Would that I ──── Leo Valdez [2]

21: Brownies with Esther's peach preserves

─────Vincent had a new entry in his top-ten list of Times Vincent Felt Useless.

Fighting Shrimpzilla with a sword? Not so effective. Then the monster had sunk into the deep and disappeared along with three of his friends, and he'd been powerless to help them.

Afterward, Annabeth, Coach Hedge, and Buford the table rushed around repairing things so that the ship wouldn't sink. Percy, despite being exhausted, searched the ocean for their missing friends. Jason, also exhausted, flew around the rigging like a blond Peter Pan, putting out fires from the second green explosion that had lit up the sky just above the mainmast.

As for Vincent, Piper had to physically hold him back from jumping in the water to search along with Percy. 

"You're not a son of Poseidon, Vince, and you can't swim" She reminded him. Though she looked dejected as well. Vincent figured feeling useless was something all of them were thinking.

"Pipes, but Leo—"

"We'll find him" She assured him, slipping some charmspeak in her voice to calm him. "Don't worry"

Eventually Vincent listened to her and the two of them sat and stared at her knife Katoptris, trying to locate Leo, Hazel, and Frank. The only images that came to her were ones no one wanted to see: three black SUVs driving north from Charleston, packed with Roman demigods, Reyna sitting at the wheel of the lead car. Giant eagles escorted them from above. Every so often, glowing purple spirits in ghostly chariots appeared out of the countryside and fell in behind them, thundering up I-95 toward New York and Camp Half-Blood.

"Katoptris" Piper explained, "Annabeth told me it used to belong to Helen of Troy"

"The most beautiful woman in the world. You're a close second" Vincent winked and she pushed him gently. 

"See? You're a great flirt" She snorted, "Why do you have to resort to those stupid pick up lines?"

Maybe she could pick up on his anxiety and was trying to distract him so he didn't end up jumping in the water. Whatever the reason, Vincent was glad for her. 

"Is your name Waldo?" He asked, "'Cause someone like you is hard to find"

Piper bit her lip hard to stop herself from laughing. 

"Its a good thing I have a library card cause I'm checking you out" 

"Vince, you're dyslexic and you hate reading"

"Are you sure you're not a child or Hermes? Because I'm pretty sure you stole my heart—"

"You pick up lines are worse than your singing" Piper gave him a look.

By the time the sun rose, none of them had slept. Percy had scoured the seafloor and found nothing. The Argo II was no longer in danger of sinking, though without Leo, they couldn't do full repairs. The ship was capable of sailing, but no one suggested leaving the area—not without their missing friends.

Piper and Vincent sent a dream vision to Camp Half-Blood, warning Chiron of what had happened with the Romans at Fort Sumter. Piper relayed the vision from her knife about the SUVs racing north. The kindly centaur's face seemed to age thirty years during the course of their conversation, but he assured them he would see to the defenses of the camp. Tyson, Mrs. O'Leary, and Ella had arrived safely. If necessary, Tyson could summon an army of Cyclopes to the camp's defense, and Ella and Rachel Dare were already comparing prophecies, trying to learn more about what the future held. The job of the eight demigods aboard the Argo II, Chiron reminded them, was to finish the quest and come back safely.