[Y/N's POV]
Traditionally, when the idea of 'monster island' comes into my mind, it would be more like the Sirens' island. Dirty rocks, wreckage surrounding the island. Bones of dead things scattered on the beaches, not to mention and pretty clear cut definition of 'monster'
Polyphemus' island looked nothing at all like that. Sure, it had a rickety looking rope bridge hanging across a seemingly bottomless cavern. Not a great thing to see. That by itself basically radiated 'EVIL ISLAND! BEWARE!'
Outside of the rope bridge though, it looked like a picture-esque tropical island. Green fields sprawling over the land, palm trees, beautiful clean beaches. Everything. It looked like a perfect vacation spot.
As we sailed towards the shore, I took a deep breath. The air was sweet. It filled my lungs, and even being near the island made me feel stronger. I looked at Annabeth who was staring in awe. "The Fleece," she said.
I nodded. We could feel it. And I hoped that the stories were right about it being able to heal anything. It could heal Thalia's tree. Percy stepped up to the railing. "If we take it away, will the island die?" he asked. Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would normally be, whatever that is."
This place was beautiful, and had I not known that it housed a monster trying to marry one of my friends, plus the one thing that could save the camp, I might have chosen to stay here. And maybe it could clear Chiron's name. Oh man. I can only imagine how he feels right now. I haven't talked to him in forever. I'll have to send him an Iris message once I had the time.
For now, we needed to get the fleece. It was so close to being ours.
Well, hopefully doing this would make his sacrifice worth it.
In the grassy meadow, there was a flock full of several dozen sheep milling around. It didn't look much different than a normal field of grazing animals. Except for the fact that these sheep looked to be around the size of a rhinoceros. At the top of the hill, a massive tree, with something glittering in its branches. The golden fleece. The thing that would save Thalia's tree, and by extension, everyone in camp.
"This feels too easy..." I said. "Should I just walk up there and take it off the tree?" Percy said, "You said the same thing about the trap at waterland last year." Annabeth shuddered. "Don't remind me." She surveyed the meadow and her eyes narrowed. "There's supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or... "
At that point, a deer exited the bushes. It hopped into the meadow, looking for something to eat. "Well, that can't be it." I said.
It wasn't.
The very second those words left my mouth, all of the sheep bleated and bum rushed the deer.
Everything happened so fast, that in a moment, the deer was gone, slipping and falling into the swarm of wool. Grass and tufts of fur went flying, along with the chunks of deer flesh and blood. They weren't there for long though, as it was snatched out of the air.
A second later, the deer that was there six seconds ago was a pile of clean white bones. Picked bare. Annabeth, Percy, and I exchanged horrified and disgusted looks.
"They're like piranhas," she said. "Piranhas with wool. How will we-" she stopped, looking around the island, with her hand on her chin. Suddenly, she gasped, grabbed my good arm and said, "Y/N, look!"
She pointed down at the beach, just past the sheep, where there was a small boat, chock full of holes... It was a lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham. Percy gasped and suddenly looked very optimistic. I smacked him on the shoulder with the back of my hand, putting a finger to my mouth, signaling for him to keep it down. He did.
Quickly, we decided that going past the flesh eating sheep was not a viable option. Annabeth wanted to throw on the invisibility hat and sneak up to grab it. In response, I said, "They're animals. They'll smell you. And eat you. And we saw what happened to that deer. I'd make Percy go down there before I let you." I said.
Percy cried out, "Hey!" We ignored him, while I convinced her that even if the sheep couldn't smell her, something else would probably still go wrong. And none of us would be able to help in time.
Either way, we were looking for Grover, and whoever came off of that boat, if they didn't get torn to shreds by the sheep in the meadow. There was a glimmer of hope in Percy's eyes about the boat now. "Maybe Tyson survived." he said. But there was a much more probable answer.
Percy parked the ship on the side of the island, the far side from the sheep. He said, "The ship is less likely to be seen." which made sense. Something that didn't usually happen with Percy. We stood right in front of a very tall cliff and decided to climb it.
It wasn't very easy, but I'd say it was roughly as difficult as scaling a brick wall. Which, I'd done before, but I didn't enjoy it very much. Annabeth went first because she could out-climb us pretty easily even when I was in tact. I followed, and Percy trailed behind us three, watching in case one of us fell off the cliff and landed in the water.
I couldn't climb nearly as well as I could run, but we managed. We only almost died a few times, and I was keeping a pretty good pace with Annabeth. My wrist hadn't fully healed yet, so I was really climbing with one hand. And I was still not doing too poorly.
Aside from the time my feet slipped, and I was left hanging one handed on a smooth stone. I managed to regain my hold on the cliff wall, to keep going at it. A minute later, Annabeth slipped off the rock, sliding right down. But she was grabbed out of the air and held up.
Unfortunately, that thing holding her was my arm. The one with the incredibly messed up wrist. I had caught her on her way down and it tore a muscle clean off. I grunted in pain, but used my limp arm to pull her back up to the rock wall. She looked at me with panic in her eyes. "Can you keep climbing?" she asked. I nodded. "It's not easy, but I'll manage." I was able to groan out.
She climbed ahead. Percy caught up to me, checking in. I gave him the same answer. "I'll be fine." I muttered, and watched him climb the rest of the way up the cliff. Eventually, I gathered the strength to finish the climb.
Sure, my fingers were on fire, my arms were dead at my sides, and my entire left arm was practically useless. So, I lifted myself onto the top of the cliff, flopping onto my back with the others, completely exhausted. "Ugghhh" Percy groaned. "Ouch." Annabeth huffed. "Everything hurts..." I muttered.
A voice below, bellowed, "GRRRRR!!"
If we weren't so exhausted, we would have jumped to our feet and charged whatever that was. I sat up, groaning in pain, but Annabeth slapped her hand over my mouth, pointing down the ledge. As quietly as possible when we were this tired, we crept up to the edge of the cliff, which was a lot thinner than I had originally thought. It dropped off straight down below us. And that's where the voice was coming from.
"You're a feisty one!" the deep voice bellowed.
"Challenge me!" That was definitely Clarisse. Percy rolled his eyes as she kept yelling. "Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"
The monster howled with laughter. Annabeth, Percy and I snuck up to the edge, looking straight down. It was Polyphemus' cave. The entrance was straight below us. Grover, still in a wedding gown no less, was at the Cyclopses' side. If I didn't need to be quiet, I would have laughed like a hyena. I clamped my good hand over my mouth, trying to stifle the giggles coming from within.
A glare through my soul from Annabeth started to make everything a bit less funny. Below us, Clarisse was tied up, hanging over a boiling cauldron of water. She writhed, not unlike Annabeth when she was trying to reach the sirens. Clarisse swore multiple times at the Cyclops, but he just kept laughing at her.
"Hmm," Polyphemus pondered. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?" He looked at Grover, who leapt back and almost fell over. He said, in a very high pitched voice. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps-"
"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded. "Who? Grover?" I muttered a few choice swear words in Clarisse's direction. Annabeth and Percy were muttering. "Shut up. Shut up."
Polyphemus' eye darted between Grover and Clarisse. "'Grover'? What 'Grover'?" He asked. "The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.
I had half a mind to drop straight down just to smack Clarisse upside the head. Grover kept talking in his falsetto voice. "Oh!" he yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!"
Polyphemus's eyelid narrowed over his squinting white eye, as if he were trying to see Clarisse more clearly. The Cyclops definitely made me feel better about Tyson.
This guy was ugly. Tyson was at least the infant kind of ugly where it's tolerable. Granted, his smell made me want to stop being able to breathe, because it smelled like Mr D's drunken bloated body was left out to sweat in the sun for a few days and then lit on fire.
He was also wearing a wedding tux. It was a poorly made kilt, with holes all over it, along with a shoulder wrap, sewn from a bunch of blue tuxedo jackets. It looked like he robbed a tux store and made this in the dark.
"What satyr?" asked Polyphemus. "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?" the cyclops asked. "No, you big idiot!" bellowed Clarisse. "That satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"
I was about to jump down there and strangle her, but Percy somehow convinced me to stay there. I could only watch Polyphemus tear off Grover's veil, showing his curly hair and his poorly managed facial hair. Along with his pointy horns. A trademark of satyrs.
Polyphemus took a deep breath, sucking in what felt like most of the air on the island, and looked like he was about to burst with rage. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE NO LADY CYCLOPS!"
"Uh-oh." Percy said. Polyphemus tore Grover's wedding gown off and underneath, was the Grover we all knew and loved. Camp Half-blood t-shirt, and no pants. He shrieked and ducked as the cyclops made a pass at him. "Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I-I have a good recipe!"
I used my good hand to reach back for my sword, but Annabeth grabbed my arm softly and 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 thought about it for a while. I took a few deep breaths, trying to slow my speeding heart. Percy looked ready to leap in. I kicked him in the leg, shaking my head. I knew what he was thinking. But we'd die if we just charged in.
"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!" she added.
"You got spunk." the cyclops mused. "Let me down!" the daughter of Ares shrieked. Polyphemus snatched Grover off the ground like a baby kitten off the street. "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 us could do anything, Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was 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-Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, etc.
When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as I would 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 us alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder.
We climbed down, slowly, and struggled for what felt like hours, trying to move the boulder. It didn't budge. We yelled into the holes in the stone, banged on the rock, tried hacking away at it with our swords, but no dice and no clue if they heard us.
There was not a high chance that we could kill Polyphemus, and even if we could, it wouldn't help, because we couldn't move that damn rock. Clarisse and Grover would either starve, or just kill each other. I don't think I could even last very long in a locked room with Clarisse. Much less Grover. So the only way we could do this was to get Polyphemus to move the rock.
In frustration, I slammed the armor on my good arm into the rock. All that happened was that sparks flew, and my arm bounced back and hit me in the stomach. I quickly learned to never fight rocks in the future.
While I was doubled over in pain, trying to catch my breath, Annabeth started to come up with a plan.
After that, we sat against the boulder in despair, watching the gigantic cyclops against the afternoon sky tend to his flock. He apparently had two flocks. One of them, the flesh eating piranha sheep, and the other, regular animals. Surprisingly smart decision from a monster that was famously defeated because he was stupid.
There was only one way across the gorge, and it was over that rope bridge. We watched while Polyphemus visited the viscous sheep. Unfortunately, albeit not surprisingly, the sheep didn't devour him like that deer. As a matter of fact, they didn't seem to care about him at all.
Polyphemus fed them chunks of meat that I couldn't identify, which, along with the fact that I still wanted lettuce from when I was a guinea pig, made me consider switching sides with Grover and going vegetarian. The problem with that, was that bacon tasted too good to lose. Plus, Grover eats plastic. So maybe his diet wasn't the best guidelines in the world.
"Trickery," Annabeth decided. "We can't beat him by force, so we'll have to use trickery."
"Would be a good time to have a child of Hermes..." I muttered thoughtlessly. Annabeth glared at me with angry eyes. It didn't take me very long to realize what I had said wrong. I waved my hands around. "Woah! I didn't mean it like that! You gotta-" she started chuckling at me. "I know." she said, smirking. I huffed out a shot of air and looked back out at the tropical view ahead.
"Okay?" Percy asked. "What trick?"
"I haven't figured that part out yet."
"Good to know." I muttered, shaking my head. "Polyphemus will have to move the rock to let the sheep inside." Annabeth thought out loud. "At sunset," I added. "At which point he's going to marry Clarisse, and eat Grover. Not sure which one sounds worse."
"I could get inside," she said, "invisibly."
"What about us?" Percy asked. Annabeth grinned at me. That expression meant she had a devious idea. I got nervous quick. "I have no clue what you're thinking, Einstein, but I do not like it." I said.
"The sheep," she mused, pointing at the grazing animals down the way.
[Percy's POV]
"Just don't let go!" Annabeth said, standing invisibly somewhere off to my right. That was easy for her to say. She wasn't hanging upside down from the belly of a sheep. Now, I'll admit it wasn't as hard as I'd thought. I'd crawled under a car before to change my 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 my weight, and they had thick wool. I just twirled the stuff into handles for my hands, hooked my feet against the sheep's thigh bones, and presto.
I felt like a baby wallaby, riding around against the sheep's chest, trying to keep the wool out of my mouth and my nose. Y/N looked at me from the belly of another sheep, with a grimace. He wrinkled his nose.
In case you're wondering, the underside of a sheep doesn't smell that great. Especially if you have better smelling than the average demigod. Imagine a winter sweater that's been dragged through the mud and left in the laundry hamper for a week. Something like that. Now for Y/N, imagine that times a thousand.
The sun started going down. No sooner were we 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."
"Stay safe!" Y/N hissed through his teeth to her. Our sheep taxis started plodding up the hill. After a hundred yards, my hands and feet started to hurt from holding on.
I gripped the sheep's wool more tightly, and the animal made a grumbling sound. I didn't blame it. I wouldn't want anybody rock climbing in my hair either. I looked over at Y/N. He looked exhausted, especially having to hold on with just one hand.
But if I didn't hold on, I was sure I'd fall off right there in front of the monster. "Hasenpfeffer!" the Cyclops said, patting one of the sheep in front of me. "Einstein!" that was the one Y/N was under.
By the way, that was a total coincidence. Once we got out of here, I'd have to inform Annabeth that she shared a nickname with a sheep.
"Widget, eh there, Widget!" Polyphemus patted my sheep and nearly knocked me to the ground. "Putting on some extra mutton there?"
'Uh-oh,' I thought. 'Here it comes.'
But Polyphemus just laughed and swatted the sheep's rear end, propelling us forward. "Go on, fatty! Soon Polyphemus eat you for breakfast!" And just like that, I was in the cave. I 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!" I heard Y/N snicker from ahead. "You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth taunted. "Much less Nobody."
I hoped to the gods she 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.
I heard the rock smash into a thousand fragments. 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, save for a few people, but Annabeth had explained to us that it was the name Odysseus had used to trick Polyphemus centuries ago, right before he poked the Cyclops's eye out with a large hot stick.
Annabeth had figured Polyphemus would still have a grudge about that name, and she was right. 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. I just hoped Annabeth could stay alive and keep distracting him long enough for us to find Grover and Clarisse.
I dropped off my ride, patted Widget on the head, and apologized. I waited for Y/N to exit his sheep. He did, so we searched the main room, but there was no sign of Grover or Clarisse. I pushed through the crowd of sheep and goats toward the back of the cave.
Even though I'd dreamed about this place, I had a hard time finding my way through the maze. I ran down corridors littered with bones, past rooms full of sheepskin rugs and life-size cement sheep that I 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, I 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 us.
"Percy? " Clarisse said. "You're supposed to be blown up!" She looked at Y/N. "And you're definitely supposed to be dead!" He shook his head. "Zip it moo-girl." She looked like she wanted to punch him again. I rolled my eyes and sighed, moving towards her. "Good to see you, too. Now hold still while I-"
"Perrrrrcy!" Grover bleated and tackled me with a goat-hug. "You heard me! You came!"
"Yeah, buddy," I said. "Of course I came."
"Hey, Grover. Where'd you get a wedding dress?" Y/N asked. Grover frowned sarcastically and bleated. "Does it really matter?" he said, a stupid smirk on his face. "Not at the moment. But I'd still like to know eventually." Y/N muttered.
"Where's Annabeth?"
"Outside," I said. "But there's no time to talk. Clarisse, hold still."
I uncapped Riptide and sliced off her ropes. She stood stiffly, rubbing her wrists. She glared at me for a moment, then looked at the ground and mumbled, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," I said. "Now, was anyone else on board your lifeboat?" Clarisse looked surprised. "No. Just me. Everybody else aboard the Birmingham... well, I didn't even know you guys made it out."
I looked down, trying not to believe that my last hope of seeing Tyson alive had just been crushed. "Okay. Come on, then. We have to help-"
An explosion echoed through the cave, followed by a scream that told me we might be too late. It was Annabeth crying out in fear.
[Y/N's POV]
"I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated. I almost sprinted to the cave entrance. We saw Polyphemus grinning horribly, holding nothing in his hand. The monster shook his big meaty fists.
A yankees baseball cap fell from the air, fluttering. Annabeth's bruised and bloody face shimmered into my vision. The monster had her by the legs, holding her upside down like some flip flopped fisherman.
"Hah!" the Cyclops said. "Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!"
Annabeth struggled for a moment, but she looked out of it. She had a large gash on her forehead. Her eyes looked glazed over, and like she could pass out at any moment.
"I'm going to kill him." I muttered. I reached my good hand back to my sword, not thinking about anything else. "Percy, bring the ship around. You guys-"
"Damn it, Y/N!" Percy chided. "We've got to do this as a team. You can't fight. Your arm is useless. You're the fastest one of us. We're going to get him to drop Annabeth. Catch her." he instructed. I took a deep breath and nodded, realizing the worst possibilities if I were to mess up.
Percy was right. I handed my sword to Grover. Clarisse had armed herself with a highly collectible ram's-horn spear from the Cyclops's cave. Grover gripped my sword, ready to attack.
"We'll take him together," Clarisse growled. "Yeah," Grover said. Then he blinked, like he couldn't believe he'd just agreed with Clarisse about something. "All right," Percy said. "Attack plan Macedonia."
We nodded. We had all taken the same classes at Camp Half blood, learning the formations. It wasn't hard to figure out what they were talking about. They'd sneak around the monster while Percy would hold his attention. Meanwhile, I'd be on the ready to catch my falling friend.
[Percy's POV]
I hefted my sword and shouted, "Hey, Ugly!" The giant whirled toward me. "Another one? Who are you?"
"Put down my friend. I'm the one who insulted you."
"You are Nobody?"
"That's right, you smelly bucket of nose drool!" It didn't sound quite as good as Annabeth's insults, but it was all I could think of. "I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it! Now, put her down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."
"RAAAR!" he bellowed.
The good news: he dropped Annabeth. The bad news: he dropped her head first. I saw a motion blur zip past me, Y/N was really running. I'd never seen him move that fast before, but he caught her, sliding underneath her limp form like a baseball player into second base, just before she hit the ground.
He slid along the dirt, Annabeth in his grasp. "Run, Y/N! Get her out of here!" I yelled. He nodded, and took off, holding her in his arms as best as he could with the bad hand.
The other bad news: Polyphemus barreled toward me, a thousand smelly pounds of Cyclops that I would have to fight with a very small sword. "For Pan!" Grover rushed in from the right. He swung Y/N's sword, which bounced harmlessly off the monster's leg. Grover apparently didn't have enough power to do any damage.
Clarisse ran in from the left and set her spear against the ground just in time for the Cyclops to step on it. He wailed in pain, and Clarisse dove out of the way to avoid getting trampled. But the Cyclops just plucked out the shaft like a large splinter and kept advancing on me.
I moved in with Riptide. The monster made a grab for me. I rolled aside and stabbed him in the thigh. I was hoping to see him disintegrate, but this monster was much too big and powerful.
I have to admit, Clarisse and Grover were brave. They charged the cyclops repeatedly, but I heard Y/N call for Grover. He ran off of the battlefield reluctantly. Clarisse charged the Cyclops again and again. He pounded the ground, stomped at her, grabbed at her, but she was too quick. And as soon as she made an attack, I followed up by stabbing the monster in the toe or the ankle or the hand.
But we couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually we would tire or the monster would get in a lucky shot. It would only take one hit to kill us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grover and Y/N carefully carrying Annabeth across the widely spread rope bridge. It wouldn't have been my first choice, given the man-eating sheep on the other side, but at the moment that looked better than this side of the chasm, and it gave me an idea. "Fall back!" I told Clarisse.
She rolled away as the Cyclops's fist smashed the olive tree beside her. We ran for the bridge, Polyphemus right behind us. He was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds, but all we'd done was slow him down and make him mad. "Grind you into sheep chow!" he promised. "A thousand curses on Nobody!"
"Faster!" I told Clarisse.
We tore down the hill. The bridge was our only chance. Y/N and Grover had just made it to the other side and were setting Annabeth down. We had to make it across, too, before the giant caught us. "Y/N!" I yelled. "Get your sword!"
His eyes widened when he saw the Cyclops behind us, but he nodded like he understood. As Clarisse and I scrambled across the bridge, He used his one good arm and hacked through one of the ropes. It snapped free, and dangled dangerously over the chasm. Grover was bleating his nerves out.
Polyphemus bounded after us, making the bridge sway wildly.
The ropes were now half cut. Clarisse and I dove for solid ground, landing beside the other two. I heard Y/N shout and make a sharp cut with his blade, slicing the remaining rope. The bridge fell away into the chasm, and the Cyclops howled... with delight, because he was standing right next to us.
"Failed!" he yelled gleefully. "Nobody failed!"
"Oh, come on." Y/N breathed, exasperated. Taking a deep breath, he quickly hoisted Annabeth onto his back and got ready to run.
Clarisse and Grover tried to charge him, but the monster swatted them aside like flies. My anger swelled. I couldn't believe I'd come this far, lost Tyson, suffered through so much, only to fail-stopped by a big stupid monster in a baby-blue tuxedo kilt. Nobody was going to swat down my friends like that! I mean... nobody, not Nobody. Ah, you know what I mean.
Strength coursed through my body. I raised my sword and attacked, forgetting that I was hopelessly outmatched. I jabbed the Cyclops in the belly. When he doubled over I smacked him in the nose with the hilt of my sword.
I slashed and kicked and bashed until the next thing I knew, Polyphemus was sprawled on his back, dazed and groaning, and I was standing above him, the tip of my sword hovering over his eye.
"Uhhhhhhhh," Polyphemus moaned, equally confused.
"Percy!" Grover gasped. "How did you-"
"Who cares how you did it! Kill him dead, Percy!" Y/N shouted at me.
"Please, noooo!" the Cyclops moaned, pitifully staring up at me. His nose was bleeding. A tear welled in the corner of his half-blind eye. "M-m-my sheepies need me. Only trying to protect my sheep!" He began to sob.
I had won. All I had to do was stab. One quick strike. "Kill him!" Clarisse yelled. "What are you waiting for?" The Cyclops sounded so heartbroken, just like... like Tyson. "He's a Cyclops!" Grover warned. "Don't trust him!"
I knew he was right. I knew Annabeth would've said the same thing. But Polyphemus sobbed... and for the first time it sank in that he was a son of Poseidon, too. Like Tyson. Like me. How could I just kill him in cold blood?
"We only want the Fleece," I told the monster. "Will you agree to let us take it?"
"No!" Clarisse shouted. "Kill him!"
"Percy you idiot! Cut him open!" Y/N cried out. The monster sniffed. "My beautiful Fleece. Prize of my collection. Take it, cruel human. Take it and go in peace."
"I'm going to step back slowly," I told the monster.
"One false move... " Polyphemus nodded like he understood. I stepped back... and as fast as a cobra, Polyphemus smacked me to the edge of the cliff.
"Foolish mortal!" he bellowed, rising to his feet. "Take my Fleece? Ha! I crush you first." He opened his enormous mouth, growling at me. that his giant foot would be the last thing I would ever see. But I was pushed out of the way.
Time felt like it slowed down. I looked back and saw Y/N with an outstretched arm and a panicked look on his face. He had no way to defend himself. No weapon, and he was in the worst possible position. Right under where Polyphemus' foot was going to land.
The giant foot slammed down with a thud. Polyphemus cackled horribly. "I crushed the fast one!" I looked on in horror, only wondering how in the world he could have even survived that. Grover cried out, "NO!" Even Clarisse looked upset.
But Polyphemus was the most upset when he stopped laughing. He started lifting his foot, roaring in agony. From under it, I saw Y/N slowly rise from a crater in the ground. He was trembling.
He was holding something that seemed to suck all of the light out of its surroundings. A blade of pure darkness.
The blade barely had form, shimmering like a starless night sky. I could see, under his armor, there were black veins pulsing down his right arm. He looked terrified, but pulled the sword out of Polyphemus' foot, and swung aggressively, cutting a toe off of the cyclops.
[Y/N's POV]
My arm moved against my will, dicing off part of Polyphemus. He hopped around, holding his foot in agony. The blade of pure darkness turned into a formless shadow again, and slithered up my arm. It wrapped snug around my bicep, and I heard that voice. The one from Tartarus and Scylla's cave.
It sounded smug. "You're welcome, boy." and it trailed off.
Before I could even process any of this, something went whoosh over my head and thump!
A rock the size of a basketball went flying over my head and drilled right into Polyphemus' throat. Sunk like one of my own three pointers. Nothing but net.
The cyclops choked quickly, trying to swallow the newfound stone in his esophagus. The cyclops tumbled back, already on one foot, and fell right back into the chasm of the island. I turned around in surprise.
With a deep breath taken in, I looked down the beach, and saw an old friend, standing carelessly in the flock of flesh eating sheep. "Bad Polyphemus," Tyson said. "Not all Cyclops as nice as we look."
Percy smiled widely and ran up to greet the cyclops before realizing that he was surrounded by murderous sheep. Tyson gave us the rundown of how he survived the mess that was the explosion.
Rainbow, his favorite hippocampus, who had been following us the whole time, was ready to play with Tyson, and had found him sinking beneath the sea in the wreckage of the SS Birmingham and pulled him to safety.
Rainbow and Tyson had been searching the Sea of Monsters ever since, trying to find us, until Tyson caught the scent of sheep and found this island.
"Tyson, thank the gods." Percy exclaimed. "Annabeth is hurt!"
"You thank the gods she is hurt?" he asked, puzzled. "No, Tyson!" I yelled, kneeling down beside her. She looked even worse than I originally thought. Her hairline was caked with her own blood, her skin pale and clammy.
I looked at Grover and Percy, sharing nervous glances. An idea came to me. "Tyson, buddy. Can you get the fleece for us?"
"Which one?" Tyson asked, looking around at the hundreds of sheep. "The one in the tree, big guy. The golden one." I muttered, wiping some of Annabeth's hair off of her bloody face. I was really starting to get worried now. She was barely moving at this point.
"Oh. Pretty. Yes." Tyson said, lumbering over, careful not to step on the sheep. Now, if any of us tried to go over and take it, we would have been shredded alive. But Tyson didn't seem to cause them any bother at all.
They actually pushed up against him, so Tyson patted the wool on some of them. He just walked right up to the tree and peeled the fleece off. The tree started dying almost immediately. He started walking over. "There's not enough time, Tyson! Throw it over!"
He did so, and I reached up to catch the fleece, but, Tyson's throwing strength combined with the shocking weight of the fleece, I got pulled off my feet. Nevertheless, I crawled back up and laid the golden wool over Annabeth.
I draped it over her like a blanket, covering every part of her body besides her head. I was desperate. I started praying. Even to my mother, since she was the goddess of nature, and the fleece was very much nature magic. I'd do anything right now to make sure she'd be okay.
That includes losing my dignity by praying to someone who wasn't listening.
"Please... Please..." I whispered. Someone must have heard me, because the color started to return to Annabeth's face. Her eyes fluttered open, and the cuts and gashes started to heal. She saw Grover and said weakly, "You're not... married?" Grover grinned. "No. My friends talked me out of it."
I let out a relieved breath, feeling a good bit of stress leaving my shoulders. "Oh thank the gods." I said quietly. "Annabeth," I said, "please just lay still." Despite my best efforts, she sat up. I noticed that the gash on her face was almost completely gone. She actually seemed to shine. Like if someone tossed a handful of glitter around her.
[Percy's POV]
Meanwhile, Tyson was starting to have trouble with the sheep. "Down!" he told them as they tried to climb him, looking for food. A few were sniffing in our direction. "No, sheepies. This way! Come here!"
They heeded him, but it was obvious they were hungry, and they were starting to realize Tyson didn't have any treats for them. They wouldn't hold out forever with so much fresh meat nearby.
"We have to go," I said to Clarisse and Grover. "Our ship is..." The Queen Anne's Revenge was a very long way away. The shortest route was across the chasm, and we'd just destroyed the only bridge. The only other possibility was through the sheep. "Tyson," I called, "can you lead the flock as far away as possible?"
"The sheep want food."
"I know! They want people food! Just lead them away from the path. Give us time to get to the beach. Then join us there."
Tyson looked doubtful, but he whistled. "Come, sheepies! Um, people food this way!" He jogged off into the meadow, the sheep in pursuit. "Keep the Fleece on," I heard Y/N tell Annabeth. "There's no way you're fully healed yet, but can you stand?" he asked.
She tried, but her face turned pale again. "Ohh. Not fully healed." he put his arm under her, keeping Annabeth from completely slamming into the ground. "I told you so." he said, smirking. "Don't start with that." Annabeth murmured.
Clarisse dropped next to her and felt her chest, which made Annabeth gasp. "Ribs broken," Clarisse said. "They're mending, but definitely broken."
"How can you tell?" I asked. Clarisse glared at me. "Because I've broken a few, runt! I'll have to carry her." Y/N tried to argue, but before he could, Clarisse picked up Annabeth like a sack of flour and lugged her down to the beach. "Be careful!" Y/N exclaimed. We followed her.
As soon as we got to the edge of the water, I concentrated on the Queen Anne's Revenge. I willed it to raise anchor and come to me. After a few anxious minutes, I saw the ship rounding the tip of the island. "Incoming!" Tyson yelled.
He was bounding down the path to join us, the sheep about fifty yards behind, bleating in frustration as their Cyclops friend ran away without feeding them. "They probably won't follow us into the water," I told the others. "All we have to do is swim for the ship."
"With Annabeth like this?" Clarisse protested.
"We can do it," I insisted. I was starting to feel confident again. I was back in my home turf. The sea. "Once we get to the ship, we're home free." We almost made it, too.
We were just wading past the entrance to the ravine, when we heard a tremendous roar and saw Polyphemus, scraped up and bruised but still very much alive, his baby-blue wedding outfit in tatters, splashing toward us with a boulder in each hand. "You'd think he'd run out of rocks," I muttered. "Swim for it!" Grover said.
He, Y/N, and Clarisse plunged into the surf. Annabeth hung on to Clarisse's neck and tried to paddle with one hand, the wet Fleece weighing her down. But the monster's attention wasn't on the Fleece.
"You, young Cyclops!" Polyphemus roared. "Traitor to your kind!" Tyson froze. "Don't listen to him!" I pleaded. "Come on." I pulled Tyson's arm, but I might as well have been pulling a mountain. He turned and faced the older Cyclops. "I am not a traitor."
"You serve mortals!" Polyphemus shouted. "Thieving humans!" Polyphemus threw his first boulder. Tyson swatted it aside with his fist.
"Not a traitor," Tyson said. "And you are not my kind."
"Death or victory!" Polyphemus charged into the surf, but his foot was still wounded. He immediately stumbled and fell on his face. That would've been funny, except he started to get up again, spitting salt water and growling.
"Percy!" Clarisse yelled. "Come on!" Y/N huffed and smacked the water. "This is not the time to play games, Jackson!" he shouted. They were almost to the ship with the Fleece. If I could just keep the monster distracted a little longer...
"Go," Tyson told me. "I will hold Big Ugly."
"No! He'll kill you." I'd already lost Tyson once. I wasn't going to lose him again. "We'll fight him together."
"Together," Tyson agreed. I drew my sword.
Polyphemus advanced carefully, limping worse than ever. But there was nothing wrong with his throwing arm. He chucked his second boulder. I dove to one side, but I still would've been squashed if Tyson's fist hadn't blasted the rock to rubble.
I willed the sea to rise. A twenty-foot wave surged up, lifting me on its crest. I rode toward the Cyclops and kicked him in the eye, leaping over his head as the water blasted him onto the beach.
"Destroy you!" Polyphemus spluttered. "Fleece stealer!"
"You stole the Fleece!" I yelled. "You've been using it to lure satyrs to their deaths!"
"So? Satyrs good eating!"
"The Fleece should be used to heal! It belongs to the children of the gods!"
"I am a child of the gods!" Polyphemus swiped at me, but I sidestepped. "Father Poseidon, curse this thief!"
He was blinking hard now, like he could barely see, and I realized he was targeting by the sound of my voice.
"Poseidon won't curse me," I said, backing up as the Cyclops grabbed air. "I'm his son, too. He won't play favorites." Polyphemus roared. He ripped an olive tree out of the side of the cliff and smashed it where I'd been standing a moment before. "Humans not the same! Nasty, tricky, lying!"
Y/N was helping Annabeth aboard the ship. Clarisse and Grover were waving frantically at me, telling me to come on. Tyson worked his way around Polyphemus, trying to get behind him. "Young one!" the older Cyclops called. "Where are you? Help me!" Tyson stopped.
"You weren't raised right!" Polyphemus wailed, shaking his olive tree club. "Poor orphaned brother! Help me!" No one moved. No sound but the ocean and my own heartbeat. Then Tyson stepped forward, raising his hands defensively. "Don't fight, Cyclops brother. Put down the-" Polyphemus spun toward his voice. "Tyson!" I shouted.
The tree struck him with such force it would've flattened me into a Percy pizza with extra olives. Tyson flew backward, plowing a trench in the sand. Polyphemus charged after him, but I shouted, "No!" and lunged as far as I could with Riptide. I'd hoped to sting Polyphemus in the back of the thigh, but I managed to leap a little bit higher.
"Blaaaaah!" Polyphemus bleated just like his sheep, and swung at me with his tree. I dove, but still got raked across the back by a dozen jagged branches. I was bleeding and bruised and exhausted. The guinea pig inside me wanted to bolt. But I swallowed down my fear.
Polyphemus swung the tree again, but this time I was ready. I grabbed a branch as it passed, ignoring the pain in my hands as I was jerked skyward, and let the Cyclops lift me into the air. At the top of the arc I let go and fell straight against the giant's face-landing with both feet on his already damaged eye.
Polyphemus yowled in pain. Tyson tackled him, pulling him down. I landed next to them- sword in hand, within striking distance of the monster's heart. But I locked eyes with Tyson, and I knew I couldn't do it. It just wasn't right. "Let him go," I told Tyson. "Run." With one last mighty effort, Tyson pushed the cursing older Cyclops away, and we ran for the surf.
"I will smash you!" Polyphemus yelled, doubling over in pain. His enormous hands cupped over his eye. Tyson and I plunged into the waves.
"Where are you?" Polyphemus screamed. He picked up his tree club and threw it into the water. It splashed off to our right.
I summoned up a current to carry us, and we started gaining speed. I was beginning to think we might make it to the ship, when Clarisse shouted from the deck, "Yeah, Jackson! In your face, Cyclops!"
'Shut up,' I wanted to yell.
"Rarrr!" Polyphemus picked up a boulder. He threw it toward the sound of Clarisse's voice, but it fell short, narrowly missing Tyson and me.
"Yeah, yeah!" Clarisse taunted. "You throw like a wimp! Teach you to try marrying me, you idiot! You were prepared for our best! Not for our dumbest! NOBODY WINS AGAIN!" she shouted.
"Clarisse!" Y/N yelled, unable to stand it. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF BEING QUIET!?"
Too late. Polyphemus threw another boulder, and this time I watched helplessly as it sailed over my head and crashed through the hull of the Queen Anne's Revenge.
[Y/N's POV]
It's actually surprising how dumb people can be. It's also surprising how fast a wooden ship sinks. The Queen Anne's revenge groaned loud, tipping forward, starting to capsize with us on top.
I swore loudly, in english this time. We were struggling to stay afloat, and through the tide, I could barely see Percy and Tyson headed our way. We were getting pulled under.
I swam over and used all of my strength to propel Grover, Clarisse, and Annabeth to the surface, but I couldn't do it with one arm. The sinking ship was pulling us under, so most of our efforts were fruitless.
The water was getting darker, the golden fleece wrapped around Annabeth the lone source of light. It helped me navigate around the wreckage of the pirate ship. I saw Percy and Tyson above us, squeezing their faces up in concentration. Quickly, from the depths, multiple shapes shimmered.
Four hippocampi made their way to us, hoisting up Grover and Clarisse onto their back, one for Percy. Rainbow of course for Tyson, and the hippocampi I recognized as the one I rode last time swept me up behind Annabeth onto it's back.
The horses of the sea weaved in and out of the wreckage, eventually diving up in a cloud of seafoam on the surface. Percy, Tyson, Grover, Clarisse, Annabeth and I were all on hippocampi.
We broke our stand still and tore away from Polyphemus's island. Behind us, I could hear the Cyclops roaring in triumph, "I did it! I finally sank Nobody!" Not like I was going to tell him any different. Not now at least.
Eventually, we got far enough away from the island for it to disappear along the horizon. I fought to catch my breath and looked forward at Annabeth. She had a weak smile on her face. "Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded, and said weakly "We... did it." She looked up around me, gaining a very worried expression, and started trying to peel the fleece off. I tried to stop her, but she, stronger than I was expecting, slapped my hands away.
"Stop, Y/N." She pleaded. "You're hurt. Let me help you this time. Please?" Annabeth had so much conviction in her tired voice, it was hard to not listen to her. I nodded, and wrapped the fleece around the both of us. Annabeth collapsed, exhausted back into my chest and nodded off.
I positioned myself so that neither of us would fall off. I could have sworn that my hippocampus was laughing at me. I shook my head and tried to focus. Eventually, the nature magic of the fleece became too much for me. My eyes shut, and before I fully passed out, I managed a silent prayer of thanks to my whichever god listened to my pleas.