So, we have finally reached the last chapter I had uploaded before I had taken down my stories. I know it had taken a little longer to reupload this chapter, but I had a good reason for this. The seventh chapter was small and insignificant before, but I have change that. I have expanded it and added much more, so now the chapter is more than twice as long as before. So yeah, enjoy this chapter, as it is the first all new chapter to this story...


His head felt so light, as if it was floating. His whole body seemed weightless, drifting through nothingness. He opened his eyes, but he saw nothing but a blue, shimmering light. Then a face appeared before him, blood red eyes staring intently at him. A smirk danced over the lips of that face. Then it disappeared again.

He was alone, he felt alone in this place, though it felt like he knew this place. It felt familiar. The smell... it was the sea! He was sure of it. But he felt dry... it felt... lacking. Was he still near the ocean, after he had fallen from the ship? Had he drifted away from his friends? But then he remembered the two figures that had appeared before he lost consciousness...

"Have you seen this mark? It is hers. Why would she do this? This is most unsettling. Whatever she wanted from my son, Tethys will likely come back and try again. We don't even know what she has done to his wound, but I am sure that it was anything but good. I won't allow her to harm the boy," Someone said loudly. Percy did not recognize the voice, but its volume was enough to wake him up.

"Will you be silent, My Lord. Your son was badly hurt and had to face a Titan, yet you stand here, yelling about things you cannot change. Leave, please, let him recuperate. He is safe now, Triton will keep an eye on him." Percy definitely remembered that voice. Though he had met this particular goddess only once. His stepmother, Amphitrite. But that also meant that the other person had to be his father, Poseidon.

Poseidon and Amphitrite finally realized that Percy was beginning to stir. They saw his eyes open slowly, but before Percy could see them, Poseidon quickly left. He was loathe to admit it, but Amphitrite was right. His presence would only trouble his son now and Percy needed to recuperate. The wound was gone, but he was still weak.

His wife gave him one last admonishing look, before he was gone. Then Amphitrite turned towards the young demigod on the bed next to her. He looked so much like Poseidon that no one would ever question who the boy's godly parent was. Though she could see the slightest influences of Apollo, though they were marginal. The way he held and presented himself was greatly influenced by the sun god, but the rest of his looks were all from Poseidon. Hair, eyes, even his build was reminiscent of the sea god. With some satisfaction she realized that there was almost no sign of his mother's mortal heritage when it came to how the boy looked. It made it easier to accept his existence, at least for her.

"Rest, Perseus. You had a long day and the wound you received was grave. Be glad that you are a child of the sea or else your little adventure would have ended today," Amphitrite spoke admonishing. Her eyes drifted towards the place where the arrow had pierced his shoulder for a moment, a worried frown on her face, but she quickly returned to her stoic look.

But Percy wouldn't listen, instead he tried to stand up. Amphitrite pushed him down again, before he could get far. "Why did my fath... Lord Poseidon leave?" Percy asked, as his stepmother stood next to his bed, looking down at him like a stern mother would look at a rebellious child, that did not want to sleep. Percy did not like that in the slightest... it was... something he was not used to. He never had a maternal figure in his life and he wasn't sure how to react to his stepmother of all people. Especially when she acted like this. As if she actually cared about his well being.

"He is a busy man. The appearance of a Titan during your quest has made all of this much more complicated. His war might be catching up with you, so be careful," Amphitrite said. She could see Percy's disappointment. It had to be a bitter realization for the young demigod. Percy could only come to the conclusion that he was of less importance to Poseidon, that all the sea god did for him was merely the means to an end. "Do not fret it, Perseus, your brother will still be here." She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly in an effort to look comforting and somewhat caring to the boy.

And Percy... he knew that he shouldn't be disappointed. Most gods did not care about their children. Sure he had seen the complete opposite. He had seen how Apollo had used every loophole he could find to be with Ariadne and her siblings. But Poseidon was not Apollo and Poseidon did not care for his son in the way a family should care. Poseidon always used others to do the work, whenever his duties involved his demigod son. He sent his eldest son to train his demigod offspring. He sent his eldest son to give his youngest a weapon. He had his wife stay with his illegitimate son to make sure that he would survive long enough to make a difference in his war for the sea. Not even once had Poseidon talked to his son. And as much as Percy told himself that this was the natural course of things, it still hurt. To know that his mother is dead and his father doesn't care.

"What about that Titan..." He could still remember her, as if she stood right in front of him at the moment. Her serpent form, her red eyes and white hair in her human form. The things she said to him...

"Tethys," Amphitrite said, Percy nodded, "She has disappeared when she saw that my Lord had arrived. She is not dumb, far from it in fact. But she is also a conundrum. Unlike her husband she has not fought in the war against Lord Poseidon. Why she has come here and why she has approached you... I do not know." Though she would not admit it, her words were much more truthful than she liked. Tethys was family to her, her grandmother in fact, but Amphitrite had little contact to the wife of Oceanus and knew next to nothing about what she was doing and what had motivated her in last few centuries.

"She said that she was curious. That many in the sea are worried because of me..." Percy said somewhat smugly. It was a strange way to say it, but he was sure that Tethys had complimented him when she said that.

Amphitrite looked displeased at him, "It is never good to gloat. And though there really are many people who are not happy about your existence, this still does not mean that you are truly a threat to them... yet," Amphitrite chided the boy. His actions were foolish and though he was her husbands illegitimate child, she did not wish to see him killed.

"I'm sorry..." Percy said, as he felt like a little child, chided by its mother for doing something incredibly stupid.

"Rest for now, Perseus. You still have a long way ahead of you. But rest assured that Triton and I will always keep an eye on you," Amphitrite said, before she left the room. She didn't just flash away in front of a demigod, like most other gods would do, instead she left the room and returned home, when there was no one near. And this day she returned home, knowing that she had made great progress with her plan. Percy trusted her more than his father. A small victory over her unfaithful husband, but there was still much to be done.

Percy sighed, before he rested his head on the pillow once more. The small encounter with Luke's ship and all that happened after... it was more than he had expected. He knew he had probably underestimated the entire situation, the war looming on the horizon. He was still just a boy, but the situation and the fighting would not wait for him to grow up first. He and his friends had come very close to death this time, much closer than he had ever been before. He had seen the enemy, seen some of their capabilities. He would have to be more careful from now on.


Unaware of the presence of several gods on their boat, other members of Percy's group spent their time on deck, chatting, playing games to pass the time, while their journey continued. They had long lost sight of Luke's ship, so their mood had improved immensely.

"Shoot!" Will ordered loudly.

A fireball rose into the sky, shining brightly in the waning light of the late evening. Then several arrows passed through the fire, lighting up, before they fell into the sea.

"Yes! That's five to four for me, little sis!" Will said, a triumphant smirk on his face, as he looked at Ariadne. The girl had a mildly annoyed look on her face, though she couldn't deny that she was happy for this distraction. Will was not even far as foolish as he acted most of the time, so he had made it his duty to distract those who had gone to the Princess Andromeda. This was one of the reasons why Will had become one of her favorite siblings in the short time she had spent with her brothers and sisters. He distracted her, so she wouldn't think about Percy's near death experience and the way he had saved her.

Before she had contemplated his words and the fact the he was willing to sacrifice himself for her. They only knew each other for less than a year. He was her first friend who wasn't a Hunter... in fact he was her first real friend. To most Hunters she was Lady Artemis favorite niece and surrogate daughter. To them she was always above them in a way, all because of how her aunt had treated her all the time. She was the one that got truly raised by Artemis, the one who got all those special training and hours of tutoring. Deep down she knew that she would have never been able to be just another Hunter. To Percy she was a true friend and in return she had found a true friend in him. They shared a kind of kinship that most others wouldn't understand. She had been alone among the Hunters, he had been alone among mortals and gods. Both of them had lost their mothers, only to be raised by Zeus' twins instead. It was a connection that no one could take from them. And the fact that he would die for her meant a lot for her, though she was angry that he wouldn't allow her to do the same for him.

"Are you ready for the next flare, Lou?" Will asked. He had already notched the next arrow, readying the golden bow he had gotten from his father. Ariadne had been with him when their father gave his son this weapon as a farewell gift for this quest. Will had been so proud that day.

Ariadne stood next to him, her own bow in hand. But hers was not golden, it was silver, a replica of her aunts and the last gift she had received from Artemis, before she had left the Hunt for good.

Lou merely looked at Will with a challenging smirk, "I can do this for hours, but can you keep up, hothead?" Ariadne laughed when she heard that.

"Just shoot and find out, witch-girl," Will challenged back.

Another fireball rose into the sky, but this time only one arrow passed through it. Will looked over to his sister, a victorious smirk on his face. "Already giving up, sis?" But then he saw why Ariadne had stopped firing. Zoe stood next to her, a hand on Ariadne's arm, a displeased look on her face.

"Have you all lost your mind? Our enemies might be following us and you've got nothing better to do than showing them where we are with large signal fires?" Zoe said angrily. To her this childish game was tantamount to idiocy and irresponsibility.

"We are training, let them come, we'll be ready!" Will said with such insistence that it was clear that his words were more than empty boasting, but his actual opinion. Now that there was no man-hating goddess nearby he felt much more confident and readily opposed Zoe, whenever he felt slighted by her, which was nearly every time she spoke to or about him.

"Idiot boy, you have not seen the number of enemies on that ship. If they manage to catch up to us then we are done for. We got lucky during our last encounter, but next time they will be better prepared!" She felt like the only responsible person on the ship. It was a bitter realization that all other demigods on this ship are in fact children, not Hunters who have been with her and her mistress for decades and centuries.

"Relax, Zoe. If they want to follow us, then they will manage to do it even without our fire. Deianira was one of Lady Artemis' best trackers, she will find us no matter what. And I would rather be prepared the next time we meet her." Ariadne said stoically. Meeting a traitorous huntress had left a deep impression on her. So far she had always believed that all Hunters were absolutely loyal to her aunt, but it was obvious that she was wrong. If Deianira managed to deceive all of them, then how many more discontent Hunters are there? Are there more traitors? Are the others just waiting for a chance to leave?

"This is no excuse for your careless behavior. You endanger us all with this, no matter if they have trackers or not. We are not the hunters in this game, we are the prey. And as long as we have no chance to change the roles we have to be careful." Zoe admonished the other demigods.

Ariadne had enough and said with a rising temper, "We are careful, but we cannot spend all of our time sitting around, doing nothing, while our enemies are following us. And we have a long road ahead of us. We need to..."

"Be careful. We need to be careful. Have you learned nothing from your aunt. Or has that boy influenced you this much? He is a reckless man-child with delusions of grandeur and that is why he is still lying down there in his cabin after receiving a grave wound. I should have known that his idiocy is infectious."

"Do not speak about Percy like this. He stayed behind to save all of our lives. Deianira was right, you do live a life full of hatred. I can understand why she left the Hunters better, than I can understand your continuous hatred for all men. Just because one man has wronged you, you hate all others. And when you meet the one boy who defies all your misconceptions about men, you treat him like dirt, speak ill behind his back. Seeing what you have become, makes me glad that I made the choice to leave my aunt!" Ariadne yelled at Zoe, before she walked away, muttering angry curses all the way.

Will looked slightly uncomfortable, as he saw his sister disappear. He looked at Zoe for a moment, but ultimately decided to leave and follow Ariadne, lest he could become the target of Zoe's anger and frustration. And he knew that his sister would need him now, as a caring brother, or simply as a punching bag.

"Sometimes I really wonder what happens to those demigods that stay much closer to the gods... Percy turned out to be a good guy, Ariadne isn't all that bad, but you... I'm glad I was brought to camp and not to your mistress," Lou said, before she left as well.

Zoe was the only one remaining outside, as the last light of the day vanished and only the moon's pale light was visible on the sea. She looked up to the moon, wondering where she had erred. Couldn't the others see why she acted like this? They were careless. Ariadne had never been this careless during her time with the Hunt. It had to be Percy's fault and no matter how heroic he might act, his influence endangers others, especially Ariadne.

"Just where have I erred, mistress. I follow all you have taught me, act as you have advised me... but still. Deianira seems to have influenced Ariadne more in one short meeting, than I have managed in years of training her..." But her prayer remained unanswered. Nothing could be heard but the sea and the sound of the boat's engine.


Percy woke up again, some hours after Amphitrite had left, feeling rested and ready to continue his journey. He jumped out of bed and walked over to a porthole. He longed to see the sea, his home. He could feel that it was where he belonged. The godly part of him belonged to the sea, though his mortal half longed for the land. But his godly heritage was much stronger now, after years being near the gods and being trained by them his connection to them was so much stronger than that of his mortal mother.

He could see the sun rising over the ocean. The early light shimmered on the sea, as the water was unexpectedly calm at the moment.

Some knocked at his door. Before he could react the door opened and revealed the daughter of Aphrodite, carrying a tray with a light breakfast on it.

"I see you're already up and running again. Ariadne and Will will be happy to hear that," Silena said, as she fully entered the room and set the tray down on the small table near the bed. "You should eat your breakfast, though. No reason to start the day on an empty stomach."

"Thank you, Silena," Percy said, as he sat down at the table and started to munch on the food. He couldn't hide how hungry he was. The last day had been taxing and he hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before.

"Say, Percy, I didn't know you had a tattoo... where did you get that?" Silena said after some moments of silence.

Percy looked confused, before he realized two things. One, he was not wearing a shirt at the moment, which did not bother him all that much after growing up with Apollo, who had completely different conception of self-consciousness. And two, the wound from the arrow had completely disappeared, but around the place where the arrow had struck him was a small tattoo now. A red sea serpent, biting its own tail, creating a ring without end around the former wound. He traced the serpent with his fingers, wondering about its meaning. He remembered that Tethys had been a serpent when she approached him. Was this her emblem or something like that?

"Percy?"

"Huh? Ah... yes. This tattoo... something silly I got when Apollo wasn't looking..." He lied quickly. He didn't know why he did it, but for some reason he felt like no one else should know that this was most likely a creation of a Titan. So he quickly decided to change the topic. "You know, Silena, I've never asked why you wanted to come along. Everyone on this ship has a reason, most of them came because I asked them to, except Beckendorf and Zoe. What's your story?"

The daughter of Aphrodite looked uncomfortable all of a sudden. She looked away from him, brushing a hand through her currently dark hair. She did change her hair color whenever she felt like it. So far Percy had seen her as a blonde, brunette and now with raven hair like his own. But he didn't know what to think of her actions, but he knew that his over all understanding of the other gender was somewhat limited. He blamed Apollo for that.

"I... I wanted to get away from the camp. I thought it would be better to be as far away from Camp Half-blood as possible."

"I understand, life at camp is dreadfully boring after some time," Percy said. "But I would have never expected one of you dolls to seek adventure and dangers."

"Dolls?" Silena asked with faux indignation. She glared at him, but he merely laughed.

"Well yes. You daughters of Aphrodite are dolls. You dress up and all that. You rarely join any fights. You rarely participate in any activities like capture the flag and such. So yes, you and your sisters are dolls. And don't glare, I have been on the receiving end of Lady Artemis' glare and let me tell you, you have nothing on her."

"It still is not nice to degrade us this way..." Silena said.

Percy chuckled, "Sure, sure. I'm sorry, really. But you still have not told me why you wanted to come with us on this adventure. There are many ways to escape the camp as long as you are not on some god's shit-list."

"I don't know..." Silena said somewhat reluctantly. "It just sounded like a good chance."

Percy didn't really believe that, but he wouldn't push her. Since they had left the camp, Silena had spent nearly all the time on the boat with Beckendorf. He wouldn't be surprised if there was some deeper connection between those two and it wasn't his right to pry into their personal relationships, no matter what they may be.

"Percy, stop playing dead and come out!" Triton commanded loudly from outside.

Percy groaned slightly, before he complied. "Well, my brother wants something, so we should go." Then he remembered that he was still shirtless. "Ah... you go first, I should get dressed. We don't want people to get the wrong idea when they see us both showing up, while I am barely dressed." He joked lightly, before he started searching for something to wear.

A few minutes later Percy had finally found his brother. Triton stood at bow of the ship, looking at something in the distance. Percy watched the god for some moments, wondering why his brother looked so worried. But then he saw something in the distance...

"How long do you intend to stand there and watch me? I haven't called for you without a reason, Perseus. Come here," Triton said sternly. He did not turn around, so Percy could not see his face until he stood directly next to his brother.

Never before had Percy seen such an expression on his brother's face. Worry, sadness, anger... pain. All visible on his face, in his eyes. Whatever it was, that had Triton in this mood, it couldn't be good. It had to be something ahead of them. The thing he saw in the distance.

"Do you see that, brother?" Triton asked after some more moments. Percy was surprised at first. Triton never called him brother. So why would he start now? Had Lady Amphitrite talked to him and order him to act more brotherly?

Then he looked towards the thing he had seen in the distance. He could see some rocks, no a reef perhaps? There was a whirlpool near it... and a fountain... he didn't understand what it was, it looked absolutely confusing.

"What is that?" He asked, hoping for a clear answer from his brother.

"There are only two ways to enter the Sea of Monsters. The Clashing Rocks in the far south and the straight of Scylla and Charybdis. All other attempts to enter the Sea would lead us into the nothingness of the vast ocean. This is our only chance to get in."

"Scylla and Charybdis..." Percy mumbled. He remembered hearing about these two monsters. One being a monster with many heads, eating the sailors on Odysseus' ship, the other being a giant monster that swallowed a ship whole... Neither was a very appealing option. Being eaten one by one or being eaten all at once... oh how he loved monsters and their varied and creative ways of killing demigods.

"In less than an hour we will arrive at the straight, it will be your next big test. Odysseus nearly lost his life to these two, how will you fare against them?" Triton looked at him, judging his reaction. Percy knew that he would not disappoint his brother by acting cowardly, so he tried to be courageous. He had killed monsters before, so why should those two be different? They are only bigger.

"Is there a way to defeat them? Could we kill these monsters? Everything has a weakness..."

"Absolutely not!" Triton interrupted. He looked angrily at Percy for a moment, before his expression morphed into a disappointed frown. "Killing isn't always the answer. Monster or not, those two are creatures of the sea and we must not harm them unless necessary."

"Okay, okay. Geez..." Percy didn't understand why Triton was so against killing those two. They were just monsters, were they not? Triton had killed sea monsters before. Monsters in the service of Oceanus.

"You will guide your ship through the narrow straight between Scylla and Charybdis. Do not leave your path and you will succeed, stray and you will die."

"Very comforting, thank you. And how are we supposed to find the right path?"

"Use your head. You are a son of the sea, act like one for once. And if you don't feel up to it, ask Artemis' girl, it is obvious that the sea is also strong in her as well." Without another word Triton jumped off the ship and into the sea. Percy remained, confused and worried. Triton's actions were strange. He acted not like the sea god he had gotten to know in the past few months. Something was fishy and he did not mean his brother's tails.


Scylla and Charybdis. Two of the most frightening monsters the sea had to offer. Percy still couldn't believe that they were on their way, directly to those two. One was a giant monster with countless heads, that would try to kill everyone on board one by one. The other was a giant maw, an abyss that would swallow the whole ship in one go. Neither was a very appealing option.

Percy was still confused because of his brother's behavior. Triton was firmly against killing these monsters, not that Percy had any idea how to kill monsters of this size and power anyway. So fighting them was out of questions, but that left him with the problem, that he still had to find a way to get past them without loosing either his ship or some of his friends.

Neither monster was truly visible yet, but their presence could be felt. At least he felt it, as if the sea itself tried to dissuade him, tried to make him turn around and leave. But he had no choice, his destiny awaited him beyond those two, on the Sea of Monsters.

A fountain appeared suddenly, not too far from the boat. Charybdis, spewing out the water it had swallowed before. This made one thing very clear, they were on a direct course into the monster's maw.

"Beckendorf, take the ship to the left!" He yelled and pointed to the side he wanted to go. He knew that no sailor would say left or right, but he was no sailor and neither was Beckendorf. The son of Hephaestus immediately reacted and steered the ship further away from the fountain.

"Are you insane? You are getting us closer to Scylla! That beast will kill us one by one!" Zoe yelled, as she ran towards him. He knew she was partly right, they were getting dangerously close to the nearby cliffs, the place where the beast hid from sight until the moment when there was no escape left for the boat.

"And what would you do? Sail us into the maw of Charybdis?" Percy retorted, a displeased look directed at the girl that now stood next to him at the bow of the ship.

"We are getting too close," Zoe repeated, "More to the right, away from the cliff!" She shouted towards Beckendorf. The boy hesitated and looked at Percy, waiting for his reaction before he acted on this order. When Percy nodded, Beckendorf tried to steer the ship in the other direction again, not that it was all that necessary.

Percy looked at the sea for a moment, tried to do as his brother told you. He could feel the water underneath him, not as strongly as he would do while swimming, but enough to get that dreadful sense of foreboding."The maw is about to open! Stop, Beckendorf, wait until Charybdis has swallowed enough water or it will swallow us."

"The sea is calm, just what are you..." Zoe was about to complain, before she suddenly stopped mid sentence. A whirlpool appeared a short distance away from the ship, near a black coral reef with a solitary fig tree on top. Small at first, the whirlpool grew and grew, until they could see the darkness inside the maw of Charybdis appear. And they saw the teeth surrounding the maw, filled with the dirt and other things that got stuck there over the centuries. They could even see the remains of other ships, ancient wooden ships, half rotten, half preserved inside the monster's mouth.

"That thing needs a toothbrush... badly I would say," Percy said in an attempt to lighten up the mood. But seeing Charybdis, they were staring at their own doom. One wrong movement and they would be swallowed in one piece.

Their boat started drifting towards the gaping black hole in the sea, as Charybdis swallowed unbelievable amounts of sea water. "Beckendorf, full speed towards the left, take us to the cliff!" Percy yelled.

"NO!" Zoe interjected, "Scylla will kill us all!"

"I'd rather take my chances with Scylla, than ending up inside the belly of that thing," Percy said angrily, as he pointed at Charybdis. "We can at least try to fight off Scylla's heads, but we can do absolutely nothing against that maw!"

"Percy, look!" Ariadne said, as she joined the others outside. She pointed at the cliff, which rose into the sky. But now they could see something, a mouth, filled with razor sharp teeth. Then the long neck attached to it. Scylla. Now they were nearly in the reach of this beast with no chance to escape. There was no turning back. Either they got past this monster or they would die trying. The only other choice was the dark maw of Charybdis and they would not stand a chance against that monster.

Everyone on the ship was silent now, only the humming of the boats engine audible, as they watched the cliffs with baited breath. They waited for the inevitable attack. Scylla would attack them, no doubt about it.

And then, without any prior warning the attack came. Monstrous heads, filled with razor sharp teeth, shot out from behind the cliff and descended upon the boat, searching for anything edible. And the heads started thrashing wildly all over the ship, snatching anything that was unfortunate enough to end up between its teeth, before the heads returned to where the monster's body had to be.

So far the demigods had been lucky. So far they had been lucky. The heads had only manage to grab furniture or smaller objects of lesser importance, but that wouldn't last forever. With every attack they got closer to the demigods.

One of the heads shot down next to Ariadne, missing her only by inches. But both the girl and her brother repelled it quickly, by slashing it with their weapons, leaving deep cuts on the beast. But the other heads returned quickly, intent on retaliation for the inflicted pain.

Another head shot down right at Percy's position, just as his back was turned towards the approaching threat. He only heard Ariadne yell something at him, not clearly understanding what she wanted from him in the tumultuous battle. Only in the last moment he could see the beat's maw, the razor sharp teeth threateningly close to him. He could smell death in the beast's breath. Death and rot. He spun around, in a feeble attempt to somehow block the monster's attack, but even he knew that it would be futile. Scylla could easily swallow him in one go, leaving nothing behind.

But before the head could reach him, swallow him, it suddenly went up in flames, before a small explosion knocked it back. Percy, startled by this sudden, though welcome, interruption, looked around, trying to find the person that had saved him. And he quickly found her, not far from him. Lou was there, panting. Without fail she used her mother's gift, the magic that all of Hecate's children had been born with.

But it was quickly tiring the girl out. She wasn't used to using magic in such a situation. It was forbidden to use offensive magic at Camp Half-blood, a decision made by the majority of the camp's inhabitants. Fear of what Hecate's children could do and envy of their possible power fueled the wish to keep them weak and untrained in the magical arts. Percy knew this. It was why he wanted Lou to come along on this Quest. Both her possible strength and the fact that she would never refuse a chance to leave the camp. He knew that she would be much more inclined to stand on his side, than on the side of those, who feared her and her siblings.

"Lou, go to Beckendorf. Get back inside and rest!" Percy yelled at her. He wanted her to leave, so she can find rest without having to fear the monster's attacks. As long as there are still potential enemies outside, Scylla wouldn't try to get those inside.

She looked hesitant for a moment, before she quickly retreated to a nearby entry. Percy was relieved that she agreed without arguing. It meant that he there was one less person he would have to protect here. At least for now. Only Zoe, Apollo's children and he were left outside. Beckendorf was still steering the ship and Silena had not even tried to fight the beast, not that a daughter of Aphrodite would have been much help in any combat. Percy was sure that none of her children would be of any use in such a situation. Their strengths lie elsewhere.

"Zoe! Watch out!" Ariadne yelled. She also tried running towards the huntress, but Will held her back. The son of Apollo knew that Ariadne would only allow Scylla to attack her as well, would she try to run over to where Zoe was about to be attacked.

But Percy was closer to her. He saw how Zoe fired arrow after arrow at the heads, repelling a few of them. But not all of them. One got through her barrage and shot down towards her with a frightening speed. She discarded her bow and readied her hunting knives, unwilling to go down without a fight.

But the monster's strike never came. At least not for Zoe. Someone bumped into her, sending her sprawling on the floor much to her ire. But her anger quickly vanished when she saw Percy disappear inside the maw of Scylla.

"NO!" Zoe could her Ariadne yell, as will was still busy holding her back. But for her it seemed so unreal. Again Percy had saved her, despite how she treated him all the time. Again he had shown that he cares more about the people around him than about his own safety... and now he was gone... for good. She felt so numb as her mind registered this fact. Not long ago he had taken an arrow as he made sure that they could escape... now he's dead. And she couldn't help but feel shocked and sorrowful by this... much like she would feel when one of her sisters in the hunt died...

Ariadne had finally managed to escape her brother's grip, as she raised her bow and shot at Scylla. Fury was etched onto her face, as she shot arrow after arrow, before Will caught up to her, trying to protect her if the head's returned. In her current state it was obvious that she wouldn't be as careful as she had been before.

But something was odd. Scylla had stopped. The monster was still, unmoving. It did not attack, it did not move. All six heads were inactive now, as if the monster was waiting for something. But what could that possibly be? Or was it satisfied? Would it allow them passage, now that it had snatched one of them?


But what the demigods on the boat did not know, was that Percy was not quite as dead as they feared. Instead he sat inside the maw of Scylla's head, trying to keep himself from sliding down the throat, steadying himself with his legs, while he kept the maw from closing. He had rammed his sword into the upper jaw of Scylla, keeping her from closing her mouth completely.

He sighed, as he tried to think of a way to escape. His situation was desperate, never before had he been as close to his own death as this time. His strength was waning and should Scylla even try to swallow him, he knew that there would be little he could do against it now. Suddenly he felt a searing pain from his chest, from the place where the arrow had struck him. The place where Tethys had left her strange mark. And before he knew what was happening, he was blinded by a light.

His vision returned some moments later. But something was different. He was no longer in Scylla's mouth. He was lying on solid ground, the wind above him and the grass beneath him gently caressing his skin. He looked around frantically, trying to understand what had happened.

He felt water. A small pool of crystal clear water was nearby. And a woman. A beautiful woman, with long dark hair, braided with golden threads, appeared. Her eyes were of a piercing green color and Percy would have called them just as beautiful as the rest of her appearance, had it not been for what he could see in those green gems. Malice, hate, envy.

The woman had apparently not seen him yet or she simply decided to ignore him, as she pulled a small flask from her black robe. She poured it's contents into the pool, before she turned around and left quickly.

Percy was confused for a moment. But as he approached the pool and touched the water he recoiled almost immediately. Whatever it was that the woman had poured into the water, it had twisted the clear liquid, turned it into something else entirely.

Another person approached the pool. Another woman. One even more beautiful as the other before. And there was something about her, a feeling that he had when he saw her. She was no mortal, that much was sure.

Percy almost turned a scarlet color as she suddenly discarded her clothing, preparing herself to bath in the pool. Percy yelled at her, tried to stop her from entering the twisted water. But just like the other woman before, this one acted as if he wasn't there.

"It is futile. You cannot interfere here." The voice of his mentor told him. But this time it did not happen in his mind. No, as he turned around he saw her, for the first time. She stood behind him. But he couldn't see much of her. Most of her body was obscured by her white robe and the hood that hid the majority of her face. But he could see her lips, the sad frown that apparently marred her face. And the way she carried herself showed nothing but grace and dignity.

"Why?" Percy asked. "Why bring me here?"

A scream interrupted his tirade and he quickly spun around again. The beautiful woman had entered the water, but the twisted liquid did it's work almost immediately. It twisted and mutated the beautiful woman and turned into a hideous monster. All the while she screamed in agony and misery. Percy just couldn't stand watching her anymore, so he returned his gaze towards his mentor, who still looked impassively at the scene before them.

"Why have you brought me here? Why show me this, if there is nothing I can do to prevent it? Is this some kind of twisted joke? A miserable way to teach me some lesson?" He knew that the gods had a very strange way to teach their mortal children a lesson, but this... this was just cruel.

"This is indeed a lesson. But I have not brought you here. Tethys did this, to show you a truth that you wouldn't understand otherwise. She doesn't understand that you are too young for seeing such atrocities, but she is right about teaching you this lesson now, before you make a mistake that will destroy lives." His mentor said almost sadly, as she looked upon the now changed form of the woman. "Look, Perseus, and tell me what you see."

Percy was reluctant to turn around again. Though the screams had stopped, he still dreaded what he would see. But he turned around and what he saw left him speechless. Gone was the woman. Gone was her beautiful brown hair, that had shimmered golden in the sunlight. Gone were her sea-green eyes, replaced by the crazed black orbs of a monster. Gone were her gentle curves and all that was left was a giant, twisted monster. All that was left was...

"Scylla!" Percy said almost hoarsely. There before him was the very monster who had tried to eat him only moments ago. Or maybe he was still inside her jaw and this was just a vision. He couldn't really tell for sure. But he had just seen how a beautiful woman had been turned into a monster. And all because of the envy and hatred of another woman.

"Not all monsters have been born as such. Not all who attack you are your enemies by choice. Learn this lesson well, Perseus. Scylla was once a nymph of unrivaled beauty. But her fate was cruel and left her mind broken and her body as that of a monster. Had you met her before her transformation, you would have encountered a sweet and gentle soul. There are many others like her out there. One sitting right on the other side of your boat at the moment."

"Charybdis? Was she... did someone turn her into a monster, too?" Percy asked in surprise. Was this why Triton was so opposed to the idea of killing these monsters?

"Yes, but her fate is not for me to tell." His mentor said sagely. "But our time here draws to an end. Do not forget what you learned here. Never judge without knowing. Never hate without questioning. We live in a cruel world and not many are as fortunate as you. You are given a choice. Many others never had one." And with these parting words his mentor faded away before his very eyes.

The entire world around him seemed to fade away as well. He turned around one last time, seeing Scylla lying there, looking so miserable. Not at all like the fearsome monster he had seen her as before. All he felt now was pity. Especially when he heard her last croaked words. Though Scylla could not have meant to address him, he still felt like she was speaking to him.

"Help... me." Two words that changed his entire view of the monsters he had hunted for as long as he could remember. Soon thereafter all he saw was blinding white light, before he could feel that he was once more inside Scylla's mouth. But she was no longer trying to crush or swallow him. Carefully he removed his sword from the monster's upper jaw, before a squall of water erupted from Scylla's throat, shooting him out like bullet, sending him deep into the Sea of Monsters. His friends on the boat could only watch as he disappeared on the horizon.


A/N: Well, I hope the new stuff did not disappoint. At first I had planned the scenes with Scylla and Charybdis to appear in chapter 8, but I changed my mind and added them here, to give you one big chapter instead of two small ones.

For this I have also added the small background story for Scylla, to show how she has become the terrifying monster she is at this time. Scylla's family is not known for sure, some sources say that she is a daughter of Phorcys and Keto, other sources claim that she was a daughter of Triton and Lamia. Since there were no mentions of her parentage in the PCO books as far as I remember, I will go with the latter option and treat her as one of Triton's daughters, giving her a connection to both Percy, Triton and Charybdis.

And before people start complaining about Percy getting hurt all the time while he tries to protect others, just look at the books, it is a surprise he never got killed while he protected his family and friends. He is just a person who would rather die than see any of his friends get hurt or worse killed.

And some people think that they have figured out the identity of Percy's mysterious mentor. So if you think that you know who messes with Percy's fate, just PM me instead of writing it in Reviews. Just don't spoil it for others. Just one thing, it isn't Tethys. She is just another Titan that likes to mess with Percy.

Okay, one more thing and I'm sure that most of you won't like this. But I won't be able to update until late October. I will be spending time in a training camp for the next five weeks, so I won't be able to spend much time on writing. Don't worry, once I'm back I will continue this story with all new chapters.

Okay, until next time then...