Published: October 3, 2021
Edited: July 28, 2022
'•'

Annabeth of course had the perfect plan to find Percy. I'm not supposed to say that we both spent an hour crying before said plan was hatched but oh well.

I swam around the sea of monsters near our little rowboat until I found Percy, (unconious but unharmed) while Annabeth got to stay up in the warm, dry, not monster infested sun and stitch some old uniforms into a sail. I hate to tell you it worked like a charm. Percy woke up soon enough and Annabeth immediately snatched her hand away from his forehead, where it had been resting the entire time he was passed out. I sat nearby, tacking into the wind. Percy tried to sit up and his face turned a sort of pale green. 

"Rest," Annabeth insisted. "You're going to need it." 

"Tyson...?" 

She shook her head. "Percy, I'm really sorry." We were all silent while the waves tossed us up and down. 

"He may have survived," I suggested halfheartedly, though I didn't believe it. "I mean, fire can't kill him." 

Percy nodded, but he had no reason to feel hopeful. I'd seen that explosion rip through solid iron. If Tyson had been down in the boiler room, there was no way he could've lived.

He'd given his life for us. A cyclopes doing something noble and self sacrificial...

Waves lapped at the boat. Annabeth showed Percy some things I'd salvaged from the wreckage—Hermes's thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

I'd fished him out of the water and found his knapsack, bitten in half by Scylla's teeth. Most of the stuff had floated away, but he still had Hermes's bottle of multivitamins, and of course Riptide. The ballpoint pen always appeared back in his pocket no matter where Percy lost it.

We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming or as if the water was filled into blood. Or something even more dangerous.

I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by north west of our destination. But that didn't make me feel any less lost. No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr. Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best we could. And we talked about Percy and I's dream of Grover.

Percy also explained Grover's situation, which made me feel better, I had thought Grover had actually wanted to marry a cyclopes. Annabeth speculated that Percy and I already had a natural empathy link, because we were twins. It was what allowed us to communicate telepathically and send each other small waves of emotion.

By Annabeth's estimate, we had less than twenty-four hours to find Grover, assuming the dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus didn't change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.

"Yeah," Percy snarled bitterly. "You can never trust a Cyclops." I winced and Annabeth stared across the water. 

"I'm sorry, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that."

"Yeah Perce, I don't trust cyclopes but Tyson was sweet. He's not like them." I whispered, truly meaning it. Percy was quiet for a couple long moments.

"Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?" He asked. She pursed her lips. 

"Percy, I shouldn't—"

"I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell me. But you didn't promise, did you?"

"Knowledge isn't always good for you."

"Your mom is the wisdom goddess!"

"I know! But every time heroes learn the future, they try to change it, and it never works."

"The gods are worried about something we'll do when we get older," Percy guessed, gesturing between him and I. "Something when we turn sixteen."

Annabeth twisted her Yankees cap in her hands. "Percy, I don't know the full prophecy, but it warns about two half-blood children of the Big Three—the next boy and girl who live to the age of sixteen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next two kids of the Big Three who reach sixteen will be a dangerous weapon."

"Why?"

"Because those heroes will decide the fate of Olympus. They will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it." I muttered. I let that sink in. Percy and I don't get seasick, but suddenly he looked ill. 

"That's why Kronos didn't kill us last summer." 

Annabeth nodded. "You could both be very useful to him. If he can get you on his side, the gods will be in serious trouble."

"But if it's us in the prophecy—"

"We'll only know that if we survive three more years. That can be a long time for a half blood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia and I, he assumed one of us was one of the children in the prophecy. That's why he was so desperate to get us safely to camp. Then Thalia went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think. Until you came along."

On our port side, a spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water and disappeared.

"This kid in the prophecy...he or she couldn't be like, a Cyclops?" Percy asked. 

"The Big Three have lots of monster children." Annabeth shook her head. "The Oracle said 'halfblood.' That always means half-human, half-god. There's really nobody alive who it could be, except you two."

"Then why do the gods even let us live? It would be safer to kill us now."

"You're right."

"Thanks a lot."

"Percy, I don't know. I guess some of the gods would like to kill you, but they're probably afraid of offending Poseidon. Other gods...maybe they're still watching you guys, trying to decide what kind of heroes you're going be. You could be a weapon for their survival, after all. The real question is...what will you do in three years? What decision will you make?"

"Did the prophecy give any hints?" Annabeth hesitated. Maybe she would've told him more, but just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. Annabeth looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into her lap.

"What in the Noah's ark bull is this?" I demanded, shooing the seagull away.

"Land," Annabeth said. "There's land nearby!" Percy sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance.

Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats .The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

'•'

"Welcome!" Chirped a lady with a clipboard. She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave us, you would've thought we'd just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged-up rowboat.

Then again, our rowboat wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.

"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired. Annabeth and I exchanged looks.

Annabeth looked confused, "Umm..."

"First—time—at—spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see..."She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young ladies. And a new haircut for the black haired one, And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"A what?" Percy asked. She was too busy jotting down notes to answer.

"Right!" She looked up with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please." 

Now here's the thing. Annabeth, Percy and I were used to traps, and usually those traps looked good at first. So I expected the clipboard lady to turn into a snake or a demon, or something, any minute. But on the other hand, we'd been floating in a rowboat for most of the day. I was hot, tired, and hungry, and when this lady mentioned a luau, my stomach sat up on its hind legs and begged like a dog.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth muttered. 

Of course it could, but we followed the lady anyway. I kept my hands in my pockets where I'd stashed my only magic defense—Whirlpool the sword—but the farther we wandered into the resort, the more I forgot about it. The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by waterslides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked Percy. "You look pale."

"I'm okay," He was lying. "Just...let's keep walking."

We passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels (cue my squeals, I love sea turtles). A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests—only  women, as far as I could see—lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal masks dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As we headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old—Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about—moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift me off the steps and carry me toward her. We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but I didn't think about it too much, because just then I saw the lady who'd been singing...and whoa.

She sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional—a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky. Annabeth caught her breath too. 

"It's beautiful."

The woman turned. She was even prettier than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth said fervently. "My mother is—" She stopped herself. You couldn't just go around announcing that your mom was Athena, the goddess who invented the loom. Most people would lock you in a rubber room. Our hostess just smiled. 

"You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C." The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must've been guinea pigs, from the sound of them. We introduced ourselves to C.C. She looked Percy over with a twinge of disapproval, as if he'd failed some kind of test. Immediately, I felt bad. For some reason, I really wanted us to please this lady.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?" Percy asked timidly, a strange emotion for my brother.. C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. 

"Hylla, take Annabeth and Neridia on a tour, will you? Show them what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness dear Neridia. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

"But..." I felt really hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?" C.C. smiled benevolently. 

"My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?"

"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!" I wanted that. I knew this lady was telling the truth, and I wanted to experience that. 

"But...what about Percy?"

"Oh, definitely," C.C. soothed, giving Percy a sad look. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."

Normally if somebody had told me that, I would've gotten angry on my brother's behalf, but when C.C. said it, I felt proud, C.C. thought I was better than Percy. The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry.

"Well..." Annabeth murmured. "I suppose..."

"Right this way, dears," Hylla announced. And Annabeth allowed us to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa. 

Hylla showed us a million amazing things. Annabeth fawned over the huge Beauty and The Beast style library and I was longing to jump in the sea-salt infinity pool.

Unfortunately, Hylla led us away into a salon style room. She snapped her fingers and immediately a bunch of workers swarmed Annabeth and I.

I was steered away from Annabeth and pushed back into the most comfortable chair I had ever sat in. One of the attendants snapped her fingers and my ratty clothing changed into nothing but a white fluffy robe.

The workers washed and brushed out my hair while others lathered my skin in lotion and creams. I had makeup applied and my hair was twisted up into a braid crown with loose beach waves flowing down my back.

Finally the attendents gave Annabeth and I both white, old fashioned Greek dresses and golden cords to tie around our waists before fluttering away. I exchanged a glowing look with Annabeth before we both dove behind the changing screens on our respective sides of the room.

We then showed our dresses off to each other. They had looked exactly the same before we put them on, but once they were on our bodies they looked insanely different. Annabeth's was floor length, with a slit on the side that ran up almost too high to be appropriate. Her top was a halter neck and the dress accentuated the little chest growth she had had over the year that we were apart. If she wasn't like a sister to me I would have been drooling.

My dress was slightly different. It was shorter, stopping around mid-thigh and more bunched around my waist. It gave me the illusion of being curvier than I was and made me feel at least fifteen. The top of my dress was sleeveless and it had gold armbands that wrapped delicately around my biceps to match the circlet in my hair.

When Hylla finally ushered Annabeth and I back into the room where Percy and C.C. had been, I felt amazing and looked even better. I took no notice that Percy was missing or that C.C. was smiling rather cruelly. Annabeth however, looked around the room and frowned. 

"Where's Percy?" She asked a bit worridely. C.C. smiled in reassurance. 

"He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. You both look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?" The woman asked,, clasping her hands in joy. Annabeth's eyes brightened and I straightened up . 

"Your library is amazing!" 

"Yes, indeed," C.C. agreed. "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear." 

"An architect?" Annabeth asked. 

"Pah!" C.C. dismissed. "You, my dears, both have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."

I took a step back, my brain was starting to make connections I didn't like. "A sorceress?" 

"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena and one of her blessed when I see them. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. We both admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men." 

"I—I don't understand." Annabeth bit her lip. 

"Stay with me," C.C. was telling Annabeth. "Study with me. You both can join our staff, become sorceresses, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!" 

"But—" 

"You are too intelligent, my dear," C.C. crooned, "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?" 

"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart—" I listed on my fingers, becoming more wary by the moment. 

"Bah! Men get all the glory." C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all." 

"You...C.C....Circe!" Annabeth deciphered, her gray eyes wide.

"Yes, my dear." Circe agreed. Annabeth backed up, grabbing my arm, and Circe laughed. "You need not worry. I mean you no harm." 

"What have you done to my brother!?" 

"Only helped him realize his true form."

I scanned the room. Finally I saw the cage, and a ginger and white guinea pig scratching at the bars, all the other guinea pigs crowding around it. My eyes went wide. 

"Forget him," Circe snapped. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery." 

"But—" Annabeth protested.

"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."

Annabeth was still staring at me, but she had a dreamy expression on her face. She looked enchanted. 

"Let us think about it," Annabeth murmured. "Just...give us a minute alone together. To say goodbye." 

"Of course, my dears," Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh...and so you have absolute privacy..."She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and I heard the locks on the door click shut behind her.The dreamy look melted off Annabeth's face. She rushed over to the cage, me hot on her heels. 

"All right, which one is you?"All of the guinea pigs squealed. I snorted and reached out, hoping this empathy link worked. 

'Percy?'

'NERI?!'

'No time! Go to the back of the cage!' A ginger and white guinea pig scrambled away from the bars. I swooped in and picked it up. 'Percy?'

'Yeppers', His voice cheered.

Annabeth looked confused. 

"Twin link, remember?" I asked. She smacked her own head.

"Oh duh." Then she scanned theroom and spotted the cuff of Percy's jeans sticking out from under the loom. She rushed over and rummaged through the pockets. She found the bottle of Hermes multivitamins and started struggling with the cap. She popped a lemon chewable in her mouth just as the door flew open and Circe came backin, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants. I hid Percy behind my back. 

"Well," Circe sighed, "how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dear?" 

"This," Annabeth drew her bronze knife. The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed. She sneered. 

"Really, little girl, a knife against my magic? Is that wise?" Circe looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands as if preparing to cast a spell. 

"What will Annabeth's makeover be?" Circe mused. "Something small and ill-tempered. I know...a shrew!"Blue fire coiled from her fingers curling like serpents around Annabeth. I watched, horror-struck, but nothing happened. Annabeth was still Annabeth, only angrier. She leaped forward and stuck the point of her knife against Circe's neck. 

"How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!" 

"How!" Circe yelped. Annabeth held up the  bottle of vitamins for the sorceress to see. Circe howled in frustration and smacked the bottle from her hands.

"Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you." 

"Turn Percy back to a human or else!" Annabeth pushed the point of her knife a little harder against Circe's neck . 

"I can't!" 

"Then you asked for it."

Circe's attendants stepped forward, but their mistress said, "Get back! She's immune tomagic until that cursed vitamin wears off."

I quickly swooped down and grabbed the vitamins. I popped one in my own mouth and grabbed another. Then in a brilliant moment that I would definitely regret later, I ran over to the guinea pig cage, knocked the top off, and poured the rest of the vitamins inside. 

"No!" Circe screamed. I quickly fed Percy the vitamin I had saved and stood back to watch the chaos.

Bang! The cage exploded. Percy was sitting on the floor, a human again—somehow back in his regular clothes, thank the gods—with six other guys who all looked disoriented, blinking and shaking wood shavings out of their hair. 

"No!" Circe screamed again. "You don't understand! Those are the worst!"

One of the men stood up—a huge guy with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply—in breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot. 

"Argggh!" bellowed the big man. "What's the witch done t'me!" 

"No!" Circe moaned. Annabeth gasped and her knife arm dipped. 

"I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?" 

"Aye, lass," the big man growled. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!"

Circe screamed. She and her attendants ran from the room, chased by the pirates.Annabeth sheathed her knife and glared at Percy. 

"Thanks..." He faltered. "I'm really sorry—" Before he could figure out how to apologize for being such an idiot, she tackled him with a hug, then pulled away just as quickly. 

"I'm glad you're not a guinea pig." 

"Me, too."

I whistled at their red faces. Annabeth glared and undid the golden braids in her hair. 

"Come on, Percabeth," I teased. "We have to get away while Circe's distracted."

We ran down the hillside through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the resort. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels. I almost felt bad letting the unruly pirates out, but I guessed they deserved something more entertaining than the exercise wheel after being cooped up in a cage for three centuries. 

"Which ship?" Annabeth asked as we reached the docks. I looked around desperately. We couldn't very well take our rowboat. We had to get off the island fast, but what else could we use? A sub? A fighter jet? We couldn't pilot any of those things- and then I saw it. 

"There," Percy and I chose in unison. Annabeth blinked. 

"But—" 

"I can make it work." 

"How?"

I couldn't explain. I just somehow knew an old sailing vessel was the best bet for my brother and I.

I  grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her toward the three-mast ship. Painted on its prow was the name that I would only decipher later: Queen Anne's Revenge. 

"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled somewhere behind us. "Those scalawags are a-boarding mevessel! Get 'em, lads!"

 "We'll never get going in time!" Annabeth yelled as we climbed aboard. I looked around at the hopeless maze of sail and ropes. The ship was in great condition for a three-hundred-year old vessel, but it would still take a crew of fifty several hours to get underway. We didn't have several hours.

I could see the pirates running down the stairs, waving tiki torches and sticks of celery. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the waves lapping against the hull, the ocean currents,the winds all around me. Suddenly, the right word appeared in my mind. 

"Mizzenmast!" Percy and I yelled. Annabeth looked at us like I was nuts, but in the next second, the air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking. Annabeth ducked as a cable flew over her head and wrapped itself around the bowsprit. 

"Dia, Percy, how..." 

I didn't have an answer, but I could feel the ship responding to me as if it were part of my body. I willed the sails to rise as easily as if I were flexing my arm. Percy willed the rudder to turn. The Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock, and by the time the pirates arrivedat the water's edge, we were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.

'•'
Word Count: 4381