Chapter Text
The last of the serpopard burned up as Zia's fire consumed it and turned it to ash.
Leo stared up at the sky where the creature had been less than five seconds ago, then turned to Zia, his brown eyes filled with awe.
"You can do that? That's so cool! So you can shoot fire from your hands too? That whole --"
Zia stumbled, her skin looked flushed, and her legs trembled.
Carter noticed.
But before he could say anything, the ship lurched forward.
Sadie gripped the railing before she could topple over. She looked up and her blue eyes widened.
"Uh, Percy?" She blinked.
"Is that a giant dragon-ish two headed snake something or am I just seeing something?"
Annabeth's eyes snapped up to find a hydra hissing at them.
She looked around.
"Leo? Got any Greek fire left?"
"Greek fire?" Walt ducked to avoid getting chomped by a hydra head.
"I heard they explode. Is that safe?"
"Of course not!" Percy rolled away.
"If it was, it wouldn't be helpful."
"Preach, Mi amigo!" Leo came back up from below deck, hands empty except for the fire in his palms.
"Out of Greek fire!" He announced.
"Just be content to watch this Bad Boy Supreme work his magic!"
Then he raced up to the Captain's wheel.
Annabeth turned back to Sadie and Walt.
"Just don't cut off any of the heads or--"
"Leo! You know better than to cut off a Hydra's head!" Piper called from where she's dodging one attack.
"Sorry, Pipes!"
"That happens." Annabeth continued.
Then she pushed Sadie out of the way and fell on the floor.
Percy looked back at Carter, who had a flushed looking Zia leaning on him.
"Carter, what--"
He rolled away from the sudden snap of another head being severed.
"Leo!"
"Sorry! Just charmspeak them to snap each other! Less work!"
Leo leapt and shot fireballs.
Zia watch him land on the crow's nest.
"So we don't cut off any heads from a hydra, or it'll double. But if we don't, we die." Carter concluded.
"Great."
"We need something to drive it away!"
Piper yelled.
"I'll do you one better! Drive it away AND kill it!" Leo bonked at one head with a mullet he conjured from his tool belt.
Zia looked at Carter.
"I can--"
"No! You are not using that one!"
Carter grabbed Walt before he could fall.
Percy turned around to find Sadie casting Egyptian spells, hieroglyphics appearing, but he can see the toll it took on her.
Walt sees it too.
"Snap at your other head!" Piper called out to the hydra, her voice being laced with charmspeak strong enough for Percy to snap on is left head.
Then he remembered he doesn't have a left head.
Things began to become a lot more rougher.
They were already tired from the fight earlier, and the hydra isn't helping with it's around ten hissing heads.
Make that twelve heads. Percy had to cut one off before it could lunge at Annabeth.
Zia looked at Carter again, this time with more force.
Sadie yelled out "Ha-di!" and it exploded in front of the hydra.
It made it's one head explode. But now it has another two.
"Why won't you die already?" Sadie screamed at it.
"It's never that easy," Annabeth muttered.
"Imma burn that little stump of yours, Hydra!" Leo jumped up again and succeeded in burning three of the heads, down to the stumps.
Good progress, still not enough.
They need a bigger fire.
Percy looked at Piper helping Leo up, then at Annabeth hauling Sadie away with Walt throwing one amulet, then back at Carter, who's both fighting and having a silent argument with Zia.
"Carter!" He called out.
"Whatever Zia has with her, let her do it if it means killing this beast!"
Carter glared at Percy, but he relented.
Zia started to chant, and not long after, her staff burst into flames until it turned into a large column of fire.
Leo looked as mesmerized as the hydra.
Then Zia spoke a command,
"Kill the hydra."
The fire obliged, and soon enough, the hydra began to retreat, but still, it was followed, until the fire reached its tail and soon was engulfed in flames, and finally turned to ash.
Percy was quite thankful Leo had the ship enchanted to withstand fire.
Soon, there was silence.
Piper helped Leo stand up, and Annabeth dusted off her clothes and offered Walt her hand, which he took, pulling Sadie up with him.
"So, Zia just used that one trick--" Sadie began, but was interrupted by Leo.
"You can do that? Since whe--"
Carter sighed and returned his khopesh (that he summoned early on) back into the Dust.
"Sadie? You good?" He asked his sister.
"Quite alright, Brother dear," She replied, rubbing her head.
Walt was kneeling next to her.
"I think I have something for that cut on your arm..."
"Anyway," Annabeth drew everyone's attention back.
"Should we contact Will or Jason? Let them know? I'm pretty sure---"
"Zia? Zia? Hey, Zia?"
Carter managed to catch Zia in his arms as her eyes rolled back in her head and collapsed.
Sadie and Walt ran over to them.
"What happened?" Leo gawked.
"Do Hydras have rabies? I'm pretty sure she didn't get bit."
Piper shrugged at his question.
Carter shook his head simply.
"She's okay, sort of." He mumbled the last bit to himself.
"She's not burning up, a little pale..."
He cleared his throat.
"I'll, uh, take her below. She needs rest."
He gathered her in his arms, as though this isn't the first time it happened, then stood up and walked to the stairs leading below deck.
They watched them go.
Annabeth turned to Sadie, who was drinking some water Walt offered her.
"What happened?"
Leo stared up at the mast, then his gaze swept everywhere.
"Okay, this'll take a while to clean."
But Sadie said a simple "Hi-nehm", and the ship gradually returned to it's original cleanliness.
Then Sadie stumbled, but Walt caught her.
"And you need to rest too." He wiped some grime off her face.
Sadie shook her head stubbornly.
"Oh, stop being like Carter and mother hen me." Then she turned back to Annabeth.
"To answer your question, Zia just pulled her best trick as a fire elementalist.
But since it didn't take that long for that fire to dissipate, she won't be powerless for hours. Exhausted to the bone, yes, but not powerless."
"How long will she be out?" Piper asked worriedly.
Walt shrugged. "Kind of depends. Now, if you all will excuse us, we'll be bringing this," He gestured to Sadie beside him.
"Princess downstairs. Don't worry, we'll probably be able to join dinner."
"We will!" Sadie protested. Walt dragged her by the hand and led her to her room.
Once they were gone, Percy turned to the rest.
Leo had a gash on his arm, but hopefully not too much for a little bit of ambrosia to fix.
Piper seemed dazed, but thankfully no major injuries.
Percy helped Annabeth stand to her feet.
He kissed her temple.
"We all should rest up too. We'll all talk later."