Piper's POV
If not for the horses, Piper would have died. Jason and Percy charged each other, but Tempest and Blackjack balked long enough for Piper to leap out of the way. She rolled to the edge of the road and looked back, dazed and horrified.
The boys crossed swords, gold against bronze. Sparks flew. Their blades blurred—strike and parry—and the pavement trembled. The first exchange took only a second, but Piper couldn't believe the speed of their sword fighting.
The horses pulled away from each other—Tempest thundering in protest, Blackjack flapping his wings. "Stop it!" Piper yelled. For a moment, Jason heeded her voice. His golden eyes turned toward her, and Percy charged, slamming his blade into Jason.
Thank the gods, Percy turned his sword—maybe on purpose, maybe accidentally—so the flat of it hit Jason's chest; but the impact was still enough to knock Jason off his mount. Blackjack cantered away as Tempest reared in confusion.
The spirit horse charged into the sunflowers and dissipated into vapor. Percy struggled to turn his pegasus around. "Percy!" Piper yelled. "Jason's your friend. Drop your weapon!" Percy's sword arm dipped.
Piper might have been able to bring him under control, but unfortunately Jason got to his feet. Jason roared. A bolt of lightning arced out of the clear blue sky. It ricocheted off his gladius and blasted Percy off his horse.
Blackjack whinnied and fled into the wheat fields. Jason charged at Percy, who was now on his back, his clothes smoking from the lightning blast. For a horrible moment, Piper couldn't find her voice.
Gaea seemed to be whispering to her: You must choose one. Why not let Jason kill him? "No!" she screamed. "Jason, stop!" He froze, his sword six inches from Percy's face. Jason turned, the gold light in his eyes flickering uncertainly. "I cannot stop. One must die."
Something about that voice...it wasn't Gaea. It wasn't Jason. Whoever it was spoke haltingly, as if English was its second language. "Who are you?" Piper demanded. Jason's mouth twisted in a gruesome smile.
"We are the eidolons. We will live again." "Eidolons...?" Piper's mind raced. She'd studied all sorts of monsters at Camp Half-Blood, but that term wasn't familiar. "You're—you're some sort of ghost?"
"He must die." Jason turned his attention back to Percy, but Percy had recovered more than either of them realized. He swept out his leg and knocked Jason off his feet. Jason's head hit the asphalt with a nauseating conk.
Percy rose. "Stop it!" Piper screamed again, but there was no charmspeak in her voice. She was shouting in sheer desperation. Percy raised Riptide over Jason's chest. Panic closed up Piper's throat.
She wanted to attack Percy with her dagger, but she knew that wouldn't help. Whatever was controlling him had all of Percy's skill. There was no way she could beat him in combat. She forced herself to focus. She poured all of her anger into her voice.
"Eidolon, stop." Percy froze. "Face me," Piper ordered. The son of the sea god turned. His eyes were gold instead of green, his face pale and cruel, not at all like Percy's. "You have not chosen," he said. "So this one will die."
"You're a spirit from the Underworld," Piper guessed. "You're possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?" Percy sneered. "I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."
A wave of cold washed over Piper. "Leo...that's what happened to Leo. He was being controlled by an eidolon." The thing in Percy's form laughed without humor. "Too late you realize. You can trust no one."
Jason still wasn't moving. Piper had no help, no way to protect him. "So that's why I didn't notice you when I got on board, hiding behind the souls of others, clever." (Y/N) said, standing beside her, the eidolon flinched.
Piper could feel her grip on the creature loosen, as it's eyes went wide. "You cannot stop me. I will kill Jason Grace." "You won't kill him," Piper ordered. Suddenly, the eidolon gained a surge of strength.
Piper didn't know what caused it, but caught the scent of grapes on the air. (Y/N) frowned at this, and before the spirit could raise Riptide towards Jason, he enshrouded both of them in shadow. Forcing them backwards.
The one controlling Jason was woken up by the sudden movement, grasping for his sword and glaring up at Percy. "Roman gods are so spiteful." (Y/N) frowned as the other two boys were pushed away.
"Can't you banish the spirits or something?" Piper said, he shook his head, "Not right now, Percy and Jason are still under, if I try they might go with them, I need them awake first." He kept a tight grip on both boys.
"What are you doing?" She said. He smirked evilly, reminding Piper of Leo. "I don't have a horse." He raised his hands and for a moment nothing happened. Was he summoning a ghost horse or something?
No. That was far too typical for him. The earth shook a little and she noticed the black shadowy shape growing on the side of the road, pointing to the sky. It looked like "A ramp?" she asked, looking at the shape pointing toward Percy and Jason.
The two had been released and were about to clash swords again, (Y/N) seemed to pay them no mind and began walking away from Piper, about twenty yards away, he nodded, "That should do it."
"What are you doing!" She repeated as something appeared in (Y/N)'s hand. Before she could call him insane he ran forward. It was only the wheels against the road that helped her understand. Was that a skateboard? She was in stunned silence as he skated past her.
Halfway up the ramp he shouted happily and green flames shot from the back of his skateboard. The sound wasn't quite as loud as a sonic boom but it was close. The whole area shook from the force along with Pipers teeth.
As it died down all they could hear as he rocketed off into the middle of the fight was maniacally joyous laughter. "HEY GILLS!" He shouted over the roar of the flames behind him. Percy turned to look at him. "Heads up."
The skateboard rocketed free of the rider and hit Percy in the head with a 'Clunk!' He tumbled away from Jason and landed in a heap. Jason turned his head in shock and raised his sword but it was too late. A flying (Y/N) landed on him and essentially kicked him in the chest.
Jason let out a horrible wheezing noise as (Y/N) knocked his weapon away and landed on his chest in one motion. Only to reel his fist back and punch Jason in the jaw as soon as the son of Jupiter hit the ground.
With both the boys unconscious, (Y/N) collected his skateboard and met back up with a horrified Piper, grinning and giving a thumbs up. "Now that's how you do it Mclean. Good Job." He offered a high five, but Piper rushed past him.
"Jason!" She cried out, falling beside him and trying to rouse him, failing to get any response. (Y/N) sighed. "He's fine, I only punched him." Piper frowned at him, "He was still injured from before!"
"No he wasn't. I healed him and so did the ambrosia, chill. He's fine just unconscious. I didn't even hit him half as hard as I hit Percy, and you don't see him complaining." (Y/N) pointed a thumb over to his sprawled out friend.
"You could have killed them you reckless idiot!" She said, not meaning to, but shouting in his face. "Y,know, people call me that a lot, but I'm really not that reckless. I almost always have a plan..." He trailed off.
"Nearly killing them both, great plan!" Piper snapped, "Don't you start with me Mclean!" He warned, "In case you didn't notice, I just saved your boyfriends life!" They glared at each other for a moment.
"Now lets get them outta here. We've been here too long and I don't think the dirt lady is going to be too happy with us." He frowned at Piper and shoved her aside, picking up Jason and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"I'll carry him back. Let's go" "What about Percy?" Piper asked with a frown, (Y/N) looked over at Percy, "Oh I forgot he was here...I'll carry them both." He began waddling over to Percy, who was still sprawled out and bleeding from the head.
Piper saw a flaw in this wonderful plan. "Eight miles? You're going to carry them both all the way back to the ship. You sure you can manage that?" With a grunt of effort, (Y/N) scooped up Percy. Shuffled both boys on his back and took a deep breath.
"Sure. Eight miles? How many football fields is that? Like...twenty right? Piece of pie. Lets go." Piper sighed, "Can't you just do that magic thing, shadow travel them." He shook his head, "Not while they're hurt, too risky."
"Wait. You were hurt too. What about your wrist?" Piper said, looking down at his hands and seeing no lasting damage to either of them, he seemed stunned by the lack of injury too, "Huh, would you look at that..." He trailed off.
"Oooh. Idea!" (Y/N) took off his belt and tied it to his skateboard, then he threw Percy onto it. "I'm a genius. Lets go!" "That'll take too long, even if we both carry one of them, they need medicine." Piper said. They both pondered a solution for a second.
(Y/N) found one, "Whistle." He said, looking at Piper. "What?" She said in confusion, "Listen I-forget it, just whistle!" It took Piper a few tries, but she eventually let out a half decent whistle. "So it is just me that's cursed..." (Y/N) mumbled.
Behind Percy, something rustled in the wheat. Piper saw the tip of a black wing, behind him, Blackjack emerged from the wheat field, moving with surprising stealth for such a large animal. Tempest was nowhere to be seen.
The lightning steed had apparently returned to wherever storm spirits live on clear days. Piper checked on Jason. He was breathing steadily, but two knocks on the skull in two days couldn't have been good for him.
Then she examined Percy's head. his hair was stained with blood and there was a large knot was forming where the skateboard had bounced off his skull. Before they knew it, a black Pegasus was beside them. "Blackjack buddy, you couldn't do us a favour could you?" (Y/N) asked.
The pegasus looked like it was about to charge him and show (Y/N) what a one horse stampede looked like, until Piper spoke. "We have to get them both back to the ship," she told Blackjack. The pegasus bobbed his head in agreement.
He knelt to the ground, so that Piper and (Y/N) could drape Percy and Jason over his back. After a lot of hard work, unconscious boys were heavy, once they got them reasonably secured, climbed onto Blackjack's back herself, and they took off for the ship.
The others were a little surprised when Piper came back on a pegasus with two unconscious demigods. While Frank and Hazel tended to Blackjack, Annabeth, Zoe, and Leo helped get Piper and the boys to the sickbay.
(Y/N)'s POV
"At this rate, we're going to run out of ambrosia," Coach Hedge grumbled as he tended their wounds. "How come I never get invited on these violent trips?" Piper sat at Jason's side. She herself felt fine after a swig of nectar and some water, but she was still worried about the boys.
As was Zoe. Who cornered (Y/N) the moment he was brought into the sickbay. "What did you do to him?" She said as she took in Percy's condition, checking that he was breathing and such. He frowned. "Why did you assume it was me?" "Was it?" "Yes. But that's beside the point."
"Leo," Piper said, "are we ready to sail?" "Yeah, but—" "Set course for Atlanta. I'll explain later." "But...okay." He hurried off. Annabeth didn't argue with Piper either. She was too busy frowning at (Y/N).
"What hit him?" she demanded. "(Y/N)," Piper said. "What?" Piper tried to explain while Coach Hedge applied some healing paste to the boys' heads. All three girls glared at him as she explained.
He in turn tried to explain the situation with Percy's hostile takeover and how important it was that (Y/N) render him unconscious to protect him. "How hard did you hit him?" Zoe said as she tried to rouse her boyfriend.
"As hard as I dam could" (Y/N) mumbled under his breath, "Would it kill you to show an ounce of restraint!" She scolded as he sighed in response, she didn't find this an acceptable answer and gut checked him.
"His pupils are two different sizes!" She shouted as he coughed and keeled over, waving it off. "Nah they're always like that. He's tanked worse, remember the forges of Hephaestus, or the Princess Andromeda."
Zoe frowned at (Y/N), the sort of frown that said 'if you aren't out of my sight in the next five seconds, I'll show you worse.' So he scurried away as fast as his now oxygen deprived body could carry him.
He retreated to his room, he was content to just slump over and sleep until they made it to Rome, or wherever the hades they were going. Within a few minutes, he received a guest, "Oh just don't. I know I messed up okay. Leave me alone to die."
Annabeth frowned at him, but said that he'd be glad to know that Jason and Percy were sitting up in their beds and able to talk in complete sentences. Both had fuzzy memories of what had happened.
That did put him a little more at ease, he could hear Annabeth's frown as he said "What?" She took a few seconds before replying, "What is going on with you?" He turned to face her and said "I already told you, I needed to knock them out-"
"-That's not what I mean. You. Passing out from a broken wrist?" She said with a raised eyebrow, he shrugged "It hurt" Annabeth scoffed at him as she detangled her hair, "Why didn't you shadow travel them? I remember you managing to do that with a whole ship."
"They were hurt, I didn't want to risk it. That was also not my power, both times." "Then why didn't you give them the ambrosia you always carry, or heal them with magic, like you obviously did with your wrist? If you dare say you were tired, I'm kicking your butt."
"Your cleverness continues to annoy me." He said with a sour face. She stuck her tongue out at him. He wasn't surprised Annabeth could see straight through him, she was one of the only people that almost always could.
"I feel like I'm doing everything wrong." He said quietly, she just gave him a look he knew that meant 'elaborate.' With a frown he tried to gather his thoughts. "This quest, I'm supposed to be guiding the seven right?"
"I mean that's what the prophecy kinda says right, and what my dad wanted me to do." She nodded in response, "I hate this ship." He said. She didn't quite follow the two points and gave him a quizzical look.
"I feel like the moment I set foot on it, I've been making the wrong choices." As she opened her mouth to argue he shook his head, "No, I don't think it's the eidolons" He said before she could. "They wouldn't possess me, too risky, I'd notice."
"It's just me...I'm supposed to be setting an example, like you, like Percy. But I keep going about it wrong, now three quarters of the ship hates me." "Now we both know that's not true." Annabeth said sympathetically.
"Isn't it? Hedge doesn't trust me, I almost killed Leo, Piper hates me, Zoe won't even look at me, I put Jason and Percy in the sick bay so I doubt they're happy with me right now, and lets be real, we both know that you still want to tear me a new one over something."
"Hell, I might as well go beat up Frank and pull Hazel's hair, save myself the trouble." He slumped over into his pillow. "I can't save Nico, I can't protect the seven, I can't even do my job correctly."
"Your job? You mean like pulling your weight, because you've done plenty." Annabeth reasoned. "No, I mean my job, like the reason I'm on the ship. I'm supposed to help the seven grow into strong demigods right?" "Who said that? Wait..." Annabeth caught on.
"You faked an injury so that Piper would deal with the situation herself? Why? She could have used some help. Someone could have gotten hurt!" Annabeth argued, only for (Y/N) to counter. "Yeah, and why does it always have to be me?"
"I've still got wounds on my wounds here. Burned by the attacking ship, beaten by my third favourite aunt. I'm not a machine y'know. It hurts." "So you put the others at risk because you're bitter? And you're wondering why they don't like you?"
"No!" (Y/N) cleared up, "That wasn't what I meant, I wasn't doing this out of spite." "You were doing it because...what was it? Piper 'annoyed' you?" Annabeth said, sounded affronted and hurt.
"NO!" He argued back. "Well, yes, but let me...just let me explain. I didn't do it to hurt Piper, or Percy and Jason. It wasn't out of bitterness. I was trying to give Piper a push forward. So she got back into things."
"Piper hasn't been acting like...Piper. She's been acting like Drew. Does that make sense?" "Not really, but go on." Annabeth said, keen to understand. "I thought, maybe, If she were in a position where she had to act, where she had to step up, she'd do it."
"Do what?" "I don't know, something other than charmspeak her way out of everything or cry over Jason." "(Y/N) her boyfriend was hurt of course she'd be upset." "Yes. But she won't always have that luxury."
"I had to save her from Bacchus today-" "That's a little condescending. She did most of the work." Annabeth argued, he nodded. "Well, if it's condescending, but keeps her alive, I'll take it. Hidden feelings can get you killed on quests, I don't know if you knew that."
She rolled her eyes as he continued, "She needs a win, I thought I could...nudge her into one. She got really close to one, nobody could have expected the Bacchus thing, it should have worked it's just he's a sore loser, so I'm calling it her win."
"How generous of you." (Y/N) frowned at her. "Annabeth, you know me, I would rather it be me, going down there and getting electrocuted and stabbed, stomped on by hooves, have my clothes get all wet. I'd do it all day."
"But I'm meant to be guiding them right? They're meant to grow on their own. I don't want me being there to be the answer to all their problems. But I also don't want them to hate me for it. I was trying my best too."
"That's the worst part. Y'know, when we met Bacchus and the others got corrupted, I genuinely thought I was doing the right thing, I wanted Piper to gain confidence in herself, I only intervened when she needed it, I thought it was the right thing to do."
"But evidently not!" He said before slamming his face into his pillow. Annabeth was quiet for a moment before summarizing now she had grasped what she was getting at, "You were trying to help her."
He just groaned as she put a hand on his back, tracing them over the remnants of his healed burns, "You're just an idiot, so you didn't tell her that." Another groan. "I know that. But very helpful, thank you, supportive girlfriend." He murmured.
"That's what I'm here for." She said cheekily. "Personally, if I wanted Piper to regain her confidence, I would just talk to her. Maybe when you're doing something positive with her, not in a life threatening situation."
"What do you normally do when you're upset or stressed?" She asked, "I come talk to you or we read a book together or something, but somehow I don't think the others will be into group story time."
She smiled, probably at the thought that she was his first source of comfort, but then added "What else?" "I dunno. I can't watch a movie with Piper without being interrupted by the murder goat every five seconds. Plus I'm not really in the mood."
"What else do you do?" She asked, though he felt like she already knew the right answer and much like he did with Piper, was trying to lead him in the right direction. "I train I guess? I don't really do much else."
He sighed, "Gods that is such a depressing thought. Is that really all I am? I should be helping them more." Annabeth stood up and sighed dramatically. "Maybe you need to stop focusing on what you think you should be doing, and instead, focus on what your gut tells you to do."
With that, she walked away, telling him to be at the meeting in two minutes and closing the door behind her, after he was done feeling sorry for himself, he got up and resolved that he would do just that, and confront Piper, not how he thought he should, but the way he originally wanted to.
"Leo had better have fixed that sound thingy." He mumbled as he recovered and walked out the room, into the meeting with the others.
Piper's POV
When Piper described their duel on the highway, Jason winced. "Knocked out twice in two days," he muttered. "Some demigod." He glanced sheepishly at Percy. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to blast you."
Percy's shirt was peppered with burn holes. His hair was even more disheveled than normal. Despite that, he managed a weak laugh. "Not the first time. Your big sister got me good once at camp."
"Yeah, but...I could have killed you." "Or I could have killed you," Percy said. Jason shrugged. "If there'd been an ocean in Kansas, maybe." "I don't need an ocean—" "Boys," Annabeth interrupted, "I'm sure you both would've been wonderful at killing each other. But right now, you need some rest."
"Food first," Percy said. "Please? And we really need to talk. Bacchus said some things that don't—" "Bacchus?" Annabeth raised her hand. "Okay, fine. We need to talk. Mess hall. Ten minutes. I'll tell the others."
Zoe and Percy both shared glances, it seemed they know what that meant, they both sighed and sat up, "I'll go tell Leo andd the others." Zoe said, before kissing Percy on his still purple forehead.
She left the room as he smiled at her, but quickly popped her head back in, "Please, Percy...change your clothes. You smell like you've been run over by an electric horse." They all chuckled as she disappeared.
Leo gave the helm to Coach Hedge again, after making the satyr promise he would not steer them to the nearest military base "for fun." They gathered around the dining table, and Piper explained what had happened at TOPEKA 32.
Their conversation with Bacchus, the trap sprung by Gaea, the eidolons that had possessed the boys. "Of course!" Hazel slapped the table, which startled Frank so much, he dropped his burrito. "That's what happened to Leo too."
"So it wasn't my fault." Leo exhaled. "I didn't start World War Three. I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That's a relief!" "But the Romans don't know that," Annabeth said. "And why would they take our word for it?"
"We could contact Reyna," Jason suggested. "She would believe us." Hearing the way Jason said her name, like it was a lifeline to his past, made Piper's heart sink. Jason turned to her with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "You could convince her, Pipes. I know you could."
Piper felt like all the blood in her body was draining into her feet. Annabeth looked at her sympathetically, as if to say: Boys are so clueless. Even Hazel winced. "I could try," she said halfheartedly.
"But Octavian is the one we have to worry about. In my dagger blade, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I'm not sure Reyna can stop him." Jason's expression darkened. Piper didn't get any pleasure from bursting his bubble, but the other Romans—Hazel and Frank—nodded in agreement.
"She's right," Frank said. "This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath." Hazel grimaced. "This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted."
"He'll try to seize power. If Reyna objects, he'll say she's soft on the Greeks. As for those eagles...It's like they could smell us." "They can," (Y/N) said. "Jupiter used to use them to keep track of me in the old days."
"Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical scent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat, but not completely—not from them. I still vote for an assassination."
"We aren't killing Octavian (Y/N)" Annabeth said with a sigh, he frowned, sure it may not have solved any of their problems, but it would have made him much happier. Leo drummed his fingers.
"Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time." Hazel frowned. "What is a chicken nugget?" "Oh, man..." Leo shook his head in amazement.
"That's right. You've missed the last like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget—" "Doesn't matter," Annabeth interrupted. "The point is, we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us—"
"You're right." Jason leaned forward. "We should just keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe—at least from the legion." He sounded so depressed, Piper didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or resentful.
"How can you be sure?" she asked. "Why wouldn't they follow us?" He shook his head. "You heard Reyna talking about the ancient lands. They're much too dangerous. Roman demigods have been forbidden to go there for generations. Even Octavian couldn't get around that rule."
Frank swallowed a bite of burrito like it had turned to cardboard in his mouth. "So, if we go there..." "We'll be outlaws as well as traitors," Jason confirmed. "Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight."
"But I wouldn't worry about that. If we get across the Atlantic, they'll give up on chasing us. They'll assume that we'll die in the Mediterranean—the Mare Nostrum." Percy pointed his pizza slice at Jason. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine." Jason didn't argue.
"Sounds fun." (Y/N) said, breaking the silence, they all turned to look at him. "What? The crew of the Argo II against the world, sailing the Mare and fighting giants. Guys this is pretty epic stuff. They're gonna sing songs about us in a few hundred years."
Piper looked at him and saw that same crazy gleam in his eye he had earlier, like he genuinely enjoyed the thought of facing those odds. But what was meant to be a source of motivation didn't work as he expected.
The other demigods stared at their plates, except for Percy, who continued to enjoy his pizza. Where he put all that food, Piper didn't know. The guy could eat like a satyr. "So let's plan ahead," Percy suggested, "and make sure we don't die. Mr. D—Bacchus"
"Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella's prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh, something that started with an F?" "Ephialtes," Jason said. "Twin giants, like Piper saw in her blade...the ones who beat (Y/N)."
"Personally I like to go with 'snuck' (Y/N)-" (Y/N) said, but Annabeth ignored him as she ran her finger along the rim of her cup. "I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."
Frank nearly choked. "Well, that's great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?" "Something like that," Percy said. "I don't think we should count on his help this time."
"He wanted a tribute, and he made it pretty clear it would be a tribute we couldn't handle." (Y/N) looked like he wanted to say something, but was reluctant to bring it up, it wasn't until Zoe said, "What?" That he spoke.
(Y/N)'s POV
"What if we didn't need to use Mr B." He said to the room, he didn't want to bring it up, it had been in the back of his mind since seeing Nico in that state. It just occurred to him that there was someone else that could help.
"I truly can't believe I'm saying this...but there is another god that has stakes in this fight, one stronger than the wine guy." "Is this another one of your gods on speed dial?" Hazel said. He shook his head, "Not exactly."
He was confused, she knew speed dial, but not chicken nuggets? But he pushed that thought aside as Annabeth came to the same conclusion he had. "You can't honestly be talking about-" "-Hades."
"Yeah, yeah I am. Nico is trapped by the giants. He's in danger, so Hades might be willing to lend a hand." "You want to call on my Father?" Hazel said. "Want to? No, not even close. Would I to save Nico? Absolutely."
"He helped me when I tried to save Bianca, he bargained with me to save Olympus. I hate the guy, and trust me, nobody is more reluctant to work with him than me, but when it comes to his kids, he'd be willing to help."
"It's like his only true redeeming quality. I can't get in touch with my dad, but maybe if Hazel contacts her father, we could strike some kind of deal. He may be sneaky and deceitful, but he's powerful enough to take two giants."
"He would atomize you the moment he sees you!" Annabeth said, "You don't realize how you left him after the battle for Manhattan. The Underworld almost imploded on itself after what you did."
(Y/N) fought back a triumphant smirk at that thought. Instead countering with the core of his point, "The prophecy, the one you got from the fates." He began, it was the one that had been grating on him most.
Zoe was the first to recall exactly the line (Y/N) wanted to use. She looked up at him in horror. "To abandon years of the deepest hate" She recited. He nodded "Maybe, if I can squash the beef with Hades. We can get his help with the giants, and save Nico."
"The rich one is not so easily bargained with after being slighted friend." Zoe warned, "Trust me Nightshade, I know that first hand. But if it can get Nico free and help us on the way. I think we should-"
"No!" Annabeth said, it was one of the only times (Y/N) had ever heard her raise her voice around the others in a serious manner, scolding them or otherwise. "No. I refuse to do that, under any circumstance."
She and (Y/N) locked eyes, and for a moment it was clear to him just how serious this was to her, the pain in her eyes alone told him that she would never relent when it came to that course of action. He nodded, sitting down and saying, "That's fine, I just wanted to put it out there."
Piper's POV
Silence fell around the table. Piper could hear Coach Hedge above deck singing "Blow the Man Down," Except he didn't know the lyrics, so he mostly sang, "Blah-blah-hum-de-dum-dum." Piper couldn't shake the feeling that Bacchus was meant to help them.
The giant twins were in Rome. She also felt sure they could never defeat the giants without Bacchus's help. And if they couldn't do that in five days, Rome would be destroyed, and Hazel's brother, Nico, would die.
On the other hand, if the vision of Bacchus offering her a silver goblet was false, maybe the other visions didn't have to come true either—especially the one of her, Percy, and Jason drowning. Maybe that was just symbolic.
The blood of a female demigod, Gaea had said, and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you. "She wants two of us," Piper murmured. Everyone turned to look at her.
Piper hated being the center of attention. Maybe that was strange for a child of Aphrodite, but she'd watched her dad, the movie star, deal with fame for years. She remembered when Aphrodite had claimed her at the bonfire in front of the entire camp, zapping her with a magic beauty-queen makeover.
That had been the most embarrassing moment of her life. Even here, with only six other demigods, Piper felt exposed. They're my friends, she told herself. It's okay. But she had a strange feeling...as if more than their sets of eyes were watching her.
"Today on the highway," she said, "Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She—she asked me to choose which boy would die." Jason squeezed her hand. "But neither of us died. You saved us."
"Well if we want to go into semantics technically..." (Y/N) trailed off when he realized the others didn't care about his contribution. "I know. It's just...Why would she want that?" Piper asked the room.
Leo whistled softly. "Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason's blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."
"Oh..." Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing, as if the skateboard to the head had just now registered. "Percy?" Zoe gripped his arm. "Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel.
"You guys remember Polybotes?" "The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember." "I had a dream," Percy said.
"When we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!'"
Piper wondered if the room's temperature controls were broken, because suddenly she couldn't stop shaking. It was the same way she'd felt on the highway outside Topeka. "You think the giants would use our blood...the blood of two of us—"
"I don't know," Percy said. "But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured." Jason grunted. "That I agree with." "Well, there goes my plans for the weekend." (Y/N) muttered.
"But how do we figure it out?" Hazel asked. "The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella's prophecy...how does it all fit together?" Annabeth pressed her hands against the edge of the table. "Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta."
"Right," Piper said. "Bacchus told us we should seek out...what was his name?" "Phorcys," Percy said. Annabeth looked surprised, "You know him?" Percy shrugged. "I didn't recognize the name at first."
"Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad's time. Never met him, but supposedly he's a son of Gaea. I still don't understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta."
Leo snorted. "What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong." "Don't even say that," Annabeth muttered. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."
"Wait," Piper said. Once more, everyone looked at her. She was rapidly losing her courage, wondering if her instincts were wrong, but she forced herself to speak. "There's one last thing," she said. "The eidolons—the possessing spirits. They're still here, in this room."
Piper couldn't explain how she knew. Stories of phantoms and tortured souls had always freaked her out. Her dad used to joke about Grandpa Tom's Cherokee legends from back on the rez.
But even at home in their big Malibu mansion, looking out over the Pacific, whenever her dad recounted the ghost stories for her, she could never get them out of her head. Cherokee spirits were always restless.
They often lost their way to the Land of the Dead, or stayed behind with the living out of sheer stubbornness. Sometimes they didn't even realize they were dead. The more Piper learned about being a demigod, the more convinced she was that Cherokee legends and Greek myths weren't so different.
These eidolons acted a lot like the spirits in her dad's stories. Piper had a gut sense they were still present, simply because no one had told them to go away. When she was done explaining, the others looked at her uncomfortably.
Finally Hazel exhaled. "Piper is right." "How can you be sure?" Annabeth asked. "I've met eidolons," Hazel said. "In the Underworld, when I was...you know." Dead. Piper had forgotten that Hazel was a second-timer.
In her own way, Hazel too was a ghost reborn. "So..." Frank rubbed his hand across his buzz-cut hair as if some ghosts might have invaded his scalp. "You think these things are lurking on the ship, or—"
"Possibly lurking inside some of us," Piper said. "We don't know." Jason clenched his fist. "If that's true—" "-Oh my gods I totally forgot!" (Y/N) said as he stuffed the remainder of his dinner in his mouth. He clapped his hands together. "You two." He pointed at Percy and Jason. "Don't move." They both looked at him, confused and scared.
He lunged at the, suddenly flying over the dinner table like he were the one possessed. Chairs screeched and scattered against the floor, eventually (Y/N) caught hold of Percy, who he lunged at first.
He pressed his palm into Percy's chest and then made a grasping motion. "Percy. What's your name?" He asked as the son of Poseidon looked at him, confused. "Huh?" "Name!" "Percy Jackson."
"Who do you hate most in the world?" "Uhhh....Nancy Bobofit?" "What's your favourite food?" "Blue Pizza." "Your moms phone number is?" "I've told you a thousand times I'm not giving you my moms-AAAAHHH!"
Percy shouted as a bright light was pulled out of his chest, it looked like sort of spiritual cotton candy. "One down." (Y/N) said, "Pretty boy's next. Then Leo. I'll do everyone to check." "Wait." Piper said. "I think I can do this."
"Do what?" Percy asked. "Just listen, okay?" Piper took a deep breath. "Everybody listen." Piper met their eyes, one person at a time. "Eidolons," she said, using her charmspeak, "raise your hands."
There was tense silence. Leo laughed nervously. "Did you really think that was going to—?" His voice died. His face went slack. He raised his hand. Jason and Zoe did the same. Their eyes had turned glassy and gold.
Hazel caught her breath. Next to Leo, Frank scrambled out of his chair and put his back against the wall. "Oh, gods." Annabeth looked at (Y/N) imploringly. "Can you cure them?" "Of course I can cure them, I just need to...oh dam..."
Suddenly his head slumped over and Piper noticed that the cotton candy blob he was holding had gone AWOL. If she had one guess where...She watched as (Y/N) looked up at her, his eyes glassy and gold.
"IDIOT!" Annabeth shouted. Piper wanted to whimper and hide under the table, but she had to help Jason. She couldn't believe she'd held hands with...No, she refused to think about it. She focused on Leo because he was the least intimidating.
"Are there more of you on this ship?" she asked. "No," Leo said in a hollow voice. "The Earth Mother sent four. The strongest, the best. We will live again." "Not here, you won't," Piper growled. "All of you, listen carefully."
Jason, (Y/N) and Zoe turned toward her. Those gold eyes were unnerving, but seeing her friends like that fueled Piper's anger. "You will leave those bodies," she commanded. "No," (Y/N) said. Leo let out a soft hiss. "We must live." "We must prosper." Said Zoe.
Frank fumbled for his bow. "Mars Almighty, that's creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!" Leo turned toward him. "You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment."
Piper wasn't sure what that meant, but Frank staggered like he'd been punched in the gut. He drew an arrow, his hands shaking. "I—I've faced down worse things than you. If you want a fight—" "Frank, don't." Hazel rose.
Next to her, Jason drew his sword. "Stop!" Piper ordered, but her voice quavered. She was rapidly losing faith in her plan. She'd made the eidolons appear, but what now? If she couldn't persuade them to leave, any bloodshed would be her fault.
In the back of her mind, she could almost hear Gaea laughing. "Listen to Piper." Hazel pointed at Jason's sword. The gold blade seemed to grow heavy in his hand. It clunked to the table and Jason sank back into his chair.
(Y/N) growled in a very un-(Y/N)-like way. "Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead. With this one taken, none of you can control us now." (Y/N) began to unsheathe his weapons.
Annabeth reached toward him as if to restrain him, but Hazel waved her off. "Listen, eidolons," Hazel said sternly, "you do not belong here. I may not command you, but Piper does. Obey her." She turned toward Piper, her expression clear: Try again. You can do this.
Piper mustered all her courage. She looked straight at Jason—straight into the eyes of the thing that was controlling him. "You will leave those bodies," Piper repeated, even more forcefully. Jason's face tightened.
His forehead beaded with sweat. "We—we will leave these bodies." "You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship," Piper continued, "and never to possess any member of this crew."
Leo and Zoe both hissed in protest. "You will promise on the River Styx," Piper insisted. A moment of tension—she could feel their wills fighting against hers. Then all the eidolons spoke in unison: "We promise on the River Styx."
"You are dead," Piper said. "We are dead," they agreed. "Now, leave." All three boys slumped forward. (Y/N) almost landed on his dagger, Annabeth grabbed him. "(Y/N)!" she said, he quickly roused and said "Who you gonna call?" Before falling into her, she barely held him up.
Piper and Hazel caught Jason's arms as he slipped out of his chair. Percy carefully wrapped an arm around Zoe and propped her up before she even began falling. Leo wasn't so lucky. He fell toward Frank, who made no attempt to intercept him. Leo hit the floor.
"Ow!" he groaned. "Are you all right?" Hazel asked. Leo pulled himself up. He had a piece of spaghetti in the shape of a 3 stuck to his forehead. "Did it work?" "It worked," Piper said, feeling pretty sure she was right. "I don't think they'll be back."
Jason blinked. "Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?" Piper laughed, exhaling all her nervousness. "Come on, Lightning Boy. Let's get you some fresh air." Piper and Jason walked back and forth along the deck. Jason was still wobbly, so Piper encouraged him to wrap his arm around her for support.
Leo stood at the helm, conferring with Festus through the intercom; he knew from experience to give Jason and Piper some space. Since the satellite TV was up again, Coach Hedge was in his cabin happily catching up on his mixed martial arts cage matches.
Percy's pegasus Blackjack had flown off somewhere. The other demigods were settling in for the night. The Argo II raced east, cruising several hundred feet above the ground. Below them small towns passed by like lit-up islands in a dark sea of prairie.
Piper remembered last winter, flying Festus the dragon over the city of Quebec. She had never seen anything so beautiful, or felt so happy to have Jason's arms around her—but this was even better.
(Y/N)'s POV
He awoke in his bed with Annabeth looking down at him sternly, "So Piper pulled through huh, how was my acting-" "Oh don't even try it." She said with a glance as she realized he was awake, she didn't buy the 'it was all part of my plan' gambit this time.
That one usually worked. He sat up in bed and smiled at her, "Okay, I admit I may have gone a little too method with the role." She just rolled her eyes, explaining what Piper had done to save them.
"Thank the gods for that, I was not looking forward to putting my hand on Zoe's chest. It would have been just awful...terrible...would've hated it" He said, as he was legally obligated to, truth or not. Annabeth threw a pillow at him. "You are such a jerk."
"No, I think that was the spirit in me." He smirked. Annabeth just sighed and moved on. "So, after everything she did today, is Piper still 'annoying' you?" She asked, but she didn't get the answer she expected.
"Yeah...Stella hasn't quite got her groove back yet, but she's getting there." He said. "What have you got planned for her?" He shrugged. "Nothing too special." "C'mon tell me. What were you going to do?" Annabeth pestered.
"If you must know. I was going to knife fight her tonight, see if I could get some of that Piper sass back. Might save it for later though. After sending the body snatchers home I think she's earned a rest for tonight."
"Sure." Annabeth giggled. "You think they'll come back?" "No, ghosts like them need something to latch onto, demigods are pretty much their only option now days after my deal. No more bothering poor mortals."
"Finding four demigods all the way out here that are old enough to know they're demigods and no longer protected, that's a stretch. Most likely they'll run out of energy before they find any suitable hosts and just go back to the underworld."
"Speaking of the Underworld." Annabeth said in a tone that made him realize he had fallen right into her trap. "You cannot be serious about this Hades business. I know you're worried about Nico, but he would never help us."
"Underworld huh? Never really got into that series." (Y/N) said trying to dodge the issue, until Annabeth said "I'm serious! (Y/N) please tell me you weren't considering that." "I have been for a while, in fact it was one of my first ideas when I woke up from Tartarus for some reason."
She slugged him in the arm, he finally noticed the tears threatening to fall from her eyes "(Y/N)! You are not getting into another deal with him!" She demanded. "Promise me." He pulled her into a hug, "Promise. Hades can kick dirt."
"We find Nico and beat the giants the old fashioned way, with the uncanny ability of demigod dumb luck." She smiled brightly and kissed him, "Sounds good to me." She lit up after that, but he wanted to distract her, he rubbed his arm where she punched him and said a thought aloud.
"You've been very violent today. Maybe I should be checking you for an Eidolon." He said, tickling her a little, "Maybe I'll have to expel it from you huh? It's my duty as your loving boyfriend right?" She laughed and tried to dart away from him.
But she was caught up in the moment so he captured her. She struggled in his grip. "I'd like to see you try!" But he never got far in his attempt, because the doors slammed open, putting him in fight mode.
Piper's POV
The night was warm. The ship sailed along more smoothly than a dragon. Best of all, they were flying away from Camp Jupiter as fast as they possibly could. No matter how dangerous the ancient lands were, Piper couldn't wait to get there.
She hoped Jason was right that the Romans wouldn't follow them across the Atlantic. Jason stopped amidships and leaned against the rail. The moonlight turned his blond hair silver. "Thanks, Pipes," he said. "You saved me again."
He put his arm around her waist. She thought about the day they'd fallen into the Grand Canyon—the first time she'd learned that Jason could control the air. He'd held her so tightly, she could feel his heartbeat.
Then they'd stopped falling and floated in midair. Best. Boyfriend. Ever. She wanted to kiss him now, but something held her back. "I don't know if Percy will trust me anymore," she said. "Not after I let (Y/N) knock him out."
Jason laughed. "Don't worry about that. Percy's a nice guy, but I get the feeling he needs a knock on the head every once in a while. Plus I don't think (Y/N) was too worried about it either. That guy seems to live for fighting."
"You could have killed him." Jason's smile faded. "That wasn't me." "But I almost let you," Piper said. "When Gaea said I had to choose, I hesitated and..." She blinked, cursing herself for crying. "Don't be so hard on yourself," Jason said.
"You saved us both." "But if two of our crew really have to die, a boy and a girl—" "I don't accept that. We're going to stop Gaea. All of us are going to come back alive. I promise you." Piper wished that he hadn't promised.
The word only reminded her of the Prophecy of Seven: an oath to keep with a final breath. Please, she thought, wondering if her mom, the goddess of love, could hear her. Don't let it be Jason's final breath. If love means anything, don't take him away.
As soon as she had made the wish, she felt guilty. How could she stand to see Zoe in that kind of pain if Percy died? How could she live with herself if any of the seven demigods died? Already, each of them had endured so much.
Even the two new Roman kids, Hazel and Frank, whom Piper barely knew, felt like kin. At Camp Jupiter, Percy had recounted their trip to Alaska, which sounded as harrowing as anything Piper had experienced.
And from the way Hazel and Frank tried to help during the exorcism, she could tell they were brave, good people. "The legend that Annabeth mentioned," she said, "about the Mark of Athena...why didn't you want to talk about it?"
She was afraid Jason might shut her out, but he just lowered his head like he'd been expecting the question. "Pipes, I don't know what's true and what's not. That legend...it could be really dangerous."
"For who?" "All of us," he said grimly. "The story goes that the Romans stole something important from the Greeks, back in ancient times, when the Romans conquered the Greeks' cities."
Piper waited, but Jason seemed lost in thought. "What did they steal?" she asked. "I don't know," he said. "I'm not sure anyone in the legion has ever known. But according to the story, this thing was taken away to Rome and hidden there."
"The children of Athena, Greek demigods, have hated us ever since. They've always stirred up their brethren against the Romans. Like I said, I don't know how much of that is true—" "But why not just tell Annabeth?" Piper asked. "She's not going to suddenly hate you."
He seemed to have trouble focusing on her. "I hope not. But the legend says that the children of Athena have been searching for this thing for millennia. Every generation, a few are chosen by the goddess to find it. Apparently, they're led to Rome by some sign...the Mark of Athena."
"If Annabeth is one of those searchers...we should help her." Jason hesitated. "Maybe. When we get closer to Rome, I'll tell her what little I know. Honest. But the story, at least the way I heard it—it claims that if the Greeks ever found what was stolen, they'd never forgive us."
"They'd destroy the legion and Rome, once and for all. After what Nemesis told Leo, about Rome's being destroyed five days from now..." Piper studied Jason's face. He was, without a doubt, the bravest person she'd ever known, but she realized he was afraid.
This legend—the idea that it might tear apart their group and level a city—absolutely terrified him. Piper wondered what could have been stolen from the Greeks that would be so important. She couldn't imagine anything that would make Annabeth suddenly turn vengeful.
That was until she remembered who Annabeth practically came with, and when the gods decided to give her an example of just who she had the pleasure of being related to by blood. Lucky her.
They heard grunting and swearing in greek downstairs, and then Hedge yelling "COME AT ME THEN!" Fearing the Argo II was being attacked, she rushed to the stairs leading to the dorms, only to be barrelled aside by the Coach.
"Hey! Watch it" Jason grumbled, but looking again Piper saw that the coach was suspended mid air by (Y/N), who was holding the top of the satyrs head and lifting him off the ground one handed.
"What are you doing?" She asked, (Y/N) didn't answer and instead just glared at the coach hatefully. She and Jason watched in horror, as Frank, Hazel, Percy and the others arrived, and (Y/N) held the satyr over his head for a second, and then, threw him, like a football.
The coach flew far, clearing the deck of the ship by a wide margin, and everyone watched in stunned silence as the coach yelled "TRY THAT AGAIN YOU PANSY!" As he sailed off the edge and came closer and closer to plummeting to his death below.
Percy stood in front of (Y/N) shouting and reaching for Riptide, trying to determine whether he had been possessed or something. But when (Y/N) spoke, there was no evil voice or other presence, just a deep yawn, and tired confusion.
"Warned him" He said, bleary eyed, he shoved past Percy and looked eager to return to bed. Only to turn on his heel in disappointment and dive over the edge himself to save the coach when Annabeth sprinted up the stairs and said "Catch him!"
Soon, in the quiet of the night when that was over, and Hedge was saved. They all returned back to their beds, save for Piper and Jason, who continued their conversation briefly before finding sleep themselves. "I'm sorry, by the way," Jason said.
Piper wiped the last tear from her face. "Sorry for what? It was the eidolon who attacked—" "Not about that." The little scar on Jason's upper lip seemed to glow white in the moonlight. She'd always loved that scar. The imperfection made his face much more interesting.
"I was stupid to ask you to contact Reyna," he said. "I wasn't thinking." "Oh." Piper looked up at the clouds and wondered if her mother, Aphrodite, was somehow influencing him. His apology seemed too good to be true.
But don't stop, she thought. "Really, it's okay." "It's just...I never felt that way toward Reyna," Jason said, "so I didn't think about its making you uncomfortable. You've got nothing to worry about, Pipes."
"I wanted to hate her," Piper admitted. "I was so afraid you'd go back to Camp Jupiter." Jason looked surprised. "That would never happen. Not unless you came with me. I promise."
Piper held his hand. She managed a smile, but she was thinking: Another promise. An oath to keep with a final breath. She tried to put those thoughts out of her mind. She knew she should just enjoy this quiet moment with Jason.
But as she looked over the side of the ship, she couldn't help remembering how much the prairie at night looked like dark water—like the drowning room she'd seen in the blade of her knife.