P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.

"Sanji, you have to calm down!"

"Sanji, please!"

"No, I can't calm down!" Sanji writhed and thrashed in his celestial bronze chains, "Where the hell are we? Someone tell me now!"
Nami's charmspeak rolled off Sanji in angry, panicked waves, hitting Percy, Annabeth and Leo so hard that they all began speaking at once, eager to tell Sanji what he wanted to know.

"We don't know," said Percy, "But we're probably in the lab!"
"Yetis did this," said Leo.

"They knocked us out and brought us here," said Annabeth, "And if we have any chance of escaping before they eat us, Sanji, you need to calm down."

Sanji took a deep, shaky breath, "Ok, ok. But why us?"

"Isn't it obvious, little demigod?" a wintry voice blanketed the room, "Revenge, of course."

"Khione," Leo snarled, "Didn't Piper kick your butt well enough last time?"

"She must be back for round 3," Annabeth agreed, "She just had to have a swing at us, this time."

"WOW, WHAT A BABE!" Sanji gasped.

At this, Khione couldn't help but look pleased, "It would appear that Japanese demigods know how to worship a real goddess."

"A third-rate goddess," Percy corrected, "Leo, torch this popsicle."

"With pleasure," said Leo.

Silence.

"Well," Leo said sheepishly, "I would, but we're all kind of close together right now; I wouldn't want to burn anyone."

"I really have to do everything myself," Percy sighed.

No matter how many times she saw it, Annabeth would never get over the sight of Percy turning himself into water and back again. She had no idea how he'd acquired this power, and part of her didn't want to know, especially after what happened in Tartarus…

She'd seen him do it a dozen times, so when Percy turned into water, Annabeth wasn't worried.

That was, until Percy reformed immediately, screaming in pain.

"Percy!" Annabeth cried, slapping a hand over his mouth to silence him (in Tartarus, anyone could be listening, waiting for that moment of weakness to pounce).

Percy's entire body was steaming and raw. Large, reddish welts blossomed like flowers over his arms, legs and face. When he opened his eyes, Annabeth could see they were so bloodshot they looked more red than green.

"How do I fix this?" Annabeth whispered, tears streaming down her face, "Percy, tell me what to do!"
But all Percy could do was hold her hand and scream.

"Annabeth, you have to wake up now."

Sanji's calm, likely unintentional, use of charmspeak shocked Annabeth enough to wake her from her nightmare. Khione and Percy were locked in fierce combat in front of them.

"They're pretty evenly matched," said Leo, impressed.

He was right. Every time that Khione tried to freeze Percy, the son of Poseidon would turn into water before reforming in Khione's blind spot. Yet every time Percy would attack with Riptide, Khione would turn into a blizzard.

"My haki isn't doing anything," said Percy, frustration evident on his face.

"Fool," Khione sneered, "I am not a Logia user; my power is REAL."

The Goddess of Snow roared and before he could blink, Percy was encased in a block of ice too large for even him to phase out of.

"Percy!" cried Annabeth.

Sanji wriggled furiously, "If I could just get out of these stupid chains."

"You're a demigod now, Sanji," said Annabeth, never taking her eyes off Khione, "And that's celestial bronze. Unless you've got a key or a really hot blowtorch, those aren't coming off."

"Did someone ask for a really hot blowtorch?"

While Percy and Khione fought, Leo had been creeping, unnoticed, away from the pile in which he'd been tossed with Sanji, Annabeth and Percy. Now that he was far enough away, Leo burst into flames, melting his chains easily.

When the fire user clashed with the goddess of snow, the steamy combination of his heat and her cold was so intense it gave Annabeth a headache.

"Hey hothead! We're still tied up over here!" shouted Sanji.

But fighting Khione was taking all of Leo's concentration. Every time he got close to Annabeth and Sanji, or to Percy in his block of ice, Khione would up her attacks and Leo was forced to back off and defend, else risk Annabeth and Sanji either getting charbroiled, flash-freezed or both.

"We can't keep this up," Sanji realized, "Leo's fighting a goddess; without backup, he's going to wear out soon."

Sanji looked at Percy, frozen in place, "And he can't stay frozen for much longer."

"Normally I'd agree with that," said Annabeth, "But Percy's good with the cold; it'll take more than a block of ice to kill him. As for Khione, she's not supposed to be here at all. I take it you met Poseidon on Fishman Island?"
"Yeah…?" Sanji said slowly.

"Like Poseidon, Khione's powers are greatly weakened here on the Four Seas," said Annabeth, "But unlike Poseidon, Khione is a minor goddess. Her power was considerably weaker to begin with. Leo may not be able to keep this up, but neither can Khione."

"So it's a question of who gives out first," Sanji surmised, "And right now, my money's on Leo."

Annabeth bit her lip. She wanted to yell at Sanji, but she had to agree with his assessment; Leo wasn't doing so hot. Literally. His flames were flickering lower and lower. Meanwhile, Khione's blizzard kept getting larger and larger. Finally, Leo stumbled and hit the ground.

"You thought you could beat me, Valdez?" she sneered in that horrendous, québécoise accent, "I am a goddess! You are just a spec of nothingness that would be lucky to find itself underneath my boot, you insolent little-,"

Khione gasped as if someone had punched her in the stomach, "No…not yet. I need more time."

The Goddess grasped wildly at thin air, desperately trying to reach Leo, but her body was turning to snow too quickly. Sanji and the demigods watched as the Goddess of Snow turned into a blizzard and scattered into thin air, uttering one final curse at Leo before her voice disappeared for good.

Leo staggered over to Annabeth and Sanji, "Am I awesome, or what?"

"Brilliant," said Annabeth, eyeing Leo wearily, "But are you ok?"

Leo gulped and sank back to the ground, "Everything's spinny-just gimme a second."

"Maybe I can help with that."

"Law!" Sanji exclaimed, "Chopper! What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you!" said Chopper.

Room

With a flick of his hand, Law transported Percy outside of his block of ice.

"Whoah," Percy stumbled before regaining his footing, "Where'd Lady Snowcone go?"

"Leo torched her podex," Annabeth said proudly, "Now can you give us a hand?"
Law produced a celestial bronze key from the sleeve of his long, winter coat and set to work freeing first Annabeth, then Sanji.

"Not that I don't appreciate it," said Sanji, rubbing his wrists, "But why are you helping us, Law?"

"It's a long story," said Chopper, "We'll explain on the way. Percy, Leo, are you alright?"

With a small grunt, Percy heaved Leo onto his back, "Just peachy."

"I'd kill for an enchilada," Leo groaned, "With lots of meat."

"He'll be fine," said Annabeth, eyeing Law suspiciously, "If Chopper trusts you, then we will as well."

Law's frown deepened, "We're about to take on Caesar, if doctor-san and the scrawny one aren't at full strength, we should do something about that."

"Scrawny…?" Leo muttered feebly into Percy's ear.

"There, there," said Percy, "I'm sure Calypso loves it."

Leo gave him a stupid grin before flopping against the back of Percy's head.

"He just defeated a god," Percy explained to Law, "I can tell you from experience that that takes a lot out of a guy. He'll be ok in a little bit, but if you really want to speed things up, Nami usually carries some ambrosia on her."

Sanji patted down his pockets and Annabeth had to fight not to clobber him for how happy this simple action made him. Finally, he pulled out a small baggy full of ambrosia.

"Is this it?" he held the bag up to the light to inspect it, "They look like brownies. Can I try one?"

"NO!" everyone except Chopper shouted.

Sanji dropped the bag in alarm, "Whoah! Why the hell not?"

"It might work in Nami's body," Annabeth started, "But that's a chance you really don't want to take."

"It's the food of the gods," Percy explained helpfully when Annabeth wouldn't continue, "We can eat it and it heals us, but if mortals try to eat that, they spontaneously combust."

"Right," said Sanji, edging away from Leo, who was being spoon-fed ambrosia by a reluctant Annabeth, "No God food; got it."

"Scary!" Chopper wailed.

"We're wasting time here," Annabeth decided, marching up to Law, "You've been claimed?"

"Yes," he said in a hint of a surly tone, "By Athena."

Annabeth didn't even miss a beat. She strode out of the room, "Then you and I have a lot to talk about. You can fill me in on the way to…"

Percy laughed. Annabeth hated not knowing where she was going.

"Just follow Chopper," Law drawled, "I have an errand to run."

"Right," said Chopper, "The plan. Follow me, guys!"

"Wait a second," Percy protested, "If we're allies now, shouldn't we stick together?"

"Let him go," said Annabeth, "We have more important things to worry about right now, but Law," she fixed him with a hard look, "You and I are due for a talk."

"Sure," Law waved her off, slipping through a door on the other end of the room, "Just don't die first."

"You heard the man," said Percy, "Let's get out of here."

"LEAD ONWARD TO NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji cried, jogging after Chopper.

"Having fun yet?" Percy asked Leo cheerfully. All Leo could do was glare at the back of Percy's head.

"Just get moving, Kelp Head. I don't wanna be stuck in here any longer; the memory of the ice princess is gonna give me brain-freeze."