"Full stop," Luke ordered.

Immediately, I adjusted the navigation controls to cut power to the engines.

The voyage to Florida felt like it had taken forever, and out of sheer boredom, I asked Luke if I could take a shot at navigating the ship. To my surprise, he actually agreed to let me take over, and even let me wear his captain's hat. He showed me the basics, like how to turn the ship and adjust our nautical speed. I may not have understood how all the moving parts worked, but I could somehow feel the vitals of the ship, all chugging along to move hundreds of thousands of pounds of steel through the ocean blue. It wasn't as easy as racing canoes at camp, but I quickly found myself to be a natural at it. I didn't even need to use the magical star map display that Hecate had created to help with navigation. My internal bearings were more accurate than any gyro compass.

I sensed the propellers under the stern losing torque as we slowed in the water. It took several minutes for the bulk of the ship to come to a halt, and when it did, I joined Luke near the floor-to-ceiling glass windows to see what had interrupted our leisurely cruise. From our vantage point on the bridge of the ship, I could see for miles ahead. A couple of dark, fuzzy splotches on the horizon were blocking our path.

"What are those?" I asked. Luke handed me a pair of binoculars, and I brought them up to my eyes to get a closer look. The splotches came into focus.

On the north side, an imposing tower of rock jutted out of the ocean about a hundred feet tall, jagged spires lining the bottom of the cliff around it. I got the sense that something lived up there, though I didn't want to find out exactly what it was.

About half a mile to the south, a storm seemed to be brewing. Dark clouds swirled over a central point where the sea seemed to cave in on itself. If it was a hurricane, it was the smallest hurricane I'd ever seen, but something about the way the sky and the sea boiled together made my skin crawl. I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but I knew for certain that Jason hadn't written about it in his log.

"Monsters?" I guessed.

"Those are Scylla and Charybdis. They're the creatures that guard the entrance to the Sea of Monsters, and I'd wager they're the reason why so many ships and planes go missing."

I brought the binoculars up to take another look. I thought I caught a flash of green on top of the cliff wall, but then movement on the southern side caught my eye. The ocean exploded upwards like a watery volcano, sending sea-water and mist into the swirling clouds above.

I gulped.

"Can we sail around them?" I asked Luke.

"Nope. They'll just move to intercept us again. The only way to get in is to go through them."

"What about the entrance that Jason used? The Sim… Simply—"

"The Symplegades? You mean the Clashing Rocks?"

"Yeah, that."

He shook his head. "A ship this large would never get through before the two cliffs smashed together. This is the only way, unless you're fine with sailing into monster-infested waters on a lifeboat."

I lowered the binoculars, contemplating our very limited array of options.

Luke chuckled. "Having second thoughts?" he asked. "Didn't you say you could get the Fleece on your own just a few days ago?"

I felt my cheeks grow warm in embarrassment at my overconfidence. I'd been so eager to fix our mistake and save the camp that I'd been ready to sail straight towards the coordinates without any sort of preparation. I wouldn't have even made it into the Sea of Monsters alive, let alone all the way to Polyphemus's island.

"We need a plan," I said.

"Agreed."

Twenty minutes later, a small group had been gathered in the "war room" as Luke called it, which was really just a small casino that had been converted into a gathering space. We'd commandeered a poker table from a few irate tourist holograms, who grumbled at us as they took their leave. "We are not having fun on the Princess Andromeda."

Luke sat at the front of the table, hands folded in front of him, and Agrius and Oreius towered behind him with their arms crossed. I sat to Luke's right, with Tyson beside me. He nervously scooted his chair closer to mine, and I didn't blame him. To his side sat Queen Sess, an imperious, scornful Scythian dracanae who Luke had appointed commander of our monstrous infantry. At her feet, or where her feet would've been if her body didn't taper off into twin serpent trunks, was a snoozing hellhound. It must've been just a pup, because it was only about the size of a refrigerator.

"Nice hat," said Adri, who had taken a seat across from me. With a flush, I remembered I was still wearing the captain's cap. She grinned. "It suits you."

"Thanks," I mumbled.

Luke checked his watch for the millionth time, mumbling, "What's taking him so long?" Tyson slowly grabbed another quarter-sub from the sandwich platter in the middle of the table, his eighth one. No one really minded though; we'd all seemed to have lost our appetites at the prospect of the battle ahead of us.

The door to the room burst open. "Sorry, sorry," said Chris, who looked like he'd just run a marathon. "My sword-fighting class ran late. Mary was struggling with parrying techniques, so I stayed behind to give her a few pointers." He had on a pair of basketball shorts and a maroon tank top, showing off his corded arms. His leg was no longer bandaged, and amazingly, I could scarcely see a trace of the wound the Python gave him. Seemingly happy to be able to walk again, he shuffled over and took a seat beside Adri, who looked quite pleased with her healing skills.

Luke cleared his throat and stood, garnering everyone's attention. "I'm sure you all can guess why I called you here," he began. "We've reached the entrance to the Sea of Monsters, guarded by the monster Scylla and her sister Charybdis. We need to form a strategy to get through."

He paused for a moment, allowing the news that we'd arrived to sink in. When it seemed clear that everyone was on the same page, he continued. "I think the best strategy is obvious, but I'll need each of your help to work out the details."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Sess, her tongue flicking out as she spoke.

"We'll keep our distance from Charybdis and instead focus on defending ourselves from Scylla as we sail through the gate. We have an entire army aboard this ship; we should be able to fight her off if we fortify ourselves. It'll be much safer than trying to sail past Charybdis, who could damage the ship without us being able to fight back."

Sess pursed her lips, considering this. I could tell she didn't quite like the idea of sailing so close to Scylla. Maybe they'd worn the same outfit to some monster get-together and weren't on speaking terms anymore. Her gaze turned towards me contemplatively. "I disssagree," she said. "We have a child of Possseidon with us. He will keep the water from ssswallowing us up. Better to sssail past Charybdisss."

I immediately became aware of the other four pairs of eyes at the table swivelling towards me expectantly. I glanced back and forth between them, involuntarily correcting my posture.

"What do you think, Percy?" Luke asked. "Do you think you can keep us from getting sucked into Charybdis?"

"Uh, well…" I tried to think about it realistically. While it was true that I'd improved quite a bit at exercising my control over water these past few months, I knew I was a long way from being able to guide an entire cruise ship. "I mean, this ship is big. Like, really big. And so is Charybdis. I'm not at that kind of level yet. So… no, I don't think I can."

Sess's eyes lingered on me for a moment before she broke the stare with a hmph, crossing her arms. "A child of Possseidon who cannot even protect his own ship. How disssappointing."

I glared at her, but she didn't take notice, instead deigning to cross her arms and stare a hole into the table.

"Probably a good call," Luke said. "You've made quite a bit of progress, but that would take an insane amount of effort. Are there any other ideas?"

Chris leaned forward and looked to Tyson. "Hang on, this ship is supposed to be state-of-the-art, right? Would Percy even need to use his hydro-hocus-pocus to get us past Charybdis, or is the ship strong enough on its own to muscle through?"

"Engine is good," Tyson said. "But not that good. Percy is right, ship is too big. We can sail into the whirlpool, but not out."

Luke sighed. "For once, I agree with the Cyclops," he said. "This ship is strong, and Midas may have added the reinforced hull to our package deal, but I wouldn't want to test it out against Charybdis of all things. The last thing we need here is a Titanic sequel. Do I need to remind you all who is on board?"

Immediately, the lights over the poker table dimmed, and a shiver ran up my spine, the answer needing not be spoken. After an uneasy silence, Chris asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "So, Scylla then. How do we fight her?"

All eyes turned to Luke. He stood from his chair and began casually pacing around the table.

"Scylla is strong," he said. "Not strong enough to sink the ship on her own, but strong enough to break through the doors and windows leading into the lower decks. If she doesn't get her easy meat, she'll start going door to door in each of the cabins. Think Jehovah's Witnesses, but hungrier."

A collective shudder went through the group.

"So simply hiding in our cabins is not an option. We won't be able to fight her in narrow corridors, so we can't let her make it that far into the ship." He did a full circle and stopped behind his chair, resting his hands on top of it. "I say we fortify the cargo hold. It's big enough to fit everyone on the ship and easily defensible. Plus, we have a monster of our own down there."

I remembered the container being loaded onto the ship a couple days prior. Whatever was inside had been strong enough to leave a sizeable dent in the metal. I felt my lips begin to curve into a grin. Luke planned to pit one huge, scaly monster against another. I had to admire his crazed genius.

Luke turned to the ship's doctor. "Adri, is there anyone currently incapacitated in the infirmary?"

She nodded. "A few broken bones which need time and bedrest, but nothing major."

"They'll need to be moved behind our lines in the cargo hold, or else they'll be easy pickings." He turned to the bear twins behind him. One of them, Oreius I think, had been too busy eyeing the sandwiches to pay much attention, but when Luke focused on him, he snapped to attention with a clawed salute. His brother just shook his head.

"You two. I'll need some muscle to haul Kronos's sarcophagus down to the cargo hold as well."

The queen of the dracanae cocked her head back so far I thought it would fall off her elongated neck. "You think Ssscylla would try to eat the titan king?"

Luke shrugged. "All I know is that it'll be my ass on the line if anything happened to that sarcophagus. He may not be happy about being placed in cargo, but we're not gonna risk leaving him exposed." His eyes looked to each of his subordinates around the table. "Are there any objections to the plan?"

He paused for a moment, allowing us a moment to collect our thoughts. Chris spoke up.

"If we're all going to be defending the cargo hold, who's going to be steering the ship?" he asked. A valid question which I hadn't even considered.

"It'll be on autopilot. All we need to do is point the ship through the strait and tell it to sail forward. If all goes well, we'll only need to hold out for a few minutes before the ship makes it safely to the other side."

"And if all doesssn't go well?" Sess asked. "We'll be trapped between a rock and a hard place."

"We can handle it," Luke asserted. "If we can't make it past one lousy monster, then what chance do we have of getting the Golden Fleece? What chance do we have of defeating the gods?"

Sess didn't have an answer to that. She exhaled, which sounded a bit like the rattle of a diamondback, and stroked the snoozing hellhound along the scruff of its neck. It rolled over on its side and stuck its tongue out happily, its tail thumping the ground and causing the table to shake.

"If there are no other concerns, then we should begin preparations. Percy, go to the stables and bring the pegasi to the hold. We don't want them getting eaten. Chris, have the other demigods get geared up and report for duty. Sess, do the same with your troops, and have the giants set up defenses. Adri, have some of the demigods help you transfer your patients to the hold. Cyclops…" he said distastefully. I grit my teeth at how he still refused to call Tyson by name. "Have your team of engineers monitor the engine room. It's deep enough in the ship that Scylla should ignore you in favor of going after the easy meat in the hold. Barricade the doors if you have to. Does everyone understand their roles?"

Everyone either nodded or provided an affirmative before breaking and heading for the door.

"Oh, and one last thing," Luke called, making everyone stop and turn. His face turned dead serious as he met each and every one of our gazes, as if to say he expected complete and utter obedience for his next command.

"Don't get eaten."

'You don't think this monster's gonna go after us pegasi, do you?'

'Relax, Guido. You're nothing but hide and bones. You ain't gotta worry about getting eaten. It's Porkpie that'll have to watch his tail.'

The plump, chestnut colored pegasus whinnied in indignation. 'Hey, this extra weight is nothing but pure muscle, Blackjack. I'd like to see this monster try to eat me. Besides, you're the one that always attracts trouble. If anything, it'll be you that kicks the bucket first.'

'Psh, sure, whatever helps you sleep.'

Such was the stimulating conversation I listened in on as I guided the pegasi on foot toward the cargo hold. They hadn't seemed too thrilled when I informed them of the impending danger, and one of them even threatened to abandon ship, but had changed his tune pretty quickly when I reminded him the only land around for hundreds of miles was likely infested with monsters.

'Say, boss. Which one of us looks the tastiest to you?'

"Mooooo!"

I turned my head to glance back at my posse, consisting of Blackjack, his friends Guido and Porkpie, and… a cow. Yes, just a random cow that had been in the stables for some reason. My orders had been to bring the pegasi to the cargo hold, but the poor creature had looked so lonely that I had to let it tag along too.

I grinned and pointed right at it. "That one."

"Moo?"

Blackjack turned to his friends. 'See? We got nothing to worry about.'

About half an hour later, we had a small army packed into the ship's cargo hold. A line of containers, crates, and shelves would be our only line of defense against Scylla. That, and the 30-foot-long lizard that had just been let out of it's crate. Everyone took a step back as it angrily pulled against the ropes binding it, wincing as its shrieks echoed through the hold.

It took a whole team of giants to hold the beast down, and it wasn't until one of the dracanae retrieved the cow I'd brought down and presented it to the monster that it finally seemed to calm down. The bovine trembled as the Aethiopian drakon stared down at it hungrily, two golden eyes glowing ominously in the darkness, framed by a river of green and yellow scales as rough as sandpaper. I made sure to stand far enough away as the monster snapped up the cow in one bite. I frowned, feeling kind of bad for the creature.

Adri stared at the spectacle uncertainly and gave it a wide berth as she wheeled one of her patients to the back of the hold, where a row of cots and a table of medical tools had been set up. The makeshift infirmary's proximity to our defenses was kind of unnerving, but it allowed for Adri to treat any injuries that might occur in the heat of battle almost instantly.

I felt the engines thrum as the ship glided forward. Luke must've set us on course towards the entrance to the Sea of Monsters. I strode past our lines towards the front of the hold, where Chris was making sure our fellow demigods were properly equipped. The skies, clear and blue just minutes before, had taken on a dull grey, and they only got darker the closer we got to the unmoving storm.

Chris lowered a bronze helmet onto the head of one of the younger demigods and slapped a hand on his shoulder, gesturing for him to join the line of defense. He joined me in examining the sky and shifted nervously. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said, which didn't exactly reassure me. "Do you think fighting Scylla is the right move?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "As opposed to trying to sail past her sister? Yeah, I think Luke's got the right idea."

His eyes fixed on the horizon. The cliffs that had seemed little more than a speck on the ocean an hour before now towered in front of us. "Death from above," he said.

I gave him a wry smile. "Either that or death from below."

"Yeah," he agreed, "but I think I'd rather be swallowed whole than chewed up."

It wasn't long before Luke returned from the navigation room. He had Backbiter drawn and walked with a sense of purpose. He directed everyone to get in position. Behind him, Agrius and Orieus were carrying Kronos's sarcophagus on their broad shoulders.

Luke, Chris, and I joined the other demigods on the left side of the cargo hold. The center was held by Queen Sess and a mix of dracanae, giants, empousai, and some other monsters I didn't know the names for. On the right side, fighting against its restraints, the Aethiopian drakon roared a challenge out into the open sea. If Scylla somehow hadn't known we were coming, she'd be aware now.

I turned to get a better look at my companions. I was a bit ashamed to admit that I still didn't know a lot of the new guys' names. Luke had always personally trained me in one-on-one sessions, so I hadn't really had the opportunity to hang out or spar with a lot of them. They ranged from kids younger than me to adults that seemed to be in their twenties or lower thirties like Adri. Some looked nervous, others eager, and some just looked grim and resolute, like they'd been in so many fights before that this was just another Tuesday for them.

There was a girl about my age whose hands were shaking pretty badly. Long dark hair flowed out underneath her horse-plume helmet, and I could see her lips moving in a silent prayer. Chris inched over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly.

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly. He placed his hands over hers and corrected the grip on her sword. "Just like I taught you." She nodded, and I could see her trembling lessen. Her eyes met mine over Chris's shoulder, and I quickly looked away, realizing I'd been staring.

I refocused my attention on the entrance to the cargo hold. I could hear a roaring in the distance, like the world's largest toilet being flushed. It must've been Charybdis, meaning we'd be passing underneath Scylla any second now. I reached into my pocket and uncapped Riptide, listening to the reassuring sound of the celestial bronze blade growing in my grip.

"Spears, form a phalanx!" Luke commanded. Every demigod and monster who wielded a spear stepped to the front and braced their spears on our makeshift defenses.

"Archers, ready your bows!"

I heard the twangs of dozens of arrows being nocked.

Silence fell on the group. It was as if everyone in the room was holding their breaths. Even the drakon seemed subdued, and the storm outside didn't seem quite as loud. I felt a chill emanating from the golden sarcophagus behind us like a cold sun. Even though his whole army was going into battle, it felt like the titan king only had his eyes trained on me. If there was ever a time for me to learn how to use his blessing, I hoped it would be now.

A flicker of green darted through the entrance to the hold, and it left as quickly as it came, carrying a screaming dracanae with it.

I would've missed it if I'd blinked.

My eyes widened. One of the hellhounds let out a deep, concussive bark, and the green appendage once again shot into the hold and grabbed its leg. The hellhound whimpered, but managed to pull back with enough resistance that I was able to actually see the assailant this time.

They weren't just tentacles, like I'd expected them to be.

The body was long, tube-like, and covered in scales, reminding me of the Python's snakelike neck, but the creature's head was much different. It looked more like a wolf's head, with an elongated snout, rows of large, sharp teeth, glowing red eyes, and pointed ears slicked back against its neck.

It began yanking the hellhound back towards the entrance, but Luke shouted, "Archers!" and dozens of arrows found their mark in the creature's body and head. It screeched and released the hound, who gnashed at it, angrily. Wounded, it darted away to safety.

Silence fell on the hold.

I was starting to wonder if Scylla had given up so soon when the scaly appendage returned with a vengeance, clamping its jaws down on a giant's head before it even realized what was happening. Another one darted in right behind and examined our defenses. "There's multiple of these things!" someone shouted.

They were right. Unfortunately for the second monster that entered, it chose the wrong spot to attack. The drakon pounced onto the beast and roared before sinking its teeth deep into its neck. He shook his head back and forth like a dog with a chew toy, except it wasn't cotton stuffing that came pouring out when the drakon finally ripped the creature's head off.

I grinned. We had our own behemoth on our side.

I was about to cheer for the drakon when yet another head popped in, and I started to wonder just how many of them there were. This one was a bit more meticulous where it chose to attack. Maybe it was afraid of the drakon, or maybe it thought us demigods looked rather tasty, but either way it shot towards us like the end of the whip. The front line raised their spears, celestial bronze tips flashing, but the monster didn't care. It busted through our phalanx like it was just knocking over some bowling pins, but not without taking some gnarly wounds to the face.

It snarled in anger and eyed the demigods it had knocked down. I could see it practically salivating. Its eyes landed on the girl who Chris was trying to reassure before the fight, and I saw her freeze in fear. I dashed forward, thrusting towards the creature's eye with Riptide, but this thing was way faster than anything I'd fought before. With a flick of its head, it sent me flying into the wall of the hold.

Dazed, I glanced up to see Chris planting himself firmly in front of the girl. He swung wildly, hoping to catch the creature off guard, but it simply dodged and continued to look for an opening. A couple arrows sprang out of the side of its neck, but it hardly seemed to notice.

From Luke's position in the center, I could hear him belt out orders. "Distract it!" Luke commanded his bodyguards. "I have an idea."

Agrius and Oreius shared a look and ran towards the creature, roaring and making themselves look as big as they could, the way bears do when they want to be threatening. The monster fixed its sinister red eyes on them, emitting a guttural growl from its throat.

"Over here, Scylla!" coaxed Oreius. "Tasty, tasty demibears!"

"Don't give it any ideas, you idiot!" his brother snapped.

I looked back to Luke and watched him slash his sword downwards in an arc. Above the creature towards the ceiling of the hold, a ripple of dark red energy formed.

A portal, I realized. I'd only seen him do this once before, back when we ran away from camp. I still wasn't sure how he did it.

From his position in the rear, Luke phased through the rift, emerging from the other side and dropping, his sword angled downwards. He plummeted onto the monster's back and sank Backbiter deep into its neck. I thought for sure the monster had to be dead, but all Luke's sneak attack seemed to do was make it angry. It thrashed around in pain, throwing Luke off of it and slamming into the metal shelves and crates that we used to form a barrier.

Weakened and disoriented, the monster soon became tangled in the debris. It tried to retreat, but its head was stuck in a mass of metal shelving and freight containers. It tried in vain to untangle itself, but the more it struggled, the more buried it became. It howled in frustration.

By then, the other demigods had gotten back on their feet, myself included. I scanned the floor of the hold for Riptide, finding it a few feet away against the wall. Keeping a wary eye on the monster, I went to rejoin the others. Chris was staring at the beast, watching its futile attempts to escape, and turned his gaze back to the girl he'd protected. "Now would be a good time to show off those sword fighting moves I showed you earlier," he said.

"R-right." Her voice was quiet, and she gripped her sword so hard her knuckles were turning white. She readjusted her helmet and moved forward timidly. When the monster saw the girl it'd planned to make a meal of approaching with a celestial bronze blade, it doubled its attempts to break free, but to no avail. It gnashed at her, forcing her to jump back, but Chris gave her a reaffirming nod.

She steeled herself. Pulling her sword back with a war cry, she thrust it forward deep into the creature's eye. It gave one final yelp before going still.

The girl stared down at the motionless head in awe. Slowly, she pulled her sword out of its head, her face contorting in disgust from the residue left on it. She turned back to us uncertainly, but broke out into a grin when Chris started clapping for her. I and a few others joined in as well. I wondered if she'd ever killed a monster before. If Scylla was her first monster fight ever, then suddenly my battle with the Minotaur didn't seem quite as epic.

We had only been celebrating for a few seconds when a collective gasp went up through the cargo hold. I stopped clapping and turned my gaze to the hold's entrance. My heart crept up into my throat.

Just outside the hold, sniffing the air cautiously, were four more of the dog heads.

And they did not look happy to see us.

Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. It's been what, four months now? I took an unplanned break from writing, mostly due to getting pulled into other fandoms and temporarily losing interest in PJO. I also got addicted to Hades the game, which I highly recommend playing if you haven't. Easily my GOTY for 2020. Now that we're getting into the meat of the Sea of Monsters, I'll hope to update more frequently. Enjoy!