Leo and Frank were fine, both their interrogators agreeing that they were telling the truth and of no threat. They'd also confirmed that they would be sending a quest of mer-heroes to defeat Keto and Phorcys and free their captives. Heroes apparently named Cyrus and Bill. But either way, they were grateful that Percy and his friends brought it to their attention.
However, they did warn them about the Mare Nostrum and the further dangers that awaited. Frank was advised to keep practising his sea life transformations, Bythos suggesting a jellyfish and that the transformations were all in the breathing. Hazel was advised to save Nico because they were running out of time and they must save him as he was essential for their journey - not that they knew how or why. Leo was advised to stay close to Frank and Hazel when they reached Rome for there would be mechanical difficulties that only he could overcome.
And Cressida....
Cressida was told something eerily similar to what Pan had two years ago. That she was faced with more pain and to keep looking for the beauty in life and to keep moving forward for she would need it now more than ever. And she flashed back to Charleston where Aphrodite told her about the tragedy that lay ahead.
What more could they possibly put her through?
They also gave them a gift, a basket of brownies along with the recipe. Inside the basket was also a letter of introduction to Tiberinus, the god of the Tiber, saying that Annabeth would need it once she reached Rome.
That worried her but she didn't have a lot of time to worry about it before she was sent rocketing towards the surface.
******************************************************************
Percy in the meantime, was losing his mind. He was completely exhausted, and his forehead was bleeding from his tumble down the stairs, but he'd still lost count of how many times he'd searched the ocean for their 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. Piper was staring into her knife but everything she saw wasn't what she wanted to see. Since the Romans couldn't get to them, they were going after Camp Half-blood.
Percy was now soaking wet as he wore a hole through the deck with his pacing, not even having the concentration to keep himself dry.
"Percy," Annabeth said, not having left his side. "You have to calm down. Or at the very least drink some nectar. You're going to wear a hole in the deck."
Percy said nothing as he continued his pacing, the worst-case scenarios racing through his head.
"Percy, this is Cress we're talking about. She's going to be fine."
"I just - is this what she felt like for eight months?" he asked in disbelief, his steps almost getting faster. "I mean, she didn't know what happened to me. She's been gone barely a few hours and I can barely breathe! How did she do this for eight months?!"
"She didn't want to," Annabeth revealed. "I was there when she broke down after trying to wedge open the elevator doors to Olympus with her spear. I was there when she threw up at the thought of you not remembering her. She didn't want to do it, but she had to. She had to know what happened to you. And I don't even think the gods would know what she'd do if she waited those eight months, and you didn't make it."
Percy was brought to a screeching halt for two reasons.
The first was that Cressida had never really told him the bad parts of the last eight months, so this was the first time he was hearing this. And he knew that she would've never told him because he'd feel as guilty as he did now. And even though it was stupid, and no one had been angry at him for his reaction, he felt guilty about how he'd reacted to Cressida saving Jason's life before.
The second thing was that Annabeth had been there. Annabeth might not have gone through the same pain Cressida did, but she still lost one of her best friends for eight months and she'd had to console Cressida. And now, here she was again, losing another one of her best friends and left to console Percy. Who consoled her?
Percy then moved over to hug his best friend.
"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for being there for her and now being here for me."
"I'm your friend. It's what friends do."
"Then as your friend, I'm going to be there for you. And you're right," he said as his hands trembled, and he tried to believe his own words. "This is Cress we're talking about. She'll be fine."
Yet, even as the sun rose and they were no longer in danger of sinking, they couldn't do full repairs without Leo and none of them wanted to leave the area without their friends.
Piper and Annabeth sent an IM to Camp Half-blood warning Chiron of the incoming Romans and he tried to assure them that they'd handle it and that they should just focus on the quest and come back safely.
After that, the demigods could only follow Percy's course of action as they all paced the deck, staring at the water and hoping for a miracle.
And then it finally came.
Four giant pink bubbles burst at the surface of the starboard bow, ejecting Frank, Hazel, Leo and Cressida.
Percy didn't hesitate to dive cleanly over the rail and into the water, Piper following his lead as she went a little crazy. Piper paddled over to Leo and kissed him on the cheek which was a happy surprise for him.
Percy on the other hand, had nearly crushed Cressida in a hug before he kissed out what little air was in her lungs.
"I take it you missed me then?" she panted when she was forced to pull away so she could breathe.
"I can't - I just - are you ok?" he rambled.
"A little cold, very hungry and I could do with a nap, but I'm good."
"Are you sure?"
She wrapped her legs around his waist as she cupped his face, neither of them having to tread water with his powers. "I'm sure, Fish Face," she said before she kissed him again.
Piper was suddenly furious. "Where were you? How are you guys alive?"
"Long story," Leo said. A picnic basket bobbed to the surface next to him. "Want a brownie?"
Once they got onboard and changed into dry clothes - well after Frank borrowed a pair of too-small pants from Jason and Percy stayed in Cressida's room the entire time as he talked with her through the bathroom door as she changed and he made her put a hoodie on after she said she was cold. And Cressida well understood his fear of her suddenly disappearing again, so she indulged him with a smile before they gathered on the quarterdeck for a celebratory breakfast. While Leo fussed over his helm controls, Hazel, Frank and Cressida told the story of the fish centaurs and their training camp.
"Incredible," Jason said. "These are really good brownies."
"If you think these are good, you haven't tried Percy's mom's cookies. Those are heavenly," Cressida remarked as she chowed down, a plate of actual food in front of her but the brownies were too tempting.
"That's your only comment?" Piper demanded.
He looked surprised. "What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies—"
"I know," Frank said, his mouth full. "Try them with Esther's peach preserves."
"That," Hazel said, "is incredibly disgusting."
"Pass me the jar, man," Jason said.
Hazel and Piper exchanged a look of total exasperation. Boys.
Percy, for his part, wanted to hear every detail about the aquatic camp. He kept coming back to one point: "They didn't want to meet me?"
"It wasn't that, Captain Nemo, I promise," Cressida assured him as she swallowed the bite of brownie in her mouth. "It's just politics. The merpeople are territorial. The good news is they're taking care of that aquarium in Atlanta. And they'll help protect the Argo II as we cross the Atlantic."
Percy nodded absently. "But they didn't want to meet me?"
Cressida just sighed as Piper passed her a brownie, sharing the boys look with her now as well as she took a bite.
Annabeth swatted his arm. "Come on, Seaweed Brain! We've got other things to worry about."
"She's right," Hazel said. "After today, Nico has less than two days. The fish centaurs said we have to rescue him. He's essential to the quest somehow."
"Nico must have information about the Doors of Death," Piper said. "We'll save him, Hazel. We can make it in time. Right, Leo?"
"What?" Leo tore his eyes away from the controls. "Oh, yeah. We should reach the Mediterranean tomorrow morning. Then spend the rest of that day sailing to Rome, or flying, if I can get the stabilizer fixed by then...."
Jason suddenly looked as though his brownie with peach preserves didn't taste so good. "Which will put us in Rome on the last possible day for Nico. Twenty-four hours to find him—at most."
"That's not the only problem," Cressida said before she turned to Annabeth. The daughter of Athena seemed to be silently pleading that she left the topic alone but they both knew she couldn't. It had to be discussed. "There's the Mark of Athena as well."
Annabeth wasn't happy but she still reached into her backpack and pulled out a thin bronze disc about the diameter of a doughnut.
"This is the map that I found at Fort Sumter. It's..." She stopped abruptly, staring at the smooth bronze surface. "It's blank!"
Percy took it and examined both sides before he passed it to Cressida. "It wasn't like this earlier?" he asked.
"No! I was looking at it in my cabin and..." Annabeth muttered under her breath. "It must be like the Mark of Athena. I can only see it when I'm alone. It won't show itself to other demigods."
Frank scooted back like the disk might explode. He had an orange juice moustache and a brownie-crumb beard that made Piper want to hand him a napkin.
Cressida passed the disc black.
"The map was hard to read, but it showed a spot on the Tiber River in Rome. I think that's where my quest starts...the path I've got to take to follow the Mark."
"Maybe that's where you meet the river god Tiberinus," Piper said. "But what is the Mark?"
"The coin," Cressida answered and Percy frowned.
"What coin?"
Annabeth dug into her pocket and brought out a silver drachma. "I've been carrying this ever since I saw my mom at Grand Central. It's an Athenian coin." She passed it around. While each demigod looked at it, Piper had a ridiculous memory of show-and-tell in elementary school.
"An owl," Leo noted. "Well, that makes sense. I guess the branch is an olive branch? But what's this inscription, ΑΘΕ—Area Of Effect?"
"It's alpha, theta, epsilon," Cressida said. "It's Greek."
"In Greek, it stands for Of The Athenians...or you could read it as the children of Athena. It's sort of the Athenian motto," Annabeth continued.
"Like SPQR for the Romans," Piper guessed.
Annabeth nodded. "Anyway, the Mark of Athena is an owl, just like that one. It appears in fiery red. I've seen it in my dreams. Then twice at Fort Sumter." She described what had happened at the fort—the voice of Gaia, the spiders in the garrison, the Mark burning them away. You could tell it wasn't easy for her to talk about.
Both Percy and Cressida just looked very guilty.
"We should've been there for you," Percy said.
"But that's the point," Annabeth said. "No one can be there for me. When I get to Rome, I'll have to strike out on my own. Otherwise, the Mark won't appear. I'll have to follow it to...to the source."
Frank took the coin from Leo. He stared at the owl. "The giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won with pain from a woven jail." He looked up at Annabeth. "What is it...this thing at the source?"
Before Annabeth could answer, Jason spoke up.
"A statue," he said. "A statue of Athena. At least...that's my guess."
Piper frowned. "You said you didn't know."
"I don't. But the more I think about it...there's only one artifact that could fit the legend." He turned to Annabeth. "I'm sorry. I should have told you everything I've heard, much earlier. But honestly, I was scared. If this legend is true—"
"I know," Annabeth said. "I figured it out, Jason. I don't blame you. But if we manage to save the statue, Greek and Romans together... Don't you see? It could heal the rift."
"Hold on." Percy made a time-out gesture. "What statue?"
Annabeth took back the silver coin and slipped it into her pocket. "The Athena Parthenos," she said. "The most famous Greek statue of all time. It was forty feet tall, covered in ivory and gold. It stood in the middle of the Parthenon in Athens."
The ship went silent, except for the waves lapping against the hull.
"Okay, I'll bite," Leo said at last. "What happened to it?"
"It disappeared," Annabeth said.
Leo frowned. "How does a forty-foot-tall statue in the middle of the Parthenon just disappear?"
"That's a good question," Annabeth said. "It's one of the biggest mysteries in history. Some people thought the statue was melted down for its gold, or destroyed by invaders. Athens was sacked a number of times. Some thought the statue was carried off—"
"By Romans," Jason finished. "At least, that's one theory, and it fits the legend I heard at Camp Jupiter. To break the Greeks' spirit, the Romans carted off the Athena Parthenos when they took over the city of Athens. They hid it in an underground shrine in Rome. The Roman demigods swore it would never see the light of day. They literally stole Athena, so she could no longer be the symbol of Greek military power. She became Minerva, a much tamer goddess."
"And the children of Athena have been searching for the statue ever since," Annabeth said. "Most don't know about the legend, but in each generation, a few are chosen by the goddess. They're given a coin like mine. They follow the Mark of Athena...a kind of magical trail that links them to the statue...hoping to find the resting place of the Athena Parthenos and get the statue back."
Piper wasn't the only person looking back and forth between Annabeth and Jason, surprised by their collaboration and how they'd just spoken about such a huge problem so calmly.
"So if we—I mean you—find the statue...what would we do with it? Could we even move it?" Percy wondered.
"I'm not sure," Annabeth admitted. "But if we could save it somehow, it could unite the two camps. It could heal my mother of this hatred she's got, tearing her two aspects apart. And maybe...maybe the statue has some sort of power that could help us against the giants."
Cressida had a pit in her stomach. That was a massive responsibility Annabeth had taken on and she had to do it alone.
"This could change everything," Piper said. "It could end thousands of years of hostility. It might be the key to defeating Gaia. But if we can't help you..."
She didn't finish, but the question seemed to hang in the air: Was saving the statue even possible?
Annabeth squared her shoulders. "I have to succeed," Annabeth said simply. "The risk is worth it."
"Well," Cressida sighed, speaking up finally as all eyes moved to her. "As much as I completely hate the idea of letting you go off alone, if there's anyone I'd put all my drachmas on to pull this off, it's you Books."
Hazel twirled her hair pensively. "I don't like the idea of you risking your life alone, but you're right. We saw what recovering the golden eagle standard did for the Roman legion. If this statue is the most powerful symbol of Athena ever created—"
"It could kick some serious booty," Leo offered.
Hazel frowned. "That wasn't the way I'd put it, but yes."
"Except," Percy said, that nervous look on his face again. "No child of Athena has ever found it. Annabeth, what's down there? What's guarding it? If it's got to do with spiders—?"
"Won through pain from a woven jail," Frank recalled. "Woven, like webs?"
Annabeth's face turned as white as printer paper.
"Hey!" Cressida scolded. "What the hell happened to your optimism?" she asked. "Positive Thinking Percy Jackson Plan, remember?"
He gave her a small smile while everyone else, bar Annabeth, seemed confused.
"What's that?" Jason asked and Cressida turned to Frank and Hazel.
"You've been on a quest with Percy, you might be familiar with it. It's when he comes up with a plan that is so completely ridiculous and seems to have no chance of working that the only way to get it to work is through the power of positive thinking."
"I believe we're familiar with the concept," Hazel confirmed. "Remember the poison incident?"
Frank nodded as Cressida exclaimed, "Poison incident?!"
"Oh, the poison clearly didn't work if I'm still sitting here," he waved off. "And don't act like my plans don't work," Percy said to his girlfriend and she just stuck her tongue out at him.
"Look," Piper said, trying to get them back on topic. "We'll deal with everything once we get to Rome. But Cressida is right. It's going to work out. Annabeth is going to kick some serious booty, too. You'll see."
"Yeah," Percy said. "I learned a long time ago: Never bet against Annabeth."
Annabeth looked at her three friends gratefully.
Judging from their half-eaten breakfasts, the others still felt uneasy; but Leo managed to shake them out of it. He pushed a button, and a loud blast of steam exploded from Festus's mouth, making everyone jump.
"Well!" he said. "Good pep rally, but there's still a ton of things to fix on this ship before we get to the Mediterranean. Please report to Supreme Commander Leo for your super fun list of chores!"