It had been a couple of days since Tyson had been claimed, and Tantalus made sure that the campers were as miserable as he was. Evangeline couldn't bear it, she had managed to avoid Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson. She was happy to see them, she really was, but she was too consumed with everything else that was going on, and she was mostly trying to avoid the Cyclops.

So if she avoided the Cyclops she avoided Percy and Annabeth. She didn't want to face them, it was already bad that she kept having nightmares, and constantly being reminded of the incidents that happened over the year, it was all very tiring.

But soon her efforts came to a failure as she saw Percy and Annabeth sitting on a bench by the canoe lake, she was about to turn around when she caught sight of the blonde storming off, Percy was glaring at the daughter of Athena as she walked away then he met gazes with the brunette before she could make a break for it and run.

"Hey," He called.

Evangeline made a note to herself not to walk outside from now on. She cleared her throat. "Hi."

Percy waved her over and she made her way to the bench sitting opposite from him. "What did you say to her?" She asked.

The son of Poseidon scowled. "Why do you always think I did something?"

The brunette raised a brow as she shot him a look. "You're telling me you didn't?"

Percy faltered. "Well, I—"

"Uh-huh."

"Stop looking at me like that." He grumbled.

"I'm guessing your fight was about..." She trailed off.

He shot her a look. "Tyson, his name is Tyson."

"Right, him."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" He narrowed his eyes.

"What?" The brunette asked.

"You're scared of Tyson, just like everyone else." Percy scoffed. "So you can stop avoiding me I'll make sure he and I are nowhere near you." he stood up and crossed his arms

"I never said that and I'm not afraid of a monster." Evangeline got to her feet.

"Tyson isn't a monster!" he yelled. "Would you and Annabeth stop treating him like one?"

"Well he's not a fish now, is he?" she hissed.

"He saved my life and camp! You of all people should know what it feels like to be called a monster !" He snapped.

She clenched her fist, "Well at least I'm not the one with a Cyclops for a brother!" she snapped back.

"Half-brother!" he said, "and at least my dad isn't Hades of all people." He growled.

Evangeline was taken aback by his words. "Really?"

"Yeah," he clenched his jaw.

She scoffed and nodded, "Have fun with Tyson then,"

"Oh I will," Percy said. "At least I have a brother, last I checked you've always been a loner."

"I hate you!"

"Feelings mutual."

Storming off to Cabin 11 was something she usually did. Only a few kids had been inside when she'd stormed into the cabin, Evangeline headed straight for her bunk.

She turned to face the wall her bunk was against, the the shadow from the bunk above making a comforting space for her. It was so comforting that she had started drifting off to sleep.

Evangeline was suddenly standing in the middle of a room. "Jesus," she muttered.

"No, it's your father," A voice spoke from behind startling her.

The brunette saw her father with his hands behind his back standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Hades shrugged. "This was the only way to talk to you."

"Okay," Evangeline said.

"You should kill him," he said suddenly. "It would help solve half your problems."

She sighed as her eyes met her father's, "Helpful," her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But I don't think killing Percy is the answer."

"Have you thought about my offer?" he asked.

"No," she muttered.

"You have to think about this, you would be with me, and you wouldn't have to deal with these imbeciles," he told her. "Persephone will be there but only for a few months."

"Why are you and mom saying the same things?" She asked.

"Your mother—" Hades's face pulled into a frown. "When did you talk to your mother?"

"A few days ago," she said. "I thought you knew she came here."

"I didn't," hades said. "I thought she was—never mind. But I still think you should come to the underworld, Persephone and you can become friends."

She rolled her eyes. "One more reason why I would rather stay here." 

Hades groaned as he rubbed his temple, "Is this about the thing?"

"That 'thing' was your wife trying to turn me into a black dahlia." she scowled.

"I want you to live in the Underworld, but if you want to stay in this place, then fine but you have to visit once in a while." he pursed his lips, "Do not tell anyone about this conversation, they can not be trusted."

Evangeline nodded.

"And that Jackson boy, be careful him. He's Poseidon's boy, he cannot be trusted like his father. You never know when that idiot will turn on you, do not let your guard down." The god said before a light spread across the room and Evangeline woke up from her dream.

It was the day of the chariot race. Evangeline was only there in support of Travis and Conner Stoll who had to beg her to come, they managed to convince her with Landon's help. You could say she was tricked.

The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. Hephaestus Cabin had used the bronze bulls, which were completely tame since they'd had their heads smashed in, to plow an oval track in a matter of minutes.

"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a big platter of pastries, and as Tantalus spoke his right hand chased a chocolate eclair across the judge's table.

"You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" Tantalus smiled, Evangeline knew it was an act.  "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"

Charles Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track. Evangeline had to give him a very well-rehearsed and forced apology for breaking his finger in February. They had a cool chariot made of bronze and iron—even the horses, which were magical automatons like the Colchis bulls.

The Ares chariot was blood-red and pulled by two grisly horse skeletons. Apollo's chariot was trim and graceful and completely gold, pulled by two palominos. Hermes's chariot was green and kind of old-looking as if it hadn't been out of the garage in years.

Evangeline saw Annabeth near the Athena chariot.

The blonde raised her hand to wave and gave her a smile. Evangeline smiled back and waved, there was never a moment when she wasn't happy to see the daughter of Athena.

That happiness was squashed when she saw the moron's face.

"Oh no," Landon said as he stopped next to her. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up," she said. "And no, it's just Percy being Percy. He's so..."

"Adorable?" Landon teased.

"Infuriating." Evangeline shot him a look. "It's like he's always trying to prove that he's better than me. He's not better than me. I am so much cooler! He controls what, the fishes?"

"Yeah, controlling the fishes is so not cool," Landon agreed, shaking his head in mock disbelief.

"Whose side are you on?" Evangeline turned to him.

"Hey now," the son of Hermes held his hands up in surrender. "I am just the messenger. A messenger of love," he placed his left hand over the back of his right and moved his hands in the motion of a bird flying away.

"You need to stop that," she smacked his hands down. "What would Annabeth think when she finds out you act this way?"

"I mean," Landon shrugged, "if she can find Luke cute, then this is more normal than his whole existence."

"Speaking of which," Evangeline started. "How are you doing, with the whole thing?"

"Same old, same old," he said. "I'm still a little offended that he didn't say bye or even 'Goodbye, little brother, I'm gonna go and start an army and then plot everyone's deaths, hold down the fort while I'm gone.'"

Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "Attend your marks!"

He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life. Hooves thundered against the dirt. The crowd cheered.

Almost immediately, an accident occurred. The Hermes chariot rammed into the Apollo chariot, their panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track.  The Apollo horses crashed into theirs, and the Hermes chariot flipped too, leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.

The daughter of Hades heard shouting of campers pointing towards the sky where pigeons were swarming. There were thousands of them, diving and swooping at the demigods, nymphs, and naiads alike as they attacked the other chariots.

Evangeline ducked grabbing Landon with her, avoiding a pigeon that flew past. She spotted five pigeons coming towards them, she raised her hand, and a shadow shield formed causing the pigeons to hit the shield and fall. The shield disappeared,  and she picked one up by the neck and saw their eyes were beady looking, beaks made of bronze and extremely sharp, it tried to peck her but Evangeline twisted its neck with her hand, destroying the pigeon.

"Demon pigeons," Landon grimaced at the dead pigeon in the brunette's hands. They shared a look before they went to help some campers from the pigeons.

Because of Percy and Annabeth's efforts, the birds began going mad. They were in circles, slamming into one another and tearing each other apart. Then they abandoned attacking the demigods and flew upwards in a dark wave.

After the demon pigeon invasion,  Evangeline was sitting at the campfire with the three sons of Hermes as she listened to the sing-a-long, eating the marshmallow the brothers gave her. "Well," Tantalus spoke. "Wasn't that lovely!"

He tried plucking a toasted marshmallow off a stick, but it flew off and into the flames. A cruel smile twisted onto the camp director's lips. "Now then," he explained. "Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."

The brunette sighed, she prepared to listen to the man's announcement. "Sir," the son of Poseidon's voice rang through the area.

"What's this?" Tantalus asked spitefully. "The kitchen boy had something to say?"

"We have an idea to save camp." His words gained Evangeline's attention.

"Well," Tantalus said blandly. "If it has anything to do with the chariots-"

"The Golden Fleece," Jackson continued. "We know where it is."

"The fleece," Annabeth spoke. "It can save the camp." Evangeline looked at Annabeth. "I'm certain of it."

"We don't need saving, it's nonsense," Tantalus argued. "Besides," he continued. "The Sea of Monsters? Hardly an exact location, you wouldn't even know where to look."

"Yes, I would." The son of Poseidon argued. "Thirty, thirty-one, seventy-five, twelve."

"Thank you," Tantalus muttered. "For sharing those meaningless numbers."

"They're sailing coordinates," Percy said. "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about in social studies."

"Thirty degrees, thirty-one minutes North, seventy-five degrees, twelve minutes West. He's right!" Annabeth cried. "The Grey sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"

"Wait just a minute-" Tantalus said.

"You brats want me to assign a quest?" Tantalus shouted. "Very well, I shall authorize a champion to undertake the journey. To retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp, I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle! The champion should be the one who has earned the camp's respect, proven resourceful in the chariot races, and courageous in defense of the camp. Clarisse... you shall lead this quest!"

The Ares Cabin started stomping and cheering, "Clarisse! Clarisse!"

Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. "I accept the quest!"

"Wait!" Percy shouted. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."

"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"

"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.

Clarisse glared at the son of Poseidon. "I accept the quest!: she repeated. "I, Clarisse, Daughter of Ares, will save Camp!" The Ares campers cheered even louder.

"Sit down!" Tantalus shouted. "And I will tell you a ghost story."

"Once upon a time, there was a mortal king who was beloved of the gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest. "This king was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe—just one little doggy bag, mind you—the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children—just—like—you."

"Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus said softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"

No one dared answer. "Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife, They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very Camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so ... are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"

Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."

She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet. "Sir—"

"Go!" he snarled.

She bowed awkwardly and hurried off towards the Big House.

"And you, Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?"

Percy didn't say anything.

"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone—no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."

With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark.

In the middle of the night, there was rapid knocking on the Hermes cabin's door. Evangeline went up to get the door. She opened it and was met with Annabeth standing in front of her, fully dressed. "Blondie?" She asked, her voice groggy.

"Shhh!" Annabeth hushed her as she pulled the brunette out.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"We need to go," Annabeth spoke quietly.

Evangeline scowled as she watched the blonde rummage through her backpack. "What? Where?"

"The quest to save Grover and I'm not going on this quest without you," Annabeth pulled out a jacket and jeans for the brunette and threw it towards her, who caught it easily. "Grover's your friend too, you have every right to go."

Evangeline watched her for a moment. "Annabeth, I-"

"No, buts. When we were ten do you remember when everyone found out you were Hades's daughter and everyone wanted you to leave? I promised that if you were forced to leave I would go with you. We promised each other if one of us goes we both go."

The brunette chewed on her lips, as she remembered the promise. Finally, she let out a sigh. "Fine, let me get dressed," Annabeth smirked at the response.

After the daughters of Athena and Hades had left Cabin Eleven were sneakily and Annabeth led her to where Percy and Tyson were.

"What's she doing here?" Percy asked, glaring at the brunette who returned the look. "I thought you went to get your 'lucky charm'. " Percy air quoted.

"She is my lucky charm." Annabeth motioned toward Evangeline, who slightly blushed at being referred to as the blonde's lucky charm. "If Tyson's coming with us then I'm bringing her with me. And Grover's her friend too."

He frowned. "Harpies are on the way and we need to catch up to Luke's boat. We can't leave him! He'll be punished by Tantalus for us leaving him! And Evangeline can take care of herself, she doesn't need to go."

Evangeline raised a finger. "I'm not letting Annabeth go on a quest alone with you and..." She looked at Tyson. "Him."

"Okay, ghost girl," Percy spat, causing Evangeline's fist to clench in anger. "Last time I checked you were too busy with your emotional needs to care about Annabeth."

"My emotional needs?" She snapped, taking a step towards the boy. "I'm mad at you, not her. At least she isn't obnoxious like you."

"You're more obnoxious!" Percy took a step forward.

"Great comeback, waterboy, didn't think you had it in you!" She spoke, sarcastically. 

  "Enough!" Annabeth said stepping between the two. "How do we get to that ship?"

"Hermes said my father would help." He just stood there, staring at a cruise ship floating away.

"Poseidon's being very helpful right now," Evangeline said.

Percy shot her a pointed glare as he stepped into the waves. "Um, Dad? How's it going?"

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed. "We're in a hurry!"

"We need your help," he called a little louder. "We need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so ... If you could help, that'd be great."

At first, nothing happened. Waves crashed against the shore like normal. The harpies sounded like they were right behind the dunes. Then, about a hundred yards out to sea, three white lines appeared on the surface. They moved fast towards the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean.

As they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of three white stallions reared out of the waves.

Tyson caught his breath. "Fish ponies!"

"Hippocampi!" Annabeth said. "They're beautiful."

"We'll admire them later," Percy said. "Come on!"

"There!" a voice screeched behind the four. "Bad children out of cabins! Snack time for lucky harpies!"

Five of them were fluttering over the top of the dunes—plump little hags with pinched faces and talons and feathery wings too small for their bodies.

"Tyson!" Percy said. "Grab a duffel bag!"

The Cyclops was still staring at the hippocampi with his mouth hanging open.

"Tyson!"

"Huh?"

"Come on!"

It took all three demigods to get Tyson moving. They gathered the bags and mounted their steeds. As Annabeth dragged Evangeline on hers.

The cruise ship was now looming in front of them—their ride towards Florida and the Sea of Monsters.  The brunette had focused and managed to shadow travel to Luke's ship which caused her to almost pass out, she had transported herself to the maintenance deck filled with yellow lifeboats and a set of double locked doors, she sat down on the deck as she tried to regain her balance.

The white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes. A three-story-tall woman was wearing a white Greek chiton, sculpted to look as if she were chained to the front of the ship. She was young and beautiful, with flowing black hair, but her expression was one of absolute terror.

For a moment Evangeline could only hear the waves, then she saw Annabeth climbing onboard with her duffle bag slung across her shoulder, Percy came into sight next, then Tyson.

Annabeth came towards the brunette. "You okay?" She asked as she pulled the brunette to her feet.

Evangeline nodded as she caught her breath. "Yeah, just haven't shadow traveled so far before. It's a miracle I didn't pass out."

Annabeth squeezed her arm slightly as she made her way to the doors and set her bag down.

Annabeth managed to prise open the locked doors with her knife and a fair amount of cursing in Ancient Greek. Evangeline scanned the ship which seemed to be practically empty. Nobody was up and walking around she could hear nothing, behind the doors.

"It's a ghost ship," Percy murmured. 

"I don't see any ghosts," Evangeline told the raven-haired boy as she walked past him. Percy sent her another glare.

"No," Tyson said, fiddling with the strap of his duffel bag. "Bad smell."

Annabeth frowned. "I don't smell anything."

"Cyclopes are like satyrs," Percy explained. "They can smell monsters. Isn't that right, Tyson?"He nodded nervously.

"Okay." Annabeth looked unsettled. "So what exactly do you smell?"

"Something bad," Tyson answered.

They came outside on the swimming pool level. There were rows of empty deckchairs and a bar closed off with a chain curtain. The water in the pool glowed eerily, sloshing back and forth from the motion of the ship. Above them were more levels—a climbing wall, a pitch-and-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant, but no sign of life.

"We need a hiding place, somewhere safe to sleep."

The demigods and the Cyclops explored corridors until they found an empty suit. A basket of chocolate lay on the table with an iced bottle of sparkling cider.

They opened their duffel bags for the first time and found that Hermes had thought of everything—extra clothes, toiletries, camp rations, an airtight bag full of cash, a leather pouch full of golden drachmas. He'd even managed to pack Evangeline's snake necklace from Hades, she had accidentally left it behind.

"That's pretty!" Tyson said, pointing towards the necklace.

Evangeline looked up from the necklace in her hand. "Yeah, it is." she agreed, Percy watched as she put it on.

"We'll be next door." Annabeth grabbed Evangeline's arm pulled her into the next door, and shut it behind her.

"I'm glad you decided to come with me," Annabeth spoke as she set down their bags.

"Well, there was nothing I could do to make you leave without me," Evangeline smirked.

"True," The blonde agreed. "But I don't know what I would have done if I was alone with Percy and... you know."

"I know," Evangeline spoke softly, she knew about Annabeth's history with Cyclopes.

The daughter of Athena gave her a greatful smile before they silently went to bed.

At sunrise an announcement rang over the PA system, greeting the passengers with a good morning message and something for their special guests.

Once they were all dressed, they ventured out onto the ship and were surprised to see other people. A dozen senior citizens were heading to breakfast. A dad was taking his kids to the pool for a morning swim. Crew members in crisp white uniforms strolled the deck, tipping their hats to the passengers.

As the family of swimmers passed by, the dad told his kids, "We are on a cruise. We are having fun."

"Yes," his three kids said in unison, their expressions blank. "We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool."

"That's not something you see every day," Evangeline mumbled to the blonde turning her snake ring back and forth.

"Good morning," a crew member told them, his eyes glazed. "We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the Princess Andromeda. Have a nice day." He drifted away.

"They're in some kind of trance," Annabeth whispered to the brunette.

Then they passed a cafeteria and saw their first monster. It was a hellhound—a black mastiff with its front paws up on the buffet counter and its muzzle buried in the scrambled eggs. It reminded Evangeline of Cerberus back in the Underworld who was waiting for her to come back and play with him.

"Not hungry anymore," Tyson murmured.

They heard a reptilian voice come from down the corridor, "Sssix more joined yesterday."

Annabeth gestured frantically towards the nearest hiding place—the women's room—and all four of them ducked inside.

Something—or more like two somethings—slithered past the restroom door, making sounds like sandpaper against the carpet.

"Yesss," a second reptilian voice said. "He drawsss them. Sssoon we will be ssstrong."

The things slithered into the cafeteria with a cold hissing that might have been snake laughter.

"We have to get out of here," said Evangeline

"You think I want to be in the girls' restroom?"

"Smells bad," Tyson agreed. "And dogs eat all the eggs. Annabeth and Evangeline are right. We must leave the restroom and ship."

Evangeline then heard a familiar voice, outside "only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"

It was Luke's voice.

"I'm not pushing you!" another guy growled, Evangeline assumed he was Agrius. His voice was deeper and even angrier than Luke's. "I'm just saying if this gamble doesn't pay off—"

"It'll pay off," Luke snapped. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the admiralty suite and check on the casket."

Their voices came closer to the corridor.

Tyson whimpered. "Leave now?"

"We have to find out what Luke is up to," Annabeth explained. "And if possible, we're going to beat him up, bind him in chains, and drag him to Mount Olympus."

After stopping by their suite and grabbing their duffle bags, in which Tyson ended up carrying everything, the demigods and cyclops snuck around following the signs in hopes of finding an admirable suite in which Luke would most probably be staying at.

As they kept moving through the corridor something caught Evangeline's eye. "Hey," she called out. "Look at this." She stared down into the canyon that ran through the middle of the ship. A group of monsters was assembled in front of a candy store, a dozen Laistrygonian giants, hellhounds, and humanoid females with twin serpent tails instead of legs.

"Scythian Dracenae." She muttered.

Monsters made a circle around a young boy in Greek armor who was slicing away at a straw dummy, wearing the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Once the demigod stabbed the dummy and thrust upward resulting in straw flying everywhere, the monsters roared and cheered.

"Come on," Annabeth muttered as she walked ahead. "The sooner we find Luke, the better."

At the end of the hallway were double oak doors that looked like they must lead somewhere important. When they were a few yards away, Tyson stopped. "Voices inside."

"You can hear that far?" Percy asked, looking shocked, and a little awed.

Tyson closed his eyes like he was concentrating hard. Then his voice changed, becoming a husky approximation of Luke's. "—the prophecy ourselves. The fools won't know which way to turn."

Before anybody could react, Tyson's voice changed again, becoming deeper and gruff, like the other guy they'd heard talking to Luke outside the cafeteria. "You really think the old horseman is gone for good?"

Tyson mimicked Luke's laugh. "They can't trust him. Not with the skeletons in his closet. The poisoning of the tree was the final straw."

Evangeline clenched her jaw and Annabeth shivered. "Stop that, Tyson! How do you do that? It's creepy."

Tyson opened his eyes and looked puzzled. "Just listening."

"Keep going," Percy said. "What else are they saying?"

Tyson closed his eye again. He hissed in the gruff man's voice, "Quiet!"

Then Luke's voice, whispering, "Are you sure?"

Yes," Tyson said in that gruff voice. "Right outside."

"Run!" Percy yelled. But he was too late. The doors of the stateroom burst open and there was Luke, flanked by two hairy giants armed with javelins, their bronze tips aimed right at their chests.

"Well," Luke said tilting his head to the side with a crooked smile. "If it isn't my three favorite cousins. Come right in."

The four of them entered the stateroom it had huge windows curved along the back wall, looking out over the stern of the ship. The green sea and blue sky stretched to the horizon. A Persian rug covered the floor. Two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other.

The table was loaded with food, on a velvet dais at the back of the room lay a ten-foot-long golden casket. A sarcophagus, engraved with Ancient Greek scenes of cities in flames and heroes dying grisly deaths. Despite the sunlight streaming through the windows, the casket made the whole room feel cold.

"Well," Luke said, spreading his arms proudly. "A little nicer than Cabin Eleven, huh?"

"Sit." He waved his hand and four dining chairs scooted themselves into the center of the room.

None of them sat.

Luke's guards were still pointing their javelins at them.

Finally, Luke spoke up. "Where are my manners These are my assistants, Agrius and Oreius." Luke said. "Perhaps, you've heard of them? Their mother...  well, it's sad, really. Aphrodite ordered the young woman to fall in love. She refused and ran to Artemis for help. Artemis let her become one of her maiden huntresses, but Aphrodite got her revenge. She bewitched the young woman into falling in love with a bear. When Artemis found out, she abandoned the girl in disgust. Typical of the gods, wouldn't you say? They fight with one another and the poor humans get caught in the middle. The girl's twin sons here, Agrius and Oreius, have no love for Olympus. They like half-bloods well enough, though ..."

"For lunch," Agrius growled. Oreius let out a laugh as he licked his fur-lined lips, and continued laughter until Argius shouted for him to shut up. The younger brother whimpered at his brother's shouting, trudging over to the corner of the room, and began banging his forehead against the dining table.

Luke propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Well, Percy, we let you survive another year. I hope you appreciate it. How's your mom? How's school?"

"You poisoned Thalia's tree."

Luke sighed. "Right to the point, eh? Okay, sure I poisoned the tree. So what?"

"How could you?" Annabeth hissed, sounding extremely angry. "Thalia saved your life! Our lives! How could you dishonor her—"

"I didn't dishonor her!" Luke snapped. "The gods dishonored her, Annabeth! If Thalia were alive, she'd be on my side."

"Liar!"

"If you knew what was coming, you'd understand—"

"I understand you want to destroy Camp!" she yelled. "You're a monster!"

Luke shook his head. "The gods have blinded you. Can't you imagine a world without them? What good is that ancient history you study? Three thousand years of baggage! The West is rotten to the core. It has to be destroyed. Join me! We can start the world anew. We could use your intelligence, Annabeth."

"You only need her because you don't have any of your own." Evangeline said.

Luke turned his attention to her. "Evangeline," he spoke. "Don't you want to get revenge for what Zeus did to you and your mother?"

She froze, and her eyes widened. "H-How did you know that?"

"He took your whole life away from you, don't you want to see them suffer for what they did?" He said casually, ignoring her question.

"You're a piece of shit," She muttered.

Luke shook his head, sighing. "You and Annabeth deserve better. A lot better than tagging along on some hopeless quest to save Camp. Half-Blood Hill will be overrun by monsters within the month. The heroes who survive will have no choice but to join us or be hunted to extinction. You really want to be on a losing team ... with a company like this?" Luke pointed at Tyson, who shuffled on his feet.

"Hey," Percy protested.  

"Traveling with a Cyclops," the son of Hermes chided. 'Talk about dishonoring Thalia's memory! I'm surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people—"

"Stop it!" Annabeth shouted.

"Leave them alone," Percy spoke up. "And leave Tyson out of this."

Luke laughed. "Oh, yeah, I heard. Your father claimed him. Yes, Percy, I know all about that. And about your plan to find the Fleece. What were those coordinates, again... thirty, thirty-one, seventy-five, twelve? You see, I still have friends at Camp who keep me posted."

"You mean spies?" Evangeline raised a brow.

He shrugged. "How many insults from your father can you stand, Percy? Do you think he's grateful to you? You think Poseidon cares for you any more than he cares for this monster?"

Tyson clenched his fists and made a rumbling sound down in his throat.

Luke only chuckled. "The gods are using you, Percy. Do you have any idea what's in store for you if you reach your sixteenth birthday? Has Chiron even told you the prophecy?"

The son of Poseidon was stunned for a moment. "I know what I need to know," he finally managed. "Like, who my enemies are."

"Then you're a fool."

Tyson smashed the nearest dining chair into splinters. "Percy is not a fool!"

Tyson charged Luke. His fists came down towards Luke's head, and Luke's guard intercepted. They each caught one of Tyson's arms and stopped him cold. They pushed him back and Tyson stumbled. He fell to the carpet so hard the deck shook.

"Too bad, Cyclops," Luke said. "Looks like my grizzly friends together are more than a match for your strength. Maybe I should let them-"

"Luke," Percy cut in. "Listen to me. Your father sent us."

He smacked his hand on the table. "Don't—even—mention him."

"He told us to take this boat. I thought it was just for a ride, but he sent us here to find you. He told me he won't give up on you, no matter how angry you are."

"Angry?" the son of Hermes roared. "Give up on me? He abandoned me, Percy! I want Olympus destroyed! Every throne crushed to rubble! You tell Hermes it's going to happen, too. Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger. He grows stronger." Luke pointed to the gold sarcophagus.

"So?" Percy blindly demanded. "What's so special ... Whoa, you don't mean-"

"He is re-forming," Luke said. "Little by little, we're calling his life force out of the pit. With every recruit who pledges our cause, another small piece appears—"

"That's disgusting!" Annabeth said, a look of pure horror on her face.

Luke sneered at her. "Your mother was born from Zeus's split skull, Annabeth. I wouldn't talk. Soon there will be enough of the Titan Lord so that we can make him whole again. We will piece together a new body for him, a work worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."

"You're insane," Annabeth said.

"Join us and you'll be rewarded." Luke said. "We have powerful friends, sponsors rich enough to buy this cruise ship, and much more. Percy, your mother will never have to work again. You can buy her a mansion. You can have power, fame—whatever you want. Annabeth, you can realize your dream of being an architect. You can build a monument to last a thousand years. A temple to the lords of the next age. Evangeline you can get your mother back!"

"Go to Tartarus," Annabeth seethed.

"I'm fine with living without my mother," Evangeline grumbled as she glared at Luke.

Luke sighed. "A shame." He picked up something that looked like a TV remote and pressed a red button. Within seconds the door of the stateroom opened and two uniformed crew members came in, armed with nightsticks. They had the same glassy-eyed look as the other mortals on the boat.

"Ah, good, security," Luke said. "I'm afraid we have some stowaways."

"Yes, sir," they said dreamily.

Luke turned to Oreius. "It's time to feed the Aethiopian drakon. Take these fools below and show them how it's done."

Oreius grinned. "Hehe! Hehe!"

"Let me go, too," Agrius grumbled. "My brother is worthless. That Cyclops—"

"Is no threat," Luke said. He glanced back at the golden casket as if something were troubling him. "Agrius, stay here. We have important matters to discuss."

"But—"

"Oreius, don't fail me. Stay in the hold to make sure the drakon is properly fed."

Oreius prodded the four with his javelin and herded them out of the stateroom, followed by the two human security guards.

They exited the corridor amidships and walked across an open deck lined with lifeboats. Once they got to the other side, they'd take the elevator down into the hold, and that would be it.

Percy looked at Tyson and said, "Now."

Somehow the Cyclops understood. He turned and smacked Oreius thirty feet backward into the swimming pool, right into the middle of the tourist family.

The kids yelled in unison. "We are not having a blast in the pool!"

One of the security guards drew his nightstick, but Evangeline knocked him down by smacking him in the head with his nightstick. The other guard ran for the nearest alarm box.

"Stop him!" Annabeth yelled, but it was too late.

Just before Percy banged him on the head with a deckchair, he hit the alarm. Red lights flashed. Sirens wailed.

"Lifeboat!" the son of Poseidon yelled.

They ran for the nearest one. By the time they got the cover off, monsters and more security men were swarming the deck, pushing aside tourists and waiters with trays of tropical drinks. A guy in Greek armor drew his sword and charged, but slipped in a puddle of piña colada. Laistrygonian archers assembled on the deck above them, notching arrows in their enormous bows.

"How do you launch this thing?" Annabeth yelled as she tried to figure it out.

A hellhound leaped at Percy, but Evangeline threw a spike made of shadows at it, causing it to turn to dust.

"Get in!" Percy ordered the daughters of Athena, Hades, and the Cyclops. He uncapped Riptide and slashed the first volley of arrows out of the air.

"Hold on!" he yelled, Percy cut the ropes and they fell towards the ocean.

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