Percy's POV:

I strutted out of the palace with absolute confidence. It began blossoming deep within me consciousness. This is confidence hard-won yet deep, anchored in the true self that is always safe at our core. It is that which grows in within, purging that which was born of fear, clearing the way for love to grow, to take up every aspect who I am. This is-

"Do you even know where you're going?" Triton piped up, knocking me out of my self proclaimed moment.

"Gods damn it!" I just realized that I'm going in no particular direction.

"That's what I thought. Come on, I have an idea where we should start." Triton said and patted me on my shoulder. As he got in front of me, I crossed my arms and sighed. Damn I felt like I was in the zone.

"So, where would that be?" I asked as we stood in at the front gates of the palace.

"Camp Half-blood." I did a double take.

"Care to share? You know I'm banished from that place." Shouldn't we just go, we are on a time crunch.

"I know. But we don't know is what we're looking for. Finding out what the poison is, would help us find this cure. Per say." I should have thought of that. Triton grabbed my shoulder and teleported into the bay that held the camp. That was felt much faster than my own type of travel. Triton and I swam to surface with haste. As we broke the surface, I was met with nothing in particular. I looked and saw no demigod or spirit alike strutting about. Not even a sign of camp that I'm one-hundred percent certain is there, just a hill with an empty strawberry field. The only thing I noticed, was a flash, of something shiny in the far distance. And the unnatural look of a massive pine. I squinted my eyes and I gasped. It was as if the ground held veins that pumped magic into and around camp. However, the pine wasn't giving. The usual vibrant green liveliness of Half-Blood Hill was drained into a hollow brown. Slowly making it's way down, and further towards that; which is invisible to me. Thalia's pine was dying.

I swiveled my head to Triton and he clearly saw something I didn't. Holding a stern look, he gripped his trident with both hands and sighed. "This doesn't look good."

"What is it?" If course it can't be anything good.

"The camp is under attack and the border can't hold off what's coming for much longer." Triton spoke in a monotone voice.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Listen Percy. I'm a god and as such, I can not interfere with the affairs of a demigod in this instance. You however can." Honestly the ancient laws are utter bull crap.

"How?"

"Once the boarder breaks you'll have you're chance to save your friends. The magic won't be able to hold you back any longer. While you do that, I will head to the tree and see what I can do. Don't take long however. We must figure out where we need to go for this quest."

"Great. I'm just wondering, what will I have to beat?-" The sound of the barrier shattering grabbed my attentiveness. I immediately saw what I was gonna be dealing with. "Never mind. The Colchis Bulls, how lovely." We raced towards the shore and as the barrier broke, I saw camp within the cracks and the alertness of all who were housed there. The Colchis Bulls, made of bronze, breathe fire, have extremely hot skin, with little weaknesses, and none that I know about. Easy peasy.

I saw campers in armor rush the two metallic beasts without hesitation. See, that's courage at it's finest. While, the younger ones scrambled around in fear. That's nothing to blame.

At this point I got onto the shore and sprinted at the bulls while uncapping Riptide with my right hand and created a frozen sword with my left. "Don't get too close! Fire from a distance!" I shouted with authority as I sped past many campers who eyed me like I was a lunatic. To be fair, I was a half naked boy running towards emanate danger. And I was not gonna take heed to my own words. Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe. But, dying today won't be doing anyone any good. Especially since it's going to get a lot tougher from here on out. Best be alive and ready to fight tomorrow then unprepared and dead today.

The campers halted and held there shields up with spears at the ready. While they stopped, campers who were good with bows stood behind them, attempting to find chinks in the fire breathing bulls. The bulls on the hand, were shooting their flames at everything around them. It seemed like they wanted to turn everything to ashes. And I mean everything.

I'd like to think I'm pretty fast because I reached them in a moments notice. "Try and keep one busy! I'll go after the other one!" I ordered as I hopped over the shield holders.

"Is that Percy!?-" At least a couple shouted before I focused entirely on the Colchis Bulls that were threatening the only safe heaven for us demigods. Yea, that won't slide on my watch.

Heading for the one on the right, I tossed my frozen sword at the armor plated beast with all my might. It shattered on impact and created steam where it hit. I knew it wasn't going to do any damage but, now I got it's attention. I slowed down and came to a complete halt, Riptide pointed towards the floor as I stared it down. In retaliation the bull roared at the sky on it's hind legs and landed with a thud, clearly pissed. Smoke blew out of it's nose as it huffed and puffed readying to charge. It stiffened it's hind legs and pushed off with it's horns pointed at my exposed chest. Waiting for the bull to get as close as possible, I stiffened my legs. I waited until the absolute last moment before I used his head as a spring board and cleared the unexpecting automaton. I felt the heat sting my feet but, I can't worry about that.

With the force of my kick off, the bull's head crush the dirt beneath it and rolled to a stop. I didn't waste any time and needed to make sure he couldn't get up. As soon as I was within a few feet, the bull whipped it's head around and blew fire at me. With instinct the only thing keeping me alive, I fell onto my stomach as the searing heat singed the skin on my back. Rolling to the side, I swung Riptide at it's neck only to bounce harmlessly off. Alright, plan b.

As the bull got back on it's feet, I did the same. Only now, he's treading on my turf. I stomped my foot onto the ground, which caused the surrounding area to shake and cause a mini earthquake. That lead to the bull falling back down and giving me ample time to find a weakness. Or so I thought. The bull was clearly in distress and since I doubt it knew what to do, it started spewing flames every which way. Giving me room to with and no chance to get in close to disable it. Keeping up the earthquake was draining me pretty quickly since it wasn't something I was accustomed to. Thinking, I can't use water because it'll just turn to steam and leave everyone blinded or hurt because of the quickly heated water. Damn it, I don't want to use it yet, I have no choice.

Concentrating while keeping the earth shaking was a hard task but, I needed to get water here. Feeling that all too familiar tug in the pit of my stomach I called the water of the lake forth and gathered it above the squirming bull. I didn't need much, maybe about a bathtub full to accomplish what I need to.

With the water gathered I let go of my control and watched as the water drop onto the unexpecting bull. As expected, it exploded into a valley of steam that covered a part of the hill. Perfect... With a solid connection to the steam, I could sense the squirming cow within it and trudged towards it. It no longer spewed flames which was just an added bonus.

Standing next to the bull, I placed my hand on it's side and went to work. Taking a deep breath, a small breath of cool air escaped my mouth. With immense concentration, I channeled Khione's power through my hand as the metal began making the switch from hot to cool. This may take a couple minutes, good thing I have cover. It isn't just about making snow or ice, it's also about learning to cool what is already hot. After all that what it means to get cold. I watched as the bull's movements slowly dwindled down to nothing more than small spasms. The whole bull was covered in a thin layer of frost.

Good, now I need to find a way to disable it... Maybe the mouth? That's usually a weakness in most beasts. Hopefully it's the same with an automaton. I had Riptide in hand and got to it's mouth. In a loud shout, I penetrated through the weakened hull of the bull's mouth and disabled it from doing anything else. Can the Hephaestus kids do something with this? I bet Charles can.

I don't want anyone to see my cooling handy work and defrosted the bull. That's one down, one to go. Swiping my hand, the air cleared and gave me a clear sight of the situation going on with the other's. The bull was littered with arrows and small dents from the campers. It looked like a pin cushion. The archers were spread about far more, probably tp avoid it charging or it's flames. Smart, someone is using their brains. As it's attention was focused on the Apollo kids most likely, it didn't register someone coming in close to finish it off.

Clarisse, who knew how to give a war cry, charged head first like a maniac with her electro charged spear. The Colchis Bull began opening it's mouth but, Clarisse attacked first. She skewered the bull straight through it's artificial skull and zapped it into oblivion. Damaging whatever was inside and left it a steaming pile of celestial bronze. That's awesome! "Way to go Clarisse! I knew you guys could do it!" I shouted as I jogged over, still very impressed. I guess I was worried for nothing.

"Prissy!? What in the Hades are you doing here? How did you even get in!?" Prissy? Where did that come from? Ah it doesn't matter.

"I came to help! But it looks like you guys got things here covered."

"Of course we do! We don't need the likes of you to watch over us!" She shouted.

"I can see that. Plus I'm not gonna be staying here for long. The barrier will repair soon and as you undoubtedly know I'm not even allowed to be here, let alone talk to you guys." I wonder when Dionysus is gonna show up and kick me out.

"How did you even get in?"

"The barrier broke and I walked in. We just needed to find out what the poison is so that the quest can get under way." I kept looking around, hoping that my friends would show up.

"Quest? What quest? None of us heard anything about it." Someone else asked while murmurs stirred up. Oh yeah, a crowd has gathered.

"Not even I'm sure but, the first clue is the poison. After that-"

"Percy!" Some shouts were heard from the crowd and I couldn't forget those voices. "You're alive!?" They shouted as they made their way towards the front end of the crowd.

"More or less. It's great to see you guys." I said as Jess and Annabeth came into my line of sight. They both wore their orange camp t-shirts and slightly torn jeans. They surely have grown in the past year or so, I wonder what they have been up to.

"Likewise. We're just glad that you haven't died seaweed brain. What brings you here? Was your banishment lifted?" Annabeth got excited at the end even though she tried to hide it. She failed. I opened my mouth to speak but, I didn't get the chance to.

"He's on a quest! Yea, and he took down one of the bulls all by himself!" It sounded like they were trying to retell the story but, with so many voices it was nothing but gibberish. I am glad to see that they are as lively as ever. Even though there are a couple faces I still haven't seen.

"Quest? What quest?" Jessica asked over the chorus of conversations that continued to dwell all around us.

"That's exactly what I said! Hey! Every one shut it!" Clarisse chimed in, not satisfied with my answer. It wasn't much of an answer anyway. After her little outburst the crowd went still.

"I didn't have a clue before but, now it seems it's a quest to save camp... Don't worry though, it's explicitly dangerous and it's on a time limit. No biggie." Now the silent went to an extreme. I'm being totally forward about it plus they know what quests are like. This shouldn't be a real shock.

"How are we not gonna worry after what you just said!? And you're doing it alone!?… No, this time I'm coming." Jessica ordered, pointing her finger at my face and looked at me like saying no was not an option. She was actually serious...

"No."

"No? Why in the Hades no?!"

"Technically I'm not even supposed to be here. I am not even sure why a god hasn't showed up and given me the boot. And do you really think I wouldn't bring anyone else along if I could? It's not that I don't trust any one of your skills, it's just that the quest won't allow it. Lest you die." I wasn't kidding. The prophecy said two brothers. That's it.

"What do you mean by anyone else?" Nice, Annabeth caught on.

"I have only one other person to accompany me... and I trust him with every fiber of my body." The campers looked around, thinking that he was among them.

"Well, spit it out. Who is it?" Jessica asked, with a little edge in her tone.

"My brother..." I was expecting a lot more shouts, questions, and straight up outbursts but, all I got were opened mouthed campers who stared. It was just plain creepy having that many eyes on you at the same time.

"What do we have here?" Some stranger's voice asked from beyond the crowd and from my angle I could tell he wasn't well liked or thought of. With the rolling eyes and concerned looks portrayed after he spoke. Oooo, this is interesting. Who could be so hated that even the voice irritates them to core? After, some pushing and shoving the guy appeared. Well I wouldn't see he was a guy, per say. He was pale thin man in a threadbare orange prisoner's jumpsuit. He has blue shadows under his eyes, dirty fingernails, and badly-cut gray hair. He looked more like a mannequin than an actually human being. "I thought I told you to leave the bulls alone. If it weren't for whatever you did, they would have just left."

"Who's the moron?" I asked Annabeth while pointing my thumb at the skin suit.

"Moron? I'm Tantalus, and for that you'll do dishes tonight." So this is the guy the replaced Chiron with? This should be easy.

"Oh you're Tantalus! I've heard so much about you, what could a man of your prestige be doing in a place like this?" I swiveled on my heel and spoke with so much sarcasm, it seeped into the ground we walked upon. "Oh wait! It doesn't matter because you're simply the fool who wallows around like a pig around any scraps that catch your eyes. You see Tantalus, you won't be here long and I bet you undoubtedly want to make people to suffer as much as possible while you're here." I walked up to him an uncapped Riptide. I placed my foot behind his heel and grabbed his collar throwing him down. Then I placed Riptide to his throat and continued, "But just so you know, if I hear any more about your sadistic tyranny I have plenty of ideas to give to Hades about worsening your punishment. So, sit back and leave the camp duties to the cabin councilors, kay? I'd hate to add another mouth that lead to that wee brain of yours." I pressed a little to get my point across and somehow he became even more pale. His skin is basically glass at this point. After letting him go, he cowered away to the Big House.

"Woah." Jessica breathed, "Remind me not to ever piss you off." Many heads nodded in agreement.

"It's all in the eyes." I told them while shrugging. 'Are you ready?' Triton telepathically asked me.

'No. But, i don't have a choice.'

"Soooo, a brother?" Annabeth nudged my shoulder with a slight smile.

"Yea, I'll tell you all about it when I get back." Her smile vanished. It was nice while it lasted.

"You're leaving already?" I was asked from multiple people. I started walking off towards the beach and waved a small goodbye. Not for good though.

"Yep! But, I have no intentions of staying gone! Look after camp while I'm away! Oh and my cabin is open for extra room if need be! I still haven't forgotten!" I shouted as the distance grew. Things should be looking up for them now.

Swimming down to the sea bed, I saw Triton waiting with a smirk on his face. "What's with the smirk?" It looks creepy on his naturally stoic merface.

"I've good news and bad news. Which one do you want?" Like that is even a question.

"The bad." I like ending on a good note.

"I have no idea what the poison is, it seems the poison is highly potent and there isn't anything conventional remedies would do." That doesn't bode well for us.

"Okay. What about the good news?"

"Since it seems to be a very rare concoction, there are few places where a cure is bound to be found." Now the question is where to start.

"...The Sea of Monsters." Something Grover mention in that dream of mine is nagging at me.

"What? I mean it could work but, where did you come up with that idea?"

"I had this dream and Grover was in it. Apparently he is in a bit of a pickle and made an empathy link with me because he thought I would be able to help him. He said that he found it, the reason why so many Satyrs go missing on their journey's to find Pan. Or at least he had an idea. Something draws Satyrs in and they never make it out. Plus as he was being chased, there was a voice behind him that kept shouting about nobody. Like it was a name or something. Then it hit me just now, Polyphemus was tricked by Odysseus who went by nobody. This explains the journey of the lost and a land unmapped. And there is no way in hell I'm just gonna let Grover become some giants lunch. He's my friend." I finished speaking and I could hear the gears turning in Triton's head.

"Then by all means let's go. We'll just have to be even more careful."

"Why? It's in the sea, we'll be fine."

"Yea a sea of monsters. Monsters that hold a grudge for people like us. This won't be easy." Fantastic. Another one to add to the list of many dangerous. "Also there are only two entrances and we won't be able to go from underwater. Which means we need a boat. I can't wait to sail my own ship."

"Like that one." I said offhandedly while pointing at a cruise liner above our heads that was a couple miles from where we swam.

"I don't see why not." Triton said.