She wanted to go and find Percy after dinner. But it was clear he wasn't in the mood to talk, he walked right past her, not even glancing in her direction, and showed Tyson the way to cabin three. Although he didn't look in the slightest bit happy about it.

So Sophie spent the rest of her night sitting by the fire with Clarisse, Will and Silena. Sophie had noticed how down Clarisse had been recently, sure she was never really... joyful. But she seemed a lot more calm than usual. But not a good calm, she picked fights less, her insults were a lot less... insulting. She'd heard people talking about how amazing it was. But Sophie knew there was something wrong. She'd seen the look on Clarisse's face whenever Chris was mentioned.

Sophie felt bad.

She wanted to comfort her, but Clarisse wasn't really the type of person you go up too, give them a hug and tell them everything will be okay.

So she settled for just sitting next to her.

It was clear Percy was not ecstatic about Tyson moving into the Poseidon cabin. The larger boy was giggling to himself every fifteen seconds and saying, "Percy is my brother?" like he'd just won the lottery.

Comments from the other campers seemed to be getting to the original son of Poseidon.

"He's not my real brother!" Percy protested whenever Tyson wasn't around. "He's more like a half-brother on the monstrous side of the family. Like...a half-brother twice removed, or something."

Sophie had to bite her tongue and walk away whenever he would go on those rants.

Annabeth suggested the Three of them team up for the chariot races. Sophie agreed, but she wasn't so sure it was a good idea. She could just feel the tension between the three of them.

Percy protested when she tried to decline. He asked if she could just help build their chariot then. She reluctantly agreed.

They were sitting by the canoe lake. Percy sketching chariot designs. Annabeth working out... how the chariot would move and stuff. His tiny brain would never understand.

A group of Aphrodite kids walked by and asked Percy if he needed to borrow some eyeliner for his eye..."Oh sorry, eyes."

As they walked away laughing, Annabeth grumbled, "Just ignore them. It isn't your fault you have a monster for a brother."

"He's not my brother!" Percy snapped making Sophie avert her eyes to the ground. "And he's not a monster, either!"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him. "Hey, don't get mad at me! And technically, he is a monster."

"Well, you gave him permission to enter the camp!"

"Because it was the only way to save your life! I mean...I didn't expect Poseidon to actually claim him. Cyclopes are the most deceitful, treacherous—"

"He is not! What have you got against Cyclopes, anyway?" Percy demanded.

Sophie could tell he said something he shouldn't have.

"Just forget it," she said, then turned away looking at Sophie. "Now, the axle for this chariot—"

"You're treating him like he's this horrible thing," Percy said. "He saved my life."

Annabeth suddenly stood up. "Then maybe you should design a chariot with him."

"Maybe I should."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Annabeth got up and stormed off heading towards her brothers.

"What's she got against him?" Percy asked angrily.

Sophie narrowed her eyes at him. Hypocrite.

"What do you have against him?" She asked bluntly.

Percy ignored her, continuing to rant. "And it's not like it's my fault he's my brother. Or half-brother, or distant relative, or—"

Sophie dropped her pencil and got up, "Im leaving." She said.

Percy gave a confused look. "What's your problem?" he yelled.

"My problem?" She asked incuriously, whipping round to face him.

"Yeah." Percy said angrily, "Your supposed to be on my side. You're supposed to be my friend."

Sophie scowled at him, "And you were supposed to be Tysons friend."

With that she turned around and started walking toward Connor and Travis where they were working on their chariot.

Sophie was distant with Percy for the next couple days. She felt like she would say something she'd regret if she had to continue to listen to him denounce Tyson as a brother. She got this prickly feeling in her chest whenever anyone, specifically Percy, would talk like that.

She hung out with Tyson a bit, and even took him to the stables to see the pegasi, or as Tyson called them, the 'chicken ponies. 'It went well to start with. Sophie showed Tyson her favorite Pegasus, Cheese. He was a small bay foal, well he wasn't small anymore. He was about twice the size since Sophie had seen him last summer. However, things went south when the horses turned out to be too skittish around Tyson. This made the boy cry. So Sophie took him to the pier to look at the Naiadas instead.

Sophie really enjoyed being around him. Everything was just so exciting to him; it was really sweet. The only thing was, Tyson really liked to talk about Percy, and Sophie wasn't exactly in the mood to hear about him.

That morning was the day of the race. It was hot and humid. Fog was low on the ground like sauna steam. Millions of birds were roosting in the trees—fat gray-and-white pigeons, except they didn't coo like regular pigeons.

They made this annoying metallic screeching sound; like a submarine radar.

The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. There were rows of stone steps for the spectators—Tantalus, the satyrs, a few dryads, and all of the campers who weren't participating. Mr. D didn't show. He never got up before ten o'clock.

Percy's life was even worse. Grover was trapped in a place called the sea of monsters. He was stuck and needed rescued. He'd created an empathy link with Percy so now if Grover died... well if wouldn't be the best day of Percy's life.

Percy had to tell Sophie and Annabeth. The problem was, he didn't know how. Annabeth had barely said a word to him in days, and Sophie? She was avoiding him entirely. Worse, she'd been spending all her time with Tyson. It was like she was replacing him—with his brother.

So before the chariot races, he decided to go look for Sophie and or Annabeth. He wanted to tell them about his dream.

He was very aware that they had been avoiding him. But he felt like this was something he had to talk to them about. Grover his—their best friends, was in danger. And he wasn't going to sit by and do nothing (He had a feeling the girls wouldn't either)

He noticed Sophie, standing by Travis and Connor, grinning at their Chariot. Percy had to give them credit, it was actually impressive.

The chariot was smaller than the one Percy and Tyson had built, but it had a sleek, elegant look to it. The base was made of pale orange wood that, surprisingly, worked well with the design. Two massive bronze wings stretched out along the sides, longer than the chariot itself, giving it a bold, almost regal appearance. Bronze trim bordered the wood, curving into intricate, graceful patterns that caught the sunlight. At the very front, there was a large bronze version of Hermes' caduceus.

Percy hesitated. Then, steeling himself, he stepped closer. His foot crunched on the gravel, and Sophie looked up from the wheel she was securing. She didn't say anything, just stared at him.

"Can I sit here?" Percy asked after a moment.

Sophie nodded, patting the ground beside her. Percy lowered himself down, glancing at the embers. The quiet between them was awkward.

"I'm sorry—"

"Look, can—"

They both started at the same time, then stopped. Percy blinked. Sophie raised an eyebrow.

"You go first," she said.

"No, you—"

"I will, then," Sophie interrupted, her voice sharp but not angry. "Look, I'm sorry for ignoring you. But you were being an ass."

Percy winced. "But—"

"I'm not done." Sophie held up her hand, cutting him off. Percy pretended to ignore the snicker that came from Travis. "Tyson trusted you. He looks up to you. And instead of sticking up for him, you let what other people think get to you. That's not what a good friend does. If you're going to act like that, then I don't want to be your friend."

Her words hit like a punch to the gut. Percy dropped his gaze to the ground. "You're right," he said quietly. "I wasn't fair to him. It's just... I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. Like I had a place. And then suddenly, I didn't. It feels like I'm back to being the outcast."

Sophie's expression softened a little. She hadn't thought about it that way. For her, being ignored or looked down on was nothing new.

"I get that," she said after a moment. "But you can't let what people think of you matter."

It felt hypocritical to say, considering how much she cared about people's opinions.

Percy sighed. "You're right. I was being an ass."

Sophie let out a small laugh, and the tension between them eased. "You were," she said with a grin.

Percy couldn't help but smile. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Anyway," Sophie said, sitting up straighter. "I know you. You didn't come here just to apologize. What's wrong?"

She wasn't saying Percy wasn't a good friend. He was just stubborn.

So Percy told her everything. Grover's message, the Cyclops, the Sea of Monsters. He even mentioned the wedding dress, though he cringed as he did. Sophie's laugh at that part was loud enough to make him regret saying it.

"We have to go help him," She said when he finished.

Percy nodded. "I know. But first, we need to tell Annabeth."

Sophie sighed, but she nodded. "We should tell her as soon as possible."

"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. "You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody! Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"

"Annabeth!" Percy called grabbing Sophies hand and dragging her over to Annabeth, before their friend could get in her chariot. He explaind the dream about Grover.

Annabeth perked up when they mentioned Grover, but when he told her what he'd said, she seemed to get distant again, suspicious.

"You're trying to distract me," she decided.

"What? No were not!" Percy said.

Sophie shook her head quickly. She knew Annabeth as stubborn, but this was so not cool. "Were not!"

"Oh, right! Like Grover would just happen to stumble across the one thing that could save the camp."

"This is Grover we're talking about," Percy reminded. "Does this not sound exactly like something he would do?"

Sophie nodded in agreement. "He stumbled across two forbidden kids. It's exactly what he'd do."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I gotta go."

"Were not making this up!" Percy insisted. "He's in trouble, Annabeth."

She hesitated, then said "Look, an empathy link is so hard to do. I mean, it's more likely you really were dreaming."

"The Oracle," Sophie suggested. "We could consult the Oracle."

Percy grinned nodding, "Yeah! And we could get a quest!"

Annabeth frowned. Before she could answer, the conch horn sounded.

"Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "To your mark!"

They headed back to their carriages. Percy took the reins and maneuvered his chariot to the starting line. He gave Tyson a ten-foot pole and told him that his job was to push the other chariots away if they got too close, and to deflect anything they might try to throw at them.

"Charioteers!" Tantalus shouted. "Attend your mark!"

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

Percy and Tyson were pinned by Ares and Hephaestus, allowing Athena to easily move to first. But the two made a good team and got out of their tight spot. They pulled up neck and neck with Athena, Hermes not far behind.

That's when the screaming started.

"Birds!" Tyson cried.

The pigeons were swarming—thousands of them dive-bombing the spectators in the stands, attacking the other chariots. The birds were slashing at any bit of exposed flesh, driving everyone into a panic. It was clear they weren't normal pigeons. Their eyes were beady and evil-looking. Their beaks were made of bronze, and judging from the yelps of the campers, they must've been razor sharp.

"Stymphalian birds!" Annabeth yelled. She slowed down and pulled her chariot alongside Percy. "They'll strip everyone to bones if we don't drive them away!"

"Going the wrong way?" he asked.

"Always." Percy said.

There was one chariot left in the fray. And it was absolutely swarmed. Hundreds of birds were diving in, out, and around it. If there were people yelling in it, it went unheard over the birds' screeching. You couldn't even tell which carriage it was through the tornado of grey. But Percy somehow knew it was the Hermes chariot.

Annabeth stabbed at an incoming pigeon with her knife. "Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sounds!"

Annabeth cried "Chiron's collection!"

"Will that work?" Percy asked.

Annabeth tightened her hold on the reins. "To the Big House! It's our only chance!"

Clarisse had just pulled across the finish line, completely unopposed, and seemed to notice for the first time, how serious the bird problem was.

When she saw them driving away, she yelled, "You're running? The fight is here, cowards!" She drew her sword and charged for the stands.

Sophie held her sword in front of her, slashing at the birds- which was hard to do with her eyes closed. She'd had them open, but the moment she did the birds started targeting her eyes, she could feel their beaks pinching the skin around her eye sockets and trying to pry them open.

She raised her hand swatting them aside and waving her sword in the direction she sent them. Sophie felt one of them dig their beaks into her shoulder. She winced in pain throwing her hand back and grabbing the bird. She could feel its metal beak press down as it tried to bite her, she threw it on the floor quickly sinking her sword into its small feathery body.

It almost made her feel bad. Even if they were monsters, it was still a bird. And she loved birds.

Down at the track, the chariots were in flames. Wounded campers ran in every direction, with birds shredding their clothes and pulling out their hair, while Tantalus chased breakfast pastries around the stands, every once in a while yelling, "Everything's under control! Not to worry.'"

Percy stuck the CD inside, pressed PLAY and started up Chiron's favorite—the All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin. Suddenly the air was filled with violins and a bunch of guys moaning in Italian.

The demon pigeons went nuts. They started flying in circles, running into each other like they wanted to bash their own brains out. Then, they abandoned the track altogether and flew skyward in a huge dark wave.

"Now!" shouted Annabeth. "Archers!"

With clear targets, Apollo's archers had flawless aim. Within minutes, the ground was filled with dead bronze-beaked pigeons.

Percy scanned the stands, his eyes darting through the chaos until they landed on Sophie. She was sitting on the ground near Lee Fletcher, who was inspecting a nasty cut on her shoulder. Around her feet lay a small pile of lifeless demon birds, their black feathers scattered like ash.

Percy and Annabeth hurried over.

"Sophie!" Annabeth called, dropping to her knees beside her to get a closer look at the wound.

Percy glanced at the dead birds and raised an eyebrow.

"Sophie: one. Demon birds: zero." Sophie grinned.

Lee handed Annabeth a roll of bandages, nodding approvingly. "Chiron's Music," he said simply, as if that explained everything. "Smart."

He gave them a quick nod before hurrying off to help another camper, leaving Percy and Annabeth to take care of Sophie. Despite the exhaustion in her eyes, Sophie looked more proud than hurt.

"Bravo!" Tantalus said, "We have our first winner!" He walked to the finish line and awarded the golden laurels for the race to a stunned-looking Clarisse.

Then he turned and smiled at Percy, Annabeth and Sophie. "And now to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race."

"You gotta be shitting me," Sophie muttered.

So the way Tantalus saw it, was that the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own business in the woods, and would not have attacked if Annabeth, Percy, Sophie, and Tyson hadn't disturbed them with their awful chariot driving.

It was so completely unfair that Percy told Tantalus to go chase a doughnut, which definitely didn't help his mood.

He sentenced the four to kitchen patrol—scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. Dish duty didn't seem too bad, until Percy found out that the harpies washed with lava instead of water.

The only good thing about their punishment was that it gave the demigods lots of time to talk. Percy, explained the dream about Grover again, Annabeth looked like she was starting to believe him.

"If he's really found it," she murmured, "and if we could retrieve it—"

"Hold on," Percy said. "You act like this...whatever-it-is Grover found, is the only thing in the world that could save the camp. What is it?"

"I'll give you a hint," Annabeth said.

"Ugh. Can't you just tell me?" Percy whined.

The daughter of Athena ignored him. "What do you get when you skin a ram?"

"A fleece."

Sophie glanced down at the Lava. It looked pretty cool. If you'd told her a year ago that she'd be washing dishes in lava she would have called you crazy and laughed—well depends what time last year. After summer she would have one hundred percent believed you.

She liked Lava, and fire. It was interesting, the way it moved, swirled, changed, a never permanent form. Wow, she was sounding like Shakespear. But she loved fire and Lava, it was dangerous, it could burn the skin right off of a human. But it was also beautiful.

She never really thought of Hecate as the goddess of fire. She always heard that she was the goddess of which craft and the mist. But apparently fire was also her thing.

"Sophie!" Annabeth snapped catching her attention.

Sophie whipped her head towards her and noticed that the two of them were looking at her, Annabeth annoyed, Percy bored. "Sorry." She said sheepishly.

"Did you hear what I said?" Annabeth asked exasperated.

Sophie shook her head slowly. "Something about the astronauts and the golden fleece?"

Annabeth looked at her annoyed. "Were you listening?"

"Of course."

That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along. They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. They all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the Apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.

Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House.

When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!"

He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.

Tantalus turned back toward the campers, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."

"Sir," Percy said.

Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"

Some of the Ares campers snickered, but Sophie and Annabeth stood up with him.

Percy said, "We have an idea to save the camp."

Dead silence, but he could tell he'd gotten everybody's interest.

"Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—"

"The Golden Fleece," Percy said. "We know where it is."

Before Tantalus could stop him, he blurted out his dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do.

"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it."

"Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving."

Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable.

"Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."

"Yes, I would," Percy said, "30, 31, 75, 12."

"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."

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

Annabeth couldn't resist whispering, "It didn't look to me like you were paying much attention in social studies. You seemed pretty enthralled by a certain picture in your—"

"Can you not do this right now?!" Percy hissed, his face reddening. Glancing over at Sophie to make sure she hadn't heard. Here he was, trying to look credible, and now he just looked like a tomato.

"It looks like..." Percy said dramatically. "We need a quest!"

"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said.

But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"

"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.

"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"

"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"

"YES!"

"Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying. I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious."

Tantalus looked at Percy, Sophie and Annabeth like he wanted to play them alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest...Clarisse!"

The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering,
"CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"

Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "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 him. "I accept the quest!" she repeated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"

The Ares campers cheered even louder. Campers started protesting and more joined in. Everybody started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows.

"I need to go!" Percy insisted "I need to save my friend!"

"You will do no such thing." Tantalus said angrily.

"But-" Percy began.

A camper called out from the crowd, "Trying to get all the attention again!"

A few hummed in agreement. Which really made Percy mad. He wanted to... punch him. Wipe that smug smirk off his face.

Annabeth placed a hand on his shoulder, he glanced towards her and noticed she was discreetly shaking her head, "Leave it." She said quietly, "We'll find another way."

Percy sighed, glaring back at Tantalus once more. Before calling it quits and dropping angrily back down on the log next to the fire.

Sophie was sitting outside her cabin staring at the stars, a soda in hand—which Connor and Travis had smuggled in for her. She couldn't stop thinking about what they were going to do about the whole quest thing. She knew Percy would be down for sneaking out of camp without permission. But Annabeth... she was almost scared for her, she'd swore on the river Styx to protect them... would letting them leave count as protecting them.

That's when she heard a blood-curdling scream, making her spill her soda. Her veins became ice. Terror jolted her into action and she took off towards the beach.

Percy's screams turned into cries for help. Sophie got flashbacks to the end of last summer when Percy had almost died on camp grounds. The one place that was supposed to be safe.

She heard Tyson and Annabeth a ways behind her, bumbling on about how his brother needs help, She didn't wait for him. Sophie was able to quickly maneuver through the dark, but started to trip over her feet when she made to the sand.

Finally, she spotted Percy standing at the shoreline, staring out into the water. She sprinted over the wet sand and seized her friend by his shoulders.

"Percy? What happened? Are you okay." She asked checking him.

Percy looked alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

"I heard you calling for help!" Sophie explained.

"Me too!" Tyson said, distressed.

Annabeth nodded, slightly panting, "Me too."

"I'm fine," Percy promised.

"But what's—" Annabeth looked down at the four yellow duffel bags that were sitting at his feet, along with a thermos and a bottle of...gummy vitamins? "Huh?"

"Listen," Percy said, "We don't have much time."

Sophie said, "We have to do the quest."

"We'll get expelled, you know," Percy said (aiming it mostly at Annabeth), "Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled."

"So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."

"Besides," Annabeth said, " I promised Chiron I'd keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you! Tyson can stay behind and tell them—"

"I want to go," Tyson said.

"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean...Come on. You know that's impossible."

Percy was debating.

"We can't leave him," Percy decided. "Tantalus will punish him for us being gone."

"Percy," Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, "we're going to Polyphemus's island! Polyphemus is a S-i-k...a C-y-k..."

Sophie often forgot that they had Dyslexia.

"Tyson can go," Percy insisted, "if he wants to."

Tyson clapped his hands. "Want to!"

Annabeth gave Percy the evil eye. "All right," she said. "How do we get to that ship?"

"Hermes said my father would help."

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

Percy rolled his eyes and turned to look at the water. "Erm, Dad? How's it going?"

Sophie face palmed.

"We need your help," He called a little louder. "We need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so..."

At first, nothing happened. Waves crashed against the shore like normal. The harpies sounded like they were right behind the sand dunes. Then, about a hundred yards out to sea, four white lines appeared on the surface. They moved fast toward the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean. As they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of four white stallions reared out of the waves.

Tyson caught his breath. "Fish ponies!"

He was right. As the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, Sophie saw that they were only horses in the front; their back halves were silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.

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

Sophie agreed with her, they were spectacular, like something right out of a fantasy book.

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

Six 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!"

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

"Tyson!"

"Whasthat!?" He asked, pointing at the animal.

"Thats our ride," Percy said, handing him a bag. "Here."

"Come on!" Percy called.

They gathered the bags and mounted their steeds. Poseidon must've known Tyson was one of the passengers, because one hippocampus was much larger than the other three—just right for carrying a Cyclops.

"Giddy-up!" Percy said.

The hippocampi turned and plunged into the waves. The harpies cursed at them, wailing for their snacks to come back, but the hippocampi raced over the water at the speed of Jet Skis. The harpies fell behind, and soon the shore of Camp Half-Blood was nothing but a dark smudge.

The cruise ship was now looming in front of them. The four zipped along with the wind in their faces, speeding through the waves. As they got closer to the cruise ship, Percy realized just how huge it was. He felt as though they were looking up at a building in Manhattan. The white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes. The ship's name was painted just above the bow line in black letters, lit with a spotlight. It took him a few seconds to decipher it: PRINCESS ANDROMEDA

Attached to the bow was a huge masthead—a three-story-tall woman 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.

"How do we get aboard?" Annabeth shouted over the noise of the waves, but the hippocampi seemed to know what to do. They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.

"You first," Percy told Sophie and Annabeth.

Percy let Sophie and Annabeth get a few rungs up, then followed them.

Finally it was just Tyson in the water. His hippocampus was treating him to 360° aerials and backward ollies, and Tyson was laughing so hysterically, the sound echoed up the side of the ship.

"Tyson, shhh!" Percy said. "Come on, big guy!"

"Can't we take Rainbow?" he asked, his smile fading.

"Rainbow?"

The hippocampus whinnied as if he liked his new name.

"Um, we have to go," Percy said. "Rainbow...well, he can't climb ladders."

Tyson sniffled. He buried his face in the hippocampus's mane. "I will miss you, Rainbow!"

"Maybe we'll see him again sometime," Percy suggested.

"Oh, please!" Tyson said, perking up immediately. "Tomorrow!"

Tyson said his farewells and grabbed hold of the ladder. With a final sad whinny, Rainbow the hippocampus did a back-flip and dove into the sea.

The four of them headed towards where the cabins were.

Sorry this took me so long to get out (And that i'm uploading it at 1am) 🙏

Got some shit going on rn. My brother was in car crash a month or two back, he's got some major PTSD and doesn't want to go in a car anymore, so were working with a therapist to try and get him to be okay with cars.

So posting will be random for a little while.

This chapter is unedited, so sorry bout that. 

TYSM for 9k reads yall. I love you so much. 🥹

Also started an Ao3 acc where I post some stuff (Non pjo related) and fics I didn't really want to post of Wattpad, I have one atm about JWCC that im writing with a friend, but I want to get a voltron one up at some point.

Thanks for reading 🫶

Blake 🫡