This Plan Was Definitely Terrible
"I think this is all I can do. After all, it's still magic I don't completely understand," Grover said, completely pale, looking at Clarisse as she shook her injured arm like the bones had truly snapped back into place. Every movement made her press her lips together from the pain, but she still nodded seriously.
"It's enough," she said with confidence.
"So… what's the plan now?" Grover asked.
Clarisse let out a slightly annoyed sigh, like she didn't really want to say what she was about to say.
"If it's like you said, and the saltwater brain is still alive, then we need to send a signal or that idiot will run straight into the Cyclops' mouth and get himself eaten," she said.
"Yeah. Yeah, that would be the smart move. If Percy finds out about the trap, he'll be more careful. And we'll have help against Polyphemus," Grover said, nodding firmly.
Clarisse didn't like hearing that they needed help. But it wasn't like Grover was wrong.
"But how are we supposed to send the signal…?"
As he spoke, the wall behind him shook violently when something slammed into the rock. Polyphemus had thrown something that way, clearly having heard voices. Grover snapped his mouth shut immediately, his heart in his throat.
They both stayed silent until they heard the Cyclops start pounding against a different wall farther away, frustrated.
"First I need to get my spear back," Clarisse said seriously. "I'm sure even that idiot will recognize it if I throw it up through the hole in the ceiling."
"And then?" Grover asked quietly.
"Stay alive until the moron shows up and distracts Polyphemus long enough for us to cut his throat."
"You know… I feel like there are a lot of steps missing in that plan," Grover said quickly. Then he blinked, realizing something. "And whose throat exactly are we cutting?" he asked, just in case.
Clarisse just looked at him without answering.
"Polyphemus', right?" Grover insisted.
But she simply started walking slowly toward the crack in the cave wall they had slipped through earlier.
"I really hope it's Polyphemus," Grover muttered as he followed her.
The two of them carefully peeked through the narrow opening and saw Polyphemus still furious. Now his massive figure was easier to make out as dawn seemed to be breaking; sunlight was starting to filter through the large hole in the cave ceiling, lighting up the dust hanging in the air and the scattered rocks across the ground.
"Graaa…"
Polyphemus lifted a massive boulder and hurled it against a wall, completely out of control, just like he had been all night because the brats had escaped him.
"I'll devour them! And use their bones to make broth!" the giant Cyclops roared while pacing in circles around the spear stuck in the ground, exactly where Clarisse had left it.
She turned to Grover and spoke as quietly as possible, trying to make sure he could read her lips.
"Distract him."
Grover didn't get it at first and shrugged in confusion.
"Dis-tract-him," she repeated slowly, shaping each syllable with her mouth.
Grover opened his mouth as he understood what she meant. But he froze instantly and stared at her.
"How exactly do you expect me to do that?" he whispered.
Clarisse held his gaze and mouthed one word:
"Run."
And right then, Polyphemus, who had been stomping around furiously, turned straight toward him.
He had heard.
"There they are!" he roared before taking enormous strides in their direction.
In just three steps he was already in front of Grover, who spun around and started running without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Clarisse stayed completely still, barely even breathing.
And it worked.
The giant focused all his attention on Grover.
The goat boy barely managed to dodge the Cyclops' massive hand by rolling across the ground. He sprang back up immediately and used his goat legs to run as fast as he could, hooves striking the stone with a sharp echo.
"Graaa!" Polyphemus roared as he slammed his palms against the ground, trying to crush him.
At one point, Grover tripped over his dress and fell face-first onto the ground. But he quickly rolled to the side, barely avoiding a stomp that made the entire cave tremble.
That same stomp knocked something loose from Polyphemus' waist. Something Grover recognized instantly.
"My pipes!" he shouted, grabbing them quickly. Without hesitating, he blew into them hard even from the ground, watching the giant's foot descend toward him.
The moment the first note sounded, a massive bear formed as if made from the very mist of dawn. It leapt at the giant and shoved him backward, just enough for the foot that had been about to crush Grover to slam down inches away instead.
Grover broke into a cold sweat. But he immediately focused on Polyphemus, who crushed the spectral bear with one hand, turning it back into drifting mist.
Grover blew into the pipes again, faster this time.
Two enormous wolves emerged at his sides, shaped from fog and wind, and charged straight at the giant.
Straight for his ankles, sinking their teeth in.
With another sharp note, the bear reformed from the mist and bit down on the arm that had smashed it before.
"Aaah!" Polyphemus roared in pain as the bites multiplied.
The giant grabbed one of the wolves and hurled it against a wall, where it burst into mist. But every time one of the animals was destroyed, Grover blew the pipes again and it returned, reforming and attacking as if nothing had happened.
"I've been practicing a lot," he said proudly, even as the Cyclops grew more and more enraged by the relentless, annoying creatures.
Then Polyphemus slammed the bear down with brutal force, causing another tremor beneath their feet. Small rocks fell from the cave ceiling. Grover smiled and blew the pipes again.
But this time, the bear didn't reform.
His smile vanished.
Especially when Polyphemus destroyed another wolf and Grover kept blowing…
And nothing happened.
"Oh no. It ran out of batteries," Grover said in panic as he watched the last wolf get torn apart in front of him.
"Clarisse!" he shouted as the giant turned toward him again, even if his half-blind eye barely focused. The fury in it was impossible to miss.
"I'm on it!" Clarisse yelled back.
She had the spear resting on her shoulder, pointed upward, adjusting the tip slightly as if calculating the exact angle it needed to fly. Her fingers tightened.
Then she hurled it straight toward the hole in the ceiling.
The spear burst with electricity, like lightning ripping upward from the ground into the sky, tearing through the opening and exploding in a brilliant flash that lit up the entire cave for a second.
Then Clarisse turned around.
A shadow swallowed her.
And a massive hand closed around her.
…
The pirate ship sailed across the sea while Percy stood just in front of the wheel. It wasn't like he needed to be there. But for some reason, watching the water crash against the prow and the steady rise and fall of the waves made him feel calm.
Annabeth stepped out from below deck, her expression more relaxed now. Her eyes had returned to normal, no trace of the reptilian shape they had held before. Or as Percy had called them, dragon-pretty eyes.
"You said… you knew why my eyes turned like that. Can you explain?" she asked seriously. After all, it was her body they were talking about. And she had received something they didn't fully understand.
"Well… it's a pretty interesting story…" Percy began.
But before he could continue, he turned slightly.
"Looks like that'll have to wait," he added, staring at the island coming into view through the morning haze.
Annabeth dropped the conversation and stepped closer to the prow, eyes fixed on the island. She let out a breath.
"We made it. We actually made it," she said.
But for a moment, a flicker of sadness crossed her face.
Just for a second.
It didn't last.
Because suddenly, from the center of the island, a thin bolt of lightning shot straight into the sky. It arced and crashed down near the edge of the island, bursting in sparks that were visible even from that distance.
Annabeth's expression shifted to surprise and confusion as she looked at Percy.
"What was that?" she asked.
Percy narrowed his eyes at the bolt.
And then he smiled.
"I never told you, did I? Tyson's forge is the best. His weapons are insane. But his enchantments…"
He glanced toward the island again.
"They're on another level."
The sails snapped open to their widest span, as if the ship itself had understood.
And it surged forward without Percy having to say a word.