Chapter 28: Atlantic Departure

The week quickly went by and it was finally time to depart.

The group, consisting of Adan, Riley, and Diana, gathered in front of Hephaestus's workshop to see the result of the jetskis and how they turned out.

Riley announced, "All my half-siblings gave their all to create these masterpieces. I've hidden the two covered jetskis with a red tarp to build suspense."

"Now, prepare to be amazed. I guarantee you'll be dumbfounded. These are masterpieces even Hephaestus himself would envy. He was so impressed that he pitched in for a little extra," Riley said.

"Come on, let's see it already!" Diana and Adan were so excited they almost lifted the tarp themselves, but they knew Riley and his siblings had put a lot of effort into it.

With a flourish, Riley finally unveiled the two masterpieces.

Diana and Adan were left speechless, their mouths hanging open in awe.

Before them stood red-gold gilded jetskis, encased in Celestial Bronze glass, accessible through a small hatch. Both were about 10 meters (32 feet) long and 2.5 meters (6.5 feet) wide.

At the back was the propulsion system, with a sleeping and resting area behind the front-mounted engine. Within the bubble, there was also a button to engage the sport mode, temporarily boosting the jetskis' speed for quick evasions. However, this mode consumed more fuel.

The fuel consumption issue was addressed by installing a much larger tank underneath the jetskis, theoretically allowing them to circumnavigate the entire globe before needing to refuel. There was also storage space for items like swords, ammunition, and luggage.

In addition to the button for sport mode, there was also a button for combat mode, in case they were attacked while on water or land. You never know, there could be monsters hunting anywhere.

"What do you think?" Riley asked his two friends and teammates.

"Just WOW," exclaimed Adan and Diana.

They hadn't expected anything like this. They thought maybe he would make a few changes, but the two jetskis, which could no longer be called jetskis, looked almost like they came from the future or were from the movie 'Aquaman' he had seen before.

Even better, as they were painted with red-gold and dark blue colors on the outside, making them harder to spot underwater.

The only question remaining was how to get these 'jetskis' out to the open sea.

Everyone pondered until Diana had the idea to ask Matt, the son of Hecate. He was skilled in magic spells that could levitate heavy objects, so the trio went to Matt, who was just eating something.

"Hey Matt, could you do us a favor?" asked Diana, who was best suited to represent the trio as she could use Charmspeak to be more convincing than the two boys.

"Let me guess, you want me to levitate your means of transport into the sea," murmured Matt, continuing to eat, unfazed by the trio needing his help.

Shocked, the trio waited before Adan approached him and asked, "You want something in return, right?"

"Yeah, it seems you're quite popular here in camp. If you ensure that Emily from the Aphrodite cabin voluntarily spends time with me, then I'll help you," said Matt.

The trio walked away from Matt, and Adan said, "Diana, you go to Emily and convince her. After all, you're half-sisters."

Diana quickly went to her cabin, persuaded her half-sister with a reluctant agreement, as she had no choice. Later, this deal would give her some headaches.

But for now, they had finally succeeded. Diana went back to Matt, persuaded him without him noticing with a bit of Charmspeak, and he helped them out.

The trio bid farewell to their other friends and the camp leader Chiron. Dionysus had been in his cabin by the lake the whole time, lying in a hammock and not caring about the trio's mission; after all, half-bloods regularly went on missions and sometimes never returned.

Now they stood on the beach, facing the Atlantic Ocean. It was afternoon. They had packed provisions and everything else beforehand.

They also thanked Matt before setting off on their journey in the azure waters.