Chapter 28:
"It really does not look like anything I thought it would," Percy said on the bow of the ship as he, Markus, Annabeth and Tyson looked at the island in front of them. The island looked like an island of paradise with sandy white beaches, tropical tees with coconuts in them along with high hill tops. The place felt fresh but old at the same time, as if it was a land forgotten in time.
"What did you expect? Large caves with skeletons surrounding it?" Markus asked as Percy shrugged.
"Kind off, yeah," Percy said back while Annabeth rolled her eyes at him.
"It must be the Fleece," Annabeth explained. "It has regenerative properties remember. It must be the reason why the island is so lush and beautiful."
"If we take it away, will the island die?" Percy asked.
Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."
Markus shrugged. "Well, no skin off our chin, then."
As the Queen Anne's Revenge got as close to the shore as it could get without getting stranded all the residents were worried.
They had contacted the camp yesterday afternoon to check how things were going and unfortunately they weren't not going well.
Katie managed to intercept the message and explained that everything at camp was in shambles. Mr. D wasn't doing jack shit - Markus' words, not hers - and they were short on supplies. Thankfully, Tantalus wasn't there to make their lives worse.
Also the attacks had increased to nearly four times a day. They were lucky that they had only been attacked during the night once but thing were slowly getting worse and worse every day. They were lucky that no one had died yet but the med bay was beginning to pile up to the point where they had to set up tents to take some of the more lightly injured.
The Apollo kids were exhausted having to keep healing people, the Ares kids were on their last legs being on the front lines all the time, the Hermes cabin were managing so far but eventually they would come crashing down to, the Aphrodite cabin complained more than usual while the Hephaestus cabin was busy trying to keep the building from collapsing.
They had a few days left and they knew that. The group knew that they had to get their asses in gear and speed the quest up if they wanted to have a chance at saving their home.
Though Markus and Percy were both a little annoyed at the Olympians for not doing anything to help their kids. Instead they both knew they were either just sitting on their thrones and just watching or doing whatever they did to waste time. And they claimed to care about their kids.
Though as soon as the Iris message as over Markus chewed out Percy and scolded Tyson lightly for the actions on Circe's island. Tyson cried a little before Markus patted him on the back just telling him it was a mistake and he knew he didn't mean anything by it. Markus honestly didn't have the heart to chew Tyson out. The guy was like a giant, muscled teddy bear.
Percy though did face a small punishment performed by Markus due to his rights as the older brother. So much to his hatred and to everyone else's amusement, Markus tied Percy to the front of the ship with half his body in the water for the rest of the day telling him he would bring him back up when he learnt his lesson. Honestly, the whole thing was supposed to be a punishment, but Markus was enjoying himself too much, as well as everyone else. He wished that he'd brought a camera.
Though Annabeth did not get off lightly either and spent the rest of the day when she had woken up to being tied to the mast of the ship and also told both of them that when they got to camp they would be apologising to the girls he rescued that went to Camp Half Blood.
Neither fought it and knew they were in the wrong despite the circumstances they were put in. Damn, Markus was really taking the whole responsibility thing seriously, even though he was the last person to talk about being responsible.
"You know the island kind of shapes looks like a saddle," Percy said looking at the island as the others looked at him with odd expression on their face. "What?"
"Thank you for that piece of wisdom, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, making Percy huff and cross his arms as they all began to pile into one of the small row boats and made their way to the island.
"Wonder if we can build a beach here. The place seems nice," Markus commented.
"I don't think Polyphemus would want any neighbours," Annabeth said.
"Meh. We're going to fight and possibly kill him soon, so..." Markus said, shrugging at the end. Annabeth rolled her eyes.
All of them looked over the island, trying to figure out where to go to. Markus looked around until his eyes darted along the beach shore and as he looked over to his right he could see a small black figure resting on the beach. His eyes widened when he saw it was the shape of a boat and began running towards it. The others followed after him.
"Why he run so far?" Tyson ask as he tried to keep up though is large lumbering body was obviously not well build for running.
"A boat?" Annabeth said as they neared the other small boat on the shore line before her and everyone else's eyes widened when they saw it was one of the lifeboats from the CSS Birmingham.
"So Clarisse was here," Markus said. "She probably got kidnapped by Polyphemus." As they looked over the boat, they were surprised it was still intact. Markus was impressed that Clarisse made her way here alone. Guess he shouldn't underestimate her.
Closing his eyes, Markus concentrated on his 'water sensing'. Since he knew that Clarisse and Grover were here, it should be easier to track them with the water in their bodies. Expanding his senses, Markus used every part of his concentration, ignoring the water nearby, the water inside the others, and focused on finding Clarisse and Grover.
It seemed futile, but Markus continued sensing. And then he could pick up two water signatures. They were pretty far, but he could sense them. He tried sensing Polyphemus, but struggled to do so. Maybe because he was a monster, and so probably didn't have water in his body to sense.
"Got them," Markus said, surprising the others.
"How?" Annabeth asked, confused.
"I can sense the water in people. In their blood, their saliva, their sweat, etc. The same way I can sense water in a lake or ocean, I can sense the liquid in living beings," Markus explained, getting awed looks from Annabeth and Tyson. Percy, however, looked shocked and a little jealous.
Markus filed away his brother's look of jealousy for later. "Come on. I can sense them." With that, Markus went off in the direction he'd sensed them, the others following him.
They made their way through the island jungle and could feel themselves gradually going up the hill. The path was very uneven and they had to take it slowly otherwise they would lose their footing.
Markus hacked through the bushes with Wavebreaker, though the others couldn't help but notice it looked as if someone had already hacked their way through. Markus looked to the ground and found very faint looking foot prints in the ground.
The foot print was large and broad, giving him hope that that it belonged to Clarisse. If she made her way through here then he wondered just how long ago she was here and where were they now.
"Clarisse was definitely here," Markus said as the others look around the foot prints. "At least we know she got some distance and the foot prints continue to track forward," he said now taking the lead as the others follow after him.
They followed after at a quick pace while narrowly avoiding the potholes in the ground before they found themselves at an open field where all four stopped.
They found themselves staring right towards a giant oak tree where they could all see some gold glittering on one of its branches.
"The Fleece," Percy said looking at it before making a motion to go forwards to grab it. Though he was quickly stopped when Annabeth grabbed his shoulders and stared out at it.
"Wait," she said. "It seems easy, almost way too easy."
"That's a good thing, though," Percy said, but Markus shook his head.
"No, she's right. It would not be left out in the open like this. Not without some form of protection. Some sort of shield around it or maybe a creature guarding it," Markus guessed as Annabeth nodded.
"Usually it some kind of creature like a dragon like Ladon in the Garden of Hespirides or a three headed dog like Cerberus in the Underworld."
"What, do I have to entertain the guardian again?" Markus asked jokingly, getting the others to snicker at the thought of what happened last time. Tyson just looked confused.
"Well they have sheep," Percy muttered pointing towards the large groups of sheep that look a little abnormally large then regular sheep that he had seen.
"Yes, the guardians of the mighty Golden Fleece is a herd of sheep," Annabeth said playfully as they all noticed a deer come wandering out of the bushes on the other side of the field and was looking around and began heading towards a small ravine.
Then they all watched as the sheep all suddenly lifted their heads up in perfect unison and looked over towards the deer. The sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves yet no noise came from the sudden dinner for the sheep.
After about thirty second the sheep began disperse and went back to what they were doing before the deer arrived which revealed a now set of clean white bones in the place where the deer formally was standing.
"... Suddenly they don't seem so cute and fuzzy," Markus commented nervously. Annabeth just let her jaw hang low after what they just witnessed. Everyone had a knot form in their stomach and did not feel very hungry.
"They're like piranhas," she said, now thinking twice about her comment earlier.
"Piranhas with legs to be more specific," Percy added while Tyson and Markus nodded in agreement before a thought hit Percy.
"You guys don't think Clarisse just charged in and didn't think that the sheep were dangerous do you?" he asked a little skeptically while the other were just silent as his proclamation and eyed the sheep before eyeing the ground round them.
Markus shook his head. "Nope. I can still sense two water signatures. That must be Clarisse and Grover." That statement seemed to reassure the others.
"So what do we do?" Percy asked. "Do we stay here and try and get the Fleece or do we try and find Grover and Clarisse first?"
"If we stay and try and get the Fleece, I or Markus could try and turn invisible and sneak around them and get it. It might be our quickest method," Annabeth offered but Markus shook his head.
"My guess is that that have strong noses and ears. They'll still be able to smell and hear you. One wrong slip up and you become just like that deer," he said as she paled at the thought. "So it is definitely not safe to do it alone."
"Can't you just use magic to get rid of them and get the Fleece?" Percy offered since it sounded like a good idea in his head. Markus thought about it for a moment, contemplating.
"If I were to attack them, the rest that are remaining may attack, which wouldn't be good. I could send a Mist clone to distract them, but they have strong senses. They could probably tell if it was fake." Markus listed off the possibilities.
"So I guess we find Grover and Clarisse first then?" Percy asked getting a nod from the others.
"It seems like the best thing to do at this point," Annabeth said. "Since we do not know a way to get past the sheep, maybe regrouping with them will help us come up with a plan to get past the sheep and grab hold of the Fleece." She turned to Markus. "Can you still sense them?"
Markus closed his eyes and concentrated. Now that they had advanced through the island, he could sense Grover's and Clarisse's water signature better now. "Yeah, I can. Follow me. Let's not keep our bride waiting." The others snickered, knowing he was talking about Grover.
As they walked, Markus was leading the front and following his senses, Tyson behind him with Annabeth and Percy together bring up the rear now.
"You think we are ready for this?" Percy asked Annabeth as they checked behind them to make sure none of the flesh eating sheep were following after them.
"We're gonna have to be. Polyphemus is not going to be easy by any means but if we want to get the Fleece and save everyone then we don't have a choice but to face him."
"But we have Markus, though. He can take care of Polyphemus, right?" Percy asked. Annabeth nodded slowly, though she didn't look happy.
"I agree with you. But that doesn't mean we have to keep relying on him to bail us out. Markus is the strongest in our group, true. But we can't just expect him to fight all of our battles, like with the Cetus. We are all going to need to get stronger for what lies ahead of us."
Percy thought about what she said. "I get that. It's just that, how are we supposed to do that? We're brothers, both sons of Poseidon, yet it feels like he's always one step ahead of me every time. When he fought the Cetus, the Chimera and Echidna and Medusa last summer, even Ares. We both fought him together, yet it seemed like Markus was the one who pushed him back the most and did more damage than I ever could. All I've ever done is kill the Minotaur, and even that pales in comparison. I-" He stopped, not wanting to sound jealous, but that's exactly how he felt.
Annabeth smiled at him knowingly. "I think I get what you're trying to say. But you don't have to be jealous of him, Percy. Markus is your brother. He'd be more than willing to help you. Not only you, but I too want to get stronger, so that I don't get my hand held in every battle."
Percy nodded. He always knew that he was jealous of his brother. How he could use magic, how he was better at using his powers than he was. But that wasn't Markus' fault. He should be able to know when to get stronger and how to handle his own training. I guess I really need to start training more and I need to start fighting my own battles more, Percy thought to himself.
Markus smiled, having heard their conversation. Though he wanted to laugh when Annabeth essentially gave Percy the long version of telling him to grow a pair and man up, he knew it would hit Percy hard and would help resolve him more, giving him a confidence boost that was needed.
As the demigods and cyclops continued walking, they came to a giant cave a little ways off in the distance.
"So this is it?" Annabeth asked.
It was only about five minutes walk away and was easy to get to if you were big enough which no doubt Polyphemus was. No doubt it was handy if anyone tried to steal the Fleece form the island.
Markus could feel the water signatures of Clarisse and Grover now. He contemplated on whether he should go invisible or not. Then again, apart from Annabeth, Percy and Tyson had no way to go invisible, so that point was out.
A little ways off and into the cave they spotted the Cyclops Polyphemus. He looked like a more stronger, meaner and uglier version of Tyson. Then they all saw Grover troy along in front of Polyphemus still wearing a wedding dress which made them all feel a little relieved that their favorite satyr was still alive and in one piece. Though they snickered at the wedding dress he was wearing.
"Definitely doesn't suit Grover," Percy whispered with three heads nodding in unison.
"You're a feisty one!" Polyphemus bellowed loudly. The others looked towards Clarisse, who looked somewhat fine. She didn't seem harmed, but she was angry. And she was tied up, hanging upside down over a giant pot of boiling water.
"Challenge me!" Clarisse yelled. "Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"
The monster roared with laughter.
The group crept to the edge to see more. Annabeth looked like she was trying to think of a plan.
"Hmm," Polyphemus pondered. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?" Polyphemus turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps-"
"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded. "Who- Grover?"
Markus groaned silently. "Please. Please keep quiet."
"What did you expect?" Annabeth sighed. "She's a fighter, not a thinker." That made Markus sigh in defeat. She had a good point.
Polyphemus glowered. "What 'Grover'?"
"The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.
"Oh!" Grover yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!"
Polyphemus's eyelid narrowed over his baleful milky eye, as if he were trying to see Clarisse clearly.
The Cyclops was an even more horrible sight than he had been in their dreams. Forget the earlier statement, calling him an uglier version of Tyson was an insult to the big guy. His rancid smell was now up close and personal. Partly because he was dressed in his wedding outfit - a crude kilt and shoulder-wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedoes, as if the he'd skinned an entire wedding party.
"What satyr?" asked Polyphemus. "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?"
"No, you big idiot!" bellowed Clarisse. "That satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"
By this point, Markus was silently banging his head on the stone floor while Annabeth's head was in her hands and Percy just wanted to ring her neck, while Tyson looked on, confused. But it was too late. All they could do was watch as Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil - revealing his curly hair, his scruffy adolescent beard, his tiny horns.
Polyphemus breathed heavily, trying to contain his anger. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE-NO-LADY-CYCLOPS!"
The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head.
"Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I - I have a good recipe!"
"Now's the time to act," Markus said and both he and Percy reached for their swords.
"Wait!" Annabeth hissed.
Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride. "Recipe?" he asked Grover.
"Oh y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangoes right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."
"At least he can think on his feet quickly," Markus muttered, grinning at the satyr. Percy and Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"Grilled satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. "You a satyr, too?"
"No, you overgrown pile of shit!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie so I can rip your arms off!"
"Rip my arms off," Polyphemus repeated.
"And stuff them down your throat!"
"You got spunk." The giant said, making Markus smirk.
"Let me down!"
Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"
"Thank the gods for stupid monsters," Markus muttered quietly.
"But... you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt. "Who's the bride?"
Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot. Markus and Percy had to bite their cheeks to stop themselves from laughing so loudly.
Clarisse made a strangled sound. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not-"
Before anyone could do anything, Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was a ripe apple, and tossed her and Grover deep into the cave. "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!"
"NO YOU OVER GROWN MORON!" Clarisse screamed. "I won't marry you ever!"
Then the Cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep - smaller than the maneaters - flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name - Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, etc.
When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as someone would close a refrigerator door, shutting off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside.
"Mangoes," Polyphemus grumbled to himself. "What are mangoes?"
He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom's outfit, leaving them alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder.
XXX
"So what are we going to do?" Percy asked. He was the first to walk up to it and attempt to move it though the six ton boulder quickly made it clear it did not want to be moved any time soon and quickly he gave up so he did not end up injuring himself for not being able to move the current immovable object.
Even Tyson with his Cyclops like strength could not make it much even a centimeter before he gave out and was out of breath. It showed just how superior Polyphemus was compared to the young Cyclops.
Annabeth meanwhile stood directly in front of it and was rubbing her chin as if she was trying to think of some kind of logical way to move the boulder.
"Let me try," Markus said, walking up to the bolder and placing his hand on it.
"Markus, you can't move a six ton bolder out of the way," Annabeth said, though she was surprised when Markus grinned.
"Annabeth who ever said I was going to move it? I am going to do one better that. It'll be a little noisy but a lot quicker. Matter of fact..." Markus walked away from the boulder and waved his hand widely. "Επικαλούμαι: Ήχος Εμπόδιο. (Invoke: Sound Barrier)." (A.N. - This is a spell, not a charm. If you want to know the difference, spells involve invoking magic - sort of - and using it to perform what you want, making them only dependent on the caster and their imagination. Charms are basically improving or adding something to an object or person. Took that from online).
From Markus' hands, a clear type of energy came forth. It started to spread around the area that they were standing in. Pretty soon, a large, clear dome surrounded the group.
The trio looked around, shocked and impressed. "Markus, w-what is this?" Annabeth asked, awed.
"A sound barrier," Markus explained. It won't last for long, but it'll keep whatever sound we make here from outside the dome. So we can make as much noise as we want, and Polyphemus won't hear anything."
"... Magic is so broken," Percy muttered after a moment. Annabeth nodded in agreement while Tyson looked around in wonder and awe, clapping his hands excitedly.
Markus shrugged. Walking up to the boulder, he equipped Beowulf to his arms and legs, the weapon appearing in a flash. "Now let's get this show on the road," he said as Percy and Tyson retook their positions to make sure they were not caught in any kind of blast while Annabeth stood a little further back from Markus.
He ran back a couple of steps, wanting to build momentum. Channeling magic through the weapon, Beowulf shone brightly as he built up power. Using kinetic energy, Markus dashed towards the boulder at super speeds, rearing his fist back. With a roar, he punched the boulder, shattering it in the middle. He stepped back as he watched large sections of the boulder break and crumble, falling down onto the ground with a loud sound.
The group waited, but they didn't hear any foot steps, so Polyphemus hadn't heard anything.
Seeing his work finished Markus made Beowulf disappear. They began to walk in with Annabeth in the lead with the three others following after them.
When they got through they looked around Polyphemus's cave and saw Clarisse and Grover at the other side, having obviously moved their after seeing the boulder smashed to pieces. Clarisse had grabbed a large wooden stick since her weapons had been taken away. Grover just looked terrified and was sweating.
Though they had looks of relief when they saw Annabeth walk through the path that was clear of the boulder. Annabeth spotted them and immediate ran towards Grover and enveloped him in a big hug.
"Don't you worry us like this again, you stupid satyr," she said, though he knew she was being sincere and hugged her back.
Percy came over as did Tyson and Markus and walked through towards them and brought Grover into a hug as well. Though Grover was a little fearful seeing Tyson. Markus walked forward and gave Grover a big hug also.
"Good to see you in one piece G-man." Percy said as he patted his friend on the back.
"Yeah, it's good to see you guys again," Grover said, relieved. Then he turned to Markus, looking at his attire. "Uh, Markus? Why are you dressed like a pirate?"
"Why are you dressed like a bride?" Markus retorted, getting Grover to blush, remembering what he was wearing. "And I'm wearing this because I look badass."
"I'm just glad you guys made it in time. Now at least I can finally get out of this stupid dress," he said as he ripped the wedding dress off showing his clothes on underneath.
Markus turned to Clarisse. He gave her a nod. She nodded back. There was no need to give her a hug. Clarisse still had a 'tough girl' facade to maintain.
"So what now? We have Grover and Clarisse, now all that's left is to get the Fleece," Percy said.
As the group began to discuss what they were going to do about Polyphemus, they heard loud thud like footprints getting closer and closer towards them.
"Guess the sound barrier faded," Markus said. The others looked worriedly to the entrance.
Everyone began to hide all around the room and take cover. Annabeth, Tyson and Percy hid behind one of the giant cupboard through a small opening they found, Clarisse hid under a small crack under his bed while Markus and Grover managed to dive into the giant chest.
Polyphemus walked in, noticing the destroyed boulder. He looked around his cave, sniffing slightly. His face contorted into a growl. "Intruders!" he bellowed out. "I smell intruders! Come out! Fight and die!"
Everyone held their breath as Polyphemus came storming through the cave with a look of anger and frustration.
"Intruders! You interrupt marriage with lovely. You take dinner away," he muttered under his breath.
"I am not your lovely," Clarisse muttered under her breath. Thankfully, the Cyclops didn't hear her.
"How do we get out?" Percy whispered to Annabeth who was currently trying to come up with some kind of plan while Tyson was eyeing the bigger Cyclops wearily.
Polyphemus finished his mumbling and after noticing he was all alone began whipping his head all around the cave.
"My lovely, dinner goat where are you?" he called out though no one came out to greet him. His eyes narrowed and began to smell the air around him. Despite his vision not being all that great his sense of smell was slightly heightened than normal persons.
He took a long deep sniff of the area when his eyes snapped open and a big hungry grin appeared on his face.
"I know you are still in here. And I smell more little intruders. More for dinner and more for my belly," he said as his eye searched all around the room.
The demigods, satyr and Cyclops all had managed to hide well when they managed to see Polyphemus looking around in frustration but still with a hungry look on his face. His milky coloured eye was looking all over the cave and got dangerously close to where Clarisse were hiding before a quick thinking Annabeth spoke up.
"Hello, ugly!"
Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?" he asked darting his eye all over the cave trying to pick up where it was coming from.
"Nobody!" Annabeth yelled giving her the reaction she was hoping for as his face went red with rage and his fists began to shake. The others picked up on what she was doing. Well everyone but Percy and Tyson who were looking at Annabeth in confusion and a little fear.
"Nobody!" Polyphemus yelled back. "I remember you!"
Joining in, Markus yelled out, "You're too dumb to remember anybody! Much less Nobody!"
"Where are you? Why your voice sound different? You sounded like girl one second, boy the next."
"My voice has not changed. You're just too stupid to notice where Nobody is." Clarisse then piped up with a grin wanting to mess around with the Cyclops.
"AHH! WHERE ARE YOU?!" he yelled and begin to throw a bit of a fit at not finding where the voice was coming form. To him it was coming from all sides and he could not pin point where Nobody was.
His frustration building he grabbed one of his large chairs and threw it towards the location where Annabeth, Percy and Tyson were hiding. There was a loud crash as he threw it and it crashed into the wall making the others go silent and hope that the trio was okay.
They were relieved when they heard Annabeth suddenly say, "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"
"SHOW YOURSELF!" the Cyclops yelled.
"Why? So you can miss again?" Markus yelled.
"Yeah. You can't throw anything at anyone. Not even Nobody!" Percy shouted.
Probably due to his rage, Polyphemus moved quickly for someone his size and was now at Annabeth's, Percy's and Tyson's location and had his hand where they were as if trying to reach them.
Percy and Annabeth managed to back away just enough so that Polyphemus could not grab them but they all had their weapons on the ready.
Markus wanted to give them some breathing room. "Ionioi Hetairoi: Girisha Kaze!" he chanted, making dozens of weapons made from the Mist launch from the chest and head towards Polyphemus.
The weapons hit his back, but barely did any damage. All it did was annoy him. At least he went away from Percy's and Annabeth's location. "AHHH! DIE, INTRUDER!" Polyphemus yelled, stomping towards Markus' and Grover's place.
"At least I got his attention," Markus muttered jokingly. Grover glared at him for that remark. "Too much?" he said sheepishly.
"Move!" Grover yelled. Polyphemus was still stomping towards their location and was quickly getting closer.
"Hold on!" Markus yelled, picking up Grover and zooming out of the chest and dodging Polyphemus' fist that crushed the chest that they were in, scattering the rubbish inside of it.
"Woah!" Grover yelled, disorientated from the speed that he'd travelled at. "When did you get so fast? How did you get so fast?" he asked to the place beside Markus. He was so disorientated that he got dizzy.
"Over here, Grover," Markus said, guiding the satyr to his direction. "And I'll tell you later." They were now hiding behind what looked to be a giant stone pillar. Good thing Polyphemus was slightly blind and dumb.
Manipulating the Mist, Markus created five Mist clones to distract the Cyclops. Seeing the clones, Polyphemus roared and smashed his fist down onto one clone, dispersing it. The rest surrounded him, moving around quickly and confusing him even further. Polyphemus, not knowing which one to hit, roared and tried smashing them all.
"Everyone, let's get out now while we have the chance," Markus called as everyone got out of their hiding spots and ran out of the cave.
As they reached the outside they quickly found Polyphemus was destroying the clones and was already beginning to head towards them.
Markus looked up at the cave ledge. "Sagitta Spiram!" he yelled out, the arcane arrow heading towards the top of the cave. As soon as the spell hit the top of the cave exploded and a portion of the ledge was destroyed, allowing a big rock to fall. This began to collapse over the entrance to the cave. It made a few of the group member's to cover their eyes but when they opened them they found the entrance completely blocked off.
Though if the angry shouts form Polyphemus were any indication, they knew it would not last long.
"Well that was a pain," Clarisse said before shouting, "HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW YOU DUMB CYCLOPS. THAT WILL TEACH YOU TO TRY AND MARRY ME OFF!" The others looked at her incredulously.
"That won't hold him for long," Annabeth said looking at the collapsed rocks. "He'll be out of that in no time and we still need to get the Fleece."
"So what do we do? We still have those flesh eating sheep guarding it and I for one do not want to be reduced into nothing but bones," Percy said, with most quickly nodding in agreement.
"I'll stay and take on Polyphemus. You guys go and get the Fleece," Markus offered. He made to bring out Wavebreaker but Clarisse stopped him.
"No way, Marcie. I got a score to settle with that Cyclops," Clarisse said with a sadistic grin. Markus looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, you already took care of the Cetus. I want to care of the next big monster."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Markus asked raising is eyebrow waiting for a suggestion from the group. He wanted to know if she had a plan to defeat the giant Cyclops since Polyphemus was not like other monsters. He had strength, experience and skill despite being a dumb as a sack of rocks.
"We'll take care of Polyphemus," Annabeth offered as everyone look at her in surprise. "Clarisse is right. You took on the Cetus. It's our turn now."
"She has a point," Clarisse added. "With the four of us we can take care of that over grown Cyclops."
"Never thought I'd see you agree with Annie," Markus said. "And four? You may want to check again."
"Take Tyson with you and together the two of you can get the Fleece. You're the fastest, so you can get the Fleece no problem while Tyson can probably distract them. While you do that, we will keep Polyphemus busy. When you have the Fleece, send a signal and shoot it into the sky as a beacon. When we see it we will all retreat back to the shore and leave."
"That sounds like it could work. Are you okay with that Tyson?" Percy asked as Tyson hesitated a little before he nodded happily.
"You guys don't honestly expect this to work," Markus said doubtfully. "It's better if we take him together. And I'm not about to let Tyson distract carnivorous sheep." He made to say more, but was stopped by Tyson putting his hand on Markus' shoulder. "Brother," Tyson said, smiling slightly. "I can do it. Trust me."
"See, we can handle this. We're no sorcerers, but we can handle Polyphemus. Have a little faith, Marcie," Clarisse said to Markus. He gave her and the others a worried look before sighing, knowing they were not going to back out of this.
"Fine, but be careful," he warned.
Percy scoffed. "You of all people do not get to tell us that."
Markus glared at his brother, but couldn't say anything as the makeshift rock fall began to shudders and loud thuds could be heard.
"Looks like Polyphemus is trying to get out. You guys sure you can handle this?" Markus asked since he did not want to see them get badly injured or worse.
"We can handle it. This is what all that training was for remember,"Percy said, uncapping Riptide. Annabeth unsheathed her dagger and Clarisse prepared the spear. Grover though squirmed a little though he did try to put his brave face on.
"Alright then." He patted Tyson on the back. "You ready, bro?"
"I ready," he said making Markus grin before they gave the five a nod of good luck before he took off towards the fleeces location with Tyson following after him.
The four took deep breaths before they readied themselves once again as the rocks began to shudder even more and the sound of Polyphemus shouting could be heard getting louder.
After a few moments a large grubby hand shot out of the rock pile before a second one did the same beside it. Then with one large crashing sounds Polyphemus came raging through the wall and causing it took fall apart completely.
He looked around the area with his milky colored eye before he managed to see the outline of four people standing in front of him.
"YOU!" he said point towards them. "YOU MAKE FOOL OF ME! I MAKE YOU PAY AND EAT YOU FOR DINNER! AND THE WEDDING IS OFF TOO!"
"GOOD BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT TO MARRY YOU, YOU GRUBBY BASTARD OF A CYCLOPS. COME HERE SO I CAN MAIM YOU!" Clarisse shouted back making everyone have deadpanned looks at the shouting match between the two.
Markus and Tyson burst out of the woods and found themselves in the field where the fleece and the man-eating sheep were stationed. Most of the sheep were not paying attention and were just grazing around while a few did bob their heads up when they heard them come through the trees.
"Okay we're in the field. Now we just need to get past the mean eating sheep," Markus said, knowing it was easier said than done.
"How we get past?" Tyson mumbled as his lone eye was staring towards the sheep that now had turned their attention to him for some odd reason that made him flinch a little since their eyes looked like they were staring right through him.
Markus was anxious to finish their task so that he could join his friends. He didn't doubt their strength or skill, but Polyphemus was legendary for a reason.
He thought about using his super speed to pick up the Golden Fleece and escape. But that would leave Tyson alone with the sheep. And he wasn't about to abandon his brother.
However as he was thinking he heard some footsteps beside him and his eyes widened when he saw Tyson moving toward the sheep.
His eyes almost fell out of his sockets."Tyson what the hell are you doing? Don't get too close to them."
However he was a little taken back when he heard Tyson speak confidently back to him with a tiny grin on his face. "They won't hurt me. I know they won't hurt me."
"And how do you know that?" Markus asked.
Tyson grinned again. "Trust me."
Markus tried to convince him otherwise and walked forwards a little to stop Tyson from getting hurt but the young Cyclops put his hand out and stopped him in his tracks.
"I can do it. Trust Tyson. Let me do my part to save camp," he said again in a confident tone making Markus halt in place. He was impressed about his drive to save a place that ostracized him for being a monster. He didn't like it, though.
He had a bad feeling in his gut and he hoped his was wrong as he watched Tyson slowly move towards the sheep, taking small steps at a time as if trying to steel himself and tell himself that this is the right thing to do.
Markus looked over towards the sheep and saw that all their heads were now up and were looking towards Tyson. All brown coloured sheep eyes were focused on the young Cyclops.
"Fine. Since you seem so stubborn..." Markus muttered to himself. "Go on, Tyson. You can do it. Be calm," he silently cheered, not wanting the loud noise to alert the sheep. "Don't make any sudden movements."
Tyson nodded a little before he felt a surge of nerves go through him as the sheep finally began to move towards him and Markus could see that on their faces they had a look of recognition, as if they recognized Tyson.
A few of their gazes drifted towards Markus, as if contemplating whether they should eat Tyson or him. Markus put his hand on Wavebreaker to steady himself.
He watched as they got closer and closer to Tyson until they were only a few feet away from him.
Could they think that Tyson is Polyphemus? Markus thought to himself. It was possible, since they were Cyclopes. Maybe that was the reason why the sheep didn't feel like eating him. Or maybe Tyson was suddenly good at calming down flesh-eating animals.
Tyson stuck his hand out to pet one of the sheep that was close to him and Markus held his breath as it sniffed his hand. It opened its mouth as if ready to take a bite and licked it teeth's. But instead of taking a bite or trying to eat Tyson, it nuzzled his hand.
Slowly one by one of the other sheep began crowding around Tyson and nuzzled him a little getting a laugh from Tyson.
Markus looked wide-eyed at the impossible scene in front of him. He was thankful that they weren't trying to take a bite of him, he was confused as to why not. Probably better if he didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Even though they liked Tyson, Markus wondered how long they would be friendly for since they wanted to know where their food was.
Wanting to put their plan into action, Markus called out, "Tyson." The young Cyclops turned around and looked at him.
"Try and lead them away. Make them think they are going to get food or something. That way it will be a clear to the Fleece."
Tyson thought about it for a moment before nodding to Markus. He slowly began to make his way out of the crowd of sheep that was around him and began to jog away from the field.
"Come on sheepies, follow me if you want to get some food," he said as Markus hoped they would follow him.
Markus gave him a thumbs up as he lead the sheep away. They completely forgot about Markus as they followed after Tyson. This made Markus breathe a little easier.
"Stay safe Tyson. Meet you back at the beach," he shouted and could just about make out Tyson giving him a thumbs up.
Turning around he saw the way had now been cleared and there was no sheep anywhere. The Fleece's defences were gone.
Markus grinned as he ran up to the tree and stopped just in front of the Golden Fleece. Just looking at the Fleece and being near it, he could feel the power of the object radiating from it and it was an amazing sensation.
He didn't feel bad about taking it as he knew it was necessary and they needed to save the camp above anything else.
Reaching out, Markus picked up the Fleece and held it close. It felt extremely soft. It was also a little heavier then he thought it would be but it would not be a problem.
Now that he had the Fleece he decided it was time to make the signal for the others. Holding one hand into the air, he cast a wordless Sagitta Spiram high in the air so that anyone around the island could see it.
As soon as he was done, with the Fleece in hand he bolted back towards the beach using his super speed to where he hoped he would be seeing the others.
As he ran, he slowed down his speed as he saw the others running towards the 'Queen Anne's Revenge'. Guess they must've taken care of Polyphemus.
When they got close however, Polyphemus suddenly burst out of the forest and looked around. When he spotted them, he roared and charged after them.
Okay, guess they didn't take care of him.
"Run faster!" Percy said as the neared the boat that they arrived in.
"I thought you guys took care of him!" Markus shouted out.
"We did, but Prissy here was too much of a coward to finish him off when he had the chance," Clarisse remarked with her thumb jerked to Percy as they ran. Markus blinked as he processed the information. He was proud of Percy for being able to take down Polyphemus, but he was also annoyed that he didn't have the heart to kill him.
"We can explain all of that later! Just run!" Percy shouted.
As Polyphemus was beginning to close in on them, Markus threw the Fleece towards Clairsse who caught it before he disappeared using the Sonido. Too bad about the lack of sound, though. He reappeared in Polyphemus' front. "Oi, ugly. Down here!" Markus taunted with a grin.
Polyphemus roared as he punched the ground where Markus was at. Markus dodged by running a full circle around the Cyclops to build up momentum for what he was about to do. As Polyphemus' fist hit the ground, Markus went to this fist stuck in the ground and ran up it, building up enough speed.
Running up the arm of the Cyclops, he quickly equipped Beowulf and gave a football kick towards the head, knocking the giant Cyclops down.
The others got in and saw Polyphemus was down. They gaped at the sight, as Markus did what they struggled to do in one blow. They all realized just how big of a gap in strength was between them and Markus. Sure, they saw the strength during the fight with the Cetus, but still.
Looking at the downed Cyclops, Markus didn't waste any time. Unequipping Beowulf, he took out Wavebreaker in its place. Standing on the chest of Polyphemus, Markus held his sword high in the air.
"Wait, Markus! Don't!" Percy yelled to his brother, but he wasn't willing to listen. Polyphemus was trying to kill them, so it was only right to kill him in return.
"No!" Polyphemus yelled, but it was too late. Markus stabbed down with Wavebreaker, stabbing the blade down in the forehead of the Cyclops. All of them watched as Polyphemus disintegrated into gold dust.
"Why'd you do that? He was our brother, a son of Poseidon like us!" Percy yelled at his brother. Markus looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"He was trying to kill us, in case you forgot," Markus said evenly. "And I doubt that he would've had the same mercy towards us."
"But-" Percy said, shocked at the callousness Markus showed. Polyphemus was a son of Poseidon like them. That made him their brother. So why was Markus so willing to kill him? Annabeth, however, interrupted him, holding her hand in front of Percy to stop him.
"Where is Tyson?" Annabeth asked looking around before they heard what sounded like a small stampede making its way towards them.
They looked over to where the sound was coming from and saw Tyson stumble out of the forest and ran over to them.
"Tyson over here," Markus called as he hopped into the boat. Just as Tyson began getting into the boat the horde of sheep appeared out of the forest.
"Hell no," they all yelled not wanting to be eaten alive by the sheep and quickly pushed away from the beach and into the water.
As the got onto the pirate ship, the managed to set the sail and get the ship ready. Pretty soon, they were sailing from Polyphemus' Island, which looked to be quickly fading. Markus smiled at seeing that they had completed their quest, saved Grover, and retrieved the thing that was going to save the camp.
XXX
The demigods were finally able to make out the edges of a shoreline signalling that land was finally ahead.
As they sailed out of the Sea of Monsters, they were worried about having to face Charybdis and Scylla again, but thankfully they managed to evade the sea monsters. Also, none of them even needed to touch the ship to steer it. It was like it had a mind of its own. Probably Poseidon looking out for them and guiding them out of the Sea of Monsters.
In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. Markus could see a beach side highway lined with palm trees, store fronts glowing with red and blue neon, a harbour filled with sailboats and cruise ships. They were probably coming up to Miami.
Percy and Markus were able to maintain the ship so that it almost reached the harbour. They couldn't take the boat with them to camp, and they didn't know what to do with it. Percy wanted to keep the ship, being a son of Poseidon and all. Markus, however, wanted to keep the ship because he wanted it to be apart of his pirate ensemble. Plus, he killed Blackbeard, so he should get his ship. The two brothers spent the better part of the journey back arguing about who should own the ship. The girls got annoyed by the whole thing while Tyson, sweet, innocent and clueless Tyson, just watched the spat with confusion.
In the end, both decided to play rock-paper-scissors to decide who got to keep the ship. Markus was able to win that, with Percy stating that he wanted a rematch. But Markus refused, saying that he had won the thing fair and square. Now he was officially a pirate!
Although he didn't know where to put the ship, he wanted to keep it. So he planned on praying to Poseidon to keep the ship in store for him so he could use it later. Sure, he could run on water, but it was the principle of the thing!
As they neared the harbour, they got off the ship and landed on an icy surface courtesy of Markus, so that they wouldn't have to swim the whole way. As they walked, Markus turned towards the ship and prayed to Poseidon to keep the ship in his palace or something, so he could use it for later.
Markus didn't know if Poseidon heard his prayer or not, but after a couple of seconds, a vortex of water appeared under the 'Queen Anne's Revenge'. The ship was slowly being sucked into the vortex and was still descending. The others looked shocked at the sight, but Markus assured them that everything was alright.
He thanked Poseidon mentally and joined the others in walking across the icy surface. Though, it wasn't easy on Markus to maintain the track for so long. It was a little draining not physically but mentally. Using demigod powers for so long did that to a person. Thankfully, Percy was able to help him walk when he stumbled a little, feeling slightly weak. In no time at all they were back in the mortal world.
Gathering their things together, they wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for their vacations or just about to go off on one. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers.
Thankfully no one noticed them thanks to the Mist, after all four kids (Grover didn't necessarily count, and none of them were sure about Tyson's age) dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster would usually draw in plenty of attention.
As they walked the Mist began to affect them as well now. Tyson's lone eyes distorted and Grover had put his sneakers and cap on.
Even the Fleece had transformed from a sheepskin to a red-and-gold high school letter jacket with a large glittery Omega on the pocket.
They checked the date to find that it was June 16th.
"We have been away from camp for eight days. We really need to get back there soon otherwise I dread to think what will be left of our camp," Annabeth said in a worried tone that was shown in on everyone's face.
"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back tonight."
"And with the tree almost being dead then it means the camp's magical borders will be left to almost nothing," Markus added.
They all watched as Clarisse slumped a little to the ground with a defeated look on her face. "How are we supposed to get back to camp?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. We can't exactly walk it."
Markus dug into his backpack (he really had a lot of things in there, didn't he? Guns, Siren remains, etc.) and brought out a stack of money, easily in the hundreds. He grinned at the slack-jawed reactions he'd received. "Will this do?" he asked cheekily.
"H-how-" Clarisse stuttered.
Markus waved his hand. "Doesn't matter. We have the money. We can go."
"The only option would be taking a plane. And you and Percy can't go in the air, Markus. If you do Zeus will more than likely blast him out of the sky," Annabeth said.
"Even if it's for wanting to heal his dead daughter's tree?" Markus asked skeptically. Annabeth shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she didn't know. Markus clicked his teeth. "Stingy bastard," he muttered. The sky boomed with thunder, but Markus ignored it. The others were already used to him insulting Zeus.
"Well what if just a few of us go?" Grover suggested. "Clarisse takes the Fleece ahead with Markus back to the camp via a plane while we make our own way there. Hopefully, Zeus won't shoot him out of the sky." He said the last part hopefully.
Markus shook his head and handed his money to Clarisse, who looked at him with a surprised expression on his face as did the others.
"Here take this money, get on a plane and take the Fleece to camp. I'd rather not risk getting zapped with lightning. Plus, this was your quest therefore you should be the one to return the Fleece to the camp. I only came to save Grover and help out."
Percy went to the curb and whistled for a taxi which quickly got the attention of a nearby cab and had it pull up just in front of them.
Clarisse took the Fleece and looked at it with wide eyes and as well as looking at Markus with a stunned look on her face. She looked to the others, who nodded in agreement to her.
"Okay," she said as the gears in her head began working. She gave a quick nod to Percy, Annabeth and Grover before giving Markus a look of gratitude. "Thank you," she said, jumping into the cab.
The three demigods, Cyclops and satyr watched as they disappeared down the road. The group gave small smiles to Markus.
"That was a nice thing that you did for Clarisse," Annabeth said, smiling. Markus shrugged.
"She wanted to prove herself. I merely gave her the opportunity to do so," Markus said casually. The others just continued giving him knowing smiles.
Markus was about to say something, but his face turned shocked, and then narrowed. The others were going to ask what was wrong when he turned around, Wavebreaker already in his hand. His subconsciously activated his water sensing to see that Clarisse had exited his range, so that he could know if she was on her way. However, he managed to pick up another signature, one he didn't know or recognise. And it was right behind them.
The mortals were still ahead of them, minding their own business. So it wasn't them. It wasn't a monster, since he wasn't sure they had water in their body, like blood, saliva, etc. So it was a mortal. More than likely a demigod.
Instinctively, Markus brought out Wavebreaker to the neck of someone holding a a bronze and grey sword in his right hand that was now aimed at Percy. Four heads whipped around and were surprised and angry to see Luke standing there with a evil smile on his face.
Markus snarled, his sea green eyes turning into glowing neon green. "Castellan."
"'Sup, Markus? Welcome back to the states," Luke grinned smugly.
Boom! Finished.
I would honestly write more, but my fingers are cramped from too much typing.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Almost finished the Sea of Monsters arc. Don't really have much to say here. Which is a first.
Thanks to all those who favourited, followed, read and reviewed the story, said the one who feels like a broken record.
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