AN:
Another chapter coming at you. I'm glad you guys seemed to like how I'm handling this section of the story so far. I'm really enjoying how this whole thing is turning out. I never expected it to get this far, but the way it's looking this thing is definitely getting over 100k words. That's a huge milestone, and honestly pretty crazy to me. Anyways, this chapter wasn't nearly as difficult to write as the last one, and I had a lot of fun writing it. There's some pretty interesting stuff in this chapter, especially the first scene in my opinion. So, here it is, Chapter 17 of "The Spartan"

The Argo II, June 2010 CE

Percy didn't mind taking watch. In fact, he quite liked it. There was something comforting about being alone under the stars. Sure, he and Zoë got along great, and he liked the young demigods, but most of his life had been spent in solidarity. Despite the loved ones he now had in his life, he had been a loner for almost all of his time on earth. Being alone on watch allowed him to maintain a piece of the lifestyle he had lost.

Looking up to the stars, as he so often did on clear nights like these, he hummed softly to himself. By tommorow they'd be in Atlanta, and he'd probably be sleeping while the demigods went searching for Phorcys, but he didn't really mind. He knew they'd undeniably find a way to screw it up and almost die, but he'd take them almost dying without him as a win, so he figured he'd give them a shot. Besides, he could use the rest.

He was perched precariously on top of the sail of the boat, his back leaning against the mast as he allowed his mind to wander. He knew he'd sense anything approaching, and he was much too nimble to fall off, so he figured he could indulge himself in a little day-dreaming. Apparently he was wrong however, as the sound of someone's footsteps on the deck drew his attention.

Looking down, he peered through the darkness to make out who it was. It only took a glance to determine it was the Roman girl, Hazel. She leaned against the far railing, ever the picture of a troubled demigod. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he nimbly dropped down from the mast, taking the large drop like it was non-existent. His footsteps were soft against the wood flooring, carrying through the stillness of the night.

Slowly, he leaned against the same railing she was against, looking once more to the stars that always guided him. He could feel the girl looking at him, but he didn't acknowledge it. He knew that people only went outside alone at four am if they were doing some serious soul searching, so he figured it would be best not to interupt uness Hazel initiated it.

Hazel heard him approach her, placing his weight against the railing. She had honestly forgotten it was Percy who was on watch. If she had remembered, she probably wouldn't have come. To be honest, he unnerved her. Not because of anything he did specifically, more because of who he was.

Seeing someone who seemed so perfect, who was so universally loved and admired; it scared her. She had always seen the world as beautiful but flawed, and his existence challenged her view, and that bothered her. Still, a part of it made her curious. Curious of what flaw tainted the revered Ghost of Sparta. What made him human?

She hadn't really spoken with him yet, and maybe that's why she was still here. She had woken up thanks to another nightmare, a shadow of her past, and wanted to be alone. Instead, she was trapped, her curiosity keeping her from leaving, stranding her alone with the largest mystery she had ever encountered in the godly world.

She looked to him, examining his profile in the moonlight. There was no doubt he was handsome, but his features held something else too. Maybe it was because she was a daughter of Pluto, but she could see darkness around him. It was draped over his being like a cloak. She wasn't sure why, but it was the most enrapturing thing about him. It only served to magnify the enigma that was Percy.

"Do you ever have nightmares?" she asked out of the blue. The question came out of the blue, and she had been unable to bite her toungue before it spewed out.

"Sure. I'm human. We all do." He said simply, as if the question hadn't been completely random.

His answer surprised her. She couldn't picture the hero that Alex had painted for her waking up in a cold sweat as he yelled in fear. She couldn't fathom the idea that the guy who had wiped the floor with a giant that had haunted her every waking moment could be scared of anything. She had expected him to say he had long forgone the childish nightmare phase of his godly life. The idea that he shared that suffering with her, with all the heroes, was comforting. It helped prove to her that even the best of them were human.

"I had a nightmare." She admitted. Now that she knew he understood, she figured it wouldn't hurt to get his perspective.

"What about?" he asked. He wasn't looking at her, but she could tell he was listening. Genuine interest was in his voice. She appreciated that.

"Me. What I've done." She breathed out.

"Go on." He said, gesturing with his hand that he was listening.

Quickly, with barely a breath, she explained the story of her first life. Of how she had raised Alcyoneus. Of how she had died stopping him the first time. How she had traded her spot in Elysium in exchange for her mother being pardoned. How she had come back through the doors of death. How she had cheated Thanatos himself to be where she was today.

"So you see," she finished, "I've done horrible things. Frank and Alex tell me I did the right thing in the end. That I deserve this second chance at life. But I don't know if I believe them. Despite everything they say, I feel beyond redemption." She admitted.

She hadn't even told Frank that she still felt this way. She wondered absently why she was telling Percy of all people. Maybe it was because he seemed like he wouldn't judge. Or maybe it was the darkness she sensed on him. That somehow she could feel he was in the same boat as her.

"Who says you need redemtion?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"What you did was human. You protected your family. And when you realized what you were truly doing, you sacrificed everything for the greater good. I've seen greater people do much worse things than that. Yet their still revered. Their word still taken as gospel. You did a good thing. What happened before that doesn't matter." He explained.

He had finally looked at her, his emerald eyes meeting her golden ones. She could see the darkness that hung over him thicker than ever now. Still, his eyes glowed in the night, etheraly beautiful despite the myriad of emotions she could see there. Slowly it dawned on her. He was who he was talking about.

"You mean yourself don't you?"

"That obvious, am I?" he said with a laugh.

"You don't have to tell me… I get it. But still, your words comforted me. That you think what I did wasn't so bad. Maybe I can do the same?" she was genuinely curious now.

"Well, I suppose its only fair." He admitted. "Altough I must warn you, what I've done is a little different. More… Sinister…" he elaborated.

"It can't be that bad." She encouraged.

He let out a sigh, looking away from her again. He seemed lost in thought. She wondered if he was ever going to tell her. He seemed far away from here. When she had met him on the glacier, he had seemed powerful and confident. When she had seen him with Zoë, he had seemed at home. At peace. But now, alone with her under the moon, he seemed lost. Lonely. Afraid. At war with himself.

"I've done it twice." He started, obviously choosing his words carefully. "Two times, I've done the unthinkable. I've used my abilities in a way that noone who's shared them has ever dared to. I've pushed the boundaries beyond the preconcieved limitations, to a place that nobody should ever take them." His words were cryptic. She didn't relly understand.

"What did you do?" she asked. She was a little fearful now. She had never seen or heard of the Spartan being so uncomftorable or uneasy before.

"I contolled someone's blood. Twice. I used my ability over water to become the puppet master of a living being. To take complete and undeniable control."

She felt her jaw drop at the words. Her stomach seemed to go with. The darkness around him was heavier than it had ever been. She felt legitimate fear of him for the first time ever. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the very idea of that power, even in his hands, was terrifying. Still, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Who?" she squeaked out.

"Most recently? Kronos."

"Well that's not terrible. Kronos is evil. That's justifiable, you have to agree." She consoled, trying to make him feel better, despite her blood chilling at the thought of his grip over it. She wondered if he could feel it now.

"Don't ask the blacksmith who made the metal, ask the horse that's silenced by the bit." He muttered.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means you're asking the wrong person. You want to know how terrible that ability is? How wrong? Ask Kronos, not me. I don't care who it is I did it to, it's wrong. Think of it this way. I assume your grandmother was a slave, was she not?"

"Yea but I don't see what that has to do with-"

"Even slavery wasn't absolute servitude, Hazel. One of the most heinous crimes in human history, and what I did was worse. Even slaves had a choice. It wasn't a good one, but they had a choice. They could give in to servitude, or they could fight. They could run. Maybe they'd escape, maybe they'd die, but even in the worst of scenarios they still had that one thing."

"What's that?" she whispered. He turned to her again slowly, his eyes heavy with shame.

"Free will."

Finally she realized what he was getting at. He had discovered an ability beyond the cruelty even the titans could muster. He had figured out a way to completely strip free will from someones body. She realized why he was so ashamed. Why he seemed afraid of himself. Why what she did hadn't seemed so bad to him.

"I could've made Kronos do anything. I could've made him sing my favorite show tune. Do a silly dance. Anything. He had no choice. Not even a chance to fight back. He was one of the most vile beings that ever walked the earth, but even he deserved the right to die in control of himself. I stripped that from him. I took away the thing that separates living things from automatons. Choice."

She didn't know what to say. How to react. She felt comforted, but in the worst way possible. Sure, his story had helped her realize that what she had done hadn't been too bad. She had done the right thing. Her guilt had washed away like chalk in a rainstorm. But in its place she felt a huge ball of pity for him sitting in her stomach like a rock. Pity for someone who had done something terrible in the pursuit of something good.

"What you did was wrong. But you did it for the right reasons." She admitted. He smiled at her, as if her answer pleased him.

"Now do you realize Hazel?" he questioned slowly. He had a knowing look in his eyes now.

And she did. All this time, she had been pondering his situation. He had done something admittedly much worse than her. And she had still seen the good behind it. Still seen he had a good heart, and that despite the evil nature of his actions, he was relatively untainted. Even talking about himself, he had been talking about her.

"Ah, you do realize. I know what I did was wrong. A part of me hates myself every day for it. Fears myself even. It's understandable I feel that way. I understand you feel the same. In my experience you'll never be able to squash it out. Just don't let it control you… We are what we continually do. You want to make up for your sins? Do what I do. Fight them with servitude. With duty. With love. With all the things in the world that stand against the mistakes we've made. No matter how bad our sins, it's how we atone for them that defines us."

And before she could respond, he was gone, his words battering against her brain. For a while now she had wondered if the man was flawed. Now it was clear that he may be the most damaged of all. That he was more human than any demigod. He was the most complicated person she had ever met. Still, one thing was certain. His actions didn't define him. The Ghost of Sparta was good. She was sure of it.

Fort Sumter, June 2010 CE

Percy was having a swell time fighting the Romans. They were currently trying to board the Argo II, which Percy thought was just absolutely hilarious. Challenging the Champion of Poseidon on a boat was like challenging Joey Chestnut to a hotdog eathing contest. You were well and truly screwed if you did.

Percy dodged and weaved through the Romans, not even bothering to summon his armor. He was only weilding his sword and shield, and he was handily incapacitating the virtual army of demigods assaulting them. He knew fighting bare was pretty insulting, but honestly, he didn't care. These demigods had insulted him by attacking him where he was strongest.

"Didn't I tell them Zoë? Didn't I say 'The Romans will catch up to us, and then they'll nearly kill you all as we make a daring escape, so hurry'?" he shouted up to her, amusement in his tone.

Zoë was perched in the crows nest of the Argo II, shooting blunt arrows down into the crowd of legionaire. She was firing arrow after arrow, firing with a speed and accuracy only a huntress of Artemis could ever hope to achieve. She seemed equally miffed by the attack. The Romans had seriously thought their legionaires could take a ship being guarded by the deadliest mortal couple in history? It was insulting to say the least.

"Yes Percy, you told them. You're a prophet. I'll tell Rachel she's out of a job." She teased, unleashing an arrow without even looking to her target. Needless to say, that guy probably wasn't creating any legacies any time soon.

"I'm just saying." He yelled back, knocking out a charging legionaire with the hilt of Anaklusmos. "It's just too predictable. Lazy writing by the fates if you ask me."

"Will you two shut up and die already?" A legionaire interjected. He was infuriated that the two warriors were fighting so casually. Like the legion wasn't a deadly war machine out to get them. Like this was a game.

Percy frowned at the words. He waved his hand and a jet of water rose from the ocean, blasting the demigod off the boat. He went overboard with a scream, desparately flailing to grab hold of something to stop his plummet into the briney depths.

"Rude. We were having a conversation." Percy shouted after him, mirth dancing in his eyes.

The fight raged on a while longer, but they were running out of Romans to embarrass. No doubt the rest of them were chasing after the seven as they made their escape from Fort Sumter.

"Percy! They're on their way!" Zoë hollered from above. Percy looked up, seeing she was right.

In the distance he saw the seven making their way back to the ship. They were being pursued by another group of soldiers, a storm cloud follwing them. Percy felt pride swell in his chest. The storm was massive, obviously created by Alex and Jason working together. Exactly as he had planned. Total bromance.

` "Sorry guys, play times over." He said with a smile, looking back to the few remaining soldiers on their boat.

He thrust Anaklusmos into the ground, raising his hands into the air. The Romans around him froze in fear, unsure what the powerful demigod was doing. They had seen what he had done to the demigod who had spoken out. They weren't liking where this was going.

Suddenly, the ocean exploded around them, tentacles of water bursting forth from the sea. It looked like a giant watery kraken was laying siege to the Argo II. Instead of sinking the ship however, it began to lay waste to the remaining legionaires. One by one, the Romans were grabbed by the watery appendages, being tossed into the ocean like yesterdays trash.

As soon as the seven reached the boat, all looking worse for wear, Percy sprung into action. When the last demigod made it aboard, he raised his arms again. The sea followed his command, lifting the Argo II on a massive wave, propelling them out to the open water. The boat jetted away from the shore faster than any boat had any right to, quickly piling on the distance.

Looking back to the shore, Percy saw the Romas shouting after them. Most were bloody and bruised, and the others had accidentaly taken swims. They all had one thing in common though, they looked pissed. Percy wasn't too fond of them either, but they were pretty far away, so he decided to express his distaste in a way everyone understood. Raising his hand he gave them the universal middle finger salute, summoning another wave to splash them just for kicks.

Turning around, he took stock of the demigods who he had let out into Charleston unsupervised. Jason and Alex looked pretty exauhsted, and were being dragged downstairs by Frank and Piper. Probably for rest and a large helping of Ambrosia. Leo was discussing something with Hazel, who looked rather seasick, and Annabeth was staring off uneasily into space. She seemed troubled.

As he went to approach Annabeth, Zoë fell in line next to him, dropping down gracefully from the crows nest. He maneuvered closer to her, walking so close their arms were nearly brushing. He didn't hold her hand, he and Zoë both prefered to keep the PDA to a minimum, but they still wanted to feel close to one another.

"So, Annabeth. What's your deal?" Percy asked cheerfuly.

Annabeth jumped at his words, obviously having been too lost in thought to notice them approach. That was a common problem for the daughter of Athena it seemed. She was always so wrapped up in her mind the rest of the world just dissappeared.

"Have some tact Percy." Zoë scolded. "Annabeth, did you find what you needed?" she asked gently. Leave it to Percy to force the cold former lieutenant of Artemis to be the diplomatic one.

The blonde girl nodded, gulping as she did so. Her steely grey eyes looked shakey and nervous. Percy hadn't seen her this unsettled since the day that Alex had gone missing.

"Yes I… I know what I'm after now." She said, sounding scared.

"The Athena Parthenos, right?" Zoë questioned, not sounding surprised in the slightest.

"How'd you… How'd you know?" Annabeth said with shock. The casual nature of the two in front of her caught her off guard. It was as if they had already known.

"Annabeth, please. We were both alive when the statue was taken. We knew exactly what it was once you told us about the mark." Percy explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because. Don't pretend you didn't already know. You might've been hoping you were wrong, but deep down you knew. You're one of the smartest kids Athena's ever had, I have no doubt you figured out." Percy shot back. Annabeth had the graciousness to smile at the compliment.

"So, what did you really learn? Because that's not what has you so shaken up." Zoë said perceptively. She tried to make her voice soothing for the troubled daughter of wisdom.

"I think I know who's guarding the statue. I think it's… It's Arachne." She choked out.

Her eyes were wet with barely restrained tears. She sounded terrified. Percy could understand. Arachne was an Athena child's worst nightmare in monster form. Annabeths godly DNA was pre-programmed to be deathly afraid of spiders, and Arachne was the most deadlu spider there ever was.

"Have you told anyone else about this?" Percy asked.

"No, we were kind of busy running for our lives. But I don't think I'm going to. I have to do this myself. I have to succeed on my own."

"Wisdom's daughter walks alone." Zoë commented. Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Exactly." She sounded anything but confident.

Percy put a hand on the daughter of Athena's shoulders. He lowered his eyes to her level, sea green meetig steely grey. He looked at her a moment, scanning her. What he was looking for, she didn't know.

"It'll be alright Annabeth." He said simply. "I've met a lot of heroes in my day. You, you're one of the best. You're smart, skilled, capable. You have what it takes. Arachne doesn't stand a chance. Now, you should probably go check on your boyfriend." He said, nodding towards the door heading below decks.

The girl nodded, eyes flashing with gratitude. She contemplated hugging him in thanks, but the black haird huntress by his side made her rethink that. With a quick mutter of thanks, she made her way to the infirmary, leaving Percy behind with Zoë. They watched her go, waiting until she dissappeared below deck to speak again.

"You think she can handle it?" Zoë asked quizically.

"Of course. Don't you?"

"Yes, just tell me why." She said simply. She wanted to hear his thought process. His mind was beautiful to her. Plus, she knew she'd probably learn something.

"Well for one, everything I said to her was true. Second, she's not as alone as she thinks she is. And three, well, Arachne's a spider, and spiders don't have apposable thumbs. You realize how big of a disadvantage that is? Totally puts things in her favor." He explained, talking like he was explaining a joke to someone. Zoë laughed at his words. He was just ridiculous sometimes.

"What do you mean?" she asked after her laughter subsided.

"About spiders? What do you mean what do I mean? They don't have-"

"No, not about the spiders. About her not being so alone?" she said with a smile.

"Oh. That." He said. He paused, looking like he was thinking for a moment.

"You know how I've done errands for the gods for so long right?"

"Believe me, I'm painfully aware." She said bitterly.

"Well, a few years back, Athena came to me with a request. Said she had a favored daughter who was in dire need of help. I did what I could. I couldn't take her with me where I was headed next, but there were two demigods nearby. I kept myself hidden, but I lured them to the alleyway a child was hiding in. The girl they found there was-"

"Annabeth." Zoë cut him off.

"Yes. Annabeth. Athena sent me to make sure she lived. That girl is favored by her mother like no child I've seen before. There's no doubt she'll be the one to retrieve the Parthenos."

Zoë nodded at his words. It made sense. She remembered bumping into Annabeth with Thalia and Luke back when she was a hunter of Artemis. It was fascinating to learn that somehow Percy had facilitated their meeting. She wondered what other things he had a hand in that she hadn't realized. She decided to voice the thought.

"I met them back then; back in my time as a hunter. You brought them, together? What else did you do in the past that I didn't know about?" she asked curiously.

"You remember those two weeks in the forteen-hundreds that the hunters kept running out of arrows. Where you'd make so many arrows each day but each night they'd dissappear ad you'd have to make more?" he said, his face wearing a mischevious smile now.

"Yes but how'd you know about… That was you?" she hissed.

"Hermes bet me I couldn't get away with it… Totally did" He said, looking smug. He shot her an arrogant wink for good measure.

His cocky smile quickly faded when he saw the look on her face. She swung at him playfully, not really aiming to hurt him. He ducked underneath the blow, turning to run away. She gave chase, and the two of them ran below deck, laughing all the way.

Percy's heart filled with love as he ran. The wind tickled his hair as he darted to their cabin, the nimble huntress gaining ground on him. He smiled to himself. They may be on a boat sailing to impeding doom, but as long as he was with her, he felt right. He felt home.

The Argo II, June 2010 CE

Percy had been below decks when the sea monster had attacked. Luckily for the sea monster, he had been otherwise preoccupied with a certain black-haired huntress, or he would've sensed it coming. Instead, he found himself rushing to the deck, Zoë in tow, arriving just in time to see Leo and Hazel fall into the ocean. They stopped at the top of the stairs, mouths ajar at the sight before them.

The sea monster was absolutely massive, and absolutely ugly. It looked like a disgusting cross breed of a shrimp and a centipede had made love to a cockroach, and then sprinkled itself with about nine-hundred metric tons of miracle grow. It's pink tentacles were writhing around the deck, pinning down the demigods. Their weapons strewn about the deck. Things were in dissaray.

Almost instinctually he recognized the monster. In his years of servitude to Poseidon, he had developed a near encyclopedic knowledge of the creatures of the sea. He groaned when he recognized it as a Skolopendra. These nasty things were notriouly aggressive, and known for how difficult they were to drive off.

He quickly tapped his necklace, his armor forming around him. Drawing Anaklumos, he advanced on the monster, who had noticed him almost instantly. Behind him, Zoë was unleashing arrow after arrow targeting the beasts face. They weren't doing much but inciting the monsters rage, but honestly there wasn't much a demigod weapon alone could do to the beast.

The other demigods were tangled up already, struggling against their fleshy bonds. He had seen Hazel and Leo fall into the ocean, and he couldn't help but notice the absence of Frank. He could only assume that he had suffered the same fate. He rsigned himself to the fact that he and Zoë alone had to slay the monster.

As the monster attacked Percy, he sliced through tentacle after tentacle. Despite his efforts, the monster simply had too many arms, and the forest of wiggly limbs continued their assault. Zoë hit the monster in the eye as Percy struggled to fend off the arms, causing it to let out a roar of anger. It gave Percy a brief moment of respite as the monster cried in pain.

Looking into the monsters mouth, he saw the inside was charred an burnt, obviously the work of a nasty dose of greek fire. In the back of his mind he gave props to whoever had come up with that idea. He was surprised it hadn't sent the monster off running. He didn't like what it meant for him though. This was an especially tough Skolopendra.

Carving through the tentacles, he began to get closer to the beasts body. He was trying to work close enough to strike the monsters heart. Still, more tentacles came flying at him, two replacing every limb he severed. Behind him, he heard a yell, distracting him. He turned to see Zoë scooped up by the beast, and he let out a yell of his own. In his distraction, the monster was able to wrap him up too, pinning his arms to his were becoming desparate.

Unfortunately for the monster, Percy didn't particularly like when monsters scooped up his girlfriend. Summoning the ocean too his will, he created a massive blade of water, bringing it down on the tentacles holding the other demigods. They quickly scrambled away, searching for their weapons to rejoin the fight.

Before they could rearm themselves, Percy took it a step further. He summoned all his power, forming a massive watery beast of his own. The ocean itself formed into a giant monster, the watery behemoth towering over the attacking Skolopendra. Rain pummeled down from the sky now, pelting the deck and the now freed demigods, who were watching on with awe.

"There's always a bigger fish." He muttered to himself with a grin.

Before the Skolopendra could react, the watery monster lowered its enourmous maw, biting into the skull of the beast. The Skolopendra screeched in pain, flailing uncontrolably. He saw the monster let Zoë go as well, most of its tentacles reaching back to fight off its assailant.

The water monster Percy had created didn't seem to mind, ignoring the blows from the tentacle as it crunched harder into the Skolopendra's head. The beast let out one last wail of pain before the life left its beady eyes, going limp in the water monster's jaws. The water monster began to recede, taking the corpse of the shrimp monster with it.

The Skolopendra dropped him as it was dragged away, leaving him to freefall towards the deck of the Argo II. He was much too exhausted to catch himself, instead allowing his armor to take the fall for him. He hit the deck with a crash, leaving a Percy shaped imprint in the floor. All around him, tentacles and monster guts were littered across the deck. The whole place smelled like a fish market had taken a dump on them.

Slowly he rose, turning to face the remaining half-bloods. A myriad of emotions were written across their faces now. He could see awe in their eyes, but he could also see sadness. They had lost three of their crew.

He stumbled a bit, barely catching himself. He was feeling fairl lightheaded. Zoë made to approach him, but he raised a hand to stop her. Despite his efforts to stand under his own power, Zoë walked to him, slinging his arm over her shoulder. He reluctantly leaned against her, secretly grateful for the help.

Zoë sent a look at Jason, who quickly rushed to his other side. Together, the pair started to walk him towards the stairs to go below deck. He was barely holding himself now, his mind hazy. He had overexpended himself, that much was clear.

"So… Anyone want some sushi?" he muttered, nodding towards the remains of the Skolopendra.

He thought it was a pretty funny joke for such a dire time, but he didn't get a chance to see if anyone agreed. As the rain continued to pound down overhead, he felt himself slump against the pair holding him up. His mind left him, leaving for unconsciousnes as the rest of the seven worried about their fallen comrades. These were dark times indeed.

AN:

And that's a wrap. I really liked this chapter. I hope you did too. My favorite scene was the one with Hazel. We got some philosophical discussion as Percy consoled her. He used his own struggles with his sins to comfort her, and through that, we get a glimpse into his deeper psyche. I wanted it to demonstrate that even now, he regrets the things he's had to do in his line of duty. Not even just the blood control, but other dark things he's been forced to do for the greater good. I want to show that Percy's no saint, and he knows that, but he's trying to be the best he can be through his duty to serve the greater good, and through his love for his friends and especially Zoë. Plus, I always like when we get mentoring Percy for his young demigod pals. Anyways, I really hope this chapter was good for you guys. I'm really excited for next time, because they're going to be entering the Mare Nostrum, which means they have to get past Heracles. And you know what that means. You think I'd pass up the chance to have a Percy and Zoë vs Heracles stompfest? Fat chance. Anyways, until then,

Peace.