Evangeline had always wondered how it would feel like to fall to your demise since last summer she was near an entrance to Tartarus and she could have fallen into it, because of Percy. She had never thought she would actually be falling into the ocean.

"Flask!" Percy screamed, his voice breaking as they hurtled towards certain death.

"What?" Annabeth yelled back.

But Tyson understood. He managed to open Percy's duffel bag and took out Hermes's magical flask without losing his grip on it or the boat. Arrows and javelins whistled past them. Percy ripped the Flask out of Tyson's hand and sealed his eyes shut like he was going to start praying.

"Hang on!" he yelled. Percy gave the Flask cap a quarter turn.

Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the Flask and propelled them sideways, turning their downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.

The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the Flask like it was glad to be free. As they hit the ocean, they bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then they were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in their faces and nothing but sea ahead.

Evangeline heard the screams of outrage from the ship behind them, but the four were already out of weapon range. The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.

As they raced over the sea, the three demigods tried to send an Iris Message to Chiron, figuring it was important they let somebody know what Luke was doing, and there was nobody better to trust than Chiron.

The wind from the Flask stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight—perfect for an Iris Message—but their connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show them Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.

They told Chiron about sneaking away from Camp, Luke and Princess Andromeda, and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on their end. Evangeline wasn't sure if he heard anything.

"Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—" His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.

"What?" Percy yelled.

"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, you shouldn't let them leave Camp! But if you do get the Fleece—"

"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woo-hoo!"

The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made their boat vibrate.

"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—"

Their misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

An hour later, they spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coastguard cruiser passed on their starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look.

"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as they approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like—"

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy blurted.

The two girls stared at him. "How do you know that?"

"I—I'm not sure."

"Percy," Evangeline spoke. "What's our position?"

"Thirty-six degrees, forty-four minutes north, seventy-six degrees, two minutes west," he answered immediately. Then he shook his head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"

"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool."

"So he's a walking map?" Evangeline asked.

"A GPS, but yeah," Annabeth said.

"What's GPS?" The brunette furrowed her brows.

Percy shot her a weird look before he could tell her Tyson tapped him on the shoulder and declared, "Other boat is coming."

They looked back. The coastguard vessel was definitely on its tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.

"We can't let them catch us," Percy said. "They'll ask too many questions."

"Keep going into the Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."

Percy loosened the Flask cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent them rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into the Chesapeake Bay. The coastguard boat fell further and further behind. They didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and they'd entered the mouth of a river.

They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. Percy beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress. Vine-covered trees loomed above them. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."

"What is?" Percy asked.

"Just follow." The daughter of Athena grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."

After burying the lifeboat with branches, Evangeline, Tyson, and Percy followed Annabeth along the shore, their feet sinking in red mud.

A serpent slithered past making Percy jump onto Evangeline who caught him bridal style.

"What a baby," Evangeline heard the serpent speak in her mind.

"Tell me about it," The brunette told it as Percy shot her a weird look.

"Are—are you talking to a snake?" He asked.

She frowned and then dropped him to the ground on purpose. She stepped over him and followed after the blonde ahead.

"Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were trying to feast on his arms.

After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."

All they saw was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, Evangeline and Percy realized they were looking into a camouflaged shelter.

The inside was big enough for three, even with Tyson being the fourth. The walls were woven from plant material and they looked pretty waterproof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too—bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty like it had been vacant for a long.

"A half-blood hideout," Evangeline said. "You made this?"

"Thalia and I." Annabeth faltered, "And Luke."

"You don't think Luke will look for us here? Percy asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."

She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.

"Um, Tyson?" Percy turned to the Cyclops. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"

"Convenience store?"

"Yeah, for snacks. Powdered doughnuts or something. Just don't go too far."

"Powdered doughnuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered doughnuts in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, doughnuts!"

Percy sat across from the blonde. "I'm sorry, you two had to see Luke again."

Evangeline decided to leave and go out to clear her head. "I'll be outside if you need me."

She left the hut and walked close by she could hear Percy and Annabeth talking but it was muffled. Some time later as she was staring at a snake that was wrapping itself around her hand, someone tapped her shoulder. "Pretty girl?" She turned her head and saw Tyson, she put the snake down and it slithered away. "Hey," she said, fully turning towards him.

"Why are you not inside with Percy and friend?" Tyson asked.

"Just needed some air, I wanted to give them and myself some space." She shrugged.

"Oh," He said. "But I thought you liked friends,"

"No, no!" She quickly denied it as she shook her head and hands. "I do like my friends, it's just... people sometimes need time to themselves, alone. You get it?"

"I do not," He mumbled, swatting away some mosquitoes. "But I don't like seeing pretty girl sad."

She watched the Cyclops as she slightly chuckled. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm not sad I just like being alone."

Tyson slightly tilted his head. "Why?"

"I don't know, it just feels nice." She explained, motioning towards herself.

"Pretty girl likes to be alone,"

"Yes,"

"I don't like to be alone." Tyson shook his head. "Is scary."

"It's not scary if you think about it." She chewed her lip. "Being alone isn't scary as long as you don't let it become scary."

"Pretty girl is helpful, like Percy says."

The daughter of Hades arched a brow. "What?"

"Percy told me you helped him," Tyson smiled. "I knew you were good friend when I saw you with Percy."

"But I didn't talk to Percy, I haven't talked to him since camp," Evangeline said. "And when did you see me with Percy?"

"Not camp," Tyson said. "I saw your picture in his notebook."

Evangeline choked on air. "My what?" she managed.

"The picture of Percy and you, in his notebook."

"He has a picture of me in his notebook?" Her eyes slightly wide as she felt her ears burn hot.

Tyson nodded. "Yes, of you."

Evangeline felt hot and amused. "Percy Jackson? That Percy Jackson?" She pointed towards the hut. "Has a picture of me in his notebook?"

Tyson tilted his head in confusion. "Yes, I think there is only one Percy."

Evangeline couldn't help but smirk as she crossed her arms, she was not going to let Percy live this down. "And uh, what was he doing with that picture?"

"He was staring at it."

The daughter of Hades smirked even more and nodded as Tyson went on to tell her about how many times Percy talked about her and told him that he missed her. She was really fond of Tyson all of a sudden.

Then the brunette finally noticed the pastry box in his hand. "What's that?"

"I have found powdered donuts," He said. "Come, let's show brother and 'blondie' as you say it." He sprinted towards the hut and crawled in.

"Wait, what?" Evangeline asked, running after the Cyclops and back into the hut.

Annabeth stared at Tyson as he came in, with the brunette following after him. "Where did you get them? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around us—"

"Fifty feet," Tyson said. "Monster Doughnut shop—just over the hill!"

The four were crouching behind a tree, staring at the doughnut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. Evangeline could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's awning, in huge black letters, it said: MONSTER DOUGHNUT

A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate doughnuts.

"This is bad," Annabeth muttered. "We're so fucked."

"How?" Percy hissed back.

"This shouldn't be here. It's wrong."

"What?" Percy frowned. "It's a doughnut shop. You're really overreacting right now, Annabeth."

"Will you stop talking so loudly?" Evangeline hissed

"The grown-ups are talking," Percy told her.

"Are the grown-ups here with us? Because all I see is an idiot." The brunette snapped back.

"Whatever," He grumbled. "And why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."

"Tyson is a monster, of course, he'll be perfectly fine." She muttered.

"Monster Doughnut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."

"A chain," Annabeth agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get doughnuts? Right here in the middle of the woods?"

"A nest?" Evangeline asked, but it wasn't framed as a question since she had a feeling she knew the answer.

"A nest for what?" Percy asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast? One day there's nothing and then the next day—boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four—exact replicas spreading across the country?"

"No," Percy said. "I've never really thought about it."

"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"

"What?" Percy asked. "They breed what?"

Evangeline covered his mouth as Annabeth spoke. "No sudden movements, alright?"

"Very slowly," Annabeth said, craning her neck to look up, "turn around."

Evangeline heard it: like something was dragging its belly through the leaves. They turned around and saw a rhino-sized monster, moving through the shadows of the trees, and hissing, its front half writhing in all different directions. Its skin was leathery, with multiple necks—at least seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. And under each neck, it wore a plastic bib that read: I'M A MONSTER DOUGHNUT KID!

Percy took out his ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes with him—a silent warning. Not yet.

Evangeline's hand went to her necklace and she slowly took it off and held it in her hand, ready to use it.

The Hydra was only a meter or so away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Then Evangeline noticed that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas—one of their duffel bags. The thing had already been to their campsite. It was following their scent.

Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward them and hissed.

"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled as she dove to the right.

Evangeline and Percy rolled to the left. One of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that shot past their shoulder and splashed against the elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight towards Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.

"Move!" Evangeline somehow managed to tackle him, knocking him aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads.

The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free and wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.

"It's okay," Evangeline coaxed the shaking Cyclops. "We need to move."

He trembled, and she tried to pull him to his feet. He rubbed his one teary eye and said. "You're going to be okay," she said. "Just breathe."

Tyson nodded as he sniffled.

"Get out of there!" Percy yelled at Evangeline and Tyson. He ran to one side and uncapped Riptide. Trying to gain the monster's attention which worked. The sight of Celestial bronze caused all seven heads to whip over to face Percy, hissing and baring their teeth. One head snapped at him, and instinctively, Percy swung his sword.

"No!" Annabeth yelled.

Too late. Percy sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon. In a matter of seconds, the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now they were looking at an eight-headed Hydra.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Doughnut shop somewhere!"

He dodged a spray of acid. "I'm about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?"

"We can only kill it with fire!" Annabeth said. "We have to have fire!"

"There is no fire!" Evangeline yelled.

Percy backed up towards the river. The Hydra followed.

Evangeline rolled her eyes before she ran and pressed the snake pendant and the pitch-black Stygian Iron sword formed in her hand. She shadow traveled herself in front of the monster and and slashed its arm. The Hydra screeched, it recovered but there was a scar left behind.

She moved in on Percy's left and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with her sword. Another head swung like a club and knocked her against a tree trunk.

"No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Evangeline. As she quickly got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it reminded Percy of the whack-a-mole game at the arcade. But even Tyson couldn't fend off the Hydra forever, no matter how much he wanted to for a friend.

They kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off.

Then she heard a strange sound—a chug-chug-chug. The sound of an engine. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.

"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.

"Steam engine," Tyson said.

"What?" Percy asked as he and Evangeline ducked the acid that was spat over their heads by the Hydra.

Then from the river behind them, a familiar voice shouted, "There! Prepare the thirty-two-pounder!"

Evangeline knew who that voice belonged to far too well.

A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"

"Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"

"Aye, m'lady."

"Fire at will, Captain!"

Annabeth understood what was happening. She yelled, "Hit the dirt!" and the four dove for the ground as an earth-shattering BOOM echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of them, showering them with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do. Evangeline disappeared into the shadows and out of the way before she could get showered by the slime.

"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.

"Steamship!" yelled Tyson.

Evangeline appeared next to Percy as she helped him stand but quickly dropped his arm the minute he stood up straight.

Chugging towards them, down the river, was the strangest ship she had ever seen. It rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top—a wild boar and spear on a blood-red field. Lining the deck were zombies in grey uniforms—dead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls.

The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. Evangeline could just make out the name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS Birmingham.

Standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed them, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.

"Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."

"You are in so much trouble," Clarisse declared.

They had just finished a ship tour, they didn't want, to go through dark rooms overcrowded with dead sailors. They'd seen the coal bunker, the boilers, and the engine, which huffed and groaned like it would explode any minute.

They'd seen the pilot house and the powder magazine and gunnery deck with two Dahlgren smoothbore cannons on the port and starboard sides and a Brooke nine-inch rifled gun fore and aft—all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannonballs.

Everywhere they went, dead Confederate sailors stared at them, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia.

They were interested in Percy due to his last name being Jackson—like the Southern general—but then he ruined it by telling them he was from New York.

They hissed and muttered curses about the Yankees. They watched Evangeline's every move, they didn't say anything if she came into a room they would go radio silent and become restless around her.

Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Evangeline hold his hand, to which she had to oblige since he wouldn't let go of her.

Finally, they were escorted to dinner. The CSS Birmingham captain's quarters were about the size of a walk-in closet, but still much bigger than any other room on board. The table was set with white linen and china. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and Dr. Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen.

"Tantalus expelled you for eternity," Clarisse said smugly. "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at Camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."

"I had a feeling he would say that," Evangeline muttered, eating a sandwich with potato chips pressed in between.

"Did they give you this ship?" Percy asked.

"Course not. My father did."

"Ares?"

Clarisse sneered. "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"

The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed on Evangeline with a hungry stare. "If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."

Clarisse smiled as she gave Evangeline a knowing look. "Destroy anyone. I like that."

Tyson gulped.

"Clarisse," Annabeth spoke up, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters—"

"Good! I'll blow him out of the water."

"You don't understand," Annabeth insisted. "We have to combine forces. Let us help you—"

"No!" Clarisse pounded the table. "This is my quest, smart girl! Finally, I get to be the hero, and you three will not steal my chance."

"Where are your cabin mates?" Percy asked. "You were allowed to take two friends with you, weren't you?"

"They didn't ..." The daughter of Ares faltered. "I let them stay behind. To protect the camp."

"You mean even the people in your own cabin wouldn't help you?"

Evangeline smacked Percy in the arm. "What's wrong with you?" She muttered to him.

"Shut up, Prissy! I don't need them! Or you!"

"Clarisse," he said, rubbing his arm where the brunette hit him. "Tantalus is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."

"No! I don't care what the Oracle—" She stopped herself.

"What did the Oracle say?" Evangeline said.

"Nothing." Clarisse's ears turned pink. "All you guys need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go ..."

"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.

"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr. Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."

The daughter of Hades wasn't fond of the ocean, but for Grover, whom she had gotten to grow fond of during their last adventure, would tolerate it.

He was trying to be sneaky but Evangeline knew Percy was standing behind her. "Can I help you with something?"

"That sword, Hades gave it to you?" He sat down next to her.

"Yeah," She told him.

"When? You didn't have it when Zeus got you out."

"After you guys left the Underworld, he and I talked, and he gave me this, I had it in my pocket when I came back." She showed him the necklace.

"Oh," he said. "You two seem to be getting along then."

"He's not as bad as I thought," she admitted.

"Listen—"

Clarisse's loud cheer cut the boy off. "At last," the daughter of Ares held a proud smirk as she called for the dead captain. "Captain, full steam ahead."

A groaning noise could be heard from underneath their feet as Annabeth and Tyson joined the due. The cyclops held a nervous expression. "Too much strain on the pistons," he muttered. "Not meant for deep water."

"Hurricane?" Annabeth asked as she looked towards the south side.

"No," Evangeline said, "Charybdis."

The blonde glanced towards Clarisse. "Are you crazy?"

The daughter of Ares shrugged. "Only way into the sea of monsters," she pointed to the top of the cliffs. "Straight in between Charybdis and her sister Scylla."

Percy frowned, "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "If I tried to sail around them, they would only appear in my path again. You have to sail through them to reach the sea of monsters."

"And the clashing rocks?" Annabeth question.

"Well, I can't blow apart rocks with my cannons. So... monsters it is." She explained.

"Set course for Charybdis!"

"Aye, m'lady."

As the engine groaned louder, a small whine escaped from Tyson. Iron plating began to rattle while the ship picked up speed. "Clarisse," Percy called. "Charybdis sucks up the sea isn't that the story?"

"And spits it back out again, yeah."

"What about Scylla?"

"She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship." Clarisse explained.

"At this rate," Annabeth spoke up. "We'll be there quickly, so choose fast."

"Choose Syclla then," Percy said. "Everybody goes below deck and we chug right past."

"No!" Clarisse insisted. "If Scylla doesn't get her easy meat, she'll pick up the whole ship. Besides, she's too high up to make a good target. My cannon can't shoot straight up. Charybdis just sits there at the center of the whirlpool. We're going to steam straight towards her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus!"

Smokestacks billowed as the engine hummed, the deck underneath her feet getting warm from the boilers. The sound of Charybdis got louder the closer the ship got to the creature.

The monster inhaled, causing the ship to suddenly lurch forward. When Charybdis exhaled they rose out of the water by three-meter waves.

"Percy," Annabeth called. "Do you still have your flask full of wind?"

The boy nodded. "But it's too dangerous to use with the whirlpool, more wind would make it worse!"

"What about controlling the water? You're Poseidon's son, you've done it before."

Percy closed his eyes as he gripped the railing tight, but when his eyes opened, she knew nothing had happened. "I-I can't."

"We need a backup plan." The blonde demanded. "This isn't going to work."

"Annabeth's right," Tyson said. "Engines no good."

"What do you mean?"

"Pressure, pistons need fixing."

Percy had chosen the wrong time to let his grip on the railing as he folded his arms across his chest, the creature of the sea let out a mighty roar. The ship got hit with waves as the son of Poseidon got thrown to deck.

Clarisse began screaming orders and waves crashed over the deck, sending the two flying in different directions.

"Hey?" Evangeline appeared in his eyes snapping her fingers in his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked holding up her middle finger.

"Three," Percy grumbled as she yanked him up to his feet, the sudden movement making his head spin.

The dead crew was rushing back and forth as they attempted to slow the ship down, but they kept sliding in different directions.

"The boiler room," a dead confederate appeared from the hold, his uniform smoking and beard on fire. "Overheating, ma'am. She's going to blow!"

"Well, get down there and fix it!"

"Can't! We're vaporizing in the heat."

Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. "All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range."

"No!" Tyson bellowed. "I can fix it!"

The daughter of Ares looked at him. "You?"

"He's a cyclops," Annabeth explained. "He's immune to fire and he knows mechanics

"Go!" Clarisse yelled.

"Tyson, No!" Percy grabbed his arm. "It's too dangerous!"

Tyson patted the boy's hand. "Only way, brother." His expression was determined. "I will fix it. Be right back."

"No, wait-" Percy began to run after him, but Evangeline grabbed the back of his t-shirt and pulled him back next to her. "Tyson!" He struggled, but the ship lurched again, and then Evangeline saw Charybdis. She was shrouded in a swirl of mist, smoke, and water. She had an enormous moth with slimy lips and mossy teeth the size of rowboats.

"Lady Clarisse." The captain shouted. "Starboard and forward guns are in range."

"Fire!"

Three rounds were blasted into the monster, one disappearing into her gullet, another hitting her retaining bands, and finally the last blowing off the edge of an incisor. "Again!" Clarisse ordered. The gunners reloaded as the vibrations in the deck changed. The engine got stronger and steadier as the ship started pulling away from the creature.

"Tyson did it!" Annabeth cheered.

"Wait! We need to stay close." Clarisse yelled.

'We'll die!" Percy shouted. "We have to move away..." He stopped midway when the monster's mouth shut, the sea dying down to absolute calmness as the water rushed over Charybdis.

The mouth erupted open, the creature spat out a wall of water roughly fifteen meters high. It was filled with the ship's cannonballs as they slammed into the side of the ship. Looking up, an annoyed look formed on the brunette's expression as the waves crashed over the ship.

"The engines about to blow!"

"Where's Tyson!"

"Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer."

"We have to abandon ship!"

"No!" Clarisse yelled.

"We have no choice, m'lady." The captain explained. "The hull is already cracking apart! She can't-" He was not able to finish as something brown, green, and semi-yellow shot down from above, snatching him up into the sky. "Scylla!" A sailor yelled as the same reptilian arm shot from the cliff and grabbed him as well.

"Everyone!" Percy yelled as he uncapped riptide and tried to slice at the monster, but he was too slow and it took another victim. "Get below!"

"We can't!" Clarisse drew her sword, "Below the deck is in flames."

"Lifeboats," Annabeth shouted. "Now!"

"They'll never get clear off the cliffs," Clarisse replied. "We'll all be eaten."

"We have to try. Percy, the Flask-"

"I can't leave Tyson!"

"We have to get the boats ready!" Evangeline yelled.

The daughter of Ares didn't argue against the daughter of Hades as she and the other soldiers uncovered an emergency rowboat while Scylla continued her attack on the ship. "Get the other boat," Percy threw the brunette the flask. "I'll get Tyson."

The son of Poseidon didn't give them any room for arguing as he took off running for the boiler room hatch. Evangeline shook her head as she and Annabeth took off to the boat, jumping in and splashing into the rough water.

Turning around, the girl's eyes widened as Scylla managed to snatch Percy with one of her arms and began to pull him up. "Oh, come on!" the girl groaned.

The boy stabbed the arm in the eyes with his sword just in time, for the creature to drop him.

"The flask!" Evangeline yelled as Percy fell towards the open ocean. Annabeth turned the flask as they made their way towards the boy. Before Percy hit the water, Evangeline caught his arm and yanked him into the boat.

They heard the sound of ticking. The boat exploded, and Evangeline formed a shadow shield around the lifeboat to protect them, from the explosion, luckily none of them were injured. When she removed the shield she let out a sigh of relief.

Percy fluttered his eyes open and turned his head to look at the brunette who looked away the moment she met his eyes. She cleared her throat. "You're welcome."

But the boy wasn't paying attention, an upset look had formed on his expression, his eyes sad. "Tyson," he spoke low. The Cyclops was most likely dead.

They had been sailing in the sea of monsters for a while, the water glittering, the wind smelling fresh and salty and it looked as if a thunderstorm was on its way. As they sailed, Percy described his dream about their lost protector. Annabeth estimated they had less than a day to find Grover if Percy's dream was correct and assumed Polyphemus didn't try to marry the satyr earlier.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, just peachy," she mumbled as she rubbed her forehead. Percy shot her a look. "Annabeth," he asked. "What's Chiron's prophecy ?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Percy I shouldn't -"

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

"Well, no. But knowledge isn't always good for you."

"Your mom is the goddess of wisdom!"

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

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

The two girls shared a look. 'Percy, I-" Annabeth started. "We don't know the full prophecy, but... it warns us about a half-blood child of the Big Three, the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II to not have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches sixteen will be a dangerous weapon."

"Why?"

"Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He- or she - will make a decision that either saves Olympus and the Age of the Gods or destroys it.

Percy frowned. "That's why Kronos didn't kill me last summer."

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

"But if it's me in the prophecy-"

"We'll only know that if you survive three more years," Annabeth said. "That can be a long time for a half-blood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed Thalia was the one in the prophecy. That's why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree, and then Evangeline arrived at camp, she was the child of the prophecy until you came along."

"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 'half-blood'. That always means half-human half-god. There's nobody alive who it could be except you. Unless you die then it would be Evangeline."

"Why can't it be you then?" Percy asked the brunette.

Evangeline shifted in her seat. Most of the time she'd always figured that nobody assumed it would be her in the prophecy because of her father. But she knew it was because she was born before the Second World War and then trapped in an hotel which messed up how she aged. So technically, she'd already turned sixteen ages ago.

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

"Probably should have," Evangeline shrugged.

Percy gave her a look. "Then why are you still alive? They should've tried to kill you too."

"They have tried to kill me." The brunette told him.

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

"Did the prophecy give any hints?"

The blonde hesitated, luckily the girl was saved by a seagull landing on their makeshift mass. Annabeth slightly jumped as the bird dropped leaves on her lap and flew off.

"Land," she cried as a smile reached her face. "There's land nearby!"

Evangeline sat up as she looked across the water and was able to make outlines of blue and brown somewhere in the distance. A moment passed and she could fully see the island with a dazzling white collection of buildings, palm trees, and a harbor filled with boats. The current began pulling their lifeboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

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