2246 words

I know this is a longer chapter than normal, but trust me, it's worth the read ;). Do comment and tell me what you think, please!

"You guys are so much trouble," Clarisse said.

She had just led us on a tour of her ship, which absolutely sucked. Every room was crowded with dead soldiers, and I didn't like them.

Confederates, Agro growled, her fangs bared at the soldiers.

The dead soldiers liked Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia. Percy, on the other hand, was liked at first because of his last name, but then they turned on him when he told them he was from New York. They really didn't know what to think of me until I glared at several of them, and they shrank back, frightened.

"Damn Yankees!" I heard several of them mutter.

Finally, we were taken to dinner in the captain's quarters. Several PB and J sandwiches, Dr. Peppers, and potato chips were being served by the dead crewman, next to a table lined in white linen with fine china on it.

"Tantalus ousted you guys from camp for good," Clarisse sat down and took a Dr. Pepper. "And Mr. D said if you come back, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."

I snorted. "Like I'll obey Tantalus. I don't take orders from men, not even Dionysus."

Clarisse eyed me warily.

"Zade," I called up to the sky. "Any threats?"

Zade, who had been doing his usual job of scanning the area from the sky for threats, flew back down with a fish in his beak and landed on my outstretched arm.

Nothing, he squawked, gulping the fish down. Though I must say, the fish here are excellent.

"Good," I sat down across the table from Clarisse. Raiden sat down next to me and grabbed a sandwich. "So, what's the deal with this ship, daughter of Ares?"

At the mention of her father's name, Clarisse flinched. "My father gave it to me. I prayed for transport, and this is what showed up. Every losing side of a war owes tribute to Ares; it's their curse for being defeated. This crew will do anything I command. Isn't that right, Captain?"

The dead soldier in a captain's uniform nodded. "If it brings an end to this blasted war. I'll destroy anyone who gets in your way, ma'am."

"Real peaceful these guys, aren't they?" I muttered to Agro and Zade.

"Clarisse," Annabeth said. "We need to work together. Luke knows the coordinates of the fleece, and he has a whole ship full of monsters."

"No way," Clarisse took a sip from her Dr. Pepper. "This is my quest, Blondie. And you aren't going to interfere."

"But-"

"I don't care what the Oracle said," Clarisse snarled. "You two will not steal my chance of being the hero!"

"Wait," said Percy. "What did the Oracle say?"

"None of your business," snapped Clarisse. "You're not helping me, so stay out of my way. However, I can't let you go either."

"So, we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.

"Guests," Clarisse reclined in her chair. "For now, but if you don't mind your manners..."

She smirked. "I'll blow you out of the water. Captain, take them to the berth deck. Give them their hammocks."

The captain led Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson to a flight of stairs and out of sight. I, however, stayed put.

"Coming?" Raiden had gotten to her feet.

"Nah," I said. "I don't sleep much on quests. You go. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," said Raiden, and she went to the flight of stairs. "Good night."

"Night."

"You can't stay up here," Clarisse said, once Raiden had disappeared.

I looked at her. "I'll stay up here if I want."

"Go downstairs," Clarisse ordered me.

"Watch your tone," I stood up and leaned across the table so that I was face-to-face with her. "You may be able to order them around," - I gestured at the staircase - "but no one orders me around, except Artemis. And last I checked, you aren't her. "

"Captain!" yelled Clarisse.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said softly, "unless you want to have problems with me. And believe me, you don't."

Clarisse flushed angrily, but she seemed to decide she didn't want trouble because she grabbed a Dr. Pepper and stormed out of the captain's quarters. After the sound of her footsteps had faded away, I stood up.

"Let's go outside," I said.

Agro and Zade followed me out the door and over to a spot next to the ship's side, overlooking the sea. I laid down, using Agro as my pillow while she laid down by my head, while Zade laid down on my chest. I stared up at the vast expanse of the sky, scattered with stars.

I have a feeling, Zade squawked.

"What do you mean? Like a feeling you need to pee or a bad feeling? Because if you're going to pee, don't do it on me, please."

A bad feeling, like dark times are coming.

I sat up abruptly, knocking Zade from his spot. I looked both him and Agro directly in the eyes. "I think they've already begun."

In my dreams that night, I found myself facing the golden sarcophagus aboard the Princess Andromeda.

So, little huntress, an icy voice hissed from within it. You refuse to join me and say you don't need your brother. Yet, you long for him. What an interesting development. Why not join me and get your brother back?

"Go to Tartarus, Kronos!" I shouted in my dream.

The icy voice laughed. So be it, little huntress. However, you will join me soon enough.

The icy voice laughed even harder, and I fell into darkness.

I woke to the sound of the captain shouting, "Full steam ahead! All hands on deck! We are approaching the entrance!"

I stood up groggily; I had fallen asleep on deck. Then, I heard an unfamiliar growling voice. I narrowed my eyes, and my vision blurred forward down the stairs, down a hallway, and into what appeared to be a boiler room. Clarisse stood, cowering before an image that shimmered from the steam in the boiler room. The image was of a muscular man with red-tinted sunglasses, a knife strapped to his belt, a haircut like one of a person in the military, and dressed in biker clothes made of black leather.

"I do not want to hear any more excuses, little girl!" the man growled.

"Y-yes, father," Clarisse mumbled.

"Do you want to see me angry?"

"N-no, father."

I suddenly realized that this man must be Clarisse's father: Ares, God of War.

"N-no father," Ares mocked. "You're so weak. I should have let one of my sons take this quest."

"I'll make you proud," Clarisse said. "I promise. I will succeed. You'll see."

"You'd better," growled Ares. "If you don't..."

He let the threat hang in the air before his image disappeared. I widened my eyes, and my vision returned to normal.

"Ainsley!" Raiden was peering over the guardrail down at me. "We're up here!"

"Coming!" I turned into a giant eagle, grasped Agro in my claws, and flew up to the spar deck where Raiden stood with Zade next to me.

"Look," Raiden said, pointing off into the sea, once I had turned back into a human. "There it is. The entrance to the Sea of Monsters."

I looked at the horizon. I couldn't see much, not even when I used my vision; just a couple of dark splotches. A few minutes later, the splotches became clearer. A huge mass of rock - an island with cliffs towering over 100 feet tall - rose to the north. A little after that, the other splotch became a brewing storm.

"That's Charybdis, right?" Raiden was squinting at the storm.

"I think so," I said.

"Are you crazy?" Annabeth had turned to Clarisse, disbelief on her face. "We can't go through there! We'll all be killed!"

"Only way into the Sea of Monsters, Blondie," said Clarisse, pointing up at the cliffs. "Straight between Charybdis and Scylla."

"What about the Clashing Rocks?" Percy asked. "Jason used them. Why not us?"

"Can't use my cannons to blow the rocks apart," said Clarisse. "These two on the other hand..."

"We're doomed," said Raiden.

"Why are we going to Charybdis," I asked, "if she can suck up ships like in the story of Odysseus?"

"Because," Clarisse said, "I can blast Charybdis with my cannons, and I can't with Scylla. Besides, if we got too close, she'd just start plucking people on the ship!"

"So?" said Percy. "We can chug past easily if everyone goes below deck. Problem solved."

"Yeah," Raiden said dryly, "it really won't work like that, Percy. If Scylla doesn't get her meat easily, she won't be satisfied. If she's not satisfied, she'll go for the rest of us."

The closer the ship got to the mountains, the louder the sound Charybdis got. It pounded on my eardrums, especially since I have super hearing.

"We'll have to skirt right next to the Scylla's cliffs," Raiden muttered to me. "If we get out of this alive, it'll be a miracle."

"Watch and learn, Kairos," Clarisse said. "I'll blast Scylla right out of her cave!"

But before she could blow anything up, a sailor came sprinting out of the hold, on fire.

"Boiler's overheating, ma'am!" he shouted over the roar of Charybdis.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" yelled Clarisse. "Get your butt down there and fix it!"

"No one can!" the sailor yelled back. "Everyone's vaporizing in this heat!"

"I can fix it!" Tyson shouted.

"No!" Percy grabbed Tyson's arm to stop him from heading to his death. "It's too dangerous!"

"Have to go, brother," Tyson said, "I'll be fine. I love you."

Tyson gently pulled himself from Percy's grasp and made his way to the hold.

"I love you, too," Percy said, watching Tyson walk out.

"Clarisse, we need to abandon ship!" yelled Annabeth, looking over the side of the ship. "Charybdis is only a few hundred yards away!"

"Then, I'll blast her out of the water!" Clarisse shouted. "Ready the guns!"

"Forward and starboard guns are ready, ma'am!" yelled the captain.

"Fire!"

The guns fired with the sound of an exploding Hydra and blasted into Charybdis. It didn't make much difference, though; the most damage it did was knock off an incisor. As Clarisse barked at the captain to fire again and we drifted further and further toward Charybdis, I realized something. We probably weren't going to survive this unless...

"Raiden!" I bellowed. "Slow the time down!"

Raiden looked startled, but obeyed; she flicked her hand up, and time slowed.

"Go get into a lifeboat," I told her.

"What about you?" Raiden asked.

"Don't worry about me. I'll follow you."

"Okay," she said uncertainty.

Raiden hurried to a lifeboat, and I shouted to Agro and Zade, "Go get me in the lifeboat!"

What about you? squawked Zade.

"I'll be there in a minute! Just go!"

Without looking to see if they'd obeyed me, I sprinted over to where Annabeth and Percy, turned into an elephant, picked them up in my trunk, and hurried back over the lifeboat.

"Let go of me!" Percy shouted, struggling to get free.

I dumped them into the lifeboat and turned back into a human. I leaned over, hugged Raiden, Agro, and Zade in turn, and said, "Goodbye. I love you all."

Ainsley! No! Agro barked, trying to get out, but I pushed her back down. Hard. Agro toppled back into the Raiden, and I pulled out my daggers and cut the cords holding the lifeboat in place. The lifeboat fell into the sea.

Chief! Agro howled. How could you?!

"I'm sorry," I whispered, but even as I did, I willed the sea to carry the lifeboat away. But the sea didn't respond; Charydbis was sucking too fast. I glanced back at Clarisse, she was still barking orders at the dead crew to fire, but the dead crew was disappearing as well.

Every few seconds, a flash of brown and green was plucking dead crew off the ship. There was only one thing I could do if I couldn't go to the sea to take away the rest of the crew. I knew I couldn't kill either of them because they were immortal; the best I could do was to distract them or trap them.

"Scylla!" I yelled, running toward the guardian. I leapt over it, turned into a hawk, and flew up to Scylla's cave. "Over here, ugly!"

Scylla roared and lunged at me with two of her heads, but I flew around them. I turned into a human, tuck-and-rolled through the air, and landed in front of Scylla. I flicked my hand, and Scylla was blasted backward back into her cave. Then, I drew one of my daggers, summoned lightning, and reflected it off my dagger. The bolt landed on the top of Scylla's cave and caused a rockslide. The rocks thundered down, blocking off Scylla's entrance.

"Now, to take care of Charybdis," I muttered.

I dove off the cliff and summoned all the rage that had gathered in my being in the last few years. Just as I was above Charybdis's mouth, I let my rage explode. The last thing I remembered was hurling backward and falling into the sea and then, nothing.