So, you guys did it. Here's another chapter :)

Also, go check out elliefs and her story about this one! She deserves some credit, especially for a one councillor Joku at the end.

Percy

I entered the arena, blinking in the sunlight and gripping Riptide tightly in my hand. Facing me were three Ádi warriors, all holding their favored short swords. The stadium was packed to the brink with Ádi gathered around, shading their eyes from the sun and staring intently at the four of us. The warriors watched greedily; the rest of them cheered a catcalled for my head to be loped off.

Hazam and I had been bought as a package deal for a good deal of money— the Ádi that had taken us had lost several in doing so and were all too happy to collect a large sum for the death of their friends. True to the plan I had snapped Hazam's ankle— and been beaten for it— in order to take the Darker out of danger. Now it was me facing down three of the fierce warriors, my sword held tightly.

Last minute best changed hands in the bleachers surrounding us as the Ádi shifted impatiently, grinning at me with their horrible teeth. They weren't lower rank soldiers; all three of them were lieutenants, used to fighting and killing but not high enough in rank to be arrogant. They would be dangerous opponents, I thought grimly.

The talking in the stadium died down to a whisper as the bell was rung, signaling the start of the fight. Immediately the Ádi circled east, intending to put the rising sun behind them and put me at a disadvantage. I knew that if I tried to fight a defensive battle, their sheers numbers and lack of fear would overwhelm me quickly. I had to take the fight to them.

"For Greece!" I yelled, lunging at the fighter on the left. I wasn't usually one for battle cries but I felt yelling the name of my homeland would be a punch in the gut for them.

Riptide bit into the mans flesh at the base of his neck, killing him in an instant. I yanked my blade free and ducked under a thrust, grabbing the offending wrist and snapping it with a sharp twist, before pulling on it hard and sending the surprised Ádi stumbling. I stuck out my leg, tripping him up before whirling to face the third fighter. He looked angry. Not uneasy, not scared, just angry. They truly were some other kind of breed.

His sword slashed forwards in a blur that clanged off my parry. Retaining his balance the Ádi swung again, this time a thrust aimed at the center of my chest. I dodged to the side and cut with Riptide, leaving a gaping wound across his chest.

Some sixth sense that I had gained over the year's screamed danger from behind me, and without a second thought I hit the ground, rolling to one side just as the second Adi sword broke the space I had been moments ago. Springing to my feet, I faced him off with Riptide circling lazily in the air in front of me.

Fighting with his left hand, the Ádi never stood a chance. I drove him from one side of the arena to the other, Riptide clanging against his desperate parries. I cut from the side, the force of the blow knocking the blade right out of his hand and sending it flying.

He lunged, hands reaching for my throat.

Riptide flashed through the air and sent his head rolling.

I stepped back, panting and leaning on my sword. The arena had gone completely quite as the Ádi watched me cut down three of their lieutenants with seemingly little effort. Angry muttering broke out throughout the stands, the warriors glaring at me with hate-filled eyes. Before anyone could do something a Captain stood up abruptly, drawing his sword and grabbing a shield from the beside him. I reached down and scooped up one of the Ádi short swords, holding it in my left hand and getting a feel for the weapon as the Captain produced a large bag of money, handing it to my owner as he passed.

He was tall and lanky, a sharp contrast to the short, powerful build most Ádi had. He leaped over the railing, landing in a crouch and moving towards me. Now the crowd had started to cheer again. They obviously recognized this warrior and thought he would deal with me, now problem. More money was changing hands, although I saw that it wasn't quite as one sided as before. Some people seemed to be betting on me.

That was comforting.

The bell sounded and the Captain leaped forwards, not wasting a moment as he swung over-hand. I blocked with Riptide and retaliated, short sword biting into his shield and staying there. Disengaging my blade from his I spun back, bringing Riptide around in a screaming arc that was aimed for his chest. The Captain leaped backwards, my sword grazing his chest as he tossed aside his shield. Now it was a fair fight.

The Ádi captain leaped at me, his sword flashing in the sun as he propelled me backwards. His teeth were bared and a low snarling sound emitted from his throat as he came at me savagely, each strike coming at blinding speed and not giving me time to retaliate. The crowd started chanting for him to kill me.

I tried to ignore the pressing voice in my head saying that maybe, just maybe, the Captain was too good for me. It wasn't that he had exceptional skill; instead it was the fact that he came at me with such unrelenting energy, his sword beating against mine time and time again.

Attacking with no fear and no loss of energy, the Captain continued to press me backwards across the arena. My mind searched desperately for a way to take control of this fight.

My back hit the wall and the Captain lunged, screaming in savage triumph as his blade sank into my stomach. The crowd roared their approval, a sound that was cut short when I twisted sideways and hastily retreated, taking a second to regain my bearings.

That's when my confidence started to return. By the way the Captain yanked his blade out of the wicker fencing I could tell her was growing tired, his arms starting to feel heavy and his breath getting ragged. I, on the other hand, was fresh as new and still feeling energized. The Captain came at me again, blade hissing through the air as he pressed on the attack. I continued to duck and weave, Riptide meeting every one of his strokes and flicking it aside.

Then, when I judged the moment was right I struck. I thrust at my chest and instead of dodging aside I lunged forwards, grabbing his wrist and twisting violently. His blade hit the ground as I kicked him solidly in the chest, before spinning in a massive circle and beheading him.

Silence. Once again the arena had fallen into utter silence as the Ádi citizens looked at me not with fear but with something close to caution. I smiled grimly up at the stands, daring anyone to try and fight me. No one did.

Good, I thought. Let them know what Perseus Jackson can do. And by nightfall tomorrow, I would be gone.

Annabeth

We explained the situation to Jason, who wasted no time with needless questions or stupid accusations. Instead, he sent Malcolm to go fetch any maps we had of the third Uncharted Isle, before calling a war council with all the senior Greek members. As acting captain Jason should have sat at the head of the table, but it was me who found myself in the high-backed but still comfortable chair while Hector, who was on my left, explained the situation to everyone.

When he finished I half expected chaos to erupt. Instead the councilors all shared looks with each other, seeming to come to a unanimous decision. Leo and the Stolls nodded their heads; Will and Thalia shared a silent agreement and it was Clarisse who spoke first.

"So," the daughter of Ares said, looking around the room as if she were expecting anyone to challenge her. Her eyes landed on me, not in a threatening way but with an intense look. "We get to the island, find this Ádi village and then storm it. Wipe out everyone there, take back Percy and Hazam and then leave."

"It might not be that simple," Hector cautioned. "Half the crew is terrified of the Ádi. I know I don't want to step foot near them without good reason. If we lead them there we could be faced with deserting crew and a slaughter on our hands."

"The crew will stand," Jason countered. "They're all Greeks, the finest warriors that our country has, and the Ádi have made the biggest mistake of their lives. They've taken Percy."

"Even if we fail, Greece will never settle for that," Thalia said, picking up on Jason's train of thought. "The whole armies of Greece will rain down on one Ádi village."

"If we fail," I cut in, stressing the words. "If. And from what I see here, we're not going to fail." I looked around the room, seeing a dozen faces glance back at me: the acting crew of the Argo, the strongest ship in all the world, grouped together and prepared to fight for their captain. Hector and Jason, two of Greece's fiercest warriors. Thalia, who was loyal to fault and would die for her Captain. Will, the archer. Leo, the builder. Nico, dark and mysterious who I knew would bring the wrath of Hades down on anyone who touched those he loved. Malcolm, the planner. Piper, the daughter of Aphrodite who could talk her way into the heart of Britain and convince their King to take his own life. And Clarisse, the daughter of Ares. From what I had seen she only listened to people she respected in battle.

And she respected Percy over everyone else, except for her dad.

"So it's official?" I asked, looking around the crew. Nods all around. "Okay. Malcolm, plot us a course for the third island. We're storming the Ádi village."

I walked with Jason up onto the deck where he assembled the crew of the Argo near the front of the boat. We were floating in the water off the coast of Nisí tis Katadíkis, out of the mist and in a weak sunlight. As soon as Malcolm had our course we would be under sail and headed towards the village. It was about a two-day sail from where we were, and then another days hike across the island to get to where the charts thought the village might be.

I was still buzzing about the fact I had defeated Arachne in one-on-one combat. Of course, I couldn't have done it without the help of Thalia, Hector and Nico, but in the end it had been me who had faced her off and me who had killed her. The Mark was below decks in the Argo's treasure chest— which, according to Thalia, couldn't be opened without the active Captain pressing his palm against the lock. I had no doubt Percy would be proud of me when we got him back.

There wasn't even an if in my mind. I had total faith in the Greeks' ability to defeat the Ádi in a fight, despite all I had heard about the fierce warrior tribe. I also knew the chance of Percy being defeated in the Arena was next to nothing, based on the fact that he was invincible.

Soon, we would have our Captain back. And then we would storm the Plains or Modriar and take back the Spring of Immortality.

Linebreak

Stelios of Sparta was more panicked than he had been in a while. Currently the prince of Sparta was hunched down over the back of a horse, fingers clutched into the main and bouncing around on the bare back as he rode the dusty path that led from the beach-front city of Sparta to the larger, more impressive one of Greece.

It had been a perfectly normal day at the market, with Stelios out enjoying the sun and hunting for a new robe. Then the envelope had popped out of mid-air, delivered no doubt by Hermes's Express mail— a service open only to demigods and gods.

Not only had the god of travelers chosen the most inconvenient time to drop an urgent message, he had also charged three Drachmas— the rest of Stelios's spending money for the day. After reading the letter, the Prince of Sparta had started frantically running towards his palace, intent on picking up a ride there. But it was high noon in the market and the stalls were packed to the brink with shoppers, none of whom seemed willing to move for their Prince.

Finally spotting a stable, Stelios had burst inside and been greeted with six stalls of fit-looking racing horses and one old stable hand, who turned to look at Stelios with squinted eyes.

"I need a horse," the he gasped, tired after his uphill sprint towards the stable, all while pushing shoppers out of the way. The old man shrugged in a most casual fashion.

"And I need a bigger stable," he wheezed, turning his back to the young man. "We don't always get what we want."

"You don't understand," Stelios had stressed, making a move for the nearest mount. "Urgent message for the King himself." The old man cackled.

"Try the other one, its got bells on it," he chuckled, shaking his head. Stelios drew himself up to his full height and tried to look royal and commanding.

"I am you prince," he stressed, putting extra emphasis on the last word. Once again, the old man shrugged.

"I didn't vote for you," he said shortly. "No pay, no horse. Six Drachma for a day's rent." Stelios cast an urgent look at the letter in his hand, becoming aware of how urgent the news was. He could try taking one of the steeds by force, but even though Stelios was one of the greatest fighters in Greece the old man was totting a thick wooden cane and Stelios didn't fancy his chance.

"Fine!" he yelled, giving up. He dug around his pockets, grabbing the first thing that came to hand. "Take my—" he took a second to identify the object that was now flying through the air towards the stable owner. "Beach house. Yes, take my beach house. Just give me a bloody horse." Stepping past the old man he grabbed the nearest horse, swinging onto its back and taking off at a gallop down the road.

"Bring it back by midnight!" the old man yelled after him, examining the new keys he had. He snorted, throwing them away into a nearby pile of hay. It was probably some crummy shack anyways.

Stelios galloped along the trail to Greece, hot, shell-shocked and above all, miffed.

He had liked his beach house.

The trail wove through a forest, across the beach and finally up to the palace of Greece. Stelios barreled up the roads, pushing his horse even though the animal was panting and sweating in the heat. The guards at the front let him through quickly and he dismounted, leaving his horse to wander over to the fountain and take a long drink. One of the stable hands could deal with it.

He found the King in his chambers, studying a map of Greece with Joku. Joku was one of Greece's foremost noblemen, a great cavalry fighter but patriotic almost to a fault. Both men looked up as Stelios barged in.

King Pavlos made a point of asking his subjects not to bow for him or show any sign of indifference to their King. Because of this, Stelios often made a point of overdoing all the groveling and scraping just to tease him.

Not now.

"Urgent message," Stelios croaked, his throat parched as he held up the letter. "For the King. Involving Percy."

Immediately it looked as if Pavlos feared the worst. He was all too aware of what the prophecy said: The son of Poseidon lay dead on the ground, and when he picked up the letter you could tell he was prepared for that news.

Instead, his shoulders slumped with relief as he read. "Oh, Percy's been captured by the Ádi," he said, almost casually. "With a Darker. That's rather unfortunate. Joku read the letter from beside him, his eyes going wide.

"Preposterous!" he steamed, shaking his head and looking to the King. "Sire, we shall ready the navy and sail at once. Let us bring the armies of Greece down upon the heads of these Ádi and take back our Prince. It will be the largest fleet ever to sail!" Stelios was prepared to join in with a well-time Huzzah!, but Pavlos was all ready shaking his head.

"It says here the Argo is going to save him," the King said firmly. "If they fail— which they won't— then we can prepare the army and march in to save him." He caught Stelios shifting from one foot to the other and shook his head. "Oh, alright. Go on then."

Grinning, the Prince of Sparta unsheathed his sword and thrust it high into the air, his cape billowing around him as he did.

"Huzzah!"

What did you guys think? We're so close to getting 1000 reviews that I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this story. You guys are the best.

REVIEW