Disclaimer: All rights belong to Rick Riordan. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.

Rating: T for dark themes and violence

Author's Note: And here's another throwback to the OG series. If you haven't picked up on it, some of the events in this fic followed (roughly) the timeline of the books, but some haven't happened yet. For instance, Percy beat the Minotaur, fought Ares, went to the Sea of Monsters, saved Artemis from Atlas and saved the gods from the Titans in roughly the same timeline as the books, however some monsters and characters like Nereus and the character in this chapter haven't met him yet, even though they did in the books

Chapter 10

Nearly two weeks later, the northern coastline of Sardinia comes into view.

Annabeth is sparring with Percy on deck. Knife on sword is an unusual combination, but Percy doesn't just use his blade; he uses the hilt and his body just as effectively. Annabeth may lack the range his sword gives him, but she's quick and calculating, seeing the openings and lunging.

Since the encounter with the Sirens, everyone onboard the Pax has been on high alert. They've had a few minor monster attacks, but nothing too bad. Annabeth killed her first monster when some hybrid dog-men-seals (telkhines, Percy called them) slithered up from the ocean onto the deck. After that victory, the crew seemed to accept her in a way they hadn't quite before. And although Annabeth learned a huge lesson about her own hubris during the Siren attack, she can't help but feel proud of herself. She walks with her chin up and her knife hung openly at her side. She's no longer the same proper girl who was kidnapped by pirates and ended up on this ship by chance.

Percy has also been a lot better since the Siren attack, both physically and mentally, though Annabeth isn't sure exactly what triggered the change. He still has nightmares - which he still declines to share with anyone - but they don't suck as much energy out of him as they had before. His more relaxed side has shown through, though Annabeth feels as though he's put up a wall between the two of them. She's sure it has something to do with what happened with the Sirens, but she hasn't figured out what it was, exactly.

Her most prevalent theory is that it has something to do with the image he saw when he touched her, the one with Luke in it. Maybe Percy thinks he's being too forward with her since she's an engaged woman? Percy seems like an honorable guy, so it's likely, though Annabeth considers Frank, Beckendorf, and Will to also be honorable men and they haven't changed the way they acted towards her.

When the coastline of Sardinia appears, a relieved smile breaks out upon Percy's face. He lowers his sword and Annabeth, mid-lunge, nearly skewers him in the chest. He reaches out with his hand and grabs her arm, steering her knife away from his chest. The way he's holding her has her pressed against his chest, her arm along his, and the close proximity turns her cheeks red. But Percy doesn't seem to notice; he's using the tip of her knife to point towards the island.

"We're here," he says, releasing her and stepping back. He looks over his shoulder at Frank. "Get ready to drop anchor!"

Annabeth takes a few deep breaths to get rid of the flush in her cheeks and sheathes her knife. "You still haven't told me much about this friend of yours."

"He's the best," Percy promises. "Just don't mention his legs. He's sensitive about them."

She wonders what the heck that could mean. Percy is already in motion, giving sailors last minute instructions and working his sea magic.

Before long, the ship is anchored close off the coast. Percy chooses Will and Annabeth to come with him, leaving Beckendorf and Frank in charge of the ship.

"Why is it always three?" Annabeth asks as the small boat ferries them from the ship to the land. "When we went to Baleo Claudia, it was you, me, and Frank. When we met Rachel, it was you, me, and Beckendorf."

"Three is a sacred number in Greek Mythology," Will explains, the wind coming off the waves ruffling his blond hair. "Three Fates, three Furies, three Gorgons, the Big Three - "

"The Big Three?"

"Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades," Percy says. "The three most powerful gods - the sons of Kronos, Lord of the Titans."

"That's why you're so powerful. You're the son of a Big Three god."

Percy glances away, looking uncomfortable. He leans over and dips his hand in the sea, the hilt of his sword turning her way. Annabeth glances at the unfamiliar Greek characters inscribed on it in gold.

"What does it say?" she asks.

"Anaklusmos. Riptide." Percy's eyes darken. "My father gave it to me, but it once belonged to the bravest girl I've ever known."

Annabeth isn't sure why that bothers her. She knows from the dark look in his eyes that something tragic happened, but she can't stop herself from asking, "Where is she now?"

"In the stars."

The rest of the ride to the island is silent. They drag the boat ashore an abandoned stretch of beach. There's no civilization in sight, just tall grass and forests.

"Does your friend live in a cave like Rachel?" Annabeth asks, setting her hand on the handle of her knife.

"Gods, no. He hates caves more than almost anything." Percy closes his eyes and concentrates. A small smile breaks out across his face, and he begins taking long strides through the grass. Will and Annabeth follow at his heels.

"Perrrrrcy!"

A skinny guy with reddish brown hair that curls around his head and wisps across his jawline to form a short goatee at the end of his chin bursts out of the trees. He smiles brightly.

Annabeth remembers Percy's comment about not mentioning his legs, so of course her gaze instantly flickers down. She freezes when she sees that instead of feet, the guy has hooves, and instead of human legs, he has goat legs complete with furry hindquarters and a stubby tail. Annabeth's eyes travel up his torso, which is covered with a short-sleeved tunic, up to his hair, where she notices for the first time a set of horns peeking out of his half-afro.

"Hey, man! It's been a while." Percy hugs the half-goat man.

"It's been way too long," his friend agrees. "You've been getting into a lot of trouble - I can feel when you're in danger, you know. And sometimes your dreams leak through to mine."

The happy expression on Percy's face falters. "It's nothing important," he says quickly.

His friend looks at him seriously. "Your dreams are always important, Percy. You can't ignore them."

Percy turns back to her, who is watching in shock. "Oh, I haven't introduced you. Annabeth, this is my best friend, Grover. Grover, this is one of my new sailors, Annabeth."

Grover holds out his hand, which Annabeth slowly shakes. "You're a faun?" she asks, piecing together her knowledge of mythology.

Grover lets out a bleating sound. "A satyr," he corrects. "Very different than fauns."

"Grover isn't just any satyr," Percy says, a small smile dancing along his lips the way it does when he's about to embarrass someone. Annabeth has gotten all too used to that look. "He's the Lord of the Wild."

"It's nothing, really," Grover replies, his cheeks reddening.

"He has the blessing of Pan, the god of the wild. His job is to help preserve the earth and the remaining wild spaces."

"That sounds really important," Annabeth says. "What are you doing in Sardinia?"

"The mortals in the area are trying to cut down this forest to build more houses on the island," Grover explains. "It's one of the last wild areas on the island left. I've been trying to help the nature spirits fight back. Unfortunately, I keep losing spirits."

"How do you lose nature spirits?"

Grover shrugs. "They go into the forest and they're never seen again." He stamps his hooves nervously. "There's something evil in those woods. That's another reason why the locals want to tear it down. Maybe if we can get rid of whatever monster is hiding there, we can convince the people in the area to leave it."

"Have you been working on your reed pipe music?" Will asks. Since Percy didn't introduce him to Grover, Annabeth concludes that they've met before.

"I have," Grover says, hesitantly picking up the instrument from around his neck. "But nature magic through music was not included in Pan's blessing."

Will holds out his hand, and Grover gives him the double pipe instrument. He lifts it to his lips and the most beautiful song Annabeth has ever heard rings out. Around her feet, green stems push up through the grass and grow into brilliant flowers. In a few seconds, the entire field around them is covered in the new flora.

Will lowers the instrument. Grover wipes at his eyes. "I wish I could play as well as you," he laments. "The best I can do is unwilt flowers - but usually I just kill them."

"Keep working at it," Will encourages. "Maybe make some sacrifices to Apollo for a couple of weeks."

"You said there was a monster in the woods?" Percy asks, glancing between the trees. "Do you have any idea what it is?"

Grover shakes his head. "I was actually hoping you could help me out. I would do it myself, but…"

"It's no problem," Percy says. "We'll kill it and then maybe you can help me with a problem."

And that's how Annabeth finds herself on her first monster hunt. The four of them plunge into the forest, the sunlight disappearing as the thick canopy of the trees covers the sky above them. Within a few minutes the forest has turned eerily dark. Annabeth clutches her knife in her hand as they walk.

Percy holds his sword out in front of him, the bronze metal glowing in the darkness and dimly illuminating the area around them. Grover stays close behind him and Will comes last, a bow and arrow in his hand.

"I have a secret," he whispers to Annabeth as they walk.

"What?" she asks, keeping her voice low.

"I'm a terrible shot."

She can't help but crack a smile, even though their surroundings seem to breathe evil. Annabeth wouldn't be surprised if an army of monsters lived here.

"I'm still glad you have my back," she whispers back.

"Let's just hope I don't accidentally shoot you in the back."

They walk for about an hour, Grover pausing to cast a tracking spell every now and then using fallen acorns. Annabeth isn't sure exactly what they're tracking, but he and Percy carry on their own hushed conversation the entire time.

"What's their story?" she asks Will. "How do they know each other?"

"Grover knew Percy was a demigod before anyone else, and he knew he was in danger. He dressed as a human and befriended him so that he could protect him. He was with Percy the night the Minotaur attacked."

"And Percy wasn't mad that Grover failed to protect him and his mother?"

"That's not Percy's style," Will replies. "He doesn't blame other people for the bad things that happen to him - except maybe the gods. Besides, Grover was the last connection from his previous life to this new one, and they went on a lot of adventures together. Grover is the reason Percy went to the Sea of Monsters a few years ago. He was captured by Polyphemus, and Percy went to save him."

"What did Grover mean when he said Percy's dreams were leaking into his own?"

Will frowns slightly. "I'm not exactly sure. I know that satyrs can read emotions, but that's only in close proximity. I've heard rumors of special links that can be created between nature spirits, but I've never heard of one between a human and a nature spirit. It could be possible, though."

Ahead, Percy and Grover come to a halt. Annabeth and Will catch up to them, the sight before them freezing them in their tracks.

There's a cabin in the midst of a clearing ahead. Smoke curls up from the chimney, and a few candles flicker in the windows. Around the hut is a strange variety of stone statues intermixed with flowering trees.

"How are the flowers growing with so little light?" Annabeth asks.

"There's some strong magic here," Will says, squatting down and placing his hand on the ground.

"That doesn't look like the house of a monster," Grover says hopefully.

"It never does," Percy says with a knowing sigh. He begins walking straight ahead.

They weave through the garden, taking time to examine the statues. Annabeth sees people in a variety of actions with a variety of facial expressions. Many of them look fearful. Some look simply surprised. In addition to humans, Annabeth also sees statues of animals and monsters.

Grover stops in front of an older satyr with long, curling horns. "This looks like my uncle Ferdinand," he remarks.

Percy presses on. He pauses by a stone fountain, gurgling with water. A miniature statue of a naked Poseidon holding his trident tops it. He frowns at it and stares for a long moment. Then he shakes his head and continues tracing his way towards the house.

He's just raising his hand to knock on the door when it swings open. A woman wearing a black dress and a dark veil over her face appears in the doorway.

"It's been so long since I had company," she says in a heavily accented voice. Annabeth thinks she sounds like an old, lonely lady, but she doesn't quite let her guard down all the way. "Come in, come in."

Percy hesitates. He glances back at them, a wary expression in his face. He's fought too many monsters to be tricked by an old lady disguise.

"And please, put away those weapons," the lady continues, turning and heading inside. "I swear on the River Styx that no monster will attack you while you're within these walls."

Thunder rumbles overheard. Annabeth glances up in surprise, but the other three just follow the lady inside. Annabeth thinks that the way the woman worded the sentence is odd, but she trusts the others' instincts. They've been fighting monsters a lot longer than she has.

The woman has food cooking over the fire, and she motions for them all to sit at her table. She hands out plates and silverware and then ladles out a delicious meal of gyros. Annabeth eats her fill, realizing that her trek through the forest had burned her out.

The old lady doesn't eat; she simply stands behind them, filling up their plates again, and making casual conversation.

"I'm so glad you're here, Grover," she says as she heaps his plate with vegetable filling. "I've been so worried about losing my forest. You can always count on a satyr to protect the last few wild places."

"It's my job," Grover replies before eating his plate, the glass and vegetables and sauce and all.

"And Will, such beautiful hair. You look like a modern Adonis." She squeezes one of his curls through her fingers. "I could look at you forever."

"Uh, thanks?" He shoots her a confused look.

"Annabeth, my dear, what a good facial structure you have." Annabeth shivers as the lady runs her finger underneath her jawline. "I'm sure you have all the men vying for your hand. Too bad you're spoken for already."

Annabeth swallows what's in her mouth and then stares at the table, her eyebrows furrowing together. How did the lady know that Annabeth was engaged? In fact, how did she know all their names? They hadn't introduced themselves.

"And Perseus." The woman stops by Percy, and though her eyes are covered, Annabeth can tell she's staring at him enviously. "You look so much like your father." There's a distant longing in her voice that sets of warning bells in Annabeth's head.

At the mention of his father, Percy looks up, his cheeks puffed out with food. Were they not in the middle of an evil forest eating food by a creepy lady, Annabeth would have laughed.

He swallows. "You knew my father?"

"Know him?" She sighs. "Did you see the fountain out front? I made it in his likeness. Isn't it accurate?"

Percy looks queasy. "Yes."

"Of all the statues in my collection, his is the one I want the most." She leans her elbows on the table and seems to sink into them. "I could stare at him for eternity. Of course, I'd settle for you. You really do take after him."

The warning bells in Annabeth's mind are ringing like crazy. She's convinced by now that this lady either is the monster or is working with the monster, but she doesn't know her Greek mythology well enough to identify exactly what they're facing.

Grover seems to get it, though. His eyes widen and he slides back his chair, rising to his feet. "That statue that looks like my uncle Ferdinand - "

Percy reaches for his sword at his side, but the woman grabs his wrist.

"Now, now, my dears," she cooes. "I swore a sacred oath that no monster would attack you within these walls. I would hope you'd return the generosity."

Percy looks like he doesn't care, but Grover shoots him a worried look, and he backs down.

"Finish eating," the woman says. "And then it's time to make a decision."

"What decision?" Annabeth asks, not putting the pieces together.

The woman tilts her head her way. "Sweet, innocent girl. You've seen the future. There's nothing but heartache for you. Whichever path you choose, you're going to lose one of them. I'm giving you a third option. You can choose to stay with me forever, and you won't live to see your nightmare come true. It won't hurt, I promise. It will be like an eternal sleep."

The images from her nightmare flash in her mind: the funeral pyre, Luke holding Percy's sword, the evil pirate with the striking resemblance to Percy holding the pearl, the storms raging as far as the eye can see. She senses the others looking her way, but she just stares at the woman in shock. How can she know about the dream? Annabeth didn't tell anyone.

"Who are you?" she demands.

The woman clucks her tongue. "You disappoint me, Annabeth. You're smarter than this."

Everyone has stopped eating, and the woman notices. She stands at the head of the table. "Done eating so soon? Young people these days are always so eager. No patience. Well, it's your fate you're rushing to. So, what's your decision?"

Percy tightens his grip around his sword hilt, though he doesn't unsheathe it. "How is this going down?" he asks.

"It's quite simple." She clasps her hands together. "I'll escort you to the door. If you choose to stay with me, I'll let you choose a pose. If you choose to fight, you'll be stuck with whatever ridiculous expression you have when you see my true form."

"None of us are staying," Percy says. He stands, and the others follow suit. "So take us to the door."

"As you wish." The woman reaches out and strokes his cheek one last time, ignoring how he flinches away. "It's a shame, though. I would have loved to pose you."

Annabeth's heart is racing. She feels like she's right on the edge of identifying this monster, but she's missing one crucial piece. She has the sinking feeling that she's about to find out.

The woman holds the door open. "Last chance, darlings."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Will pushes past her and steps out into the garden. Before anyone can call out to him in warning, he turns back.

In a flash, the woman lifts her veil. Annabeth hears a hissing sound and Will's eyes widen before he turns to stone. It all happens so fast. Suddenly she understands what the woman had been talking about, and she knows exactly who they're facing.

The woman - Medusa - turns back to them, the veil once again covering her face. "Now, who's next?" she asks, her voice still sweet.

"Annabeth, go," Percy says, his voice tight and his jaw clenched. "Run and don't look back. Grover, you follow her and lead her out. I'll take care of this."

"Percy, I'm not leaving you," Grover shoots back.

"Please." Percy's voice is strained. "I can't lose anyone else."

Annabeth steps forward, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. She steps off the porch and bursts into a run, ignoring the urge to take one last look at Will.

She vaguely hears the thud of hooves against the porch as Grover follows, and then she hears Percy yell as he unsheathes his sword and tries to blindly battle the gorgon. Annabeth runs until she hits the edge of the forest and then she turns back, hiding behind the trees.

Grover reaches her a second later. "I'm not leaving him behind," he declares.

"Of course not!" Annabeth sneaks around the trees, circling around the hut slowly. "I'm trying to come up with a plan."

"What do you have?"

"So far? Just that Medusa thinks we're gone."

"That's more of a plan than Percy usual has," Grover says.

And less of one than I'd like, Annabeth thinks, but she doesn't say anything aloud. Once they've circled around the back of the house, she slinks back, hiding behind stone statues in case Percy's battle with Medusa brings them around. Grover follows at her heels. As they draw closer, she can hear the sound of Percy's sword bouncing off of stone and Medusa's taunting voice.

"Your father couldn't resist me, boy. What makes you think that you can?"

"I'd like to think I've learned from his mistakes," Percy shoots back. "Especially since I end up cleaning up all the messes."

Annabeth creeps towards the sound, peering behind a statue. Percy has his eyes clenched shut as he swings his sword in front of him. Medusa is simply watching from a safe distance, taking a step back whenever he gets closer. She's ditched her veil, and Annabeth can see the snakes curling around her head.

"I'm going to distract Medusa," Annabeth says, pulling out her knife. "Grover, shout directions to Percy."

"It's too dangerous," Grover says, grabbing her arm. "Percy would never forgive me if you got hurt."

"There'll be nothing for Percy to forgive if he's dead," she shoots back before concentrating her eyes on the ground and running forward. She clips a couple statues with her side, but she ignores the burst of pain and continues in the direction she had seen Medusa in.

Annabeht raises her knife and swings at Medusa's back. At the last moment, Medusa must sense her because she side-steps. Annabeth's knife only grazes her, but it's enough for the gorgon to cry out in alarm.

"You wretched girl!" she screeches.

"Annabeth?" Percy asks.

"Listen to Grover!" she shouts. She ducks as Medusa lunges forward, her fingernails having morphed into wicked-looking talons.

"Take five steps backward!" Grover yells.

What? Backwards? Annabeth has a decent sense of where Percy is, and backwards is the opposite direction! What is Grover doing?

"Now lean down!"

Annabeth makes another swipe with her knife, but Medusa is wise enough to stay just far enough back. As Annabeth's arm follows through with the swing, the gorgon leaps forward, grabbing Annabeth's throat with her hands. She tugs her forward. Annabeth squeezes her eyes shut as tight as possible, feeling the breath of the monster on her face. She can't be more than three inches away from Medusa's deadly eyes.

"Just open them," Medusa coaxes. "Let it all end peacefully. Eternal slumber - is that truly so cruel a fate?"

Annabeth tries to turn her face away, but Medusa's talons dig into her neck. She repositions the knife in her hand, angling it a different way. It's not the proper way to hold a knife, but it will do.

She makes one last jerk, feinting to one side while bringing up her knife from the other. She stabs it into the gorgon and she releases her with a high-pitched shriek. Annabeth falls to the ground and scrambles away until her back hits a statue.

The monster didn't explode, which means it wasn't a fatal hit, but at least it freed Annabeth. She remains in place, breathing hard. This is the second time in two weeks she's almost died from asphyxiation.

"Straight ahead!" she hears Grover shout. She looks up just in time to see Percy's sword slice through the air and through Medusa's neck. Percy is holding a reflexive ball in his opposite hand and watching his aim through it. The gorgon dissolves in a pop of golden dust, her head hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Percy drops the ball and jogs over to Annabeth, offering his hand. He pulls her to her feet and together they stand over the severed head of Medusa.

"What do we do with it?" Annabeth asks.

Percy glances towards the front porch, where Will's statue is still standing, frozen forever in time. His lips press together grimly. "I know where."

He sprints into the house, taking the steps two at a time. He returns a moment later with a wooden box and a piece of paper with something scrawled on it in black ink.

Grover returns just as Percy grabs the Medusa head by a handful of limp snakes and sticks it inside the box.

"What's he doing?" he asks.

"I'm not sure."

Percy closes the lid on the box and fishes out a golden coin from his pocket. Annabeth leans forward and reads what he's written.

The Gods

Mount Olympus, Greece

With Best Wishes,

Percy Jackson

"You can't do that!" Annabeth hisses.

"Why not?" Percy tosses the coin into the air. "Hermes Delivery, one package." The coin disappears mid-air and a strong breeze blows by, picking up the box and whisking it away.

"Won't they be mad?" Annabeth asks. "They might take it as a threat."

"Good." Percy's eyes hardens and he walks over to Will's statue. Annabeth stares at him in shock. She's upset about Will's death, too, but it wasn't the gods' fault. And even if it was, sending them a thinly veiled threat is a terrible idea.

"Don't worry," Grover says quietly. "He does this kind of thing all the time."

Annabeth remembers Percy's story about fighting Ares. "Doesn't it make them mad, though? That he's so disrespectful?"

Grover shrugs. "Many of them, especially the younger gods, are amused by it. They're so used to mortals fearing them that they get a kick out of his insolence. For the few that it genuinely upsets...well, they're not about to touch Poseidon's favorite son."

Annabeth and Grover join Percy and Will. Annabeth reaches out and touches his arm. The cool stone that was minutes earlier warm skin still doesn't seem real. She can't believe that he's gone.

She thinks of the funeral pyre in her dream. Was it for Will? Somehow that doesn't seem right, though.

Grover's lip quivers. "Is there any way to reverse it?" he asks.

"Not in any of the myths that I've read." Percy digs in his pocket again, this time bringing out a small, white, cubical rock.

"Smelling salts?" Grover asks. "That's for bringing people back to consciousness. I don't think it's strong enough."

"This is the last of the handful Hermes gave me the summer I sailed to the Sea of Monsters," Percy says. He holds it up under Will's nose. The salt chunk begins to disintegrate, turning into wisps of smoke that the stone statue of their friend seems to inhale. When the last of the vapor disappears and nothing happens, Percy steps back with a defeated expression on his face. "They're supposed to be magical. I used them to turn myself back into a human after a sorceress turned me into a guinea pig. I guess Medusa's curse is too powerful for even these."

He seems to age in about ten years as he stares at the stone statue. Annabeth reaches out and sets her hand on his arm, though she's feeling her own wave of sadness engulfing her.

"You did everything you could," she says.

"I wasn't smart enough. I wasn't fast enough. I should have known. I should have - " His voice cracks. "I'm never enough."

Seeing the way he blames himself for his friend's death, Annabeth understands why he once told her that he doesn't like to call himself a hero. He carries the weight of so much sorrow. How many of the people he cares about has he seen die? He holds up all that guilt by himself.

She turns to try and say something to him, but Grover suddenly gasps. "Look!"

The gray stone slowly fades to a light brown color where Will's skin had been, and the sharp folds of his clothes return to the fabric they had been before. He lurches to the side and takes a few deep breaths, his hands on his knees.

"Will!" Annabeth rushes forward and helps steady him. "Are you okay?"

He inspects his arms and legs. "I - I think so." He sounds pretty shaken up. "Is she - ?"

"She's dead," Percy confirms. "But let's get out of here. This place is creepy."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Grover agrees. They weave through the garden of statues and dive back into the woods, which don't seem as eerie as before. Grover leads the way, with Annabeth helping support Will and Percy at the back.

Back on the beach, Annabeth helps Will sit down on the sand while Grover and Percy stand a few feet away, talking in low tones. After a few minutes they hug again and Grover waves her way before disappearing. Percy walks back towards them.

"I asked Grover if he knew of any hurricanes or tropical storms that happened around the time the pearl would have been stolen," he says. "He said he heard of a disturbance at the southern end of the Strait of Messina. Wiped out everything on the southernmost part of Sicily."

"You think that's where it is, then?"

Percy sighs. "I have no idea, but that's our best bet. If the pearl got knocked loose from the trident, it would have been when my father was using it. If it was somehow stolen quietly, then this is all for nothing."

"Just to be clear - if we retrieve that pearl, we're giving it back to your father, and not that shady client back in England."

He stares out over the water, looking conflicted. "Yeah," he finally says. "As much as I dislike the gods...he is my father."

"All this trouble isn't worth a ship." Annabeth motions at Will, who still looks dazed from his time as a statue. "People have died. Our friends have almost died. Besides, if you return this pearl to your father, he might reward you with a ship of your own."

"I'm not looking for anything from him." Percy fingers the sand dollar hanging from the cord around his neck, and Annabeth knows he's not being entirely truthful. Percy is looking for something from his father - but it's not a ship or any other physical thing.

"I know why you sent Medusa's head to Mount Olympus," Annabeth says, looking over at him. He meets her gaze.

"I just felt like doing it," he admits after a beat. "I can't help myself when I get impulses like that."

"So Grover told me."

But it wasn't just out of spite or anger that Percy sent Medusa's head - it was out of a need for attention. And there's no better way to get the gods' attention - his father's in particular - than by sending the severed but still deadly head of a gorgon to their doorstep. Especially if said gorgon dated his father once upon a time.

"We should get back to the ship," Percy says after a moment. "The sun's starting to set, and we have a long journey ahead of us."

Annabeth is surprised to find that she's not disappointed by the length of the adventure ahead; if anything, she begins to worry that it will be over all too soon. And when it's over, Annabeth will return to Luke - and to a life of suffocation under society's rules.

Medusa's offer suddenly sounds a lot more attractive.