All Percy needed was a quick, rejuvenating dip in the water to clear his system of the poison. He probably could've used other means, but some habits die hard. He'd been a mortal son of Poseidon for much longer than the god of demigods.

It still irked him that he could be poisoned as a god. What was even the point to immortality if a simple fish tank kept him sedated? It wasn't out of the norm for gods to be captured, but the aquarium trap was just plain insulting. And after the ordeal with Jason and Leo, Percy was not in a very good mood.

So when Piper threw her dagger into the water to get his attention, that was the last straw.

All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Piper's dagger. "You dropped this," he said, totally poker-faced.

Down in the water, Octavian yelled, "Get me out of here! Who do you think you are, graecus? Rome does not need a false god!"

Percy used the winds to fly above the water then landed on its surface, leaning down to get in Octavian's face while restraining him in a whirlpool. He willed his outfit into the most ornate Roman armor he could imagine with pure, imperial gold and purple gemstone accents in symbols that represented the legion and the gods. A golden laurel wreath adorned his head, riptide securely on his hip. Everything about him screamed of a Roman deity.

"Do I look like a graecus to you? I may be better at managing my counterparts, but make no mistake, Augur, I am a Roman god. I will be shown the respect all gods are owed."

Percy reached down and slammed his hands onto Octavian's ears, destroying his ear drums. Octavian screamed in pain. He tried to escape, but the water held him tight. The other Romans were trembling in fear of the god before them, muttering their apologies and begging for mercy.

You refused to listen, Percy spoke into Octavian's mind, his whimpering only growing louder, so now you will only ever hear the commands of the gods. Remember this and obey.

He turned to the other Romans. "You will take the augur back to Camp Jupiter. He will serve in the temples silently, have the senate dishonorably discharge him. Centurion Kahale will assume command until the praetors have returned. Let the legion know I order them to march east, attacking any of Terra's forces on the way. They will take arms alongside their Greek brethren in the fight against the Earth Mother, as it is the will of the gods. Failure to do so will bring my wrath upon New Rome and the Twelfth Legion. Do I make myself clear?"

Utterances of "Yes, Lord" tumbled out before Percy flew away, letting the water spit the Roman demigods to shore.

"Let's go," he said to his fellow questers.

Hazel frowned. "What did you do to him?" She was clearly talking about Octavian who was clutching his head and sobbing.

"Taught him a lesson. He'll live." Without another word, they all climbed aboard the Argo II.

»-«-»-«-»-«

Piper had gone below to Iris-message Jason and warn him to get back quickly while Hazel had gone to find Coach Hedge and tell him to come on deck.

Reyna hesitantly stepped up to the still Roman Percy. The display of godly power and his demand for respect left her unsettled. "My Lord—"

"Percy."

"...Percy, we need to get this ship to Fort Sumter." Percy nodded and went over to the mast.

Reyna had heard that Percy could control ships with only his willpower. This time, he didn't disappoint. Ropes flew on their own—releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor. The sails unfurled and caught the wind. Meanwhile Reyna fired the engine. The oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the Argo II turned from the dock, heading for the island in the distance.

The three eagles still circled overhead, but they made no attempt to land on the ship. They understood who held the power now. Their circling became more protective than combative.

More eagles were flying in formation toward Fort Sumter—at least a dozen. If each of them carried a Roman demigod. But a gesture from Percy in their direction caused the eagles to take a sudden dive towards the shore where he dropped Octavian & Co. They'd get the inside scoop and head back to Camp Jupiter if they knew what was good for their health.

Without anyone chasing them, they met up with the others and landed at Fort Sumter. Communications must've been sent quickly because the Roman forces that had clearly planned to swarm them on the island made a hasty retreat. Any legionary worth their salt knew not to test the patience of a god. It wasn't long before Reyna had found the hidden map and the Argo II was off again.

»-«-»-«-»-«

Leo felt like a broken axel—useless and out of place. He and Frank hadn't found anything in the Civil War sub or elsewhere in the museum; just a few elderly tourists, a dozing security guard, and—when they tried to inspect the artifacts—a whole battalion of glowing zombie dudes in gray uniforms.

The idea that Frank should be able to control the spirits? Yeah... that pretty much failed. By the time Piper sent her Iris-message warning them about the Roman attack, they were already halfway back to the ship, having been chased through downtown Charleston by a pack of angry dead Confederates.

Then he came back to the ship only to find that their resident god could control the whole thing without a second thought. Unfair! He was Captain McShizzle! He'd spent months building the Argo II and was not about to let anyone take command of his ship. Leo took to the wheel as soon as the sails opened.

At one point, Reyna stood next to him, yelling against the roar of the wind: "Percy says he talked to a Nereid in Charleston Harbor!"

"Good for him!" Leo yelled back.

"The Nereid said we should seek help from Chiron's brothers."

"What does that mean? The Party Ponies?" Leo had never met Chiron's crazy centaur relatives, but he'd heard rumors of Nerf sword-fights, root beer-chugging contests, and Super Soakers filled with pressurized whipped cream.

"Not sure, I was told it's a Greek thing," Reyna said. "But I've got coordinates. Can you input latitude and longitude in this thing?"

"I can input star charts and order you a smoothie, if you want. Of course I can do latitude and longitude!"

Reyna rattled off the numbers. Leo somehow managed to punch them in while holding the wheel with one hand. A red dot popped up on the bronze display screen.

"That location is in the middle of the Atlantic," he said. "Do the Party Ponies have a yacht?"

Reyna shrugged helplessly. "Just sail us there, we'll find out."

"Happy fun time!"

Some time later, Coach Hedge joined him at the helm. "Valdez," he said with surprising gentleness. "Let me take the wheel. You've been steering for over two hours."

"Two hours?"

"Yeah. Give me the wheel."

"Coach?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"I can't unclench my hands."

It was true. Leo's fingers felt like they had turned to stone. His eyes burned from staring at the horizon. His knees were marshmallows. Coach Hedge managed to pry him from the wheel.

Leo took one last look at the console, listening to Festus chatter and whir a status report. Leo felt like he was forgetting something. He stared at the controls, trying to think, but it was no good. His eyes could hardly focus. "Just watch for monsters," he told the coach. "And be careful with the damaged stabilizer. And—"

"I've got it covered," Coach Hedge promised. "Now, go away!"

Leo nodded wearily. He staggered across the deck toward his friends. They all seemed to be taking it in. Leo scanned the horizon. Nothing but ocean in every direction. That shouldn't have surprised him. He'd spent six months building a ship that he knew would cross the Atlantic. But until today, their embarking on a journey to the ancient lands hadn't seemed real. Leo had never been outside the U.S. before—except for a quick dragon flight up to Quebec. Now they were in the middle of the open sea, completely on their own, sailing to the Mare Nostrum, where all the scary monsters and nasty giants had come from.

The Romans might not follow them, but Leo wasn't stupid enough to think they'd forgive and forget what he did, willingly or not. People had surely gotten injured. He could only pray no one died. Regardless, help was out of the question. They couldn't count on any aid from Camp Half-Blood, either. Both would be preparing to hold their ground against Gaea.

Leo patted his waist to make sure his tool belt was still there. Unfortunately that just reminded him of Nemesis's fortune cookie, tucked inside one of the pockets.

You will always be an outsider. The goddess's voice still wriggled around in his head. The seventh wheel. Forget her, Leo told himself. Concentrate on the stuff you can fix.

He turned to Reyna. "Did you find the map you wanted?"

She nodded, though she looked a little concerned, which probably meant something really, really bad.

"I'll have to study it," she said, as if that was the end of the subject. "How far are we from those coordinates?"

"At top rowing speed, about an hour," Leo said. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"No," she admitted. "Percy?"

Percy raised his head. His green eyes were unnaturally bright, yet still a shade darker than what they've become accustomed to. His posture, however, was relaxed and he seemed mostly his Greek self.

"The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but she also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

"Wonderful," Frank muttered.

"Can we get the ship aloft?" he asked. "If we could fly—"

"I'm sorry, Hazel, but it's better if we stay at sea," said Percy. "I have a feeling what we're looking for is beneath the waves. It'd be easier for me to keep watch if we're actually in the water."

Hazel glanced at the evening sun, which was almost to the horizon. "We need to go fast. We've burned another day, and Nico only has three more left."

"We can do it," Leo promised. He hoped Hazel had forgiven him for not trusting her brother (hey, it had seemed like a reasonable suspicion to Leo), but he didn't want to reopen that wound. "We can make it to Rome in three days—assuming, you know, nothing unexpected happens."

Frank grunted. He looked like he was still working on that bulldog transformation. "I'm going to wash up before dinner."

The others were soon to follow, but Hazel stayed behind. It looked like their awkward tension was coming to a head.

»-«-»-«-»-«

"Leo!" Coach Hedge yelled.

Festus whirred in alarm and blew flames into the night sky. The ship's bell rang. Leo's eyes blew wide at the sight of the monster. Everyone was on deck fighting. It seemed like they'd been going for a while.

The ship tilted to starboard as the monster scrapped up against the hull of the Argo II. In the moonlight, it looked like a cross between a giant shrimp and a cockroach the length of the ship, with a pink chitinous shell, a flat crayfish tail, and millipede-type legs undulating hypnotically.

Hazel gripped the rigging. Hedge yelled, "Valdez, which button blows up monsters? Take the helm!"

The slimy pink face of an enormous catfish with glassy dead eyes, a gaping toothless maw, and a forest of tentacles sprouting from each nostril snapped at Percy.

"Come on, Valdez!" Hedge yelled. "Take the wheel so I can get my baseball bat!"

"A bat's not going to help," Leo said, but he made his way toward the helm.

Percy yelled, "Die, Shrimpzilla!" He was slashing it with his sword, but it seemed to only irritate the creature.

Leo aimed what he could at the creature's body, lodging arrows in the chinks of its shell; but that only seemed to annoy the monster. It bellowed, and rocked the ship. The mast creaked like it might snap off.

They needed more firepower, but they couldn't use ballistae. They needed to deliver a blast that wouldn't destroy the ship. But how...? Leo's eyes fixed on a supply crate next to Hazel's feet.

"Hazel!" he yelled. "That box! Open it!"

She hesitated, then saw the box he meant. The label read WARNING. DO NOT OPEN.

"Open it!" Leo yelled again. "Coach, take the wheel! Turn us toward the monster, or we'll capsize."

Hedge danced through the tentacles with his nimble goat hooves, smashing away with gusto. He bounded toward the helm and took the controls. "Hope you got a plan!" he shouted.

"A bad one." Leo raced toward the mast.

The monster pushed against the Argo II. The deck lurched to forty-five degrees.

Percy stretched out his harms to keep the water from overtaking the ship. They managed to avoid capsizing, but in Percy's moment of distraction, the monster's tendrils lashed across the deck. It was so fast, Leo didn't even have time to yell, Look out!

One slammed Percy in the chest and sent him crashing into the water. Another wrapped around Piper's legs and dragged her, screaming, toward the rail. Dozens more tendrils curled around the masts, encircling the crossbows and ripping down the rigging.

"Frank!" Leo called as he ran toward Hazel. "Buy us some time! Can you turn into a shark or something?"

Frank glanced over, scowling; and in that moment a tentacle slammed into the big guy, knocking him overboard. Hazel screamed. She'd opened the supply box and almost dropped the two glass vials she was holding.

Leo caught them. Each was the size of an apple, and the liquid inside glowed poisonous green. The glass was warm to the touch. Leo's chest felt like it might implode from guilt. He'd just distracted Frank and possibly gotten him killed, but he couldn't think about it. He had to save the ship.

"Come on!" He handed Hazel one of the vials. "We can kill the monster—and save Frank!"

He hoped he wasn't lying. Getting to the port rail was more like rock climbing than walking, but finally they made it.

"What is this stuff?" Hazel gasped, cradling her glass vial. "Greek fire!" Her eyes widened. "Are you crazy? If these break, we'll burn the whole ship!"

"Its mouth!" Leo said. "Just chuck it down its—"

Suddenly Leo was crushed against Hazel, and the world turned sideways. As they were lifted into the air, he realized they'd been wrapped together in a tentacle. Leo's arms were free, but it was all he could do to keep hold of his Greek fire vial. Hazel struggled. Her arms were pinned, which meant at any moment the vial trapped between them might break... and that would be extremely bad for their health.

They rose ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet above the monster. Leo caught a glimpse of his friends in a losing battle, yelling and slashing at the monster's nose hairs. He saw Coach Hedge struggling to keep the ship from capsizing. The sea was dark, but in the moonlight he thought he saw a glistening object near the monster.

The object only grew brighter and seemed to be rising towards them fast. Leo thought it was another monster come to join the party, but then it breached the surface.

From the water, Percy geysered upwards and tackled the monster head on. Percy was supersized and radiating an energy that made everything feel like it was burning. All the tentacles released their grip in an effort to dislodge the new threat as the monster was forced on its back into the water.

The good thing was, Leo and Hazel were released too. The bad thing... they were falling towards the monster's open mouth.

Hazel had enough sense to throw the Greek fire into its mouth as planned and Leo quickly followed suit. Just before they were about to meet their doom, a strong gust of wind knocked them away into the water.

After that, things got fuzzy. They fell. A just of wind pushed them away from the monster. He heard a muffled explosion and saw a green flash of light inside the giant pink lampshade of the monster's body. The water hit Leo's face like a brick wrapped in sandpaper, and he sank into darkness. He clamped his mouth shut, trying not to breathe, but he could feel himself losing consciousness.

Through the sting of the salt water, he thought he saw the hazy silhouette of the ship's hull above—a dark oval surrounded by a green fiery corona, but he couldn't tell if the ship was actually
on fire.

Let the Argo II survive, Leo thought. Let my friends be okay. His vision began to dim. His lungs burned.

Just as he was about to give up, a strange face hovered over him—a man who looked like Chiron, their trainer back at Camp Half-Blood. He had the same curly hair, shaggy beard, and intelligent eyes—a look somewhere between wild hippie and fatherly professor, except this man's skin was the color of a lima bean. The man silently held up a dagger. His expression was grim and reproachful, as if to say: Now, hold still, or I can't kill you properly.

Leo blacked out.