XXXV

Percy

(A/N: Now, I have to admit, this isn't the best chapter I've written. But you're going to have to excuse me today, for I have to write 2 more chapters after this in order to catch up on the ones I've missed this week. Or else, I'll never finish. So sorry, I hope you'll forgive me for any bad writing today, but after this I can assure you the chapter quality will go up. At least, until I slack off again. So SORRY, HOPE YOU ENJOY AND IF YOU DON'T, STILL REVIEW IT! PLS and THNX)

Percy looked down at the Mediterranean Sea below them, glittering in the moonlight. From above, it looked so pristine, it almost made Percy want to sit down on a beach chair right then, and stare at the moon for the rest of the night. Almost. The only catch was that they had only two days to do all this stuff. August 30. That was today, and Gaia was going to rise in less than two days now. No room for error. If even one of the groups failed, it would have disastrous implications for the world.

As they neared Sicily, Percy was contemplating his life. If he died today, what would he want to do?

He thought about it, and he realized, with a bone-chilling thought, that he was willing to save any one of his friends at this point. Even if it meant destroying the world.

Percy went belowdecks, where Annabeth was looking at a map of Sicily. "Hey," he said, greeting her with a hug. She smelled like lemon soap, like she'd had a quick bath. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just trying to figure out where we're going to search. Sicily is huge. Looking at this list of important historical areas, it seems like we should start right here, at the Valley of the Temples. It's one of the oldest places here. Chronus is the god of time, so…"

"Oh, okay." Percy said. He felt the ship slowing down. "Come on, we need to get off soon."

As they walked up the stairs, they were greeted by Leo, who was still trying to get the astrolabe to work. "Hey." He said shortly, "We're nearly there. You might want to get your weapons ready, because we don't have much time. Oh, Annabeth, where do you want to get dropped off?"

"The Valley of the Temples." Annabeth replied.

"Oh, that place. Okay, Festus, please use Apple maps this time…" Leo muttered. "YES!" he pressed a few buttons on a celestial bronze monitor, and the boat tilted to the left. "Get to the side of the boat. I might need to use the rope ladder. Sorry."

"It's okay." Annabeth replied quickly.

Pretty soon, they could see the shoreline in front of them. A few minutes later, Percy was going to be down there, probably fighting for his life. He was going to need all his strength.

As they crossed the coast, Percy could see a giant archeological site in the rays of the rising sun. It was pretty near them, actually, and the ship just flew right on the top of it. Then, it began to sink.

"All right!" Leo said over the intercom. "Thank you for flying Air Valdez. We hope you enjoy your stay here in… erm, Sicily! We hope to see you again!"

"Us too," Percy muttered. If they were going to save the world, they had better live to see another day. Or else, that would be a real big douchebag move on him and Annabeth.

Leo threw the rope ladder overboard, and Percy and Annabeth started to climb down it.

When they finally landed on the ground, the Argo II flew away.

"All right," Annabeth said. "Where do you want to go first?"

They looked everywhere- behind columns, in front of columns, around the hill where the temple was. But no dice.

After about an hour, they both were super tired, but no cigar. Percy was pretty tired- it had been nearly an hour's worth of worthless searching.

"Maybe he's on one of the lower hills." Annabeth suggested.

So they spent another hour looking on the lower hills, but still found nothing.

Percy was getting annoyed. "Annabeth," he said, exasperated, "Do you just want to call it quits? He's probably not here."

Suddenly, an old man walked towards them. He had a long flowing white beard, a walking stick, and a completely glossy, hairless head. "You were looking for me?" he said. His eyes were a piercing hue of blue.

"Erm…" Percy asked. "Who exactly are you?" he had a pretty good idea, but it was better if he could receive confirmation.

"I am Chronos." The old man replied, a glint in his overly large eyes. "You would do well to respect your elders, young one."

Percy was not taken aback by this dramatic revelation at all. "So," he started. "Apparently you know about all the anchors of Gaia?"

"Yes, I do. And I know that you have forgotten about one of them, and the other you do not know."

"Which ones are they?" Annabeth leaned forward eagerly.

"You think I would give information away that easily?" he snorted. "No. You must do three tasks for me. If you manage to finish all of them, then I will give you the information that you need."

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance.

"He's the only hope we've got." Annabeth said.

Percy sighed. "I don't like it." He really didn't want to do this, but it was their only hope.

"Fine." Annabeth sighed. "We'll do your three stupid tasks."

"Really?" he said. "Whoopee." He tried to do a little tap dance, but he winced as soon as he started. "Gosh darn old age!" he cursed. "I used to be able to do this so well!"

"Hey," Annabeth cut in. "Just a question. How do you control time? I though the other Kronos did."

"He absorbed my essence." Chronos said. "And if you're wondering why I won't give you the answer you want, it's because I do not take sides. No matter which side wins in this war, time goes on."

Annabeth stared. That was probably the question she had been thinking of asking.

"Anyways," he continued, "your first task is to defeat the Ophies Pteretoi."

Percy wasn't quite sure he'd heard correctly. "The Opus Chew Toy?"

"No, the Ophies Pet- er- e- toi." He slowly pronounced out the syllables. "They're winged serpents that guard the Frankincense fields of Arabia. Have fun!"

He waved his hands, and the world spiraled out of control. The trees disappeared, and in their place grew bushes. The soil beneath their feet became sand.

Whatever had happened, it wasn't good for Percy's stomach. He could hardly keep himself from puking.

"All right," Annabeth muttered. "Where are these stupid snakes?"

Then they heard the hissing. They slowly turned around, only to see a giant bunch of winged serpents flying towards them, mouths hissing with venom.