[2] 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ― l.valdez ✓

013.

「013. how cherry got her groove back (kinda), pt 1 」

CHERRY HAD to admit. the view was amazing. well, after the rest of them actually got dressed. they reconvened after a short five minutes, all properly dressed. she noticed barbie was no longer in her big dress, but had settled for something similar. a pretty dress that came to her mid-thigh that was the same pink as the previous dress paired with a white shirt and a beret. she probably looked the most put together out of them all, since the rest of them were basically still bleary eyed but now dressed.

"where are- oh... wow," mumbled hazel.

without the cruise ship that had been blocking their view, she saw a mountain jutting from the sea less than half a mile to the north. piper had seen impressive cliffs before. on one side, the limestone cliffs were almost completely sheer, dropping into the sea over a thousand feet below, as near as cherry could figure. on the other side, the mountain sloped in tiers, covered in green forest, so that the whole thing reminded cherry of a colossal sphinx, worn down over the millennia, with a massive white head and chest, and a green cloak over its back.

"the rock of gibraltar," annabeth said in awe. "at the tip of spain. and over there—" she pointed south, to a more distant stretch of red and ochre hills. "that must be africa. we're at the mouth of the mediterranean."

"what now?" piper asked. "do we just sail in?"

"why not?" shrugged leo, "it's a big shipping channel. boats go in and out all the time."

"in the old days," annabeth said, "they called this area the pillars of hercules. the rock was supposed to be one pillar. the other was one of the african mountains. nobody is sure which one."

"hercules, huh?" percy frowned. "that guy was like the starbucks of ancient greece. everywhere you turn—there he is."

cherry guessed that perhaps zeus didn't like the fact percy was talking smack and mocking his kid.

"so are these pillars of hercules dangerous?" cherry asked, "are they going to suddenly shoot misles at us?"

"i hope not," leo huffed, "because i won't hesitate to fire back."

"that's the spirit, valdez!" yelled coach hedge.

"for greeks, the pillars marked the end of the known world. the romans said the pillars were inscribed with a latin warning—"

"non plus ultra," percy said.

annabeth looked stunned. "yeah. nothing further beyond. how did you know?"

percy pointed. "because i'm looking at it."

directly ahead of them, in the middle of the straits, an island had shimmered into existence. cherry was positive no island had been there before. it was a small hilly mass of land, covered in lush forests and ringed with white beaches. in front of the island, jutting from waves about a hundred yards offshore, were two white grecian columns as tall as the argo's mast stood. between the columns, huge silver words glittered underwater- maybe an illusion, or maybe inlaid in the sand: nonplus ultra.

"so do i just turn around?" asked leo, "or..."

nobody responded. but that was probably because they'd all noticed the figure standing on the beach, as the ship approached the columns, she saw a dark-haired man in purple robes, his arms crossed, staring intently at their ship as if he was expecting them.

"percy i think you just invoked hercules," barbie whispered.

frank inhaled sharply, "that seriously can't be him? can it? i mean it can't be-"