A/N: I don't own the rights to any of the Percy Jackson series or it's characters. That right goes to Rick Riordan. I also don't own the rights to Animorph including it's title.

I am, however, the person who posted 'The Tales of...' series.

This is not a crossover of the Percy Jackson series with the book/tv series Animorph, despite what you might think from the title. I just thought it be a proper name for the ability to turn into animals since that's why the tv/book series 'Animorph' was called that in the first place.

If you haven't read this yet, read:

Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Men are now Considered Guinea Pigs to Circe

I woke up in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of gray uniform fabric. Annabeth sat next to me tacking into the wind.

I tried to sit up and immediately felt woozy.

"Rest," she said. "You're going to need it."

"Tyson… where is he?" I asked, looking around only not to find him anywhere.

I felt as if a ship had exploded on me again.

Waves lapped at the boat. Annabeth showed me some things she had salvaged from the wreckage—Hermes's thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailor shirts, a bottle of Dr. Pepper and Hermes' bottle of multivitamins. Good old Riptide was in my pocket. She told me she spends time searching through the wreckage for me and Tyson (She had hoped his immunity to fire helped him survive the blast), but all she could find alive was me. As much as I wanted to be angry at Annabeth for not saving Tyson, I could not get myself to blame her since she did search. The stuff she scavenges and the sail she made was proof of that.

Annabeth told me whatever I did to Scylla must have worked, because as she searched the wreckage, Scylla did not show her ugly heads.

"I sprayed her with skunk spray," I explained. "Directly into the face."

Annabeth gave a disgusted look but nodded. "That definitely did the trick."

"Yeah, but I wish I could have turned into something that can take on Charybdis. Then maybe Tyson would still be here," I said mournfully.

We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming. Or something even more dangerous. I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of our destination. But that did not make me feel any less lost.

No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from Dr. Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best as we could. And we talked about my latest dream of Grover.

By Annabeth's estimate, we had less than twenty-four hours to find Grover, assuming my dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus did not change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.

"Yeah," I said bitterly. "You can never trust a Cyclops."

"Well, not wild Cyclops," Annabeth said. "Not those like Tyson."

I looked at Annabeth in shock. This is the first time she didn't refer Tyson as dangerous."

"You were right, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson," Annabeth sighed. "I should have known there were good cyclopes too. After all, the first cyclops, the elder cyclops, never did anything against Olympus or heroes. But I let my hatred and history cloud my judgement."

I wanted to ask her about that, but right now I was felt if I did, it will only bring more sorrow.

So instead I told her what I overheard Ares and Clarisse's conversation.

"Not surprising," Annabeth said. "Ares always like the strong, and doesn't like being upstarted. The fact you and Clarisse had history that ended with you embarrassing Clarisse or defeating her doesn't help either since she's supposed to be the strongest of Cabin 5."

"Well before the whole mess with Charybdis and Scylla, I was thinking if it was possible, we should let Clarisse be the hero of the quest somehow," I said. "But now that we don't know where she's at I don't even know how we're going to do that."

"I'm sure unless the Oracle predicted Clarisse's death on this quest, we'll see her again," Annabeth said. "Until then we can think of something."

Right, the oracle. That brought up another issue that been bothering me.

"Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?"

She pursed her lips. "Percy, I shouldn't—"

"I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell me. But you did not promise, did you?"

"Knowledge isn't always good for you."

"Your mom is the wisdom goddess!"

"I know! But every time heroes learn the future, they try to change it, and it never works."

"The gods are worried about something I'll do when I get older," I guessed. "Something when I turn sixteen."

Annabeth twisted her Yankees cap in her hands. "Percy, I don't know the full prophecy, but it warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three—the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That is the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have anymore half-blood children. The next child of the Big Three who reaches sixteen will be a dangerous weapon."

"Why?"

"Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that eithers save the Age of the Gods, or destroys it."

I let that sink in. I do not get seasick, but I suddenly I felt ill. "That's why Kronos didn't kill me last summer."

She nodded. "You could be very useful to him. If he can get you on his side, the gods will be in serious trouble. Especially with your shapeshifting powers."

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked. "Why would Kronos be especially interested in my shapeshifting powers?"

Annabeth sighed. "Percy, do you know who the first hero was born with your powers?"

"…no…"

Annabeth sighed again. "Of course not. His name was Periclymenus."

"Let me guess, son of Poseidon?" I asked.

"Grandson actually. He was one of the Argonauts who sailed with Hercules. Sometime during their journey though, Periclymenus and Hercules got into this battle forcing the Argonauts to leave them behind."

"Let me guess, he lost to Hercules?" I sarcastically asked.

"Well, yes, but the thing was, Periclymenus survived it but he did lose." Annabeth said.

"And the point of this…"

"Percy, Periclymenus was able to survive because Hercules had a hard time beating him because of his shapeshifting powers," Annabeth said. "That's what makes your powers so—interesting." She said that as if there were other words that could describe it. "And with every generation born after a half-blood their powers tend to grow weaker. So, if a grandson of Poseidon with your powers could take on Hercules, then you could have the potential to be stronger than Hercules with your powers."

I kind of found that hard to believe. I do not feel like I done anything notably greater than Hercules.

"So, if it's me in the prophecy—"

"We'll only know that if you survive three more years. That can be a long time for a half-blood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed she was the one in the prophecy. That is why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think. Until you came along."

On our port side, a spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water and disappeared.

"Why do the gods even let me live then? It sounds to me my powers just make me even more dangerous to continue living."

"You're right, but I don't know. I guess some of the gods would like to kill you, but they are probably afraid of offending Poseidon. Other gods… maybe they are still watching you, trying to decide what kind of hero you are going to be. You could be a weapon for their survival, after all. The real question is… what will you do in three years? What decision will you make?"

"Did the prophecy give any hints?"

Annabeth hesitated.

Maybe she would have told me more, but just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast.

"Seagulls normally live at shores near oceans," I said.

"That must mean land is nearby," Annabeth said.

I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.

The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

…

"Welcome!" said the lady with the clipboard.

She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave us, you would have thought we had just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged-up rowboat.

Then again, our rowboat was not the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. there was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.

"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired. Annabeth and I exchanged looks. Annabeth said, "Um…"

"First—time—at—spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see…"

She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"A what?" I asked.

She was too busy jotting down notes to answer.

"Right!" She said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

Now here is the thing. Annabeth and I were used to traps, and usually those traps looked good at first. So, I expected the clipboard lady to turn into a snake or a demon, or something, any minute. But on the other hand, we had been floating in a rowboat for most of the day. I was hot, tired, and hungry, and when this lady mentioned a luau, my stomach sat up on its hind legs and begged like a dog.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth muttered.

Of course, it could, but we followed the lady anyway. I kept my hands in my pockets where I had kept Riptide along with Hermes multivitamins—but the farther we wandered into the resort, the more I forgot about them.

The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by waterslides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

Tyson loves horses, and I knew he had loved those fountains. I almost turned around to see the expression on his face before I remembered: Tyson was gone.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked me. "You look pale."

"I'm okay," I lied. "Just… let's keep walking."

We all passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board The resort guests—only young women, as far as I could see—lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As we headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift me off the steps and carry me toward her.

We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive-looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed out of place, but I did not think about it too much, because just then I saw the lady who had been singing… and whoa.

She sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill.

The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional—a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.

Annabeth caught her breath. "It's beautiful."

The woman turned. She was even prettier than her fabric. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like a deer running through a forest at night.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?" the woman asked.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth said. "My mother is—"

She stopped herself. You could not just go around announcing that your mom-or dad-was an Olympian God/Goddess. Most people would lock you in the rubber room.

Our hostess just smiled. "You have good taste, my dear. I am so glad you have come. My name is C.C."

The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must have been guinea pigs, from the sound of them.

We introduced ourselves to C.C. She looked me over with a twinge of disapproval, as if I had failed test. Immediately, I felt bad. For some reason, I really wanted to please this lady.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?" I asked.

C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Annabeth on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

"But…" Annabeth's voice sounded hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?"

C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you are not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?"

"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there is not a single person who is. But do not worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!"

Annabeth's eyes glowed with longing. I had never seen her so much at a loss for words. "But… what about Percy?"

"Oh, definitely," C.C. said, giving me a sad look. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."

Normally if somebody had told me that, I would have gotten angry, but when C.C. said it, I felt sad. I had disappointed her. I had to figure out how to do better.

The guinea pigs squealed like they were hungry.

"Well…" Annabeth said. "I suppose…"

"Right this way, dear," Hylla said. And Annabeth allowed herself to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa.

C.C. took my arm and guided me toward the mirrored wall. "You see, Percy… to unlock your potential, you'll need serious help. The first step is admitting that you're not happy the way you are."

I fidgeted in the front of the mirror. I hated thinking about my appearance—like the first zit that had to cropped up on my nose at the beginning of the school year, or the fact my two front teeth weren't perfectly even, or that my hair never stayed down straight.

C.C.'s voice brought all of these things to mind, as if she were passing me under a microscope. There are times I wish I could use my shapeshifting powers to change that stuff I hate about myself. And it did not help my clothes were not cool. I knew that.

Who cares? Part of me thought. But standing in front of C.C.'s mirror, it was hard to see anything good in myself.

"There, there," C.C. consoled. "How about we try… this."

She snapped her fingers and a sky-blue curtain rolled down over the mirror. It shimmered like the fabric on her loom.

"What do you see?" C.C. asked.

I looked at the blue cloth, not sure what she meant. "I don't—"

Then it changed colors. I saw myself—a reflection, but not a reflection. Shimmering there on the cloth was a cooler version of Percy Jackson—with just the right clothes, a confident smile on my face. My teeth were straight. No zits. A perfect tan. More athletic. Maybe a couple of inches taller. Someone who looked like they do have the potential to be greater than Hercules. It was me, without the faults.

"Whoa," I managed.

"Do you want that?" C.C. asked. "Or shall I try a different—"

"No," I said. "That's… that's amazing. Can you really—"

"I can give you a full makeover," C.C. promised.

"What's the catch?" I said, "I have to like… eat a special diet?"

"Oh, it's quite easy," C.C. said. "Plenty of fresh fruit, a mild exercise program, and of course… this."

She stepped over wet bar and filled a glass with water. Then she ripped open a drink-mix packet and poured in some red powder. The mixture began to glow. When it faded, the drink looked just like a strawberry milk shake.

"One of these, substituted for regular meal," C.C. said. "I guarantee you'll see results immediately."

"How is that possible?"

She laughed. "Why question it? I mean, don't you want the perfect you right away?"

Something nagged at the back of my mind. "Why are there no guys at this spa?"

"Oh, but there are," C.C. assured me. "You'll meet them quite soon. Just try the mixture. You'll see."

I looked at the blue tapestry, at the reflection of me, but not me.

"Now, Percy," C.C. chided. "The hardest part of the makeover process is giving up control. You have to decide: do you want to trust your judgement about what you should be, or my judgment?"

My throat felt dry. I heard myself say, "Your judgment."

C.C. smiled and handed me the glass. I lifted it to my lips.

It tasted just like it looked—like a strawberry milk shake. Almost immediately a warm feeling spread through my gut: pleasant at first, then painfully hot, searing, as if the mixture were coming to a boil inside of me

I doubled over and dropped the cup. "What have you… what's happening?"

"Don't worry, Percy," C.C. said. "The pain will pass. Look! As I promised. Immediate results."

Something was horribly wrong. The curtains dropped away, and, in the mirror, I saw my hands shriveling, curling, growing long delicate claws. Fur sprouted on my face, under my shirt, in every uncomfortable place you can imagine. My teeth started feeling heavy in my mouth like it does when I turn into a rat. And I was shrinking.

Then it dawns to me, I was shapeshifting. But that cannot be right. I did not call on my power. Not to mention my clothes, that normally melted into my fur, feathers, or scales when I transform was instead getting too big.

In one awful flash, I sank into a cavern of my own clothes. I tried to run but hand grabbed me. I knew it was pointless to scream as I never could speak human in animal form.

Good news, at least as I thought for the time, I knew what to do. This was not the first time I shapeshifted by accident. Last summer I shapeshifted into a Cheetah in my sleep because I wanted to be a Cheetah in my dream (long story). I just need to focus on my human form.

I focus with all my concentration and…

Nothing.

What the heck!

The giant hands squeezed me around the middle, lifting me into the air. I struggled and kicked with legs and arms that seemed much too stubby, and then I was staring, horrified, into the enormous face of C.C.

"Perfect!" her voice boomed. I squirmed in alarm, but she only tightened her grip around my furry belly. "See, Percy? You've unlocked your true self!"

She held me up to the mirror, and to my horror, there she was holding a fluffy, bucktoothed creature with tiny claws and white and orange fur.

"You are now a guinea pig," C.C. said. "Lovely, aren't you? Men are pigs, Percy Jackson. I used to turn them into real pigs, but they were so smelly and large and difficult to keep. Not much different that they were before, really. Guinea pigs are much more convenient! Now come, meet the other men."

"Reet!" I protested, trying to scratch her, but C.C. squeezed me so tight I almost blacked out.

"No o that, little one," she scolded. "or I'll feed you to the owls. Go into the cage like a good little pet. Tomorrow, if you behave, you will be on your way. There is always a classroom in need of a new guinea pig."

Think Percy, think. I practically spend most of my lifetime studying up on animals, there must be something I can do as a guinea pig.

They are not athletes, but many animals are not. They are social creatures—I doubt that would help me here. They can learn complex mazes. They need to keep gnawing to keep their incisors from growing. Good but I do not know how it helps me right now.

As tried to jog my memory, C.C. brought me over to the guinea pig cage and opened the wire door.

"Meet my discipline problems, Percy," she warned "They'll never make good classroom pets, but they might teach you some manners. Most of them have been in this cage for three hundred years. If you do not want to stay with them permanently, I'd suggest you—"

Annabeth's voice called: "Miss C.C.?"

C.C. muttered something in Ancient Greek. She plopped me into the cage and closed the door. I squealed and clawed at the bars, but it was no good. I watched as C.C. hurriedly kicked my clothes under the loom just as Annabeth came in.

I almost did not recognize her. She was wearing a sleeveless silk dress like C.C.'s only white. Her blond hair was newly washed and combed and braided with gold. Worst of all, she was wearing makeup, which I never thought Annabeth would be caught dead in. I mean, she looked good. Really good. I probably would have been tongue-tied if I could have said anything except guinea pig words. But there was something totally wrong about it. It just was not Annabeth.

She looked around and frowned. "Where's Percy?"

I squealed up a storm, but she did not seem to hear me.

C.C. smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. You look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"

Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Your library is amazing."

"Yes, indeed," C.C. said. "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."

Not to my surprise Annabeth asked, "An architect?"

"Pah!" C.C. said. "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."

Annabeth took a step back. "A sorceress?"

"Yes, my dear." C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. We both admired greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."

"I—I don't understand."

I tried to squeal again, but she either could not hear me, or did not think the noises were important. Meanwhile the other guinea pigs were emerging from their hutch to check me out. I did not think it was possible for guinea pigs to look mean, but these did. There was half a dozen, with dirty fur and cracked teeth and beady red eyes. They were covered with shavings and smelled like they really had been in here for three hundred years, without getting their cage cleaned.

"Stay with me," C.C. was telling Annabeth. "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"

"But—"

"You are too intelligent, my dear," C.C. said. "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?

"Um, Atlanta, Psyche, Otrera, Cyrene, Amelia Earhart—"

"Bah! men get all the glory." C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."

"You… C.C.… Circe!"

"Yes, my dear."

Annabeth backed up, and Circe laughed. "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."

"What have you done to Percy?"

"Only helped him realize his true form."

Annabeth scanned the room. Finally, she saw the cage, and me scratching at the bars, all the other guinea pigs crowding around me. Her eyes went wide.

"Forget him," Circe said. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."

"But—"

"Your friend will be well cared for. He will be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."

Annabeth was still staring at me, but she had a dreamy expression on her face. She looked the same way I had when Circe enchanted me into drinking the guinea pig milk shake. I squealed and scratched, trying to warn her to snap out of it, but I was powerless.

"Let me think about it," Annabeth murmured. "Just… give me a minute alone. To say good-bye."

"Of course, my dear," Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh… and so you have absolute privacy…" She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and I heard the locks on the door click shut behind her.

The dreamy look melted off Annabeth's face.

She rushed over to my cage. "All right, which one is you?"

I squealed, but so did all the other guinea pigs. I remember learning that when guinea pigs get excited, they do little jumps. It was not much but it was something. I made myself as excited as possible, which was not easy, and started doing little jumps as the other guinea pigs were just squealing away.

Annabeth looked at me like I was a guinea pig gone nuts. Then I guess something clicked as she undid the cage and picked me up. "Percy, is that you?"

Reet! I did my best response.

"I'm guessing Circe's magic is keeping you from turning human otherwise you would have change back by now," Annabeth said.

Reet!

"But how do we change you back?" Annabeth asked. "Normally your clothes morph with you—unless—"

She scanned the room and spotted the cuff of my jeans sticking out from under the loom.

She rushed over to my clothes. She put me down as she rummaged through my pockets.

She brought out a bottle of Hermes multivitamins and started struggling with the cap. Then she popped a two chewable lemon vitamins. She popped one in her mouth and handed me one. "Eat this. If it is what I think it is, it should change you back.

I do not know what she meant, but I went ahead and chewed the lemon flavor vitamin. I felt fiery inside. I kept gnawing until I started growing. Finally, I was sitting on the floor, a human again—somehow back in my regular clothes, thank the gods.

"Nice work," I said.

"Thank me later, we need to—"

Just then the door flew open and Circe came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants."

"You freed him!" Circe responded. "How—"

She noticed the multivitamins in Annabeth's hands. "C- Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you."

"Oh, they do plenty," I said as I drew Riptide and uncapped it, extending its blade. Annabeth took out her knife.

Circe's attendants stepped forward, but her mistress said, "Get back! The boy is immune to magic now and I'm sure the girl is too until the vitamin wears off."

Normally, I would turn into an animal and beast out on her, but after being forced into a guinea pig, I wanted to stay human longer. Instead I closed my eyes and focus on the water around this place and bursting them out and flooding this place. My stomach started churning and pipes groaned before pipes burst and hit Circe and her attendants.

"Good job, Percy. Let us go."

"First thing first."

I took the vitamins from Annabeth and headed to the cage. If these guinea pigs were scary now, I have a feeling their human forms are even scarier. I just hope this is enough. I scattered the vitamins into the cage.

"Let's go," I said.

Annabeth and I left as the guinea pigs started eating the vitamins and started changing back to human form.

We ran down the hillside through the terraces. None of the spa workers seem to notice us, but I am sure that is about to change, depending on just who I just release.

"Which ship?" Annabeth said as we reached the docks.

I looked around desperately. We could not very well take our rowboat. We had to get off the island fast, but what else could we use? A sub? I cannot pilot that. A fighter jets. No, Zeus will knock me out of the sky if I fly outside my powers. And then I saw it.

I could shapeshift into a sea creature and get both Annabeth and me out, but I don't know what else the Sea of Monsters have to offer, and I rather have a ship both Annabeth and I can stand on incase we both need to fight.

"There," I said.

Annabeth blinked. "But—"

"I can make it work."

"How?"

I could not explain. I just somehow new an old sailing vessel was the best bet for me. I grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her toward the three-mast ship. Painted on its prow was the name that I would only decipher later: Queen Anne's Revenge.

At the building we escaped from smoke rose, meaning a fire had started. We started hearing screams of women in danger.

"How are we getting this out?" Annabeth asked as we climbed aboard.

I looked around at the hopeless maze of sail and ropes. The ship was in great condition. Normally it would still take a crew of fifty several hours to get underway but judging from the screams we did not have that much time.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the waves lapping against the hull, the ocean currents, the winds all around me. Suddenly, the right word appeared in my mind. "Mizzenmast!" I yelled.

Annabeth looked at me like I was nuts, but in the next second, the air was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking.

Annabeth ducked as a cable flew over her head and wrapped itself around the bowsprit. "Percy, how…"

I did not have an answer, but I could feel the ship responding to me as if it were part of my body. I willed the sails to rise as easily as if I were flexing my arms. I willed the rudder to turn.

The Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock. Soon we were underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.

A/N: I figured since Circe was able to hold Blackbeard and five of his crew in prison for three-hundred years, and with Blackbeard being son of Ares, her potion can cancel out Percy's powers.