Argus pulled the van to a stop next to a large yacht dock. Anchored to the shore were a bunch of different sized boats and yachts. The demigods piled out of the van, and Percy nodded to Argus, who simply tipped his cap, then drove off.

"Ok, well, we're going to need to get on one of these to get to the Zakros Temple." Percy stated as he examined each one. Nico vanished into the shadows, only to reappear holding 9 tickets in his hand.

"Well, only one of these ships sails for Zakros today." he handed them their tickets, apparently they were going on the S.S. Labellum. Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. He rest of the group looked at her funny.

"What's so funny, honey?" Percy questioned, smirking as well. Before Annabeth could even open her mouth to reply, Micah ornerily spoke up.

"Labellum…. Latin for 'sink'. She just finds it funny that we are literally sailing the S.S. Sinker… or so I assume." he finished, coughing to disguise a laugh as Annabeth glared at him with contempt.

"Stupid superspeed." she softly cursed, folding her arms.

"Yeah, well…. What he said." she said annoyedly.

"Oh, wow… now I really feel safe." Nico said grouchily. They all started heading towards the ship, when Micah stopped suddenly.

'BOO! Awww…. You didn't think you had gotten rid of me THAT easily, did you, Lyte?' The darkness suddenly asked.

'Why do you keep doing this to me?" Micah mentally questioned. The darkness laughed psychotically.

'Why? Because it's fun, Lyte. I like seeing you suffer. I like the carnage. It makes me happy.' it explained. Micah struggled against the feeling of insanity that grew within. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was shot back into reality, only to see a concerned look on everyone's faces.

"You ok, Mike?" Frank questioned. Micah forced a smile.

"Yeah, sorry… I must have just… zoned out a little." he lied. Frank didn't seem to buy it for one second, but removed his hand anyways. They all continued walking until they reached their ship, a tiny ticket booth in front of the main plank which was lowered onto the dock. The man running the booth smiled kindly as they approached.

"Well hello there! Welcome to the S.S. Labellum! May I please have your tickets… ok… that's 9 of you? Excellent. Please, come aboard. Our deckhand will show you around. I do hope you enjoy your time at the temple!" Micah felt a familiar feeling grow in his gut. He turned to Percy, who seemed to pick up on his change in attitude.

"Stay on your toes, everyone. Something tells me it's no coincidence this was the only ship sailing to our destination." Micah explained. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was wrong last time I doubted you. So enlighten me,Detective Speedy: What's so off about this place?" she quizzed. Micah took a defensive step towards her annoyedly.

"Well, for starters, there's not usually only one ship sailing to a specific place at a time, especially when it's a tourist attraction like this. There are only 3 hired hands on the whole ship, and one of them comes just to take OUR stuff. The ship's name is derived from a Latin basis, while the rest have names rooted in French and Spanish. And when we handed the man our tickets, he didn't tell us to enjoy our time on the island, he told us to enjoy our time at the temple. Last I checked, none of us mentioned going to the temple, so how'd he know?" Micah explained in a brief huff. Annabeth just stood there calculating everything he said, a look of amazement on her face.

"So I'll ask again: stay on guard, PLEASE." Micah said with mock pleading in his voice.

"I'm gonna re-case this boat. If I'm not back in 2 minutes, I've definitely been captured." he said quietly, then disappeared with a flash of purple light. They all looked around the giant ship, which was absolutely gorgeous. There were 2 separate decks, the upper deck containing the rooms in which they were staying, and the lower containing separate pools and a mini amphitheater. The deck floors were made of a smooth cherry wood, the outer walls white, and the hull a medium metallic grey with a single thick stripe running along the side. Micah came to a halt when he was about to round a corner. He looked around inconspicuously, trying to see if anyone was…

'gotcha.' Micah thought triumphantly. One of the workers was trying a little too hard to fit in. He was wearing a red polo shirt, khaki shorts, and converse. His all too big sunglasses unsuccessfully 'hid' his staring. When he saw he had been made, he bolted around the corner, pushing his way through the ever growing crowd. Micah quietly followed, not feeling comfortable using his abilities with so many bystanders if not absolutely necessary. But just as Micah rounded the corner, the man seemed to have… vanished. Micah looked around for quite some time, trying to find where that thing went. But he..it.. was long gone.

XX

Percy and the rest of the group couldn't just stand there and wait for Micah to return, so they decided to split up and search the boat for any monsters. Reyna was in the process of searching the second floor.

'Geez, this place is dusty… almost like no one has been down here for decades. Weird…' she thought. All around, cobwebs hung lazily from every crevice and corner. Old, faded paintings lined the hallway she walked through, an unnatural silence ringing as she slowly walked down the hallway. She peeked into a few musty rooms, finding all of the furniture covered in white sheets and a layer of dust. Suddenly, she thought she heard something. She whipped around, one hand on her necklace, to face whoever it was. Nothing. She continued her search, not even knowing exactly what it was she was looking for. She came to the end of the hallway, which split in 2 directions. She shrugged and veered left, continuing her search. She opened one door, and instantly knew she had found it. She came to a room full of antique keys; hanging on every spare space on the wall, in various display cases all around the room. But one in particular caught her eye. On the far wall of the room, encased in a glass case.She entered the room, and walked over. In the case, sat an 18th century-looking key. It was a deep blue, like the ocean's depth. She slowly opened the case, and was about to lift the key out, when she hesitated. She looked around, and found a similar looking key in size and design. She walked back over and, sliding the bronze key right behind the blue one, switched them out. She studied the key for a moment, then slipped it into a secret pocket in the bookbag. She turned to leave, heading back out the door, when she suddenly ran into…

"Hey, whoa! It's just… me." Micah said. Reyna looked at him confusedly.

"How did you find me down here?" she asked. Micah shrugged, clutching his hands behind his back.

"Oh, I… um… well… I guess I just got luck." Micah said nervously. Something felt… off. Reyna looked him up and down, her eyes suddenly stopping on his hand. No ring. She looked up at his neck. The Stygian Iron blade scar…. Gone. She backed away slowly, clutching her necklace.

"You're not Micah…" she said nervously. The thing chuckled, closing its eyes.

"Oh, so smart, aren't we? You're right," the thing said, opening its eyes, revealing bright red orbs.

"I'm not." it finished. It brought one of its hands from behind its back, revealing a gun. Reyna turned and ran, but before she could get far, she felt a bee sting in the right arm. She cried out in pain, reaching to feel a dart in her arm. Her vision started to spin as she stumbled and fell to the floor with a thud.