This is an AU that takes place during The Blood of Olympus. It asks the question of what could have happened if Hylla and Reyna never left the pirates and never made ito the Amazons or Camp Jupiter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan.

I hope you enjoy.

Annabeth woke with a beating heart and a bad feeling in her gut. She took a deep breath and looked around her cabin on the Argo II. Memories of Tartarus threatened to come crashing back to her, but she stood and started to pace. All she needed to do was distract her mind and stay focused.

They were going to be on the way to Ithaca soon, but they had all stopped for a victory dinner of no one dying in Tartarus. The others were getting some supplies and enjoying the time off of the ship, while Leo did maintenance. Annabeth stayed behind to help him and keep her mind from going back to that place.

It had only been forty three minutes, not that she was counting or anything, and the others were not back yet. Percy was not back yet. He promised that he would be back in less than a hour, long enough for him to visit the sea. Annabeth took a shaky breath and shook her head. She needed to distract herself. Time to find Leo.

As Annabeth walked, she thought of the two demigods and one Satyr that had gone on the journey to deliver the Athenos Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth still didn't know how she managed to convince Gwen to leave Camp Jupiter behind and travel all the way to their ship. She also didn't know how the three were going to deliver the statue before the deadline. She just needed to have faith. If anyone could it, those three could.

Annabeth walked towards Leo's little hiding hole. She didn't see his legs sticking out, and after crouching down to confirm that he wasn't there, a frown came to her face. Where was Leo? Annabeth walked towards Leos' cabin and knocked on the door. When no response was given, she gently pushed open the door.

Unless Leo was laying underneath a small mound of wires and metal pieces, he wasn't there. Annabeth frowned and left the room. She looked throughout the rest of deck but couldn't find him anywhere. A crash from above her gave her the answer.

"Hey Annabeth!" Leo called. He sounded nervous. Had he dropped something combustible again and needed it thrown off of the ship before it exploded? Annabeth walked towards the upper deck. "I just have a small, minor question for you. Are sky pirates a thing?"

Annabeth stopped walking and looked up in confusion. Leo sounded like he was right above her. She shook her head and spoke, "No Leo. Sky pirates are not a thing."

"Oh. Well, you might want to come up here," Leo called back. Annabeth frowned and made her way towards the upper deck. They had all been jumpy ever since Tartarus. The deadline was drawing nearer, and they expected to get attacked at any moment.

Considering what was at stake, Annabeth expected everyone to be jumpy. If they failed, the world would be destroyed. That didn't mean they should make up something like sky pirates. Annabeth made it above deck and looked towards Leo. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

Leo was looking at her with a sheepish grin. There was a cutlass pressed against his jugular, and it looked like any wrong movement would send the blade tearing through his throat. One of his hands was half raised, like he was going to use fire. Annabeth gave him a look that told him to wait. Then, she looked at Leo's attacker.

The first thing that caught her attention was the cutlass. It seemed to be made of imperial gold, and she almost thought that one of Octavian's Romans found them. A look at the girl dispelled the theory immediately.

Obsidian eyes seemed to be staring a hole into Annabeth's soul. Annabeth did her best to stare back. The girl couldn't have been older than Annabeth, maybe even a year or two younger. Her black hair was in a braid and thrown around her shoulder. She wore a leather coat over a set of leather armor.

"We don't want trouble," Annabeth began. She blinked and found a second sword pressing against her jugular. "Okay. This is all a big misunderstanding."

"Say another word, and I paint this ship with your blood," the girl threatened. Leo looked like he was going to nod. Then, he seemed to realize that the sword was only a centimeter from drawing blood. He glanced at Annabeth, and his eyes screamed that they needed to do something. Annabeth gave him a look that said she knew.

Annabeth heard footsteps behind them, and she felt two hands roughly grab her arms. She tensed as her hands were tied behind her back, and someone took her sword. Annabeth was thrown to the ground, and Leo was thrown next to her.

"I can make a fireball whenever we need it," Leo whispered. Annabeth nodded and slowly got to her knees. She looked at the six people that surrounded them. Three of them were men, and two were woman. They all wore leather armor, but none of them had a leather coat like the girl. Each of them had rope that seemed to be wrapped around their chest, and a half sized javelin rested on their backs. The five of them were all older than the girl with the obsidian eyes, but they all seemed to wait for her directions.

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked. She felt a vague sense of remembrance tugging at her, but she wasn't sure from where. The girl looked at Annabeth, , and her eyes narrowed slightly. The girl finally smirked.

"My name is Reyna. Well, it will be Captain Reyna as soon as I take your flying ship." the girl said. She gave them a mock bow and then sat on one of the crates. She leaned back and propped her legs up on another crate. Her arms rested behind her head.

"Hey. This is my ship, and you are not going to take it," Leo snapped. He tried to stand, but one of the pirates shoved him back to the ground. "I am not going to let any dirty sky pirates take my baby!"

"Someone shut his mouth," Reyna ordered. Leo tried to fight, but two of the men grabbed him and forced a gag into his mouth. Leo still tried to yell through the gag. Annabeth slowly looked up at the pirate in front of her and tried to think of how to stall. "Lincoln and Harold, search the ship. I don't want any surprises."

Two of the pirates nodded and quickly hurried away. Reyna lazily reached into her pocket and pulled out two coins. One of the coins was silver, and the other one was gold. Rubies rested in the middle of both coins. Reyna tossed the coins in the air, and they transformed into two robotic greyhounds. One of the greyhounds was made of pure silver and had ruby eyes. The other was pure gold with ruby eyes.

"How many of you live on this ship?" Reyna asked. Annabeth remained silent. The pirates would see their rooms and know how many people actually lived there, but it would take time for them to search everything and report back. Her friends might be back before the pirates would finish searching. The silver dog growled in Annabeth's ear. "Give her a chance to answer, Argentum."

Annabeth stared at the razor sharp teeth of the greyhound. She quickly realized that the two dogs would tear her apart on command. Annabeth spoke, "There are seven of us."

"Where are the rest of your friends?" Reyna asked. Her hand stroked the golden dog's head and scratched his ears. Both dogs eyed Annabeth hungrily. Annabeth swallowed painfully and tried to keep her calm. "And, please lie to me. My dogs love liars."

"They're not here," Annabeth answered. With the way the dogs were eyeing her, she almost felt like they knew whether she was telling the truth or not. With all the things she had seen, it was certainly a possibility. How would pirates have gotten their hands on truth telling dogs though?

"Perfect," Reyna said. She closed her eyes. "Now, why were you flying a ship over our seas? Actually, how were you flying a ship?"

"I'm not the one who knows the technical aspect of everything. He is the one who can help you with that," Annabeth answered, and she motioned to Leo. After a moment, Leo nodded. "What would a pirate want with our ship?"

"It's a flying ship. Who wouldn't want that?" Reyna questioned. She smirked. "Hylla is going to be pleased when she finds out about our catch today."

"And, you'll get your own ship," Annabeth said. Reyna opened one eye and looked at her. "That's why you were saying, wasn't it? Taking over this ship would make you a captain. It sounds like Hylla is holding you back."

"Are you trying to turn me against my own sister?" Reyna asked. The smirk grew. "I owe Hylla my life a dozen of times over. But, you didn't come for my life story, Annabeth."

"How do you know my name?" Annabeth asked. Reyna opened her other eye and lost her smirk. She sat forward and studied Annabeth. It took a few moments, but a memory slowly came back to Annabeth. "You were on Circe's island. You brushed my hair."

"And, you released the pirates," Reyna said. She closed her eyes. "Blackbeard took us as his prisoners, but my sister and I would not be prisoners for long. We became valued members of his crew, and four years ago, Blackbeard found himself on the wrong end of a mutiny. The Queen Anne's Revenge would burn into the night, along with the corpse of the pirate king. It was time for the pirates to bow to a new ruler."

"Your sister," Annabeth said. Reyna nodded and opened her eyes. She played with the ring on her finger. Annabeth stared at the golden ring, and she saw the symbol on it: a sword crossed with a torch. Annabeth could have sworn that she had seen that same symbol on her tour of Camp Jupiter, but for the life of her, she could not remember who it belonged to. "Did Gaea lead you to us, so you can have revenge?"

"Gaea?" Reyna questioned. She raised an eyebrow and looked at one of the pirates. "Do you know who Gaea is?"

"Something to do with dirt?" the pirate answered. From the confused looks that all of the pirates had, Annabeth knew they weren't working for Gaea. "Wait. I think it has something to do with trees? No. Grass?"

Reyna waved a dismissive hand. Her eyes slowly moved around the ship almost lazily. It seemed like she was content to relax. Annabeth spoke, "How do you find our ship then?"

"We were getting supplies in town and just happened to look up. Your ship was just docked there," Reyna said. "This isn't the first ship that I've raided, but it is the first flying one. Hylla's going to excited about this one."

Annabeth heard two sets of footsteps. She glanced behind herself and saw the two pirates. One spoke, "Quartermaster, we searched the ship. There is no one else aboard."

"Perfect. Throw these two over the edge," Reyna said. Annabeth felt two of the pirates grab her and pull her to her feet. Fire appeared in Leo's hands, and it quickly burned through the ropes. Annabeth slammed herself backwards into the two pirates.

Annabeth stood and felt the cutlass was back at her throat. Reyna had crossed the distance between the two of then impossibly quick. Leo turned with a hand full of fire. Upon seeing Annabeth's position, he lowered his hand. Leo spoke, "Let her go, or I burn down your whole little band of pirates."

"I'll kill her if you do," Reyna stated. Leo hesitated, but he finally allowed the fire in his hands to extinguish. The two greyhounds circled around Leo. They hadn't moved when Leo first attacked, but now, they were tense and looked ready to lunge at any moment. "That's what I thought. Neat fire trick. Maybe we can use you to roast marshmallows sometime."

"I'm going to roast something alright," Leo muttered. Reyna twisted the cutlass, and Annabeth tensed as she felt blood trickle from her neck. Leo clenched his jaw and stared at the ground. Reyna studied him and then slowly looked at all of her pirates. It looked like none of them had been injured.

"A duel," Annabeth said quickly. Reyna looked at her and lowered the cutlass slightly. The move gave Annabeth enough space to take a deep breath. "I challenge you to a duel right here and now. The winner takes the ship."

"Wait," Leo interrupted. He stared at Annabeth and seemed to be trying to fully process her words. "How are you going to put my ship up as a prize for a duel? We kind of need this thing to save the world. I know you're going to win, but I don't want to lose my baby. Can we put anything else up as a prize? We can give them Frank."

"You really think I am going to take you on in a duel?" Reyna asked. She lowered the cutlass completely. Annabeth did a thorough examination of the girl in front of her. Reyna seemed like she was mostly muscle, and she held her weapon casually, almost like it was second nature. Annabeth knew that a duel wouldn't be an easy win, but she was the daughter of Athena. Not many people could take her on.

Annabeth glanced around. The rest of the pirates had gathered around and were watching in interest. Annabeth spoke, "It sounds like you want to prove yourself to your sister, and I'm sure that winning a duel and bringing a ship to her would be the best way to prove that. Unless, you're scared."

Reyna's eyes widened slightly. Then, they narrowed. The movement wasn't missed by the rest of the pirates though, and they seemed to be exchanging looks. Annabeth had to stop her smile. She knew that pirates outnumbered them and would have no problems literally throwing them off of the ship. That was why she issued the duel.

If Reyna refused the duel, she would look weak in front of her pirates. They weren't really her pirates though. Hylla was the one who was really in charge, and Reyna was just trying to prove herself. If Reyna accepted the duel, Annabeth would win and be able to take the ship back.

Reyna seemed to realize it too. Her smirk was gone, and there was a cold look on her face. Reyna spoke, "I accept your duel, but we need to set some conditions. Your friend is not going to interfere, and my pirates will not either."

"What about the dogs?" Annabeth asked. Reyna whistled and snapped her fingers. The two dogs turned and hurried to Reyna's side. She placed her hands to the top of their heads, and they disappeared back into coins. Reyna slipped the coins into her pocket. "If you win, you get the ship. If I win, you and your pirate friends get off of our ship."

"Let's make them walk the plank," Leo whispered. Annabeth gave him a look. "I'm just saying."

"I'm not making anyone walk the plank," Annabeth whispered back. "We don't even have a plank, and we are twenty feet in the air. That would kill them, Leo."

"They shouldn't attack my ship," Leo whispered with a small shrug. Annabeth shook her head and focused back on Reyna. The rest of the pirates had backed away to give them a wide berth to fight.

"How can I be sure that you won't let your pirates interfere?" Annabeth asked. Reyna's eyes narrowed even more, and Annabeth looked at all of the pirates. They were seemingly hanging onto her every word. "I don't want them to help you, when you start to lose."

"My pirate won't interfere," Reyna snapped. She paced back and forth, seemingly agitated by Annabeth's words. Annabeth almost smiled. An agitated pirate would make the fight easier. The other pirates were watching in anticipation. Reyna grabbed Annabeth's sword and tossed it towards her, but she never stopped pacing

"If you win, you might actually be able to impress your sister," Annabeth said. Reyna stopped walking and looked at her. Anger appeared on her face, before she turned away. Annabeth couldn't help her smile. She was finding all the right buttons to push. The first step towards winning a duel was to get inside the head of the enemy and throw them off of their game. "Isn't that all you want to do? Make her proud?"

"Shut your mouth," Reyna snapped. She walked towards Annabeth and got right in her face. Annabeth backed away. Then, she punched the pirate in the face. Annabeth stabbed forward with her sword. She was going to stab the pirate in the shoulder and end the fight then and there.

Instead, her attack was deflected, and she was almost disarmed. Annabeth backed away and readjusted her grip on her sword. Reyna backed a few feet away and placed a hand to her bloody nose. Any trace of amusement in her face was gone, and there was a look of deadly anger. Reyna spoke, "A cheap shot is how you planned on beating me?"

"Just trying to out pirate the pirate," Annabeth stated. Reyna glared and attacked her. Annabeth dodged the attack and turned towards the pirate. She barely dodged another attack that would had cut her throat wide open.

"You got this Annabeth! Just remember that I lose my baby if you lose," Leo called. Annabeth spared a half second to glance back at him and give him a look. Then, she turned back towards Reyna and barely dodged an attack. Annabeth danced around the two cutlasses that seemed to come towards her from every direction.

Annabeth was forced to play defense, and she found herself dodging and rolling away from most of the pirate's attacks. Annabeth wasn't able to get anymore offense in, and something told her that Reyna wouldn't have been so aggressive if Annabeth didn't sucker punch her. Annabeth would just have to turn that aggression into an advantage though.

Reyna continued with the aggressive attacks, but after a minute or two of nonstop attacks, her movements became slower and more predictable. Annabeth dodged two more attacks and suddenly slammed her shoulder into the pirate's sternum. Annabeth slammed Reyna into the side of the ship and heard a crack. It was followed by a cry of pain and one of the cutlasses falling to the ground.

Reyna threw a wild punch towards Annabeth. The daughter of Athena ducked under the attack and flipped the pirate over her shoulder. Reyna hit the ground hard and let out a gasp of pain. Reyna tried to roll to her stomach, but Annabeth slammed a foot into the pirate's sternum. Then, she followed it up with a kick to the face.

The pirate fell on her back and groaned softly. She placed a hand to her nose and seemed to be out of it. Reyna blinked rapidly and tried to sit up. A small groan escaped her, and she collapsed back to the ground. Annabeth smiled and walked towards the pirate. She placed her sword to Reyna's throat.

Burning pain suddenly hit her thigh, and Annabeth's legs were kicked out from under her. Annabeth fell forward, and her jaw slammed directly onto Reyna's knee. Two feet pushed Annabeth backwards, and Annabeth collapsed onto her back. A cutlass pressed into her throat a moment later. Annabeth blinked a few times and tried to process how she ended up in her current predicament.

Annabeth didn't expect to lose to the pirate, let alone be outsmarted by her. Her eyes focused on the cutlass, and she blinked a few times. The pain in her jaw fell away, as she realized what losing entailed. A glance over at Leo showed he was staring in shock and looking like he was trying to say something. Instead, he just gasped and stuttered. Reyna spoke, "Do you yield, or do I have to slit your throat?"

"I yield," Annabeth began. Reyna smirked. She started to lower the sword, but her eyes widened. She turned and opened her mouth to call out an order. Reyna was suddenly thrown backwards and skidded across the deck. The rest of the pirates rushed for their fallen leader, only to be attacked by Annabeth's friends.

Annabeth felt someone grab her arm, and she was pulled to her feet. She looked back at Percy, and a small smile came to her face, despite the fighting that was happening around them. A glance around showed that the pirates had gotten over their initial shock and were fighting back. Reyna was nursing her ribs with one hand and tried to get to her feet with the other.

"You're safe," Percy whispered. Annabeth nodded and studied the battlefield. Jason had been approaching Reyna, only to be intercepted by a pirate. It was probably a gust of wind from him that had saved Annabeth. Frank and Hazel fought back to back but were both taking the pirates on rather easily. Leo was using fireballs to send the pirate that he fought scrambling. Piper had her pirate on the defensive. "I didn't know sky pirates existed."

"They're regular pirates," Annabeth explained. "One of them was an attendant at Circe's island but became a pirate after we released Blackbeard. I also just lost a duel for the ship, so Leo might be mad at me for awhile."

"Retreat!" Reyna called. She pulled the rope off of her back and stabbed her javelin into the side of the ship. The javelin expanded into a grapple. The rest of the pirates quickly disengaged from their battle and took a running start towards the edge of the ship, throwing the javelins as they did. The javelin hit the side of the ship and expanded. The pirates jumped over the edge without another thought, gripping the rope that was attached to the javelin.

One of the pirates was intercepted by a gust of air from Jason and was knocked down by Frank. Before Frank could pin the pirate, a grappling hook wrapped around his legs and dragged him to the ground. Piper lunged forward and cut the rope. The pirate that had fallen to the ground scrambled to their feet and stabbed their own javelin into the side of the ship. They jumped over the edge before anyone could stop them.

Annabeth stared down at the rope that Piper had cut. Then, she traced the rope back to Reyna. The quartermaster was leaning against the side of the ship and had her hand to her bloody mouth and nose. It seemed like she had thrown her own grappling hook to save one of her pirates. Annabeth found herself surprised. She almost admired the pirate for such a selfless act.

"Well, look is who is the prisoner now," Leo said. He helped untie Frank's legs and then lifted the grapple hook. He almost lost a finger as it retracted back into a javelin. "Now, I say we take a vote on what to do with this pirate. My suggestion is throw her over the edge, like she was going to do to us."

"We're not throwing anyone over the edge," Percy said. He glanced over the side of the ship. Annabeth did as well. She watched the grappling hooks leave the sides of their ships, and the pirates below scrambled. Frank grabbed his bow and seemed to be waiting for an order. Annabeth shook her head. It wouldn't be hard for Frank to fire a the pirates, even if they were twenty feet below them. There was no need to hurt the remaining pirates though.

"Walk the plank?" Leo suggested. Everyone gave him a look. "We can lower the ship! Or, we can do it over water. This pirate tried to steal my ship."

"If you had a shred of honor, this ship would be mine," Reyna said. She lowered her hand and spat blood towards Leo. It was too far away to hit Leo, but the intention was clear. Leo swore and charged forward. Piper and Jason held him back.

"Boarding a ship doesn't make you a captain automatically," Hazel said. She crossed her arms, and Frank nodded his agreement.

"Winning it in a duel does," Reyna muttered. She looked over at the edge of the ship and then back at them. Her hand gripped the edge. "It seems you demigods don't have a shred of honor. It makes sense."

"Listen here, lady! We are going to save the world. This ship is going to help us do that, and you are not going to get your dirty pirate hands on it," Leo snapped. "I use to think that pirates were cool, but you have managed to completely ruin that. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Reyna said. Leo lunged again, only for Piper to hold him back. Jason was staring at the ring on Reyna's finger. After taking a pained breath, the quartermaster looked over the edge of the ship once again and whistled, as if she was admiring the height.

"Wait. You got into a duel over the ship?" Jason asked. Annabeth glanced at him and nodded. "Why would you fight someone who holds a symbol of Bellona?"

"Bologna?" Leo asked. Jason gave him a stern look. "Hey. I can barely keep track of all these Greek gods. Don't even get me started on the Roman ones. And, why don't we all just get a fancy little handbook that has all of their names and domains in it. That would be pretty convenient."

"My mother's name is Bellona," Reyna said coldly, although she seemed to stand a little straighter. "Roman goddess of war. And, don't think you'll have this ship for long. Sooner or later, I will get my hands on it."

"You and what army?" Leo asked. Reyna smiled coldly. Despite the blood that covered her face and the way that she was hunched over slightly, she still gave off an aura of power. Her words didn't seem like just another empty threat. Annabeth realized how lucky she was that her friends came to the rescue.

"It only took six of us to sneak aboard your ship," Reyna stated. She glanced over the side again. "When I tell my sister about this, she is going to want your ship. Go ahead and save the world. Once you're done, we'll find you. That I can promise."

With those words, Reyna jumped over the edge of the ship. Annabeth rushed towards the side and looked over. To her surprise, she found Reyna had caught onto a Pegasus' saddle. Reyna pulled herself onto the Pegasus in one swift movement. The pirate looked back at them and gave them a salute with her middle finger.

"Well. That was fun," Percy stated. He looked around the deck. Annabeth did as well. There was a mess of blood, destroyed crates, burn marks from Leo's fire, and scratches from the grappling hooks. "Who is going to clean up the mess?"

"Probably the person who almost lost the ship," Piper said, but there was a teasing smile on her face. Annabeth smiled slightly. It seemed like none of her friends were hurt, and the cuts on her throat and thigh weren't deep. Her jaw did ache, but a little bit of nectar would solve that.

"Well, I'm glad we all made it out this situation unharmed, and we all learned to never challenge a pirate to a duel for my ship. I'll forgive you eventually," Leo said. He looked at Annabeth and smiled, to show that he didn't actually hate her. Annabeth returned the smile.

"I'll help clean everything up," Annabeth said. The other quickly agreed to pitch in. Leo smiled, but he looked out in the distance. A frown slowly appeared on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Do you think the pirates will really be back?" Leo asked. Everyone fell quiet and seemed to be thinking. Leo finally sighed and shook his head. He walked towards the edge of the ship and looked down. Then, Leo turned back towards the others and said what they were all thinking. "Sky pirates are the worst."