"Gem?" Percy yelled.

The island was silent. It seemed to be deserted.

Vines and plants had taken over the marble structures, and according to Bdubs, it had been Gem's doing. Nobody had bothered to explain to Tango what had happened to her, only that they were back for her now.

All Tango had inferred from what the others said was that Gem had stayed here for some reason, probably against her will. He knew nothing else. Thankfully, Tyson didn't either. At least he wasn't alone.

They were, however, alone on the island, except for a few animals that had probably once been pets, who slunk away from the unfamiliar visitors.

"Gem?" Clarisse called.

"GEEEEEEEEEEEEM!" Bdubs yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring a few birds out of the trees. Everyone flinched. It felt weird to break the silence.

"The pirates you mentioned don't seem to be here either," Zedaph observed.

"WHAT IF THEY KILLED HER," Bdubs said, his voice an octave higher than usual.

The statement hung in the air. Nobody wanted to answer.

"They left," a voice said finally, and a woman came out of a building. "The pirates left."

"What?" several people demanded.

"They took a few prisoners," the girl said. "We're stranded here. Circe is nowhere to be found, we think she's dead. And it's all your fault."

"Circe turned me into a guinea pig," Percy said.

"YEAH!" Bdubs agreed.

Ren poked his head out of Zedaph's pocket and squeaked.

"Do you think those vitamins are still up there?" Annabeth asked. "The ones that weren't eaten by the pirates."

"Maybe," Percy said.

Ren yeeted himself out of Zed's pocket and started climbing the steps. Clarisse sighed, picked him up, and carried him up to the building at the top of the hill.

"This 'Gem' person," the woman said. "She might have been one of the prisoners. If she was, I don't know if she's still alive."

"We're not leaving without her," Percy insisted.

"Then I guess you're going to be here a while," the girl huffed, turning away. "They're gone. Your friend is gone."

She walked away.

"But-" Percy protested.

"There's still hope," Tango piped up. "She might be alive."

"We'll find her," Bdubs said determinedly. "PERCY IS A SHIP GUY. MAYBE HE CAN FIND HER."

"Probably not," Percy said. "They could be anywhere."

"We found a way to get the Fleece, didn't we? There's a way. We just have to see it," Annabeth said.

The group nodded.

Clarisse came back down. Ren was still a guinea pig, which Tango took to mean there were none of the vitamin things left. "We need to figure something else out," Clarisse said.

"And Gem knows how to fight," Zedaph added, bringing the topic back to their previous conversation. "I don't know which is more likely: her dying immediately or becoming a ninja and karate-chopping the pirates until they bring her back to camp."

The Hermits who were present laughed at the thought.

"Let's hope it's the latter," Percy said. "We still need to rescue Grian, too."

Everyone nodded again.

"And bring the gold dead sheep back to camp," Tyson mumbled. "Tree is dying."

Annabeth nodded. "Let's make that our priority for now. We can always rescue Grian and blow up the ship later."

Tango brightened. Blowing things up was his favorite! At least that was something to look forward to.

Zedaph nudged him. "I'm helping," he said.

Tango grinned at him. They were going to blow up the monster cruise ship together, have happy fun time, and rescue Grian. Not necessarily in that order.

Their spirits down but not completely floored, the group of demigods, satyr, and Cyclops went back to shore to meet Rainbow and his fish pony buddies.

------

"TANGO!"

Bdubs was yelling in his ear.

Tango yelped and jerked awake. He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep. He looked around. Besides the cackling Bdubs, he saw the rest of the group, and a long beach stretched in front of them. The water wasn't green anymore. It was a brilliant, shimmering blue.

Freedom.

They had gotten out alive.

His happiness was interrupted when Percy pointed to a familiar ship in the harbor - or, familiar to him. Tango had been busy stowing away.

"That's the Princess Andromeda," Percy said. "Luke's ship. If they kept Grian alive, he's on there."

"Looks like a rescue is in order," Zedaph said.

"But the Fleece," Annabeth protested. With them being outside of the Sea of Monsters and back in the mortal world, the Fleece had turned into a red hoodie with a glittery Omega on the front pocket.

I legit want this hoodie tho-

"The hippocampi are acting funny," she said, looking at Percy. And it was true. They seemed reluctant to approach the shore.

"They won't take us any further," Percy said, after listening to their whinnies. "Too many people and too much pollution. We'll have to swim to shore."

Everyone groaned. Except Percy. He seemed annoyingly excited.

Thankfully, the Fleece had done its work well. Annabeth was fine swimming, although she was about as thrilled as the rest of them.

But the hippocampi wouldn't go further.

So they swam.

Tyson cried a little when they left his new friends behind. He took off the makeshift saddle pack that he had made at some point, hugged Rainbow around the neck, gave him a soggy mango, and said goodbye.

Bdubs searched his pockets for another soggy mango.

He did not have one.

Instead, his hippocampus got a pat on the head and a "good job," which was one of the best compliments Bdubs could give.

As soon as they were on shore, Grover put on his hat and shoes. Tysons eye had blurred and now he looked like a normal person.

Annabeth immediately ran to the nearest newspaper box and cursed. "June eighteenth! It's been ten days."

"That's impossible," Clarisse scoffed.

"Magical places work weird," Zedaph told her.

"Thalia's tree is almost dead," Grover said with despair. "We need to get the Fleece to camp tonight."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Clarisse demanded. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. It's just like the Oracle said, it's your fault, Jackson! If you and these idiots hadn't interfered-"

Ren squeaked angrily. Bdubs yelled at her to shut up. Zedaph muttered something about how she would have been a Cyclops wife if not for them.

"Percy's fault?" Annabeth exploded. "Clarisse, you are the biggest-"

"Stop it!" Percy yelled.

Everyone fell silent. A few tourists gave them strange glances.

"Clarisse," Percy said calmly. "What did the Oracle say exactly?"

Clarisse glared at him.

Then she took a breath and recited what Tango could only assume was her prophecy. "You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone. You shall find what you seek and make it your own. But despair for your life entombed within stone, and fail without friends, to fly home alone."

"...Ouch," Grover mumbled.

"I've got it!" Percy said. He searched his pockets, but his hands came up empty except for a singular golden drachma. "Does anybody have cash?"

Everybody shook their heads.

From previous events, Tango had figured out that "cash" did not mean diamonds. That was unfortunate. Zedaph had one.

"Cash?" Tyson asked. "Like green paper?"

Percy looked at him. "Yeah. Green paper."

"Like in the duffel bags?"

"...Yes, but we lost those days ago-"

His eyes widened and he closed his mouth as Tyson rummaged in Rainbow's saddle chest pack thing and pulled out a bag of the green paper.

"Thought it was a feed bag for Rainbow," Tyson mumbled. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Tango demanded. "SORRY? You're not allowed to be sorry! This is the best thing ever! We can buy SO MANY DONUTS!"

Tyson brightened. "Donuts!" he cheered.

"No!" Percy argued, snatching the bag of money and counting it. "Plane ticket!"

"But-" Annabeth started. "You can't fly! You'll get killed!"

"I can't. But Clarisse can. That's what it means by fly home alone!"

Clarisse looked incredibly confused.

"This might be barely enough to by a plane ticket," Percy said patiently. "For you. The rest of us will find another way, after we rescue Grian."

"You'd let me-"

"It's your quest."

Zedaph and Annabeth caught on to the idea at almost the same time. Annabeth took off the Fleece jacket and handed it to Percy, who handed it to Clarisse. "That would work," Zedaph said.

"I know it would work!" Bdubs told him.

"He wasn't talking to you," Tango told Bdubs, pushing away his sadness about being denied his donuts. Maybe they would have enough money left over to get one or two- wait, no. Percy was giving Clarisse the whole bag.

Tango was pretty sure his face was comically disappointed, because Ren was making a little guinea pig laugh at him.

"Shut up," Tango told the son of Ares. "You're a hamster."

Zedaph and Bdubs roared with laughter.

Ren squeaked at them angrily as Clarisse pulled him out of her pocket and gave him to Percy, who was also chuckling. "I don't think pets are allowed on the plane," she said, smirking.

"REEET!" Ren protested.

Grover looked at him with wide eyes. "Language," he chided.

Clarisse disappeared into the crowd.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Annabeth asked. Everyone turned to her.

"We need to get on the ship first," Zedaph said. "If Grian's alive, he's probably being held in a bedroom."

"Yes. Thank you, Captain Obvious," Tango said.

"We'll make a plan on the way," Percy said, turning.

That's when Tango, who was at the edge of the group, felt a sword point poke his back. He tensed and sucked a breath in.

Everyone turned and went pale at the same time, as if part of a hive mind.

"Hey, cuz," an unmistakeable voice said, probably speaking to Percy. "Welcome back to the States."

Luke had found them.