The Greek demigods who knew what happened grimaced. They knew that this was when Beckendorf died.
The end of the world started…borrow his Prius for a short spin.
"That's cool. I mean the Prius part." Travis grinned
Percy nodded.
Now, I know you're thinking…hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.
"Oh you never know." Travis said
Percy looked at him.
"You might be able to convert that into a danger zone too." Connor said
Percy pouted.
Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along…looked like a million golden drachma.
Everybody snickered.
Rachel grinned.
"Oh, pull up right there!" she told me…He can do stuff like that.
"Hmm I normally might but I was fighting a war at that time." Poseidon said
Percy nodded.
"So." Rachel smiled at me…"Oh…right." I tried to sound excited
"It didn't work." Rachel said
"Lol. I figured." Percy said
I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house…break even for a few days was really tempting.
"I swear I know right." Percy groaned
"Dude, we've been here for more than a week. It's been so freaking relaxing." Travis sighed contently.
The demigods nodded.
Still, something big was supposed to go down any day now…But it's always bad for you, right?"
"Fair point." Castor said
"This was worse though." Dakota said
"That's true." Pollux said
She had a point.
The gods slightly grimaced.
"I really want to go," I promised…nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.
"She earned all our respects then." Hermes snickered
Rachel blushed.
"That was seriously next level." Leo said
Apollo grinned.
Rachel shook her head in disgust…Can you see me in finishing school?"
"That is definitely not Rachel's type of school." Reyna frowned
"Definitely not." Will said
I admitted the idea sounded pretty dumb…"Save the Endangered Yellow-bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that.
Hermes, Dionysus, Artemis and Grover smiled at Rachel.
I'd never even seen her wear a dress…Besides, there's something I want to talk—" She stopped abruptly
"Something oracle type?" Nico asked
Rachel nodded.
"I didn't know what was happening to me so I thought that Percy might know. I thought it might be better to talk to him on the vacation." Rachel said
Nico and Percy nodded.
"Something you want to talk about?" I asked…The sunlight made her hair look like fire.
"Hey! Hair on fire is my thing." Leo said
Everybody snickered.
Leo lit his hair on fire.
"Okay Leo, let's not light the place on fire." Jason said
Leo grinned and he stopped the fire.
We'd spent a lot of time together this summer…monsters using me as their personal punching bag.
"It feels better but you feel more stressed." Percy said
"Which reminds me what about the therapy?" Triton asked
"We could do our own therapy." Percy said
"I don't think anybody can take therapy for demigods without being a demigod." Will explained
"That's true." Triton frowned
"Okay," I said…stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"
"Awkward." Annabeth said in a sing song voice
"Kinda yes." Percy agreed
"Yep, very awkward." Rachel agreed
"Oh…" I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows—slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um…"
Everybody snickered.
"My cows aren't really dumb." Apollo said
I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel…well, than some other girls I knew.
"Rude!" Annabeth said
"Sorry Annabeth, though I didn't take your name." Percy said
Annabeth stuck her tongue out at Percy.
I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said…but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked.
Everybody laughed.
"He was so weirded out." Percy laughed
"He was probably like, 'what the heck. I mean did some horse ride up to the hood. You know I don't want to think about it.'" Katie laughed
"He was exactly like that." Percy said
Katie grinned.
"Blackjack," I sighed…working in the forges every summer.
Beckendorf smirked.
"I like that description." He said
"Monsters running for their mommies." Leo grinned
Hephaestus beamed at Beckendorf.
Beckendorf chuckled.
Silena blushed.
He was two years older than me…meanies as soon as the first harpy went flush.
The demigods cheered.
"Now that is brilliant!" Leo whooped
Beckendorf chuckled at his brother and grinned.
"That was quite hilarious to hear about." Pollux recalled
The Greek demigods who were there snickered.
Beckendorf was dressed for combat…but I'd half hoped it would never happen.
The demigods sighed.
Rachel looked up at Beckendorf…uh, I mean he mentioned you."
Everybody snickered.
"I had no idea what I was supposed to say there. I mean even I knew that Annabeth had a crush on Percy and so did Rachel." Beckendorf said
Rachel and Annabeth sighed.
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Good."… Last time Paul loaned me his car.
"Oh he loaned me his car afterwards too though." Percy said
"Nice of him." Katie said
"No actually, brave of him actually." Nico said
Everybody snickered.
"Good luck." Rachel kissed me before I could even react.
"Oh well." The Stolls cleared their throat
"Awkward. Very very awkward Rachel." Annabeth said
Rachel turned red.
Percy sighed.
My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat…"Don't even think about it."
Everybody snickered.
Annabeth chuckled. Percy turned red.
"Blackmail material." Hades said
"Not anymore." Percy smirked
"And speaking of blackmail material…" Percy smirked
Hades paled.
"You better not." He said
"Saving it for a better time." Percy grinned
Nico snickered.
Poseidon raised an eyebrow.
"What's the blackmail material?" He asked Percy
"Can't tell you." Percy grinned
Poseidon pouted.
Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic…Now it was heading straight for New York.
Poseidon grimaced.
"You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled…Kronos's invasion before it ever started.
"That's good. You want to keep it managed and timed." Reyna said
Frank nodded.
"Dry runs always help out. Kind of like a simulator." He said
Poseidon, Hades and Hera grimaced slightly.
"Let's not talk too much about simulators." Nico said
Frank nodded.
"Kind of like a realistic game." He amended
Everybody chuckled.
"Yeah." Percy smiled
"Blackjack," I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck…little help from my friends and me.
"Makes sense he doesn't like it. Nobody would like seeing a place they were um staying without good hospitality." Silena said, not using the word imprisoned or trapped, remembering her mom's 'therapy.'
Percy nodded.
"He hates it like crazy." Percy said
"You know Percy, you might be distantly related to Blackjack. If I'm not wrong pegasus is a child of Medusa and Poseidon." Travis smirked
"I did not need to know that. At least not again. I already knew that." Percy grumbled
Triton snickered.
"I'm related to Hercules." Thalia and Jason grumbled
Zoe sighed.
"Gods I mostly got lucky in this manner." Nico said
"Yep." Thalia said
"Definitely." Percy said
I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.
"That would be hilarious." Chris said
"Don't touch Blackjack. He might even whack you with his tail." Percy said and warned the Stolls
"Well um okay." The Stolls agreed
"Don't wait for us," I told him…"We'll get out by ourselves."
Percy sighed.
Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat…but we zipped by so fast, none of them raised the alarm.
"Whoa! That pegasus is fast." Leo said
Percy nodded fondly.
We shot down the stern of the boat…Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite.
Silena and Beckendorf blushed.
They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying, "Duh, you guys like each other!
"The same exact thing happened with you and Annabeth but no 'we're just friends.'" Beckendorf teased
Percy and Annabeth blushed.
"Seriously guys." Silena chuckled.
Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him.
Silena and Beckendorf smiled at each other.
"We'll make it back to camp," I promised.
Percy looked down.
Beckendorf sighed. He hoped Percy had stopped blaming himself for something nobody blame him about.
For a second I saw worry in his eyes…"Bah, your brain isn't on board!
Everybody snickered.
"It's good one doesn't believe the other." Piper said
They nodded.
They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs…split the bolt like it was made of butter.
Hephaestus smiled at Beckendorf though it was a little strained. He had figured that this was when Beckendorf would die.
Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned…Maybe he was messaging his friends on .
" could also be a dating site." Leo said
"Why would he be agitated then?" Nico asked
"They probably showed him some super ugly monster." Leo shrugged
Everybody snickered.
I stepped forward, and he tensed…he exploded into dust.
"Good one." Annabeth smiled
"Thanks." Percy muttered
"One down," Beckendorf said…essential tool of demigod heroes—duct tape.
"One of the most." Leo nodded
"Very useful." The Stolls nodded solemnly
"Slap that one on the console," he said…This would be our only chance to stop it.
"Oh wow. Just one shot." Castor said
"Nothing new." Pollux shrugged
I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels…Ten more minutes at least."
"That's a bit too long." Hephaestus said in worry
Beckendorf nodded.
Judging from the sound of the footsteps…But we were going to have to improvise.
"Like always." Percy sighed
"Good luck," he said…Riptide faster than they could yelp.
"Nice one!" Lee said
Percy gave a strained smile.
I kept climbing—past another telkhine…follow me rather than head toward the engine room.
"That's a good plan but dangerous." Triton said
"My life is always dangerous." Percy said
Triton sighed.
I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running…(and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience).
"I don't think I want to know which experience you're talking about." Poseidon said
Percy shrugged.
Back on my first visit to the Princess Andromeda…been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings.
"Let's say they probably actually went to Hades." Thalia said
Percy chuckled.
I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship…its pincers longer than my body.
"I hate those." Amphitrite said
The rest of the sea gang nodded.
If you've ever seen a crab's mouth…fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week.
Triton and Tyson turned very green.
"That smell is awful. Straight up awful." Triton gagged
Percy nodded.
Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company…"There!" a voice said from a balcony above me. "Intruder!"
"Oh no." Michael said
If I'd wanted to create a distraction…This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks.
"Yeah just a bit bigger." Travis said, holding up a two fingers in a way which said small size.
The demigods snickered.
Then a weird thought came to me…right in the middle of their ugly bellies.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Poseidon said
"He needs to get to the belly first." Amphitrite pointed out
Poseidon nodded.
I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor…let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside.
"Wow son." Poseidon grinned
"Good job brother!" Tyson cheered
"That was amazing." Triton agreed
"Thanks guys." Percy said
The monster shuddered and hissed…I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-snake
"Break the snake." Leo snickered
But in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship…I kept running toward the front of the ship
"Dude that was great." Castor said
Percy gave him a small smile.
Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell.
Poseidon sighed in relief.
"That's Mahogany!" Thalia gasped dramatically
The demigods and gods who watched the hunger games burst out laughing.
"Look at them, just killed a wall." Travis joined in
They all snickered.
I didn't care—as long as I got the monsters away…about the same age I was when I first went to Camp Half-Blood.
"T-twelve?" Hermes asked, pausing in the middle
Percy nodded.
"That's…that's way too young for anything." Will said, horrified
Everybody nodded.
"That's depressing." Nico said
The demigods sighed.
That thought depressed me…yet the kid thought I was his enemy.
"That's equally depressing." Clarisse said
Everybody agreed.
No way was I going to hurt him…sent him tumbling to the next floor.
"I get why you didn't kill him. I don't think that any demigod would have the heart to kill such a young kid." Chris said
None of the gods missed how he said demigods. Maybe it wasn't intentional but maybe it was. They grimaced. They knew that now they wouldn't hurt such a young one but if they were in place of Percy with an opponent demigod, they might kill him. Some of them who were getting better decided to work on that too.
I kept climbing…three years ago on my first visit.
"I don't like that ship." Tyson said
"Nor do we." The demigods chorused.
I burst outside onto the main deck…detonate the charges from a quarter mile away.
Beckendorf sighed as Percy looked down.
"Percy-" he started.
"Could we please wait until we get to that part?" Percy asked
Beckendorf nodded.
I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. "You're late, Percy."
"Kronos called you Percy?" Annabeth asked in confusion
"That's his name." Triton frowned
"No she means that Kronos addressed him so casually. Normally it was Luke who would call him with his name." Amphitrite explained
"Oh okay."
"That was Luke's voice." Percy sighed
Luke stood on the balcony above me…the voice of the Titan lord Kronos
"I hate his voice." Will said
"He would make a terrible singer then." Lee said, trying to lighten the mood
Everybody snickered.
The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade.
None of the demigods even twitched.
The gods looked at them in amazement.
"Come, bow before me."
The demigods snorted.
"Lol like that's gonna happen." Castor, Pollux and Dakota snorted
Percy snickered.
"Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered.
The demigods snickered.
"I wonder if he heard you." Rachel said
"He probably did." Zoe said
"Oh well." Percy shrugged
Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool…Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke.
The archery people frowned.
Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony…so fast unless they'd known I was coming.
Silena flinched. The gods didn't know that she was the spy and the Fates said no spoilers so she couldn't even tell them or apologize.
I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me…twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.
Hermes grimaced.
"He killed many of my friends. He was going to destroy Olympus. He gave me every reason to hate him even though he was manipulated. Triton had a point but Luke's changed now though." Percy said
Triton nodded.
A voice in my head said…As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled.
"Well at least the thoughts problem is going to be solved." Hazel said
The demigods nodded.
"Come forward," he said…Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O.
The elder six gods shuddered.
"I hate that blade." Percy scowled
The demigods nodded.
But before I could change my mind…I felt like I was moving through syrup.
"The titan's a coward. Always relying on the time power. Fight without it at least even if you know you're stronger." Clarisse said
"I agree." Chris said
The demigods nodded in agreement.
My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my sword.
Poseidon's arms felt heavy. He was glad that he wasn't holding anything at the time.
Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe…breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward.
Everybody stared at Percy in amazement.
"You broke Kronos' time spell?" Poseidon asked
"The sea was there though. It helped." Percy said
"Still, it's hard to break out of the time spell." Demeter said
"Oh okay. Though I was near my favored domain. So it might have led to an advantage." Percy said
"Maybe." Demeter said
I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow…As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him.
The demigods sighed.
"You can't hesitate like that every time." Ares warned
Percy sighed.
Kronos had no such hesitation…cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet.
"Percy you're going to give me a heart attack too." Triton said, keeping his hand on his chest.
Percy looked sheepish.
I kicked Kronos in the chest…It was like kicking a refrigerator.
"That takes a lot of force." Travis said
"How would you know that?" Katie asked
"Me and Connor placed a bet that I won." Travis smirked
Katie rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.
Kronos swung his scythe again…shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm.
"NO!" Poseidon yelled out
"PERCY!" The sea gang, some gods and the demigods yelled
"It's fine." Percy said weakly
"Percy your fine doesn't mean good." Annabeth said
Percy looked sheepish.
It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain.
Poseidon yelled in pain.
Hades flinched at the reminder of the blade.
Nico froze at the reaction.
Percy, Triton and Tyson dropped on one knee.
"Will!" Percy called
Will ran with his dad to Percy's couch.
Will and Apollo tried what they could but nothing worked.
"I'm sorry I can't do anything. This fates' curse prevents it." Apollo said miserably
"It's fine, it's fine." Percy said
Will and Apollo went back to their couch.
Hermes decided to continue reading.
I remembered what a sea demon had once said…my will, my identity draining away.
Poseidon whimpered.
"No, not again." He whimpered
Percy's blood ran cold.
"Nico!" He yelled
Nico got up and dropped on one knee.
"Dad's it's okay. It'll be fine." Percy said
This time it didn't have an effect.
Percy, Triton and Tyson looked at each other.
Triton and Tyson seemed helpless. Percy looked at Nico.
Percy pulled his father in for a hug.
"Hermes please continue." Nico said
Hermes nodded and continued.
I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand…I knew I didn't have much time.
Poseidon's vision blurred more than it already had due to the tears.
Percy tightened his grip on him.
"It's gonna be okay dad." He said
Triton and Tyson nodded.
"Will I think we need a bandage." Nico said in worry
Will went over and nodded. He wrapped a bandage around the wounded area.
"Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was his head."
"Good one." The Stolls said
"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan"… Black spots danced in my eyes.
Poseidon closed his eyes and was shaking.
"And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered…little punk had helped Kronos come back to life.
"You should've killed him." Ares grumbled
Percy sighed and didn't say anything. His knee was starting to hurt but he didn't say anything and nor did he care.
"Success, my lord," Ethan called…"No!" I yelled.
So did the other campers.
Hephaestus was covered in cuts as well. He also had a swollen eye. Beckendorf looked worried while Leo looked even worse as the hurt hit him for his brother and his father.
"Can we put some ice on this Will?" Beckendorf asked
"It's the curse, I don't think we can. Once it goes away it might make him a little uncomfortable." Will said
Beckendorf nodded.
Beckendorf met my eyes…Beckendorf had fooled them.
"How the hell did they fall for that?" Connor shook his head
"It's a good thing they did but I don't know if Kronos will believe them." Travis said in worry
When he'd realized he was going to be captured…"Open his bag," Kronos ordered.
"Oh no." Pollux said
One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel…then turned on his heels and ran.
"I would be scared of Kronos yelling too." Chris shuddered
The demigods nodded.
Apparently the fates decided that Poseidon had experienced enough of the scythe so they removed his wound before the chapter.
Poseidon stopped shaking. Percy noticed it and pulled back.
"How're you dad?" Triton asked
"The wound's gone." Poseidon said
Triton nodded.
"I think the fates thought that that was enough of the scythe feeling." Nico said
The sea gang nodded.
Will removed the bandage after two minutes.
I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes…"Communication device…spy at camp."
Poseidon rubbed his arm.
Silena flinched again.
Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends…Luke learned that lesson the hard way.
"Luke wasn't betrayed, he betrayed us." Connor said
The demigods sighed.
Now drop your sword and surrender to me…I couldn't just leave him.
Beckendorf smiled at Percy.
The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans…brought his hand up to his watch
"No." The Greek demigods muttered through blurry eyes.
I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos…anchor toward the bottom of the sea.
"No." They said again and went and hugged Beckendorf.
"I-I'm so sorry Beckendorf." Percy said
"You have nothing to be sorry about Percy. You would've died too and that would've really messed things up. I made my own choice, you have nothing to blame yourself for." Beckendorf said
Percy swallowed and nodded.
The Greek demigods pulled back. Leo and the other campers were sobbing. Silena was crying her eyes out in Beckendorf's shoulder while he hugged her and kissed her forehead.
Hephaestus had blurry eyes. His cuts and eye had healed up and he pulled Beckendorf into a hug.
After two minutes, Dionysus asked "Is the curse gone?"
There was a note in his hands the next second. He read it out.
'The curse has not been removed. Poseidon's still awake because he can't black out for long. The scythe wound disappeared for the reason Nico said.
The fates'
"Right." Dionysus said
"The chapter's done by the way." Hermes said
"I'll read.' Aphrodite said
Hermes tossed her the book.