Warning: Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Magical Labyrinth' as well as the one shots 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Stolen Chariot' The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Sword of Hades', and The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Bronze Dragon' before reading this story as stuff that happened in them will be mentioned. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.

Sand Dollars Are Really Resourceful

Good thing there were hunters that knew about Bob, otherwise war would have broken out in front of the Empire State Building before the Titan army even got here.

We found thirty adolescent girls dressed almost the same clothes as Bianca but instead of black they had white shirts and silver camouflage pants and combat boots. They all had swords at their sides, quivers to their backs, and bows at ready. A pack of white timber wolves milled around their feet and many of the girls had hunting falcons on their arms.

The girl in the lead had spiky black hair and black leather jacket. She wore a silver circlet on her head like a princess' tiara, which didn't match her skull earrings or her Death to Barbie T-shirt showing a little Barbie doll with an arrow through its head.

"Thalia!" Annabeth cried when we saw our childhood friend and sister-figure.

The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis are here to report to duty."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said.

Thalia hugged Annabeth and me. Normally it wasn't allowed for the Hunters of Artemis to hug a male, but Thalia was practically my sister, and Artemis is lenient when it comes to family.

"I see your number of hunters has increased since the Battle of the Labyrinth," I said.

"You don't know the half of it," Bianca said, "By the way, Percy—what's Bob doing here?"

"It's a long story, but hopefully after Nico convince Hades to help in this war, Bob can go back," I responded.

Thalia stared at me with this tense electric blue eyes. Although I was just days away from being older than her, every time she gave me that look I felt like I was still the younger sibling.

"Percy, you seemed—different from last winter," Thalia said.

"I'll tell you later," I responded.

Argus was still waiting for us with his hundred eyes open. Mrs. O'Leary as pigging out at an overturned hot dog stand while the owner was curled up on the sidewalk, sucking his thumb. Bob was standing in front of the doors of the Empire State Building like a doorman.

"So what's the word?" Thalia asked. "I take it you weren't up there for a friendly visit."

Annabeth and I told her about what Hestia and Hermes told us. Argus rolled his eyes in disgust, which looked pretty psychedelic since his whole body swirl.

"You better go back to camp, Argus," I told him. "Guard it the best you can."

He pointed at me and raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"I'm staying," I said.

Argus nodded, like this satisfied him. He looked at Annabeth and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

"Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."

"For what?" I asked.

Argus rummaged around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Annabeth. It looked pretty much standard size—the same kind of round shield we always used in capture the flag. But when Annabeth set it on the ground, the reflection on the polish metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty—which wasn't anywhere close to us.

"Whoa," Thalia said.

"One of Daedalus' ideas," Annabeth said, "I had Beckendorf made it incase something like this happened. The shield bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun r moon, as long as natural lights is touching it."

"Resourceful," I agreed.

"Look," Annabeth sad.

We crowded around—which wasn't easy since there was now over seventy of us and most of the Hunters trying to not to get any closer to the male campers and Aphrodite's kids—as Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first. We were in the Central Park Zoo, then zooming down East 60th, past Bloomingdale's, then turning on Third Avenue.

"Whoa," Connor Stoll said. "Back up. Zoom in right there."

"What?" Annabeth said nervously. "You see invaders?"

"No, right there—Dylan's Candy Bar." Connor grinned at his brother. "Dude, it's open. And everybody is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

At this point Connor had thirty-one hunters glaring at him, but it was Katie that said something.

"Connor!" Katie scolded. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"

"Sorry," Connor muttered, but he didn't sound very ashamed.

Annabeth passed her hand in front of the shield, and another scene popped up: FDR Drive, looking across the river at Lighthouse Park.

"This will let us see what's going on across the city," she said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp… someday."

Argus grunted. He gave me a look that clearly meant Good luck; you'll need it, then climbed into his van. He and the two harpy drivers swerved away, weaving around clusters of idle cars that littered the road.

Pollux crouched next to a sleeping policeman. "I don't get it. Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"

"This is a huge spell," Silena Beauregard said. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist."

"Not to mention portion of Kronos' army are half-bloods," Thalia reminded us. "The spell must have been meant for mortals."

"Percy," Annabeth called. "You better see this."

The bronze image showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat was packed with demigods in full Greek armor. At the back of the lea boat, a purple banner emblazoned with a black scythe flapped in the night win. I'd never seen that design before, but it wasn't hard to figure out: the battle flag of Kronos.

"Scan the perimeter of the island," I said. "Quick."

Annabeth shifted the scene south to the harbor. A Staten Island Ferry was plowing through the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowded with dracaenae and a whole pack of hellhounds. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of telekhines—sea demons.

The scene shifted again: the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of stopped traffic: giants with clubs, rogue Cyclopes, a few fire-spitting dragons, and just to rub it in, a World War II—era Sherman tank, pushing cars out of its way as it rumbled into the tunnel.

"What's happening with the mortals outside New York?" I said. "Is the whole state asleep?"

Annabeth frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, it's mostly Manhattan that is totally asleep. It's like the whole city is in layers and Manhattan is the main focus. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running, really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is.

She showed me another scene—a New Jersey highway. It was Saturday evening, so the traffic wasn't as bad as it might've been on a weekday. But the drivers seemed to drowsy but still awake as their cars mvig at about one mile per hour. Birds flew overhead in slow motion.

"Kronos," I said. "He's slowing time."

"Hecate might be helping," Katie Gardner said. "Look how the cars are all veering away from City Exits, like they're getting a subconscious message to turn back."

"I don't know," Annabeth sounded frustrated. She hated not knowing. "We shouldn't expect any help coming in though."

I turned to my friends. The Campers looked stunned and scare, and I couldn't blame them. The shield had shown us at least three hundred enemies on the way. There were over seventy of us. And there was no telling when Chiron would get here or how many nature spirits would listen to Grover.

"All right," I said. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

Silena tugged her armor. "Um Percy. Manhattan is huge."

"We have too," Thalia said. "As for the moment, we're the only ones who can."

"The gods of the wind should keep Kronos' forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault," Annabeth said, "We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

"They have boats," Michael Yew pointe out.

I remembered Athena's advice: Remember the Rivers. And I still had two of my sanddollars.

"I'll take care of the boats," I said as I patted my pocket, "Hopefully Grover got some Nature Spirits to help defend the parks, and Bob will protect Olympus from here. So that leaves us the bridges and tunnels since they're the most direct route to the Empire State building. Beckendorf, did you bring enough Myrmekes Gunk for each cabin to use?"

"Right here," Beckendorf patted the bag he brought.

"Then hand one to each Cabin Counsellor and to Thalia," I said.

Beckendorf nodded and started handing each one out.

"Phew! This stuff reek," Michael said, "No wonder monsters ignored you and Beckendorf on Kronos' ship."

"It's also dangerous and right now Impossible to get, so use it wisely," Beckendorf reminded him.

"Thalia, you think you and the hunters can slow down a Sherman Tank?" I asked.

Thalia snorted. "Nothing worth trying!"

"Great! Then you and the Hunters take the Lincoln Tunnel," I responded, "Michael, take Apollo's Cabin to the Williamsburg Brige. Katie take Demeter Cabin to take the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes, poison ivy, and any vine plants in the tunnel to keep the enemy there! Connor, take half of Hermes Cabin over to the Manhattan Bridge. Travis you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting and pillaging!"

"Awwww!" the whole Hermes cabin complained.

"Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to Queens-Midtown Tunnel."

"Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy."

I wanted to protest since we had Myrmekes gunk, but I remembered what Beckendorf said about the stuff being impossible to get.

"Alright, if you think the Perfumes would work, get some as well, just leave cash behind," I said. "In fact, if any of you find some Perfumes or colognes or anything strong scented stuff that might disrupt the monsters, grab them and leave cash so we can make the Myrmekes gunk last."

Six of Aphrodite girls stopped listening after I gave them okay as the screech and started kissing me on the chees in excitement.

"Alright, enough!" I closed my eyes, trying to think what I've forgotten. "The Holland Tunnel. Beckenndorf, take Hephaestus there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got."

Beckendorf grunted in approval.

"The 59th Street Bridge—Annabeth—" I said.

"Malcolm, take the Athena Cabin," Annabeth stepped in. "Activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."

"You got it," Malcolm said.

"I'll go with Percy," Annabeth said. "Then we'll join you, or we'll wherever we're neede.

Somebody in the back of the group said. "No detours, you two."

There were some giggles, but I decided to let it pass.

"Percy, what about us?" Castor asked as he and Pollux were ready for battle.

I thought for a bit. What can the two sons of Dionysus can do? I turned to Mrs. O'Leary.

I whistle for her and Mrs. O'Leary. She came bounding over.

"Hey, girl," I said. "You remember Grover? The satyr we met in the park?"

"WOOF!"

I hoped that meant Sure I do! And not, Do you have more hot dogs?

"Okay… Castor Pollux, I want you two to go with Mrs. O'Leary and find Grover," I said, "Help him with anything he might need. Chances are he'll need help holding some of the parks."

"Right!" Both said.

"You hear that, Mrs. O'Leary," I said. "You good with helping the Dionysus twins!"

Mrs. O'Leary gave me a sloppy wet kiss, which seemed kind of unnecessary.

"What about me?" Bob asked.

"I want you to stay here and guard this building, Bob," I said, "Unless you see one of us, or with Mrs. O'Leary, or with Chiron, you don't let anyone through."

"Right!" Bob responded.

"Alright, now how to contact each other," I said. "Everyone knows Annabeth's number right? If you have to pick up a random phone and call us. Use in once, drop it, then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you."

The campers grinned as they liked the idea. The hunters didn't say anything about the idea, so I guess they approved it as well.

"Listen guys, I appreciate all of you coming here tonight. We been through a lot more these past four years than we have the nine years I been a camper with you guys. Zeus' Master Bolt and Hades' Helm being stolen, Thalia's tree being poisoned and issuing the quest for the Golden Fleece, Lady Artemis being captured and held by the Titan Atlas, Zoë Nightshade giving her life and giving approval of the Campers and Hunters alliance, and of course the Battle of the Labyrinth. And despite all that, we're still standing. We're still fighting. We're still a family. Even though the prophecy says a child of the Big Three would die hopefully as a hero, if you asked me, we're all great heroes just for fighting for Olympus! So let's show Kronos what Campers of Camp Half-Blood and Hunters of Artemis can do! Let's show all the gods of Olympus what Great Heroes can do! For Olympus!"

"For Olympus!" Everyone cheered.

…

Maybe sending the Dionysus' twins with Mrs. O'Leary wasn't my brightest idea.

Annabeth and I would've had our pick of cars, but they were all wedged in bumper-to-bumper traffic. None of the engines were running, which was weird. I guess Hecate use her magic to have the mortals turn off the ignition before falling asleep, or Morpheus had the power to put engines to sleep as well. Most of the drivers had apparently tried to pull to the curb when they felt themselves passing out, but still the streets were too clogged to navigate.

Finally, we found an unconscious courier leaning against a brick wall, still straddling his red Vespa. We dragged him off the scooter and laid him on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, dude," I said. With any luck, I'd be able to bring his scooter back. If I didn't, it wouldn't hardly matter, because the city would be destroyed.

I drove with Annabeth behind me, holding on to my waist. We zigzagged down Broadway with our engine buzzing through the eerie calm. The only sounds were occasional cellphone ringing—like they were calling out to each other, as if New York had turned into a giant electronic aviary.

Our progress was slow. Every so often we'd come across pedestrians who'd fallen asleep right in front of a car, and we'd moved them just to be safe. Once we stopped to extinguish a pretzel vendor's cart that had caught on fire. A few minutes later we had to rescue a baby carriage that was rolling aimlessly down the street. It turned out there was no baby in it—just somebody's sleeping poodle. Go figure. We packed it safely in a doorway and kept driving.

We were passing Madison Square Park when Annabeth said, "Pull over."

I stopped in the middle of East 23rd. Annabeth jumped off and ran toward the park. By the time I caught up with her, she was staring at a bronze statue on a red marble pedestal.

The dude was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. He wore an old-fashioned suit—Abraham Lincoln style—with a bow tie and long coattails and stuff. A bunch of bronze books were piled under his chair. He held a writing quill in one hand and a big metal sheet of parchment in the other.

I tried to read the pedestal, which took a while with my Dyslexia. "William H. Seward—hey, wasn't he a minor demigod?"

"Yeah, of Hebe," Annabeth replied, "But we're here for the statue."

She climbed on the park bench and examined the base of the statue.

"Don't tell me he's an automaton," I said.

Annabeth smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army."

"To attack Olympus or defend it?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Either one. That was plan twenty-three. He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. It's dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are."

"Uh-huh," I said. We'd had our share of bad experience with them. I also remember the Robert E. Lee statue in Virginia turning out to be an Automaton. "Is it possible Daedalus had Automatons in other cities even outside the state of New York in case of something like this—like say Richmond Virginia?"

"Maybe, if he needed a major army," Annabeth said before giving me a questioning look. "Why do you ask? And why you mention Richmond Virginia?"

"No reason," I replied quickly. "So—how do we turned it on?"

"I think I can… Ah, here we go."

She pressed the tip of Seward's boot and the statue stood up, its quill and paper ready.

"Hello, William," Annabeth greeted.

"Bill," I suggested.

"Bill… oh shut up," Annabeth told me. The statue tilted its head, looking at us with blank metal eyes.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hello, er, Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."

Seward jumped off his pedestal. He hit the ground so hard his shoes cracked the sidewalk. Then he went clanking off east.

"He's probably going to wake up Confucius," Annabeth guessed. "Hopefully they will defend Manhattan."

Then a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky. Greek fire, somewhere over the East River.

"We have to hurry," I said. And we ran for the Vespa.

We parked outside Battery Park, at the lower tip of Manhattan where the Hudson and East River came together and emptied into the bay.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh yeah, River Spirits will do anything for Sand Dollars," I said, "Just wait here!"

I clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water.

Just for you non-sea-god types out there, don't go swimming in New York Harbor. It may not be as filthy as it was in my mom's day, but it's still dangerous if you're not careful.

I dove into the murk and sank to the bottom. I tried to find the spot where the two rivers' met to form the bay.

I shouted in my best underwater voice. "Hey Hudson River Spirit, East River Spirit, I got two sand dollars for payment if you both do me a huge favor!"

I didn't have to wait long for a response. Two giant forms appeared in front of me. At first they were just brown columns of silt, denser than the water around them. Then they grew legs and greedy faces. Oh yeah, this will work.

The creature on the left—the direction of the East River—looked disturbingly like a telekhines. His face was wolfish. His body was vaguely like a seal's—sleek black with flipper hands and feet. His eyes glowed radiant green.

The dude on the right—the direction of the Hudson River—was more humanoid. He was dressed in rags and seaweed, with a chain-mail coat made of bottle caps and old plastic six-pack holders. His face was blotchy with algae, and his beard was overgrown. His deep blue eyes were full of greed.

"You got sand dollars for us kid?" the East River spirit asked.

I held out two sand dollars. "Only if you help me out first. Kronos' army is invading Manhattan!"

"Don't you think we know that?" East asked. "I can feel his boats right now. They're almost across."

"Yep," Hudson agreed. "I got some filthy monsters crossing my waters too."

"That's why I'm here," I said, "In return for these sand dollars, I want you to stop Kronos' army from crossing your rivers as well as keep them away from Manhattan."

East and Hudson looked at me.

"You're a son of Poseidon, right?" East asked.

"That's right, so do we have a deal?" I asked.

East flicked his hand. "The invaders got sunk."

Hudson snapped his fingers. "Bunch of Hellhounds just took a dive."

I happily paid them for their efforts. "Thank you for your service," I said, "Stay clean."

As I rose I could hear them talk.

"Oh, man," Hudson whimpered, "It's been so long since I was clean."

"The power of Poseidon," East River murmured. "He's a jerk, but he sure knows how to sweep pollution away."

Both River spirits dissolve into the water.

…

Back on shore, Annabeth was talking on her cellphone, but she hung up as soon as she saw me. She looked pretty shaken."

"The rivers are safe," I said, "What happened?"

"Michael Yew just called," Annabeth replied, "Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help. And Percy, the monster leading the enemy… it's the Minotaur."