Chapter 6, Act II - CC's Spa and Resort.

We had been drifting for days, rationing off of what food we had in our duffel bags. Percy and Annabeth started talking about the Great Prophecy, and I zoned out again, until a seagull landed on our boat. "Land." I muttered. I looked around, and saw a speck of land, conveniently in the direction we were headed in.

"Land ho!" I cheered, pointing towards the land.

We laid anchor, so to speak, at the island. I'd almost forgotten what this place was. C.C.'s Spa and Resort. We were immediately confronted by a lady in a blue business suit, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a clipboard in hand. It was hard to believe it was the same person who would later become the Queen of the Amazons.

"Welcome!" Hylla said, feigning joy. "Is this your first time with us?" She asked. I nodded, since the other two wouldn't speak. "First–time–at–spa..." She muttered as she wrote it down on the clipboard. "Let's see..." She trailed off.

I honestly didn't fully register what she said after that. I was making a plan on how to rescue them from Blackbeard's crew, so they could come with, or find another method altogether to leave.

I noted a helipad occupied by a helicopter. Maybe that'd be an option. They all started walking up towards the main building, and I quickly activated my photokinesis, slipping away from the group.

I'm not sure about you, but I didn't want to risk death by Circe's magic, and I also didn't want to turn into a guinea pig. I adorned Somnia's crown, and allowed my features to become more feminine using the minor shapeshifting powers of the crown. They wouldn't exactly like if a guy was roaming around. Here, guys are supposed to be guinea pigs.

I knew what my goal was. Find Reyna, tell her who she is, hope I'd convince her, hope she can convince Hylla, and sacrifice Bellona's helmet to her in hopes she can grant her daughters a safe getaway.

The problem was? I couldn't find her anywhere. So I backtracked. Maybe I could talk Hylla down, and convince her to leave with Reyna. Reyna would probably listen to her big sister.

Thankfully, I found Hylla looking back over our boat, probably scavenging for personal effects. "Daughter of Bellona." I said, deactivating photokinesis, and slipping Somnia's crown back in my inventory.

She turned to face me. "You. You were with the boy and girl that came in earlier. Where did you go?" She was subtly reaching for a walkie-talkie around her belt. "Hylla, I wouldn't do that. I promise, I mean no harm, I just want to warn you. Those two guests you just introduced? They have the full intention of freeing Blackbeard's crew." At her distrusting, yet intrigued look, I continued.

"They would completely ransack this place, and keep any survivors as prisoners. I don't want anyone taken prisoner, but I get the feeling a lot of the people here would be able to escape. But children of Bellona always find trouble. I fear you may be captured. I wanted to give you a gift, an opportunity, to escape." I took out Bellona's helm, and passed it to her.

"I found this, on a vessel belonging to Saturn. This helm belongs to your mother. Find your sister, and run while you still can. I swear to you on the Styx that running will benefit both of you, and save you both from having to endure being a prisoner of the pirates." Hylla hesitates. "How do I know I can trust you?" She asks.

I decided to play the most dangerous game possible. "I'll tell you something damning of myself, and see if you would trust me then. I'm not Roman. I'm Greek, a son of Hecate. The ones that came here with me are a son of Poseidon, and daughter of Athena. Would I tell you that, risking an attack from you, if I did not have your best interests at heart?"

"I see your point. Fortunately for you, I don't have a weapon on me, otherwise I'd kill you. But I believe you. Farewell, graecus. I will warn you, cross paths with a Roman again, and we will kill you. Greeks like you shouldn't exist." She warned me. "Noted. Now go. Stay safe, Hylla."

I activated photokinesis once again, and shadow traveled into the building where Annabeth had just entered. "Just...let me get a minute alone. To say goodbye." Annabeth said, stalling for time. "Of course, my dear." Circe cooed. "One minute. Oh...and so you have your privacy..." She waved her hand, and iron bars slammed down over the windows, and she swept out of the room.

I became visible once again, and grabbed the Hermes multivitamins out of my inventory. I dumped a few of them in there, enough for Percy, alongside Blackbeard and his crew. I gave Annabeth a multivitamin, and I popped one, just in time for Circe to come back in.

"Ah, the son of Hecate. Finally arrived, have you?" She asked, amused. The guinea pigs behind us started to grow, bursting out of the cage, and I gave Circe a mischievous grin. "Oh I've arrived." I said calmly. "And I brought backup." I equipped my gauntlet, and skeletons started to crawl from the ground.

She started to look panicked. She couldn't transform the skeletons into other living creatures. They weren't living. She could tame us, but Hermes multivitamins stopped her.

She blasted back the skeletons. "I'll deal with them later. First, for all of you." She snarled. Blue fire coiled from her fingers, surrounding us. As it faded, nothing happened. None of us were changed or even charred.

I shook the bottle of multivitamins, away from where she could reach. "Good luck touching us with magic, cousin. Hermes knows all." I grinned, popping them back into my inventory. She staggered back. "Curse Hermes and his damned multivitamins! If I get my hands on him..." She growled.

She looked over our group. Percy was trying to stop the overeager pirates. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, the son of Ares!" Annabeth gasped, pointing at none other than Blackbeard. I tuned out their conversation, and approached Circe. "Let us go. We hold no vendetta against you, cuz. We can leave you alone." I tried.

"The pirates won't." She grimaced. "I'll handle them, as long as you let us go. A child of Ares and a few mortal crewmen aren't a concern to me. I've held back Ares myself. Just let us go, and we won't have to kill you." I tried.

"I'm afraid I can't let the three of you go." I raised my Stygian sword, but she hurriedly continued. "But if you can terminate the pirates, I can take you as an apprentice! Your power could grow immensely at my side!" She tried.

Mental intrusion blocked!

I hesitated. She was lying. Wasn't she? She hated men. But the offer of more power was tempting. She also just tried persuading me with charmspeak, only pointing further to dishonesty. "Swear on the Styx." I decided. "I swear on the Styx that, as long as you kill those pirates, I'll take you as an apprentice!" Thunder boomed.

"What of my friends?" She hesitated. "They can leave. It wouldn't do if Zeus came after my head if your damned quest can't continue. I swear on the Styx that they'll be allowed to leave. I'll only take you for a few months, be aware." She decided, thunder booming again.

I glanced at my friends, fear in their eyes. "Percy, Annabeth, get to the vessel named the Queen Anne's Revenge. Sail to Polyphemus' island, retrieve the Fleece. Percy, Luke is going to find you three, washed up at Miami. Chiron will be there. Send him ahead with the Fleece. Face Luke, and trick him into admitting to an Iris Message to camp that he needed Chiron gone. Got it?" I explained to them.

Annabeth started to protest, but I cut her off. "I'll IM you guys. Okay? If anything happens, I can find a way to leave. I swear on the Styx. I'll be back before the next quest, because I promise you, there will be another one."

"You better stay safe." Percy insisted, taking Annabeth's hand and running. I heard a helicopter going at the same time. Bellona seems to be keeping her children safe. I turned to the pirates.

"I doubt you've heard of me, Eddie, but I'm Niko, the son of Hecate. I held off your father for I'd say about five or ten minutes, without a scratch on me. I've been assigned to kill you. You have five, no, three, no, wait, nevermind. Like I'd let you or your crew have time to run." I knocked them back with aerokinesis, and my skeletons I summoned before surrounded the pirates.

Fortunately, they were no threat to us. They were unarmed. So suffice to say?

I got the apprenticeship.

"You'd best hold to your word, Circe." I warned her, as she got up, magic cleaning her outfit. "I confess, I'm not used to taking male students, but I'll see what I can do to unlock your potential." She told me.

"If it has to do with your vendetta against men, and your hesitance to provide men power, I have a simpler solution." I donned the crown of Somnia, and allowed my features to change to become a little more similar to Hylla's. "I know it would still be hard, but you can just pretend I'm a typical student." She grinned at the change.

"I can work with this." She decided.

A/N: Now, I'll admit, this is the end of Niko's part in the Sea of Monsters. I don't have filler between Niko and Circe with his training written, but as it stands, I'm far enough along with writing to where I'm currently writing the Son of Neptune currently. I do, however, have a chapter that goes over any and all major changes in the Sea of Monsters from Percy's POV, which is what I'll be posting next, as sort of a filler chapter. I may eventually come back to rewrite this section, but personally, I think this is something Niko needs, which will, eventually, be seen, which is why I have him take the apprenticeship.

After this next chapter, though, is the Titan's Curse. So be ready for a time skip to that winter.