The next morning, I woke up to a different ship's horn. The blast was so loud, it shook my bed. Was this Leo getting back at me from yesterday? The horn boomed again and it sounded like it was coming from a hundred yards away. I didn't bother changing from my night clothes.

I rushed out of my cabin and up to the deck. I crossed my arms and stared at the massive cruise ship. Tourists waved in our direction. Others smiled and took pictures. They must've thought we were another cruise of sorts or part of the cruise attraction thanks to the Mist.

Annoyance swirled in my stomach. With a groan, I pushed my messy hair back into a bun with the elastic that was around my wrist. Percy was the first to come up wearing his pajama pants and a bronze breastplate. I raised a brow at him.

"What? I don't know why you're looking at me like that, you came out like you ran out of bed." Percy defensively stated. I blinked at him and his lips tugged into a smirk. "You did, didn't you?"

"I thought something was actually happening and we needed to be up here fast." I grumbled, my cheeks flushing.

"Wait..." Percy furrowed his brows as he looked at the hoodie I was wearing with my leggings. "Is-is that my hoodie?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I pressed my lips together as the others started to join us, shoving my hands into the hoodie pocket.

"That's my swim hoodie." Percy gave me a look, stepping closer to me.

"That you gave me before Hera kidnapped you, yes." I shrugged.

"But it's my hoodie."

"Not anymore." I grinned at him.

Percy didn't have a chance to saying anything else because the cruise ship blew their horn again. I glanced at the others to see that they were dressed interesting as well. Frank's Vancouver Winter Olympics shirt was inside out. Hazel's hair was all blown to one side, as if she'd walked through a cyclone. Leo must've accident set himself on fire because his shirt is charred tatters and his arms were smoking.

The cruise ship blew its horn once again, and the Argo II had a shaking fit. Coach Hedge glared at it, plugging his ears.

"Do they have to be so loud?" He questioned.

"They're just saying hi." Frank speculated.

"WHAT?" Hedge yelled back, hurting my ears.

The ship edged past us, heading out to sea. The tourists kept waving. Their arms must be tired by now.

"Bye!" Leo called, raising his smoking hand.

"Can I man the ballista?" Hedge asked.

"No!" Leo smiled.

I wanted to go back to sleep. My eyes were drooping and I stifled a yawn. I wrapped my arms around Percy and placed my head on his chest. He smiled softly at me, bringing me closer and placing his chin on the top of my head. My eyes started to flutter closed.

"Where are-oh...Wow." Hazel said.

Interested, I opened my eyes to see a mountain jutting out from the sea less than half a mile to the north. On one side of the white mountain were limestone cliffs that were almost sheer. The other side sloped in tiers, covered in green forest.

"The Rock of Gibraltar." Annabeth said in awe. "At the tip of Spain. And over there-" She pointed south to a more distant stretch of red and orche hills. "That must be Africa. We're at the mouth of the Mediterranean."

Despite the warm morning, a shiver ran down my spine. Once we enter, we will be in the ancient lands. If legends are true, the quest is about to become harder.

"What now?" Piper asked. "Do we just sail in?"

"Why not?" Leo said. "It's a big shipping channel. Boats go in and out all the time."

Annabeth gazed the at the Rock of Gibraltar. A brooding expression covered her face. It was a look I knew too well. She was anticipating trouble.

"In the old days," Annabeth said, "they called this area the Pillars of Hercules. The Rock was supposed to be one pillar. The other one was one of the African mountains. Nobody is sure which one."

"Hercules, huh?" Percy frowned. "That guy was like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece. Everywhere you turn-there he is."

A thunderous boom shook the Argo II, but I wasn't sure where it came from. I didn't see any other ships and the sky was clear. I didn't take it as a good sign.

"So...these Pillars of Hercules." Piper looked a little uneasy. "Are they dangerous?"

"For Greeks, the Pillars marked the end of known world." Annabeth stayed focused on the white cliffs. "The Romans said the pillars were inscribed with a Latin writing-"

"Non plus ultra." Percy said.

"Yeah." Annabeth looked at him stunned. I glanced at him to see him staring at something. Following his gaze, I saw he had found the Latin inscription. "Nothing Further Beyond. How did you know?"

"Because I'm looking at it." Percy pointed.

In the middle of the straits, an island had shimmered to existence. It was a small hilly mass of land, covered in forests and ringed with white beaches. In front of the island, jutting from waves about hundred yards offshore were two white Grecian columns as tall as the Argo's masts. Between the columns, huge silver letters glittered underwater- NON PLUS ULTRA.

"Guys, do I turn around?" Leo asked nervously. "Or..."

No one answered. My eyes caught someone standing in the beach. As the ship approached the columns, I was able to see the figure better. He had dark hair dressed in purple robes, his arms crossed, staring intently at us. It was as if he expecting us and his posture was hinting he wasn't happy to see us.

"Could that be..." Frank inhaled sharply.

"Harry Cleese." I chuckled out, thinking of the name my dad called him. I earned confused looks from those who weren't at the Bacchus meet up. "Bacchus called him that. Dad doesn't bother to remember names that aren't important to him even in his Roman form."

"Hercules," Jason said, "the most powerful demigod of all time."

"Need an answer." Leo said urgently. We were only a few hundred yards from the columns. "I can turn, or we can take off. The stabilizers are working again. But I need to know quick-"

"We have to keep going." Annabeth told him. "I think he's guarding these straits. If that's really Hercules, sailing or flying wouldn't do any good. He'll want to talk to us."

"Won't Hercules be on our side?" Piper said hopefully. "I mean...he's one of us, right?"

"He was a son of Zeus, but when he died, he became a god." Jason grunted. "You can never be sure with gods."

"Remember what my-Bacchus said. He was once a demigod as well and he turned to a god. He doesn't do quests: he sends demigods to do it for him." I slightly stepped away from Percy and crossed my arms. "Won't be surprised if Mr. Muscles over there is the same way or worse."

"Great." Percy said. "Eight of us against Hercules."

"And a satyr!" Hedge added. "We can take him."

"How about we don't first assume we're fighting him?" I suggested.

"I've got a better idea." Annabeth nodded along with my statement. "We send ambassadors ashore. A small group-one or two at most. Try to talk to him."

"I'll go." Jason offered. "He's a son of Zeus. I'm the son of Jupiter. Maybe he'll be friendly to me."

"Or maybe he'll hate you." Percy suggested. "Half brothers don't always get along."

"Thank you, Mr. Optimistim." Jason scowled.

"It's worth a shot." Annabeth said. "At least Jason and Hercules have something in common. And we need our best diplomat. Somebody good with words."

We all turned toward Piper. She seemed to be contemplating over going with Jason. I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Fine." Piper said. "Just let me change my clothes."

🍇

Once Leo anchored the ship between the pillars, Jason summoned the wind to carry him and Piper ashore. Everyone else stayed on the deck, watching from afar. To say Percy was jealous and upset was an understatement. His shoulders were slumped and he was slightly dragging his feet. The both of us walked down the stairs to the mess hall to eat breakfast.

"Okay, talk to me." I placed an hand on his arm, turning him to face me.

"I don't know what you mean." Percy was holding back a pout. I raised a brow at him. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I feel like I'm not really doing anything."

"What? Of course you are." I frowned, taking a step closer to him.

"Not in my territory I'm not." Percy grumbled. "The sea is supposed to be my expertise, my dominion where I should be able to help more. Step up, take charge, and keep everyone safe."

"Percy, you have." I told him.

"Have I? I failed to stop the giant shrimp attack. The ichthyocentaurs didn't even want to meet me. And now I can't even meet Hercules." Percy huffed out.

"Okay, first of all." I cupped his face with my hands so he could look at me. His sea green eyes fixated on mine and I could see the storm swirling in them. He was deeply trouble about this. "You were still very exhausted from helping us escape the Romans. Percy it was a miracle you weren't worse than what you were after managing the winds for over two hours after controlling the seas."

"But, Ives...I could have still done something. I was knocked out by a shrimp." Percy exasperated. His brows furrowed together in worry. "What if something bad actually happened and you were-if I couldn't...gods, Ivy, if you ended up missing with them or worse..."

"Hey, I'm right here." I reassured him. "Nothing happened to me. I'm okay."

"I'm getting sick and tired of staying on this ship and just pacing around." Percy sighed, placing his forehead on my shoulder.

"How about we walk around a bit, yeah?" I rubbed his back. "Maybe you're just getting stir crazy."

"Yeah, okay." Percy sighed, moving his head to look at me. A soft smile grew on his face. He lifted a hand to caress my face, his thumb lightly swiping at my cheek bone. "You're beautiful, you know that Vine Girl?"

"Okay." I laughed, playfully shoving him away. Heat rose to my cheeks. Percy laughed, standing up straight. "What do you want, Shark Boy?"

"I can't call my girl, beautiful?" Percy grinned mischievously.

"If you don't tell me what you want, I'm leaving." I threatened.

"No, you won't." Percy wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. He swayed, causing me to breathe out a laughed. "I'm not letting you."

"You're being clingy." I teased, tilting my head to look at him.

"So what." Percy shrugged.

"Are we eating or walking?" I raised a brow at him.

"Does either of those options include cuddles and or kissing?" Percy cheekily said.

"Maybe." A smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

"Then whichever gets me kisses and cuddles, I'm all in." Percy pecked my lips. My stomach growled. "Okay, maybe we can eat first."

"Please?"

🍇

Over an hour later, Annabeth came bounding down the stairs looking for us. Percy and I were tossing grapes at each other, trying to see who could catch the most in their mouth from across the room. Percy was on one end of the room while I was on the other end. So far, I was winning and Percy was being a sore loser.

"We need help in deck." Annabeth slid to a stop at the door. Percy tossed a grape at me. She furrowed her brows when she saw me catch a grape in my mouth. "What on earth are you two doing?"

"Grape contest. Though," Percy gave me the side eye, "I'm sure someone is cheating with her grape powers."

"That's not how it works." I rolled my eyes, chucking at grape at him.

"Hey!" Percy dodged it and threw it back at me. I swatted it away with a laugh.

"Okay, are you two done now?" Annabeth exasperated. "We need help. Hercules doesn't look happy."

"Well, why didn't you say that in the first place?"

Percy and I shot to our feet. Annabeth exhaled deeply and shook her head. She led us back upstairs. By the time we got up, Leo had just finished putting the oars in aerial mode. The anchor was up. Percy went straight to controlling the waves. On the shore, Hercules was buried under a massive pile of produce. Jason and Piper were flying our way.

"Kill!" Hercules bellowed, his voice carrying through the wind.

Jason and Piper landed safely on deck. Jason summoned a strong gale, sending us into the sky. Percy sent a ten foot wave to shore, knocking Hercules down in a cascade of seawater and pineapples. By the time Hercules got to his feet and started lobbing coconuts at us, we were already sailing through the clouds above the Mediterranean Sea.

New cover!!!!

I spent a little too much time on it than I had planned but oh well 😂