Percy and Annabeth were missing.

Emilia was still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes when Leo skidded through the hall, yelling that Percy and Annabeth weren't in their rooms.

She'd barely had a moment to brush her teeth before Coach Hedge called for a search– if Gaea had somehow managed to pluck them out of the ship, they were all in big trouble. She got assigned to search alongside Hazel, the two of them doing a sweep of the level beneath the rooms. Everyone was sure that they'd been kidnapped.

At last, Frank yelled that he'd found them. They met in the mess hall, glad that they were ok. Apparently, they'd fallen asleep in the stables after leaving their cabins to speak with a view of the ground below.

Jason, Piper, and Emilia were relieved, though all were narrowing their eyes playfully at Leo, who was grinning and muttering, "Classic. Classic." Frank was mildly flustered and Hazel seemed completely scandalized, fanning her face and unable to meet anyone's eyes.

Naturally, Coach Hedge went ballistic. "Never in my life!" he bellowed, waving his bat and knocking over a plate of apples. "Against the rules! Irresponsible!"

Why he felt he was managing to intimidate and reprimand them was beyond Emilia's understanding. The Coach was barely five feet tall, screaming up at a six-foot-tall Percy and five-foot-ten Annabeth. Emilia believed them when they said they hadn't done anything– why would they? If they were going to pick somewhere, a stable would not be either of their first choice.

"Coach," said Annabeth, "it was an accident. We were talking, and we fell asleep."

"Besides," said Percy, "you're starting to sound like Terminus."

Hedge narrowed his eyes. "Is that an insult, Jackson? 'Cause I'll– I'll terminus you, buddy!"

Percy looked like he was holding back a laugh. "It won't happen again, Coach. I promise. Now, don't we have other things to discuss?"

Hedge fumed, and Emilia coiled her wrist clockwise at him, warning him not to continue. "Fine!" he decided. "But I'm watching you, Jackson. And you, Annabeth Chase, I thought you had more sense–"

Jason cleared his throat. "So grab some food, everybody. Let's get started."

Percy started them off with a retelling of a dream he'd had– twin giants planning a reception for them in an underground parking lot with rocket launchers. Even worse, he'd seen Nico di Angelo trapped in a bronze jar, slowly dying from asphyxiation with pomegranate seeds at his feet.

Hazel choked back a sob. "Nico... oh, gods. The seeds."

"You know what they are?" asked Annabeth.

Hazel nodded. "He showed them to me once. They're from our stepmother's garden."

"Your step... oh–" Percy realized. "You mean Persephone."

"The seeds are a last-resort food," explained Hazel nervously, their silverware drifting toward her hands. "Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico always kept some in case he got stuck somewhere. But if he's really imprisoned—"

"The giants are trying to lure us," said Annabeth. "They're assuming we'll try to rescue him."

"Well, they're right!" Hazel looked around the table, her confidence apparently crumbling. "Won't we?"

"Of course we will," said Emilia instantly. "We just have to come up with a plan to do it efficiently. How long does he have? Like... what do the seeds help with?"

"He can eat one seed a day," said Hazel miserably. "That's if he puts himself in a death trance."

"A death trance?" Annabeth scowled. "That doesn't sound fun."

"It keeps him from consuming all his air. Like hibernation, or a coma. One seed can sustain him one day, barely."

"And he has five seeds left," murmured Percy. "That's five days, including today. The giants must have planned it that way, so we'd have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is hidden somewhere in Rome—"

"That's not much time," Piper summed up. She put her hand on Hazel's shoulder. "We'll find him. At least we know what the lines of the prophecy mean now. 'Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death.'"

"Angelo," mumbled Emilia. "Nico di Angelo."

"Oh, gods," Hazel muttered, holding her head in her hands. "Nico..."

Percy promised cautiously, "We'll rescue him. We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death."

"That's right," said Piper encouragingly. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He must've found them."

"He can tell us where the doors are," said Percy, "and how to close them."

Hazel took a deep breath. "Yes. Good."

"Uh..." Leo shifted in his chair. "One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we're walking into a trap?"

Hazel looked at Leo like he'd made a rude gesture. "We have no choice!"

"Don't get me wrong, Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico... he knew about both camps, right? And he's been going back and forth and he didn't tell either side."

Jason sat forward, his expression grim. "You're wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I."

Hazel shot to her feet. "I don't believe this. He's my brother. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him?"

Frank put his hand on her shoulder. "Nobody's saying that." He glared at Leo. "Nobody had better be saying that."

"No, no one is," said Emilia firmly. "Whatever Nico did before doesn't matter–"

"Realistically," said Jason, "Leo is raising a fair point. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as... well, a little shady. Do we really know where his loyalties lie? We just have to be careful."

Hazel's arms shook. A silver platter zoomed toward her and hit the wall to her left, splattering scrambled eggs. "You... the great Jason Grace... the praetor I looked up to. You were supposed to be so fair, such a good leader. And now you..." Hazel stomped her foot and stormed out of the mess hall.

"Hazel!" Leo called after her. "Ah, jeez. I should—"

"You've done enough," Frank growled. He got up to follow her, but Piper gestured for him to wait. "Give her time," she advised. Then she frowned at Leo and Jason. "You guys, that was pretty cold."

Jason looked shocked. "Cold? I'm just being cautious!"

"Her brother is dying!"

"I'll go talk to her," Frank insisted.

"No," said Piper. "Let her cool down first. Trust me on this. I'll go check on her in a few minutes."

"But..." Frank huffed like an irritated bear. "Fine. I'll wait."

From up above came a whirring sound like a large drill. "That's Festus," said Leo. "I've got him on autopilot, but we must be nearing Atlanta. I'll have to get up there... uh, assuming we know where to land."

Everyone turned to Percy. Jason raised an eyebrow. "You're Captain Salt Water. Any ideas from the expert?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Percy. "Somewhere central, high up so we can get a good view of the city. Maybe a park with some woods? We don't want to land a warship in the middle of downtown. I doubt even the Mist could cover up something that huge."

Leo nodded. "On it." He raced for the stairs. Frank settled back in his chair uneasily, probably still thinking about Hazel. Percy spoke up, "When we land, I'll scout around in Atlanta. Frank, I could use your help."

Frank huffed. "You mean turn into a dragon again? Honestly, Percy, I don't want to spend the whole quest being everyone's flying taxi."

"No," said Percy. "I want you with me because you've got the blood of Poseidon. Maybe you can help me figure out where to find salt water. Besides, you're good in a fight."

That seemed to make Frank feel a little better. "Sure. I guess."

"Great. We should take one more. Annabeth—"

"Oh, no!" barked Coach Hedge. "Young lady, you are grounded."

Annabeth stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. "Excuse me?"

"You and Jackson are not going anywhere together!" He glared at Percy, daring him to mouth off. "I'll go with Frank and Mr. Sneaky Jackson. The rest of you guard the ship and make sure Annabeth doesn't break any more rules!"

"This," muttered Percy, "is going to be so much fun."

"Wait," said Emilia before they could head out. "Just know that Phorcys sided with Kronos recently. I didn't meet him but I heard of him, along with his sister-wife Keto. Be careful."

She could have sworn she saw a flicker of worry in Percy's eyes. He composed himself quickly, "We've got this."

She would've offered to come along, but she wasn't eager to meet Phorcys and definitely didn't want to go anywhere with Coach Hedge. She cast them a hopeful smile and returned to her breakfast.

Once they landed, only Emilia and Jason lingered in the mess hall. Annabeth had gone with Piper to check on Hazel and as soon as Leo returned, Emilia spoke up, "Guys, we need to talk about the Nico thing."

Jason sighed. "I am not in the mood to be lectured."

"Well, I'm not intending to lecture you two. I just want to tell you what I know about Nico– what Percy told me when I arrived at Camp and met him. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia rescued Nico and his older sister, Bianca from this school... doesn't matter why they were there, but until then they'd been held in a place where they couldn't grow up because they were in danger as children of Hades/Pluto. Nico was left at Camp after Bianca chose to become a Hunter of Artemis and was chosen for a quest that... she didn't come back from. Nico had to learn to use his powers on his own, he was manipulated for a bit, too, and he resented Percy a lot... he was so young, it was a lot to go through. Wanting his mother and sister back, wanting more from his father.

"I can't claim to believe Nico di Angelo is a great person. He tricked Percy and he... keeps to himself. Which can seem very shady, I get it. But I don't think he's ever proven to be an evil person. Maybe he intended to say something about the Camps, maybe he wasn't sure about being the person to reveal it all. We don't know. We can ask him when we rescue him– if he doesn't just offer it to us. The important thing is that he's Hazel's brother. And he could know things about the Doors of Death. We don't need to be his friend to know that it's important to save him. So just... keep the comments about him to a minimum. I did way worse things than Nico di Angelo and all of you still gave me the benefit of the doubt. Let's try to do the same for him."

She excused herself, leaving them to think about it. She found Piper and Annabeth in Hazel's cabin, assuring her that Nico would be alright. Annabeth was even trying to recount some of Percy's greatest 'Seaweed Brain' moments. None of it seemed to be doing much for Hazel.

Piper returned to the mess hall after an hour to check on the boys. Annabeth lingered there as Emilia took her turn comforting Hazel and telling her about the conversation she'd had with her siblings– she made sure to emphasize how cool they all thought she and Nico were. He'd be fine, and they'd all make sure of it.

Frank arrived out of nowhere. They'd had barely a moment to process the fact someone was running down the hall when he burst in, shouting, "Where's Leo? Take off! Take off!"

They shot to their feet. "Where's Percy?" demanded Annabeth. "And the goat?!"

Frank grabbed his knees, trying to breathe. His clothes were stiff and damp, like they'd been washed in pure starch. "On deck. They're fine. We're being followed!"

Annabeth pushed past him and took the stairs three at a time, Hazel right and Emilia behind her and Frank trailing, still gasping for air. Percy and Hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted. Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, "Awesome. Awesome." Percy was covered with nicks and scratches, like he'd jumped through a window.

The others came rushing up the stairs, no one sure what was going on. Leo had no choice but to take off without an explanation that made sense– 'Kate' and 'Porky' were in pursuit, and perhaps some whales and sea monsters would be joining them.

Annabeth manned the aft crossbow as the Argo II rose into the sky. Percy called for them to set course for Charleston as soon as the Atlanta skyline was a hazy smudge in the distance. Piper, Hazel, Jason, and Emilia stood off to the side, waiting for someone to say something– anything– about why or how they came across this information. Percy and Frank still looked unnerved. Even Coach Hedge looked startled.

They clustered at the quarterdeck once they'd calmed down. Frank had a backpack filled with peach preserves, t-shirts, a snow globe, and Chinese handcuffs (she didn't know how those counted as handcuffs, never having seen such things in her life). They'd gone to an aquarium where Phorcys and Keto worked and had learned that Otis and Ephialtes were preparing some sort of doomsday show in Rome on Gaea's behalf. She'd placed a bounty over all of them and didn't care who died as long as Emilia was brought to her, along with one male demigod and another female demigod.

The giant twins expected that the demigods would come to Rome, either to come find their friend in his bronze jar or to search for the Mark of Athena. There was some sort of map in Charleston that could prove useful. Coach Hedge interjected from time to time to say that the creatures at the aquarium had been cool and that he'd kicked Keto in the head at one point.

It made sense why Percy was so upset. Seeing the creatures captive in the aquarium had gotten to him. Annabeth assured him they'd free them... somehow. The more pressing issue was their bounty. Any and every monster, Titan, turned god, demigod, or primordial being that was looking to gain favor with Gaea could come after them.

"Do we get WANTED posters?" asked Leo, trying to lighten the mood. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

Hazel wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about?"

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days. I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe... but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"

"That's rude," said Emilia bluntly. "It's not about who is worth more. If it was, Gaea would've asked for two specific sacrifices. Besides, Frank is the only one of us Gaea couldn't try to manipulate. That means something to me."

They were quiet. Emilia continued nervously, "I sense discord within the group. Nobody has to compete with anyone else. We're a team. We don't have to try to be better than each other... we were picked for a reason. We are all powerful in different ways and we need that combination to succeed. Going forward, I think we need to do better about... working together. I'm not going to tell you all where I sense the discord the most, but I'm sure you know so... work it out."

Jason cleared his throat. "Hazel, um, about earlier. I shouldn't have spoken without thinking. I shouldn't have been so suspicious without trying to understand." He elbowed Leo, who yelped and added, "Yeah, um, bad choices like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving."

Hazel's lips pursed. Emilia didn't think it sounded like an apology but hopefully they'd give it another try. She continued, "That's a... start. This business with Charleston, that could be dangerous and we're not going to get anywhere if we can't rely on each other. I'm not good with teams and I'm still getting used to being part of a group but I promise to try if you all do too. We need all eight of our brains to tackle this Mark of Athena problem... What does that mean? Does the map... have something to do with that?"

Percy hesitated, "Whatever the Mark of Athena is, we know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."

"The giants' bane," Hazel added.

He nodded. "And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

"Um..." Frank rolled his not-exactly-Chinese handcuffs between his fingers. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it?"

Everyone instinctively looked at Annabeth. "I—I'm close to an answer," she said carefully. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston...have you been there before?"

Jason glanced uneasily at Piper, though Annabeth wasn't sure why. "Yeah," he admitted. "Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley. We might need to check it again... that museum has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside."

"I'll go," offered Leo. "That sounds cool."

Jason nodded. He turned to Frank, who was trying to pull his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs. "You should come too, Frank. We might need you."

Frank looked surprised. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy assured him. "It took all three of us to break that glass."

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," said Jason. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has plenty of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."

Frank gulped. Annabeth remembered Percy's comment about Frank turning into a giant goldfish, and she resisted the urge to smile. She would never be able to look at the big guy again without seeing him as a koi.

"Okay." Frank relented. "Sure." He frowned at his fingers, trying to pull them out of the trap. "Uh, how do you—?"

Leo chuckled. "Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out." Frank tugged again with no luck. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh. He grimaced with concentration. Suddenly, he disappeared. On the deck where he'd been standing, a green iguana crouched next to an empty set of Chinese handcuffs.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," said Leo dryly, doing his impression of Chiron. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

The only one who didn't laugh was Emilia. She didn't know what the trick was, either, and didn't have the ability to turn into an iguana to get out of them. Frank turned back into a human, picking up the handcuffs sheepishly and shoving them into his backpack.

Emilia half-smiled as Frank tried to change the subject, "Anyway, the museum is one place to search. But, uh Jason, you said there were two?"

Jason's smile faded. "Yeah, The other place is called the Battery—it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there... with Reyna..." He glanced at Piper, then rushed on. "We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling—she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

Everyone waited. "What did it say?" asked Annabeth.

"Reyna wouldn't tell me," admitted Jason. "But it must have been important. She seemed...shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that."

"A girls' adventure, then," proposed Annabeth. "Emilia, Piper, and Hazel can come with me."

They all nodded, though Hazel looked nervous and Piper's eyes flashed defiantly, like anything Reyna could do, she could do. It left Percy alone with Coach Hedge guarding the ship, but he didn't seem to mind.

Annabeth seemed glad to have settled that. She turned to Leo, who was studying his console, listening to Festus creak and click over the intercom. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Good question," he muttered. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight."

Piper leaned over the console. "Are you sure they're Roman?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight—"

"Which would be a very bad idea," said Jason, "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome."

"Or I've got another idea," Leo said. "If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning—"

Hazel started to protest, but Leo raised his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June twenty-seventh," said Hazel. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."

Hazel scowled. "When you say should have enough..."

Leo shrugged. "How do you feel about barely enough?"

Hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. "Sounds about typical for us."

Annabeth accepted this possibility. "Okay, Leo. What kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" He punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and repeatedly pressed the A button on his Wii controller really, really fast. He called into the intercom, "Buford? Report for duty, please."

Frank took a step back. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who is Buford?"

A puff of steam shot from the stairwell, and Leo's automatic table climbed on deck. That table unnerved Emilia about as much as Coach Hedge did. It was a three-legged table with a mahogany top, its bronze base holding several drawers, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. Buford was toting a bag like a mail sack tied to one of his legs. He clattered to the helm and made a sound like a train whistle.

Leo had saved it from a supply closet and given it a job helping him build the Argo II. He insisted Buford now lingered mostly in the engine room because he had a secret crush on the engine. Emilia didn't like thinking of Buford as a sentient being. It had a bad habit of turning toward her each time she entered Bunker Nine to check on Leo. He liked her about as much as the pegasi usually did.

"This is Buford," announced Leo.

"You name your furniture?" asked Frank.

Leo snorted. "Man, you just wish you had furniture this cool. Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?"

Buford spewed steam. He stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wooden blades. The blades spun, and Buford took off.

"A helicopter table," Percy muttered. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," said Leo. "Don't worry, everyone, I asked Buford to get your pajama pants laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." He rubbed his hands and grinned. "Well! I call that a good day's work. I'm gonna calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"

Emilia retreated to her room, intending to nap before dinner so that she'd be energized for her talk with Hylla. She didn't get to fully fall asleep, hearing a knock on her door. She beckoned the person in, surprised to see Frank.

"Um, sorry," he said. "Could I–?"

"Sure," said Emilia, sitting up. "Come in." He stepped in and she asked, "What's up?"

"Do you know how these work?" asked Frank, holding up the Chinese handcuffs. "You were the only one that didn't laugh."

"Unfortunately I don't," said Emilia. "Annabeth will, though."

"Oh. That's okay. Um, thank you anyway. For defending me earlier."

"Of course."

He continued, "And for what you said about us getting along. I think that's important. You're different from what I expected. I admit I made some..." He rubbed the back of his head, "Assumptions based on your appearance."

She tilted her head. "I get it. I don't make the best first impression. I still have a resting bitch face even when I try not to. And it doesn't help that all the shadows are around me. Dark hair, some under-eye bags, just... despair still following me around."

"You proved really quickly that you're nice. You try to fix discord to keep a balance, instead of causing it. I promise, I'll do better about not causing problems with anyone else, either... I'll keep the peace."

She beckoned him to pull up her desk chair to sit. "I don't pretend to know anything about the weird tension between you and Leo but I promise you... talking to him about it will make a difference. I think you've both made assumptions about each other, too."

She got to explaining more about him, without telling his story for him. She explained how kind Leo had been to her, how much they'd endured together on the quest to rescue Hera. She added more details about herself, not yet having done much to show more of herself to Frank and Hazel.

He responded with his own story. His childhood in Canada, his mother's death, going to Camp Jupiter, meeting Hazel then Percy, discovering his abilities. She admired his strength and humility. He was very different from the children of Ares back at Camp Half-Blood. Frank, like Leo, seemed like the type who often doubted his value.

"I never knew what it was like to have a sibling," said Frank once he was on his way out, "but it seems like the others consider you like a big sister. Would it be okay if I came to talk with you whenever I needed it?"

"Of course, Frank. I'd be honored."

He walked out a bit more confident, set on having Annabeth teach him the secret to the handcuffs. It made Emilia proud to know that some things had been set in proper motion today.

Gaea couldn't tear them apart if she tried.