Chapter 4, Act II - Sally Settles in, and the Princess Andromeda.

I was leaning against Thalia's pine, from one of the lower branches, as I heard the sound of a car on gravel pulling up, right outside a small area Argus used to park the camp vans. I leapt down from the tree, and went over to meet Sally.

She stepped out of the car as I walked up. "Miss Jackson. Welcome to camp!" I grinned. She smiled warmly at me. "I'm glad to be here." She told me. "I, Nikomedes Arcus-Lupin, give Sally Jackson permission to enter camp." I mutter. Thunder shook the hillside for the second time in twenty-four hours.

"Follow me. I'll take you to the Poseidon cabin, and you can see Percy. He can give a tour if he wants, and I'll meet you at the Big House later, and go over just some basic stuff that comes with being the activities director." I said, beckoning her forward.

We walked together through the camp, and into the area with the cabins. There were mutters, and people pointed at Sally. I ignored them, and knocked on Cabin Three's door. "I'll be right there!" I heard a muffled voice say inside. A moment later, Percy was there at the door, with a severe case of bedhead. "Mom!" He blurted out, almost choking on air at seeing her here.

"In case you couldn't tell, Miss Jackson took up the offer to temporarily be the activities director, because let's be real, we already know I'm finding a way to get Chiron back within a month. I figured neither of you would mind spending time together, so Percy, if you wanted to show her around? Just meet me at the Big House with your mom." I asked him. He nodded, and he went back into his cabin for a second to get changed.

He emerged with Tyson, and I grinned up at the Cyclops. I saw a hunk of celestial bronze in his hands, leaving me to assume that he visited the forge at some point yesterday. "What're you making?" I asked, walking with him. "A surprise for my brother." He grinned. I reciprocate his excitement, with a grin equal to his. "I'm sure it'll be great, Tyson."

I brought him to the Big House with me, and we just talked for a while, until Sally and Percy arrived. Sally had a hesitant, almost concerned look on her face. We all sat around the table on the porch, and I started explaining things to her.

"I doubt this'll ever come up while you're here, but there are schedules for the cabins for up to next year in Chiron's office, second door on the right." It was mostly just stuff like that, going down a list of stuff that Chiron had to do as activities director. Of course, I left out archery classes, because Apollo kids could take that up, and it'd be hard to teach master's archery with little to no experience with ranged weapons.

"He also is usually the referee and battlefield medic for Capture the Flag, but there are a couple cabins who don't participate, who can probably be convinced to referee, and the medics from Apollo usually don't play, either, to serve as medics, so don't worry too much about that. Otherwise, if you need anything else, the Athena kids from Cabin Six would be more than happy to help, and so would my siblings in Cabin Twenty." I finished.

"That's a lot to take in, but I think I got it." She admitted. "Alright. Good. Now, I should make a run to check in with my cabin pretty quick, and I'm gonna check in on the Hades kids, since they're new, make sure they're all set for while I'm gone. Annabeth, Percy, and myself will be leaving after lunch." I said, standing up.

I went off to the Hades cabin, and I knocked. Nobody answered, but the lights were on, so I peeked in. Nobody was in, so I went to my cabin. I can't say I was really surprised to find the di Angelos in my cabin. Nico was bugging Alabaster about his powers, and Bianca and Lou were talking quietly about the camp, and what Bianca missed in the last seventy years.

"Knock knock." I said, leaning against the doorway. They glanced up. "I just wanted to let you four know, I'm leaving after lunch for the quest, with Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson. We should be back within a month. Also, Lou and Alabaster, I've helped Sally settle in, and I've let her know that if she needs any help, she can come to you two. So feel free to help her out where you can." I informed them.

"You're going on a quest? Can I go?" Nico asked excitedly. "Yes, I'm going on a quest. And no, Nico. You shouldn't be going on quests until you have training far past what you have now. So, you know what Nico?" I crouched down, sitting across from him on the floor.

"If you train real hard, and can show me some good progress by the time I need to go on my next quest, I'll consider you as an option, okay?" I assured him. I sent a glance at Bianca, hopefully conveying that I was saying it just to motivate him. I didn't really want to bring him on a quest, because frankly, I wanted to protect him at all costs.

I mean, the Nico in the books is cool and all, but if you could keep an injured soul from suffering, wouldn't you? He grinned at me. "I'll train hard, then! I'll show you that you can take me on the next one!" He promised me. I smiled back at him, and ruffled his hair. "Stay safe, alright?" Bianca told me.

I laughed. "Me? Safe? Who was the one burning down a hotel stuffed with Lotus Eaters yesterday, might I remind you?" She rolled her eyes, and I raised my hands in surrender. "I'll try, but no promises." I corrected myself.

From there, it was a blur until lunch. As we finished eating, Sally introduced herself to the camp. After her brief speech that I admittedly couldn't bother listening to, sorry Sally, I gathered my questmates on the beach. I told them about the gifts from Hermes, and showed them what I got, my fingers skipping over the envelopes Hermes gave me, as I looked through my inventory. I really needed to look at them, but I kept forgetting.

I was going to ask Percy to pray to his dad, but I spotted, off in the distance, something that surprised me. I inhaled sharply at the distant sight of Luke's boat, the Princess Andromeda. "What's wrong, Niko?" Annabeth asked, concerned. "Percy, pray to your dad for transportation. We need to stow away on that cruise ship." I urged him.

To his credit, he didn't question me. He learned from Grover, and just stopped questioning my weirdness, especially since he learned I knew the future.

So he awkwardly knelt, muttering something I just barely couldn't hear. About a minute later, as the Princess Andromeda was slowly moving out of sight, lines appeared in the water, and Tyson gasped as hippocampi emerged from the water. "Fish ponies!" He exclaimed, pointing at them.

"Guys, climb on. Tyson, you get the big one." I insisted, sliding myself onto one of the sleek hippocampi. Everyone followed suit, and Percy pointed at where the ship was disappearing. "That way. After that ship." He ordered the hippocampi. And, just like that, we all started barreling towards the ship, catching up within a few minutes.

I launched myself off my hippocampus, catching myself on a ladder on the back of the ship. I scaled up the side of the ship, Percy and Annabeth following. Tyson, meanwhile, was giggling as his hippocampus was doing tricks for him. "Tyson, we need to go, buddy. Come on." I tried. He gave us a pleading face.

"Can't Rainbow come with? Please?" He pleaded. "Maybe you can see him later, bud, but hippocampi aren't meant for land. Come on. I promise you'll get to see Rainbow later." I insisted. Tyson reluctantly bid his hippocampi, which he named Rainbow, goodbye, and climbed up the ladder. "Friends!" He smiled, pointing behind us.

I looked behind us, and narrowed my eyes at the sight of Luke approaching us, his bear twin bodyguards tailing him. "You shouldn't be here." Luke called to us. "Like you shouldn't have been at camp?" I demanded. "You see, that's funny, because now I'm the one with the upper hand. Your powers are weaker during the day, and my wonderful bodyguards here can hold off the...strange company you keep." He explained.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Tantalus. If anyone's threatening anyone here, it's me. Nobody threatens my friends. Glad to see you still have the guts for a round two, though. Maybe this time I'll get your other hand, like I should've last time." I drew the key Hades gave me, and I let it grow into a sword.

It lit up in flames again, and I grinned wickedly at him. He looked bewildered at my new sword. "Do you know what this is, Luke?" I asked him. In his silence, I continued. "This is Stygian Iron. One cut literally saps life from any being, like a weaker soul-tear. It's incredibly painful. Mix that with flames, and a lost hand...you'd be out of commission for a long time, so I'd think long and hard before you try anything." I warned him.

He scowled, but turned to Annabeth. "This is the company you keep? It's dishonoring Thalia's memory, and you know that." He said, sounding weirdly offended. "Dishonoring her memory? You tried to poison her!" She protested. "Because I was ordered to. Would you do something painful to you in order to make Chiron happy?" Annabeth hesitated when he said that.

"That's enough, Luke." I said, stepping in between the two of them. "Your sugar daddy could barely protect you last time. Shall we see if he can do any better now we're here?" I said, in an effort to provoke him. I needed to get him angry. I needed him to make an opportunity for us to get to one of the rafts here, so we can use the thermos to get away.

"No, I don't think I'll try, and if you're smart, you won't try anything underhanded, otherwise, Agrius and Oreius won't hesitate to tear you apart." He warned, stepping back away from me, out of range of my sword.

"What are you gonna do, then, coward?" He scowled. His eyes glazed, then he shook his head. "I'll exact my revenge, then go on my merry way. Agrius." Before I could realize what he meant, Agrius pulled out a sword. Time slowed down, and I could feel myself freeze up. Slowly, his sword descended, and pain erupted as he chopped off one of my hands. I shouted in pain, and grimaced. "Oh, you're gonna regret that in a minute." I snarled.

I brandished my sword. Fortunately, I knew what Gamer's Body could do. It took keeping me in top condition very seriously, though I still felt the pain. My sword clashed against my assailant's, being Agrius, and I saw in my peripheral vision that my dismembered hand was slowly flaking away, and the stump that was my hand was slowly stitching itself back together, using the same pieces.

I flexed my left hand, and grinned maliciously at the startled bear-man. "I said you'd regret that." I blasted him with the strongest flames I could muster, and Agrius was ashes in seconds. I turned to Luke. "You wanna have your henchmen do your dirty work for you? Do it yourself, or are you gonna go with underhanded tactics, since your men aren't here?" I spat.

I was subconsciously aware of Tyson, Annabeth, and Percy arguing quietly. They split on a count of three. Percy joined me, and Tyson started wrestling with Oreius, as Annabeth tried to breach his armor with her dagger.

"You ready, Jackson?" I muttered. "Always." He grinned at me. "Let's do this, dickfuck!" I shouted, lunging at him. Percy closed his eyes, and I noticed the water smoothing out. Luke met my sword with his own, and I changed the element I was channeling in my sword to water.

I ducked under a jab from Luke, and I used aerokinesis again to try and unsteady him. He was ready this time. He stumbled towards me, and left a gash on my stomach. "Well, now that's just rude." I said apathetically. The waves started getting choppier, throwing Luke off balance again. Thankfully, I knew it was coming, and was prepared for the change. I pulled off the disarming technique that Luke had shown me.

It was successful. His sword clattered to the ground, and I, without hesitation, started swinging my sword to cut off his other hand.

Unfortunately, time slowed, and Luke crawled out of the way, standing back up. His sword, though, was still out of reach when time went back to normal. "Percy! His sword!" I called.

I brandished my sword, keeping Luke from going anywhere. Percy picked it up, and I scowled at Luke. "I don't want to kill you." I told him. "Then what are you gonna do with me, huh?" He asked breathlessly. "I'm going to toss you overboard, and hope to gods you can swim." I glanced back at how the other two were doing. Tyson and Annabeth were standing, sweating and bleeding, over a pile of golden dust.

I nibbled on ambrosia, the cut on my stomach quickly healing.

I grabbed Backbiter from Percy, and dropped it into my inventory. Hopefully, they won't be able to make a scythe too long before the war. "Tyson, help me with Luke." I said, not taking my eyes off of the son of Hermes.

Tyson grabbed him, and I held Luke at swordpoint, even then. Luke was thrashing in his arms, trying to persuade us to stop. Tyson's grip loosened. "Tyson. Don't let him fool you." I warned him. "And Luke, should you persuade Tyson to let you go, I'll kill you myself, without hesitation." Luke went quiet after that.

Tyson chucked him into the Chesapeake Bay, and the Princess Andromeda continued to speed away. I flipped him the one-finger salute, and turned away. "Come on, you three. We're finding a raft." I said darkly, walking off.

The rest of the boat wasn't that crowded. There were mortals, clouded with Mist, who were convinced they were on a cruise. I felt bad, but I couldn't let them go. That'd risk them finding Luke, if any of them managed to turn the boat around, and we can't be having that.

The monsters aboard the ship didn't spare us a second glance, neither did the few demigod recruits. None of the faces were familiar, so I assumed Luke found them out in the streets, before they could find their way to either camp.

As we were passing the various living quarters, there was something pulling at me as we passed one of them. I paused, and Percy bumped into me. "Why are we stopping?" Annabeth asked. "This room...there's something I need to see in it. I need to go in alone. Just stand guard outside." I told them. I slipped in the room.

It was Luke's room. I figured it out really quickly. Pictures of Thalia, Annabeth, and himself, all on the run, along with other knick knacks he got throughout the years. But there was one thing that gave it away even more than that. A golden sarcophagus stood as the centerpiece of the room. "Kronos. Tell me one reason why I shouldn't break this casket, here and now." I told the sarcophagus. Silence.

I realized that this was where they had his pieces, but it wasn't put together enough for him to form any degree of consciousness inside of it. I growled. Unfortunately, I couldn't break it into more pieces than the Titan was in. It was important that it stayed in one piece.

I scavenged the room, and found something disturbing. Dozens of magic items. I scanned the collection of magic items I saw, looking for any enchantments that seemed out of place. Nothing seemed to have been tampered with. "This is what they were using. That's why I felt such a high concentration of power from here." I saw one of Hecate's torches, one of Nemesis' scales, a Roman military helmet that I could only assume was Bellona's, among many, many other things, to include duplicates. A quick observe clarified that the duplicates were lesser in power.

I scooped them all up into my inventory. But two things stood out. Ares' shield, and Aphrodite's scarf. We never recovered them from Waterland, back in Denver, so one of Kronos' cronies probably got them instead.

I would be sure to return the items that I could, but I wasn't sure I could sacrifice to Roman gods and goddesses without drawing attention to myself from the Roman side of things, which I didn't want yet. Chiron, though, could do something about it. Chiron knew that I know about the Romans, and he can return them to the respective deities.

That was all the more motivation to get Chiron back.

I met my questmates outside of Luke's room, and I ignored their questions, just making my way towards the rafts. Then an idea generated in my head. A crazy grin made its way onto my face, but I loaded us into a raft.

"What are you thinking?" Percy asked, I think slightly unnerved by the grin on my face. "I'm thinking that we rub salt in the wound with a certain war god." I said, releasing the raft. We plummeted to the ocean, and I brought out the thermos, just barely cracking it open.

We zoomed ahead, leaving the cruise ship behind.