Annabeth explained why she hated Cyclops, because it was a Cyclops that caused Thalia to be injured and turned into a tree, which Macaria was able to empathize with. It made sense, now that Annabeth explained it, though she didn't like Tyson… though it was all ready too late for that now since Tyson and probably Clarisse were most likely….
"Macaria!" She heard someone call her name and looked up. Percy and Annabeth were staring at her worriedly, it didn't help that both of them were more than just a little over-protective over what had recently happened.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." She reassured them as they made it to 'monster island' which didn't look anything like that, which was fine by her. Though it did have a rope bride across a chasm, which wasn't the best of signs. Although Macaria wasn't afraid of heights, she was definitely afraid of falling. But the Cyclops' island looked rather beautiful, with a green field and tropical fruit trees and white beaches.
Annabeth breathed in the sweet air. "The Fleece." She said, which received a nod of confirmation from both her and Percy. Macaria could feel the power although she couldn't see it.
"If we take it away, will the island die?" They asked together.
Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is." which made Macaria frown, her love of all things living was definitely something that made her feel guilty about possibility destroying this place, but she thought about the outcome of Camp Half-Blood if she didn't. They would also be disrespecting Tyson and Clarisse's memories if they didn't get the Fleece.
In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked
peaceful enough, but they were huge-the size of hippos. Just past them was a path that led up into the hills. At the top of the path, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree and something gold glittered in its branches.
"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"
Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "There's supposed be a guardian. A dragon or …"
That's when a deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for
grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves. Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air. A second later the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.
The trio exchanged looks.
"I've never seen killer sheep before…" Macaria muttered fearfully.
"They're like piranhas," she said.
"Piranhas with wool. How will we-"
"Percy!" Annabeth gasped and grabbed Percy's arm. "Look." She pointed down the beach, to just below the sheep meadow, where a small boat had been run aground … the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham. It was a group decision that there was a low chance that they would be able to get past the man-eating sheep.
"I don't think even you can charm those sheep." Percy said to Macaria and she nodded quickly in agreement.
"They probably have their own rules to follow anyway, it would probably be useless to even try." She added, so they moored the Queen Anne's Revenge on the back of the island where the cliffs rose straight up about two hundred feet. The cliffs looked climbable, not any harder than the lava wall, which Macaria excelled at. She smiled at the thought of the camp being normal as they rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the rocks and made their way up. Macaria went first, then Annabeth since she was better than Percy.
Macaria was doing alright, only having one minor slip up, but they added to the other six/seven times were they almost died. At this point, she was used to almost dying, memories from last year was enough to prove that.. Plus she had a feeling that it wasn't going to get any better as they got older, but she hoped her… hunch was wrong… although it hardly was.
They made it up to the top and collapsed.
"Ugh." Percy said.
"Ouch." Annabeth moaned.
"Aah." Macaria said.
"Garrr!" bellowed a fourth voice and Macaria immediately whirled around and watched in shock. The ledge was even narrower than Macaria relied, it dropped off on the opposite side, where the voice was coming from right below.
"You're a feisty one!" A deep voice bellowed.
"Challenge me!" Clarisse's voice, no doubt about it. "Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!" The monster roared with laughter. They crept to the edge, right above the entrance of the Cyclops's cave. Below stood Polyphemus and Grover… who was in a wedding dress… apparently Percy had forgotten to mention a few things about Grover's situation. It actually didn't look half bad, though Macaria didn't voice that. Clarisse was tied up and hung upside down over a pot of boiling water… Tyson was nowhere to be found.
"Hmm," Polyphemus pondered. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does
my bride think?"
He turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps-"
"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded. "Who- Grover?"
Macaria hear Annabeth muttered, "Shut up. She has to shut up."
Polyphemus glowered. "What 'Grover'?"
"The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.
"Oh!" Grover yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down,
Dear!"
Polyphemus's eyelids narrowed over his baleful milky eye, as if he were trying to see Clarisse
more clearly. The Cyclops was an horrible sight partly because his rancid smell was now up close and personal. Partly because he was dressed in his wedding outfit-a crude kilt and shoulder-wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedoes, as if the he'd skinned an entire wedding party.
"What satyr?" asked Polyphemus. "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?"
"No, you big idiot!" bellowed Clarisse. "That satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"
Macaria felt her pull some of her hair out, wondering how Clarisse could be so stupid as Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil-revealing his curly hair, his scruffy adolescent beard, his tiny horns. Polyphemus breathed heavily, trying to contain his anger. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE-NO-LADYCYCLOPS!"
The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head. "Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I-I have a good recipe!"
Percy reached for his sword, but Annabeth hissed, "Wait!"
Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride. "Recipe?" he asked Grover.
"Oh y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible
things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here." The Cyclops pondered this.
"Grilled satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. "You a satyr, too?"
"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me
so I can rip your arms off!"
"Rip my arms off," Polyphemus repeated.
"And stuff them down your throat!"
"You got spunk."
"Let me down!"
Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now.
Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"
"But … you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt. "Who's the bride?"
Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot.
Clarisse made a strangled sound. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not-" Macaria watched in complete shock as Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was a ripe apple, and tossed her and Grover deep into the cave.
"Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!" Then the Cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep-smaller than the man-eaters flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name-Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, etc. When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway and shut off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming
Inside. "Mangos," Polyphemus grumbled to himself. "What are mangos?" He strolled off down the mountaim.
The boulder wouldn't budge for either Percy or Annabeth, Macaria placed her hands on the boulder and took a deep breath and pushed the boulder only a bit, only for it to move for her almost immediately, it was less as though her strength moved it but something else.
"What-"
"The-"
"Hades?"
Macaria felt shock wave over her as she looked over suspiciously at the boulder.
"Wait." Annabeth said just as they were going to walk inside. "We can't beat him by force, so we'll have to use trickery."
"Okay," Percy said. "What trick?"
"I haven't figured that part out yet."
"Great."
As Annabeth placed on her hat, Percy held out his hands and Macaria took his and they turned invibisle. "This is it!" Annabeth whispered. "I'll be close by. Don't worry."
Annabeth yelled out "Hello, ugly!" Just as Polyphemus noticed that the boulder had been moved.
Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?"
"Nobody!" Annabeth yelled. That got exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for. His face turned red with rage.
"Nobody!" Polyphemus yelled back. "I remember you!"
"You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth taunted. "Much less Nobody." Polyphemus bellowed furiously and grabbed the nearest boulder (his front door) and threw it toward the sound of Annabeth's voice. Macaria could hear the rock smash into a thousand fragments.
For a terrible moment, there was silence. Then Annabeth shouted, "You haven't learned to throw
any better, either!"
Polyphemus howled. "Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!"
"You can't kill Nobody, you stupid oaf," she taunted. "Come find me!" Polyphemus barreled down the hill toward her voice. Now, the "Nobody" thing wouldn't have made sense to anybody, but Annabeth had explained that that it was the name Odysseus had used to trick Polyphemus centuries ago, right before he poked the Cyclops's eye out with a large hot stick. Annabeth had figured Polyphemus would still have a grudge about that name, and she was right.
In his frenzy to find his old enemy, he forgot about resealing the cave entrance. Apparently, he didn't even stop to consider that Annabeth's voice was female, whereas the first Nobody had been male. On the other hand, he'd wanted to marry Grover, so he couldn't have been all that bright about the different vocal tones.
"I hope she'll be okay…" Macaria said fearfully.
"We just have to believe." Percy said and took her hand as they went on a search for the main room, but there was no sign of Grover or Clarisse. They pushed through the crowd of sheep and goats toward the back of the cave. The corridors littered with bones, past rooms full of sheepskin rugs and life-size cement sheep that must've been due to Medusa. There were collections of sheep T-shirts; large tubs of lanolin cream; and wooly coats, socks, and hats with ram's horns.
Finally, they found the spinning room, where Grover was huddled in the corner, trying to cut Clarisse's bonds with a pair of safety scissors. "It's no good," Clarisse said. "This rope is like iron!"
"Just a few more minutes!"
"Grover," she cried, exasperated. "You've been working at it for a while!"
Just then they released their hands and appeared in front of them.
"Percy? Macaria?" Clarisse said. "You're supposed to be blown up!"
"Good to see you, too. Now hold still while I-"
"Perrrrrcy!" Grover bleated and tackled her brother with a goat-hug. "You heard me! You came!"
"Yeah, buddy," Percy said. "Of course I came."
"Where's Annabeth?"
"Outside," Percy said. "But there's no time to talk. Clarisse, hold still." He uncapped Riptide and sliced off her ropes. She stood stiffly, rubbing her wrists. She glared at him for a moment, then looked at the ground and mumbled,
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," He said. "Now, was anyone else on board your lifeboat?"
Clarisse looked surprised. "No. Just me. Everybody else aboard the Birmingham … well, I didn't
even know you guys made it out."
"Then…" Macaria said sadly, feeling like she wanted to cry as Percy looked down at the ground.
"Okay. Come on, then. We have to help-"
An explosion echoed through the cave, followed by a scream. It was Annabeth crying out in fear.