AN: Sorry about the delay in updates so this marathon update is my way of making it up to you.
Chapter 16
-Paris-
With a groan, the son of Poseidon rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before falling out of his hammock with a startled yelp when the ship gave a frightening lurch. Getting to his feet he ran out onto the deck to see Annabeth, Percy, that Damian guy, and those girls, Medusa, Clarisse and Zoe, arguing while ahead of the ship the horizon seemed to switch back and forth constantly between a pair of giant cliffs with a narrow channel between the and another view which held an island dotted with jagged cliffs paralleled by a mass of boiling sea.
"What's going on?" he asked Annabeth as he walked over.
"This...this...idiot!" she screeched pointing at Percy, much to his pleasure "Wants to go through the clashing rocks as the gate when, clearly, the better choice is to go through Scylla and Charybdis.".
"Not it's not you fool." Zoe spat at Annabeth angrily "You're pride and arrogance is going to get us all killed.".
"Could someone..." he began confused before an irate Percy cut him off.
"The clashing rocks are the better idea because I can use my powers to keep them apart. Owl Shit over there thinks that having three children of water gods will deter Scylla and Charybdis but it won't! Those two were cursed into becoming monsters, they weren't born that way. And monsters don't give a damn about godly parentage so my decision...is...FINAL!".
"I'm the leader of this quest and I say we go with Annabeth's idea!" he yelled, trying to sound commanding.
"I don't have time to deal with you two idiots!" Percy growled before reaching out and pinching a nerve on Annabeth's neck causing her to convulse before dropping. Percy then quickly turned to him and did the same as his world went black.
-Percy-
Pulling his fingers off Paris' neck he winced and immediately began wiping them on his clothes as if he'd put them in something disgusting...which in a sense he had. "What the hell was that?" a shocked Clarisse asked, staring at the two unconscious idiots.
"I used a low amount of lightning power on a pressure point," he said with a shrug as he turned to the horizon which had finally settled on the clashing rocks "and now that she's unconscious the gateway doesn't have any conflicting decisions to deal with.".
"She really is an idiot," Damian laughed while leaning against a railing "she's seen how powerful you are and should trust your judgment.".
"Well nobody ever accused a child of the goddess of stupidity of being smart." he said making the others chuckle and the skies crash with lightning from said 'goddess of stupidity'. Within moments their sloop was between the looming stone cliffs, their shadows engulfing them in a cold grasp as the walls prepared to claim what they assumed would be another victim. When they were halfway through the looming chasm the massive cliffs began to shake and move forward to try and crush them. Before the cliffs could make any headway he thrust out his hands and exuded his power over the earth onto them, halting them in their tracks. Taking a deep breath he blew and manipulated the air leaving his lungs into a furious gale that filled the sails and shot their ship forward like a rocket. When they were finally past the cliffs he let his powers drop as the two stone walls came together with a thunderous crash.
"Well that was easy." Clarisse chuckled from her place, leaning against the mast "Where to next?".
"Circe's Isle," he said to them "I know that Blackbeard is trapped on the island and I think his is the 'pirate's plea' that was mentioned in the prophecy.".
"Alright Perce," Damian said with a nod and turned the wheel to the new destination "We should be there in about...eight hours.".
"Very well," he said with a nod "I'll take these two idiots below deck.". With a shudder he picked them up and carried them down, throwing them onto a hammock before going to a side room and washing his hands thoroughly with a shudder.
Walking back up on deck he found Clarisse, Zoe, and Medusa had set up a poker table and were dealing out the cards. The next five hours were spent playing poker and were filled with laughter and jokes. It was after the fifth hour that Paris and Annabeth stumbled back onto the upper deck and immediately demanded entry into the game.
The next three hours after they awoke was spent by him and his friends winning all of Paris and Annabeth's money, both mortal cash and Drachma. "Land ho!" Damian called out from the wheel as Circe's Isle came into sight.
"Make port there Damian!" he called out "We'll land and see if there is anyone friendly there who can direct us to Polyphemus' Isle.".
"Aye, aye captain," Damian said in a bad pirate accent, with one eye closed "argh!".
"Just steer the ship you smart ass!" Zoe called out, while counting her stack of won Drachma.
"Listen to your girlfriend Damian!" he added making both Damian and Zoe blush furiously, although neither protested his statement.
It took another hour before they made port and when they landed he saw the same girl who had been there the last time, in the same blue business suit, and the same clipboard. "Welcome!" the clipboard girl said happily, "Is this your first time with us?".
Annabeth and Paris exchanged confused looks much to his amusement before Annabeth said, "Umm ...".
"First—time—at—spa," the girl said as she wrote on her clipboard, "Let's see ..."
She looked us up and down critically, blushing slightly when she got to him and Damian, "Mmm. An herbal wrap to start for the young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young...gentleman," she looked at Paris distastefully "and maybe a touch of work for the other two gentlemen."
"A what?" Paris asked bewildered but the girl was too busy jotting down notes to answer.
"Right!" She said with a breezy smile, "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."
"I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth muttered quietly while Paris' stomach growled.
The place was as amazing as it had been the first time, there was white marble and blue water everywhere he looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by watersides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.
They passed all kinds of tame animals that he now realized were transformed humans, a sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests, once again only young women, lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.
As they headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, he heard Circe singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby, her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old, Minoan maybe, or something similar. Like last time he could understand what she sang about, moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise, and magic. Something about magic.
We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage which held Blackbeard and the rest of the pirates.
Circe sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional, a waterfall scene so real he could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.
Annabeth caught her breath at the sight "It's beautiful.".
Circe turned around and he saw that she was just as beautiful as she had been before, her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold, her piercing green eyes that gazed into your soul, and her silky black dress with the shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.
When Circe opened her mouth to speak though she froze, her eyes locked onto his and she began to glow with a soft pinkish light offset with gold before the light shot from her and entered him, dropping them both to their knees, "Oh you've got to be kidding me." He grumbled, thinking back to what Selena had told him before their departure.
-Flashback-
"Percy," he looked up to see Selena and Beckendorf standing at the door to his room "I need to talk to you about something.".
"Sure," he replies confused "come on in.".
Once the two deities were settled Selena turned to him with a serious expression on her face, "Percy, this is about the curse.". When he looked at her sharply she sighed and elaborated, "With the mentioning of a curse in the prophecy I think it might be a good idea to tell you about a little precaution I added to your curse.".
"What kind of...precaution?" he asks slowly.
"I wanted to make sure you would know if it was really someone who was tied into the curse or just some random girl undressing you with her eyes." Selena explained "Whenever you meet one of the two women affected by the curse they will glow pink and gold before the glow will enter you. That will let you know that they are the ones affected.".
"Thanks Selena." He said with a nod as she and Beckendorf left the room.
-End flashback-
Looking up to see Circe's filled with nothing but love he pinched the bridge of his nose, "You have got to be kidding me.", he muttered.
AN: HAH! Bet you didn't see that one coming!