It was like planning their funerals.

Emilia tried to think of what it would be like in the future, looking back at this quest and laughing it off. Sure, it was going to hurt a lot right now, but why think of that? The torment was inevitable. Might as well make the most of it. New friends, a family, a mission that would undoubtedly be interesting.

Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands– and the Mare Nostrum– are dangerous?"

"We know," said Emilia. "I've heard all sorts of terrible things about the Mediterranean, especially where monsters are concerned. The closer we are to the ancestral home of these evil beings, the more danger we're in." She thought of Rhea's voice. "But we'll be stronger there, too, just as they are. I don't think we have a choice. Gaea is stirring more each day and if we don't move fast, she'll wake fully and... I don't know what we'll do at that point. It's a risk we have to take."

"Eight half-bloods must answer the call," recited Annabeth. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Emilia, Leo, and me. Five."

"And me," said Percy. "Along with Hazel and Frank. That's eight."

"What?" Octavian shot to his feet. "We're just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without–"

Just as Emilia was preparing to punch him across the face, Tyson bounded toward them, calling for Percy. Mrs. O'Leary was at his heels. On the hellhound's back sat the skinniest harpy she'd ever seen– a sickly-looking girl with stringy red hair, a sackcloth dress, and red-feathered wings.

Tyson stopped by their couch and wrung his meaty hands. His big brown eye was full of concern. "Ella is scared."

"N-No more boats," the harpy stuttered to herself, picking furiously at her feathers. "Titanic, Lusitania, Pax... boats are not for harpies."

Leo squinted, looking at Hazel. "Did that chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?"

Hazel averted her gaze nervously. "She's not a chicken. She's just a little... high-strung."

"Ella is pretty," said Tyson shyly. "And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship."

"No ships," repeated Ella. She looked straight at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone—"

"Ella!" Frank stood suddenly. "Maybe it's not the best time—"

"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," continued Ella, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."

The effect was like someone dropping a flash grenade on the table. Everyone stared at the harpy. No one spoke. Annabeth looked more unsettled than Emilia had ever seen her. Percy stood and took Tyson's arm, "I know! How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O'Leary–"

"Hold on." Octavian gripped one of his teddy bears, strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella. "What was that she said? It sounded like—"

"Ella reads a lot," Frank blurted out. "We found her at a library."

"Yes!" agreed Hazel. "Probably just something she read in a book."

"Book," Ella muttered helpfully. "Ella likes books."

They were obviously hiding something, and Octavian knew it. "That was a prophecy," Octavian insisted. "It sounded like a prophecy."

No one knew what to say, but Annabeth forced a laugh. "Really, Octavian? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side. Ours have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?"

Her words had the intended effect. The Roman officers laughed nervously. Some sized up Ella, then looked at Octavian and snorted. The idea of a chicken lady issuing prophecies was apparently just as ridiculous to Romans as it was to Greeks.

But Octavian wasn't fully convinced. Annabeth glanced at Emilia and Hazel, and it was Emilia who spoke, "We have a real prophecy that requires our attention... unless Octavian, you think that it's not important?"

This only made him look more embarrassed. As Percy arranged for Tyson to take Ella elsewhere, Emilia stared down Octavian. "What's the job of an augur anyway? Doesn't that mean you're descended from Apollo? I know several children of Apollo, the Oracle of Delphi herself, and I've met Apollo himself on a few occasions... between the haikus and looking pretty cool most of the time, he once said something really wise about prophecies. 'Ne quid incertum cures, nunc quid agatur intendunt et si quid regere debes, solum quod scis regere.'" (T: Don't worry about what's uncertain, focus on what's happening now and if you must control anything, control only what you know.)

She looked him in the eyes. "Incipio cogitare te vere aliquem nexum ad eum habere. Similem quidem familiam invenire non possum. Apollo et filii eius..." She gestured in his general direction. "Multo magis quam." (T: I'm starting to think that you don't really have any connection to him at all. I can't even find a family resemblance. Apollo and his children are... a lot more than that.)

It was completely made up and overly stupid and exaggerated, but Percy snorted and made it seem like he knew that that's the sort of thing Apollo would say. Maybe Will Solace would've worded it exactly like that– a little less certainty about his father.

Octavian was so dumbfounded, he found nothing to say. Reyna finally set down her uneaten apple. "Well. Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate's approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest– especially one as dangerous as you're suggesting."

"This whole thing smells of treachery," grumbled Octavian, glaring at Emilia as if he'd like to have her skewered. "That trireme is not a ship of peace."

"Come aboard, man," offered Leo. "I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear."

Octavian's nostrils flared. "How dare you–"

"It's a good idea," said Reyna. "Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour."

"But..." Octavian stopped. "Fine."

Leo got up, smiling at the others. For a moment, his smile flickered. Emilia wasn't sure why there was a twinge in her gut, like the bad feeling a person usually got when something bad was going to happen. Would Leo be okay? Was Octavian going to try to hurt him?

She almost offered to go with them, but Leo said casually, "Back soon. This is gonna be epic."

Annabeth instinctively looked over at her, just as tense. Emilia's hand trembled and she knew what it was, why there was darkness, why there was a flicker.

"My mother," said Emilia, standing up straight. "My mother is here."

"Your mother?" asked Reyna slowly.

"Yes. Discordia– I can feel her presence. She's here, she's looking for something to exploit." She looked at Leo and Octavian, getting smaller in the distance. "I have to go with them. Excuse me."

Reyna seemed ready to tell her not to (maybe she did want to talk?) but in the end said nothing.

She rushed to catch up to Leo and Octavian, the latter of which looked very displeased with her presence. "Este guey ya me esta cayendo gordo," said Leo under his breath as Emilia joined them. (T: This dumbass is already getting on my nerves.)

Emilia chose not to respond, very aware that Octavian was shooting her the stink eye. "So, Octavian, do you like boats?"

He looked offended, as if this was the worst thing she could've possibly asked him. "Boats! You Greeks, you're..." He refrained from saying more.

She forced a smile, but may have taken it too far– he looked even more unsettled. "Interrogatio iusta. Nihil nimis grave, vere." (T: Just a question. Nothing too serious, really.)

"Cur Latine loqueris?" asked Octavian sharply. (T: Why do you speak Latin?)

"Donec ad sensum. Accessit naturaliter, sicut Graeca. Graceus sum et Romanus." (T: I practiced until it made sense. Came naturally, like Greek. I am both Greek and Roman.)

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "A child of Discordia, of all things..."

"Are you afraid of her?" asked Emilia. She couldn't help but admit to herself that she was scared at this moment, imagining her mother lurking around, waiting for a moment to strike. Maybe she wouldn't with Emilia here. "Most people are because they aren't willing to deal with conflict. I believe that's why I'm here, to mend that. I wouldn't blame you for being scared."

"I am not scared," huffed Octavian snidely. "You Greeks think you know everything."

I know so many ways of killing you, it would surprise you, she thought.

"I do know a lot of things," said Emilia. "More than you, it seems. Wouldn't have expected a descendant of Apollo to be so close-minded." She gestured at the ladder. "Me, first. Octavian, you follow. Leo in the rear."

She moved quickly, examining the ship once she arrived. She wasn't sure she could sense traps, but the darkness didn't exactly feel heightened here. Whatever she felt, it lingered when she was with Leo and Octavian. Could Eris simply be stirring discord between them?

"Unfortunately," Eris had said, "I can't sow it in you anymore than you can sow it in me." The message was clear– she could sow it in the people around her and cause trouble regardless.

Leo was in his element once they were on the deck. Octavian did not get a paper hat– he probably would've gone ballistic if anyone offered one. But he did listen, though perhaps just to criticize. He was like a fussy child and Emilia hated it.

Still, he made no clear moves to hurt them. He could've, not that he would live to tell the tale. The darkness, it didn't feel like it was in him, it was... it was in Leo. But why?

Mother, she thought. Show yourself. Settle this with me. I'm the one seeking you out, not them.

Leo chatted mindlessly, showing off the controls and explaining which did what. He smiled the way he always did when he was talking about the things he built. But something about this was different... the smile, it was like Emilia's smile.

Unprompted, Leo clicked 'play' on a rock album that she remembered him playing the day he designed the ballistae. He turned to face them, eyes glazed. The air exploded around them, a bright light flashing beneath the Argo II as an explosion blew a crater into the forum, right near where some demigods were still seated.

Octavian scrambled up, robes steaming and covered in black soot, "I knew it!"

"Stop!" snapped Emilia, grabbing him by the ankles before he could lunge at him. "Stop it– it's not him, it's my mother!"

A voice crooned behind her, "Is it?"

She was flung to the other end of the deck as Eris materialized, shadows swirling all around her. Octavian turned just as she did, paralyzed as her giant form towered over them, the sky beginning to darken over the Argo II. Leo muttered, "Destroy them," and clicked another button, launching a second volley.

More explosions rang as Emilia summoned her spear and faced her mother. "Leo," she said loudly, turning her wrist clockwise. "Listen to my voice, don't focus on her. Remember me, remember I'm your friend, focus on that and you can fight off her magic."

"Oh, my sweet," sighed Eris. "That's not going to do anything at all." She shrugged, the shadows rolling off her arms and reaching for Octavian, grabbing him tight enough to elicit a squeak. They wrapped around him like tentacles, or maybe out-of-control tree roots acting like pythons. "I'm not doing anything to him. I only sowed enough discord to make him weak. You see, Gaea knows you all so very well. She knows your weaknesses and what she needs to exploit in order to defeat you all."

She looked back at Leo, smiling. "Tell him to aim for Frank Zhang." She was talking to Leo but not... to Leo. She glanced back at Emilia and winked. "He's a bit too difficult to manipulate... as are you. Oh! Now, now, my dear, get your hands off that boy!"

The shadows tossed Octavian toward Emilia without dropping him, making it look like the shadows she was summoning to hold her spear, unsure how to attack, were connected with the ones holding onto him.

Emilia let go of the spear, reaching her own shadows and trying to loosen Eris's grip on Octavian, who was wheezing, about to be crushed. She didn't care if he died, really, but it wasn't going to look good to anyone. "Let go of him!" she snapped at her mother. "Are you really going to kill some random kid just because Gaea told you to? Are you always going to be her servant, unable to do anything for yourself? Even I had the strength to stop being someone else's bitch."

The wrong thing to say. Eris's eyes flared pure black and she sneered, "Emilia, dear, I think I should've taught you to play well with others when you were a child. How unfortunate that in your anger, you've... tossed that poor boy overboard."

She dematerialized just as the shadows threw Octavian over the edge. Emilia swore loudly and flung her arms out, crying out in pain as the shadows extended past her, a tug more powerful than the one she'd had to make to slow their fall when they tumbled off of Festus. All her strength went into solidifying the shadows and at last, they caught Octavian by the ankle. Her feet skidded over the deck, body careening so far that if she'd been a little taller, as she always wished to be, she would've toppled over and failed to save him.

Octavian was screaming his head off, the shadows pulling him toward the ladder, which he grabbed hold of. He began to scramble down, leaving Emilia to run at Leo, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Stop it! Leo, stop! Whatever's gotten into you, snap out of it!"

A force yanked her back by the hair. "No, no, sweetheart," crooned Eris, spreading her arms and making the yells below intensify. Objects were hitting the hull of the Argo II. Plates, rocks, anything the Romans could grab hold of.

Eris was coiling her own wrists, humming deeply and keeping everyone below furious. "You can't stop us. Give up, will you? It's pathetic."

"I could say the same thing about you," said Emilia, throwing herself at Eris. Her hands almost clamped around Eris's throat, if not for the shadows that formed a barrier and shoved her to the ground.

"Look at them," crooned Eris, shadows snapping out like whips to grab Emilia and tug her to the edge, where she could see her friends below. The coils pressed into her throat, grabbing her in the way Eris couldn't.

Jason and Piper were surrounded. Piper was probably trying to charmspeak the Romans, Jason's forehead was already bleeding and his purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. Armed legionnaires were starting to arrive– two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II. They were about to be blown out of the sky.

Amidst the burning couches, exploding buildings, and wailing ghosts, fauns were swimming the dining tables, Terminus was yelling at everyone, and Emilia couldn't see the others until at last, she zeroed in on the fountain, where Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water. Hazel and Frank stood with him, no one sure what to do.

The first catapult fired, an impact so strong, Emilia should've been thrown back again, but Eris's grip was strong. As the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull, she was held to the rail and made to look down at the chaos her mother relished in.

"You're at peace with both sides of yourself!" argued Emilia, trying to push back against the shadows. "I was made to be both Greek and Roman– we don't need to be fighting each other like this, it's pointless. There can't be any more discord once everyone is dead! There is a balance to the things we do, too much dampens our fun and too little doesn't give you anything to do!"

"There are so many things you don't understand," sighed Eris. "Why this feud exists, how difficult it is to mend it... it goes beyond me, little one."

Emilia gave out an angry huff, trying to slide over the deck, trying to break Eris's hold. "I have a family," she spluttered, watching Hazel mount a beige horse that zipped through the crowd with incredible speed. Jason tried to shield Piper as they were pelted with plates and stones and caught a brick over his eye.

"A family?" taunted Eris.

"I have a family!" she repeated. "So did you, once. I have... I have four mortal siblings I love very much. I have my aunt, who raised me and did what you couldn't. I love her and I love my father and I even care about my stepmother. Piper and Annabeth– maybe Hazel someday– are the demigod sisters I didn't get to have. Leo, Jason, Percy–maybe Frank, too– are the silly brothers I longed for, who have cared for me unconditionally. I have a best friend who helped me realize I was more than just an anchor for you people– and I might even have a girlfriend who probably sent Otrera packing by now! Don't you envy me, Mother?"

She turned her head back as far as it could go, glaring at the goddess. "I have a family I love that loves me. I have people I care about and people who care about me. I sow discord when I want to, for my purposes, and no one controls me anymore. I chose what I have built, every inch of it, and you have no leverage over me anymore. I have no weaknesses to exploit because I have seen worse than you, Mother, I have triumphed over Chaos while you're here bitching about what you don't have while doing nothing to seek it. I risked everything to make this family while you complain that yours doesn't care for you– you've done nothing to show them that they should. Everyone thinks we're evil... why would we want to prove them right?"

Eris's grip let up. Emilia shoved the shadows aside, summoning Incubo and pointing it at Eris's throat. "You whine and whine about tricks you used to play with your brothers, about a sister you're not close to. When the hell have you done anything to get Nemesis back? When, in the last six months, have you had a single original thought? Here you are tormenting the only blood relative who will even talk to you– the child Gaea forced you to have then didn't let you raise, the child who once hated you and doesn't anymore because you're my mother and I don't think you're wicked like the gods do, in fact, I don't even think they believe that, but how would they know otherwise when you're helping their mother overthrow them?"

Eris was motionless, shadows not even rippling as she tensed up, glaring down at Emilia. The shadows surged from Emilia to the tip of Incubo, forming an extra blade around the Stygian Iron. "Gaea let Zeus be born... she helped her daughter overthrow Kronos... then she turned around and started to hate the Olympians all over again... she is a two-faced, Dirt-Faced bitch and you're just doing her bidding because you think there's nothing else out there. Look around! There's nothing else if you let this happen, anyway! No one is going to worship you. And me? I probably won't be around for you to even see if you win. I'm happy as I am, Mother. I have everything I want– I seized it instead of complaining how nothing goes my way. You're not going to convince me to abandon my family. Go find your own and then we'll talk."

She swung the spear and shadows. Eris disappeared before it could cut her, but she didn't choose to reform again. Once Emilia turned, Annabeth and Percy had made it up to the deck. There was a dragon below, holding Piper and Jason in its claws.

"That's Frank!" yelled Percy as she abandoned the spear and began to summon another blade of shadows to direct at it. "The dragon is Frank!"

She didn't even have a chance to say, 'What the fuck are you talking about?!' He surged forward and tackled Leo, knocking him out before he could turn back to the ballista. "Go!" yelled Percy to Annabeth. "Get us out of here!"

Annabeth ran for the helm. More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack. Annabeth directed them up into the clouds, surging forward as fast as possible.

The dragon landed on the deck once they were a safe distance away, gently lowering Piper and Jason into Emilia and Percy's waiting arms. It shrank until Frank was suddenly standing there with them, completely unfazed.

"Where's Hazel?" Emilia asked immediately. "Is she okay?"

"She'll rendezvous with us in a bit," said Frank, though he sounded worried. "She's with Arion, she'll be fine."

Emilia didn't wait around to ask more. Percy helped Piper and Percy pull Jason below deck, the cut on his head pretty bad. Emilia rushed to Leo, who was groaning and still not fully conscious.

The ship was in shambles. The aft crossbows were piles of kindling, the foresail was tattered, the satellite array that powered the onboard Internet and TV was blown to bits– this was the only thing that got Coach Hedge's attention, apparently. Festus was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball.

Emilia propped Leo up into a seated position, giving him some nectar. "Should we..." Frank's question died over his lips. Maybe he'd wondered about restraining him.

"No," said Emilia. "I don't think he's a threat anymore. My mother is gone, I can't feel her presence here. She almost killed Octavian. Did he make it down alive?"

"Unfortunately," said Annabeth, glancing at Coach Hedge out of the corner of her eye. He'd finally emerged and was putting out the last of the fires on the deck. "What happened? We could see her from below, she was... terrifying. She's been in your dreams like that?"

"Yes."

This seemed to unsettle her. "I'm not afraid," said Emilia, never having been a child afraid of monsters or the dark. She'd never lacked the ability to see through it. "She's my mother." Hesitantly, she added, "As for what happened with her, we'll discuss that later, when we're all together. Step back... Leo needs space."

Annabeth and Frank did as told. Leo began to stir once Coach Hedge trudged over to them, about to yell what was happening before Emilia shushed him.

Leo leaned away when he realized everyone was just staring at him. "It's okay," said Emilia soothingly, offering him a tiny piece of ambrosia. "You're okay, you're safe."

"What happened?" asked Annabeth firmly.

"Give him a moment," Emilia pleaded, using her sleeve to clean Leo's face while he chewed. "Hey, breathe. Slowly." She lowered her voice, smiling as warmly as she could. She felt a twitch in her cheeks as her muscles fought the urge to spasm– it was hard to muster a real smile when she was still so nervous. "Ya salimos del peligro. Mantente calmado." (T: We're out of danger. Stay calm.)

He looked like he was fighting tears. "What did I do?" He held his head. "What did I just do?"

She rubbed his back. "That's what we're gonna figure out. It's not your fault, okay?"

"How do you know that?" asked Frank nervously. Not accusingly, just... confused. At least, as far as Emilia could tell.

"My mother said that she sowed enough discord to make him weak," explained Emilia. "She said Gaea wants to exploit our weaknesses. She told him... well, not Leo, she looked at him and said 'Tell him to aim for Frank Zhang' because you're too difficult to manipulate. It's like she was giving orders to Leo but not... to Leo. Like something else was controlling him. What did you feel, Leo? Do you remember?"

Leo choked back a sob. "I don't know. It's fuzzy." He looked up at Coach Hedge, who was still armed with his baseball bat. "I... I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."

Hedge tapped his bat against the deck. "Look, kid, you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."

Emilia glared at him. "That's not the most important thing right now, you old goat! Gods, why didn't Chiron just let meact as a chaperone?! You shouldn't even be here!"

"Both of you, stop," ordered Annabeth. "Coach, go make sure all the fires are out."

"But I already did that–"

"Do it again."

He trudged off, muttering under his breath. Even Hedge wasn't crazy enough to defy Annabeth. She knelt beside him and Emilia, "Leo, did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or–"

"No." Leo shook his head. "The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did. It was this weird feeling, like I wanted to do it. But something was making me do it. There was a cold feeling inside me–"

"A cold feeling." Annabeth sounded afraid.

"Yeah," said Leo. "Why?"

From belowdecks, Percy called up, "Annabeth, we need you."

"He'll be fine," said Annabeth, seeing Leo had gone even paler at the thought that he'd hurt Jason. "Frank, Emilia, we'll be back. Just... watch Leo. Please."

This probably only made Leo feel worse. "Come on," said Emilia, carefully hoisting him up. "Do you need more ambrosia? How's your head?"

"I'm okay," sighed Leo dejectedly.

Frank looked at him curiously. "So... your name isn't Sammy?"

Leo scowled. "What kind of question is that?"

"Nothing," said Frank quickly. "I just– nothing. About the firing on the camp... Octavian could be behind it, if Eris isn't. Like, magically, or something. He didn't want the Romans getting along with you guys."

It was kind of him to say that, but Emilia wasn't sure she believed it, which meant it was unlikely that Leo would, either.

"Look," said Leo, "I should talk to Festus and get a damage report."

"Who's Festus?" asked Frank.

"My friend," said Leo. "His name isn't Sammy either, in case you're wondering. Come on, I'll introduce you."

She stood a careful guard as Leo showed Frank where Festus was and how he worked. The ship was doing even worse than Emilia thought– she assumed it wasn't too bad if they were still flying, but apparently, once they landed, they wouldn't be able to fly again unless all the damage was repaired in one sitting. Their day was going to be long.

Percy and Annabeth came back up a few minutes later. Jason was going to be alright– Piper was keeping an eye on him. Unfortunately for Leo, this didn't mean he was in the clear.

"Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?" asked Percy, giving him a hard look.

"Man, I–I don't understand how it happened," said Leo nervously. Percy never failed to scare people and he had no ideahe was doing it. Emilia remembered how Kronos used to talk down on him, but all the while she and the other demigods who served him knew that Percy was trouble. The perfectly horrifying mixture of selflessness, loyalty, power, and stubbornness. "I'm so sorry–"

"Sorry?" Percy growled.

Annabeth put a hand on her boyfriend's chest. "We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

As Leo explained the damages to Annabeth, Emilia tugged Percy aside. "Please don't give him a hard time," she said, voice as firm as she could make it without sounding like she was criticizing him. "My mother was involved and so was something or someone else– it's not his fault at all."

Percy considered her for a moment. "You're standing up for him?" he asked slowly.

"Yes," she said. "If Leo says he's sorry, he's sorry. He doesn't even have to be."

He stared at her again, and she wondered if he was considering summoning water from one of the residential pools below to drown her. Then, he smiled. "You think you're willing to tell me what you've been up to for the past six months?"

Emilia relaxed. "Yes. I'd like that very much."

-

A/N: Happy 300 pages!! Comment for more :)