𝙇𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨 (𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙁𝙚𝙢! 𝙊𝘾) 𝙏𝙏𝘾

Percy? More Like PerSTUPID

Sylvia rushed up to Percy after he successfully beat up Nereus--who looked merely like a weak old homeless guy--with the rest of the group right behind. Even though they caught the man, she couldn't shake that bad feeling. Maybe that was just the guy's scent, though. Seriously, he smelled like dead fish.

"You got him!" Zoe exclaimed.

"You don't have to sound so amazed," Percy said.

Really, it seemed easy. Looked kind of like elder abuse, actually...

Nereus groaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"

"We've got more than one question." Sylvia frowned.

"One question per capture! That's the rule."

What a stupid rule. I mean, we're the ones in control, not him.

He'll go and whine to the other gods if we ask more, Fawkes warned. Trust me, I've heard Lord Apollo complain about all the people he's heard about who apparently crossed Nereus and needed to be punished.

That wasn't great, to put it lightly. They needed to find Artemis, figure out what the doomsday creature was, and rescue Annabeth. How could all of that be asked in one question?

Sylvia almost told Percy to ask about Annabeth. Every minute not knowing where her best friend was resulted in more torture. But she and Percy both knew Annabeth wouldn't forgive them if they chose her over the fate of Olympus. To Sylvia, the location of Artemis seemed like the best question. If they found her or asked about how to rescue her, it could take them to Annabeth, too--two birds with one stone. Before she could open her mouth, though, Percy spoke.

"All right, Nereus." He sighed. "Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting."

"What?" Sylvia burst out. "You idiot! You could've asked about where Artemis was, then we could've asked her and had her help! Or about Annabeth, or--"

"It is too late for that, girl." Nereus smiled evilly, showing off horrid green teeth and even worse breath. "He already asked the question. The monster is right there." He pointed to the water at Percy's feet.

"Where?" Percy asked.

"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a backflip into the sea.

With him went all the knowledge of Annabeth and Artemis's whereabouts, as well as how to rescue them.

"You tricked me!" Percy yelled.

Sylvia's anger bubbled. She stormed up to Percy and pushed him into the ocean--as if that'd hurt him. "You're so fucking stupid! What if you just killed Annabeth by asking about that? Out of all of the dumb questions--"

She was cut off by a huge wave. It knocked her down to the ground of the pier and left her clothes soaked and covered in seaweed.

Beginning to rise, Sylvia spat seawater out of her mouth, ignoring Lux's cries for her to calm down. Slowly, she picked seaweed out of her hair, collecting multiple pieces and then throwing them at Percy, whose eyes were all but glowing in rage. Another wave stopped the plant from smacking him in the face.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he demanded.

"I hate you," Sylvia seethed. "You're so impulsive and stupid and selfish and arrogant. You have a good mom and good friends and act like you're soo popular. On your first days of camp, you embarrassed Clarisse twice. You forced yourself onto our quest the next year--didn't fucking think we could do good enough, apparently--and didn't even apologize when everything went to shit because of your interference! Time and time again, you took Annabeth, one of my only close friends, away until she hung out with you more than me! And everyone likes you rather than seeing you for what you actually are.
"They see you as a fucking saviour--a powerful child of the Big Three who can do no wrong. Even Annabeth--" Sylvia's voice cracked. "Even she didn't realize how awful you truly are. And now, because of you, we might never see her again! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? ANNABETH COULD BE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"