Arrival of the Ghost King [PJO x HP]

XV: A Super-Sonic Skipping Stone Boat Makes Carol Throw Up

Contrary to what Bella told him, Carol was not agreeing with the sea. Minutes after they got out into the open sea, he felt like he was going to vomit. And he did.

"Please, next time, throw up over the side. Nympholia doesn't like getting it on her floorboards," Bella said, wiping the vomit away with a mop. A low creak emitted from the yacht, as if it was agreeing with her.

Part of the reason why Carol was so seasick was because of the sheer speed the Nympholia was travelling. The yacht was literally skipping across the water because of how fast it was going. One wrong misstep on the deck and you would be thrown off because of how much the ship was buckling. The ship was going with the speed of a rocket; at some point they passed an airplane that was flying high above them. Carol hoped that the Mist would cover their presence from whatever mortals that were looking down at their super-sonic rocket boat.

The trio was below deck, and Carol felt safer, knowing that he couldn't be launched from the ship due to a sudden jolt.

"Here, take these," Bella said, giving each boy a pill.

"What do these do?" asked Erin.

"They were originally created for Apollo and his sun chariot, for guests who could not handle the speed," Bella answered. "I have a few leftover ever since Nemesis had me sneak on there to do some work stuff.."

"Okay, another question: if we're going as fast as I think we are, how in Tartarus is this boat still one one piece?" asked Carol.

"I gave Nymphoila pretty much unlimited good karma; basically, it leveled up all her abilities to the maximum, including her speed and integrity," Bella replied.

"Ah," Carol concluded. It didn't comfort him much; who knew how reliable "unlimited good karma" was?

Besides, he was pretty sure that wasn't how karma worked, but he wasn't going to tell that to Bella, the literal goddess of restoring balance.

"Alright," Bella said. "Until we reach the coast, I'm telling you what you need to know. So, first off, you're breaking into a government building-"

"Wait, so the British government is behind this?!" Erin exclaimed.

"Well, no. Yes, actually. Sort of. Arg, nevermind. Just pretend I didn't say that," Bella said. "Let me start over again. You are breaking into a building. Whatever you do, whatever you see down there, don't let them see your jaw drop. Just proceed like those objects are ordinary."

"Are you going to tell us what those jaw-dropping things are? Or at least a bit about the people there?" Carol complained.

"No," said Bella, picking at her fingernails anxiously. "It's best, for everyone, that neither party knows about each other. When you are finished, I'll employ the Mist to hide anything out of the ordinary that you saw there. For all you know, well..."

"Seriously?" exclaimed Carol angrily. "You expect us to continue on with the quest after you told us that you're going to wipe our minds?!"

"You can't turn down a quest given by a god," Bella said with infuriating calmness. "And besides, the fate of your sibling and all demigods lies in your hands. Shall we continue with the strategizing?"

"Yes, of course," Carol quietly mumbled.

"As I said, you will be breaking into the building, in a disguise. Thanks to your height difference-"

"Height difference?!" Carol exclaimed. Erin smirked at him.

"-Erin will be posing as a rich American businessman and Carol will be his son. If anyone asks, you say that you are taking a look around to see if there is anything worth investing in, but no negotiations will be done that day, so there is no need to contact anyone. Say this with a bit of charmspeak, if you can manage it, though I doubt you will be able to produce much."