BLAZING THROUGH THE SYMPLEGADES

After I had packed my things, I followed Vittoria deep into the woods right after curfew. I had told Chiron I planned on going back to the Underworld, and Vittoria, her foster home. Unless something terribly wrong happened(ex: someone mangled our bodies live on television), nobody would suspect we were up to something. But there was another problem. Traveling through the woods at night was worse than medieval torture. In a nutshell, our epic journey was marked with grumbling, stumbling, tripping over fallen branches, avoiding dangerous monsters, and cursing. In simpler terms, a fantastic experience, as I'm sure Vittoria would agree.

Finally, we exited the forest and now arrived at a dock. As demigods, we fought just as much on land as we did on the seas, so boats were an essential part of our toolkit(especially when we had to voyage long distances). Airplanes would be problematic; if DGH created their own fleet, mortals would notice, and issues would surface. We might even get labeled as aliens.

The ship we were using, Pandora, was disguised as just another warship hidden among the rest. DGH had at least twenty warships, and each looked so cool. I wanted to see their inner mechanics, but alas, I did not have the time. The ships were rarely used(most of our missions concerned places IN the US, not outside of it. On top of that, making the things cost a pretty penny). They were only to be used during a real war, which would come soon, or for seafaring, which we planned to do right now.

When I stood in front of Pandora, I thought Vittoria used magic to cast an illusion, but I realized she simply used the mist. Even for demigods, it was challenging to see through it sometimes, and so we could be fooled by it just like an ordinary person was. Since few people examined the boats, it was reasonable to assume that it was another warship or some artifact; we had boats the ancient greeks used.

Vittoria arched her eyebrows. "Did you figure out what I did already?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Once again, I have to tip my hat to you, Vittoria. I thought you would use magic, not the mist, to hide Pandora."

"Remember, using magic takes a toll on me or on anyone else who uses it. I can't keep it up forever, but the boats are checked twice a week. I got that info from a paper on Chiron's desk, as well as the times. Knowing that hardly anyone came here, and they only checked the outside of the boat, I reasoned that I would only cast an illusion when they showed up. Otherwise, I could let the mist do my job."

"I'm happy I'm not your enemy," I smirked. "You're a scary woman."

"Likewise to you, Yiannis. I would never get anywhere if the opposing side had someone as smart as I am. Anyways, onward we go." She flicked her fingers, and I was able to see how Pandora actually looked.

It was a typical cruise ship, with thousands of rooms and as ginormous as one should be. A banner with a flag stood atop a totem pole, displaying a black scythe, basically Kronos's logo. Vittoria whistled, and in response, the entrances to Pandora slid open. I was curious to know how much the grand Pandora cost and what other gimmicks it had. I also wanted to know who else was accompanying us. I've never heard of doors that react to certain noises(if a bank had them, it wouldn't be that hard to break into). Therefore, Vittoria's whistle had to be some kind of auditory cue that would tell whoever was up on the ship to open the door.

When we got to the ship, I was surprised by how empty it was. It was just me and Vittoria in a vessel the size of two mansions, stacked with luxury and quality entertainment and amazingly quiet. It was one of those times where you could say it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Vittoria said the other demigods were assigned tasks that were just as crucial as ours and that I would know them soon enough. She directed me to my room, numbered two-thirty-seven, and told me to drop my things. "Before we sleep, I should introduce you to the one other person who will be going with us, although you've heard of his name before. It's Brian," she smiled sympathetically.

I winced. "Brian? Out of all people?" I did remember him. He was the guy Vittoria disguised herself as per my plan to fool Nathan. I had a feeling he would be cross with me, and rightfully so. "Well, I'm in for a rough night."

"Relax, Yiannis. He might not be as angry as you think he might be."

Vittoria was partly correct. Brian wasn't completely livid at me, but he did make me aware of his opinion of what I did in colorful language. "You're lucky I was actually leaving the camp as you did that, goddammit! Vittoria, why the hell did you play along?"

"Because while everyone knows you're a traitor, it still was a good plan. It was also the only possible way for Yiannis to be deemed innocent. The last thing Lord Kronos would want is for his son to be put under house arrest by Nathan. Would you rather us face the wrath of the Titan Lord for failing to protect his son? Besides, I almost killed Yiannis, and I owned him for that," Vittoria said cooly.

"But that was your problem! Couldn't you have used your magic to make an illusion of someone else? I was supposed to come back, you know!"

"You've been reassigned if you didn't already know. There's no longer a need for concern, as long as you don't go back. You've switched posts with Jacob, by the way."

"Tch, whatever you say, monster girl." Vittoria glared at Brian, and he stopped talking and looked at me, offering his hand. "My name's Brian. Unlike you, I'm not anyone special, and unlike Vittoria, I'm not some genius." I heard the envy drip in his voice as if he wanted what we had. I didn't want to inflame tensions further, so I speedily shook his hand. "Yeah, nice to meet you. I'm Yiannis. I apologize for what I did. Is it just us three?"

"Yeah. But Vittoria here could change that. Is that abnormity called Mei coming along?"

"Yes," Vittoria snarled, "and she's not a freak. Neither am I, Brian."

"So I've heard. Anyways, Yiannis, go get some rest. Just to let you know, I'm not going to kill you in your sleep, although I will admit it's tempting."

"Well, I'll just lock the door, then." I left Brian in the lounge as Vittoria showed me around the ship. There was a basketball court on the rooftop of Pandora. A library was not far from where my room was, and there were dining rooms on each floor, up until the sixth. There were indoor tennis courts and a swimming pool. After that, Vittoria escorted me back to my room. "I'm sorry about the conversation earlier. I should have told you about what Brian was like."

I shook my head. "Don't be. He was much more spiteful of you. What did he mean when he called you a monster girl, who's Mei, and why does Brian have it in for you?"

Vittoria turned away. I saw a tint of sadness in her eyes. "It's a sensitive topic, Yiannis. I'll - I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast." I grabbed Vittoria's hand. "Well, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. But could you at least answer who Mei is?"

"One of the few people I can call a friend. Perhaps my only real friend. Oh, I didn't mean to exclude you, Yiannis. And Helen as well."

"I see. Well, I won't bother you any longer." I let go of Vittoria and walked changed my clothes. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and lay in bed.

I woke up and got dressed. I heard Vittoria snoring in her room, which alone disproved the notion that snoring is a male-only thing. I remembered her saying something about eating together, so I went to the cafeteria and reclined on a chair. I wondered where I was going to get my food, as there was no staff.

Brian sat next to me, eating a burrito. "You get food over there if that's what you're wondering." He pointed towards a pile of plates stacked neatly. "So, where exactly is the food?" I asked.

"You've never used them before? Take a plate and imagine what you want to eat off the top of your head. The meal you want will appear right in front of you."

"That's a joke, right?" Brian smirked. "It may sound crazy, but with magic, a lot of crazy things are possible, although it's not really magic. It's a science that mortals will never be able to grasp, and what we like to call the science of the gods."

"Is that so?" I grabbed a plate and wished it was filled with pitas, spanakopita, and some greek yogurt. I almost dropped my plate when the food did appear like I performed some magic trick. Brian chuckled. I was wondering why he changed his attitude towards me. It was like the conversation last night never happened. What was he up to?

That thought made me leerier of my food, but if Brian was eating from the same source, then I was worrying for nothing. I took a bite of the spanakopita, and I was utterly amazed. It tasted so good! The onions, the cheese, the butter, the seasoning, everything stuffed in it was just so good! The pitas were great as well, and I loved the greek yogurt. I eagerly devoured my plate, satisfied. "Could I order another serving?"

Brian nodded. "Anything you want, as much as you want."

"Really? But matter can't just be made out of thin air, and even magic has to have some restraints."

"It does, but you do realize that this is the science of the gods, right? That witch Vittoria knows more than I do about how this all works."

"I told you to stop calling me names." Vittoria sat next to us, holding a plate of pancakes layered with syrup. "The silverware here is imbued with teleportation magic. As you said, things can't just poof into existence, and as Brian said, magic is the science of the gods. They derive their powers from it. The Titans use it too, as do we demigods."

I cleaned my face with a napkin. "Does that mean we could stop the gods from using their powers if we could jam magic?"

"Well, first, you need to stop thinking that magic is something supernatural. It's no different from physics or chemistry. Magic is what allowed the gods to develop the weapons, armor, and technology they use, like your father's scythe or Zeus's thunderbolt. In science, we can undo things we have control over, so yes, we can stop them from using magic if we place a curse on them."

"But's it's never that easy," Brian snorted. "Doing that only weakens them. The gods themselves are supernatural beings, after all. They have real superpowers that can't be cursed by mere mortals, which is where Kronos and his buddies come in."

"Indeed," Vittoria nodded. "Only something more powerful than the gods could ever curse them. Although, of course, even then, the gods will still retain a lot of their power. But there's no need to do all of that."

"Why not?" I asked. "Our opponents are THE gods. We stand a much better chance if they're weakened, even a little bit."

"You're right," Vittoria agreed. "But there's a much better way to weaken them. If we destroy their thrones on Olympus, the gods will downgrade to ordinary mortals, with no godly powers to defend themselves."

"Sure, but don't we do that when we're in the process of destroying Olympus, right? I doubt the gods would let us skirt past them and attack their power source."

"Yes, but Lord Kronos can, as well as the other Titans. However, we'll have someone else distract the gods while we tear apart their precious thrones."

"Who would that be, exactly?"

"He's a monster the gods were paranoid about," Vittoria gave that devilish smile. "I'll tell you everything later. As for now, Yiannis, do you know what the Sylmplegades are?"

Since the greek myths occupied nearly all aspects of my life, I thought it wise to read all of them. Legendary weapons, heroes, monsters, stories...I needed to know all of them. Knowledge is power, and here, power is the difference between life and death. A slight miscalculation(like falling for a monster's trap or being fooled by the mist) would lead to certain death. Before, I would have had no clue what the Symplegades were, but I knew all about them now, thanks to my intensive studying. When the Argonauts set sail for the fleece, they came by two rock cliffs called the Clashing Rocks, a.k.a the Symplegades. If a dove passed through them without being squashed to death, the Symplegades were safe to pass. The chances of surviving were low, but the only other options were to hope that Scylla and Charibydis would be merciful, which would never happen. "Yeah, I know what they are, Vittoria. Jason used that route a long time ago."

"Yes. I'm sure you know this too, but the other options are essentially death. However, even if we could pass through the Symplegades, Pandora is too slow."

"Thirty-five miles per hour is pretty fast for a cruise ship, if you ask me," Brian stated. "But yeah, it's pretty slow. We need something that could hit fifty at the very least. So we're dumping this baby for a speedboat that clocks in at a hundred twenty."

I wondered what would happen to Pandora. "Where are you going to put this vessel? I doubt you're just going to leave something this expensive at sea. And where are we going to get speedboats from? Speaking of which, who's driving Pandora?" I just realized that everyone in the boat was accounted for. Did this boat run on magic?

"Oh, I am," Brian answered. "As a son of Poseidon, the sea is my territory. I have the power not only to control water but vessels that ride in the sea as well. We're going to dock at another port nearby, where we'll transition to a speedboat."

"Transition? Wait, are we stealing them?"

"Nah. That port belongs to us, and we have a whole bunch of ships there," Brian got up. "Alright, get your things in order. We'll be there in another hour. Vittoria finished eating her pancakes. "Is there something wrong, Yiannis? You look bewildered."

"I am a bit. Judging from last night, I thought Brian and you had a rocky relationship."

"Oh, we do, but he's not necessarily a jerk. It's more so that he's bigoted."

"Of what? When people use that to describe someone, usually they hate the LGBTQ community or Jews or colored people. Do you fit into those categories?"

"No," she smiled. "Although Mei's lesbian. If you hit on her, your manhood's going to disappear. Oh right, Helen told me your family's Jewish. It seems the stereotype about you guys taking over the world has some truth in it after all, don't you think, Yiannis?"

"There's a difference between Olympus and the mortal realm," I laughed. "So why does Brian love you so much?"

"Well...let's just say I'm not a human."

"Yes, and apparently, neither am I. Brian's a demigod, so he's not really a human either, is he?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I don't think there's a word to describe what you are, Yiannis, but Brian is half-human, whereas I am not human at all."

"Is that some joke? You have a very humanoid body if you ask me. In fact, I think you can be declared a human being. If not, then what are you?"

"A monster," Vittoria muttered dejectedly. "A demon from the depths of hell, as Brian puts it." I wasn't sure whether she meant that metaphorically or literally. If metaphorically, I wonder what happened between her and Brian for the latter to label her a devil. I couldn't see how she could be an actual monster. She didn't have any physical deformities I could readily attribute to looking monstrous, like elongated claws, a forked tongue, vampiric fangs, etc. She had no scales or a tail, either. Medusa, the gorgon who turned people to stone, was once human. Did the gods place a similar curse on Vittoria, and was that why she wanted them gone? If so, Vittoria must have found a way to undo the curse because she looked very human right now. In the Greek myths, the male gods sowed their wild oats on just about any female they came across, whether human, cyclops, dracaena, or another goddess. Was Vittoria the result of the union between a monster and a god? Even if gods had the physical form of humans, monsters had distinct traits, which would be visible in the offspring. If we did bring magic and the fact that gods were supernatural beings into the table, I suppose they could have given Vittoria a human physique. Then, I remembered Lamia, and it hit me. "Um, your mother wouldn't happen to be Lamia, would it?"

Vittoria recoiled as if I coughed on her. She fell off her chair and landed on the floor. "How...how did...." She was too shocked to speak, betokening I was on the right trail. "Well, you don't have to answer the question if you don't want to. Just to let you know, I have no problem with her, so I won't have one with you, either."

Vittoria nodded. "But how were...I guess it's because I got my looks from her, huh?"

"Yeah. The two of you look alike, so much so it's almost disturbing. Is there something wrong with me knowing this, Vittoria? You look shaken up."

"S-sorry. It's just-"

"I'll repeat myself. I'm not going to harm you in any possible way. I won't mock you or call you names the way Brian does. Our relationship won't change; we'll still be good friends. If that's not what you're afraid of, tell me so I can address it beforehand."

"No, there's nothing wrong. I believe you, Yiannis. It's just..." A tear rolled down Vittoria's cheek. "It's just..." More tears came out, and soon, surprisingly, Vittoria was bawling. I knelt next to her. "Um, Vittoria? Did I do something wrong?" In my mind, I always thought of Vittoria as an intelligent and strong-willed woman, and so I didn't expect her to show her soft side. "No," she sniffed. "You're fine. It's just..." She embraced me. "Just stay here. Don't leave me alone, Yiannis."

"Alright." I hugged her back as she sobbed, telling her that whatever happened, everything would be fine.

I helped Vittoria pack her things(I did all the packing, but this time I didn't complain), and the three of us set out on our way. Vittoria tugged at my sleeve. "Sorry for the scene at the dining room. I acted like a baby when we have a mission to focus on."

I dissented. "Don't say things like that. If I found out Helen died an hour ago, would I have behaved any differently? You have a right to cry and express your feelings, Vittoria, regardless of what's happening. Bottling them in would have only distressed you, and it may affect you physically as well as mentally. It would hurt your performance as we carry on our task. More importantly, are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking," Vittoria smiled. "I appreciate you caring for me as well. You're remarkably mature for a teenage boy."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that boys never grow up?" I stuck out my tongue. "Meanie. I doubt being a girl has anything to do with being more mature."

"Sorry, but it does. Several scientific studies have shown that women reach maturity quicker than men, both mentally and physically. Take that, you jerk," Vittoria stuck her tongue back at me.

"Hey, are you two going to get over here or what? I'm going to leave you lovebirds," Brian shouted. He pointed at a sailboat. "Vittoria is free to get gravid there or on another ship if she could even get pregnant."

"I can," Vittoria asserted. She gazed at me momentarily, and her cheeks reddened slightly. Then, she took a deep breath. "Enough joking around. Brian, where's the extra fuel I told you to have on hand?"

"I got it on me. Mind I ask why we're towing a sailboat with us? It's a pretty dumb idea. Having a warship as a backup would be much better."

"Don't be ridiculous. The smallest warship here is ten times the size of the largest speedboat we have, and we're not even using that. It'll slow us down considerably, and when passing through the Symplegades, that can decide whether we come out alive or dead. Of course, there are no gas stations in the places we'll be going, so we'll have to abandon the speedboat sooner or later. Sailboats are light, and they don't run on gas. If you die, I'll have to steer the ship manually, and so Mei was kind enough to get oars for us. It'll be much easier to steer a small ship than a ginormous vessel."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you had a brain. But I still think it's stupid. It'll be hard to kill a son of Poseidon in the water, and I could use my powers to tow the warship with us."

"There's no point. Our mission is just to retrieve the fleece, not to fight a naval battle. We'll use the warships when Lord Kronos is revived and when we attack Olympus. Besides, just because you're a son of Poseidon doesn't mean you're invincible in an area of water, nor can you use your powers for a long time under intense pressure."

"Sure, and just because we share the same goal doesn't mean you belong here, you fiend. It also doesn't mean you have an opinion, right, Yiannis?"

"Of course not." I didn't know why Brian was dragging me into this mess, but Vittoria deserved better. "Just because Vittoria's not human doesn't mean we treat her like garbage. For example, she's still caring for you, despite how disrespectful you are. Her concerns are legit, and she is shrewd. If you disagree with her, that's fine, but know that all she wants is to improve our chances of survival."

"Oh, so she's got you wrapped around her fingers too, huh?"

"Not at all. I'm not sure what happened between the two of you, but I don't see Vittoria as the devil you describe her to be. My father trusts her with information even I don't get. That's proof she's more than competent and capable enough to belong here."

"So you're a monster sympathizer too."

"She lost something to the gods, same as us. It's why we're fighting them, and every ally helps, especially Vittoria, who's done more than I could count. Just so you know, you're the reason DGH even knew what we were up to."

"What do you mean?"

"You left a lot of papers lying around. If it hadn't been for Vittoria, DGH would have known about our bases and the spies, including you." To validate my point, Vittoria held up the papers we collected from Brian's room. The one she flashed in front of him was a list of the names of all the spies we had in DGH. "If this was found, what did you think would happen? How severely would Lord Kronos punish you? On that note, while I have no care for how you demean me, I will not tolerate you disrespecting or hurting Yiannis. As a subordinate, refer to him as your Lord and don't even think of touching him, or else."

Brian's face beckoned resignation, and he silently turned around and got the speedboat ready. The attitude was snuffed out of him, but that didn't sit well with me. "Vittoria, thank you for having my back, but are you sure those were the right choice of words? It may motivate him to take extreme actions."

"It won't. I doubt your father would let someone harm you before you completed the prophecy and even after. Besides, you'll have me to protect you," she teased. "After giving me such praise, are you now saying I'm not enough?"

"Not at all," I grinned. "We should get going."

"Yes, we should." The two of us shouldered on our backpacks and hopped on the boat that would determine our fate.

After thirty boring minutes, I missed Pandora. It had such a good collection of books in its library. Thanks to Brian, the water was still and dull. Not even a little tide crept up. Thankfully, the sun had delighted us with a beautiful sunset, which was even more beautiful when contrasted with the oceans. According to Vittoria, our driver, another hour and we would arrive at the Symplegades, which she figured out from the map she had.

The myths were true. The Symplegades were two towering rock cliffs that smashed into each other at set intervals, which were a couple of minutes. Even if we could blast at one hundred twenty miles per hour, would that be fast enough to cover the vast distance without getting crushed? I could slow time around us, but only for a single second at most with cliffs that big. But then again, a glimmer of a chance was better than total failure with Scylla or Charybdis.

Vittoria stepped on the gas when the second the cliffs began to diverge, and we went at full speed. We went even faster, thanks to Brian, who gave us a boost with his powers. I gripped my seat, hanging on to dear life. We were almost halfway through, and the cliffs would soon begin to reach for the other in a tender hug that would pulverize us.

Then, humanoid figures appeared from the top of the cliffs. I could make out their silhouette, and I saw boulders in their hand. They didn't seem to be friendly, so they likely wanted us to die. "Brian, look above you!"

Brian wasted no time creating a protective barrier of water above our heads. But because he was occupied with that, our speed decreased. Based on eyesight and guesswork, we still had a mile left. However, the cliffs were closing in on us, and from the way things looked, our lives would be over. "Damm it, we're so close!" Vittoria gnashed her teeth. "If only we could put something between the cliffs to stop them from moving!"

Thanks to her, I found a solution, one that may save our lives. I needed to repay Hades for being my father; his powers were honestly incredible. Of course, shadow travel was out of the game, as I'm still learning how to use it properly. Sometimes, I could control where I ended up, and once I actually landed in China. That long-distance trip knocked me out for three days. But there was another power I had, one I had mastered for the most part.

Using my shadow, Vittoria's, and Brian's, I created a giant, mile-long brick wall with all the strength I could muster. Then I inserted my creation between the two cliffs, effectively grinding them to a halt. Just before my beautiful wall broke and the cliffs smashed together again, we managed to successfully pass through the Symplegades with our lives intact.

My head fell on Vittoria's shoulder. I tried to get up, but I was too numb. Vittoria slowed the boat down and stroked my hair, smiling. "Well done, Lord Yiannis. As expected from the Titan Lord's son. You can use me as a pillow if you wish, although I suspect you're too weak to move. Close your eyes, my Lord. We'll need your power. On that note, you can relax now, Brian. I won't need any speed boosts for now. We may be out of fuel, but there's an island right over there. We set camp there for the night."