𝟎𝟎𝟔.𝟐
By the time Juliet came back to her senses and woke up, she was somewhere on an Island hauled above ground by Percy who definitely needed lessons on how to hold someone and the distinct voice of Grover and Clarisse in the back talking about someone's wedding.
For a second she stared at the cave above her, blinking her eyes and wondering if the siren encounter had finally damaged her brain or her satyr friend was really out there talking about Clarisse getting married to a cyclops.
What in the fresh hell?
"Percy," she tried to call out to the guy who's hands were awkwardly wrapped around her back, he'd definitely never held a girl before. Percy didn't hear her call too busy hearing about Grover being eaten with mango chutney. "Perce!"
He heard her whispered yell then, jerking back and connecting his eyes with her slightly reddish ones, blinking hurt and the lack of sunlight was no help, she needed her sunglasses and to be on her own feet.
"You're awake!" He lightly exclaimed and Juliet rolled her eyes while jumping down from his arms, "No I'm dead. Stop stating the obvious and help,"
She gestured to her eyes and he understood pointing to his sweatshirts pointing while still holding onto her swaying shoulders so that she didn't fall. Juliet reached and took out the glasses placing them on her eyes before sighing in relief, "Now tell me what's going?"
Just as Percy was about to speak there was a huge explosion around the cave followed by a scream that told her they might be too late. It was Annabeth crying out in fear.
"I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated.
Why was he happy then? They crept to the cave entrance and saw the Cyclops, grinning wickedly, holding up empty air. The monster shook his fist, and a baseball cap fluttered to the ground. There was Annabeth, hanging upside down by her legs.
"Hah!" the Cyclops said. "Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!"
Annabeth struggled, but she looked dazed. She had a nasty cut on her forehead. Her eyes were glassy. Juliet turned towards Clarisse with wide eyes, making sure fiesty one referred to her and not Juliet, herself.
"I'll rush him," Percy whispered to Juliet and Clarisse. "Our ship is around the back of the island. You two and Grover-"
"No way," they said at the same time.
Clarisse had armed herself with a highly collectible ram's-horn spear from the Cyclops's cave. Grover had found a sheep's thigh bone, which he didn't look too happy about, but he was gripping it like a club, ready to attack. Meanwhile Juliet twisted her laurel to form her crossbow.
"We'll take him together," Clarisse growled.
"Yeah," Grover and Juliet said. Then they blinked and exchanged looks, like thye couldn't believe they'd just agreed with Clarisse about something.
"All right," Juliet said. "Attack plan Macedonia."
They nodded. They had all taken the same training courses at Camp Half-Blood. They knew what Juliet was talking about, besides plan Macedonia was created by Alexander meaning it was one plan Juliet had to memorize. They would sneak around either side and attack the Cyclops from the flanks while Percy held his attention in the front. Probably what this meant was that they'd all die instead of just Percy.
Percy hefted his sword and shouted, "Hey, Ugly!"
The giant whirled toward him. "Another one? Who are you?"
"Put down my friend. I'm the one who insulted you."
"You are Nobody?"
What did that even mean!? Juliet was extremely confused.
"That's right, you smelly bucket of nose drool!" Percy really needed some camp lessons on how to properly insult monsters, this was his second year and he was already failing. "I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it!" It was like he was coming out or something, "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 headfirst onto the rocks, where she lay motionless as a rag doll.
The other bad news: Polyphemus barreled toward Percy, a thousand smelly pounds of Cyclops that he would have to fight with a very small sword.
"For Pan!" Grover rushed in from the right. He threw his sheep bone, which bounced harmlessly off the monster's forehead, Juliet took over for him then by aiming three arrows on the cyclops back. 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 and arrows like a large splinter and kept advancing on Percy.
Percy moved in with Riptide.
The monster made a grab for him. He rolled aside and stabbed him in the thigh.
Juliet was hoping to see him disintegrate, but this monster was much too big and powerful.
"Get Annabeth!" Percy yelled at Grover.
He rushed over, grabbed her invisibility cap, and picked her up while Juliet, Clarisse and Percy tried to keep Polyphemus distracted.
Juliet had to admit, Clarisse was brave. She 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, Percy and Juliet followed up by stabbing the monster in the toe or the ankle or the hand.
But they couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually they would tire or the monster would get in a lucky shot. It would only take one hit to kill.
Out of the corner of her eye, Juliet saw Grover carrying Annabeth across the rope bridge. It wouldn't have been her 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 Percy an idea.
"Fall back!" He told them.
She rolled away as the Cyclops's fist smashed the olive tree beside her. Juliet aimed her bow straight at his eye, ready to shoot when Percy grabbed her arm dragging her away and making her loose aim.
They ran for the bridge, Polyphemus right behind them. He was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds, but all they'd done was slow him down and make him mad.
"Grind you into sheep chow!" he promised. "A thousand curses on Nobody!"
"Faster!" Juliet told Clarisse, her hand still in Percy's.
They tore down the hill. The bridge was their only chance. Grover had just made it to the other side and was setting Annabeth down. They had to make it across, too, before the giant caught them.
"Grover!" Percy yelled. "Get Annabeth's knife!"
His eyes widened when he saw the Cyclops behind them, but he nodded like he understood. As they scrambled across the bridge, Grover began sawing at the ropes.
The first strand went snap!
Polyphemus bounded after them, making the bridge sway wildly.
The ropes were now half cut. They dove for solid ground, landing beside Grover. Percy made a wild slash with his sword and cut the remaining ropes.
The bridge fell away into the chasm, and the Cyclops howled . . . with delight, because he was standing right next to them.
"Failed!" he yelled gleefully. "Nobody failed!"
Clarisse and Grover tried to charge him, but the monster swatted them aside like flies.
Juliet rushed forward notching an arrow in her crossbow when the cyclops swiped her weapon away crushing it in half.
"No!" The scream slipped away as Juliet watched her bow break, sunbeam, the gift from her dad was gone.
It shifted in its laurel form, the laurel withered now.
Tears slipped out of her eyes. Her bow, it wasn't just a weapon, it had been an ally in war for as long as she could remember, she'd received it after her quest and she couldn't believe she just lost it.
"My bow," Juliet fell to her knees cupping the small laurel, there was so much agony in her voice, Percy felt his heart clench at her tears.
His anger swelled. He couldn't believe he'd come this far, lost Tyson, suffered through so much, watched his best friend lost her weapon, only to fail-stopped by a big stupid monster in a baby-blue tuxedo kilt. Nobody was going to cause pain to his friends like that! He meant . . . nobody, not Nobody. Ah, you know what he meant.
Strength coursed through his body. Percy raised his sword and attacked, forgetting that he was hopelessly outmatched. He jabbed the Cyclops in the belly. When he doubled over Percy smacked him in the nose with the hilt of my sword. He slashed and kicked and bashed until the next thing he knew, Polyphemus was sprawled on his back, dazed and groaning, and Percy was standing above him, the tip of his sword hovering over his eye.
"Uhhhhhhhh," Polyphemus moaned.
"Percy!" Grover gasped. "How did you-"
Percy didn't know how he did it either, but it definitely had something to do with Juliet. As soon as he'd seen the tears in her eyes a rage so ancient and deep had taken over him as if it was just his body and somebody else was controlling his movements.
"Please, noooo!" the Cyclops moaned, pitifully staring up at Percy.
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.
Percy had won. All he 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!"
Percy knew he was right. He 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 him. How could he just kill him in cold blood?
His eyes found Juliet's she still had tears welled in her eyes while clutching the laurel but the sad smile she gave him was enough.
"We only want the Fleece," Percy told the monster. "Will you agree to let us take it?"
"No!" Clarisse shouted. "Kill him! Didn't you see what he did with Juliet!"
At the mention of Juliet, Percy shook his head swiftly when he felt the anger creeping in again. 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," Percy told the monster. "One false move . . ."
Polyphemus nodded like he understood.
He stepped back . . . and as fast as a cobra, Polyphemus smacked him to the edge of the cliff.
"Foolish mortal!" he bellowed, rising to his feet. "Take my Fleece? Ha! I eat you first."
He opened his enormous mouth, and Percy knew that his rotten molars were the last things he would ever see.
Then something went whoosh over his head and thump!
A rock the size of a basketball sailed into Polyphemus's throat-a beautiful three-pointer, nothing but net. The Cyclops choked, trying to swallow the unexpected pill. He staggered backward, but there was no place to stagger. His heel slipped, the edge of the cliff crumbled, and the great Polyphemus made chicken wing motions that did nothing to help him fly as he tumbled into the chasm.
They turned.
Halfway down the path to the beach, standing completely unharmed in the midst of a flock of killer sheep, was an old friend.
"Bad Polyphemus," Tyson said. "Not all Cyclopes as nice as we look."
Tyson gave them the short version: Rainbow the hippocampus- who'd apparently been following them ever since the Long Island Sound, waiting for Tyson to play with him-had found Tyson sinking beneath the wreckage of the CSS Birmingham and pulled him to safety. He and Tyson had been searching the Sea of Monsters ever since, trying to find them, until Tyson caught the scent of sheep and found this island.
Juliet wanted to hug the big oaf, except he was standing in the middle of killer sheep. "Tyson, thank the gods. Annabeth is hurt!"
"You thank the gods she is hurt?" he asked, puzzled.
"No!" Juliet knelt beside Annabeth and was worried sick by what she saw. The gash on her forehead was worse than she'd realized. Her hairline was sticky with blood. Her skin was pale and clammy. She was snapping out of conscious due to blunt force trauma and needed immigration stitches and- Woah! Where did all the medical information come from?
Grover, Juliet and Percy exchanged nervous looks. Then an idea came to him. "Tyson, the Fleece. Can you get it for me?"
"Which one?" Tyson said, looking around at the hundreds of sheep.
"In the tree!" Juliet yelled. "The gold one!"
"Oh. Pretty. Yes."
Tyson lumbered over, careful not to step on the sheep. If any of them had tried to approach the Fleece, they would've been eaten alive, but Juliet guessed Tyson smelled like Polyphemus, because the flock didn't bother him at all.
They just cuddled up to him and bleated affectionately, as though they expected to get sheep treats from the big wicker basket. Tyson reached up and lifted the Fleece off its branch. Immediately the leaves on the oak tree turned yellow. Tyson started wading back toward them, but Percy yelled, "No time! Throw it!"
The gold ram skin sailed through the air like a glittering shag Frisbee. Percy caught it with a grunt. It was heavier than he'd expected-sixty or seventy pounds of precious gold wool.
Percy spread it over Annabeth, covering everything but her face, Juliet prayed silently to all the gods she could think of, even the ones she didn't like.
Please. Please.
The color returned to her face. Her eyelids fluttered open. The cut on her forehead began to close. She saw Grover and said weakly, "You're not . . . married?"
Grover grinned. "No. My friends talked me out of it."
"Annabeth," Juliet said, "just lay still."
But despite their protests she sat up, and Juliet noticed that the cut on her face was almost completely healed. She looked a lot better. In fact, she shimmered with health, as if someone had injected her with glitter.
The inner child of apollo in her stopped to stare in awe. The workings of the fleece were magical, if used properly to replicate the object they could do wonders in the field of medicine.
She was broken off her thoughts by Tyson 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 their 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," Percy said. "Our ship is. . ."
The Queen Anne's Revenge was a very long way away. The shortest route was across the chasm, and they'd just destroyed the only bridge. The only other possibility was through the sheep.
"Tyson," Percy 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 around you," Juliet told Annabeth. "Just in case you're not fully healed yet. Can you stand?"
She tried, but her face turned pale again. "Ohh. Not fully healed."
Clarisse dropped next to her and felt her chest, which made Annabeth gasp.
"Ribs broken," Clarisse said, Juliet nodded in agreement, judging by the gasp she could understand the injury too."They're mending, but definitely broken."
"How can you tell?" Percy asked.
Clarisse glared at Percy. "Because I've broken a few, runt! I'll have to carry her."
Before they could argue, Clarisse picked up Annabeth like a sack of flour and lugged her down to the beach. Grover, Juliet and Percy followed.
As soon as they got to the edge of the water, Percy concentrated on the Queen Anne's Revenge. He willed it to raise anchor and come to him. After a few anxious minutes, He saw the ship rounding the tip of the island.
"Incoming!" Tyson yelled. He was bounding down the path to join them, 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," Percy told the others. "All we have to do is swim for the ship."
"With Annabeth like this?" Juliet protested.
"We can do it," Percy insisted. High optimism for somebody who was previously going to be sheep meat. "Once we get to the ship, we're home free."
They almost made it, too.
They were just wading past the entrance to the ravine, when they 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 them with a boulder in each hand.