CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:
GREEK TRAGEDY

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HEA MIN'S PRESENCE ONBOARD the Argo II was christened by chaos and danger, and Annais Min was none too pleased about it. She stood by the railing with her arms folded, glaring up at the three eagles that circled the sky above the ship. Behind them, several other eagles dotted the horizon, each flying in formation towards Fort Sumter with a Roman demigod carried on their back. Annais didn't hesitate to draw her sword, Hea mirroring her younger sister as she marched over to join Annais.

"We need to find Melanie," the eldest Min declared.

She spared a glance across the deck to where Ezra stood beside Percy. The son of Poseidon had his brows furrowed in concentration, most of his willpower focused on controlling the rigging of the ship. Ropes flew above their heads, releasing dock ties and lifting the anchor from the sea. The sails had caught in the wind, two misleading white flags, though the ship made no effort to move just yet.

Percy's control would only last so long, and Hea knew it. She faced Annais again with a determined scowl, "And fast."

Both girls turned at the sudden sound of hooves pounding against the staircase leading below deck. Gleeson appeared seconds later, scanning their surroundings for a sign of danger. "Where are they?" he rounded on Annabeth, who was busy trying to start up the engine. Damn Leo for making it so confusing! "Who do I kill?"

"No killing!" Annabeth huffed, but just as quickly cut herself off with a relieved sigh. The engine had roared to life, the Argo II beginning to move. "Just defend the ship!"

Gleeson scowled at her response. "But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

"Chuck Norris can wait, Gleeson," Hea interjected.

Gleeson flinched sky-high at the unexpected voice, whirling around to face where Hea and Annais stood. For a second, he looked between them like he was unsure if he was seeing double or not. Eventually, he let out a sigh. "Hea Min, when did you get here?"

"We can catch up later," Hea interrupted him with a pointed look towards the sky. Despite Annabeth's attempts to move the ship away from Charleston Harbour, the eagles had gained on them. "Ready to kick ass, Gleeson?"

Her eager look was reflected in the satyr's eyes, though he barely had a chance to reach for his club before Hazel shoved him out of the way. "Frank!" she cried, staring up at the eagles in disbelief.

Confused, Annais followed her gaze and blinked at the sight of a giant bald eagle swerving through the sea of enemies. As he got closer, a frantic shriek grew louder and louder, and Annais snickered at the sight of Leo clutched in the bald eagles' claws, screaming and cursing the son of Mars who seemed to deliberately soar through the air in swooping angles.

"Why isn't Melanie with them?" Hea frowned, knuckles bone-white as she tightened her grip on her katana-like sword. "She — oh, nevermind."

Behind Frank and Leo, Jason was flying with Melanie in his arms, the Min girl's face as pale as the ghosts that haunted her. She looked ready to be sick, but at least she wasn't screaming in terror, unlike her boyfriend...

"I've never seen Jason fly before," Percy commented, momentarily distracted from the task at hand. "He looks like a blonde Superman."

"That's my nickname for him!" Ezra exclaimed, looking both amused and disgruntled that Percy would even think of copying such a thing.

Percy frowned at her, but was interrupted by Piper shoving her way to the front of the deck. "Look!" she gasped, her eyes blown wide. "They're in trouble!"

Cue the Hea Min effect.

Or, if you wanted to be technical, the Min effect.

Everything went to shit as a Roman chariot descended from behind the clouds. One of the soldiers on board fired their bow, a sheet of arrows narrowly missing where Leo's feet dangled from Frank's claws. Leo shrieked again and wriggled around like a worm, prompting Frank to almost drop him into the ocean. Both him and Jason had no choice but to fly past the Argo II, an army of furious Romans hot on their heels.

"What do we do?" Annais asked, sharing a grim look with Hea, who just pursed her lips in mirrored uncertainty.

If they were on land, this wouldn't have been a problem for either of the Mins. Annais wouldn't have hesitated to throw herself into the fighting, and because Hea wouldn't let her baby sister go into battle unprotected, she would've been right behind her. But they weren't on land, and neither Min girl could fly, leaving them stranded useless at the railing when Hedge got the stupid idea to fire at the chariot and acted on it.

"Hedge, no!"

The air exploded as a fireball collided into the side of the chariot. The pegasi whined at the heat of the flames, the eagles giving the chaos a wide berth — well, all but one of them. Frank didn't have time to dodge, his wings burning in the aftermath. He instinctively released Leo, and Annais' heart stopped at the sight of him free-falling. She stood wide-eyed as Jason lunged for Leo, nearly dropping Melanie in the process of catching him, then struggled to regain altitude with not just one but two bodies weighing him down. In just five seconds, all three of them dropped like stones behind the ramparts of the fort, Frank's flickering form following after them.

"Coach!" Piper screamed, reflecting the fury everyone seemed to feel as they rounded on the satyr.

Gleeson shrugged defensively. "What? That was just a warning shot!"

Annais had to fight the urge to hit him. Instead, she gripped the railing tight, feeling antsy as Annabeth gunned the engines. Despite the sudden speed, everything seemed to occur in slow motion, leaving Annais feeling desperate to reach their friends but unable to do so. She let out a scream of frustration when a dozen more eagles joined the sea of shadows overhead, slowly beginning to descend.

"Percy, we're going to come in hard," Annabeth warned not just her boyfriend, but everyone battening down the hatches. Annais felt Hea reach for her hand and squeezed back, peering out across the deck to make sure Ezra was safe. Fortunately, she was tethered to Piper, and had Percy holding her hand as he stepped up beside Annabeth. Annais tore her eyes away as the blonde continued, "I need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. Once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of you help him guard the ship."

Annais knew she was also referring to her and Hea, but neither of them were prepared to sit back with Mel out there somewhere. Ezra seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"My sister is out there!" she protested with Hazel adding, "And the guys!"

"I'll find them," Annabeth stressed, to which Annais almost immediately shook her head.

"On your own?" Hea scoffed. "No shot, Chase. I'm coming with you."

"Me too," Annais added.

"But I've got to figure out where the map is," Annabeth protested, anxiously checking her watch as the distance between the ship and the docks grew impossibly small. "And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."

"Well, while you do that, we'll—" Hea gestured from herself to Annais. "—cover you and find the others."

"But—"

"Don't argue with me," Hea cut her off. Annabeth frowned. "I'm older. Respect your elders, Chase."

"Whatever," Annabeth sighed, deciding it was best not to argue with them. Instead, she turned to Percy and Ezra, the former of which was looking from one of his girlfriends to said girlfriend's older sister like he was seeing the similarities between them for the first time. As she said her final words to them, Annais turned to where Hea was preparing her weapons.

"You sure you want to do this?" she said, though it sounded more like you don't have to do this than it did a question.

Hea grinned, a devious kind of smile that seemed to question her sister's sanity. "I'm sure," she replied. As if I'd ever let you go alone. "Now come on. I'd like to meet my brother-in-law while he's still breathing."

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WAR WAS RAGING BY the time Annais, Hea and Annabeth climbed down the rope ladder. In the middle of the courtyard, Annais spied an elephant rampaging through the crowd, leaving the Romans no choice but to scatter unless they wanted to be flattened beneath the animal's feet.

"Frank?" Hea questioned, though she seemed to have already come to the conclusion that it was him.

Which meant that Melanie — and, by default, the others — couldn't be far away.

A sudden blast of fire nearly knocked them off their feet. Annais dodged the sword of a  soldier and knocked him out with the blunt end of her own weapon. She caught Annabeth's warning look — don't hurt them more than is necessary — and rolled her eyes. If it wasn't for the stupid alliance between them, Annais wouldn't have hesitated to make sure he couldn't get back up again.

Carefully, the three girls began to weave their way through the chaos, occasionally dodging blows and responding with their own. Another blast of fire caught Annais' attention. As she steadied her feet, she spotted Leo being chased by a group of soldiers, their eagles also swooping down on him. He only just managed to dodge them, dashing from one portico to the next to dish out the fireballs that had nearly knocked the girls over. Shielded behind him was Mel, whose frantic eyes were scanning around for help.

"I'll go!" Hea shouted over the screams of confused tourists. She caught Annais' uncertain look and added, "You stay with Annabeth, okay? We'll meet you back at the ship."

Annais had no choice to follow after Annabeth, who'd hesitated only a second to hear Hea say I'll go before she battled on ahead. Annais had the feeling she was trying to lose them both, but Annais stuck close to her side until she spotted a familiar head of blonde hair in the crowd. Jason Grace was fifty yards away from Frank the elephant, sword-fighting with an unfamiliar soldier who decided to brave the wrath of a praetor. Through the instinctive fear that suffocated her, Annais watched as Jason fought with a sense of ease, jumping straight over the enemy's head to slam the hilt of his weapon against the back of the boy's head. The boy crumpled lifelessly, leaving Jason to stand over him victoriously, but not without grief for a friend turned foe.

"Jason!" Annais shouted his name, pushing her way past a group of tourists running in circles like headless chickens. She huffed and all-but elbowed a frantic woman out of her way, calling out his name again. "Jason!"

He was quick to search the battlefield for her, a flicker of fear in his eyes that only settled once he found her and Annabeth. He reached out and grabbed her arms, scanning her over for injuries. He only relaxed once he found none.

"You're alright," he said, which made Annais almost laugh at the irony behind it.

Almost.

Beside her, Annabeth intervened with an impatient gesture to where the Argo II had just docked. The ship was being swarmed by eagles, their friends barely visible as they fought off the onslaught. "Get the others aboard!" the daughter of Athena commanded. "And retreat!"

"What about you?" he frowned.

"Don't wait for me."

"Annabeth—"

Annais barely got her name out before she turned her back and ran. She was easily lost in the crowd of tourists, leaving Annais to curse in frustration. With a defeated sigh, she reached for one of Jason's hands while holding her sword high with the other.

"Come on," she exclaimed, pausing briefly to knock one of the Romans out of their path. He went down easily, and Jason winced but forced himself to step over the body. "Hea has Leo and Mel but we need to grab Frank."

Finding the demigod turned elephant was easier than expected, and so the three of them managed to reach the ship at the same time as Hea, Melanie and Leo. Annais sighed in relief at the sight of them, but didn't have time to so much as smile at them before Jason ushered her up the ladder. At the top, their friends were slowly being overpowered by eagles and a few brave Romans who'd also climbed their way up the ladder. As Annais reached the top, she stumbled out of the way just in time to avoid falling back down with a warrior shot down by Percy.

"Good," the son of Poseidon sighed at the sight of her. "You're back."

"What's the plan, then?" she asked, but didn't get a response as his eyes scanned the others following after her.

"Where's Annabeth?" he exclaimed and latched onto Annais' wrist when she didn't respond. Desperately, he repeated, "Annais, where is she?"

"I don't know," Annais forced herself to answer. "She took off when we found everyone, told us to come back here and retreat."

"We're not going without her!" he protested.

Jason took a step forward then, and Percy was quick to drop Annais' wrist like her touch was scalding. He had the decency to look ashamed, not quite meeting her eyes as Jason said, "And we won't have to, if we find a way to fight off this."

Which was how Jason Grace and Percy Jackson found themselves working side-by-side, against all odds, water meeting sky as Jason controlled the winds and Percy manoeuvred the ocean. Each wave was supported by an onslaught of wind, dragging Roman soldiers and eagles into the bay where Percy kept them down long enough to make a dent in the shadows. They were easily replaced with twice as many eagles the next time, but the others were ready. It was an endless cycle interrupted only when Mel spotted Annabeth fighting her way back to the ship.

"Get ready!" she shouted at Leo, who stood behind the engine controls.

She and Piper threw their hands out, each latching onto one of Annabeth's arms to tug her up the ladder. They pulled away from the dock just in time, the engine roaring and the oars churning. At the sight of her, Jason changed the course of the wind, sweat trickling down his brow as exhaustion began to settle in. Annais reached out to steady him, grimacing at the damp patches on his chest but refusing to pull away. Beside them, Percy called up a massive wave that lifted the ship higher and pushed it out to sea. With two unlikely forces interacting as one, they easily broke away from the Romans, barrelling away from Fort Sumter without so much as a glance back.

Okay, maybe there were a few looks over their shoulders, unable to believe they'd somehow made it out alive — well, as close to alive as they could get. About ten minutes out from Fort Sumter, Jason and Percy had slumped onto the deck and hadn't gotten up since. Annais was sitting beside Jason, his head on her lap, trying to convince him to drink some of the water Piper was attempting to pour down his throat. Beside them, Ezra and Annabeth did the same for Percy, a disgruntled Ezra slapping her hand against the side of Percy's face when he remained unresponsive. At that, he forced himself to accept the drink, muttering to himself as Ezra beamed. When Annais turned back to Jason and raised a pointed brow, as if to say do you want me to slap you too? he forced himself to sit up and listen to Piper.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group gathered around them, clearly needing a meeting to discuss the total shitshow that had just gone down.

"No sign of pursuit," Frank commented, his dark brows furrowed in an unusually furious frown. He refused to look at Hazel, who was huddled at his side and not-so-subtly glancing at Leo with his arm around Mel's shoulders.

Well, then.

"Or land," Hazel forced herself to add, tearing her eyes away when she accidentally caught Mel's gaze.

"Did you get the map you wanted?" Leo asked Annabeth.

The reminder had Annais whirling around to glare at the girl. Annabeth winced, seemingly picking up on what Annais wanted to say. She shot her an apologetic look, sighing when Annais' glare stayed stubbornly in place. "I'll have to study it," she told them when she realised everyone was waiting for her response. With a forceful shake of her head, she redirected the conversation, "How far are we from those coordinates?"

"At top rowing speed? About an hour," Leo replied with a woeful glance at the oars cutting through the water. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"No," it pained Annabeth to admit it. "Percy?"

Percy struggled to lift his head from her lap. Slurring like he was drunk, he explained, "The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but... she also warned me to be careful. Keto, the Goddess at the aquarium, she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

"Wonderful," Frank grumbled, at the same time as Hea deadpanned, "Well, what an introduction this is."

"For those of you who don't know," Mel spoke up when all eyes turned in Hea's direction. She was sitting in the corner, shrouded by shadows, looking like their next monster to fight. She grinned when Leo flinched at the sight of her, inching closer to Mel's side like he expected her to protect him from her sister. "This is Hea, the..."

"Eldest Min? Daughter of Hades? Just the greatest in general?" Hea offered up when Mel struggled to think of anything.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Ezra grinned, then snickered like she knew Hea was gaping at her in disbelief.

"Hea's here to help us out," Annais said, directing this more at the others than Annabeth and Percy, who already knew the girl. Much like Leo, Jason was peering warily at Hea, though for what reason — the fact she was his... Annais' sister, or the fact he didn't know if he could trust her — Annais wasn't sure. He didn't say anything, though, merely nodding when Annais glanced at him. "By us, I mean more me, Mel and Ezra. No offence but you lot are hard work."

"Can't argue with that," Piper grimaced, but was soon distracted when Jason tried to stand up. "What are you doing, idiot—"

Almost as soon as she said this, Jason stumbled and slid back down the mast. Annais sighed, sharing a look with Piper as the blonde boy settled his head back in her lap, looking like he could sleep for a week and still be tired. With a muffled voice, he asked, "Can we get the ship aloft? If we could fly..."

"That'd be great, except Festus tells me the port aerial stabiliser got pulverised when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Sumter..."

"We were in a hurry," Annabeth defended herself against Leo's pointed glare. "Trying to save you!"

"And saving me is a very noble cause," he agreed with a solemn nod. "I'm just saying, it's going to take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere."

That, Annais didn't mind as much. So long as they weren't on land, Gaea would have a harder time getting to them.

Or so Annais thought.

After Jason and Percy began to grow weary even talking, the group dispersed with Annais helping Jason downstairs to his room. He all but fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow, but not before he muttered something that sounded a lot like please don't go. With flushed cheeks, Annais sent an awkward Frank to help Percy, Annabeth and Ezra, leaving Annais to crawl into the bed beside Jason.

"You, Jason Grace, are going to be the death of me," she murmured into the pillow. It smelled like him — well, his shampoo, but it was a scent Annais had grown to associate exclusively with Jason.

For a second, she allowed her eyes to close, opening them again only to kiss his jaw before settling down to wait for him to wake up. Before she knew it, day had shifted into night, and a handful of hours had passed with her accidentally falling asleep too. Both her and Jason were forced awake at the sound alarms blaring. Through the haze of sleep, Annais wasn't sure what was happening, but she quickly sat up when the door slammed open and Hea froze at the sight of them.

"Annais Min..."

"Now's not the time!" Annais rolled her eyes, knowing just by the look on her sister's face what Hea had assumed. "What's going on?"

"Hea? What's..." Jason mumbled, clearly just as dazed as she was. However, with one glimpse at Hea's disapproving expression, he also sat up, stumbling over his words until he managed to get out was, "Hea! Uh, this isn't..."

"It doesn't matter now," she forced out as a new round of alarms began. Annais' heart lurched, both at the sound and the look of fear slowly spreading across her sister's face, like she was finally comprehending what she'd gotten herself into. "We've gotta go. We're under attack."

"Romans?" Annais shouted, but Hea had already disappeared upstairs.

Annais and Jason were quick to rush after her, stumbling up the stairs at the same time as Annabeth, Ezra and Mel. Annais' eyes blew wide as she pushed her way past Annabeth's frozen figure, struggling to take in the sight of the monster looming before them. It was unlike anything Annais had seen before, something even Annabeth didn't seem to immediately recognise. In the moonlight, it looked like what a giant shrimp and a cockroach would create if they bred together, with fleshy pink scales, a giant crayfish tail, and millipede legs that scuttled against the hull of the Argo II. With a toothless screech, more than a dozen tentacles sprouted from its nostrils and rammed into the ship again. Annais would've gone sprawling was it not for Annabeth yanking the back of her shirt.

"How did it get so close?" she heard the daughter of Athena demand.

"I don't know!" Gleeson huffed as the group gathered around him and Leo at the engine controls.

He shot a pointed look at Leo, who cursed and said, "I'm so stupid! I forgot the sonar!"

"Sonar?" Gleeson echoed in disbelief. "Pan's pipes, Valdez! Maybe, if you hadn't been staring into Hazel's eyes, holding hands for so long—"

"What?" Frank gasped, unsure if he'd heard the satyr right.

"It wasn't like that!" Hazel insisted with a terrified look at Mel.

Annais was already watching her sister, taking in the way that Mel's eyes went teary before she smothered the emotions off her face. Still, despite her cool exterior, she refused to look at Leo, who was torn between the controls and watching her expressions change. He winced at the hollow sound of her voice, "Jason, can you call down lightning?"

Jason barely managed a shake of his head. Despite the few hours rest he and Annais had gotten, he still looked exhausted. Rushing up the stairs had already taken a lot out of him; trying to summon another storm would only push him over the edge.

Which left them with Percy.

"Can you talk to that thing?" Annabeth asked him desperately. "Do you know what it is?"

"Maybe it's just curious about the ship? Maybe—"

"Curious?" Ezra scoffed. "Just how delirious are you?"

Percy didn't get the change to reply as one of the monster's tendrils lashed across the deck. One collided with Percy and Ezra, sending them crashing down the steps dangerously close to the edge. Percy frantically reached out for Ezra before they disappeared, ensuring she didn't accidentally fall over the railing somehow. Annais wasn't sure where they ended up, for another tendril had appeared and snatched up her and Piper. Annais screamed, kicking her legs until she somehow got free. She landed hard against the floorboards, struggling for air as her chest burned from the impact. She probably would've stayed there was it not for Piper getting closer and closer to the water.

"Nose-hair attack!" Hedge cried and rushed past Annais to help. His club did nothing, though, forcing Jason and Hea into action. The two worked well alongside each other, Jason taking offence and Hea taking defence. It was mystifying watching them, so much that Annais found herself momentarily frozen, her only distraction being Mel dropping to the deck in front of her.

"Annais!" the younger girl cried and shook her shoulders. "Annais, are you okay? An—"

"I'm alright," she forced herself to say, though she winced when any sudden movement sent shooting pains through her right hip. "Just, help me up."

By the time the two girls were up and situated, Jason and Hea had broken Piper free and were helping Annabeth stab at the other emerging tentacles. Frank had found his bow and was firing over the side at the creature's body. He seemed to be doing okay, so Annais and Mel headed for the others, both summoning their weapons.

The next moments happened too quick to comprehend. The monster pushed with all its might against the Argo II, lurching the deck to a forty-five degree angle. Annais dropped her sword to snatch at Mel's arm, frantically dodging a swinging tentacle as she struggled to reach for her weapon and hold Mel up at the same time. On the other side of the deck, she spied Frank disappearing over the edge, Hazel screaming something at Leo, before the two were thrown after Frank.

"Leo!" Mel screamed in horror, attempting to tear out of Annais' grip to get to him. She shrieked as a tentacle reached out for her next, Annais finally grabbing hold of her sword and slashing right through it. Mel took the moment of relief as an opportunity, sprinting in vain to where she'd seen Leo and Hazel disappear. She barely made it halfway, however, when the sky lit up in a sickly green explosion. The monster wailed, fire lighting it up from the inside, and two figures dropped like stones from his grasp.

Leo and Hazel disappeared into the night, the monster's falling body pushing them beneath the waves as Melanie Min gave one last scream.

And then silence.

Deadly, uncertain silence as night pushed in.