This chapter has been edited by Gdiusx.

  Percy was in the most dreaded position he had ever envisioned himself to be, free-falling thousands of feet from the sky. Worse, his flinch quickly turned into an uncontrolled spin, which added to his terror. The winds viciously cwed at his unprotected skin and with every second of falling, he felt rising dread – the King of the Gods would not think twice before bsting him out of his domain. The dark, heavy clouds, the reverberating rumble of thunder, and the heavy smell of ozone did not reassure him in the slightest.

  Instinctively, Percy moved his body against the inertia in a bid to at least stop his world from swirling. It took some effort, but he finally managed to control his spin just in time to break through the clouds and look at where he was falling.

  It was a sea, turbulent, misty, and treacherous, and despite the furious storm, Percy felt jubint for a moment before looking closer. The waves were dark and foreboding, crashing against two jagged cliffs that loomed over a small strait where it constantly dropped boulders in a never-ending cycle. Fshes of lightning lit up the sky, revealing the treacherous waters below. The sea was eerily green, different from the normal color he was used to seeing, hinting at the dangerous magical forces at py. It didn’t take long for Percy to recognize that he was falling into the Sea of Monsters.

  It was also then that he realized he was in a dream.

  As soon as the thought entered his mind, his vision shifted from an aerial view to a familiar ship’s deck. Specifically on the bow, right above the figurehead of Amphitrite. Percy realized he was on the Sea Queen.

  The waves roared, raging at the sky, the ship was shaking like a leaf amidst the storm, and the smell of salt was almost suffocating. The ship was about to enter the Sea of Monsters, and before him were the two jagged cliffs he saw from the air. Only, the perspective of seeing them from sea level was certainly different. The two massive cliffs seemed to stretch for miles to the horizon, with only the single strait splitting them in two being the obvious entrance to the sea. A strait that Percy could not see its end and had a constant barrage of rocks and boulders falling from the cliffs to its depth.

  This was different from the st time he was here. Percy had expected to go through the strait of Scyl and Charybdis and even pnned how to counter them. Something niggled in his mind about this pce, as if he should know about it. He felt that he had heard about another entrance to the Sea of Monsters, but for the life of him, Percy couldn't recall what it was about. Regret began to well up within – he should have asked Annabeth to join him; surely, she would know the answer to it.

  As the ship sailed, the demigod realized he had no control over it. His prior ability to navigate and control marine vessels was seemingly absent in the dream. Percy could do nothing as the ship got closer and the rock slides intensified. He tried to force the ship to turn around to no avail; then he tried to lift it on a wave but in vain. The demigod of the sea could do nothing as the ship entered the strait and took the rock bombardments.

  The ship barely made it a few hundred feet before succumbing to the rocks, yet Percy could still not see the end of the strait. An especially rge rock, bigger than his whole body, was heading right to his face, and all he knew was darkness.

  .

  .

  .

  Percy!

  He woke up with a start in an unfamiliar pce. Looking around, Percy wondered if he was still dreaming as he could have sworn he had gone to sleep st night in the captain’s cabin after a day of exploring the ship. He stood in a familiar forest clearing, and it took him a few seconds to realize it was where Grover had denounced the Council of Cloven Elders.

  “Percy!”

  Speaking of the satyr, he turned to the voice and found his friend standing by a tree, his figure strangely distorted, urgently waving him over.

  “Grover. Is this a dream?”

  “Yes, Perce. I used my empathy link to connect to your dreams. You know, like I did when I was stuck in that pce?”

  Simply mentioning that pce caused the satyr to shiver, and Percy felt a tinge of sympathy. No one would want to pretend to be a bride for a giant cannibalistic monster. The fact that said monster was technically his half-brother, and Percy kept a simir company, was conveniently ignored. Better not to think too deeply about this stuff, as Greek mythos was insane enough as it was.

  “Yeah, I remember. Are you alright? You look…distorted?”

  Even as he mentioned it, Grover’s figure was getting more transparent and opaque, causing the satyr to bleat in frustration.

  “Our link is compromised! Someone had severed it, and only a deity could do such a thing.” The shaggy-haired goat man looked morose as he moaned in sadness, “Did you speak to someone from Olympus tely?”

  “Ah, yeah. H- The queen of the gods.”

  “That would do it. Why would she do it, though?”

  “Beats me, G-man. Can’t you just, I don’t know, make another one?”

  “Oh no, I wouldn’t dare!” Grover looked terrified just from the mere thought, “If the queen herself removed it, and I tried to make another one, she would turn me into a manure fork for her cow herd!”

  Percy had to fight the urge not to ugh, the poor satyr looked like he needed a tin can or two to chew on, and teasing him would not be nice.

  “Well, she clearly left enough of it for us to be still able to talk.”

  “Bahhh, it took too much effort to connect to you. I had to wait until you were sleeping and hijack your dreams.” The satyr looked bashful, “I didn’t, uhh, interrupt a good dream, did I?”

  “Nothing of the sort, G-man.” Percy ughed, “It was just a dream.”

  Or was it? A voice whispered in his head, yet he ignored it.

  “Besides,” Grover huffed. “I can tell it will be completely gone in a few days.”

  “Hey, look on the bright side,” Percy grinned, “we don’t have to worry about either of us dying because the other became a hellhound’s chew bone.”

  “True.” They both ughed for a few more minutes at the morbidly dark humor. Percy remembered this was still a dream, and he could wake up at any moment.

  “So, Grover, what’s up?”

  “What’s up, he says?!” Goat boy waved his hands in exasperation, “you disappeared from Camp, Percy! We had no idea where you were, but Chiron refused to send a search team. We were worried, man. Annabeth was worried.”

  At the mention of his blonde friend, Percy had conflicting feelings about her. On the one hand, she had been his most reliable friend since he was introduced to the Greek world. For a moment, he thought there was even something more between them, but he wasn’t so sure now. On the other hand, It was a shame he wouldn’t have access to her encyclopedic-like mind while on a quest.

  He would just have to make do with his wits and resourcefulness to deal with whatever problems awaited in this quest. The ancient heroes didn’t have foreknowledge of the enemies they faced, and he would like to think he was at least on the same level as them.

  “I just needed time for myself.” There was no way he was telling Grover about the prophecy, or else he would tell Annabeth, and the wise girl would realize she was responsible for him leaving.

  “You were with your mom, right? Chiron called her when you left, and she called back yesterday morning, telling us about some sort of quest by your father?”

  “Pretty much, yeah. I’m on a quest to free Calypso with two others. I should be back in a few weeks.”

  “Calypso, huh?” A knowing smirk bloomed on the satyr’s face as he wiggled his eyebrows. “You do realize what this means, right? Should I tell Annabeth the good news?”

  “Go ahead, be my guest. There’s nothing between Annabeth and me. I promised to free Calypso, and I stick to my promises.” Percy shrugged before noticing the world around him was starting to fade. “Looks like our time is nearly up.”

  “Yeah,” Grover morosely looked as his body was fading from feet up. “I guess this is it. I could try to connect again ter, but…”

  “We would probably be in Ogygia by then. Tell the others not to worry about me.” Percy grinned as his friend completely faded away, one st smile on his face and the echoing of his st words.

  See you around, Perce.

  P*O*D

  August 20th, Dawn.

  Percy woke up in the comfortable four-poster bed in his quarters. He stretched zily as he sat up and got off the bed. Gncing out the window, he noticed the sun was just rising, and the moonce that Calypso gifted him was closing its petals. Rarely would Percy willingly wake up so early, but one could only do so much on a ship before boredom took over. Watching Rachel dragging Tyson all over the ship to try the amenities, introducing his brother to the wonders of gaming consoles, and then hearing Bckjack compin over the noise once they got to the cannons, got old quickly.

  Nevertheless, it was still one of the best nights of sleep he had ever had, despite the ominous dream. In fact, he wondered why he did not feel the ship rocking at all. Looking around his cabin, he noticed that while his bed and dining table, as well as the massive desk, appeared to be nailed to the floor, the rest of the furniture was not, including the coffee table and chairs. Furthermore, not a single thing was out of pce or fallen on the ground. Even in the calmest of seas, the simple motion of the ship would easily cause something to tip over.

  After removing the moonce from the direct sunlight and pcing it on the desk of his cabin, Percy headed to the washroom, grabbing a change of clothes from his wardrobe. Discarding his pajamas in an empty basket, Percy gnced at the wide tub before shaking his head. He stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water, consciously allowing himself to get wet, to enjoy the boiling water that barely stung him. It still marveled him how many amenities this ship had; some of them had to be some sort of magic, as he could find no expnation for how they worked.

  Then again, he would easily call Rachel’s phone, magic as well. All the fancy tech stuff completely flew over his head, he thought, as he turned off the water and willed himself dry.

  After dressing in khaki shorts and a blue T-shirt, Percy grabbed his undry basket and headed to the washroom. And yes, the Captain and Officer cabins had a washroom all to themselves, complete with a washing machine, dryer, ironing table, and more. He chuckled inwardly as he left his room, only to find Rachel about to knock on his door.

  “Oh, hey, Percy. Good morning,” the red-haired girl had a vibrant smile. He frowned inwardly; didn't she say she wasn't a morning person? He noticed she also had a undry basket of her own. “I was going to see if you needed to do the undry; it would be a waste not to pile our dirty clothes and clean them in one go. Why don't you give those to me and head on for breakfast? Tyson has also just woken up and I have his clothes as well. He should be meeting us there.”

  “Morning, Rachel, and sure, here you go. Thanks for the help,” He grinned at the girl, noticing her long loose hair was slightly wet from her own shower. Rachel's smile widened as she turned to the washroom with an extra pep in her step. Percy couldn’t help but notice that the girl seemed…different somehow. Almost like she had a certain glow to her that he had seen somewhere before but never noticed.

  With nothing to do, Percy went to the kitchens to start breakfast. He wished he knew how to cook anything more complicated than bacon and eggs; already he was missing his mother’s cooking.

  It didn’t take long for Tyson to lumber into the mess hall with a greeting, to which Percy returned. Without asking, his brother grabbed pancake mix and saucepan and wordlessly joined in to help.

  “I didn’t know you could cook.”

  “Auntie Amphitrite would spend time with me and the others and teach us many things.” He shrugged as he rubbed the sleepiness off his sole eye, causing flour to cover his face, much to Percy's amusement. “She loved her pastries and usually baked them in front of us to learn.”

  “That’s cool.” Percy wondered how they could cook and bake under the sea but shrugged it off as the divines making things work somehow.

  A few minutes ter, Rachel arrived as they set the table.

  “The undry is in the dryer now.” She said in lieu of a greeting, “I took your dirty clothes and bedsheets as well, Tyson. You need to shower before bed, especially when you have worked in the workshop. You should make a habit of changing what you wear every day.”

  “Oh, u-uhm. Okay.” The gentle cyclops replied distractedly as he piled a stack of pancakes and drowned it in syrup. Percy did the same with butter while Rachel grabbed a rge pte of scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and bacon. After a moment of hesitation, she went to the fridge and brought some pickled olives and a carton of milk.

  “Nice, I didn’t notice the olives.” Percy grabbed some for his pte. Having the daughter of Athena as his best friend for the past few years had made him like olives just by association.

  “We should eat more of the perishables first,” she was saying as she poured them all a gss of milk. “Milk, eggs, fruits, meats…even in a fridge or freezer, they won’t st too long. Keep the pancakes and cereal for ter; those can st virtually forever.”

  “Yes, Auntie.”

  Percy nearly choked in ughter on an olive at Tyson’s distracted reply, and Rachel wasn’t any better as she goggled at the Cyclops before bursting out in giggles.

  “Sorry. I'm used to Auntie speaking to me like that.” His brother’s embarrassed reply came out so genuinely that Percy felt terrible for joining her in ughter. Soon enough, even Tyson joined in, albeit awkwardly.

  “You will have to forgive him, Rachel.” He said after they stopped ughing, “Tyson might look big and scary, but he’s a huge softy who isn’t even ten years old yet.”

  “Really?” The red-haired girl gasped, “So young? And we’re taking him on a dangerous quest?”

  He arched an eyebrow at the girl, causing her to giggle. “I’m only kidding, I know I’m the weakest in this room. Tyson will be able to take care of himself well, won’t you?”

  The cyclops drained his gss of milk and nodded his head, “Uh-huh. I’m strong. Not as strong as Percy, of course, but I can protect myself.” He frowned slightly. “You aren’t weak either, Rachel. You are getting strong, too.”

  “I am?” She looked confused, and he looked at his Cyclops brother questioningly.

  “Yep.” Tyson nodded seriously, and Percy felt that his brother saw something more than they did.

  “Even if you feel weak, you can always use any of the guns in the armory for protection.” Percy assuaged the girl’s worries; she was still a mortal on a quest that could easily kill demigods. “I get the feeling that you know your way around a gun or two.”

  “My grandpa is from a rural area and taught me how to handle a gun when I visited him with my mom a couple of years ago. He insisted I knew how to defend myself since I – uh….” Rachel stuttered hesitantly, and Percy felt there was a not-so-happy story that she didn’t want to share. “Anyway, he died st year, and before that, I rarely visited him, but living in the boonies, he had a different perspective on the reality of our world.” The girl gave them a wan smile, probably thinking of some of the few fond memories she had of her extended family. “My mom went ballistics, and to say she disapproved would be an understatement, but my gramps put his foot down.”

  She coughed and did her best impression of an old, grumpy voice, “Don’t believe the bullshit they spew on TV. When it comes to a fight on the streets, women will never be strong enough to defend themselves from men, but a .45 to the gut would drop any assaint regardless of what they’re packing between their legs.”

  A hearty chuckle came unbidden from Percy; he certainly could attest to that, considering he had been shot at in the past.

  “Oh, yeah.” He turned to Tyson curiously, “Any idea why the ship doesn’t rock as much, if at all?”

  His brother quickly gulped on his pancake before letting out a loud burp. “Sorry…” he said shyly, but he and Rachel simply smiled at him. “Yeah, Dad mentioned that Auntie didn’t appreciate cooking on their st ship since all the ingredients would fly all over the pce, so Dad designed this ship to eliminate any rocking or motion in the lower decks.”

  “Hang on,” Rachel interrupted, her face confused. “Your auntie?”

  “Uh-huh. Auntie Amphitrite, she’s the Queen of Atntis.” Tyson’s warm look said enough about how much he liked his auntie.

  “And she has no problem with you? Aren’t you sort of illegitimate?” The girl’s look of disbelief brought a smile to Percy’s face. Looks like she was in the culture shock phase.

  “Yeah?” Tyson’s confused look was even more funny than Rachel’s. “Auntie makes sure that all of Dad’s children who live in Atntis are well taken care of. Cyclops are usually sent to the wild to fend for themselves when they are young so as to teach them the value of life…or so they say. Once we make it to Atntis, Auntie basically adopts us. She always makes time for me and the others if we need help.”

  “And she has no problem at all with the fact her husband is essentially cheating on her?”

  “I don’t think so?” The rge boy just shrugged. “I think one of the older cyclopes asked her something simir, and she just said that the sea is mercurial and does what it wishes.” He frowned in thought before shrugging again and adopting a soothing female voice. “It takes what it wants but usually gives back more than it takes. Any bonds the sea makes with the mundane are fleeting for she is eternal while they are not. Yet, taking care of the bounty of the sea is both an honor and a duty.” Tyson shrugged before turning to Percy, “Auntie has mentioned that she would love to meet you, brother.”

  “And I would be honored to meet her as well, if she is as you speak of her.”

  Rachel looked fbbergasted over such a flippant attitude to the matter. Percy decided to cut her some sck, though; he wasn’t any better when he entered the Greek world. “The queen of the seas has a different mindset to the queen of the heavens.”

  “Apparently so,” The green-eyed girl scrunched her brow in contemption. “I guess I shouldn’t compare a divine’s mindset to a regur human, huh?”

  “Nope, you should never.” He said, deadly serious. “Better people than you and I were driven mad trying to understand the gods. It’s better to just take them at face value at times.”

  Rachel hummed in thought as they ate in companionable silence, interrupted by the occasional comment here and there. Percy focused on Rachel again, noticing that she was eating a lot more than she did a couple of days ago. Yesterday, they had brought prepped meals from a deli she liked, so maybe she was just hungrier than usual?

  ***

  The clear skies and the sun shining on the deck promised a good day ahead. Percy reckoned they were very close to the entrance of the Sea of Monsters, at most about an hour away. They had just finished breakfast and were now lounging on the deck. Bckjack was racing the hippocampi along the ship, so Percy took this chance to make sure his stable was clean. Some liberal use of his water bending, heh, had the stall clean as a whistle.

  “So, have you all settled well in your cabins?” Percy turned to his crewmates, finding Rachel and Tyson fiddling with yet another cannon, this time on the stern of the ship, that was pced on some sort of swiveling ptform the Cyclops built that gave it a lot of leeway to aim.

  “Oh yes. My room was great.” Tyson enthusiastically answered as he grabbed a gss of orange juice from the nearby table of snacks. “Much better than the Cyclops quarters in the deep sea. I don’t even have to share my room with anyone.”

  “That’s good, Tyson.” Rachel cranked the mechanism on the cannon, causing it to turn from one angle to the next. “My room is also nice, and so is the gaming room and the rest, but cannons Percy!” Her smile was so wide that he felt it was starting to look disturbing. The girl was wearing a gun belt around her waist that had two revolvers strapped in holsters. The guns were standard six-shooters that might have been Colts, but Percy wasn’t the most knowledgeable about guns. The rounds were originally regur lead, but Tyson had them coated with Celestial Bronze for Rachel to use in their journey.

  He gazed at Rachel and Tyson as they explored the cannon mechanisms on the deck, but something was bothering him. As Percy stared at his brother, easily carrying a cannon in one hand like a baseball bat and holding a crate of cannonballs, with Rachel carrying the other end, he finally figured it out.

  “Rachel, could you come here for a moment?”

  The girl looked confused for a second before shrugging and letting go of the crate. That left Tyson holding onto one end awkwardly before he adjusted his grip and held the box under his arm.

  “Ah, sorry, Tyson.”

  The Cyclops just nodded and stared at Percy in curiosity.

  “So, Rachel. How have you been feeling tely?”

  “Well, I feel good.” The confusion in her voice was evident, “Great, even. I've never been out at sea before, and it's just so refreshing.”

  “And you didn’t notice anything strange?”

  “Strange?” She hummed as she casually leaned on the railings. “Well, like I’ve said, I feel great. Perhaps better than I ever felt? Also, I think my appetite is getting better, but that’s probably from our time at sea.”

  Percy nodded. Rachel did eat a lot during breakfast, and he thought she was more energetic in general than normal. He just didn’t know her as much as he would like to tell the difference.

  “Oh, and…” The girl had a bashful look on her face, “promise not to ugh?”

  “I’ll try,” The demigod grinned, causing her to smile.

  “I think some of my freckles are fading. My hair also doesn’t need as much care as a few days ago, either.”

  The girl looked shyly at both him and Tyson, who had deposited what he was carrying, and stood beside him with a confused look on his face. Rachel fiddled with her hair, which she styled into a single long braid that hung over her shoulder and down to her stomach, and Percy wondered if the Fates were messing with him, as that was Calypso’s preferred hairstyle.

  Now that she mentioned it, her hair wasn't as curly or messy, and it definitely had a sheen and glossiness to it. Still…

  “That’s… good?” Percy had no idea why she would be shy about something like that. “You’re happy about that, right?”

  “Of course I am! Ugh, Percy, you need to read a girl’s mood better,” Her bashfulness quickly morphed into amusement.

  “I think you’re pretty, Rachel,” Tyson added helpfully, causing the girl to giggle.

  “Thank you, Tyson. At least one of you is a smooth talker.”

  “Hey, I’m a smooth talker.” Percy interrupted before sighing as his two friends chuckled at his expense.

  “Anyway, I need you to do something for me, Rachel. Could you lift this barrel for me?”

  He pointed to a nearby wooden barrel, and Rachel shrugged as she moved toward it. Grabbing the rge barrel with both hands, she struggled for a second to get her hands around it before lifting it chest-high, and then looked at Percy expectantly.

  “Good. Why don’t you follow me for a bit.”

  The red-haired girl blinked before following him to the bow of the ship, Tyson grabbing the snack tray and following as he munched on cookies. Once they were at the bow, Percy led them back to the stern, though he could tell that Rachel was starting to feel impatient and annoyed.

  “Alright, you can drop the barrel back here.”

  “Will you tell me what this is about now?” She pced the barrel back where she picked it up and looked at him with a hint of annoyance.

  “Oh, nothing much.” He struggled to hold his grin even as he felt confusion settling in. “You just lifted four hundred pounds worth of water like it was a purse and walked back and forth along the lengths of the ship without even breaking a sweat. You tell me, is this normal for you?”

  “W-what?” Rachel gawked at him before finally thinking to look into the barrel to find that, yes, the barrel was full of water, and it was about fifty gallons. “How? Just st week, I was struggling to push a couch a few feet. How is this possible?”

  Percy gazed at his friend as if seeing her for the first time. Rachel had always been a pretty girl, with her freckled white skin, long red hair, and green eyes, as well as her hourgss body. He was a fifteen-year-old boy with raging hormones, in addition to the demigod-induced libido that Chiron had warned them in sex-ed css. And yes, the camp had sex education mandatory for all demigods, particurly for those whose parents are known for their prolific tendencies.

  Regardless, Percy would never deny the fact that his friend was both gorgeous and sexy.

  Yet, she was beautiful for a mortal, and after dealing with demigods and gods for years now, Percy can safely say that even the ugliest demigod could easily be a model in the mortal world. The main difference was, that was his observation of Rachel a few days ago. Now, she looked even more beautiful with her body gaining a natural athletic build to it. Her curves were more prominent, with her breasts in particur becoming fuller and with a natural perkiness to them as if gravity did not affect them. Even her eyes appeared brighter and the green color was more vibrant. He could finally understand what the glow he noticed in her before was about.

  “Congratutions, Rachel. I have no idea how this is possible, but you have gained a demigod’s physique.”

  “I what now?!” The clear-sighted, not exactly mortal, yelped.

  .

  .

  .

  It took some time and plenty of experiments and assurances for Rachel to finally acknowledge the truth. She was not entirely human anymore, as evidenced by her ability to hold Celestial Bronze.

  “This is so surreal,” the newly discovered demigod gently caressed Anaklusmos as she held it close to her face and inspected her reflection. “Do you feel it, Percy?”

  “Feel what?”

  “I think,” She had a far-off look on her face, as if she was seeing something they could not perceive. “I think the sword is alive. I-I’m not sure if it’s because it's yours or if it's just Celestial Bronze, but I can feel something from it.”

  “Interesting,” He hummed thoughtfully. “It is a very old sword, and many heroes of old wielded it before me. Do you think it has something to do with you being clear-sighted? I mean, you are still clear-sighted, right?”

  “I think so?” Rachel handed him back the sword before turning to Tyson. “I can certainly see that Tyson has only one eye, so I assume the Mist isn’t affecting me?”

  “Who knows? Whatever the case, you will not be trying Nectar or Ambrosia until we know for sure your body can handle it.” Percy turned the sword back to a pen and pocketed it. He then walked towards the bow of the ship and stared at the distant fog covering the horizon.

  “Oh, come on, Percy.” Rachel and Tyson followed their captain, the girl agilely running on the deck rails as her newly discovered physique gave her confidence to do acrobatics she would never have dared try. “It's going to be fine. It's not fair you would keep something like that from me.”

  “Do you really want to risk burning to ashes from your insides?” He gave her a strange look at her overconfidence. “How could you be so sure it’s safe anyway?”

  “I just know. It’s like instinct, almost like I'm telling the future.” She shrugged as she jumped from the railings to the top of a barrel, flipping into a handstand. “Just look at how cool I am!”

  The red-haired girl gave him a cheeky upside-down grin, not noticing her guns and bullets slowly slipping from her improperly secured belt. Percy had to hold his ughter as the inevitable happened, and Rachel yelped, falling from the barrel as she scrambled to grab her weapons.

  “Too bad you couldn’t predict that, huh?”

  “It’s okay, Rachel. I know you are amazing.” Tyson, the softy he was, patted the aggrieved girl’s shoulder as he helped her up.

  “Regardless,” Percy interrupted the girl before she could continue protesting. “Even if you were a demigod from camp, I would not allow anyone to simply consume Ambrosia and Nectar just because of a craving.”

  They arrived at the bow of the ship and stared ahead as they entered the foggy sea. The other two did not comment on the fog as they knew he had full control of the ship, and the navigation skills he inherited from his father were unmatched. No mere fog or mist would cause him to lose his heading.

  “I get it, but –”

  He sent a stern frown at the girl, who still looked slightly defiant but gradually wilted at his determined gre.

  “No buts, Rachel. How about this? I will only allow you to consume them if you are mortally wounded.” That’s as much of a compromise as he will allow. If she was going to die either way, then he would certainly try everything in his power to save her. Nectar and Ambrosia would be his first options then.

  “Fine,” the girl finally sighed in defeat. “It’s just, none of us hardly know how to cook, and I don’t think I can survive on just frozen pizza for dinner.”

  “It’s only been a couple of days, Ray.” Percy ughed at the girl’s grimace. “Anyway, we are here.”

  They all stared ahead as the ship broke through the fog, and just as Percy suspected, two massive azure cliffs appeared in front of them. Like in his dream, they stretched endlessly for miles to the horizon, with no way through except for a narrow strait a few miles ahead. Yet, they looked even more vivid than his dream, and he could have sworn he saw some movement along the strait, but his vision was never the best among demigods.

  “What is this?” Rachel asked quietly.

  “What do you see?” Considering she was clear-sighted, she must be capable of seeing more than either him or Tyson.

  “I’m sure you don’t mean the cliffs, right?” At his grin, she giggled and gently spped his shoulder. “We’re too far away, but I think I see some kind of giant pair of eyes on each cliff staring at us.”

  Percy looked intently at the cliffs, even as the ship cruised along the gradually turbulent sea, but he saw nothing of the sort on the cliffs. He should have grabbed a pair of binocurs or a telescope from his room, but that was a moot point now. The wind was picking up, causing them to sail faster, but it would soon become a burden once they entered the strait. Although he could now tell it wasn’t as narrow as he expected, there was easily enough space for three ships the same size as their own to sail through side by side. What confused him, however, was the ck of falling rocks and boulders.

  “So what is this pce, anyway?”

  “This is one of two known entrances to the Sea of Monsters. The same entrance the Argonauts took on their quest, the Symplegades or the Cshing Rocks.” It had taken seeing in person for Percy to remember Annabeth mentioning it during their quest for the Golden Fleece. Even after the quest, he had asked around for any information regarding the mystical pce. An experience in a pce like the Sea of Monsters would normally make anyone never want to return, but for a son of Poseidon?

  It irked him that he could not cim the sea as his.

  “Is it supposed to be so…rge?” Tyson asked worriedly, and Rachel nodded along, looking at him questioningly.

  “Just as everything else in America is big, all the myths would also become rger.” He chuckled, and the other two joined him, though hesitantly. “It’s been thousands of years since their inception; is it so hard to believe that they would grow along with everything else?”

  The other two nodded, but Rachel suddenly squinted at one of the cliffs. They were about a mile out now and would reach the strait in a few minutes.

  “I have a bad feeling, Percy.”

  “Why? What’s happening?” He tried to stare at what she was looking at, but all he saw was just regur old rocks. Sure, they were blue, which was awesome, but they were still cliffs.

  “Those pairs of eyes I mentioned? They just melted into the cliffs.”

  “Okay? How is that bad?”

  “Oh, it's bad, alright.” She turned to him seriously, her bright-green eyes shining in worry. “Those eyes now have a body with arms, many arms, and are currently holding rocks as if ready to throw them. I don't think they realize I can see them, but it's obvious they are waiting for us to enter the strait.”

  Percy gulped as he inspected the cliffs again, and this time, he did notice some rocks moving unnaturally.

  “Okay, you two.” With a thought, he furled up the sails and stopped the ship just a few hundred feet from the strait before dropping the anchor. “Time to pn. Do you think those creatures can be hurt, Rachel?”

  “I think so? They are shielding their eyes, so that must be a weak point.”

  “I see,” seeing the girl’s twitching lips, he chuckled. “Pun unintended. Tyson, bring the 36-pounder to bear and prepare to fire.”

  “Yes, brother.” The Cyclops hurried to obey as he quickly installed a swivel mechanism, simir to the one on the stern, on the ft deck of the bow. He then pced a moving ptform connected to the rails before hurrying to get the cannon. It always impressed him with the sheer speed and precision that his brother had when it came to any craft work.

  “Rachel, since you are the only one who could see them, I will be counting on you to aim the cannons with Tyson.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” He grinned at the girl’s exaggerated salute, and they waited for Tyson to return with the utter behemoth that was the 36-Pounder long gun. The fact he could easily carry the three-ton cannon and a crate of its powder/ammo put into perspective how strong his brother was. It would normally take a crew of at least a dozen to operate the cannon, but hopefully, Rachel's ability, combined with Tyson's strength, and the ptform he built, would make a difference.

  “Bckjack!”

  “Yes, boss?” The Pegasus flew in to nd on the deck.

  “Where are your new friends?”

  “Already went past us, boss. The blue one says no stupid cliff can stop them from going anywhere in the ocean.”

  “Lucky them.” He muttered as he quickly saddled the Pegasus. “Ready to pick a fight with a rockslide?”

  “Hell yeah, boss! But uh, are you gonna fight a mountain with that?”

  The winged horse pointed his head at the unsheathed Riptide.

  “Of course not.” Bckjack sighed in relief as Percy mounted his back. “I will be fighting a living cliff, not a mountain.”

  He ignored the Pegasus’ splutter and turned to his crew, “I will fly and try to distract them while remotely steering the ship through as fast as possible. Maybe we might just dodge the damn things like the Argo did. If not, you will have to blow Stone Face to smithereens. All hands, ready?”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” This time, Tyson repeated with Rachel, and determination shone in their eyes as they manned the cannon. Percy pointed Riptide, and with a thought, the ship came alive as the air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling at half-sail, and the long chain of the anchor retracted into the ship. The demigod of the sea focused as the wind caught the sails, sending the ship forward.

  “Let’s go, everyone!”

  With a powerful fp of his wings, Bckjack soared to the skies as the ship entered the strait. This would be their first test as a crew, and Percy prayed to his father for good fortune.

  Bub3loka