A/N: Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used.
We Checked In To C.C.'S Spa & Resort
I woke in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of gray uniform fabric. Annabeth sat next to me, tacking into the wind.
I tried to sit up and immediately felt woozy.
"Rest," she said. "You're going to need it."
"Tyson…?"
She shook her head. "Percy, I'm really sorry."
We were silent while the waves tossed us up and down.
"He may have survived," she said halfheartedly. "I mean, fire can't kill him."
I nodded, but I had no reason to feel hopeful. I'd seen that explosion rip through solid iron. If Tyson had been down in the boiler room, there was no way he could've lived. He'd given his life for us.
Waves lapped at the boat. Annabeth showed me somethings she salvaged from the wreckage—Hermes' thermos (now empty) a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailor shirts, and bottle of Dr. Pepper. She handed me back my backpack which had everything I filled it with back in the hideout.
We sailed for hours. Now we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming. Or something even more dangerous. I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of our destination. But that didn't make me feel any less lost.
No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr. Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best as we could. And we talked about my latest dream of Grover.
By Annabeth's estimate, we had less than twenty-four hours to find Grover, assuming my dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus didn't change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.
"Yeah," I said bitterly. "We can't trust that Cyclops."
Annabeth stared across the water. "I'm sorry, Percy. I realize you were right about Tyson. I just wish I could tell him that."
I smiled. I knew it takes a lot for Annabeth to admit when she's wrong.
I looked down at my possessions. I remembered what Luke said and decided now was the time to ask about the prophecy.
"Annabeth, what did the great prophecy said?" I asked.
She pursed her lips. "Percy, you of all people should know the risk of knowing the future," Annabeth responded.
How can I forget? I saw Hal get punished just for saving a life of an innocent from her fate. Even Hal was cautious about telling me about my future—saying that it was risky.
"Just give me a brief summary then," I responded.
Annabeth twisted her Yankees cap in her cap in her hands. "The prophecy warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three—the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches the age of sixteen will decide whether either to save the Age of the Gods or destroy it."
I let that sink in. That's why the Olympians kept voting whether or not to kill me every winter solstice, and why Kronos would want me to join him.
But then I frowned. I remembered Hal's predictions like it was yesterday. He said I would be one of the greatest heroes of my generation. Did Hal meant because I might save Olympus? If so, why didn't he mention a decision? He gave small details of Thalia's and Luke's predictions but still more than what he told me of mine..
"Don't worry about it," Annabeth said. "We wouldn't know for sure until you're sixteen."
"Right," I responded.
Just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. Annabeth looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into her lap.
"Land," she said. "There's land nearby!"
I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.
The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.
…
"Welcome!" said the lady with a clipboard.
She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With a dazzling smile she gave us, you would've thought we'd just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged-up rowboat.
Then again, our rowboat wasn't the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three mast sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. This was making me uneasy. I heard stories of ships and planes entering the Bermuda Triangle and never return, and knowing that the Bermuda Triangle was the Sea of Monsters didn't help.
"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired. Annabeth and I exchange looks. Annabeth said, "Umm…"
"First—time—at—spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see…"
She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."
"A what?" I asked.
She was too busy jotting down notes to answer.
"Right!" she said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."
Now here's the thing. Annabeth and I were used to traps. Last year alone we walked into Medusa's Lair due to the smell of hamburgers and the fact we were hungry. We also went inside the lair of Procrustes to hide from gangsters. We even were drawn into the Lotus Casino and Hotel to rest and enjoy ourselves just to find out that it was the Lair of the Lotus Eaters magically enchanted that made it seem to us only a few hours passed when in reality five days passed.
We ended up following the lady anyway. I kept my hands in my pockets where I stashed Hermes' multivitamins and Riptide—but the farther we wandered into the resort, the more I forgot about them.
The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by waterslides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.
Tyson loved horses, and I knew he'd loved those fountains. I almost turned around to see the expression on his face before I remembered: Tyson was gone.
"You okay?" Annabeth asked me. "You look pale."
"I'm okay," I lied. "Just… let's keep walking."
We passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests—only young women as far as I could see—lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.
As we headed up the staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old—Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about—moonlight in the olive grooves, the colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift me off the steps and carry me toward her.
We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but I didn't think about it too much, because just then I saw the lady who'd been singing… and whoa.
She sat at the loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill.
The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional—a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.
Annabeth caught her breath. "It's beautiful."
The woman turned. She was prettier than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.
"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.
"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth said, "My mother is—"
She stopped herself. Annabeth knew better than going around announcing your mom was Athena, the goddess who invented the loom; just as I couldn't go around saying my dad is Poseidon, the god who created horses. Most people would lock us up in a rubber room.
Our hostess just smiled. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."
The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must've been guinea pigs, from the sound of them
We introduced ourselves to C.C. She looked me over with a twinge of disapproval, as if I'd failed some kind of test.
On normal circumstances I would think this is weird or if she was like the Hunters of Artemis—a bunch of men hating girls who rather choose immortality than falling in love with men. But for some reason instead, I felt bad, like I really wanted to please this lady.
"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."
"Ma'am?" I asked.
C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Annabeth on tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I spoken with this young gentleman."
"But…" Annabeth's voice sounded hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?"
C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"
"Wasted?"
"Well, surely you're not happy with the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!"
Annabeth's eyes glowed with longing. I'd never seen her so much loss for words. "But… what about Percy?"
"Oh, definitely," C.C. said, giving me a sad look. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."
Normally I would be angry and suspicious about this, but the way C.C. said it, it made me feel sad. I'd disappointed her. I had to figure out how to do better.
The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry.
"Well…" Annabeth said. "I suppose…"
"Right this way dear," Hylla said. And Annabeth followed herself to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa.
C.C. took my arm and guided me toward the mirror wall. "You see, Percy… to unlock your potential, you need serious help. The first step is admitting that you're not happy the way you are."
I fidgeted in front of mirror. Sure, I have my father's hair and eyes is part of reminder to myself that I'm the son of the sea god, but since I'm a teenage half-blood, I also have to face the awkwardness of a mortal teenager—pimples, having even teeth, etch.
C.C.'s voice brought all the things that is all part of growing up that I never quite enjoyed, as if she were passing me under the microscope, and standing in front of her mirrors didn't help.
"There, there," C.C. consoled. "How about we try… this."
She snapped her fingers and a sky blue curtain rolled down the mirror. It shimmered like the fabric on her loom.
"What do you see?" C.C. asked.
I looked at the blue cloth, not sure what she mean. "I don't—"
Then it changed colors. I saw myself—a reflection, but not a reflection. Shimmering there on the cloth was a better looking Percy Jackson—with a confident smile, straight teeth, no zits, perfect tan, a couple inches taller. It was me, without the faults.
"Whoa," I managed.
"Do you want that?" C.C. asked. "Or shall I try a different—"
"No," I said. "That's… that's amazing. Can you really—"
"I can give you a full makeover," C.C. promised.
I frowned. This sounds too good to be true. "What's the catch?" I said.
"Oh there's no catch," C.C. said, "Just eat plenty of fresh fruit, a mild exercise program, and of course… this."
She stepped over to her wet bar and filled a glass with water. Then she ripped open a drink-mix packet and poured in some red powder. The mixture began to glow. When it faded, the drink looked just like a strawberry milk shake.
"One of these, substituted for a regular meal," C.C. said. "I guarantee you'll see the results immediately."
"How is that possible?"
She laughed. "Why question it? I mean, don't you want the perfect you right away?"
Something about this was familiar—something from one of Hal's books.
"Why are there no guys at this spa?" I asked.
"Oh, but there are," C.C. assured me. "You'll meet them quite soon. Just try the mixture. You'll see."
I back away from the drink.
"Now, Percy," C.C. chided. "The hardest part of the makeover process is giving up control. You have to decide: Do you want to trust your judgment about what you should be, or my judgment?"
Something about her voice seem to be drawing me in. The sensation felt familiar but I can place my finger on it, I heard myself say, "Your judgement."
C.C. smiled and handed me the glass. I lifted it to my lips.
It tasted just like it looked—like a strawberry milk shape. Almost immediately a warm feeling spread through my gut: pleasant at first, then painfully hot, searing, as if the mixture were coming to a boil inside of me.
I doubled over and dropped the cup. "What have you… what's happening?"
"Don't worry, Percy," C.C. said. "The pain will pass. Look! As I promised. Immediate results."
Something was horribly wrong.
The curtain dropped away, and in the mirror I saw my hands shriveling, curling, growing long delicate claws. Fur sprouted from my face, under my shirt, in every uncomfortable place you can imagine. My teeth felt too heavy in my mouth. My clothes were getting too big, or C.C. was getting to tall—no, I was shrinking.
In one awful flash, I sank into a cavern of dark cloth. I was buried in my own shirt. I tried to run but hands grabbed me—hands as big as I was. I tried to scream for Annabeth, but all that came out of my mouth was, "Reeet, reeet, reeet!"
The giant hands squeezed me around the middle, lifting me into the air. I struggled and kicked with legs and arms that seemed much too stubby, and I was staring, horrified into the enormous face of C.C.
"Perfect!" her voice boomed. I squirmed in alarm, but she only tightened her grip around my furry belly. "See, Percy? You've unlocked your true self!"
She held me up to the mirror, and I didn't like what I saw. There was C.C., beautiful and smiling, holding a fluffy, bucktoothed creature with tiny claws and white and orange fur. When I twisted, so did the critter in the mirror."
"You're a guinea pig," C.C. said. "Lovely aren't you? Men are pigs, Percy Jackson. I used to turn them into real pigs, but they were so smelly and large and difficult to keep. Not much different than they were before, really. Guinea pigs are much more convenient! Now come, and meet the other men."
I tried to bite and scratch her. It was the only thing I could do. However, C.C. squeezed me so tight I almost blacked out.
"None of that, little one," she scolded, "or I'll feed you to the owls. Go into the cage like a good little pet. Tomorrow, if you behave, you'll be on your way. There is always a classroom in need of a new guinea pig.
Oh, she's so lucky I can't get to my sword right now.
I squirmed helplessly as C.C. brought me over to the guinea cage and opened the wire door.
"Meet my discipline problems, Percy," she warned. "They'll never make good classroom pets, but they might teach you some manners. Most of them have been in this cage for three hundred years. If you don't want to stay with them permanently, I'd suggest you—"
Annabeth's voice called: "Miss C.C.?"
C.C. cursed in ancient Greek. She plopped me into the cage and closed the door. I squealed and clawed at the bars, but it was no good. I watched as C.C. hurriedly kicked my clothes under the loom—not noticing the six beads of my Camp Half-Blood's beaded necklace was sticking out—just as Annabeth came in.
I almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing a sleeveless silk dress like C.C.'s, only white. Her blond hair was newly washed and combed and braided with gold. The oddest part was that she was wearing makeup. Out of the six years I knew her, I never seen Annabeth wear makeup. As good as Annabeth looks, this wasn't like her.
She looked around the room and frowned. "Where's Percy?"
I squealed up a storm, but she didn't seem to hear me. That—whatever I drank—must have messed up my demigod powers too, because I tried to summons some water that would identify me, but I couldn't.
C.C. smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. You looked wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"
Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Your library is amazing!"
"Yes, indeed," C.C. said. "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."
"An architect?"
"Pah!" C.C. said. "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress."
Annabeth took a step back. "A sorceress?"
"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. We both admired greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."
"I—I don't understand."
Again, I squealed my best, trying to get Annabeth's attention, but she either couldn't hear me or didn't think the noises were important. Meanwhile, the other guinea pigs were emerging from their hutch to check me out. I didn't think it was possible for guinea pigs to look mean, but these did. There were half a dozen, with dirty fur and cracked teeth and beady red eyes. They were covered with shavings and smelled like they really had been in here for three hundred years, without getting their cage cleaned.
"Stay with me," C.C. was telling Annabeth. "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"
"But—"
"You are too intelligent, my dear," C.C. said. "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"
"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart—"
"Bah! Men get all the glory." C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."
"You… C.C.… Circe!"
"Yes, my dear."
She noticed my necklace under the loom.
"What have you done to Percy?"
"Only helped him realized his true form."
Annabeth scanned the room. Finally she saw the cage, and me scratching at the bars, all the other guinea pigs crowding around me. Her eyes went wide.
"Forget him," Circe said. "Joined me and learn the ways of sorcery."
"But—"
"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."
Annabeth was still staring at me, but she had a dreamy expression on her face. She looked like whenever Drew Tanaka of Aphrodite Cabin use Charmspeak to bend people into doing whatever she wants, since Charmspeak is a rare ability that can basically charm people into doing just that. I squealed and scratched, trying to warn her to snap out of it, but I was absolutely powerless.
"Let me think about it," Annabeth murmured. "Just… give me a minute alone. To say good-bye."
"Of course, my dear," Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh… and so you have absolute privacy…" she waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and I heard the locks on the door click shut behind her.
The dreamy look melted off Annabeth's face.
She rushed over to my cage. "All right, which one is you?"
I squealed, but so did all the other guinea pigs. Annabeth looked desperate before getting a bright idea. She rushed over to where my necklace was at, push aside the loom, opened up my backpack and took out Hermes multivitamins and started struggling with the cap.
I had no idea what she was doing when Annabeth popped a lemon chewable in her mouth just as the door flew open and Circe came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants.
"Well," Circe sighed, "how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dear?"
"This?" Annabeth said, and she drew her bronze knife.
The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed. She sneered. "Really, little girl, a knife against my magic? Is that wise?"
Circle looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands as if preparing to cast a spell.
The other guinea pigs squealed and ran, but I stood my ground. I had the urge to run too, but I'm not about to lose Annabeth.
"What will Annabeth's makeover be?" Circe mused. "Something small and ill-tempered. I know… a shrew!"
Blue fire coiled from her fingers curling like serpents around Annabeth.
However nothing happened. Annabeth was still Annabeth, only angrier. She leaped forward and stuck the point of her knife against Circe's neck. "How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at her throat!"
"How!" Circe yelped.
Annabeth held up my bottle of vitamins for the sorceress to see.
That's when it dawned to me those vitamins must have had Moly in it—the plant stuff Hermes gave Odysseus before he confronted Circe.
Of course it dawned Circe too as she howled in frustration. "Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you."
"Turned Percy back to a human or else!" Annabeth said.
"I can't!"
"Then you asked for it."
Circe's attendants stepped forward, but their mistress said, "Get back! She's immune to magic until that cursed vitamins wears off."
Annabeth dragged Circe over to the guinea pig cage, knocked the top off, and poured the rest of the vitamins inside.
"No!" Circe screamed.
I was the first to get a vitamin, but all the other guinea pigs scuttled out, too, and checked out this new food.
The first nibble, and I felt all fiery inside. I gnawed at the vitamin until it stopped looking so huge, and the cage got smaller, and then suddenly, bang! The cage exploded. I was sitting on the floor, a human again—somehow back in my regular clothes with my back pack on my back and necklace around my neck. Good thing too, because good or bad or friend or enemy; I didn't want to transform back into human without my clothes in front of a bunch of girls.
I wasn't the only one who was human again. The other six guinea pigs had transform into humans as well—all looking disoriented, blinking and shaking wood shaving out of their hair.
"No!" Circe screamed. "You don't understand! Those are the worst!"
One of the men stood up—a huge guy with long tangled pitch black beard and teeth the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply—in breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot.
"Argggh!" bellowed the big man. "What's the witch done t'me!"
"No!" Circe moaned.
Annabeth gasped. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"
"Aye, lass" the big man growled. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Argggh!"
Circe screamed. She and her attendants ran from the room, chased by pirates.
Annabeth sheathed her knife before tackling me into a quick hug before pulling away. "I'm glad you're not a guinea pig."
"Me, too." I hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt.
She undid the golden braids in her hair.
"Come on, Seaweed Brain," she said. "We have to get away while Circe's distracted."
…
We ran down the hillside through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the resort.
Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw the herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables.
I felt bad for some of the workers that when I saw that Hylla girl who was guarding a girl that looked like a younger version of her being, I decided to act.
Now I didn't know if the rest of Blackbeard pirates were demigods, so I didn't risk using Riptide. Instead, I draw out my sea-thermos, uncapped it, and summoned a blast of water at the Pirates—knocking him down and out. The two girls stared at me in shock. I quickly did a temporary Mist manipulation to make them look like someone who didn't work here.
"The Mist should keep you two safe from the Pirates until you get off and far from this island! I suggest you use it!" I warned.
Hylla stared at me as if she was trying to figure me out. However, the girl that I would guess was her sister tugged at her arm, as if suggesting they should leave and Hylla nodded and they scurried off.
I hurried back to Annabeth and we headed toward the docks. Annabeth didn't say it, but I think she was shock and impressed by my actions.
"Which ship?" Annabeth said as we reached the docks.
I looked around desperately. We couldn't very well take our rowboat—it was too slow. I don't want to risk flying. Then I saw it.
"There," I said pointing at the old three mast sailing ship with the name painted on the prow that I would only decipher later: Queen Anne's Revenge.
Annabeth didn't argue, since I have powers over boats and ships—most of the time.
"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled somewhere behind us. "Those scalawags are a-boarding me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"
I closed my eyes and concentrated on controlling the wind and sea around the ship. I hope I can still do this. The last ship I controlled was a tireme and I haven't done that for a few years. "Mizzenmast!" I yelled.
The air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking.
Annabeth ducked as cable flew over her head and wrapped itself around the bowspirit.
I willed the sails to rise as easily as if I were flexing my arms. I willed the rudder to turn.
The Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock, and by time the pirates arrived at the water's edge, we were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.
