Welcome to the Sea of Monsters
Chapter 10
Thanks zerhour20xx for an idea. Ok. Just so you all know, i am NOT going to be doing the second series. I will do this whole series...with naruto's quest and that is it. So that means all five books.
Naruto smiled weakly as his 'sister' before wincing. Some of those damn snakes had actually got him, but thanks to his abnormal healing thanks to the Kyuubi that used to be in him, the poison was fading, but he was still exhausted.
"So Eris, any reason you decided to show up….and as yourself from the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy."
Eris smiled before she put a hand on the blond demi-deity's shoulder, making him glow for a minute. "Simple, you give you the gift our brothers and sisters were to give you. Mom thought it best that I come and see you. Besides, I had to get away from Hermes and his mail service. Jeez! I said I would help the guy out, but run the place!"
Clarisse sweat dropped before she said, "I have seen that show and don't act like the Eris on that show."
Eris' eye twitched at that. "Of course not! Saying the word 'like' every few words would get annoying for anyone. Besides, I am not that annoying…or crazy. And that Hoss Delgado is weird and annoying!"
"I agree. You are a lot cooler this way." Naruto said as he noticed that he was only half as tired as he was before.
"Glad you think so." Eris said with a smile. "Oh, and you might want to turn around."
"Huh?" Naruto said as he did that literally.
"No! I meant the boat. Head to the swamps of Virginia and you will find Percy, Annabeth, and Grover there."
"What, no way!" Clarisse growled.
Naruto sighed, "Oh come on Clarisse. The prophecy did say that you would fail without the help of friends."
"But I got you to help me."
"Heh, true, but I can only do so much. Annabeth does have brains and she will be some help, Tyson has the strength we need, and Percy can fight. So please…for me?" Naruto asked with a smile.
Clarisse sighed. "Alright fine, but you owe me."
Eris smiled at the exchange. "Oh and Apollo did mention something." She said catching their attention again. "He told me that they will be in a fight with a Hydra, so you might want to hurry."
"Heh, thanks for the warning sis." Naruto said with a smile as he made clones to help push the ship around faster.
"Oh it is no problem. And remember." She started while taking out her golden apple. "A golden apple a day keeps you in traction for the next few months!" She then disappeared, cackling the whole time.
"She scares me sometimes." Naruto said with a sigh.
"Of course she would scare you. She is the Goddess of Chaos!" Clarisse said.
"Nah, she is not that." Naruto said, waving her off. "She is the Goddess of Strife and Discord. Chaos was the primordial God of Chaos."
Clarisse just stared at her crush for a moment and before walking off, saying, "Whatever."
XXX
"Do what you want because you are a pirate." Naruto sang to himself as the boat chugged away down the swampy river. He could not figure out why Percy would be here…or why a Hydra would want to be in this region anyway. Oh well, whatever.
He was still tired from his battle with Orochimaru, but he was good to fight some monster that grew more heads every time you cut one off. He sat on the edge of the boat, looking out for his friends. Clarisse walked up from behind him in full Greek battle armor and a cannon ready for anything.
"Well, you seem to be ready for anything." Naruto commented.
It is a Hyrda after all. We are not all super ninjas like you." Clarisse countered with a smirk.
"True. You guys are not as awesome as me, but I guess it helps to be prepared." Naruto said with a smile as he made his ANBU armor appear. He then looked tp the ready cannon and said, "You must really want to get this over with."
"I do and it helps that the Hydra is very weak to fire." Clarisse explained, making the blond blink.
"Wow, that thing does not stand a chance." Naruto said with a big smile, with the girl smiling as well because it is contagious.
"Got that right." Clarisse said with a smile of her own.
Soon, they came upon an interesting battle. Naruto had a dead panned look on his face and said, "O…k. A monster wearing a large bib….yeah that is not weird at all." Naruto's sarcastic voice rang out along with the boat's chug chug chugging that Percy and the other seemed to hear from their spot as they fought the Hydra.
"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra, but once she heard Naruto's voice, she smiled a bit and said, "Oh."
"Steam engine and Naruto!" Tyson said.
"What?" Percy ducked as the Hydra spat acid over his head.
"Ok." Clarisse said before she rounded on the dead confederate soldier behind her before pointing to the Hydra. "There! Prepare the thirty two-pounder!"
None of the heroes fighting the Hydra dared to look back, but they had an idea of who was behind them. And they thought it was an enemy. Well….if it was Clarisse, then they might have an enemy, but Naruto was with her, so they were good.
"They're too close, m'lady!" the gravelly voice of the dead man replied.
"Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"
"Aye, m'lady."
"Fire at will, Captain!"
"Oooh. This should be fun. FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Naruto shouted as the cannon fired in the Hydra's general direction.
Annabeth understood what was happening a split second before any of her friends did. She yelled, "Hit the dirt!" They all dove to the ground just as the Hydra was hit by the cannon ball, making the Hydra go up in flame as it exploded around them. The Hydra exploded right in front of them, showering them with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.
"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.
"Steamship!" yelled Tyson.
The Cyclopes was right, Naruto and Clarisse pulled up near them in their ironclad steam ship. Naruto smirked at their bewildered looks. "So, how was the escape of the camp?" Naruto asked with a smirk.
"How?" Percy asked.
"Heh, I sent a shadow clone to trail you and I called for Annabeth and Tyson to come and find you just after Hermes left." Naruto explained.
"Oh, so that was you!" Annabeth said with realization.
"So you set all this up?" Clarisse asked.
"Um…yes?" Naruto asked with a smile.
"Figures." Clarisse replied before she looked at the Demi-Gods and their Cyclopes friend on the ground. "Well, losers. I suppose I should rescue you, climb aboard."
With, Naruto helped them aboard before gave them a tour of the steam ship.
XXX
"You are in so much trouble," Clarisse said.
They had just finished a ship tour that the trio didn't want, through dark rooms overcrowded with dead sailors. They saw the coal bunker, the boilers and engine, which huffed and groaned like it would explode any minute. They saw the pilothouse and the powder magazine and gunnery deck (Clarisse's favorite) with two Dahlgren smoothbore cannons on the port and starboard sides and a Brooke nine-inch rifled gun fore and aft—all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannon balls.
Everywhere they went, dead Confederate sailors stared at them, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia. They were interested in Percy, too, because his last name was Jackson—like the Southern general—but then he went and blew by tell them he was from New York and they groaned, muttering about Yankees.
Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Annabeth hold his hand, which she didn't look too thrilled about.
Finally, they were escorted to dinner. The CSS Birmingham captain's quarters were about the size of a walk-in closet, but still much bigger than any other room on board. The table was set with white linen and china. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and Dr. Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen. Percy didn't want to eat anything served by ghosts, but his hunger overruled his fear.
"Tantalus expelled you for eternity," Clarisse told them smugly. "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."
"Let me guess, the food freak told you that while I was saying goodbye to Thalia." Naruto said.
"Yep." Clarisse replied and Naruto just grunted. He really hated that guy, but what can you do.
"Did they give you guy this ship?" Percy asked.
"'Course not. My father did."
"Ares?" Percy asked.
Clarisse sneered. "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"
The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed at Percy with a hungry stare. "If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."
Clarisse smiled. "Destroy anyone. I like that."
Tyson gulped and Naruto looked on bored. "That could have been useful information earlier today…though I doubt they would have stood a chance against the snake."
"Clarisse," Annabeth said after she looked at her follow blond questionably, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters—"
"Good! I'll blow him out of the water." Clarisse cheered while Naruto eye smiled, but even he knew this boat stood no chance.
"You don't understand," Annabeth said. We have to combine forces. Let us help you—"
"No!" Clarisse pounded the table. "This is my quest, smart girl! Finally I get to be the hero, and you two will not steal my chance."
"Where are your cabin mates?" Percy asked. "You were allowed to take two friends with you, weren't you?"
"They didn't ... I let them stay behind. To protect the camp. Besides, all the help that I really need was Naruto's."
"Clarisse," Percy said, "Even with Naruto, Tantalus is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."
"No! I don't care what the Oracle—" She stopped herself.
"What?" I said. "What did the Oracle tell you?"
"Nothing." Clarisse's ears turned pink. "All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go ..."
"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.
"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr. Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."
"Really Clarisse?" Naruto said once they left the room. "You may have me to help you, but like I said before. I can't do it all and neither can you. It pays to have friends helping you out."
"Urgh! I know, but they irritate me to no end!" Clarisse raged. "Thinking they are all big and bad and crap like that."
"Whatever you saw Clarisse." Naruto said with a sigh. "But please think about my words…ok?"
"Fine." Clarisse replied as she pouted in her seat as Naruto left to go catch up with his rag tag friends.
XXX
"I don't know how you put up with her." Percy stated as he laid in his hammock, the other agreeing with him.
"Don't like mean girl." Tyson said.
Naruto laughed, "Oh, you get used to her after a while. Besides, she is not that bad." He paused and said, "I still can't believe you met Luke on the sea…that he has the remains of Gramps 'o' bits. And I don't think Thalia would agree with him. She may not like her dad that much, but I doubt she would go as far to try and kill him and the other gods."
"I said the same thing." Annabeth said smugly, making Percy roll his eyes. Changing the subject, the blond girl noticed a new charm on her follow blond arm band. "So…what is with the new charm? Is it connected to why your clothes kind of looks like crap?"
"Heh, basically." Naruto said as he made his new sword, Kusanagi. "Got this off old snake face."
Percy gave Naruto a disbelieving look while Tyson and Annabeth were confused. "What?" they asked together.
"Orochimaru. Apparently he is the lost and last son of Echidna." Naruto said, "I didn't see her this time, but I bet she is really pissed off at me."
"How did you beat a Sannin from your world?" Percy freaked.
"What? You think I have been slacking off?" Naruto joked. "Look, I know I should not have been able to beat him, but I guess the transition from my world to this world and becoming a true monster made him a little weak. Still it was an Epic battle."
"Geez, I guess so." Percy laughed. "So now you have 4 swords."
"Yep, almost like the game." Naruto smiled, making Percy laugh, while Annabeth rolled her eyes. "And after that, I met another family member. Eris."
"Whoa! That is awesome….I think." Percy replied.
"Oh it was. She helped me be not as tired as I was." Naruto stated. "And she dressed as herself from the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy."
"Tell she was not annoying as she is in the series." Percy asked.
"Nope."
"Good."
"So…how are you holding up, Annabeth. Getting used to the blade of Athen yet?"
"I am doing better thank you." Annabeth said with a smile. "And yes, I getting used to it."
"That's good." Naruto said with a smile, while Percy just rose an eyebrow.
They must be talking about that weird, but badass short sword that she got. Percy thought as Naruto and Annabeth talked.
XXX
The dream came as soon as the duo fell asleep.
Grover was sitting at his loom, desperately unraveling his wedding train, when the boulder door rolled aside and the Cyclops bellowed, "Aha!"
Grover yelped. "Dear! I didn't—you were so quiet!"
"Unraveling!" Polyphemus roared. "So that's the problem!"
"Oh, no. I—I wasn't—"
"Come!" Polyphemus grabbed Grover around the waist and half carried, half dragged him through the tunnels of the cave. Grover struggled to keep his high heels on his hooves. His veil kept tilting on his head, threatening to come off.
The Cyclops pulled him into a warehouse-size cavern decorated with sheep junk. There was a wool-covered La-Z-Boy recliner and a wool-covered television set, crude bookshelves loaded with sheep collectibles—coffee mugs shaped like sheep faces, plaster figurines of sheep, sheep board games, and picture books and action figures. The floor was littered with piles of sheep bones, and other bones that didn't look exactly like sheep—the bones of satyrs who'd come to the island looking for Pan.
Polyphemus set Grover down only long enough to move another huge boulder. Daylight streamed into the cave, and Grover whimpered with longing. Fresh air!
The Cyclops dragged him outside to a hilltop overlooking the most beautiful island Naruto and Percy had ever seen.
It was shaped kind of like a saddle cut in half by an ax. There were lush green hills on either side and a wide valley in the middle, split by a deep chasm that was spanned by a rope bridge. Beautiful streams rolled to the edge of the canyon and dropped off in rainbow-colored waterfalls. Parrots fluttered in the trees. Pink and purple flowers bloomed on the bushes. Hundreds of sheep grazed in the meadows, their wool glinting strangely like copper and silver coins.
And at the center of the island, right next to the rope bridge, was an enormous twisted oak tree with something glittering in its lowest bough.
The Golden Fleece.
Even in a dream, they could feel its power radiating across the island, making the grass greener, the flowers more beautiful. They could almost smell the nature magic at work. They could only imagine how powerful the scent would be for a satyr.
So, that's what we are after. Seems powerful. Naruto thought.
Grover whimpered.
"Yes," Polyphemus said proudly. "See over there? Fleece is the prize of my collection! Stole it from heroes long ago, and ever since—free food! Satyrs come from all over the world, like moths to flame. Satyrs good eating! And now—"
Polyphemus scooped up a wicked set of bronze shears.
Grover yelped, but Polyphemus just picked up the nearest sheep like it was a stuffed animal and shaved off its wool. He handed a fluffy mass of it to Grover.
"Put that on the spinning wheel!" he said proudly. "Magic. Cannot be unraveled."
"Oh ... well ..."
"Poor Honeypie!" Polyphemus grinned. "Bad weaver. Ha-ha! Not to worry. That thread will solve problem. Finish wedding train by tomorrow!"
"Isn't that ... thoughtful of you!"
"Hehe."
"But—but, dear," Grover gulped, "what if someone were to rescue—I mean attack this island?" Grover looked straight at the two watching through the dream, and the two knew he was asking for their benefit. "What would keep them from marching right up here to your cave?"
"Wifey scared! So cute! Not to worry. Polyphemus has state-of-the-art security system. Have to get through my pets."
"Pets?"
Grover looked across the island, but there was nothing to see except sheep grazing peacefully in the meadows.
"And then," Polyphemus growled, "they would have to get through me!"
He pounded his fist against the nearest rock, which cracked and split in half. "Now, come!" he shouted. "Back to the cave."
Grover looked about ready to cry—so close to freedom, but so hopelessly far. Tears welled in his eyes as the boulder door rolled shut, sealing him once again in the stinky torch-lit dankness of the Cyclops's cave.
Don't worry Grover. We are coming for you... Naruto thought and Grover seemed to be happy with that until Naruto finished the sentence and anyone could tell he was giving the blond a dirty look. HoneyPie….HA!
XXX
Percy woke to alarm bells ringing throughout the ship.
The captain's gravelly voice: "All hands on deck! Find Lady Clarisse! Where is that girl?"
Then his ghostly face appeared above me. "Get up, Yankee and wake up your ninja friend for me. Your other friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance."
"The entrance to what?"
He gave the son of Poseidon a skeletal smile. "The Sea of Monsters, of course."
XXX
Naruto watched as Percy stuffed the few belongings that had survived the Hydra into a sailor's canvas knapsack and slung it over his shoulder. The water boy had a sneaking suspicion that one way or another he would not be spending another night aboard the CSS Birmingham.
"Ready mate?" Naruto asked like a sailor.
Percy chuckled before they made their way up the stairs. However, Percy froze midway because he felt like he wanted to punch someone and the only time he actually felt like that was when he was in the presence of Ares.
Of course, Naruto felt it too, but like usual, he was not affected by it. They nodded to each other and crept over to the side of the railing. Looking down at the boiler room through the ventilation, they saw Clarisse talking to the God of War through the steam. Naruto saw Percy clench his fists in anger, the blond put a hand on his shoulder to calm the boy down.
"I don't want excuses, little girl!" Ares growled.
"Y-yes, father," Clarisse mumbled.
"You don't want to see me mad, do you?"
"No, father."
"No, father," Ares mimicked. "You're pathetic. I should've let one of my sons take this quest. A least you have Corpse Breath's kid with you. Now he can fight!"
Percy felt the hand on his shoulder tighten a bit and he looked to see that Naruto had a scowl on his face.
Naruto knew that Clarisse was a bit afraid of her father, but the guy did not have to be an ass about it!
"I'll succeed!" Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. "I'll make you proud."
"You'd better," he warned. "You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let that slimeball Jackson kid steal it from you—"
"But the Oracle said—"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!" Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered. "You will succeed. And if you don't ..."
He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched.
"Do we understand each other?" Ares growled.
The bell rang again, startling Naruto and Percy and they nodded to each before they left to go see Tyson and Percy on the up deck. Naruto, though, wanted to a nice 'chat' with Ares later. He did not care if he was a God or Clarisse's dad, no one threatened his friends!
XXX
"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked the two when they got up there. "Another dream?"
"Yup." Naruto replied while Percy nodded. Then Clarisse came up and Naruto could tell she was a little shaken up, so he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, only to see him smile knowingly and that made her smile somewhat. She knew he was overprotective of his friends, but she worried more for him than her father.
She then grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the horizon. "At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"
"And now the fun begins!" Naruto shouted out excitedly.
Percy and Annabeth looked at their friend like he was nuts while Tyson just looked confused. Percy looked ahead but could not see much other than a couple of dark fuzzy splotches in the distance. His nautical senses told him they were somewhere off the coast of northern Florida, so they had come a long way overnight, farther than any mortal ship should've been able to travel.
The engine groaned as they increased speed.
Tyson muttered nervously, "Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water."
Percy looked nervous at that even though he did not know what it meant while Naruto groaned and he smacked his face. "Not to be rude, but couldn't have given us something for recent and that could handle deep sea travel?"
Clarisse didn't answer, too afraid of her father to do that.
After a few more minutes, the dark splotches ahead came into focus. To the north, a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea—an island with cliffs at least a hundred feet tall. About half a mile south of that, the other patch of darkness was a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.
"Hurricane?" Annabeth asked.
"No," Clarisse said. "Charybdis."
Annabeth paled. "Are you crazy?"
"Oh this should be fun." Naruto dead panned as he took out Kusanagi for just in case.
"Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla." Clarisse pointed to the top of the cliffs, making Percy gulp.
"What do you mean the only way?" Percy asked. "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."
Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them."
"What about the Clashing Rocks?" Annabeth said. "That's another gateway. Jason used it."
"I can't blow apart rocks with my cannons," Clarisse said. "Monsters, on the other hand ..."
"You are crazy," Annabeth decided.
"But fun to be around." Naruto chimed in, making Annabeth look at him like he was nuts…again, while Clarisse smiled.
"Watch and learn, Wise Girl." Clarisse turned to the captain. "Set course for Charybdis!"
"Aye, m'lady."
The engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed.
"Clarisse," Percy said, "Charybdis sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"
"And spits it back out again, yeah."
"What about Scylla?" he asked nervously.
"She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship." Naruto said for her. "Either way is not ideal, but not much we can do at the moment. I still say something from World War 2 would have been a lot more useful than something from the Civil War." He paused and looked the captain. "No offense to you guys or anything."
"None taken." The captain replied.
"Choose Scylla then," Percy said after he thought about it. "Everybody goes below deck and we chug right past."
"No!" Clarisse insisted. "If Scylla doesn't get her easy meat, she might pick up the whole ship. Besides, she's too high to make a good target. My cannons can't shoot straight up and I am not sure if Naruto has any jutsu that could hurt her way up there. Charybdis just sits there at the center of her whirlwind. We're going to steam straight toward her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus!"
For a moment, Percy believed her because she said it with such emotion. Naruto just smirked. He knew he did not have many long range jutsu, just destructive and in-your-face jutsu.
The engine hummed. The boilers were heating up so much they could feel the deck getting warm beneath their feet and it gave Naruto a bad feeling. The smokestacks billowed. The red Ares flag whipped in the wind.
As they got closer to the monsters, the sound of Charybdis got louder and louder—a horrible wet roar like the galaxy's biggest toilet being flushed. Every time Charybdis inhaled, the ship shuddered and lurched forward. Every time she exhaled, the ship rose in the water and was buffeted by ten-foot waves.
"Ugh, I think I am getting sea sick." Naruto said with a green face.
"NOW!" they all asked in disbelief.
Shaking his head, Percy tried to time the whirlpool. As near as he could figure, it took Charybdis about three minutes to suck up and destroy everything within a half-mile radius. To avoid her, they would have to skirt right next to Scylla's cliffs. And as bad as Scylla might be, those cliffs were looking awfully good to the water boy.
Undead sailors calmly went about their business on the spar deck. Percy guessed they'd fought a losing cause before, so this didn't bother them. Or maybe they didn't care about getting destroyed because they were already deceased. Neither thought make him feel any better.
Percy felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder again. "Don't worry so much. We'll be fine, I got you're back."
"This coming from the guy who gets sea sick by rough water." Percy said nervously.
"Meh, details." The blond said nonchalantly.
Annabeth stood next to the two, gripping the rail. "You still have your thermos full of wind?" She asked Percy, which made Naruto raise an eyebrow.
Percy nodded. "But it's too dangerous to use with a whirlpool like that. More wind might just make things worse."
"Wind? Damn, if your thermos full of…wind won't work, I doubt my Great Breakthrough jutsu would not work either.
"No, it wouldn't." Annabeth said with a frown as she thought about something before her eyes lit up. "Percy, what about water? You're Poseidon's son. You've done it before."
She was right about that, so Percy closed his eyes and tried to concentrate in calming the sea, but it wasn't working. Charybdis was too loud and powerful. The waves wouldn't respond to his commands. "I…I can't."
"We need a backup plan," Annabeth said. "This isn't going to work." She then looked to Naruto who paled.
"Don't look at me! I don't have any water jutsu that would be useful in this area!" Naruto explained.
"Annabeth is right," Tyson said. "Engine's no good."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Pressure. Pistons need fixing."
Before he could explain, the cosmic toilet flushed with a mighty roaaar! The ship lurched forward and they were thrown to the deck. They were in the whirlpool.
"Full reverse!" Clarisse screamed above the noise. The sea churned around them, waves crashing over the deck. The iron plating was now so hot it steamed. "Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!" Naruto made his way over to her, blade at the ready for just in case.
Dead Confederates rushed back and forth. The propeller grinded into reverse, trying to slow the ship, but they kept sliding toward the center of the vortex.
A zombie sailor burst out of the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking. His beard was on fire. "Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"
"Well, get down there and fix it!"
"Can't!" the sailor yelled. "We're vaporizing in the heat."
Naruto cursed while Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. "All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range!"
"We're going in too fast," the captain said grimly. "Prepare yourself for death."
"Hell no." Naruto growled.
"No!" Tyson bellowed. "I can fix it."
Clarisse looked at him incredulously. "You?"
"He's a Cyclops," Annabeth said. "He's immune to fire. And he knows mechanics."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Naruto said thoughtfully.
"Go!" yelled Clarisse.
"Tyson, no!" Percy grabbed his arm. "It's too dangerous!"
He patted the shorter boy's hand. "Only way, brother." His expression was determined—confident, even. Percy had never seen him look like this before. "I will fix it. Be right back."
As Percy watched him follow the smoldering sailor down the hatch, he had a terrible gut feeling until he felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder. "I am worried too, just trust him ok?" Percy nodded hesitantly. Then they both paled, because they saw Charybdis. "HOLY CRAP! TYSON! HURRY UP!" Naruto freaked.
Charybdis appeared only a few hundred yards away, through a swirl of mist and smoke and water. The first thing they noticed was the reef—a black crag of coral with a fig tree clinging to the top, an oddly peaceful thing in the middle of a maelstrom. All around it, water curved into a funnel, like light around a black hole. Then they saw the horrible thing anchored to the reef just below the waterline—an enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth the size of rowboats. And worse, the teeth had braces, bands of corroded scummy metal with pieces of fish and driftwood and floating garbage stuck between them.
Charybdis was an orthodontist's nightmare. She was nothing but a huge black maw with bad teeth alignment and a serious overbite, and she'd done nothing for centuries but eat without brushing after meals. The entire sea around her was sucked into the void— sharks, schools of fish, a giant squid. It took them a moment until they realized that they would be next.
"Lady Clarisse," the captain shouted. "Starboard and forward guns are in range!"
"Fire!" Clarisse ordered.
Three rounds were blasted into the monster's maw. One blew off the edge of an incisor. Another disappeared into her gullet. The third hit one of Charybdis's retaining bands and shot back at us, snapping the Ares flag off its pole.
"Again!" Clarisse ordered as the gunners reloaded. Naruto growled as he noticed that it was getting hopeless. Cannon balls could only do so much against something this big, maybe jutsu, maybe not. Either way, they were being sucked in too quickly.
"Hellfire Style: Burning Dragon!" Naruto breathed in and then blew out the black burning dragon at the water beast. The black dragon vaporized a good amount of the water in its mouth and scorched some of it mouth as well. It roared out in pain.
"I think you made it mad!" Annabeth shouted in panic.
"It was worth a try!" Naruto shouted out nervously.
Then the vibrations in the deck changed. The hum of the engine got stronger and steadier. The ship shuddered and they started pulling away from the mouth.
"Tyson did it!" Annabeth said.
"Oh thank the gods for that." Naruto sighed in relief.
"Wait!" Clarisse said. "We need to stay close!"
"We'll die!" Percy said. "We have to move away."
Percy gripped the rail as the ship fought against the suction. The broken Ares flag raced past them and lodged in Charybdis's braces. They weren't making much progress, but at least they were holding our own. Tyson had somehow given them just enough juice to keep the ship from being sucked in.
Suddenly, the mouth snapped shut. The sea died to absolute calm. Water washed over Charybdis.
Then, just as quickly as it had closed, the mouth exploded open, spitting out a wall of water, ejecting everything inedible, including the cannonballs, one of which slammed into the side of the CSS Birmingham with a ding like the bell on a carnival game.
Then they were thrown backward on a wave that must've been forty feet high. Percy used all of his willpower to keep the ship from capsizing, but they were still spinning out of control, hurtling toward the cliffs on the opposite side of the strait.
"Ugh….and I thought before was bad." Naruto said sickly with swirly eyes.
Another smoldering sailor burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, almost knocking them both over-board, Naruto caught them just in time. "The engine is about to blow!"
"Where's Tyson?" Percy demanded.
"Still down there," the sailor said. "Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer."
The captain said, "We have to abandon ship."
"No!" Clarisse yelled as Naruto put a hand on her tightly, having one of his gut feelings. Something bad always happened when he had those.
"We have no choice, m'lady. The hull is already crack-ing apart! She can't—"
He never finished his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched up the captain, and lifted him away. All that was left were his leather boots.
"Crap! Where too close to Scylla!" Naruto growled as he himself dodged another column of flesh from the beast, only to catch a freaked out zombie man who yelled its name.
Percy tried to swipe at one, but missed. "Everyone get below!" he yelled after missing, not wanting to get caught.
"I don't know if you have forgotten, but below is all in flames!" Naruto shouted.
"Lifeboats!" Annabeth said. "Quick!"
"They'll never get clear of the cliffs," Clarisse said. "We'll all be eaten."
"We have to try. Percy, the thermos." Annabeth ordered
"I can't leave Tyson!"
"We have to get the boats ready!" Annabeth shouted.
Clarisse and Naruto nodded to each other as they took Annabeth's orders. This tub was a lost cause anyway, time to abandon ship! They, along with the undead soldiers uncovered one of the two emergency rowboats while Scylla's heads rained from the sky like a meteor shower with teeth, picking off Confederate sailors one after another.
"Get the other boat." Percy threw Annabeth the thermos. "I'll get Tyson."
"You can't!" she said. "The heat will kill you!"
Percy didn't listen. Naruto scowled when he heard Annabeth call out to her friend, but his eyes widened when he saw Percy being snatched up by his knapsack by Scylla. "Percy!" Thankfully, Percy used quick thinking and stabbed at the monster's eye, making it drop him.
KAROOM!
The engine room blew, sending chunks of ironclad flying in either direction like a fiery set of wings.
"Tyson!" Percy screamed out and Naruto cursed.
The lifeboats had managed to get away from the ship, but not very far. Flaming wreckage was raining down. Clarisse, Naruto, and Annabeth was either going to be smashed or burned or pulled to the bottom by the force of the sinking hull, and that was thinking optimistically, assuming they got away from Scylla. Thankfully, Naruto used his new sword to slice away any wreckage that came near them.
However, he froze when he heard another explosion. Only this one wasn't normal. It was like wind violently escaping a tightly encompassed space and he had a feeling that it was that theros Percy and Annabeth kept talking about.
It split up the group, sending Percy flying away from them like a rocket and into the sea nearby, Annabeth in the same direction. Naruto and Clarisse were violently buffeted by the wave of air and water. The two held on tight to each other as the madness continued and pushed them farther into the Sea of Monsters.
XXX
Well, that was rather long. Hope I made this believable. Next chapter I am going to have them do some things that Jason and the Argonauts did. And since I am not going to do the second series, you will get to see a character from the second series. Take a guess.
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