"IT'S SCYLLA!" Clarisse yelled. Everyone scrambled into position to try to defend themselves from the multi-headed monster. Percy, however, stood in the same spot. He began concentrating on his powers over time, and he imagined his powers manifesting themselves around the entire ship. Everyone inside the barrier of sorts would still move at normal time, but those who entered from the outside would slow down to one-one hundredths of normal time. Instantly, he felt the strain that it was putting on his body. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. Especially since the strain from using his powers was doubled with the strain from the Curse of Achilles.
"Cyrus. When that monster shows her head, pull her whole body on the ship. Then stab and kill her." Percy told Cyrus through clenched teeth.
"Got it." Cyrus told Percy in understanding. The next minute, one of Scylla's heads flew down to eat another person. Both the ghost pirates and the others were shocked when Scylla's head slowed down considerably.
"GO!" Percy yelled to his brother. Before Cyrus even moved, Clarisse ran towards Scylla's head and grabbed it. She was disgusted with grabbing the monster's head, but she was even more disgusted at the fact she did so without wearing any gloves.
"Oh I can't wait until you're dead." Clarisse told the head. Scylla's eyes looked at Clarisse in confusion before Clarisse yanked Scylla's body onto the ship with a simple tug of Scylla's head. The monster squealed loudly as her body was brought from its hiding place. Cyrus infused his lance with Chaos' essence and threw it at the monster's body with precision, but before it had the chance to impale the beast, Scylla's mouth stopped the weapon in normal time. Cyrus's eyes widened in surprise then turned to see his brother had passed out from using the power he was using.
"PERCY!" Cyrus yelled.
"NOT RIGHT NOW CYRUS! WE HAVE A MONSTER TO KILL!" Annabeth yelled at Cyrus. Cyrus looked around for Annabeth, but couldn't find her anywhere onboard. He then remembered that she had a special hat that could turn her invisible in the matter of seconds. He looked over to Percy one more time and saw that his pen was floating in midair.
"Smart girl." Cyrus thought to himself. Annabeth never seemed to stop him. Cyrus shook that thought from his head, since that was his brother's girlfriend that he was thinking. His attention was brought back to the battle at hand, when Clarisse tackled him and at the same time saved his life from Scylla.
"Get your head in the battle, rookie." Clarisse told Cyrus sternly. Cyrus simply nodded and stood up, looking at Scylla's body. In all honesty, he was struggling to keep his lunch down at the moment. Scylla was that ugly and having that reflected 6 separate times wasn't really helping.
Lightning began to crackle all around them, as Cyrus began focusing on that specific attack to use as a distraction for Annabeth. He was going to most likely use most of his energy in this one attack, because he was going to go out with a bang with this attack. He charged it up for a few seconds later, then made a huge lightning bolt go after Scylla. This distracted a few of her heads, but the other ones were watching Cyrus and Clarisse carefully. One of the heads went towards Clarisse, but stopped when a Chaos-infused black sword showed itself in the place Scylla just got stabbed. Annabeth took off her head and looked down at the crumbling body of Scylla and removed the sword from her stomach. She ran over to Percy's unconscious body and began to shake his shoulders furiously, after flipping him off of his stomach.
"Percy? PERCY?!" Annabeth yelled at her boyfriend in worry.
"Poseidon….my...father." Percy muttered quietly in his state of unconsciousness. Annabeth heard her boyfriend loud and clear, but the others didn't hear Percy. They were busy making sure they were headed in the right direction.
"Percy. Wake up. Please wake up." Annabeth told him. Her voice went up a few octaves, because she was wondering why Percy would say that. One of Percy's eyes opened to see Annabeth looking down at him, while his other eye remained shut.
"Did we do it?" Percy asked Annabeth weakly. She nodded her head at Percy and he closed his eye to go to sleep. He had just used way too much energy then he was used to using. Right now, rest was the one thing he needed the most.
"How is he?" Cyrus had asked Annabeth. He had walked over from the port of the ship to check on his older brother.
"He's resting. A few moments ago, he said something shocking." Annabeth told Cyrus. Cyrus raised an eyebrow at Annabeth and looked down at his brother.
"What did he say?" Cyrus asked. Annabeth sighed and looked up at Cyrus. Suspicion was in her gray eyes.
"He said that Poseidon was his father. Why would he say that?" Annabeth asked him. Cyrus was surprised that those words were what came out of his brother's mouth, but he had a bunch of practice in hiding his emotions and controlling his facial expressions.
"I don't know. You should ask him when he wakes up." Cyrus told Annabeth before walking away from her. Percy was in for some trouble when he woke up.
"Hello Percy. Seems like the strain caused you to pass out." Chaos told his son. Percy looked around in his dreams to notice he was back in his father's apartment.
"I guess so. Why did you bring me here Dad?" Percy asked Chaos. Chaos sat down the cup he was drinking out of, and pointed to a chair that was sitting in front of him. Percy took the hint and sat down on the chair without question.
"It seems that before Annabeth managed to wake you up, you told her that Poseidon was your father. She is now waiting for you to wake up so she can ask you about it." Chaos explained to Percy. Percy's jaw dropped as the one person he didn't want suspicious of him was now waiting to interrogate him.
"That's not the reason you brought me here though." Percy told his dad automatically.
"Correct you are. I'm taking this temporary state of unconsciousness of yours and putting it to good use. I'm going to teach you how to control your powers over time. Think of it as working your way to never overexerting yourself again, and not revealing deadly secrets while unconscious." Chaos told Percy with a smirk.
"Whatever." Percy muttered in embarrassment. The scene changed to what Percy assumed was Chicago in the 1920s. He looked down to see that he was wearing a black suit, just like his father was.
"Uh. What are we doing here?" Percy asked Chaos.
"This is the day of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. I was there watching all of the chaos. This is where you will learn to use your powers to control time. More precisely, go back in time. We'll be here until you can do it without even trying, or until you wake up from your unconscious state." Chaos told his son. As if to confirm his father's answer, two sets of gangsters appeared on opposite sides of the street. Al Capone was leading his gang and the boss of the Irish American gang leading them.
"I'll give you one more chance, you putz. Let me take control or you and your gang are going to die." Capone told the leader of the Irish American gang.
"Forget about it. I'm taking control of organized crime Capone." the other leader told him. Both gangs began to pull out Tommy machine guns and Percy's right hand went up out of reflex, causing him to accidentally freeze time in the immediate area.
"They are serious over this organized crime stuff huh?" Percy asked his dad. Chaos nodded at his son, then unfroze time in the area. The first person to shoot was Al Capone himself. He put a bullet into the other gang leader's head, but didn't stop there. He continued to shoot until none of the opposition was breathing. That went for Capone's lackeys as well.
"Now. You remember how to tap into your powers of time, correct?" Chaos asked Percy. Percy simply nodded at his father, wondering where this was heading.
"Simply tap into those powers and make time go backwards. Do this by pretending that you're winding a clock backwards in your mind." Chaos told Percy.
"Shouldn't be too hard." Percy said out loud. Then he mentally slapped himself for being so naive about it. When he tried to make time rewind itself, the most he could achieve was just freezing time. It didn't go back or forward, but just stayed in a frozen state.
"What am I doing wrong?" Percy asked in irritation.
"You're thinking too much. Just let it come to you." Chaos told Percy. Percy raised an eyebrow at his dad since it was after all his dad that told him to use his imagination. Thinking was kind of intertwined with imagining anything. Taking a much needed breath, Percy focused on his powers over time and tried to imagine winding a clock backwards with his hands. He opened his eyes to see that Al Capone and the other gang leader were staring at each other.
"How in Hades?" Percy asked out loud.
"You felt it and didn't think about it. Then you actually turned back time. Good start. You'll get better with practice." Chaos told Percy. Before Percy could reply to his father, he woke up and was staring up at Annabeth.
"Back with us, are you?" Annabeth asked him. Her tone was filled with annoyance, and that annoyance also shone brightly in her Gray eyes. He could easily tell that he was in the doghouse right now.
"Hey Annabeth." Percy muttered weakly. Her eyes told him that he had a massive amount of explaining to do or there would be hell to pay.
"Hey Percy. Finally up huh? Good thing too. We're about to approach Polyphemus' Island in about ten minutes." Cyrus told his older brother. Percy quickly got up from the floor of the ship and walked over to the port of the ship, right next to Clarisse.
"What happened while I was out?" he asked her.
"We managed to kill Scylla, got tied up at Circe's Island and now we're closing in on Polyphemus and the Golden Fleece….and Grover. If he is still alive." Clarisse told Percy.
"He's still alive. I know it." Percy told Clarisse.
"Speaking of knowing things, how do you know so much? Ever since you've gotten to Camp Half-Blood you've known more than any other demigod in history just starting out. So how do you know so much?" Annabeth asked him suspiciously.
"Not now Annabeth. I need to concentrate." Percy told his girlfriend.
"No. We are doing this right now. Either you tell me right now or we're through." Annabeth told Percy coldly. Cyrus and Clarisse looked at Annabeth in shock, but that didn't amount to how shocked Percy was. Here was the girl that he fell in love with in the last timeline, that he saw die before his eyes, and she was threatening to break up with him over something that he couldn't tell her.
"Annabeth….you don't mean that." Percy told her.
"How can I not mean it? How can I trust you when you're keeping secrets from me?" Annabeth asked him. With that, she went below decks to one of the spare rooms. Leaving Percy, Clarisse and Cyrus in silence on the port. The next ten minutes passed by in an awkward silence. Percy was still thinking about Annabeth's ultimatum and Cyrus and Clarisse were both thinking of ways to stop Polyphemus, grab the Golden Fleece and save Grover while making it out alive.
"LAND HO!" one of the remaining ghost pirates yelled. Clarisse, Cyrus and Percy were brought out of their thoughts by this and looked at the island in question. It had an abandoned amusement park on it and you could hear multiple loud roars coming from it.
"There it is. Polyphemus' Island. What now Perce?" Cyrus asked his older brother.
"We get Grover and the Golden Fleece and get back to Camp Half-Blood via portal." Percy told Cyrus.
"Are we bringing Annabeth with?" Cyrus asked his brother carefully.
"No we're not. That might be a bit counterproductive." Percy told his brother quietly.
"I'm not going to leave Annabeth on this ship with just the ghost pirates. I'll stay and look after her. Just make sure to come back alive." Clarisse told them both. Cyrus nodded his head at Clarisse before creating a portal for he and his brother to use.
"Go with them Clarisse. It is your quest officially. I'm more than capable of watching over things here." a voice called out to Clarisse. It seemed as if both Percy and Cyrus had forgotten that Clarisse had asked Alaric to be the person to come on the quest with her.
"Are you sure Alaric?" Clarisse asked him. The Son of Poseidon simply nodded his head at Clarisse. Percy honestly didn't have the time nor the patience to argue with Alaric at the moment, so he simply allowed him to watch over his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. Percy was the first to walk through the portal, not even caring if Cyrus and Clarisse were following him or not. He came out of the portal to see the entrance of the amusement park. It was showing obvious signs of being abandoned by: the rust, the dead silence and the lack of warmth and joy that usually came with amusement parks. Without waiting for backup, Percy opened the locked gate with very little difficulty. The gate crashed down to the ground with no resistance whatsoever.
"Percy! Wait up!" Cyrus called out. Percy turned around to see his little brother and Clarisse running towards him.
"We haven't got a long time. We need to find Grover and the Fleece now." Percy told them. His voice was distant and none of his emotions were in his tone. Seemed as though what Annabeth told him struck a deeper nerve than he had let on.
"We will find them. However, there are plenty of places here that Polyphemus could hide. Where do we start looking?" Cyrus asked Percy.
"Look for a Cyclops-sized hole and we'll search from there." Percy told them both. They all set out in different directions looking for a hole that was big enough for a Cyclops to fit through. There weren't many holes like that, but Cyrus had found a fair few. The one he stopped at though was in a ride called 'The Plummet of Death'.
"PERCY! CLARISSE! I THINK I FOUND IT!" Cyrus yelled at the top of his lungs. Minutes later, both Percy and Clarisse ran to Cyrus' side and looked at the giant hole in the Plummet of Death.
"Well that is subtle." Percy muttered out loud. He created fire with his right hand and walked into the Plummet of Death with Cyrus and Clarisse following closely behind.
Back on the ship, Alaric knocked on the door of Annabeth's room three times.
"Go away Percy. Unless you want to give me some answers." Annabeth called out. Alaric opened the door and made his way into the room.
"I SAID GO AWAY!" Annabeth yelled at Alaric. She turned around expecting to see her boyfriend, but instead was greeted with the sight of Alaric.
"Sorry Alaric. I thought you were Percy." Annabeth apologized. Alaric simply smirked and took a seat besides Annabeth.
"Percy, Clarisse and Cyrus are currently looking for Grover and the Golden Fleece. You and I, plus the ghost pirates, are the only ones on this ship." Alaric told Annabeth. Hurt filled Annabeth's gray eyes as she looked down at the ground. Alaric placed his finger under Annabeth's chin and brought her gaze back up to his own.
"You aren't suited to be looking at the ground. No. You're much more suited to hold your head up high. Like a princess or a queen." Alaric told Annabeth. He was trying to cheer her up in any way possible, but he couldn't help it if his words came out smoother than silk.
"I'd just like to be left alone Alaric." Annabeth told him. Her face was beginning to blush at the compliment that the Son of Poseidon just told her.
"I know that you want to be alone and I understand that, but you are going to drive yourself mad down here moping by yourself. I figured that we could pass the time by getting to know each other." Alaric told Annabeth with a smile. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Alaric since she couldn't tell what his motives were, but she decided against her better judgement to go along with his idea.
"Alright. Tell me about yourself then." Annabeth told Alaric.
"Until recently, I was an orphan. Had to move in with my cousin in the Upper West Side of New York. Pretty big change since I'm from California. Took four and a half days to get to New York by train. A few weeks ago, I was attacked by a monster at my cousin's place and been on the run ever since. At least, until my father led me to Camp Half-Blood the other day." Alaric told her. His Sea Green eyes were looking at the wall the entire time, as he remembered the series of unfortunate events that he had to live through.
"What about you?" he asked Annabeth.
"The oldest of my father's three kids. The disdain of my stepmother. Monsters attacked me and my stepmother would fight with me over something I couldn't control. I got to Camp Half-Blood when I was 7 years old. I was traveling with two other demigods: Luke Castellan, Son of Hermes and Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus. Grover found us and led us to the camp. Before we could enter the camp though, a Cyclops attacked us right outside of the camp entrance. Thalia stayed behind and sacrificed herself so Luke, Grover and I would live. The tree that was poisoned? That is Thalia. Zeus took pity on her and turned her into the tree that acts as a magical border for the camp. A border that is now dying." Annabeth told Alaric. Sadness crept into her tone when she began talking about Luke and Thalia. Especially Luke. Alaric didn't know what to do in this type of situation. Normally, a person would put a hand on the other's shoulder or leg, but Annabeth was dating the one person who probably wanted Alaric dead.
"It'll get better Annabeth. There's no doubt in my mind that the others will find the Fleece so we can heal the tree back at camp." Alaric told her encouragingly. Annabeth gave a weak smirk then placed her head onto Alaric's shoulder. He winced without her noticing and looked up at the ceiling of the room. If she was still like this when Percy got back, then there was going to be a huge problem for Alaric. A problem that was going to end with somebody needing some serious medical attention.
"Oh Gods." Alaric thought to himself in worry.
Returning to the Plummet of Death, Cyrus, Percy and Clarisse just found the entrance to Polyphemus' Cave. The very old and very blind cyclops was yelling at Grover, who was wearing a very short bridal train.
"WHERE IS MY DINNER?!" Polyphemus yelled at Grover.
"It'll be done in a minute." Grover told Polyphemus in high-pitched voice.
"Pssst. Grover. Over here." Percy told Grover in a loud whisper. Grover looked over to his friends and ran over to them when Polyphemus wasn't paying any attention.
"Man am I glad to see you guys? Where's Annabeth?" Grover asked after noticing she wasn't a part of the rescue party.
"She's back on the ship. Where is the Golden Fleece?" Cyrus asked Grover.
"Unfortunately, it is stuck on the shoulder of Polyphemus." Grover told them all. Percy created two portals, one on his left and the other on his right. The portal on his left led back to the ship and the portal on his right was at Polyphemus' shoulder level. Without wasting a second, Percy grabbed the Golden Fleece by using the portal then handed it to Cyrus.
"Take that back to the ship, along with Grover and Clarisse." Percy told his little brother. Cyrus frowned at Percy for a few moments.
"What about you brother?" Cyrus asked Percy. Percy turned his back to Cyrus, while walking toward Polyphemus.
"What do you think? NOW GO!" Percy told them all. Polyphemus looked down to see the demigods then noticed that the Golden Fleece was missing from his shoulder.
"GIVE ME BACK MY FLEECE!" Polyphemus yelled at them all. Cyrus didn't have any time to argue with Percy, so he made sure that Clarisse and Grover got through the portal first before he went through it as well. The last he saw of his brother was Percy taking out his pen and transforming it into a sword. When the three got back onto the ship, Cyrus handed Grover the Golden Fleece.
"I'm going back to go give Percy some backup. If we're not back in ten minutes, leave without us." Cyrus told Clarisse and Grover. Without waiting for a reply, Cyrus created a portal back to Percy. Before he could walk through it though, Percy strolled through the portal. Something on the island made a slightly deafening noise and a crap ton of dust blew around in every direction.
"Time to go home." Percy said distantly. He walked to the other side of the ship and sat down, looking out at the water.
"Did I miss something?" Grover asked Cyrus worriedly.
"Just the fact Annabeth and Percy might be breaking up soon." Cyrus answered.
"Ah." Grover stated simply. Clarisse gave the crew orders to get them back to Palm Springs, Florida in one piece.
"Speaking of Annabeth, I'm going to go check on her. Want to come with?" Cyrus asked Grover.
"Sure. It's been awhile since I've seen Anny anyway." Grover answered. They both headed below deck where the rooms were, and Cyrus stopped outside of the door of the room that Annabeth was staying in. Cyrus opened the door and looked around inside for Annabeth, but froze to the spot when he found her.
"Hey. What did you stop for?" Grover had asked Cyrus. He brought his eyes to what was holding Cyrus' attention and his jaw dropped.
"Oh my Gods." Grover muttered weakly. They had just caught Annabeth and Alaric in the middle of making out. That was until they heard Grover's voice and broke apart from each other.
"This isn't what it looks like?" Alaric muttered weakly, when Cyrus and Grover caught him in the middle of making out with Annabeth.