When one thinks of a 'monster island,' one might think of craggy rocks and bones scattered on the beach like the island of the Sirens. The Cyclops's island was nothing like that. Sure, it had a rope bridge across a chasm, which wasn't a good sign. You might as well put up a billboard that said, 'Something Evil Lives Here.' But except for that, the place looked like a Caribbean postcard. It had green fields, tropical fruit trees, and white beaches. As the group sailed toward the shore, Annabeth breathed in the sweet air.

"The Fleece," she said.

Percy nodded. They couldn't see the Fleece yet, but they could feel its power. Percy could believe it would heal anything, even Thalia's poisoned tree. (Y/N) wasn't so sure.

"If we take it away," Percy asked, "will the island die?"

Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would normally be, whatever that is."

Percy felt a little guilty about ruining this paradise, but he reminded himself that they had no choice. Camp Half-Blood was in trouble. And Tyson... Tyson would still be there if it wasn't for this quest.

In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful enough, but they were huge, the size of hippos. At the top of the path, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree he'd seen in his dreams. Something gold glittered in its branches.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could just hike up there and take it."

"Sounds good to me," (Y/N) said, marching toward the Fleece. Before he could make it far, though, Annabeth grabbed the back of his shirt.

"There's supposed to be a guardian," she said. "A dragon, or..."

That's when a deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool trampling hooves.

Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air.

A second later the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.

The group exchanged looks between themselves.

"They're like piranhas," Annabeth said.

"Piranhas with wool," Percy added. "How will we-"

"Guys!" (Y/N) said, tugging Percy's arm. "Look!" He pointed down to the beach, just below the sheep meadow, where a small boat had been run aground... the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham.

They decided there was no way they could get past the man-eating sheep. Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but (Y/N) pointed out they rely on smell as well, and if she had gotten any scented stuff on Circe's island, well.... That convinced her to wait.

Besides, their first job was finding Grover and whoever had come ashore in that lifeboat, assuming they'd gotten past the sheep. Percy was too nervous to say what he was secretly hoping, that Tyson might still be alive.

The group moored the Queen Anne's Revenge on the back side of the island where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet. They decided they'd be less likely to be seen there. The cliffs looked climbable, barely. About as difficult as the lava wall back at camp. At least it was free of sheep. Percy hoped that Polyphemus didn't also keep carnivorous mountain goats.

The group rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the rocks and made their way up, very slowly. Annabeth went first because she was the best climber, followed by Percy then (Y/N). They only came close to dying seven times, which Percy thought was pretty good. (Y/N) not so much, but being the worst climber left him little room to complain. Sure he had been at camp while Percy hadn't been, but that didn't mean he didn't struggle on the climbing wall. Once, Percy lost his grip and found himself dangling by one hand from a ledge fifty feet above the rocky surf. But he found another handhold and kept climbing. A minute later, Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped. Fortunately, she found something else to put it against. Unfortunately, that something was Percy's face.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"S'okay," Percy grunted, though he'd never really wanted to know what Annabeth's sneaker tastes like.

(Y/N) stopped on more than one occasion because he had looked down to find a foothold and realized how high up he was, causing him to panic. He tried to breathe deeply, but it would take him a couple minutes to recover each time.

Finally, when their fingers felt like molten lead and their arms were shaking from exhaustion, they hauled themselves over the top of the cliff and collapsed.

"Ugh," Percy said.

"Ouch," moaned Annabeth.

"Don't ever invite me to climbing events again," (Y/N) complained.

"Garrr!" bellowed another voice.

If Percy wasn't so tired, he would've leaped another two hundred feet. He whirled around, but he couldn't see who'd spoken.

Annabeth clamped her hand over his mouth. She pointed.

The ledge they were sitting on was narrower than Percy realized. It dropped off on the opposite side, and that's where the voice was coming from. Right below them.

"You're a feisty one!" the deep voice bellowed.

"Challenge me!" Clarisse's voice, no doubt about it. "Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"

The monster roared with laughter.

Annabeth, (Y/N), and Percy crept to the edge. They were right above the Cyclops's cave. Below them stood Polyphemus and Grover, still in his wedding dress. Clarisse was tied up, hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water. Percy was half hoping to see Tyson down there, too, but he wasn't.

"Hmm," Polyphemus pondered. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?"

He turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps-"

"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded. "Who- Grover?"

"Shut up," Annabeth muttered. "She has to shut up."

"He's trying to buy you a few hours, moron," (Y/N) murmured.

Polyphemus glowered. "What, 'Grover'?"

"The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.

"Oh!" Grover yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!"

Polyphemus's eyelids narrowed over his baleful milky eye as if he was trying to see Clarisse more clearly.

The Cyclops was an even more horrible sight than he had been in Percy's dreams. Partly because his rancid smell was now up close and personal. Partly because he was dressed in his wedding outfit, a crude kilt and shoulder wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedos as if he'd skinned an entire wedding party.

"What satyr?" asked Polyphemus. "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?"

"No, you big idiot!" bellowed Clarisse. "That satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"

Percy wanted to wring Clarisse's neck, and (Y/N) wasn't far behind, but it was too late. All they could do was watch as Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil, revealing his curly hair, his scruffy adolescent beard, and his tiny horns.

Polyphemus breathed heavily, trying to contain his anger. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in the eye. But YOU'RE NO LADY CYCLOPS!"

The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head.

"Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I... I have a good recipe!"

Percy reached for Riptide, but Annabeth hissed, "Wait!"

Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride.

"Recipe?" he asked Grover.

"Oh y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E. Coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."

The monster pondered this. Percy's heart hammered against his ribs. He figured he'd die if he charged, but he couldn't let the monster kill Grover.

"Grilled satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. "You a satyr, too?"

"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!"

"Rip my arms off," Polyphemus repeated.

"And stuff them down your throat!"

"You got spunk."

"Let me down!"

Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"

"But... you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt. "Who's the bride?"

Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot.

Clarisse made a strangled sound. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not-"

Before any of them could do anything, Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like a ripe apple and tossed her and Grover deep into the cave. "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!"

Then the Cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep, smaller than the man-eaters, flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name. Such names included, 'Beltbuster,' Tammany,' and 'Lockhart,'

When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as one could close a refrigerator door, shutting off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside.

"Mangos," Polyphemus grumbled to himself. "What are mangos?"

He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom's outfit, leaving the group alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder.

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The group tried for what seemed like hours, but it was no good. The boulder wouldn't even move. They yelled into the cracks, tapped on the rock, did everything they could think of to get a signal to Grover, but if he heard them, they couldn't tell. (Y/N) was even tempted to let off a couple of shots, but the sound would surely attract Polyphemus.

Even if by some miracle they managed to kill Polyphemus, it wouldn't do any good. Grover and Clarisse would die inside that sealed cave. The only way to move the rock was to have the Cyclops do it.

In total frustration, Percy stabbed Riptide against the boulder. Sparks flew, but nothing else happened. A large rock is not the kind of enemy one could fight with a magic sword.

The group sat on the ridge in despair and watched the distant baby-blue shape of the Cyclops as he moved among his flocks. He had wisely divided his regular animals from his man-eating sheep, putting each group on either side of the huge crevice that divided the island. The only way across was the rope bridge, and the planks were much too far apart for sheep hooves.

They watched as Polyphemus visited his carnivorous flock on the far side. Unfortunately, they didn't eat him. In fact, they didn't seem to bother him at all. He fed them chunks of mystery meat from a massive wicker basket, which only reinforced a feeling Percy had been having since Circe's island; joining Grover in vegetarianism.

"Trickery," Annabeth decided. "We can't beat him by force, so we'll have to use trickery."

"Okay," Percy said."What trick?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

"Great."

"Wait, Polyphemus will have to open the cave at some point," (Y/N) said. "Let the sheep in and go to bed."

"At sunset," Percy pointed out, "which is when he'll marry Clarisse and eat Grover. Not sure which is grosser."

"I could get inside," Annabeth said. "Invisibly."

"What about us?" (Y/N) asked.

"The sheep," Annabeth mused. She gave one of those looks that always made Percy wary. "How much do you two like sheep?"

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"Just don't let go," Annabeth said, standing invisibly somewhere off to the right. That was easy for her to say. She wasn't hanging upside down from the belly of a sheep.

Now, Percy would admit that it wasn't as hard as he thought. He'd crawled under a car before to change his mom's oil, and this wasn't too different. The sheep didn't care. Even the Cyclops's smallest sheep were big enough to support his weight, and they had thick wool. He just twirled the stuff into handles for his hands, hooked his feet against the sheep's thigh bones, and presto. He felt like a baby wallaby, riding around against the sheep's chest, trying to keep the wool out of his mouth and nose. (Y/N) had a little more trouble, but eventually got there.

The sun was going down.

No sooner were the two boys in position than the Cyclops roared, "Oy! Goaties! Sheepies!"

The flock dutifully began trudging back up the slopes toward the cave.

"This is it!" Annabeth whispered. "I'll be close by. Don't worry."

Percy made a silent promise to the gods that if they all survived this, he'd tell Annabeth that she's a genius. The frightening thing was, he knew the gods would hold him to it.

The sheep taxis started plodding up the hill. After a hundred yards, Percy's hands and feet started to hurt from holding on. He gripped the sheep's wool more tightly, and the animal made a grumbling sound. Percy didn't blame it. He wouldn't want anyone rock climbing on his hair, either. But if he didn't hold on, he was sure he'd fall off right there in front of the monster.

"Hasenpfeffer!" the Cylcops said, patting one of the sheep in front of them. "Einstein! Widget, eh there, Widget!"

Polyphemus patted the sheep Percy was riding and nearly knocked him to the ground. "Putting on some extra mutton there?"

'Uh-oh,' Percy thought. 'Here it comes.'

But, Polyphemus just laughed and swatted the sheep's rear end, propelling it and Percy forward. "Go on, fatty! Soon Polyphemus will eat you for breakfast, and maybe eat Bordeaux for lunch!" Right as he said that name, (Y/N)'s sheep crossed in.

And just like that, they were in the cave.

They could see the last of the sheep coming inside. If Annabeth didn't pull off her distraction soon...

The Cyclops was about to roll the stone back into place, when from somewhere outside, Annabeth shouted, "Hello, ugly!"

Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?"

"Nobody!" Annabeth yelled.

That got exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for. The monster's face turned red with rage.

"Nobody!" Polyphemus yelled back. "I remember you!"

"You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth taunted. "Much less Nobody."

Percy hoped to the gods that Annabeth was already moving when she said that, because Polyphemus bellowed furiously, grabbed the nearest boulder (which happened to be his front door), and threw it toward the sound of Annabeth's voice. The sound of it smashing into a thousand fragments was heard throughout the cave.

For a terrible moment, there was silence. Then, Annabeth shouted, "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"

Polyphemus howled. "Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!"

"You can't kill Nobody, you stupid oaf," she taunted. "Come find me!"

Polyphemus barreled down the hill toward her voice.

Now, the 'Nobody' thing wouldn't have made sense to anybody, but Annabeth had explained to the boys how Odysseus had beaten Polyphemus all those years ago. Once she explained that, it made sense that the Cyclops would hold a grudge. In his frenzy to find his old enemy, he forgot about resealing the cave entrance. Apparently, he didn't even stop to consider that Annabeth's voice was female, whereas the first Nobody had been male. On the other hand, he'd wanted to marry Grover, so he couldn't have been all that bright about the whole male/female thing.

Percy just hoped Annabeth could stay alive and keep distracting him long enough for Percy and (Y/N) to find Grover and Clarisse.

The two dropped off their respective rides and started searching the main room, but there was no sign of Grover or Clarisse. They pushed through the crowd of sheep and goats toward the back of the cave.

Even though Percy had dreamed of this place, he had a hard time finding his way through the maze. He ran down corridors littered with bones, past rooms full of sheepskin rugs and life-size cement sheep that he recognized as the work of Medusa. There were collections of sheep T-shirts; large tubs of lanolin cream; and wooly coats, socks, and hats with ram's horns. Finally, the two found the spinning room, where Grover was huddled in the corner, trying to cut Clarisse's bonds with a pair of safety scissors.

"It's no good," Clarisse said. "This rope is like iron!"

"Just a few more minutes!"

"Grover," she cried, exasperated. "You've been working at it for hours!"

And then they saw the two boys.

"Percy? (Y/N)?" Clarisse said. "You're supposed to be blown up!"

"Good to see you too, Clarisse," (Y/N) said. "Percy, you want to do the honors?"

"Sure," Percy said, "now hold still while I..."

"Percy!" Crvoer bleated, tackling the son of Poseidon with a goat-hug. "You heard me! You came!"

"Yeah, buddy," Percy grinned. "Of course I came."

"Where's Annabeth?"

"Outside," (Y/N) said, "but there's no time to talk. Percy, hurry up."

Percy uncapped Riptide and sliced off her ropes. She stood stiffly, rubbing her wrists. She glared at the two for a moment, then looked at the ground and mumbled a reluctant 'thanks.'

"You're welcome," Percy said. "Now, was anyone else on your lifeboat?"

Clarisse looked surprised. "No, just me. Everybody else aboard... Well, I didn't even know you guys made it out.

Percy looked down, trying not to believe that his last hope of seeing Tyson alive had been crushed. "Okay. Come on then. We have to help-"

An explosion echoed through the cave, followed by a scream that told the group they might be too late. It was Annabeth crying out in fear.