STRENGTH
━━ act two, chapter ten.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

"LOOK, UP AHEAD," PERCY SAID, "WE'VE REACHED POLYPHEMUS' ISLAND."

Nabi didn't have to have Percy's nautical senses to realise that he was right — she expected the island to be super dreary and dark, but it was far from it. Well, apart from a rope bridge across a scary chasm. But except for that, the place had pretty, green fields, tropical fruit trees and white beaches.

   "The Fleece," Nabi murmured, inhaling the sweet air, "that's its power, right?"

   The other two nodded. Just the raw aura from the island alone had been enough to convince Nabi that the Golden Fleece could save the camp; it was so powerful. Percy asked, "If we take it away, will the island die?"

   Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally... whatever that is."

   Nabi felt a little guilty about ruining the paradise, but she had to remind herself that they had no choice. Camp Half-Blood was in trouble.

   In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful enough, but they were huge — the size of hippos. Just past them was a path that led up into the hills, and near the edge of the canyon was a massive oak tree.

Something gold glittered in its branches.

   "This is too easy." Percy said, "We could just hike up there and take it?"

   Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "There's supposed be a guardian, maybe a dragon or..."

   That's when a deer emerged from the bushes.

It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed towards the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled, lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves.

Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air. A second later, the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings... where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones. Those sheep were so fast that Nabi was afraid that they would be able to rip her to shreds mid-flight, if she tried. The Fleece was on a branch that might have been too low.

Too risky. They all exchanged looks. Annabeth muttered, "They're like piranhas."

"Piranhas with wool." Percy nodded.

"Piranhas with wool that could kill us." Nabi added on, nodding too, "How are we—"

"Guys!" Annabeth gasped, "Look."

She pointed down the beach, to just below the sheep meadow, where a small boat had been washed ashore... it was the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham.

"Clarisse..." Nabi tried not to be too hopeful, but still, she murmured, "She's here. She has to be."

They decided there was no way they'd be able to get past the evil sheep herd. Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but in the end, both Percy and Nabi convinced her that it wasn't worth the risk — the sheep would smell her; another guardian would appear. If it all went wrong, they'd be too far to rescue her.

Besides, their first job was to find their friends.

   They moored the Queen Anne's Revenge on the back side of the island, where the cliffs rose straight up around two hundred feet. Then, they rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the rocks and made their way up, very slowly.

Nabi easily flew up, much to Annabeth and Percy's grumbling — though, they only came close to dying six or seven times as they climbed up, which Nabi thought was pretty alright.

   "You guys okay down there?" Nabi asked, hands on her knees as she watched them on the side on the mountain, already at the top.

   "Yeah," Annabeth said, "nearly there."

   A minute later, Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped. Fortunately, she found something else to put it against... unfortunately, that something was Percy's face.

   "Sorry." Annabeth murmured.

   "S'okay." Percy grunted, though he didn't seem like he'd wanted to know what Annabeth's shoe tasted like.

   Finally, both of them managed to haul themselves over the top of the cliff and collapsed, groaning in exhaustion.

   "GARRR!"

The noise scared all of them. Annabeth even had to clamp a hand over Percy's mouth. They whirled around to where it had came from. But then, Annabeth pointed to somewhere — Nabi realised that the ledge they were sitting on dropped off on the opposite side, and that the sound was coming from right below them.

"You're a feisty one!" A deep voice bellowed.

"Challenge me!"

Nabi recognised that voice more than anyone's. She gasped, relief washing over her, "Oh my gods, that's—"

"Shhh!" Annabeth hissed.

But there was no doubt about it... that was Clarisse.

"Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!" The Ares girl growled.

The monster roared with laughter. Nabi, Annabeth and Percy creeped up to the edge — right above the entrance of the cyclops' cave. Below them stood Polyphemus and Grover... in a wedding dress.

   Well, at least Grover looked good in it.

   Clarisse was tied up, hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water.

   "Hmm," Polyphemus pondered, "eat loudmouth girl now... or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?"

   He turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps—"

   "Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded, "Who— Grover?"

Annabeth muttered, "Shut up. She has to shut up."

   As much as Nabi loved her, she really did need to zip her mouth shut. Polyphemus glared, "What 'Grover'?"

   "The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.

   "Oh!" Grover yelped, "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!"

   Polyphemus' eyelids narrowed over his baleful milky eye, trying to see Clarisse more clearly. The cyclops wasn't exactly a sight to behold, no offence. He smelled rancid, and was dressed in his wedding outfit — a crude kilt and shoulder-wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedoes, as if he'd skinned an entire wedding party.

   "What satyr?" asked Polyphemus, "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?"

   "No, you big idiot!" Clarisse bellowed, "That satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"

  Nabi was so close to making herself known and yelling at Clarisse for how stupid she was being. But all she could do was watch as Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil — revealing his curly brown hair and his tiny horns.

   Polyphemus breathed heavily, trying to contain his anger. He growled, "I don't see very well. Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE—NO—LADY—CYCLOPS!"

   The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away, showing off his jeans and t-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head.

   "Stop!" Grover pleaded, "Don't eat me raw! I—I have a good recipe!"

   Percy reached for his sword, but Annabeth hissed, "Wait!"

   Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his... ex-fiancé? That was a really weird thing to say.

   "Recipe?" He asked Grover.

   "Oh y—yes! You don't want to eat me raw." Grover assured him, "You'll get E coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire, with mango chutney! You could go get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."

  "Grilled satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water, "You a satyr, too?"

   "No, you overgrown pile of dung!" She yelled, "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!"

   "Rip my arms off." Polyphemus echoed back.

   "And stuff them down your throat!"

   He blinked. "You got spunk."

   "Let me down!"

   Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now — wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"

   "But... you're still getting married?" Grover sounded genuinely offended, "Who's the bride?"

   Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot. Nabi paused. There was no way. Clarisse made a strangled sound, "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not—"

   Before any of them could do anything, Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was a ripe apple. Then, he tossed her and Grover deep into the cave.

   "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!" Polyphemus chuckled.

   The cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep — smaller than the man-eater ones — flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name — Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, the list went on. When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as Nabi could close a refrigerator door, shutting off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside.

   "Mangos," Polyphemus grumbled to himself as he walked off, "what are mangos?"

   He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom's outfit, leaving them alone with a pot of boiling water and an absolutely massive boulder.

As soon as Polyphemus left, the three of them tried for what seemed like hours to move the boulder, but it was no good. They yelled into the cracks, tapped on the rock, did everything they thought of to get a signal from the inside.

But no matter how much they tried — nothing.

Nabi, Annabeth and Percy sat on the ridge in despair and watched the distant baby-blue shape of the cyclops as he moved among his flocks. He had wisely divided his regular animals from his man-eating sheep, putting each group on either side of the huge crevice that divided the island. The only way across was the rope bridge, and the planks were much too far apart for sheep hooves.

   Nabi watched as Polyphemus visited his carnivorous flock on the far side. Unfortunately, they didn't eat him. In fact, they didn't seem to bother him at all.

   "Wait," Nabi stood up, and said, "I can try to shadow travel, get them out, then reappear back here."

   Percy shook his head. "How many times have you shadow travelled?"

   "The first and only time was when we were fighting the Colchis bulls," Nabi said, "I haven't practiced it."

   "Exactly," Percy muttered, "it's too risky. If you get hurt, or get stuck in there, we wouldn't be able to do anything."

They all went quiet for a moment, still thinking.

   "Trickery," Annabeth decided, "we can't beat him by force, so we'll have to use trickery."

   "Okay, what trick?" Percy asked.

   Annabeth seemed pained to admit it, but she mumbled, "I haven't figured that part out, yet."

   Percy huffed, "Great."

   "Polyphemus will have to move the rock to let the sheep inside..." Annabeth murmured.

   "Yeah, at sunset — when he... marries Clarisse and eats Grover," Nabi shivered at the thought, "both are pretty traumatising to think about."

"I could get inside," Annabeth said, "invisibly."

"What about us?" Nabi asked.

   "The sheep..." Annabeth mused. She gave Nabi and Percy a sly look and asked, "...How much do you like sheep?"

【 🦋 】

WHEN ANNABETH SAID SHE HAD A PLAN, NABI DIDN'T THINK IT WAS THIS.

"Just don't let go!" The Athena girl hissed, somewhere on Nabi's right — invisible with her cap on.

That was easy for her to say. She wasn't hanging upside down from the belly of a sheep.

At first, Nabi thought that her idea was crazy, but the sheep didn't seem to mind, and they weren't too difficult to hold onto because of their thick wool. The only problem was the stench — Nabi had to hold her breath so she wouldn't inhale the nasty smell.

   "This is so disgusting." Nabi gagged, stomach churning.

   Percy grumbled, "Tell me about it."

   The sun was going down. Nabi and Percy had just barely gotten secured onto the sheep when Polyphemus roared, "Oi! Goaties! Sheepies!"

   The flock dutifully began trudging back up the slopes toward the cave.

   "This is it!" Annabeth whispered, "I'll be close by. Don't worry."

   Nabi prayed to the gods for this to work — she was not dying because of some stupid, smelly sheep. The sheep taxi started plodding up the hill. After a hundred yards, her hands and feet started to hurt from holding on.

   Eventually, after a close call with Percy almost getting caught, they'd made it inside of the cave. Nabi could see the last of the sheep coming inside. If Annabeth didn't pull off her distraction soon...

   The Cyclops was about to roll the stone back into place, when from somewhere outside, Annabeth shouted, "Hello, ugly!"

   Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?"

   "Nobody!" Annabeth replied, taunting him.

   That got exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for. The monster's face turned red with rage as he yelled back, "Nobody! I remember you!"

   "You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth jeered, "much less Nobody."

   Nabi hoped she was already moving when she said that, because Polyphemus bellowed furiously, grabbed the nearest boulder — which happened to be his front door — and threw it toward the sound of Annabeth's voice. The rock could be heard smashing into a thousand pieces.

   For a terrible moment, there was silence. Then, Annabeth shouted, "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"

   Polyphemus howled, "Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!"

   "You can't kill Nobody, you stupid oaf." She scoffed, "Come find me!"

   Polyphemus barreled down the hill toward her voice. He was too busy with fighting 'Nobody' — thinking it was his old enemy, Odysseus, who had tricked him centuries ago with the same name — he forgot about resealing the cave entrance.

   Nabi really hoped that Annabeth could stay alive and keep distracting him long enough for them to find Grover and Clarisse.

   They searched the main room, but there was no sign of either of their friends. They pushed through the crowd of sheep and goats toward the back of the cave; ran down corridors littered with bones, past rooms full of sheepskin rugs and cement sheep artwork Nabi recognized as Medusa's. There were collections of all kinds of sheep clothing, too.

Finally, they found the spinning room, where Grover was huddled in the corner, trying to cut Clarisse's bonds with a pair of safety scissors.

   "It's no good." Clarisse huffed, exasperated, "This rope is like iron!"

  "Just a few more minutes!"

   "Grover, you've been working at it for hours!" Clarisse groaned.

   Then, they saw Nabi and Percy.

   Immediately, Nabi ran towards Clarisse and pulled out her sword — swiftly slicing off the ropes.

   "Nabi," Clarisse's eyes widened, and she swallowed a lump in her throat, "you're supposed to be blown up."

   "C'mon," Nabi laughed, a grin spreading across her face, "you can't get rid of me that easily. Besides, you not happy to see me?"

   "Gods, I'm way more than happy."

   They engulfed each other in a hug, and Nabi had never felt so relieved to hold Clarisse in her arms. The way Clarisse tucked her under her chin, the way Nabi's head pressed against her chest.

She could hear the sound of Clarisse's heartbeat; it might've been her favourite sound — to know she was here, snug and alive and hers to hold.

When they broke apart, Clarisse's eyes had that same look that she missed. Her lips curved into a downward smile that was contagious... or maybe Nabi was the contagious one.

Either way, they were both smiling.

"What's with the new dress?" Clarisse asked, "You got all glammed up before coming to save me? Really?"

"It wasn't exactly planned. I'll explain later."

It was a little weird seeing Clarisse in a new light... or maybe, it was the same light, just brighter.

Definitely brighter.

Nabi fisted Clarisse's shirt into one of her hands, and pulled her in closer to mutter, "Now, you are never making me worry that badly ever again, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Clarisse chuckled, her voice husky, "as long as you promise the same exact thing."

Meanwhile, Grover and Percy were having a reunion too. The satyr tackled Percy into a hug of their own. "Perrrcy! You heard me, you came!"

"Yeah, buddy," Percy grinned, "of course I came."

"Where's Annabeth?" Grover asked.

   Nabi answered, "She's outside, but we have to hurry."

   "Wait," Percy said, "was anyone else on board your lifeboat, Clarisse?"

   Clarisse looked surprised. "No, just me. Everybody else aboard the Birmingham... well, I didn't even know you guys made it out."

   Suddenly, an explosion echoed through the cave, followed by a scream — it was Annabeth crying out in fear.

   "I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated.

   Nabi and the rest of them crept to the cave entrance and saw the cyclops, grinning wickedly, holding up empty air. The monster shook his fist, and a baseball cap fluttered to the ground, revealing Annabeth as she hung upside down by her legs.

   "Hah!" The Cyclops said, "Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife, means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!"

   Annabeth struggled, but she looked dazed. She had a nasty cut on her forehead, and her eyes were glassy.

   "I'll rush him." Percy whispered to Clarisse. "Our ship is around the back of the island. You, Nabi and Grover—"

   "No way." All three of them said at the same time.

   Clarisse had armed herself with a highly collectible rams-horn spear from Polyphemus' cave. Grover had found a sheep's thigh bone, which he didn't look too happy about, but he was gripping it like a club, ready to attack. Nabi had her sword ready to go.

   "We'll take him together." Clarisse growled.

   "Yeah." Grover said. Then he blinked, like he couldn't believe he'd just agreed with Clarisse about something.

   "Alright," Percy nodded, "Attack plan — Macedonia."

   Everyone nodded. They all took the same training courses at Camp Half-Blood and knew what Percy was talking about. He lifted up his sword and shouted what Annabeth had earlier, "Hey, ugly!"

   The giant whirled toward them and glowered, "Another one? Who are you?"

   "Put down my friend," Percy said, "I'm the one who insulted you."

   "You are Nobody?"

   "That's right, you smelly bucket of nose drool!" Percy insulted, "I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it! Now, put her down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."

   "RAAAR!" The cyclops bellowed.

   The good news: he dropped Annabeth.

   The bad news: he dropped her head first onto the rocks, where she laid as motionless as a rag doll.

   The other bad news: Polyphemus barrelled straight toward Percy.

   "For Pan!" Grover rushed in from the right. He threw his sheep bone, which bounced harmlessly off the monster's forehead.

   Clarisse ran in from the left and set her spear against the ground, just in time for the cyclops to step on it. He wailed in pain. Clarisse dove out of the way to avoid getting trampled, but the Cyclops just plucked out the shaft, like it was a large splinter, and kept advancing on.

   Nabi managed to get behind him and stab him in the back, but he grabbed her sword as she did so, and it went clattering somewhere else. She rushed to pick it back up as Percy moved in with Riptide. The cyclops made a grab for him — he rolled aside and stabbed the cyclops in the thigh.

   "Get Annabeth!" Percy yelled at Grover.

   Grover rushed over, grabbed her invisibility cap, and picked her up while Clarisse, Percy and Nabi tried to keep Polyphemus distracted.

   Clarisse charged at the cyclops relentlessly with her spear, slashing and jabbing — she'd even managed to land a solid punch with her fist. Percy would swing his sword whenever she'd take a hit, a back and forth between them.

Nabi concentrated, and a bunch of undead soldiers appeared. They slowly rose from the ground, with their hands grabbing hold of Polyphemus' legs, climbing up and dragging him down. The monster roared, furious. But there were enough of the undead beings to begin completely piling onto him, and he struggled to get out.

If Polyphemus wasn't a giant, he surely would've sank into the dark hole that Nabi had created.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nabi saw Grover carrying Annabeth across the rope bridge.

"Fall back!" Percy yelled.

Just then, Polyphemus broke free from the undead soldiers as they ran for the bridge. The cyclops was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds, but all they'd done was slow him down.

"Grind you into sheep chow!" He howled in anger, "A thousand curses on Nobody!"

Nabi yelled, "Hurry, guys!"

   They tore down the hill. The bridge was their only chance — Grover had just made it to the other side and was setting Annabeth down. They had to make it across too, before the giant caught them.

   "Grover!" Percy shouted, "Get Annabeth's knife!"

   Grover's eyes widened when he saw the cyclops behind them, but he nodded like he understood. As Clarisse, Percy and Nabi scrambled across the bridge, Grover began sawing at the ropes.

   The first strand went snap!

   Polyphemus bounded after them, making the bridge shake wildly, with the ropes half-cut. They dove for solid ground, landing beside Grover — Percy made a wild slash with his sword and cut the remaining ropes.

   The bridge fell away into the chasm, and the cyclops howled... with delight, because he was standing right next to them.

   "Failed!" He yelled gleefully, "Nobody failed!"

   Nabi and Clarisse tried to charge him at once, but the monster swatted them aside like flies and were sent flying backwards. Nabi groaned in pain as her head slammed against the ground, her vision filled with stars.

Clarisse grunted, "That hurt like shit."

"Your fiancé hits hard." Nabi grumbled, "I don't think you should marry him. Super mean guy."

   As Nabi sat up, she watched as Percy managed to land a proper jab at Polyphemus' belly. He doubled over, and was smacked in the nose with the hilt of Percy's sword. After slashing and kicking and everything else, Polyphemus was left sprawled on his back — dazed and groaning with the tip of Percy's sword hovering over his eye.

"Percy!" Grover gasped, "How did you—"

"Please, noooo!" The Cyclops moaned, pitifully staring up at the son of Poseidon.

His nose was bleeding, and a tear welled in the corner of his eye. "M—my sheepies need me. Only trying to protect my sheep!"

Polyphemus looked so hurt; sounded so heartbroken. For a split second, Nabi actually felt bad for him.

"Kill him!" Clarisse yelled, "What are you waiting for?"

"He's a Cyclops!" Grover warned, "Don't trust him!"

But Polyphemus just sobbed, as Percy seemed to hesitate. Percy sighed, "We only want the Fleece. Will you agree to let us take it?"

"No!" Clarisse repeated, "Kill him!"

The monster sniffed and mumbled, "My beautiful Fleece; price of my collection. Take it, cruel human. Take it and go in peace."

"I'm going to step back slowly," Percy told the monster, "One false move..."

Polyphemus nodded like he understood.

Percy stepped back... but as soon as he did, Polyphemus smacked him near the edge of the cliff.

"Percy!" Nabi cried.

"Foolish mortal!" The cyclops bellowed, rising to his feet. "Take my Fleece? Ha! I eat you first."

He opened his enormous mouth, ready to eat Percy.

   All of sudden, a rock the size of a basketball sailed into Polyphemus' throat. The cyclops choked, trying to swallow down the unexpected pill. He staggered backward, but his heel slipped — the edge of the cliff crumbled, and the great Polyphemus made chicken-wing motions that did nothing to help him as he tumbled into the chasm.

   Nabi rushed to the edge, watching the monster fall. In the middle of the path to the beach, standing completely unharmed in the midst of a flock of killer sheep, was... Tyson.

He'd made it out alive.

"BAD POLYPHEMUS," TYSON SAID, "NOT ALL CYCLOPS AS NICE AS WE LOOK."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗔'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦!

જ⁀➴ yippee reunion !! guys, so happy they're finally together again ,, the line about nabi seeing her in a brighter light was a cute one to write + tyson's back our fav cyclops !! i actually love him so much he's so silly and strong fr, i actually got this done in like three hours and it is way past midnight so i am going to go snooze, folks 😴

   but i did quickly want to ask u guys if there are any favourite lines or quotes from the book ?? just super curious tbh 🤷‍♀️ bcoz i was writing the last chapter of the sea of monsters and one of the lines made me go omg .. tehe

   anyways, hope u enjoyed this chapter, love u guys so muchh <3 and ofc see u in the next one !!