Percy Jackson Meet The Underland

Long Voyage

Percy had never bitten his nails before, but he started doing it about five minutes after the fireflies arrived. They were unbelievable! They argued about where they would sit, they argued about who should take the first shift, they even argued about whose servant Temp should be since he was just a no-account crawler, until the roach spoke up with uncharacteristic force, "Only the queen do I serve."

Mareth tried to feed them to distract them, but they just bickered about each other's table manners.

"Must you talk with your mouth full, Zap?" Photos Glow-Glow said. "It kills my appetite."

"This from someone who just sat in his milk!" Zap said, and she had him there, because his rear end went bright red in anger, and he chomped on a mushroom in silence for at least thirty seconds.

"Are they always like this?" Percy whispered to Mareth.

"In truth, these two are not as bad as some others I have traveled with," whispered back Mareth. "I once saw a pair try to fight to the death over a piece of cake."

"Try to?" said Percy.

"They are not very capable fighters, and they tire quickly. So they ended up accusing each other of cheating and giving up. Then they sulked for several days," said Mareth.

"Do we need them?" asked Percy.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Mareth.

Even Nico, who had stationed himself on the floor of the boat to roll a ball around with Temp, seemed aggravated by the newcomers.

"Fo-Fo, too loud!" he said, tugging on one of his wings. "Shh, Fo-Fo!"  I remembered the name Gregor's little sister had called him.  Fo-Fo looked at him angerly.

"I have not heard that name in a while.  Anyway, Fo-Fo? Fo-Fo? I am he called Photos Glow-Glow and will answer to no other name!" said Photos Glow-Glow.

"He's just messing with, you," said Gregor.

"Well, then, I cannot talk to him!" said the firefly.

"Allow me to translate," Doner said, not even bothering to move. "He said if you don't stop your incessant babble, that big rat sitting in the boat next to you will rip your head off."

The silence that followed was blissful. Percy felt positively friendly toward Doner and decided he wouldn't mind riding in his boat at all.

They were far out into the Waterway now. The torches had been extinguished when the shiners arrived, and the fireflies' glow only illuminated the immediate area. Percy snapped on his best flashlight for a minute and shone it around. All signs of land had vanished.

There were waves, too, now. And even a decent breeze. Mareth and Howard ran silken sails up the masts and were preoccupied with steering the two vessels. Their bats settled comfortably together and dozed off. Percy noticed that the big bat didn't join them.  He just sat alone.

"Hey, you, do you know how long it will take us to get to the Labyrinth in this boat?" asked Percy.

"At least five days," said the bat. "If we flew, we could make it in less time, but it is believed that very few bats could make the journey. No one has ever tried it.  And by the way, I have a name.  It's Mars."

" Sorry. I bet you could make it, though" said Percy. He meant it, too. Henry hadn't chosen Mars just because he was a troublemaker; the bat was also impressively strong and swift.

"I have thought that I might try it someday, to see if I could accomplish it," admitted Mars.

"Like Lindbergh. He's the first guy who flew across the Atlantic Ocean by himself," said Percy.

"He had wings?" asked Mars.

"Well, mechanical ones. He was a person. He had a plane. That's a machine that flies. Now people fly across the ocean all the time in great big planes, but not when Lindbergh was flying," said Percy.

"He is famous, in the Overland?" asked Mars.

"Yeah, I mean, he was. He's dead now, but he was really famous." Gregor said, unsure about that part. There was a sad thing, too, about a baby. But he couldn't remember that exactly, either.

Gregor picked up the scroll with "The Prophecy of Death" and opened it.

When the time comes,

It shall be his last breath.

He let the scroll snap shut. He looked at Nico, who was quietly talking to Doner while he messed with his ring. He was so brave.

"Can monsters swim?" Percy asked, peering out into the water.

"Yes, but not as far out as we are. The monsters cannot reach her here," Mars said, following his thoughts.

But eventually, they would have to land. And there would be the man.

"Have you ever killed a monster?" asked Percy.

"Not alone. Together with James, yes. I flew while he held the sword," said Mars.

"How do you do it? I mean, where exactly is it best to...where do you stab it?" The words felt strange in his mouth.

"The neck is vulnerable. The heart, but one must get past the ribs. Through the eyes to the brain. Under the foreleg is a vein that bleeds greatly. If you strike at the belly, you may not kill instantly, but the rat will likely die within days from infection," said Mars.

"I see," said Percy. But he didn't. 

"Is it okay if I'm riding you? Or do I have to be on the ground?" asked Percy.

"I will be there if it is at all possible," said Mars.

"Thanks," said Percy. "Sorry I got you into this mess."

Mareth called a dinner break and passed around food. The fireflies ate with gusto, even though they had just been fed.

After everyone had eaten, Mareth lowered the sails in his boat and hooked the front of his craft to the back of Howard's with a towrope. 

"Howard and I will take turns sailing the lead boat while the rest sleep. But we need someone on guard and one shiner on duty at all times."

"Zap will take the first shift," said Photos Glow-Glow. "My light requires more energy."

"It is a lie!" howled Zap. "I can only make one color, but the effort is the same. He only says this so that he will be given more food and less work!"

"Photos Glow-Glow will take the first shift," said Doner. "Or I'll shred his wings into ribbons." So that settled that. "Who wants to watch with him?"

"We are many and can switch guards every two hours or so," said Mareth.

Percy was wiped out, but he hated the idea of being woken up after an hour or two of sleep and then having to be on guard, so he volunteered to go first.

In the lead boat, Howard took his place by the rudder to steer. His bat folded its wings to sleep. Doner, who had barely moved since they left Regalia, closed his eyes. Zap's soft yellow light faded out, and she began to snore.

Mars perched next to them. Mareth stretched out on the floor, with Andromeda nearby. Photos Glow-Glow turned his bulb to a steady orange light and lit on the bow, a few feet in front of Mareth, illuminating the space between the boats.

Percy sat on a pile of supplies and laid his forearm across the side of the boat. It was quiet except for the lapping of the waves, soft breathing, and firefly snores. The rocking of the boat had a hypnotic affect. His eyelids felt leaden.

He had barely slept in days...the monsters were after the guy...maybe he could just rest his head on his shoulder...he had to save this gur...no, save him...he had to save the guy...how many nights had he been down here?...he had to kill somebody...

Nico's cold little hand was wrapping around his wrist. "What, Nico?" he murmured. He was squeezing him now. Squeezing him hard. "What? You need a blanket?"

He tried to pull his arm away. His fingers dug in deeper, creeping up his arm, causing real pain. My's eyes flew open. Nico was sleeping peacefully next to Temp, yards away from him. He twisted his head to the side.

Curled around his forearm was a slimy black tentacle.