacob?!” The hunter looks back at him on the Bluster’s back, and his eyes widen. Jacob screams when the crab lets the boat go, and it drops into the water. “Jacob!” 

From the crab came a girlish scream. Percy looked up and saw Maisie on the crab’s back. He doubts their circumstances of getting on beasts’ backs were similar. The Bluster below him roars, and lunges forward to thrust her horn against the other monster. Percy takes the moment of closeness to jump across, grabbing Maisie before she slips off the crab’s shell. “I got you!” 

Maisie looked up to him with shock, grabbing his arm and hugging him as he pulled her close. “Percy! You’re alive!” 

“And so are you!” He says, as the crab thrashes beneath them. “Let’s stay that way, shall we?”

They hold on to one of the crab’s smaller spikes, nearly slipping off as it battled with the Bluster. They held on tight as the beast climbed a tall tower of earth and stone, winding around as the Bluster tried to chase it. The crab dropped suddenly, falling 

on top of the Bluster and grabbing her by the horn.

The Bluster thrashed in pain as it tried to escape, and Maisie cried out. “We have to help her!” 

Percy’s head spun on what to do, then he remembered what Sarah told him before. 

“For a thing like this, best to crack the shells with the cannons first.” She had said, when they fought the Bone Eater. “If not, aim for the eyes and belly. Skin’s softer there.”

“The eyes!” Percy says, and Maisie looks at him and nods. Before he can protest she flies out of his arms, darting forward to where the crab’s eyes stood on stalks. “Maisie, wait!” 

The girl jumps forward tugging at the crab’s eyelids with all her might. The beast lets out a whistle of a scream, falling back and letting red go. When it thrashes its head Maisie falls off it with a scream. Percy dives after her. 

The water around them is thick with bubbles from the beasts’ movement. He doesn’t see her, and surfaces for breath. “Maisie?!” He cries, as the Bluster finally tosses the crab to the side. “Maisie!!” 

Something next to him yips, just as the Bluster roars, and Percy spins. A little blue sea beast yips again, eyes wide, before diving. Percy dives after it, and watches as it swims ahead into the darkness. The little appendage on its forehead glowed blue however, and he saw it as the beast came back with Maisie, nudging her limp body upwards. 

Percy’s eyes widen in shock, he kicks forward to meet them halfway. He grabs the both of them in his arms and kicks up, sputtering for breath when they break to the surface. In his arms, Maisie coughs, before catching sight of the blue beast who meeps. 

“Blue!” She exclaims. Percy smiles, when the beast, Blue, meeps again. 

“He found ya, ya know?” Maisie looks at Percy with a smile, and from behind them a voice calls their names. 

“Maisie! Percy!” They turn, and coming towards them is Jacob on the rowboat. Percy lets Maisie cling to his back as Blue swims behind them. They make it to the boat, and Jacob tugs them both out of the water, hugging them close. 

“We thought you…” He starts, but Percy knows what he’s about to say, even when he refuses to finish. Jacob’s face is buried in his hair, and Percy hugs him back, pining Maisie and Blue between them. 

“I know. But I’m fine. I’m here.” They embrace for a moment longer before letting go. Jacob looks back at their boat, where water has started trickling in from all the damage it’s suffered during the battle. 

He looks back to the beach. “We have to go back.” 

“We’ll never make it!” Maisie protests. 

“Depends on how fast we can bail,” Jacob retorts, passing the bucket to Percy, who gets started. 

“What if Red can take us?” She asks, looking back at the Bluster. She’s still staring in the distance, to where she threw the crab. 

“Back to the island?” Jacob asks, voice straining as he paddles. 

“No, back home!” Maisie corrects. 

Jacob shakes his head, looking back to the island. “You have really lost it.” 

“She saves us from that thing, didn’t she?” Maisie presses. “And she saved you,” she says, pointing to Percy, “after Captain Crow shot you!” 

“Wait- Are you- I think I did the saving, right?” Jacob protests, dropping the oars as he looks at Maisie incredulously. “I mean I threw the, the…” He stutters, and Percy snorts. Jacob glares at him. “Get bailing!” He says, as he picks up the oars again. 

Maisie shakes her head, and she climbs up to the top of the boat, calling the Bluster. “Hey! Red!” 

The beast in mention turns, watching her as she lifts Blue into the air in front of her. “See this little guy?” Maisie asks. “This is you!” 

She puts Blue down, and Jacob scoffs. “You’re wasting your time.” 

Maisie holds up a multicolored fruit up next. “And this is me.” An armoured fruit is next. “This is Jacob,” she says, and pulls up a furry red fruit next. “And this is Percy!” The Bluster- Red looks at her curiously as Jacob exclaims in disbelief. “Are you putting on a puppet show right now?” 

She puts the fruits in the remains of an old fruit shell, and places the shell on top of Blue’s head. She lifts him again, pointing into the distance. “We need to get way over there! And I wonder if you might be good enough to take us?” She asks, holding Blue up again. Red looks into the distance, at the direction Maisie was pointing in. Percy stops his bailing to watch with bated breath. Red doesn’ tmove for a moment, then she turns back and dives. 

“Well, if she does understand ya, she don’t wanna help. Brightside? She didn’t eat us. Now sit down.” 

Maisie sighs, putting Blue down and leans over the edge of the boat. Percy pats her back in consolation and gets back to bailing, when Maisie gasps in delight. 

Red groans below them and breaches the water, lifting the boat onto her back in one smooth motion. Maisie laughs in delight and Blue lets out his own groan, and even Percy throws back his head to release a bright laugh. Next to them, Jacob chuckles nervously. Seagulls cry above them as Maisie leaps from the boat with a cry of joy. 

“I told you she was more than a beast!” She tells Jacob, before throwing her hands high in the air with a shout of absolute delight. “The world is wide, Jacob. And you don’t know everything!” 

Chapter Text

The voyage on Red continues smoothly. Maisie had darted around excitedly for a while, before returning to the boat. Jacob had brought out his octant and map, looking at the horizon. He gestures to his map, pointing at Rum Pepper Island. “With the right heading, we’ll be there in three days,” he says. 

Percy watches as he ties a rope to his waist, and then to the boat, before climbing down to Red’s eyes. Percy then smirks as Jacob continuously fails to convince Red to turn, growing more and more frustrated with each failed attempt.

“You can scream all day, she don’t understand ya.” Maisie tries, but Jacob stays bullheaded as ever. “Oh, she understands, alright. She’s just being monstrous. ” 

Percy rolls his eyes, and beckons Maisie closer with an extra length of rope in hand. “What you’ll soon learn is that Jacob’s built like a brick.” He starts tying the rope around Maisie’s waist. “Here, and up here.” He says, first patting his arm, then his head. “Why don’t you show him how it’s done?” 

Percy ties the rope onto the boat, and watches Maisie descend, Jacob growing increasingly frustrated by the beast’s other eye. He listens as Maisie’s gentle coaxing gets Red to turn, and smiles. When they return, Percy gives Jacob a teasing grin from where he sits in the boat, waiting. 

“Not so hard,” Maisie teases, and Percy brings his hand up for a high five. 

Jacob scowls, tossing Blue off the boat and onto Red’s back. “Well, she ain’t no pet. Just don’t let your guard down, all right?” 

“I’d say we’re her pets, more than anything.” Percy adds, leaning back on his crossed arms to look up at the clear blue sky. “Sure felt like it when I was with her.”

But the questions he expected from Maisie do not come, so he sits back up and looks back to where she stands quiet. She’s looking at Red’s back. Harpoons and spears litter her red flesh. Behind him, Jacob begins repairing the ship, but Percy’s gaze is locked on a kind little girl who walks forward and starts pulling the harpoons free herself. The harpoon’s taller than she is, and it takes her a great deal of effort to pull it out, and she lands flat on her bum when she does. Red groans when the harpoon’ released. 

“Hey, Percy, hold this steady for me, would ya?” Jacob murmurs around a few long nails, attempting to fix the row boat's mast with a new plank. Percy sends Maisie one last look before he moves forward, helping Jacob. 

By the time they finished the mast, the sun had already begun to set. Percy dusts off his hands and looks back at Maisie, who still strained with pulling harpoons loose. About a dozen were left on Red’s back, but Percy called her over to rest anyway. In the darkening sat a few fat clouds, and they had just gotten the sail up as a makeshift tarp when the first few drops of rain began to fall. They sat under the ship, setting up the bucket to catch rainwater. They shared fruit amongst themselves, watching Blue try to catch drops out of the air. The sky went dark as the sun finally set, and the only light they had came from Blue’s little light. 

Maisie was curled up on the boat, head pillowed by her bag with Percy’s vest as a makeshift blanket. Blue was cuddled at her side, letting out squeaky little snores. 

“What will we do after?” Percy asks, voice low as to not wake the girl. He watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath. 

Jacob hummed in question from where he laid towards the other end of the boat. He was leaning back against the walls of the boat with an arm thrown over his eyes. 

“After we get to Rum Pepper, I mean.” Percy clarifies. “Do we just… Go back to the Inevitable? Kill Red, and send Maisie back home?”

Jacob sighs, dropping his arm and pushing himself up. “What else can we do? Maisie needs to go back to Geulston.”

“She wouldn’t have run away if she was happy there.” Percy objects. “And even then, do you think she’d be when she returns? After everything’s that happened?” 

“We can’t just keep her-“ 

“We can, if she wants to.” Percy says. “You heard her. She’s an orphan. She’s got nowhere else to go.” Silence falls, then he speaks again. “Right now, Maisie’s on her own in a great big sea, but she’s seen land. Will we take that away from her?” 

“And what after? What do we do with a kid?” Jacob questions. “We- I don’t know how to raise a child . What if we go wrong? What if I-“ He snaps his jaw closed with a click, looking away. It dawns on Percy then, what this is about. The dark spot in Jacob’s heart, one that began the day his parents died. The origin of his questions on what a family was like, after remembering nothing good about his first one. The doubt lingers still after all these years. Percy’s heart aches for him. 

“Jacob-“ 

“It’s not our choice to make.” Jacob finishes, and he turns his back on him, ending the conversation. Percy frowns. He thinks back to that night long ago, when Jacob bared his fears to him. He wonders what’s stopping him now, if he sees himself in Maisie. He knows he does; dead hunter parents who filled their heads with thoughts of the sea and now they can’t get enough of it. He mulls this all night, until he falls into a fitful sleep. 

The sun rises the next day and Jacob continues the repairs. Any sort of mention of last night’s conversation is quickly shut down. Percy gets the hint. 

Maisie cuts a piece of fruit in half for Blue, who eats it in one gulp. When Jacob reaches for the bag, it comes up empty. They look at it in silence. 

“Well.” Percy says. “Who’s up for some fishing?” 

He secures one end of the rope to their spear, and leaves the rest sitting in a pile next to him. Maisie stands off to the side, Blue at her feet and sack in hand. Jacob catches the spear when Percy tosses it to him, and rolls his shoulders. He walks to the edge of Red’s fin and tosses it, missing. 

“One to Team Fish, zero to Team Holland.” Percy says to himself, reeling the spear in. Jacob hears him, and kicks him in the shin. “Ow!” 

Jacob tries again, and again, and again, and again. He groans with each miss, and Percy dutifully reels the spear in while keeping the score in his head. 

“Five to zero, now.” Percy teases, and Red grumbles from where she’s looking at them out of the corner of his eye. 

Jacob defends himself. “Yeah, well, I’m used to a bigger target, alright?” 

Red snorts, and she banks right, speeding up. She swims in a tight circle not unlike how she did when they first met her. The movement sends fish out of the water, and one leaps out straight into Maisie’s unexpecting hands. 

“Dinner time!” 

… 

“No wonder the gulls hang around, if food’s that easy to find,” Percy remarks. They all have eaten their fill. Some more than it, as Blue struggles to right himself with his bloated stomach. Jacob snorts where he kneels, hammering away at the last of the wooden planks. After they had eaten, Maisie had returned to plucking out harpoons. She’s struggling with one now, but before Percy could get up to help her, Jacob drops his hammer. Percy sits out, for a moment, watching him walk towards her. 

He wraps his hands around the spear’s shaft, and together, they free it from Red’s back. Jacob takes a look at the spear before dropping it, and Percy takes it as his queue to head back and help them. 

Night had fallen by the time the last of the spears were pulled free, and they’re gathered by the boat again. Percy leans back to look at the stars, and Maisie sits next to him, petting Red gently. Jacob’s on the boat, with Blue as his light, because he borrowed Maisie’s book. 

“It says here that during the dark times, the beast destroyed a town on the coast of Kra’ Zoul.” He says suddenly, and they both turn back to look at him as he frowns down at the book. “But we’ve been up and down that coast, and I ain’t never seen no town, destroyed or otherwise,” he says, flipping to the next page. “And we don’t say ‘yar’ half this much. E-every other page we’re shouting ‘yar’! I mean, this is just nonsense!” 

“Says you,” Maisie says, getting up and leaning towards Jacob’s side. “But the book says otherwise, and it’s going to outlast both of us. So people will believe the beasts destroy towns that don’t exist, and hunters like to say ‘yar’.” 

Jacob looks down at the book thoughtfully. “But if that ain’t true, then how are you supposed to know what is?” 

“And how do we know the sea beasts ever plucked ladies out of their veggie patches?” Maisie asks, flipping the pages back to the start. “That there really were the Dark Times? Maybe they didn’t start this war.” 

“Maybe… But why would we?” 

Thunder rumbles in the distance, and Percy frowns. They stand, watching a storm roll in in the distance. The clouds are thick and dark, broken apart by flashes of purple lightning. Percy's heart skipped a beat in his chest. He hasn’t seen a storm this bad since that night all those years ago. 

“Looks like a real shipwrecker,” Maisie gulps, holding Blue to her chest. Percy sets his hands on her shoulders. “You’re telling me,” he mutters. He looks back to Jacob. “The boat won’t make it, not in a storm like this.” 

Jacob sighs, but squares his shoulders. “Then there’s only one other place we can stay.”

Chapter Text

Under the sea is deceptively calm—they’re back in Red’s nostril. It’s dark, with only the occasional purple glow when lighting crackles above the sea’s surface. The sound of thunder is softer, but it still makes Percy flinch. Maisie sits between them with Blue in her arms, casting a soft blue glow on them all. 

“Nicer down here, I’d say.” Maisie admits. Next to her Jacob nods. “Aye. Nicer down here.” 

They watch as Red dives deeper into the water, swimming through long vines of kelp, flowing from the current. From the depths below come large jellyfish, glowing pink and purple against inky darkness. They cast a soft glow amongst the forest, before they swim out of their swarm. Moving forward, the seabed below is littered with bones of monsters and shipwrecks alike. The sight settles like lead in Percy’s gut. If Maisie was right, and that everything they knew was a lie, then all the bones that dwelled beneath them were for nothing. 

“I don’t know how the war started,” Maisie whispers. “Maybe all that matters is how it ends.” 

They stay under for quite some time. Red moves a bit higher, but doesn’t surface. Above them the sea has stilled, and thunder no longer rolls. Maisie falls asleep between them, leaning on Jacob’s arm. He hasn’t moved since her head tilted to the side. 

“Do you think she’s right?” Jacob asks, and Percy looks at his profile curiously. “That we’re wrong? And that sea beasts aren’t the monsters we were taught they were?” 

“…The sea beasts have done bad things.” Percy starts carefully. “But we humans have done bad things, too. We can be wrong, that monsters are all they are. I never thought Captain Crow would hurt me, and I never thought a sea beast would save my life, but I was proved wrong both times.”

Percy looks at Jacob over Maisie’s head, before looking down at the girl and running a hand over her hair. “I think she’s right. The wrongs have been done. Now it’s up to us to decide how we are going to make it right.” 

…

The next day dawns clear and bright, and they make their way back onto Red’s back once more. Maisie’s taken Jacob’s spyglass and is now looking around with it. Jacob’s back to Maisie’s story book, and Percy’s digging through the little supplies they have left with them. 

“That’s ain’t you anymore,” Maisie reassures, and Percy looks over to see what they’re talking about. Jacob has the book open to a one-page illustration of him, digging a spear into a beast’s tentacles. She points the end of the spyglass at Jacob, marching to stand in front of him. “You’re not Jacob Holland who killed four of them beasts in a span of two days.” 

“It was five,” he sighs. 

“You’re Jacob Holland who befriended a beast, saved me life, and led us all the way to Rum Pepper Island!” She announces, pointing at the island with the spyglass in hand. Percy jumps to his feet as Jacob does, and claps the other on the shoulder as he says, “we made it.” 

Red approaches the island steadily, and Jacob walks up to Maisie with his hands on his hips. “This is as far as Red goes. Won’t be safe for her beyond the Dregmorr,” he warns, “but we can flag a passing ship.” 

Maisie frowns, and asks, “and then what?” Jacob’s eyes dart to Percy’s where he stands behind Maisie, and Percy subtly nods his head. 

“Well, uh… we could bring you back to Guerlston, if you’d like.” He says, but neither Percy nor Maisie are completely happy with the answer. 

“And what about you and Percy?” 

Jacob only sighs, and Maisie turns away, walking to sit on the edge of Red’s head. “Guelston is a place. It ain’t a family. I ain’t going back there,” she protests,” and you ain’t going back on that ship.”

“So, all you have is me. And all I have are you,” she says, winding the spyglass in her hands. “And that don’t sound so bad,” she admits, curling up and bringing her knees to her chest. 

Percy sighs, and moves to sit next to her. Jacob sits on her other side. 

“So,” Maisie asks, “what do you say? Should we give it a go?” 

“You mean, uh, like a family?” Jacob asks, hesitantly. 

Maisie looks away, shy. “Sure. I-I don’t know. Maybe if we pretend long enough, it could feel real.” 

Percy reaches out and smiles at her when she looks back at him with unsure eyes. “It does sound nice,” he says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 

Jacob smiles, “are you picturing us on a farm or something?” Percy snorts. “As if you could farm! A garden would be enough, I reckon.” Maisie smiles between them, hope shining in her eyes. Jacob deflates a bit when she turns them to him, and he hesitates. 

“It’s just- I don’t think I’m… family material,” he stammers, carefully tiptoeing around a word that starts and ends with a ‘D.’ Maisie deflates between them, so Percy shoves Jacob lightly in the shoulder to lighten the mood. 

“Neither do I. Orphans and all that,” he says, waving his hand around and suppressing a smile when he sees Maisie smile weakly. He lets his face melt into something more genuine as he looks at the two of them. Both of them carry their own flames of tentative hope for a family they can call their own, and it softens something inside of him. “But for you two, I’d try,” he says. 

Maisie’s smile glows with that hope, and even Jacob grins his own as they all look at one another. 

“Let’s pack up,” Jacob says. “We’ll be reaching the shore soon enough.” 

When Maisie slips away, Percy catches Jacob’s sleeve before he can go after her. “I’m sorry for springing that onto ya outta nowhere,” he apologizes, but Jacob shakes his head. 

“It’s fine,” he says. “I think I… I’m willing to try too. For her. For you.” He admits. Percy smiles gently, supporting Jacob in this rare moment of vulnerability. Percy sticks out his hand in an echo of their first oath. 

“To a great life, for us, and for her.” 

“For us, and for her. Together,” Jacob agrees.

…

Red comes to a stop on Rum Pepper Island’s shore. They leap from her head, looking back at her where she rests it on the sand. 

“Well, girl, this has been an improbable adventure.” Jacob starts, rubbing his hands together. “And I thank you for all you’ve done, but, uh, it’s time to go home now.” Red doesn’t move, so he reaches back for his spear. “And I promise I’ll never hunt sea monsters again.”

He holds the spear above his head, proclaiming, “no more monster hunting!” He brings the shaft down to his knee, and it bounces against his thigh solid and whole with a painful sound. 

Percy grimaces as the other groans, righting the spear and leaning his weight against it as he bounces his aching thigh, holding a figure up at Red to wait. The beast growls, eyes falling half lidded. 

“Hang about,” Jacob says, limping backwards. He lifts the spear up to try again. “No more!” he shouts, bringing it down to his other thigh. The impact sounds worse this time, and Percy steps in. 

“Jacob, I think she gets it-“ 

“No, no. I got this.” Jacob pants, waving him away. He lifts the stick, shouting again, and brings it down on some stones, but the spear ricochettes off the rock and strikes him in the face next. Jacob drops the spear with a cry, clutching his nose. 

“Jacob!” Percy says, grabbing the other by the jaw and tugging his hands away to get a better look at his face. There’s a line of reddening skin going down his face, but otherwise he’s fine. Percy tells him so, and Jacob nods in thanks, looking back at Red. 

“Look, you understand the point I’m trying to make here, right? It’s a symbolic gesture.” He explains, and Red growls softly. 

Maisie speaks. “I think she understands.” Blue meeps in her arms. 

Percy rests a hand on her back. “Go on then. It’s time to say goodbye,” he says with a sad smile. 

Maisie turns over Blue in her arms, and she giggles when he licks her face. “Goodbye Blue,” she whispers, and she hands him to Jacob who takes him to the water. She runs up to Red next, plastering herself onto her chin in a hug. 

“Go on girl. Go home,” she murmurs. Percy moves up to stand next to her, pressing a hand onto Red’s chin as he looks up to her. 

“Goodbye Red.” He says, pulling his hand away. “Thank you for taking care of me, for everything else too.” 

Red lifts her head then, but she doesn’t leave. Instead, she sniffs the air, growling. Percy pulls Maisie back as she looks at the beast in confusion. “Red?” 

The beast slinks forward, climbing over the hill. She comes to a stop at the top and growls. The three of them follow after her, and see what she’s agitated about. Percy gasps when he recognizes the Crown’s glittering naval ship. A few rowboats surround it in the water, and there are more of them that line the beach below them. 

Jacob turns back to Red, pleading. “Red, listen to me. Just leave. This doesn’t have to be a fight. She doesn’t listen, and only growls, leaning forward. “Go on, Red. Just leave them be.” 

“Red, we have to go. Please!” Maisie begs. Red continues growling, looming over them. From the beach below them comes the sound of a gunshot, and they watch as Red flinches back when it meets her horn. Red roars and runs forward, diving for the Imperator. 

“No!” 

They chase after her, trying to lead her away, but she doesn’t listen. Maisie runs past them, calling for Red to come back, and Percy chases after her. More gunfire comes from the naval crew, and cannons join the fray, hitting the hillside and Red alike. 

“Maisie, come back!” Percy calls, holding up his arms to shield his eyes from the debris. He runs after her, Jacob following him. Maisie follows Red ahead of them, and he nearly loses sight of her between cannonballs’ impacts and the shrubbery that coats the hillside. A cannon crashes behind her and he screams as he watches her body fly. 

“Maisie!” He slides down to her, turning her on her back. He cradles her in his arms as Jacob slides down next to him, hands hovering over them both. Percy bushes the hair from her face, cupping her cheek. “Maisie? Can you hear me?” He asks.

The girl blinks her eyes open, looking up at them. “Is Red okay?” She rasps. 

Jacob and Percy look at one another then back to the beast. She swims straight towards the ship against the cannon and gunfire, and cleaves the ship neatly into two with her great horn. She stands over the ruins of the Imperator growling. Her jaws drop open, but before she can eat anyone, Jacob picks up a fallen musket and fires. It stops Red right in her tracks, and she turns back to them with a snarl. 

Red comes towards them, and Percy shuffles back, holding Maisie tighter to him and angles her away from Red. Jacob stands in front of them, hand on his knife as the beast looms over them. 

“Stay back, beast.” He warns, freeing his blade from its sheath. “Leave them be.” 

Red growls, and behind her a shower of red sparks explode. They all turn to the flare. Red looks at it and roars. Percy picks Maisie up, walking up next to Jacob. The other pulls out his spyglass, looking towards the horizon. Red makes her way down the hill and to the cove, making her way to the ship in the distance. 

“It’s the Inevitable.” 

At the sound of the ship, Maisie stirs in Percy’s arms. She coughs. “She doesn’t have to do this,” she begs, and Percy shushes her. He brings up one hand to brush the back of her head, and he blanches when he feels something warm and wet. 

“Jacob, we need to go,” Percy snaps, showing him the blood that glistens bright on his hand. Jacob nods, and leads them down to the beach where rowboats sat abandoned.