Hey everyone,

First, I'd like to apologize for my terrible writing. I am not used to writing in third person, so I must get accustomed to it once again, though that will be a problem because my other story is in first person. Anyway, I'd like to announce that although some myths contradict with others, I may need to change the order in which historical myths took place to be able to fit the characters I want into the story.

Although the setting is ancient Greece, I will make the characters talk in English and informally, as if they were regular boys/men or girls/women in the modern world. It makes writing this a little bit easier, and the characters more relaxed than if they talked formally all the time.

I would like all of you avid readers to vote for the poll. That's right, there is a poll up on my profile page regarding this story. I believe that the idea is a little original, no popular FanFic about the original Quest for the Golden Fleece, at least that I know of. However, I am wondering whether you want me to write about the Trojan War as well. I am only asking your opinion because I know Anaklusmos14 is doing a FanFic about the Trojan War right at the moment along with his story Intertwined Destinies, and I do not want people to think I am ripping off his story. My personal vote is yes, but please put in your opinion. Thanks.

I apologize for any grammatical errors in the story following.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719

Chapter 4

The Women of Lemnos

Even though Pelias accepted that Jason was truly heading out to find the Golden Fleece, they had only been travelling for a day when he ordered a pit stop.

He'd apparently spotted an island in the distance and claimed that there was not enough food, that they needed more supplies. When Percy questioned Argus, the man hesitated before saying exactly what Jason said. Percy had an odd feeling about that island, something that told him the place did not seem right.

"I have a bad feeling about that place," he told Atalanta.

The daughter of Iasus stared out at the approaching land warily. "You are right. There is something odd about that island, an aura of the island almost. I sense...murder."

"How can you sense murder?"

"I do not mean it literally, but I have this feeling that something bad has occurred here," she said rolling her eyes. "Must you take everything so literally?"

Percy shrugged. "I guess it's just who I am."

Jason didn't change his mind once, even after pestering him about a bad feeling Percy had. His eyes were trained on the island so strenuously that it almost seemed like they were stuck at one point. Jason was quiet now, either admiring the beauty of the island or staring at it like it was going to be his death place.

"Lemnos," Ancaeus called out. "It sounds familiar, don't you think?"

Tiphys scratched his chin. "I think that's where Zeus threw Hephaestus to when he chucked the god off of Olympus. Am I right? My memory is a little fuzzy today."

"Yes," Jason replied stoically. "That is where Hephaestus landed when he was thrown off of Olympus." He stared at the island for another two seconds before turning to Tiphys. "Get to the port quick. We need food desperately."

"Alright," Tiphys nodded. He pulled out the conch shell and blew on it. A piercing sound echoed in the open sea, calling out to all the Argonauts. Tiphys and Ancaeus had developed a system of call when they were approaching land, or when they need help with the oars. One blast was for oars, and two blasts were for approaching land. First, Tiphys blew one long blast. He paused before blowing it twice. Then he paused again and repeated.

Within minutes, all of the Argonauts had made their way above deck, either sightseeing or rowing. Most were looking in awe the island in front of us, a city now visible sitting atop a giant hill, like a grassland mesa. Despite the warning his gut was telling him, he couldn't help but admire the beautiful city, as if it had never been touched by any but its own people.

"Raise the white flag!" ordered Jason. Immediately, two twins began pulling on the rope that held the flag. They raised the white flag of surrender. The twins had an interesting story, a story that they had told him the night previous.

Castor and Polydeuces were their names, but only Polydeuces was the son of a god, not his twin brother. Considering Theseus was only half the son of Poseidon, Percy didn't find that too hard to believe. Castor's father was some mortal king, and their mother was a mortal queen. Polydeuces told him that although being a demigod son of Zeus was fun, he often missed the chance to do things with his mortal twin because of their differences. Castor laughed about it and joked around that he'd be jealous of Polydeuces' divine powers all the time, but in truth, he was completely fine with it, feeling that it didn't take away from their relationship much. The only thing that Polydeuces could that he couldn't was control lightning. Polydeuces was no Heracles.

"The island of Lemnos, huh?" asked Periclymenus. "Never been there."

"I wonder if they have good poetry and music there," Orpheus mused. The son of Apollo had, in fact, joined their quest, even if Percy didn't realize it.

Last night, he'd actually talked to quite a few of the men, getting to learn their names and bit of their backgrounds.

There were Heracles, Theseus, Castor, Polydeuces, Orpheus, Periclymenus, Argus, Tiphys and Atalanta; but also more that he talked to. He met Calais and Zetes, sons of Boreas, the North Wind. Percy figured that this meant Boreas was going to help them when they got further north. Percy also met Hylas, a youth companion to Heracles. He looked young, a little bit younger than Atalanta, but older that Percy. He then met Polyphemus, though not the Cyclops. This Polyphemus was the son of Elatus, who was a chieftain in Thessaly. He also met Mopsus, who was a seer. He was the son of a nymph, making him a demigod. Mopsus never clarified who his mother was, but he guessed that it was Chloris. Percy then met Eurytus, a son of Hermes. Euphemus was next, the man Percy's brother. He had no water superpowers aside from being able to walk on water, just like Orion had been gifted with. The meeting with Euphemus left a bitter taste in Percy's mouth. Iolaus was Heracles' nephew. There was not much else to say about him other than the fact that he was just as brave, that being the only similarity between the two. The last man Percy had men that night was Peleus. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, a king of the island Aegina. He claimed that he and his brother Telamon, who was also on this journey, were good friends of Heracles.

Either way, they were all headed toward the island of Lemnos on orders by Jason without any hesitation. Percy's gut feeling only grew more intense as the Argo sailed closer to the port of Lemnos.

"Shouldn't we have packed enough food to last us a little while?" Percy asked Argus. "Why are we allowing Jason to just lead us to a place none of us know about?"

"He is our leader and—"

"Screw that," Percy growled. "Fine, I'll talk to him myself."

The son of Poseidon walked up to Jason, who was still glancing out at the island of Lemnos, and tapped him on the shoulder. When Jason turned to Percy, the boy made an outburst. "What are you doing, Jason? Stopping at an island when we clearly do have enough supplies to feed ourselves. Athena would not be that stupid."

Jason regarded his friend with cold eyes. "Percy. I need to stop at this island. There's something here..."

He trailed off and looked back at the island. This just made Percy all the more angry. "Jason! Stop looking at that place! I sense danger there. It cannot be safe."

The son of Aeson turned on Percy. With an almost anomalous look in his eyes, he punched Percy straight across the face, making the boy taste blood inside his own mouth. "You know nothing," snapped Jason. "You are only a ten-year-old boy and have yet to see the true world. I—I'm sorry, Percy. But there is something here that must be found before we leave. I admit, I had a dream last night, a lovely lady's voice telling me to stop here. It must be one of the gods."

Percy was still on the ground, completely shocked that Jason, his long-time friend, punched him hard across his jaw. He could taste the blood in his mouth, that almost metallic taste that it had. The boy clutched his mouth, his eyes aghast, his entire body trembling.

They had been friends for years, yet in one night, a "lovely lady" changes that, making the son of Aeson punch him. "You—you punched me, Jason."

There was no response.

"You've never hurt me on purpose before," Percy said, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "We...we were like family. What happened to you?"

"Responsibility, leadership," he replied. "You must stay strong in front of your troops no matter how much you want to cry or break down. It is also a part of being a man. I'm growing up, Percy. I will still talk to you, but I just need some time off on my own. To recollect my thoughts for going forward."

Anger rose up again through Percy's veins, and a wave roared in his ears. Percy got up, ignoring everyone's shocked looks, pushed his way through the crowd, and made his way back to his room, lying on the cold, hard floor to weep his soul out.

"A goddess changed him," Percy muttered. "That's not really Jason. A goddess is just manipulating his mind. He wouldn't grow past me that quickly."

He spent the next couple of hours trying to convince himself that Jason was not actually in control of his actions at the moment, but to no avail. The way Jason had punched him hard enough to make his teeth cut the inside lining of his cheek and the way Jason had spoken to him as if Jason were his superior by many ranks, as if it were his father speaking to my mother.

Anger continued roaring in his ears until he passed out, exhausted from weeping and, to his surprise, rocking the boat with small swells of waves.

"Percy," a distant and mysterious voice said. "Wake up, Percy."

His eyes snapped open and before he was fully awake, he had Atalanta pinned to the floor, her neck under his forearm. He was about to get up and apologize when something crashed into his stomach, making him double over. Then he yelped as he was thrown back down to the ground. He felt a firm foot on his stomach.

"You have nice reflexes," Atalanta complimented. "But you still have quite a ways to go in terms of hand-to-hand combat."

"Sorry for attacking you...your voice just sounded mysterious and I thought you might have been someone coming to murder me in my sleep," Percy apologized.

"If I wanted to murder you in your sleep, I wouldn't have called your name," she said.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Right. Of course."

The fifteen-year-old girl helped him up, brushing the dust off of his already dirty tunic. Then she brushed off her own tunic. He couldn't help but notice that she was wearing men's clothing. He wasn't sure if it was just better for hunting or if she felt more comfortable in it, but it must have been styled perfectly for her. Atalanta was much slimmer than the average fifteen-year-old male, so the male-styled clothing had to be slimmed down by a lot.

"So, why did you wake me up?" Percy asked.

"The Argonauts are overly obsessed with women," she said darkly. "I have nothing to do as the quest has been halted for the time being."

"Wait, what do you mean they're overly obsessed with women?" he asked. "And you're an Argonaut as well."

"The citizens of Lemnos, they welcomed us to their land with kindness and expensive gifts," Atalanta explained. "I'm not sure why, but every single citizen I saw at the port, at the beach, were all women. Every single one of them. Now...well..."

"Well, what?"

"It is not appropriate to tell younger children," she said, obviously hinting at what was happening so she would not have to say it out loud. Percy got what she was trying to hint at.

"Oh...that." He looked awkwardly at the ground. "Everyone?"

She shook her head. "Not everyone, but the majority of the crew. The only ones who have stayed are Heracles, Periclymenus, Argus and Theseus. Even Ancaeus and Tiphys left. I tried talking to Heracles, Periclymenus, Argus and Theseus, but all of our conversations ended up in silence. Then Theseus suggested that I come get you. Since, I'm bored, I agreed."

Percy stood there thinking about the majority of the crew heading off onto the island of Lemnos, not caring about whether the place could be dangerous. It was a foolish move by Jason, some goddess affect his decisions. Percy wondered if truly, as the quest continued, that his ties with Jason would become severed. Maybe it would just be that Jason was having a lot of stress and just needed a timeout on Lemnos. He could never be sure, though. Jason would never have punched him, hypnotized or not. The son of Aeson had to have some kind of self-restriction.

"Alright, I'll come with you."

Atalanta led Percy to the eating room downstairs where Theseus, Heracles, Periclymenus and Argus were sitting around the table in awkward silence, seemingly waiting for my arrival.

When they heard footsteps approaching, they all looked up toward Atalanta and Percy. Theseus smiled. "Hey, Percy. How has life been going?"

"Only ten years under my tunic, Theseus," Percy sighed. "I still have a long way to go."

"That you do, my friend," Theseus admitted. "That you do."

Silence began enveloping the group at the table once again. Percy looked down at the table awkwardly, tapping his finger at a random beat against it. Theseus just looked around at everyone, not saying a word. Heracles cleared his throat, but just leaned back in his chair. Argus was blinking a lot and yawned once in a while. Periclymenus was tapping his feet on the floor. Atalanta was the first to speak.

"Well, this is just as boring as before," she said.

Everyone grumbled in assent.

"Well, why don't we talk about...Heracles' labours?" Percy suggested. "I mean, it would be cool to learn about what he did, even if it does revolve only around him."

The others shared multiple looks. When they all turned back to him, Percy shifted nervously. They stared at him piercingly, as if they were all ready to attack him. But then they all shrugged. "Better than nothing," Theseus said.

"Hey, Heracles," Periclymenus said. "What labours have you done? I've heard that you did a few so far, but what were they?"

Heracles sighed. "Slay the Nemean lion, slay the Lernaean hydra, capture the Golden Hind of Artemis, and capture the Erymanthian Boar." The son of Zeus gave me a stern look to signify not to tell the others about the Garden of the Hesperides.

"And you completed them all?" Argus asked baffled.

The hero nodded.

All of the males and girl at the table found those feats very impressive. To complete even one of those feats would be a huge accomplishment, not to mention four of them. They all knew that the quest for the Golden Fleece was a huge and dangerous task, but Heracles' labours were supposed to be impossible. At least, that was the way they seemed to Percy.

"How did you defeat the Nemean lion?" Theseus asked.

"Well, let's see." Heracles furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Well, the quest was given by my cousin King Eurystheus. He told me to slay the Nemean lion, so I went to do my quest, desperate to repay for the damage done to my first family. I wandered around Greece in search of the lion until I came to the town of Cleonae. I met a boy who said if I slew the beast and returned alive within thirty days, the town would sacrifice a lion to Zeus, but if I did not return within thirty days or died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus. A bold young boy, he was. So, I set off and found the Nemean lion. On my way, I made arrows to use against the Nemean lion, not knowing that its golden fur was impenetrable. When I found the Nemean lion, I shot the arrows at it. I quickly learned that the fur was impenetrable after they bounced harmlessly off its thigh."

"That must have been difficult to cope with," Atalanta noted.

Periclymenus raised an eyebrow at her. "Difficult to cope with? By the gods, if he wasn't the strongest hero alive he would have been killed. A skin that is impenetrable...I have no words for you."

"Actually, the girl is right," Heracles said to a now-pouting Periclymenus. "There is a weakness of the Nemean lion that any man would be able to figure out." Atalanta coughed and then cleared her throat. "Um, any man or woman would be able to figure out. Its mouth, when it roars, is exposed to arrow fire. I did not actually kill the lion using arrows; however, I learned that it was a weak spot when one of my arrows entered its mouth as it roared. The stupid creature's eyes bulged out in pain. It was too obvious. The tricky part about that strategy would be to get the creature to open its mouth."

"Yeah, that would be difficult," Percy agreed. "I'd never be able to do that."

"You see, there were two entrances to the cave the Nemean lion resided in," the son of Zeus explained. "So, I threw away the bow and arrow knowing I would not be able to shoot the beast in the mouth. As a last result, I fled to rethink my strategy. The two entrances gave me an idea. I found a huge boulder and blocked one of the cave entrances. In the dark, I crept in and stunned the beast with my club. I dropped my weapon and strangled the beast to death, crushing its windpipe. I brought its carcass out into the sunlight where I attempted to skin it with a knife from my belt. It didn't work. When I realized that its impenetrable fur was still impenetrable after its death, I ingeniously thought to use its own claw against it. I skinned the pelt of the beast with its own claw and turned it into armor. It has been very useful."

He tore a part of his tunic to show us that he was wearing the lion's fur at this very moment.

"You thought to use its own claw to skin the pelt?" Theseus questioned.

"Yes, I did."

"Wow."

"What about the Lernaean hydra?" Argus asked.

"Wait, what about the boy? What happened to him?" Percy interjected.

"The boy's town sacrificed a lion to my father, then I returned to my cousin to deliver the fruits of my labours."

"Now, what about the Hydra," Argus repeated.

"Let's see, the Hydra..." Heracles trailed off trying to remember what had happened. Then the light bulb went off in his head. "Ah, yes. My nephew Iolaus helped me with that. At first, I could not beat the beast. Every time I would cut one head off, the stump would grow two more heads back. It was extremely frustrating seeing all of the heads grow back. So then, I called for my nephew Iolaus. He came up with the idea of using a firebrand to scorch the neck stumps after each decapitation."

"What are firebrands?" Percy asked.

Everyone stared at him.

"What? I don't know what a firebrand is, okay?"

"It is a stick of wood that is lit with fire," Heracles answered.

Percy's mouth made a perfect O.

"Continuing on, Iolaus thought of cauterizing the open stumps, so we tried that idea. After I cut off each head of the Hydra, he would burn each of the stumps. The rest of the battle was easy from that point on. A large crab was sent to attack me, but I crushed it with my foot. Before I was able to cut off the Hydra's last head, Athena spoke to me in my head, telling me that the head was immortal and I would need to use a certain golden sword to kill the beast. When I refocused, I had a golden sword in my hand, the help from the goddess I was grateful for. On the way back to Eurystheus' palace, I placed the immortal head under a rock, before dipping my arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood."

"So, Iolaus was the one that basically killed the Hydra as he came up with the idea of burning the heads," Percy concluded.

The son of Zeus scowled at him. "Iolaus helped, but I killed it. I was the one to cut off its immortal head."

Percy frowned at the sudden defensive tone in the young man's voice, but didn't say anything.

"What else do you want to talk about?"

It wasn't until the first month was over until the five of them got angry. It wasn't until the fifth month until they got suspicious.

During the first few months, they'd expected that in turn for food, the King of Lemnos, whoever he was, had made the others serve him for an extended period of time. Food would slowly be brought back to the Argo once in a while, but Jason and the other Argonauts were rarely seen. Heracles, Theseus, Periclymenus, Argus, Atalanta and Percy spent most of that time either on the Argo or on the beach helping tutor the son of Poseidon with his water powers, even if they couldn't do it themselves.

When four months passed, Heracles decided that he would go into town to check on what the other Argonauts were actually doing. Percy agreed with the idea, saying that they should go into the city to check things out, but Heracles stopped them, saying that he should go alone, just in case of anything dangerous "things" around.

Heracles never specified what "things" meant, but Percy was a little too scared of Heracles to find out.

Instead, Percy resorted to training with Theseus about his water powers.

"Control your inner-self, Percy," the son of Aegeus advised. "Think of the waves, calm yourself down. And shut up Periclymenus."

Percy closed his eyes and thought about the water, an element so strong that it could carve its way through solid rocks. At least, that's what Theseus told him. He never doubted his father, the sea god a powerful deity, but he was pretty sure water could not carve through rocks.

Percy felt power surge in him, as if the water was a part of him. He'd been practicing controlling water for four months and a few days, trying to raise it out of the ocean. He had grown drastically in terms of his powers, going from being able to calm water to almost controlling it. The son of Poseidon exhaled soothingly, raising his hand slowly.

"That's great, Percy," Theseus complimented. "Keep going. You'll feel tired and strained, but it is all a part of the process."

Theseus himself couldn't control water or do anything regarding water, even though he was half the son of the sea god; however, the son of Aegeus and Poseidon was a fairly intelligent and bright young man. Percy could see Theseus becoming a hero one day.

Then the effort of controlling the water began wearing down on Percy. He felt his energy slowly draining, his arm getting heavy. He concentrated harder, though. He put all of the effort he could muster into controlling the water, focusing on the endless power of the ocean. The strain spread past his arm and through his abdomen down to his legs. Following Theseus' advice, he held his ground, gritting his teeth as his muscles began aching.

"Have a strong will and you will be able to accomplish whatever you desire," Atalanta said. "That is something that I have learned hunting for my own food in the wilderness."

Percy felt a tugging sensation in his gut before it popped and a small ball of water emerged from the ocean. His eyes widened and he let go. The ball of water splashed back into the water, but he turned around to his companions with an excited look on his face. "I did it! I controlled a little bit of water!"

"Congratulations," Theseus smiled. "Now, you just have to keep practicing to get good at it."

Percy's face fell. "I forgot about that."

"Don't worry," Atalanta said. "What I said was something I valued greatly throughout my life. A strong will defeats power any day. It even helps when in battle. When you don't give up, even when hopelessly outmatched, fighting even when wounded, it well eventually frustrate your opponent, causing them to fight recklessly."

"Wise words," Periclymenus nodded. "Not that I would have come up with something even half as wise as that. Did you, by any chance, also get tutored by Athena?"

The huntress shook her head. "No."

"Well..."

Percy spoke up after the grandson of Poseidon trailed off. "Do you ever wonder what Jason is really doing on this island? He said he got a dream from a 'lovely lady.' Do you think that may be Aphrodite trying to stray us off from the course for the Golden Fleece? I mean, the Fleece is in a sacred grove of her boyfriend."

"I do not know," Argus sighed. After the fourth month he admitted that Jason paid him a lot of drachma to not tell the Argonauts about Jason coming to this island because of a goddesses will, though Percy had already guessed that it was a goddesses doing. "Jason is making a grave mistake, though. We have been slaving on this island for months."

"Remember, the only other possibility for them is that they have to serve the king," Theseus reminded them. "If not...I fear that we have a huge problem on our hands."

"Yes, yes," Percy waved off. "We remember."

"I still can't believe we stayed even though we had a feeling that this island is dangerous." Atalanta shook her head disbelievingly.

"We can't just leave them behind," Percy countered. "This is all for Jason. If we leave him here, it will not end well for him."

"So what? I came on this quest to train and gain more experience in dangerous quests," Atalanta retorted. "I did not come to wait while men do things to women. The reports that Tiphys tell me..." The daughter of Iasus shivered remembering a gross thought.

"Well, maybe Heracles may be coming back with some information regarding the island of Lemnos," Argus said. "You never know. He may have found a—"

"Theseus!" a voice boomed from down the beach. "We have a problem, a huge problem."

The four of them turned their heads to the approaching son of Zeus. He was running in his leather-laced sandals as if he'd run from the other side of the island...which he probably could have done. He had a wild look in his eyes, like ghosts had haunted him in broad daylight. But even Percy, the young ten-year-old he was, could tell something was seriously wrong.

"Heracles?"

"We have a big problem," the son of Zeus repeated.

"Hold up, Heracles," Argus said, holding a hand up. "What is our problem exactly? And does it have anything to do with Jason?"

Heracles held a finger up, signaling for them to wait while he caught his breath. Even the mightiest of heroes got tired. After he caught his breath, he told the others of his amazing and horrifying discovery.

"All the citizens of Lemnos, everywhere I've gone, there is not a single man who is not an Argonaut."

Atalanta frowned. "What do you mean 'there is not a single man who is not an Argonaut'? There are men everywhere throughout Greece."

"Apparently not here." Heracles stretched his neck.

"That could be the serious danger you two were talking about," Theseus told Percy and Atalanta.

Percy's brain tried working out what was happening. The fact that there were no men on this island made the alarm bell in his head go off wailing. He swallowed, fear slowly creeping up his bones.

"We have to figure out why, first." Theseus said exactly what Percy was thinking.

"Yeah," agreed the son of Poseidon. "We have to figure out why there are only women on this island."

"What happened?" Heracles growled at the woman who had collapsed on the floor.

"Don't hurt her!" Percy shouted.

"What happened?!" the son of Zeus roared, making the woman in front of him shake with fear.

"It was years ago!" she finally admitted.

It was a painstaking day, but they had to resort to threatening a woman to figure out what had happened. There were no willing women of Lemnos to tell the story of what had happened to all of the men on the island. Heracles got frustrated and threw the last woman we'd met to the ground.

"What happened all those years ago?" interrogated Heracles.

The woman was deathly pale. Her body shook with fear and seemingly pain. "The men on this island, when I was just a young woman, growing into womanhood from being a girl, deserted all of their wives for Thracian women. I had no part of it, but Hypsipyle, our queen led the women to revenge. They murdered all of the men on the island. Since then, we have cherished every man who has stayed on this island. Your men, the ones in the palace, have been very nice in helping repopulate our lands."

Percy stared at her in disgust, and Theseus in outrage. "You keep us on this gods-forsaken island for six months and now we learn that you murdered all of your husbands. Your people are sick and twisted."

The woman looked close to tears. "I'm sorry, my lord. I had no part of the murders, I swear to Lady Styx. Please do not hurt me."

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Argus put a hand on Theseus' shoulder. "Calm down, boy." He then turned to the woman. "He does not mean you specifically. He is just angry, and you are the closest one he can take his anger out on. But the barbarous act inflicted by your superiors is something that is unforgivable."

Theseus' anger melted. "I'm so sorry. But to learn that the older of your kind murdered so many men in cold blood like that..."

The woman blinked hard and attempted to smile. "I accept your apology, my lord."

Percy wrinkled his nose remembering what she'd said about helping repopulating Lemnos. "And are our crew only being kept to, you know, repopulate."

For the first time, she seemed to notice the young ten-year-old boy. "Oh. Ah, no. Did I say anything about repopulation? I—"

"You do not have to lie for my sake," Percy said. "I think teaching younger boys and girls about how the real world is prepares them to face what is to come. Protecting them will just make them less knowledgeable about the problem and causing them to dig holes when trying to avoid it. There is another line, though. Getting them too involved may influence them to be a part of the problem rather than the solution."

The woman opened her mouth, but Theseus interrupted. "My teachings. And Chiron's."

Her eyes widened. "Like the centaur who helped Artemis and Apollo when they were young gods?"

Theseus nodded.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this wonderful conversation, but we must be going," Heracles said. "We need to get our crew back."

"Good luck," the woman said.

They quickly parted ways and made their way to the palace. Heracles was at the lead while Argus brought the sweep. Percy gulped when they reached the front gates of the palace, not sure what the leader, Hypsipyle, would think when they claimed the Argonauts as leaving. He would leave the speaking to the son of Zeus.

The guards let us through the gate, assuming we were a part of the Argonauts. They gave Atalanta strange looks, but eventually let her pass through without any interrogation done to them.

They reached the throne room where all of the Argonauts were standing around, like sheep waiting for the herder. Percy wondered what they were all doing in there, but it seemed like a special occasion or something, around the same number of women on the other side of the giant throne room.

The sudden entrance of the five heroes caused at least a hundred heads to turn their way.

"Is that Heracles?" one of the women gasped.

"What are you doing here?" Jason appeared out of the crowd. He was wearing fancy robes, almost like royal robes. They actually looked fitting on him. His expression was daring, his eyes slightly glazed.

"To come and get you back," the son of Zeus replied. "We've been slaving on this gods-damned island for six months, Jason. We thought at first, because we never came into the city, that you were doing deeds for the king. But we've now learned the truth, why there were no men on this island before we arrived."

A beautiful woman stepped out of the crowd next to Jason. "What are you talking about? Don't listen to him," she told Jason. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"You want to listen to our story first, Jason?" asked Theseus. "Would you rather trust some woman you met six months ago or your friends you have known for years?"

The son of Aeson hesitated. "Why are there no men on Lemnos?"

"Because they—" Heracles pointed at Hypsipyle "—murdered every single one of their husbands after they deserted them for Thracian women."

"We had good reason," Hypsipyle snarled. "Our husbands deserted us."

"And so you found it fitting to murder every single one of them?" Theseus growled. "I wouldn't think so. Come on, Jason. Let's get out of here."

Hypsipyle grabbed Jason's hand. "You cannot leave, Jason. What of our newborn?"

"Jason," Percy called. "The Quest for the Golden Fleece. The Argo. Remember Iolcus? Your throne? The one you wanted to get back?"

Hypsipyle growled in an unladylike way. "Kill those five intruders," she ordered, clearly agitated at our interruption of what seemed to be an important event.

Guards suddenly appeared behind them holding spears. They would have struck before any one of them would have had their weapons out when a lion suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of us protectively.

"What the—"

Percy stared at the animal incredulously, his friends almost ready to kill the beast. But Percy had this gut feeling...

"Wait!" he told his friends. "I don't think that's any wild animal."

"I said kill them!" Hypsipyle growled.

Hesitantly, the guards approached, and the lion roared. The lion swept at the guards, sending them flying across the room, both to opposite directions. The lion suddenly began shrinking until it was the size of a human, then it grew humanly features, turning into the one and only Periclymenus.

"I forgot to show you me gift, Percy," the young man said. "There you are. My gift from Poseidon, the blood of Pylos."

For a few seconds, everyone stared at Periclymenus in shock, not knowing he had those powers. Percy had his jaw dropped in shock. He remembered Periclymenus saying something about a special power, but he didn't expect it to be something as powerful as this.

"Jason, you must come back to the quest," Argus pleaded. "Remember Hera? The glory you will receive by her account will make you the most famous hero and king throughout all of Greece. The kings of the east will bow down before you. Think of what the Queen of the Gods can give you?"

"You risk death to gain popularity," Hypsipyle countered. "Stay here, and become known as the great king of Lemnos."

"If you do not come with us now, we will take the Argo and leave without you, without all of you!" Heracles threatened.

Jason's face suddenly seemed to snap out of a trance and darkened. "I must get back to my quest."

"But Jason—"

"Thank Aphrodite for making you fall in love with me," he regarded coldly. "Come, Argonauts. We have a journey to partake in!"

The men all cheered.

"It was a trance by Aphrodite." Percy cursed using the worst words he could think of. "The goddess of love, my arse."

"More like the goddess of annoyance and stupidity," Heracles muttered.

"You cannot leave!" Hypsipyle fell to her knees and begged for Jason to stay. "If you do, I will promise to send my army after you on your way back to your ship."

"Then we will have no choice but to burn this entire city down," the son of Aeson retorted.

They locked eyes with each other, both of them daring the other, when suddenly a hulking figure ran up and kicked Hypsipyle to the other side of the room. A ram went and knocked over the other women around.

"Let's go!" Theseus shouted and led the Argonauts out of the front door.

Percy ran up to Jason and tapped his shoulder, the son of Aeson looking at the crumpled body of Hypsipyle. "Come on, Jason. It will all be fine."

He looked down at his long-time friend. "I hope it will. And I'm sorry about my attitude. Aphrodite's influence. I may have dissed her a couple years ago."

"Well, then you're stupid. Let's go."

Jason nodded and ran out the doors to the throne room. Percy called for Heracles and Periclymenus to return, the latter a little bit tired. Together, with Atalanta and Argus, they ran down the palace steps and through the city, where the Argonauts were repelling raids of Lemnian militia.

"Faster! Faster!" Jason shouted.

Heracles caught up to Jason, grabbing the son of Aeson's shoulder. "When we get back to the ship, you have a lot of explaining to do."

The six of them pushed the Argonauts forward, Heracles checking the back to make sure no one attacked from that flank. They made their way to the Argo quickly, the Lemnians allowing them free passage after the damage done to their home. Quickly, Tiphys and Ancaeus got to the helm and ordered the crew to row backwards, to get the Argo off the beach.

Launch was quick, and in no time, they were out at sea.

As soon as they began sailing away from the island, Heracles came up to Jason and scowled. "What were you thinking back six months ago? Actually, what were you thinking your entire life? That Aphrodite thing must have meant that you've really pissed her off, if she doesn't want you to continue on your quest."

Jason kept calm, even under the intense stare of the much larger man. "I may have dissed her."

The son of Zeus snarled. "May have dissed her, my arse. You made us think that you had to serve the king of Lemnos to get the food. Only when the fourth month passed, we started getting suspicious. Then Argus says you paid him drachma to shut up about it. We bothered to sit back for another month before we come to find that there are only women on that island."

"I'm sorry," snapped an angry-looking son of Aeson. "It isn't my fault that the gods are temperamental!"

Heracles sneered at Jason before walking downstairs, most likely towards the kitchen and eating room.

Percy just shook his head at his friend. "You didn't have to be stupid back then and make fun of Aphrodite. The gods hear almost everything that includes their name. You should know that they believe they are the most powerful deities, thinking that all mortals are below their level. I forgive you, but we'd better not make the gods any more angry. It is winter now, and our journey will just be that much harder."

Jason nodded stiffly before walking to the side of the bireme and staring out into the water.

Argus patted my arm. "Come, Percy." The boy turned to the older man. "You should get some rest. You look very tired and the practice with controlling water must have worn down on you at least a little bit."

Percy rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms. "You're right, Argus. If anyone calls for me, tell them I am in my room."

Then the son of Poseidon trudged off to sleep, preparing for the dangers of the actual quest.

Hey everyone,

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above and if any historical facts are actually wrong. I have spent my time looking through different websites, and even a couple of books, but the story that will continue may have incorrect historical info. Still, I believe it just adds to the effect.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719