Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Juno's Warning

Chapter Twenty Three: A Giant Surprise (sorry for the tacky title)

Gaea: You cannot defeat me, demigods. I own you all.

Leo: No, you don't, Dirt Lady. Rick Riordan does. He controls us and what we do. He controls what you do.

Gaea: What? Who is this Riordan you speak of? How dare he defy the earth mother!

Leo: Ha! You can't do anything about that! And look, here comes Mr. Riordan himself.

Rick Riordan: Leo's right, Gaea. And I write that you are defeated.

Gaea: What? Impossible! How can that be? Then I will destroy you!

Rick Riordan: Nope. You are defeated and powerless.

Gaea: Ah, schist.

Leo: Hey, do I end up defeating her with my super awesome powers and gorgeous looks?

Rick Riordan: Sadly, no. So does the other six of the prophecy.

Leo: Darn.

Well, it's true. He controls everything that happens in the story, so all that happens is up to him. So, he owns all the rights to it.

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I have been in worse situations, but being propelled approximately twenty five feet in the air doesn't exactly help your stomach. Even when one of the passengers is a son of Poseidon (Tyson), it's not a smooth ride.

We were rocketed above the bay, and for a moment, the boat was weightless. Then we plummeted back to the water. Tyson helped break our fall, but we all still got bumped around in the dingy.

When I ergained my footing on the boat, I looked up to see the shadow looming over us.

It was a sea serpent, green and violet scales running up and down its hundred and fifty-foot body, with red eyes filled with hate. The monster arced above us, hissing at us with ten-foot daggers for teeth. Ironically, I thought, We need a bigger boat.

Jaws references aside, I immediately started running options through my brain. But Tyson already had a plan.

Tyson whistled, then jumped off the boat and started swimming towards the beast.

I turned to Julia and Sabrina. "Julia, stay here and shoot with your arrows. Aim for the mouth and eyes. Sabrina, come with me."

I whistled just as Tyson had and jumped into the lake. I knew who he was summoning: a hippocampus that went by the name of Rainbow.

He whinnied in greeting as I climbed on his back, and I patted his head. "Nice to see you, too, Rainbow."

I helped Sabrina climb on after me, and we rode towards the monster.

Tyson was already attacking. He was weilding his 'big stick', and launched himself at the monster. The beast's tail flew up to whack him out of direction, but Tyson deflected it and slammed into its neck.

I attacked. Standing up on Rainbow's back, I crouched, then sprung off his back and rammed into the monter's body, dagger out. It tore though the pale underbelly.

The serpent screeched in protest. It was lunging at me, still clinging to its torso, when a gold arrow whistled through the air and pierced its right eye. It reared its head in pain, hissing, and levelled a gaze at Julia with one red eye, the other bleeding with the gold shaft poking out.

It lunged at her, teeth first, but it stopped abruptly at cried out in torture again. Sabrina had ridden Rainbow closer to the monster's tail, whcih she prominently stabbed.

The monster howled in pain, but kept slashing.

Why is it still alive?

This beast must have some resource that's feeding it, sustaining it. We need to cut that source off and then kill it.

I analyzed the situation: what is availiable? Water. Air. Land?

Then, I saw the giant.

He stood easily thirty feet, standing on the shoreline of Ellis Island. Even though we were a way off shore, I could see him pretty clearly: The dragon-like legs, blue and green breastplate shaped with monstrous faces, a tangle of green locks. An evil grin on his monstrous face.

Crap.

"GUYS!!!!! The giant! Get him!!!"

Tyson, still riding the monster like a cowboy at a sea monster rodeo, spotted the giant also. I could tell his face lost all his color when he saw him, because that was Polybotes: the bane of Poseidon.

Julia, on the other hand, went into action. She loaded three arrows in her bow and shot them at the giant, a bullseye in the forehead, a perfect horizontil line. It looked like a really painful unibrow.

Polybotes staggered backwards from the impact, roaring in rage. He ripped them out of his brow, grimacing. I could see the golden ichor blood leak down his face, but it soon faded away to my horror.

But, of course. We need a god to kill him. And we don't have a god to our convenience right now. Piece of cake.

Then we just need to weaken him, I thought. Distract him, injure him. But how?

I hate being a demigod. Have I mentioned that before?

Grumbling, I whistled for Rainbow.

Sabrina was still dodging the beast's thrashing tail on Rainbow's back when he swam over to me. I boarded him behind Sabrina and said, "Take me to where the giant is standing."

Sabrina looked at me like I was crazy, which I pretty much was. "He's keeping the serpent alive. I need to stop him."

"But they can only be killed by a god and a demigod working together! You can't defeat him!"

I kept my face tight, without emotion. "I have to try. Besides, I have a plan." That was partly true. It was a work in progress.

We sped to the shore.

Polybotes watched me get on the shore and approach him. Sabrina hightailed it back to the sea monster. I would have too, but I have a giant to battle.

Polybotes grinned evilly as I neared ten yards. "Ah, daughter of Athena. I see you still haven't recieved the mark."

I really had no idea what the mark was, and I was getting freaked out by it. The storm spirit also mentioned it, and an uneasy feeling settled over me.

The giant continued. "Not that it will make a difference. The seven will fail and you will fail. You have no hope of defeating us. You might as well give up now."

"Not likely." I pulled my dagger and advanced on the giant.

Polybotes smiled. A trident and a net grew in his hands. He was a retarius--king sized.

I took a steadying breath and sent a quick prayer to my mother. Then I charged.

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My apologies to evryone! The end of the year is super chaotic, because that's when the teachers decide to give us the big projects and stuff that completely wipe you out and take up all your time. Gah!

Good news though: i have 4 more days of school that are half days cuz we have finals. iIl be out by 1130 and hopefully will have time to work on this. and after that, no school!!! yay!!!!

I need summer. I'm just done with school, like two weeks ago.

artchick97 :P