Prince of Riptide

beyond the sea

A year later.

.

Percy's braid whipped around as he turned from block to block. All he was sure about was that he needed to find a cyclops named Tyson and get away from the giant chasing him.

That's what his father had said, anyway. "Before you go to camp, I'll transport you to New York. Find a cyclops named Tyson; he's important."

Poseidon had given him a small piece of coral that glowed brighter every time he got closer to said cyclops, but New York was bigger than he'd thought. And it was monster infested.

Percy felt heat from his back and dodged a fireball just in time. "You may have killed my brethren, but you can't run from me, Perseus!" the giant roared.

I can try.

Percy ducked into a small alley, the coral was brighter now, just a few more minutes...

And he ran into a dead end. Great.

Percy whirled to face the giant. Finding a cyclops was the least of his worries. The monster chuckled. "Can't escape me now, can you?"

He readied another fireball and threw it with superhuman force. But it never hit Percy. Someone had stopped the ball. The coral was so bright, it radiated heat.

Tyson.

Percy couldn't see him well since he had his back to Percy, but the cyclops' clothing was torn and dirty. He probably lived in this alley from the looks of it. "Bad giant!" Tyson yelled as he threw the fire back at the monster, who wailed for the last time as he disintegrated on the spot.

"Tyson!"

He turned around, and—yep, he had one eye, though it was hard to make out. His face was grimy, and when he smiled, yellow teeth popped into view. "You know my name?"

"Yeah," Percy said, tucking a loose strand behind his ears, like he always did when he was nervous. "I came to find you. They ordered me to go to camp with you. You know, Camp Half-Blood?"

The cyclops gazed at him questionably. "What is that? Are you a friend?"

"...Yes. I'm a friend. Um, do you know of, like, the gods and stuff?" Tyson shrugged. "Well, we'll go to a safe place. To train."

Percy still had no idea why he had to take a cyclops there or how he'd get to camp now, but he supposed he had to go with the flow.

"Oh. Okay, friend!" Tyson exclaimed. He sounded young, but still towered over Percy. "What is your name?"

"Percy. Percy Jackson. Now come on, let's get out of here."

. . .

They bumped into Ananbeth.

Literally.

Annabeth stumbled a bit, but quickly got to her feet, as if she were too busy for falling—which, knowing her, she probably was. "Percy? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing about you."

She didn't look great. Her curly hair was tangled and full of leaves. Her face was filthy, with lots of small cuts. She had a wild look in her eyes, like she was on the lookout for anything. But still, Percy had missed her more than he'd like to admit.

"Heading back to camp, duh." Then Annabeth glanced at Tyson, just now realizing he was there. "Where'd you find him?" she demanded.

"I was chased by some cannibal giants. Got rid of two, but one cornered me. Tyson saved my life. He's a friend. Right, big guy?"