Supreme Commander Leo Valdez was back in action, sailing the seven seas and riding the monstrous waves, crossing thousands of nautical miles with the finest crew that had ever dared these treacherous waters. He was their captain, their infallible leader manning the helm. The dangers of this ocean were no match for Leo Valdez–

  “Hey, Repair Boy!” Clarisse’s distant shout cut through his thoughts. “Come here and take a look at this.”

  With a sigh, Leo dragged himself off the railing. It’s not as if there was anything to look at; for the past hours, it had been the same constant view of flowing waves and open ocean. He went below deck, ignoring the dead Confederates who stared at his every move. The zombies had proved themselves to be harmless, but Leo still found them very unnerving. At least they liked that he was from Texas.

  As he walked down the stairs, Leo heard the boilers and engine huff and groan, and couldn’t help but cringe. Those were never good noises to hear from a machine, and even though it physically hurt Leo to listen to it struggle, he had already done all he could. The CCS Birmingham was an old ship; an ironclad Civil War battle cruiser. It wasn’t meant for the deep waters of the Atlantic.

  Now, if Leo had known telling this to Clarisse would make her bring him along as her mechanic, he probably wouldn’t have brought it up.

  In the engine room, the self-proclaimed captain was waiting for him. “Is that supposed to be shaking so much, Valdez?”

  Leo only needed a quick glance at the machinery to tell. “There’s too much strain on the pistons. Again, this ship’s not meant for deep waters.”

  Clarisse crossed her arms defiantly. Being named captain of the ship by the ghost crew only fueled her pride and commanding spirit. “Well, can you fix it?”

  Leo tried not to roll his eyes, since Clarisse could be very intimidating when she wanted to be. Which was always, of course.

  “I’ve already adjusted the engine and boiler for the depth. There’s only so much I can do.” Leo explained. “It should hold for the time being.”

  “It’d better.” The daughter of Ares grumbled.

  After she skulked away, doing her best impression of the Grinch, Leo focused on the hum of the ship’s engine. It was haphazard and shaky, but if Leo closed his eyes, he could imagine himself in the Argo II’s engine room. The countless sleepless nights with just the mechanical rhythmic thrum to keep him company flashed vividly in his mind.

  It was kind of weird to be nostalgic about their journey, each chaotic and life-threatening twist and turn. But being on a ship again was still satisfying. Leo reached out and placed his hand on the hot engine, feeling the mechanisms inside shifting and moving. Predictable, constant, and comforting. Machines were always more comfortable to be around than people…

  The tapping on metal alerted Leo of someone walking into the room. “What is it now…?”

  “Calm down, it’s me.” Leo turned around to find Piper, looking effortlessly regal as always. “Clarisse’s done a number on you, huh?”

  “Can’t you tell her to cut me some slack? She’ll listen to you.”

  Piper scoffed, but Leo knew she couldn’t deny it. It’s how she got on the quest, after all. Piper had that effect on people, and Leo wasn’t sure when it started happening, but regardless of charmspeak, Piper always seemed to be the center of attention. Which she was clearly less than thrilled about.

  Though, Leo owed her after she joined the quest so he didn’t have to be alone with Clarisse, so he decided not to voice that thought. “Any news from Percy and Annabeth?”

  “They’re at Chesapeake Bay.” His best friend responded casually. “And they could use a pickup. I told Clarisse, and we’re heading there now.”

  “I told you so.”

  She ignored him. “Come on up. We’ll be there soon.”

  Leo, Piper, and Clarisse stood on the deck as they reached Chesapeake Bay. They rounded the northern tip of Virginia Beach and went into the bay, a swampy area choked with marsh grass. At the end of the water, they found Percy and Annabeth waiting for them.

  Tyson was with them too, and he had a box of powdered donuts. Leo didn’t know where they came from, but they tasted good, so he wasn’t complaining.

  Clarisse sent death glares worthy of Ares at the new arrivals, so Leo tried to be the mediator by offering her a donut. “Come on, Clarisse. They brought snacks! That’s good enough, right?”

  She glowered at the pastry, refusing to take it. Leo sighed and ate it himself.

  “You are in so much trouble.” Clarisse spat at Percy and Annabeth. “Tantalus expelled you for eternity. Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he’ll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV.”

  Percy looked unfazed, waving to Leo and Piper as he looked around. “Nice ship, by the way.”

  “My father gave it to me.” The daughter of Ares sneered. “These spirits are cursed for being defeated in war, so they're under his servitude. Which means they’re under my command, and they’ll do anything I tell them.”

  Clarisse probably meant it as a threat, but Percy just nodded. “Cool. So, how are you guys doing?”

  “Well, y’know.” Piper shrugged. “It’s not the best I’ve been on, but it’s pretty cool anyway.”

  “I’ll bet.” Annabeth agreed, and Leo grinned proudly as they exchanged inside looks. “With all of us here, we can–”

  Clarisse suddenly slammed her hand on the table, causing Tyson to yelp and drop his donut. “There is no we. This is my quest. I’m going to be the hero, and you two will not steal my chance!”

  “Clarisse, listen. Luke’s after the Fleece, too.” Annabeth placatingly reasoned. “He’s got the coordinates and he’s heading south with a cruise ship–”

  “Good! I’ll blow him out of the water.”

  Percy looked like he wanted to throw his donut at Clarisse. “You don’t understand. We have to join forces–”

  “Shut up, Prissy! I don’t need you.” Clarisse seethed. “I don’t care what the Oracle–”

  She stopped herself, and Percy suddenly looked suspiciously sorry for her. Leo didn’t know why. Clarisse didn’t reveal her prophecy to him, but clearly, it wasn’t anything good.

  Piper placed a hand on Clarisse’s shoulder, and the tension in the room lowered significantly. “Clarisse, we’re all here to help. No one’s going to ‘steal your quest’.”

  “Hmph.” Clarisse settled back, still trying to burn everything with her gaze. “Whatever. I’m going to finish this quest, not you.”

  Leo sighed in relief. “Alright. So, who wants the last donut?”

  Piper woke up with a scream building in her throat.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Annabeth in the hammock next to her and managed to catch herself in time. She tried to keep quiet and calm down, but her breaths were too loud and her heart felt like it could wake the whole ship up with its pounding.

  It sucked that Piper couldn’t charmspeak herself into calming down. She had to fight her panic down with sheer will alone, trying to push away the image of her nightmare.

  It was a terrifying dream, but not a new one. Piper had relived the memory of watching her siblings be wiped out by Periboa, the giant bane of Aphrodite, who clearly had a score to settle with her. Lacy, Mitchell, and even Drew were all cut down by the giant’s hunting knife as Periboa fought tooth and nail to get to Piper and gut her like a kebab.

  In her nightmare, her dying siblings seemed to be reaching toward her. ‘ Why didn’t you save us?’, they seemed to be asking. ‘Why couldn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you stop her?’ And all she could do was turn away from them and run, fleeing the giantess.

  With a soft groan, Piper got up from her hammock. She wasn’t going to get any sleep anytime soon. She wandered sleepily through the crowded sleeping decks until she got to the galley. Fortunately, the dead sailors had kept the ship tidy. Piper remembered the time Jason had woken up the rest of the ship with the clattering of falling armor and a yelp of surprise.

  She entered the ship’s kitchen groggily, managed to find the electric kettle, and started making a cup of cocoa all while still half-asleep.

  “Couldn’t sleep either?” A slightly croaky voice interrupted her absentminded process.

  Piper turned and found Percy next to her, a cup of hot chocolate in his hand.

  “Nope.” Her voice came out way raspier than Piper expected, and she cleared her throat and repeated herself. “Nightmares, like always. You?”

  Percy smiled faintly. “My brother kinda snores.”

  She nodded in understanding, sitting down next to him. They didn’t speak much, simply drinking in solidarity. The room was comfortably silent.

  The silence was broken when Leo arrived, who didn’t look surprised to see them there. He joined them with his instant coffee and began tinkering with a mess of wires, gears, and metal circles.

  “Your brother’s got skills, Perce.” Leo’s hands flew back and forth rapidly from the cup to the unfinished machine. “The shield he’s working on—that’s no small feat, even for me.”

  He stopped suddenly, hands freezing for a moment. “Wait, that’s supposed to be a secret.”

  “I already knew.” Percy reassured him.

  “Oh. Good.” Leo reached for his coffee again, but Piper snatched it away.

  “Valdez, you do not need more caffeine.” She scolded. “You should be trying to sleep.”

  “Hey!” Leo whined. “I need that to work! This is important.”

  Annabeth chose to appear at that moment, rubbing her eyes as she walked into the galley. “Sleep is important too, Leo.”

  “Literally none of us are asleep.” He pointed out, but another pointed look finally made him set his hands down.

  Piper poured Annabeth a cup of cocoa as her friend grabbed a bottle of whipped cream. Percy looked betrayed. “We had that this whole time and you never told me?”

  “Oh, calm down.” Annabeth snickered, sitting next to him. “I’ll let you have your turn.”

  As Annabeth and Percy competed on who could make the tallest whipped cream mountain, Piper studied the thing Leo was tinkering with. “What is that, anyway?”

  Leo, having settled for hot chocolate after losing his coffee, paused mid-drink. “It’s an Archimedes control sphere.”

  Piper nodded like she knew what that meant. She did remember Leo’s spheres, but honestly had little idea what they did or what he used them for. Leo must have realized this since he kept explaining.

  “It can do all sorts of things if I can get it right. Tyson helped a little with the wiring, by the way.”

  Percy perked up at the mention of Tyson. There was a ring of whipped cream around his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice. “Wait, I thought you had made these like, a hundred times.”

  “Basic spheres, not control spheres.” Leo corrected. “Once I finish this one, I can link it with a bunch of little spheres and use them as all kinds of fun gadgets. The possibilities are endless if I can utilize this one sphere as a hub—like a WiFi router.”

  Piper and Percy exchanged blank faces, but Annabeth nodded as if she understood. “You used the one you found in Rome last time.”

  “Yup. Never had a chance to completely copy it, so now I’m struggling on these concentric circles.” Leo gestured to a part in his machine, which looked no different than any of the mechanical jargon in Piper’s perspective, but apparently, it was significant. “One wrong angle and activating it would make it go boom.”

  “Tyson can definitely help you with that.” Annabeth hummed. “He’s very good at these delicate types.”

  Percy yawned loudly, immediately causing Piper to yawn too. “This is all…very interesting.”

  “You don’t have to pretend, Seaweed Brain.” Annabeth leaned on his shoulder, and he obligingly rested his head on hers. Piper cooed at the sight while Leo cringed in faux disgust.

  “So, since we’re all here,” Piper said. “What do we have to watch out for in the Sea of Monsters?”

  Obligingly, Annabeth gave them a rundown of what they had to deal with this time. If they could get past Charybdis and Scylla, they would have to go through the Sirens and Circe’s Island. “That’s where Reyna and Hylla are.”

  “Should we get them out?” Leo suggested, looking slightly nervous. Reyna had never liked him, after all.

  “It’s the least we can do.” Annabeth tapped her fingers on the table, eyebrows knitting together. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out even if we don’t, but since we have to wreck their home in the process–”

  Piper started, wondering if she heard that right. “Back up. We’re doing what?”

  “We had no choice,” Annabeth explained. “Percy got turned into a guinea pig, and I had to set the pirates free to turn him back.”

  “I understood nothing except that Percy turned into a guinea pig.” Leo raised an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with pirates?”

  Percy groaned. “I thought we agreed not to bring that up.”

  “Too late. I’ve got to hear this.” Piper decided.

  It was going to be a long night before they entered the Sea of Monsters.

  The alarm bells rang in the middle of Annabeth’s lecture on Polyphemus’ human-eating sheep. A ghostly figure appeared at the door to get them. Piper didn’t know how the skeleton knew where they were, but they were soon ushered above deck. Percy warned them to grab everything that they needed, and Piper didn’t have to think too hard to understand why.

  They gathered upstairs with matching bags under their eyes. They were all used to sleepless nights; it wouldn’t hinder them the slightest, though it made Piper a little sad.

  Percy breathed in deeply. “We’re in the saltwater ocean now. Man, that feels good.”

  “Glad someone’s happy, at least.” Annabeth frowned, gazing through the hazy and humid air.

  Dark fuzzy splotches in the distance slowly focused, revealing a storm made of boiling waters and darkness that battered a huge rock face with cliffs scraping the heavens. The sky and sea swarmed together into a roaring mass.

  “Is that a hurricane?” Leo squinted.

  “No. Charybdis.” Clarisse came up the stairs, looking frazzled. Something told Piper it wasn’t because of the storm. The girl grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the maelstrom. “Captain, full steam ahead!”

  Leo looked at her incredulously. “You’re crazy. We’re going through that ?”

  “Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla.” Clarisse gestured at the top of the cliffs. “We have to sail through them.”

  “What about the Clashing Rocks?” Annabeth countered. “Jason used it.”

  Piper looked at the violent whirlpool and daunting cliffs. “I think I’d prefer that over this.”

  “I can’t blow apart rocks with my cannons.” Clarisse snorted. “Monsters, on the other hand…”

  “We can make it through the Clashing Rocks,” Annabeth insisted. “This ship is magical, faster than any mortal ship. It’ll make it through.”

  The self-proclaimed captain glared at her. “This is my ship, and my quest. I call the shots. Set course for Charybdis!”

  “Aye, m’lady.”

  Annabeth tried to protest, but Clarisse pointedly ignored her in favor of ranting. “Charybdis just sits there at the center of her whirlwind. We’re going to steam straight toward her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus!”

  With that rousing speech, the sailors rushed to their places, and the engine began to groan. Tyson whimpered as the iron plating rattled. “Engine’s no good. Too much pressure.”

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  “I know, big guy. I know.” Leo muttered, casting nervous looks to the stairs.

  Piper couldn’t help but shudder as the roar of Charybdis grew louder and louder, sounding horribly like a giant toilet being flushed as water and debris sloshed around the funneling swirl of mist and smoke. She didn’t want to see what was in the middle of the hurricane.

  She glanced to the left of the maelstrom. If they were to avoid Charybdis, they’d have to skirt right along Scylla’s mountain. “Why don’t we just hunker down below deck and go past Scylla?”

  Percy sighed as if he had heard the same question before. “If Scylla doesn’t get the demigod snacks that she wants, she might just pick the whole boat up.”

  “What if we leave the zombies up here? I don’t think anyone’s mourning a couple of them lost.”

  “Scylla wants fresh meat, not ghostly skeletons.” Percy frowned. “I think, anyway. As much as I hate it, Charybdis might be our best choice.”

  Charybdis was still around a mile away, but the ship still shuddered and lurched forward as the monster inhaled. Piper thought she could see tiny jagged figures that looked suspiciously like teeth in the middle of the whirlpool. The ship rumbled and creaked as it moved past the swirling waves.

  “Percy–” Piper stopped herself when she saw her friend.

  Percy had his arms outstretched, face tightened with focus. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his legs trembled just as much as the ship. As Charybdis exhaled and sent the high tide at them, the ensuing wave parted around the CCS Birmingham.

  “He’s keeping the ship together as long as possible.” Annabeth explained, her hands gripping the railing tightly. “Clarisse is too stubborn to listen to reason, so we just have to make dodue with what we have.”

  Leo shook his head. “It won’t be enough. The ship won’t make it in through if the pistons aren’t recalibrated.”

  Charybdis’ mighty mouth flushed with a great roar, and the ship tipped forward with a sudden lurch. Percy grunted loudly and the boat stabilized, pulling back. “We’re in the whirlpool!”

  They were now in the toilet bowl. The sea churned violently, splashing water onto the deck. The seas roared and the skies rumbled. The boiler below deck began to heat up so much Piper could feel it on the iron plating beneath her feet.

  “Full reverse!” Clarisse screamed over the crashing waves. “Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!”

  The propellor switched into reverse as dead Confederates rushed back and forth. The ship pulled against the whirlpool with all it had, but was still slowly and surely sliding into the vortex. The ship’s deck grew so hot it began to steam, and Leo seemed to notice as he glanced worryingly at the hold.

  “The boiler room is going to overheat!” He cursed. “I’ve got to get down there.”

  “It’s too dangerous!” Annabeth protested. “If the ship blows, then–”

  Tyson stumbled forward to stand next to Leo. “It is okay, Annabeth. I will go with him. We can fix it.”

  Annabeth only seemed more panicked, and she looked at Piper for support. Piper glanced at Percy, who was in no shape to chime in. She hesitated, trying to think over the chaotic noise, but it didn’t take long for Leo to decide for her.

  “This is the only way.” His face tightened in determination. “Let’s go, Tyson!”

  They rushed below deck, and Piper felt her mouth dry despite the humid air. “It’ll be okay. They’re immune to fire. They’ll be fine.”

  Annabeth ran a hand through her hair, distressed. Piper moved closer to her friend, repeating her reassurances in her ear, trying to calm them both down.

  Her voice faltered when she saw Charybdis, the black hole in the middle of the water. Its enormous mouth with slimy lips and slick jaws gnawed at the waves, her teeth connected by bands of corroded scummy metal with pieces of fish and garbage stuck between them.

  Clearly, monsters did not brush their teeth. Sharks, fish, and squids were sucked into the void, and Piper prayed to her mother that they would not be next.

  “Lady Clarisse,” The captain shouted. “Starboard and forward guns are in range!”

  “Fire!”

  The cannons fired their rounds into the monster’s maw, doing their best damage. But other than a chipped tooth or two, Charybdis didn’t seem bothered by any of the celestial bronze cannonballs, even when three rounds disappeared into her gullet. The waves hungrily pulled them closer and closer to the void.

  “We’re too close!” Piper screamed. “Pull away!”

  The engine hummed steadily. Percy clenched his hands and pulled like he was yanking on a rope, and the ship shuddered. The ironclad started moving away from the mouth.

  “Stay in range!” Clarisse ordered. “Keep firing!”

  Annabeth’s face was pale and sweaty, but Piper could still see her mind working as her eyes flashed back and forth. “This won’t work. We need to hit Charybids a hundred more times to do real damage, maybe more.”

  Leo suddenly ran up to them out of nowhere, his clothes ablaze. “We’re doing all that we can, but I don’t know how much longer we have! It’s taking everything for us to just stay in place, and not get pulled in!”

  “Pulled in…” Annabeth muttered, and Piper could just see the light bulb go off.

  “You have a plan?”

  “Sort of.” Her friend grimaced. “Leo, are you sure you can’t get us out of the whirlpool?”

  “Sorry, Annabeth. We’re sitting ducks out here.”

  “Then we have no choice.” Annabeth’s face hardened. “This ship won’t survive if Charybdis spits everything out. I know from experience. We only have one option.”

  Leo stared at her, horrified. “Wait, you’re not saying–”

  “Leo, go back and help Tyson keep the engine alive, as long as possible! Go!” Annabeth ordered.

  Leo looked like she had just told him to die, which Piper supposed wasn’t too far off. Still, the son of Hephaestus nodded shakily and ran below decks. Meanwhile, Piper turned to her friend with disbelieving eyes.

  “You’re not serious, are you? We’re not going to survive going in there!” Piper pointed wildly at Charybdis’ bottomless maw.

  Annabeth grabbed Percy’s hand. “Percy! Send us into Charybdis!”

  Percy’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused and confused. “ What?!”

  “Trust me!”

  It only took a moment. Piper couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly Percy agreed, at how much faith he had in his girlfriend. Annabeth gave him a quick kiss and ran to Clarisse, and Piper closely followed her.

  “Are you sure about this?” She asked.

  “It’s our best bet.”

  Piper took a deep breath and managed a weak smile. “Only a fool would bet against you.”

  The ship lunged forward, nearly throwing them all to the deck floor. Clarisse stumbled toward them, and Piper and Annabeth just managed to catch her as she fell.

  “Change of plans, Clarisse! We’re heading into her mouth!” Annabeth yelled.

  Clarisse threw their arms off her, getting to her feet. “Excuse me?!”

  “It’s our only chance!” Piper pleaded, using her charmspeak. She didn’t want to use it on friends and allies, but they had no time. “If we don’t take this risk, we’re all going to die!”

  The daughter of Ares’ eyes went unfocused, and after a moment of internal conflict, she growled angrily. “You better have a good plan, Wise Girl!”

  “Captain! Full steam ahead! We’re going in!” She commanded, her war-like voice cutting through all the background noise.

  “Aye!” The ghost sailor affirmed. “Men, prepare yourself for death!”

  The ship began to tilt forward, barely missing Charybdis’ teeth as they drifted in between them and entered her jaws. They chugged under her massive braces and soon, the dark gullet was right ahead. With a groan, the CCS Birmingham started to tip into the slope.

  “Percy!” Annabeth yelled. “Protect the ship!”

  And then they fell into a nose dive, sliding down the monster’s gullet into oblivion.

  Frank jolted awake, the feeling of plummeting into the sheer darkness rapidly vanishing. He breathed deeply, shaking off the panic.

  He managed to regain his senses enough to think. It had been a while since he had gotten such a useful dream. Usually, it was just bad memories amplified to eleven. Though, he wasn’t sure if this was better.

  Annabeth had a plan, at least. It wasn’t as if Frank could help his friends all the way from here, so he could only hope they could pull through, just like they had so many times before.

  Frank shuddered, chills running up his skin as he remembered the image. The view of what seemed to be an eternal void inside Charybdis was downright horrifying, and he couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be to actually be there. So despite himself, Frank could feel the doubt creeping in. Could his friends really find a way out of that ?

  No, they could. Frank had to believe them, he had to trust them just like how Piper, Leo, and Percy trusted Annabeth. If anyone could return from that darkness, it was them.

  He got up and started his day. Frank went on his morning run with Jason, explaining his dream to him. They tried Iris-Messaging their friends, hoping what Frank had seen had already been resolved, but no luck; they couldn’t contact them. So after making sure to fill in Hazel on what just happened, Frank went into legionary training and tried to clear his mind.

  As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, it was Friday, which meant the legion would hold war games, specifically deathball. Frank actually enjoyed war games most of the time, but he disliked deathball with a passion. Instead of using paintballs, Camp Jupiter used a variety of projectiles that burned, poisoned, or exploded on impact. It did wonders to make campers take the game seriously.

  Serious injury was a common prospect in deathball games. Deathball taught legionnaires teamwork and cohesion under fire. It also favored stealth and strategy. Bunkers, structures, and obstacles littered the Field of Mars, providing cover and bases for campers to take advantage of.

  “Incoming! Take cover!” Jason called, and the Fifth Cohort scattered as they tried to find something to protect themselves from the onslaught of fire and acid. “Hold your position!”

  Frank gripped his modified paintball gun tightly. He pictured his father, Mars, holding his trademarked rocket launcher. He remembered his mother bringing him to the firing range for practice (Frank had stubbornly insisted on using his bow instead).

  He aimed carefully at the legionnaires twenty feet away from them, trying not to flinch at their fire. It was the First Cohort, but Frank didn’t see Octavian among their ranks. The little weasel was probably hiding somewhere.

  “Fire!” Jason ordered, and they all began rapidly pulling their triggers in sync.

  They were still Romans. They fought as one unit, not as independent pieces. But even though they tried their best, Frank could see many in the Fifth Cohort be downed in the fierce firefight, as fire and acid corroded away at their armor.

  Frank ducked back as a fireball sailed over his head. Next to him, Gwendolyn cursed in Latin. “We’re losing. Fifth Cohort, pull back!”

  “You heard her!” Jason shouted. “ Retraho! ”

  The Fifth began to scramble into a hasty retreat, trying to make distance from their foes. Frank covered his teammates, his marksman skills coming in handy. He hit at least four enemies as they backed up further into the Field of Mars.

  It wouldn’t be enough. They were losing too many people and too much ground. Frank glanced to his left, analyzing the line of structures. Measuring the distance in his head, Frank thought that might be a protected path he could use to sneak around. He’d have to be quick and lucky, but…

  “Centurion!” Frank called, and both Jason and Gwen turned to him. “I think I can lead a force to attack them from behind!”

  He pointed to his left, explaining his plan. Gwen shook her head. “You’ll never make it! There’s not enough cover.”

  “I’ll need a distraction.” Frank agreed. “Jason?”

  “Done.” His friend immediately nodded. “They won’t notice you.”

  Gwen narrowed her eyes at the two of them, gauging their confidence. “Who will you take?”

  Frank shrugged “Whoever’s willing.”

  “You’ll have to go a long way around.” Their centurion mused. “Even if you get behind them, you’ll still need to be a fair distance away to not be noticed.”

  She was right, Frank realized. The First Cohort undoubtedly had people keeping an eye out on their edges. “I’ll need people with good aim, then.”

  Gwen nodded, seemingly deciding to go with his plan. “Take Lavinia. She a good shot with her manubalista.”

  Frank nodded, knowing who she was talking about. Not many legionnaires used the heavy crossbow as their main weapon, after all. He found the pink-haired girl hiding behind a bunker, much to her dismay. But to her credit and his surprise, after explaining to her the job, she chewed her gum nervously and agreed to help.

  Jason began to kick up a storm, a harmless but flashy light show. Thunder boomed and the wind tossed dirt into the faces of the First Cohort. Lightning crackled up above as Frank and Lavinia sprinted around the battle.

  “Quickly!” He hissed, making it to the next bunker.

  She gasped for breath, fighting to not get left behind. “How much farther?”

  “Almost there!”

  Frank went through his mental calculations as they rounded the First Cohort’s right flank. “Here! Get down!”

  He and Lavinia slid behind a stone wall, and Frank breathed a sigh of relief. They were in the perfect position; about 100 feet behind the First Cohort’s rear, with none the wiser. Lavinia peeked over their cover and her eyes widened. “This is perfect.”

  “Fire when ready.” He said, aiming his rifle.

  She nodded, and they launched their ambush. Cries of surprise and pain immediately sounded from the First as acid and fire projectiles flew into their back rank. A high-pitched shriek notified Frank that Octavian had been hit, which made him grin.

  Seeing this, a battle cry went up in the Fifth, and they began to charge with renewed effort. The First were disorganized and confused, trying to figure out where the attacks were coming from. They never had a chance.

  The battle was mayhem. The Centurion of the First was yelling at the top of his lungs, but no one would listen. They were too busy trying not to get incinerated or blasted, and the cohort fell apart in moments. Frank fired an exploding round into their rapidly deteriorating center, sending legionnaires flying in every direction.

  Within minutes, the Fifth Cohort formed ranks around them, cheering triumphantly and congratulating each other. Frank saw many minor injuries–scrapes and cuts, broken bones, burning hair–but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. His comrades swarmed him, pounding him on the back and complimenting him.

  “The game is won! Assemble for honors!” The call came late, probably because the praetors were in disbelief as well.

  The legionnaires eventually dispersed, letting the other cohorts take their place on the Field of Mars. Jason clapped a hand on Frank’s shoulder as he went, a proud smile on his face.

  “Good plan, dude.”

  “Thanks.” Frank gave him a half-shrug. “It wasn’t much.”

  “No need to be humble!.” Gwen threw an arm around his shoulders. “You did great! I never doubted you for a second.”

  Their centurion then turned to Lavinia, who was so excited she had begun tap dancing. “You too, Asimov. Good job!”

  “Ah! Thank you!”

  Frank let his cohort shower congratulations on them a little more, then politely excused himself. He and Jason went back to their barracks, leaving everyone else behind to watch the next fight.

  The sun had just set, but they still managed to make a faint rainbow in the waning daylight. Hazel’s face appeared in the Iris Message, and seeing her smile made Frank happier than any victory in the war games could.

  “Any news about them?” Frank asked. Of course, the only way Hazel would learn anything new about their friends would be if she saw them in the Underworld…

  “No. But that means they’re alive.” Hazel sounded confident. “I’m sure of it.”

  Both of them visibly deflated in relief. Jason said, “That’s good enough for me. They’ll get out of this for sure.”

  “They could already be out by now.” Frank realized, searching in his pockets. “Drat. I’m out of denarii.”

  “We’ll have to check in on them tomorrow.” Jason gazed at the darkening horizon. The Iris Message was fast fading. “Hopefully, everything will be resolved by then.”

  “What now, Wise Girl?” Clarisse snapped.

  The daughter of Ares paced back and forth on the deck, growing more impatient by the moment.

  “We have to wait for the ship to be repaired to do anything first.” Annabeth sighed for the tenth time in a row. “Ugh, it reeks down here…”

  Meanwhile, Piper was tending to Percy. He had to admit, he was in pretty bad shape. It took all his power to keep Charybdis from crushing the ship as she swallowed them, and they just made it into her stomach in one piece.

  His nose was still bleeding profusely from overexerting himself, and Piper dabbed at it with her shirt. “How are you feeling now?”

  “Better,” Percy assured, but immediately turned and puked over the railing. “Sorry.”

  A muffled explosion sounded below deck, and Percy could just barely hear the faint cries of Leo. “Put it out, Tyson! Put it out!”

  Piper sighed. “This would literally be the worst way to die.”

  Percy glanced around and was inclined to agree. Charybdis’ stomach was a hall the size of a theatre, and the fleshy walls glowed sickly gold. It was the only source of light, but the pulsing flesh made a revolting sound which made Percy think that Charybdis had severe indigestion. The CCS Birminghan floated above murky water, which might have been stomach acid, but he decided not to think too much about that.

  “I don’t know how long it takes to digest a metal battleship, but I don’t want to find out.” Piper grimaced.

  “Annabeth has a plan.” Percy reminded her. “We should go ask her.”

  They walked to the front deck, where Clarisse was raging at Annabeth. “We should have just kept to the original plan! We could have blown her to bits!”

  “If we kept to your plan we would have all died .” Annabeth calmly retorted.

  “She’s right.” Piper interceded, trying to calm Clarisse down. “We wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”

  The daughter of Ares fiercely stood her ground even as Piper and Percy went to stand by Annabeth, backing her up. “And this is better? Slowly being digested in this monster?”

  “It won’t come to that. Annabeth, what’s your plan?” Percy asked.

  Even in this situation, the daughter of Athena could look smug. “How did Clarisse put it? ‘Steam straight toward her and blow her to Tartarus’.”

  Clarisse started spluttering in anger, but Annabeth ignored her. “Her stomach walls are much better targets than her teeth, don’t you think so, Clarisse? And there’s no whirlpool to worry about either.”

  Piper looked a little troubled. “What will happen if Charybdis dissolves? We wouldn’t disappear with her, right?”

  “Good question.” Annabeth seemed to be in her zone now, and Percy watched contently as her Athena brain completely took over. “I talked with Jason, and we should be good. He killed the Trojan Sea Monster from the inside and was fine, so we should resurface above water after Charybdis dies.”

  Percy remembered Jason describing that fight to him once. It hadn’t seemed pretty. “Define ‘fine’.”

  Clarisse frowned. “Who’s Jason?”

  They ignored her. Annabeth glanced at the hold. “Once Leo and Tyson are finished, we can get to work.”

  “Sounds crazy, but alright.” Piper smiled. “Let’s do it.”

  Clarisse huffed. “So all this was to get us a better chance to obliterate this monster from the inside?”

  Annabeth tilted her head upward as Piper and Percy tensed. “Yeah. Is there a problem?”

  A savage grin spread across her face. “Hah. Why didn’t you say so earlier, Chase? Captain! Prepare all cannons and artillery for fire! Leave nothing unused!”

  “Yes ma’am!”

  Annabeth tugged on Piper’s arm. “We should get below deck and check on Leo and Tyson.”

  “I’ll stay up here.” Percy said. His water powers would probably be most helpful above deck, after all.

  She nodded, and they disappeared into the hold. Percy watched as zombies rushed around, carrying cannonballs and loading the guns. Clarisse stood tall and proud, casting orders left and right.

  Just as he wondered if Charybdis would try to stop them, Percy heard a voice. ‘So it really is you. Mother will be so pleased.’

  He swiveled his head. A shark? No–the voice seemed to be coming from all around him.

  ‘So you’re the one father has been so enamored with lately. The favorite child.’

  He froze as the words reverberated from every side, shaking Percy to the core. That voice could only be from one being–Charybdis herself.

  ‘I used to be his favored child. I conquered so much land in his name.’ The monster sounded sad and pitiful. ‘But after Zeus turned me into a monster, all his favor went away. All he left me was the hungry tide.’

  Now, Percy would like to say he tried to sympathize with Charybdis (who had clearly been screwed over by the gods). He knew the feeling and understood how fickle the gods could be, even to their own children. Especially to their own children. But the next words from his sister the monster turned his vision red, and nothing she said mattered anymore. ‘But Mother will not abandon me. Not after I’ve captured what she’s been after for so many years…she will be happy to see you, I bet.’

  Dimly, he recalled Charybdis was the daughter of Poseidon…and Gaia. And so Percy began to tremble as he realized what she meant. The water below him began to churn with his rage. He would die before letting this monster take him and his friends to the Earth Mother.

  “The engine is ready!” Tyson’s voice bellowed behind him.

  Clarisse’s shouts somehow got even louder. “All cannons, fire until there’s NOTHING LEFT!”

  From all around the ship, celestial bronze cannonballs rocketed in every direction. The ship swayed back and forth as the cannons continually fired, reloaded, and fired again. The projectiles hit Charybdis’ stomach walls hard, battering and tearing at the flesh. Golden dust began pouring from the wounds.

  ‘What–no, stop–’

  Percy raised his hands, and the water rose with them. The murky liquid formed into sharp tendrils, and Percy launched them at the walls like javelins. Each one cut deep into her flesh, causing the cavern to rumble violently. Charybdis clearly didn’t enjoy getting such a stomachache.

  “Keep going!” Clarisse yelled.

  The golden dust began to flood the giant room, turning the water gold as Charybdis’ stomach heaved and lurched.

  ‘You upstart–gah! Get out of me!’

  The water suddenly swished backward, the tide rushing up the tunnel they had come from. The ship was swept along with it, pulled with the current.

  “Hurry! Charybdis is trying to throw us up!” Percy shouted at Clarisse.

  “Isn’t that good?!”

  “No! The ship will get crushed by all that force!” And even if they didn’t instantly capsize after the violent exit, Charybdis could easily finish off a damaged boat. They had to kill her here and now.

  Percy redoubled his efforts, slashing huge gashes in Charybdis with his water blades. The cannons rhythmically barraged the walls, and the smell of blast powder filled the stank air. Between Clarisse, the zombies, and Charybdis, Percy couldn’t tell which voice was the loudest.

  Suddenly, pieces of the wall began to fall away at several points of injury, and seawater started pouring in. Percy jolted at the sensation of clean salt water. They had punctured through Charybdis’ flesh!

  “It’s working!” He turned to Clarisse. “Get below deck! Once she dies, we’ll be submerged! I’ll guide us to the surface!”

  She nodded, reluctantly letting go of her cannon. “Don’t mess this up, Jackson!”

  Clarisse disappeared, leaving Percy with a horde of undead sailors, all of whom dutifully followed her order even after she left. Charybdis was still trying to pull the ship out with her stomach acids, but Percy locked the water around them, anchoring the ship in place. Charybdis had messed with the wrong demigods, and he was about to make sure she knew that explicitly.

  He pulled out Riptide and uncapped it, the glow of celestial bronze like a beacon in the cave. Percy’s trusty weapon had been in his pocket this whole time, waiting patiently to be used.

  “What are you doing, Yankee?” The ghost captain asked, his skeletal eyes hollow. “This ain’t one of your normal monsters for you can cut up with your little sword.”

  Percy gave him a shark-like grin. “I’ve been killing monsters for a long time, captain. This one might be big, but it makes no difference to me.”

  Percy jumped off the ship, and a wave scooped him up and sped him toward the walls of flesh. The water swirled around him like a hurricane as Percy lunged at Charybdis, his sword transforming into an arc of destruction.

  ‘Enough! I am the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia! You cannot defeat me!’

  “We might have the same father, but that means nothing.” Percy thought back as his blade sent chunks of flesh flying left and right, drenching him in ichor. “You threatened my friends, my family."

  “And after I send you to Tartarus, you should tell the other monsters to never make that mistake again!”