Artie leaned against the railing as he watched the stars in the night sky. He was aware of the skeletal crewman doing a horrible job of concealing himself from behind a corner. A normal person probably wouldn't have noticed unless they came too close, but to Artie the stars and moon provided plenty of light to see. And failing that, the smell was a dead giveaway. He was about to head to the hammock he had been assigned when he felt a strong tug on his wrist. He pulled up the thin rope he had tied to his wrist he had tossed overboard. He smiled as a fresh Spanish Mackerel wriggled and flopped to get free of the rusty hook and rope. He took out the hook, smashed the fish hard against the railing and instantly it went still. He took a large bite and welcomed the fresh taste. He had to be honest with himself, his time in the wild had given a taste for fresh food. Given the choice, he found the taste of raw fish was infinitely better than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, even with the and chips.

"My gods!" said a voice. "And I've seen some pretty gross things."

Artie swallowed and turned to see Clarisse. "Never had sushi before?

Clarisse made a face, "You and Prissy can eat all the fish and seaweed you want, give me a steak any day."

Artie tossed the remains of the fish to Tobias. "You mind explaining my body guard?"

Clarisse gestured for the solider in the corner to leave, "Annabeth said you were on the ship with Luke for three days."

Artie nodded. "Ah . . . sorry, but I don't know anything."

Clarisse's hand gripped a knife tightly, "You sure? I hate for something to conveniently slipped your mind."

Artie did not missing the meaning of her words. "I did my best to find out what I could, but I all I found out was that Luke poisoned Thalia's pine to weaken the borders around camp. Once that happens, its open season on all half blood who don't join him against Olympus."

Clarisse nodded, "It'll help him by strengthening his forces by scattering ours."

"Annabeth said more or less the same thing, though she made it sound more complicated than you."

Clarisse's eyes narrowed, "You saying that little girl is smarter than me?"

"She's a daughter of Athena, I'd be surprised if she wasn't."

Artie miscalculated how angry Clarisse would get. This mistake allowed her to surprise him and pin him against the wall. While he was faster than any demigod he knew, Clarisse was in the same regard when it came to raw power. He struggled from under her forearm in vain.

"Never insult Ares in front of me." she growled. "Now what do you know about Luke's plans?"

"I told you." Artie managed to choke out with her forearm pressing against his throat. "Nothing you don't already know."

"I don't believe you." she said. "Luke was one of your only friends at camp before you were claimed. Now talk!"

Artie felt something rise from behind his throat with his anger. It came out as a low, guttural sound. It took Artie a moment what it was, a growl. It was a rich marvelous growl. Finely layered with scorn and menace that rose and fell for more than half a minute. It was clear warning, it was best for Clarisse to back off right away. Clarisse removed her forearm from his throat and carefully backed up, her hand never leaving the knife on her hip. Artie was surprised by the look in her eyes, it was one that he had only seen once before; when he lost control during his first capture the flag game at camp. Clarisse simply watched him for a moment. No doubt she was trying to see if he would attack. When he didn't she walked away, making sure to keep him in sight as she left.

Artie tried to apologize, "Clarisse, I . . . I don't know where - - -"

But she was gone, leaving him alone.

" - - - that came from."

It was true. It was if he was suddenly back in the wild, face to face with a wild animal. He couldn't count the number of times he had discouraged a hungry predator by doing that. The trick was to act and pretend that you were not scared. but this was different. For whatever reason, Artie did not consciously choose to growl at Clarisse. It was as if something had taken hold of him, but he had the strangest feeling it was all him. He tried to put it out of his mind as he walked below deck to his hammock, but it was easier said than done. He laid down and stared at the rusty dark ceiling, trying to understand what had just happened.

A thought echoed in his head as fell asleep, Where did that come from?

Artie sprang out of his hammock at the sound of alarm bells. He sprang so hard, he landed on a confederate solider. He helped him to his feet as he saw more solders were scrambling out of their hammocks. He also saw Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson stuffing things into canvas knapsacks.

"Whats going on?" he asked the solider.

"We're approaching the entrance." he answered as he dusted himself off.

"Entrance to the Sea of Monsters?" he wondered.

The solider nodded. "The one and only."

Artie threw on his quiver and ran to the main deck with his friends. He was joined by Tobias who perched on a railing. He snatched up an old looking telescope and looked toward the horizon. He gulped and fought the urge to jump into a lifeboat and paddle in the opposite direction. He never wanted to see Charybdis and now that he did, he wished he hadn't. He continued watching as he hoped the cannons would be enough.

"What do you see out there?" asked Percy.

"It's bad." he answered.

"How bad? asked Annabeth.

"Yeah" agreed Clarisse as she walked up. "Just how bad is it? No big words now, They might go right over my head."

To his surprise, Artie did not growl. He just turned to Clarisse and said, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Clarisse snatched the telescope and smiled, "Captain! Full speed ahead."

Annabeth pointed north where the sea and sky boiled together in a giant mass. "Hurricane?"

"No." said Clarisse. "Charybdis."

"Are you crazy?"

"Only way into the sea of monsters. You have to sail between Charybdis and her sister Scylla."

"What about the clashing rocks?" asked Percy. "Jason used it."

"I can't blow up rock with my cannons." Clarisse answered "Monsters on the other hand . . ."

"You are crazy." decided Annabeth.

Clarisse turned to Artie. "You got anything say? Let me guess, why don't we go around? Well, we can't."

Artie shook his head and Clarisse turned walked to the captain;s wheel. They all stood and watched as they got closer and closer to Charybdis. Ever now and then they would voice a plan to escape or a safer route than what Clarisse was planning.

"Lifeboat?" offered Tyson.

"We;re too close." said Percy. "Charybdis would suck us in."

"Clarisse is so thick headed." groaned Annabeth. "She's gonna get us all killed. Then who's gonna get the Fleece?"

Percy turned to Artie was humming a song to himself, "Anything?"

Artie shook his head,"Besides screaming abandon ship or everyman for himself, I got nothing."

"We need a backup plan." said Annabeth. "This isn't going to work."

"Annabeth is right." agreed Tyson. "Engine's no good."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"Pressure. Pistons need fixing."

Artie was about to have Tyson explain when the boat suddenly lurched forward and tossed them to the floor. If being tossed to the floor wasn't clear, the sound was. They all knew it, they were now in the whirlpool made by Charybdis.

"Full reverse!" roared Clarisse over the noise. The sea now was churning around them, waves crashing onto the deck. The iron plating was now so hot, it steamed. "Get us within firing range! Make ready the starboard cannons!"

A second later a smoking confederate came from below deck. His uniform was smoking and his beard was on fire. "Boiler room is overheating ma'am. She's gonna blow!"

"Well, get down there and fix it!"

"Can't" he yelled. "We're vaporizing in the heat!"

Clarisse pounded the casemate with a fist. "All I need is few more minutes. Just enough to get into range."

"We're going too fast!" said the captain grimly. "Prepare yourselves for death."

"No!" Tyson bellowed. "I can fix it!"

Artie and Clarisse both looked at him like he was crazy.

"He's a cyclops." said Annabeth. "He's immune to fire and he know mechanics."

"Go!" yelled Clarisse.

Percy grabbed Tyson's arm. "No Tyson! Its too dangerous."

Tyson smiled and patted his arm. "Only way brother. Be right back."

They all watched as the smoldering solider lead Tyson down. Artie wouldn't have blamed Percy if he followed them down, but the ship lurched again. Both Artie and Percy grabbed a railing to steady themselves and that's when they saw Charybdis.

They saw in the middle of swirling mist and sea was a black reef and a fig tree. All around the tree, the water curved around it like a funnel. Anchored below that was Charybdis herself. A pair of slimy black lips with razor sharp teeth the size of rowboats. Artie found it strange that corroded metal bands ran along the teeth, like makeshift braces with piece of fish and driftwood stuck between them and the teeth themselves. Percy watched as everything around Charybdis was sucked into the void. Sharks, schools of fish, even a giant squid all disappeared behind her teeth. He looked to Artie as if too confirm he wasn't just seeing things.

Artie looked as scared as he felt. "Unless we do something, we're next."

"Lady Clarisse!" the captain shouted. "Starboard and forward gun are in range!"

"Fire!" Clarisse ordered.

Artie instinctively ducked at the roar of the cannons. He still managed to see three cannonballs speed toward the monster's maw. Artie watched as one blew off an incisor and another disappeared behind the darkness. The final ball bounced off one of the metal band and shot back toward the ship, snapping the mast that held the flaw with the mark of Ares.

"Again!" Clarisse ordered.

They all watched as the gunner reloaded. Judging from the looks on Annabeth and Percy, Artie wasn't sure they had enough time to do any serious damage. He doubt even five ships could do any real harm in the little time they had before Charybdis sucked them in. That was when Artie felt vibrations in his feet from the ship's engine along with louder hum from below deck. The ship shuddered and they slowly began to pull away from the mouth.

"Tyson did it!" shouted Annabeth.

Artie breathed a sigh of relief, "Graças aos deuses."

"Wait!" said Clarisse. "We need to stay close."

"We'll die." said Percy. "We have to move away!"

Artie was about to agree when the chaos died. The swirling mist faded away to reveal a clear summer sky. The sea died to an absolute calm as water washed over Charybdis, completely hiding her from view. Just as quick, the maw exploded spewing out everything out that was inedible which included their cannonballs. One of which, hit the side of the ship with a loud ding as they rode a forty foot wave. Percy gripped the railing as he willed the ship to keep from capsizing. Artie did fare as well, he was tossed onto his back and slid until he was stopped by the casemate.

He looked up at the captain who looked as the chaos with absolute calm. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death . . ."

Artie pushed the captain out of the way and spun the wheel hard to the right, "You can walk if you want. FULL SPEED AHEAD!"

Clarisse pushed Artie off the wheel and returned to its previous position. "Belay that! FULL REVER - - -"

Artie shoved Clarisse and retook the wheel, "Belay that 'Belay that' FULL - - -"

Clarisse cut him off with an armored fist on his jaw and retook the wheel, "FULL REVERSE!"

Percy rushed to Artie who spat a globule of blood and rubbed his jaw, "Puta louca estúpida, she gonna get us all killed."

Percy eyed the blood dripping from the corner of Artie's mouth, "Are you okay?"

Artie wiped his chin, "I'll live, at least for another minute."

Another smoldering solider burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, nearly sending them both overboard. "She can't take much more captain! The engine's gonna blow!"

"Where's Tyson?" Percy demanded.

"Still down there." responded the solider. "He holding it together somehow, but I'm not sure for how much longer."

"We have to abandon ship." said the captain.

"No!" yelled Clarisse.

"No choice milady. The hull is already cracking apart. She cant - - -"

He never finished the sentence. Quick as lighting, something brown and green came from out of the sky and snatched him up, leaving only a pair of leather boots. It was so fast, even Artie with faster reflexes only saw a flash of teeth and a beady yellow eye.

"Scylla!" yelled Annabeth.

Artie turned to the sky as he saw blurs of scales and teeth shot down and snatch up deckhands left and right. Even his speed, Artie severely doubted he could avoid the heads if he was unlucky enough to get caught. He opened his bow and began firing arrow after arrow, hoping to get lucky. As his arrows missed by miles, he saw Clarisse and Percy swipe at the heads with their swords, but they were far to slow.

"Everyone, get below!" Percy yelled.

"We can't!" yelled Clarisse as missed with her sword by a mile. "Below deck is in flames!"

"Lifeboats!" said Annabeth. "Quick!"

"We'll never get clear of the cliffs." said Clarisse. "We all be eaten."

"We have to try. Percy, the thermos."

"I won't leave Tyson!" protested Percy.

Artie fired another arrow, "We have to get the boats ready! And quick!"

Clarisse took Annabeth's command. She with Annabeth and the few remaining undead solders, uncovered the two emergency lifeboats while Scylla's heads rained down, picking solders off one after the other. Artie collapsed his bow and helped, he might as well pretend to fire arrows for all the effect they were having.

Percy tossed the thermos to Annabeth. "Get the other boat. I'll get Tyson."

"You can't" she said. "The heat will kill you!"

Artie watched as Percy ran for the boiler room hatch. He then saw a blur a movement just above Percy and he ran as fast he could. He managed to grip Percy's ankle as Scylla took Percy up by the knapsack on his back. He managed to hold on for only moment before he lost his grip and fell ten feet onto the deck of the ship. A ten foot drop onto solid iron would have been hard no mater what, but landing on a celestial bronze quiver on top of that did not help. Artie rolled to his side with a groan, the pain in his legs told him that the fall did not snap his spine like a twig.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red glow from between the cracks of the boiler room hatch. Half blinded with pain, it took him a moment to realize with the growing glow meant. And it was not the least bit good, unless he wanted a dark tan before he died.

"O vai po caralho." he told the glow, rolling his eyes.

His feet slipped and slid from the water on the floor, but he managed to get to his feet and jump overboard. He managed to swim and haul himself aboard a life boat. As he tried to catch his breath, he saw Annabeth struggling with the cap of a thermos. He was about to ask when the cap came loose, along with what felt like a god's fist of wind. Artie was thrown back and nearly went overboard, but he managed to dig in his claws and hold on as the lifeboat spun and sped off away from Scylla, Charybdis, and the burning wreckage of the CSS Birmingham.

After a few rotations, Artie had all he could take and vomited over the side. He was vaguely aware of Annabeth doing the same on the other end of the lifeboat. After purging, his head was clear somewhat. He looked around and saw that Clarisse and her lifeboat was gone. Either the wind had sent her to safety in the opposite direction or had fallen to Charybdis and Scylla. Either way, he was not sure and there was no way to make sure. He then saw Tobias land on something in the water before he called out to Artie. Artie looked back at Annabeth who was holding her head, trying to stop the world around her from spinning.

Artie sighed as he stood up, "No please, allow me."

With that he dived into the cold sea and swam towards Percy bobbing along the surface with the current.