The giant statue had other plans for them.

As soon as Leo got within five feet, she turned her head and looked at them. Her expression remained frozen, mouth unmoving, but a voice echoed out through the room, "Do you have an appointment?"

Piper didn't miss a beat. "Hello, Hygeia! Apollo sent us. We need to see Asclepius."

The alabaster statue stepped off her dais. "I see." She smiled, but she didn't sound pleased. "May I make a copy of your insurance cards?"

"I don't think Camp Half-Blood distributes those," said Emilia. Anything they had through their parents was either gone or not here. "We've got nothing on us."

"No insurance cards?" The statue shook her head, an exasperated sigh echoing through the chamber. "I suppose you haven't prepared for your visit, either. Have you washed your hands thoroughly?"

Piper made a face. "Uh... yes?" Leo hid his greasy and grimy hands behind his back.

"Are you wearing clean underwear?" asked the statue.

"Hey, lady," said Leo. "That's getting personal."

"You should always wear clean underwear to the doctor's office," chided Hygeia. "I'm afraid you are a health hazard. You will have to be sanitized before we can proceed." The golden snake uncurled and dropped from her arm. It reared its head and hissed, flashing sabre-like fangs.

Jason grimaced. "Uh, you know, getting sanitized by large snakes isn't covered by our medical plan. Darn it."

"Oh, that doesn't matter," Hygeia assured him. "Sanitizing is a community service. It's complimentary!"

The snake lunged, faster than a serpent should have been able to move. As Leo threw himself out of the way, Emilia swirled her hands together, forming a frisbee-like blur of shadows that sliced the snake in half before it could bite her. It split open, wires and gears flying everywhere. As she was pulling Leo to his feet, the snake started to reform, moving of its own volition to pop every last piece back into place.

Piper and Jason had lunged at Hygeia, slashing through the statue's knees and felling her like an alabaster Christmas tree. Her head hit a bench, chalice splashing steaming acid all over the floor. Jason and Piper moved in for the kill, but before they could strike, Hygeia's legs popped back on like they were magnetic.

The goddess rose, still smiling. "Unacceptable. The doctor will not see you until you are properly sanitized." She sloshed her cup towards Piper, who barely managed to avoid a splash of acid that flew her way, dissolving the nearest stone benches in a hissing cloud of smoke.

Jason took to the air, slashing at the goddess's head while Emilia tried to use the shadows to contain the acid, hoping to redirect it back at Hygeia and the snake. Jason had managed to lop off the goddess's head, but only for a moment– it flew back in the time it took Emilia to shove hard enough that the acid puddle condensed at Hygeia's feet, tiles melting.

"Unacceptable," said Hygeia calmly. "Decapitation is not a healthy lifestyle choice."

Leo had had an idea. "Jason, get over here! Piper, Emilia, buy us some time!"

Easier said than done. While Jason flew to Leo, she and Piper split, one focused on the snake and the other on the statue. The stubborn little snake was managing to reform no matter how many bolts of dark energy came it way– surprisingly resilient considering giants and Titans didn't fare well against this sort of thing.

"Emilia!" yelled Leo. "Toss me the snake!"

As it reformed for the fifth time, she used the shadows to pick it up, flinging it in Leo's direction. It smashed into the wall a few feet away, not at all dented. Leo tackled it, prising open a service panel near its head. Behind her, Piper was pretending to talk about insurance with Hygeia, distracting her enough that the statue had yet to realize what they were doing to the stake.

The snake wasn't even paying attention to what Leo was doing– it was more interested in listening to Piper. Emilia and Jason watched as Leo fumbled with the wiring, until at last the golden serpent began shaking uncontrollably, whizzing so loud that Hygeia whirled to face them.

"What have you done?" she snarled. "My snake requires medical assistance!"

"Does it have insurance?" asked Piper innocently.

Before the statue could retaliate, Jason summoned a gust of wind, boosting Leo onto the statue's shoulders. He got to work, causing her to stagger around, sloshing acid. Emilia unceremoniously yanked Piper and Jason toward her with shadows, forming a shield of dark energy that kept them from being splashed by the acid.

"Yell at her!" insisted Piper. "Confuse her!"

Jason started asking insane questions about deductibles. Piper demanded an invoice submitted to Medicare. Emilia cringed as she asked Hygeia why someone like Asclepius even cared if someone had insurance or not.

At last, it seemed Leo found what he needed. Hygeia began to spin, hollering and flailing her arms. Emilia caught him with a stretch of shadows in the shape of a cupped hand, helping him avoid an acid bath.

"What did you do?" demanded Piper as Hygeia and her snake underwent a violent Leo-induced religious experience.

"Idiot mode," said Leo proudly.

"What?" said Emilia.

"Back at camp," explained Jason, "Chiron had this ancient gaming system in the rec room. Leo and I used to play it sometimes. You'd compete against, like, computer-controlled opponents, coms–"

"–and they had three difficulty options," said Leo. "Easy, medium and hard. I got bored of those settings, so I invented a fourth difficulty level: idiot mode. It makes the coms so stupid it's funny. They always choose exactly the wrong thing to do."

Piper stared at the statue and snake, both of which were writhing and starting to smoke. "Are you sure you set them to idiot mode?"

"We'll know in a minute."

"What if you set them to extreme difficulty?"

"Then we'll know that, too."

"This is actually stressing me out," said Emilia, rubbing her forehead. "Maybe I do need to go to a doctor's appointment..."

She watched as the snake stopped shuddering, coiling up around as if bewildered. Hygeia froze, a puff of smoke drifting from her right ear. She muttered to herself, then raised her cup and poured acid over her face. She promptly turned and marched face-first into the nearest wall while the snake reared up and slammed its head repeatedly into the floor.

"Can't we put them out of that... idiot mode misery?" asked Emilia.

"As soon as we're done," said Leo, running for the metal door next to the dais. He examined the still-locked handle. "Jason, give me a boost." Another gust of wind levitated him upward. Leo went to work with the pliers, reprogramming the signs.

Now, they read: THE DOCTOR IS: IN DA HOUSE. NOW SERVING: ALL DA LADIES LUV LEO! The metal door swung open, and Leo settled to the floor. "See, the wait wasn't so bad!" He grinned. "The doctor will see us now."

At the end of the hallway behind the door stood a walnut door with a bronze plaque: ASCLEPIUS. MD, DMD, DME, DC, DVS, FAAN, OMG, EMT, TTYL, FRCP, ME, IOU, OD, OT, PHARMD, BAMF, RN, PHD, INC., SMH.

"What the fuck," said Emilia, reaching out to knock. "Um... Asclepius?"

The door flew open. The man inside had a kindly smile, crinkles around his eyes, short salt-and-pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore a white lab coat over a business suit and a stethoscope around his neck along with a polished black staff with a live green python coiled around it.

"Hello," said Asclepius as the python regarded them with pale yellow eyes.

"Doctor." Piper smiled warmly, more than Emilia could have mustered. "We'd be so grateful for your help. We need the physician's cure."

Asclepius put his hand over his heart. "Oh, my dear, I would be delighted to help."

Piper's smile wavered. "You would? I mean, of course you would."

"Come in! Come in!" Asclepius ushered them into his office. It was exactly what Emilia would have expected– a big maple desk, bookshelves stuffed with medical books, and some of those plastic organ models. He took the big comfy doctor's chair and laid his staff and serpent across his desk. "Please, sit!"

Jason and Leo let Emilia and Piper take the two chairs on the patient's side. Asclepius leaned back. "So, I can't tell you how nice it is to actually talk with patients. The last few thousand years, the paperwork has gotten out of control. Rush, rush, rush. Fill in forms. Deal with red tape. Not to mention the giant alabaster guardian who kills everyone in the waiting room. It takes all the fun out of medicine!"

"Yeah," said Leo. "Hygeia is kind of a downer."

Asclepius grinned. "My real daughter Hygeia isn't like that, I assure you. She's quite nice. At any rate, you did well reprogramming the statue. You have a surgeon's hands."

Jason shuddered. "Leo with a scalpel? Don't encourage him."

The doctor god chuckled. "Now, what seems to be the trouble?" He sat forward and peered at Jason. "Hmm... Imperial gold sword wound, but that's healed nicely, the work of a shadow-healer, no doubt. No cancer, no heart problems. Watch that mole on your left foot, but I'm sure it's benign."

Jason blanched. "How did you–"

"Oh, of course!" said Asclepius. "You're a bit short-sighted! Simple fix." He opened his drawer, whipped out a prescription pad and an eyeglasses case. He scribbled something on the pad, then handed the glasses and the script to Jason. "Keep the prescription for future reference, but these lenses should work. Try them on."

Jason opened the case. "I– I have had a little trouble seeing stuff from a distance lately. I thought I was just tired." He tried on the glasses, which had thin frames of Imperial gold. "Wow. Yeah. That's better."

Piper smiled. You look very distinguished."

"I don't know, man," said Leo. "I'd go for contacts– glowing orange ones with cat's-eye pupils. Those would be cool."

"Glasses are fine," decided Jason. "Thanks, uh, Dr. Asclepius, but that's not why we came."

"No?" Asclepius steepled his fingers. "Well, let's see then..." He turned to Piper. "You seem fine, my dear. Broken arm when you were six. Fell off a horse?"

Piper's jaw dropped. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Vegetarian diet," he continued. "No problem, just make sure you're getting enough iron and protein. Hmm... a little weak in the left shoulder. I assume you got hit with something heavy about a month ago?"

"A sandbag in Rome," Piper said. "That's amazing."

"Alternate ice and a hot pack if it bothers you," Asclepius advised. "You..." He tilted his head at Emilia. "Well, I sense nothing from you. Never broken a bone, never been hospitalized. Darkness swirls within you, it keeps you healthy. I cannot see what is to come if that will continue sustaining you. And you..." He faced Leo. "Oh my." The doctor's expression turned grim. The friendly twinkle disappeared from his eyes. "Oh I see."

"What?" Jason's new glasses flashed. "What's wrong with Leo?"

"Hey, doc." Leo shot him a drop it look. "We came for the physician's cure. Can you help us? I've got some Pylosian mint here and a very nice yellow daisy." He set the ingredients on the desk, carefully avoiding the snake's mouth.

"Hold it," said Piper. "Is there something wrong with Leo or not?"

Asclepius cleared his throat. "I... never mind. Forget I said anything. Now, you want the physician's cure."

Piper frowned. "But–"

"Seriously, guys," insisted Leo. "I'm fine, except for the fact that Gaea's destroying the world tomorrow. Let's focus."

They didn't look happy about it, but Asclepius forged ahead. "So this daisy was picked by my father, Apollo?" Emilia nodded. Asclepius picked up the flower and sniffed it. "I do hope Dad comes through this war all right. Zeus can be... quite unreasonable. Now, the only missing ingredient is the heartbeat of the chained god."

"I have it," said Piper. "At least... I can summon the makhai."

"Excellent. Just a moment, dear." He looked at his python. "Spike, are you ready?"

Leo stifled a laugh. "Your snake's name is Spike?"

Spike looked at him balefully. He hissed, revealing a crown of spikes around his neck like a basilisk's. Leo's laugh crawled back down his throat to die. "My bad. Of course your name is Spike."

"He's a little grump," said Asclepius. "People are always confusing my staff with the staff of Hermes, which has two snakes, obviously. Over the centuries, people have called Hermes's staff the symbol of medicine, when of course it should be my staff. Spike feels slighted. George and Martha get all the attention. Anyway..."

Asclepius set the daisy and poison in front of Spike. "Pylosian mint– certainty of death. The curse of Delos– anchoring that which cannot be anchored. Now the final ingredient: the heartbeat of the chained god– chaos, violence and fear of mortality." He turned to Piper. "My dear, you may release the makhai."

Piper closed her eyes. Wind swirled through the room. Angry voices wailed. Then Spike unhinged his jaw and swallowed the angry wind. His neck ballooned as the spirits of battle went down his throat. He snapped up the daisy and the vial of Pylosian mint for dessert.

"Is he like..." Emilia stared skeptically at the snake. "Gonna be okay?"

"He'll be alright," said Asclepius. "Wait and see." A moment later, Spike belched out a new vial– a stoppered glass tube no bigger than a finger, containing a dark red glowing liquid. Asclepius picked up the vial and turned it in the light. "The physician's cure." His expression became serious, then bewildered. "Wait... why did I agree to make this?"

Piper placed her hand palm up on the desk. "Because we need it to save the world. It's very important. You're the only one who can help us." Her charmspeak was so potent even Spike the snake relaxed. He curled around his staff and went to sleep.

Asclepius's expression softened, like he was easing himself into a hot bath. "Of course. I forgot. But you must be careful. Hades hates it when I raise people from the dead. The last time I gave someone this potion, the Lord of the Underworld complained to Zeus, and I was killed by a lightning bolt."

Leo offered, "You look pretty good for a dead guy."

"Oh, I got better. That was part of the compromise. You see, when Zeus killed me, my father Apollo got very upset. He couldn't take out his anger on Zeus directly; the king of the gods was much too powerful. So Apollo took revenge on the makers of lightning bolts instead. He killed some of the Elder Cyclopes. For that, Zeus punished Apollo... quite severely. Finally, to make peace, Zeus agreed to make me a god of medicine, with the understanding that I wouldn't bring anyone else back to life." Asclepius's eyes filled with uncertainty. "And yet here I am... giving you the cure."

"Because you realize how important this is," said Piper, "you're willing to make an exception."

Emilia would have added that the gods might be okay with letting this one slide, considering their own children were at stake here. She wished she had the charmspeak to convey that. Reluctantly, Asclepius handed Piper the vial. "At any rate, the potion must be administered as soon as possible after death. It can be injected or poured into the mouth. And there is only enough for one person. Do you understand me?" He looked directly at Leo.

"We understand," promised Piper. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Asclepius? Your guardian is out of commission. You'd be really helpful aboard the Argo II."

Asclepius smiled wistfully. "The Argo... back when I was a demigod, I sailed on the original ship, you know. Ah, to be a carefree adventurer again! But, alas, I cannot. Zeus will already be quite angry with me for helping you. Besides, the guardian will reprogram itself soon. You should leave." Asclepius rose. "Best wishes, demigods. And, if you see my father again, please... give him my regrets."

Emilia didn't think it was safe to ask him what he meant by that. They rose and left quickly, past the statue of Hygeia sitting on a bench, singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' while her golden snake gnawed at her foot.

Back on the Argo II, they gathered in the mess hall and filled in the rest of the crew. "I don't like it," said Jason. "The way Asclepius looked at Leo–"

"I'm heartsick as of late," said Leo, flashing Emilia an awkward smile. "Got a girl far away and I can't cope with it as well as Emilia does."

"That is so sweet," said Piper. "But I'm not sure that' sit."

Percy frowned at the glowing red vial that sat in the middle of the table. "Any of us might die, right? So we just need to keep the potion handy."

"Assuming only one of us dies," Jason pointed out. "There's only one dose."

Hazel and Frank stared at Leo, but Emilia managed to continue the conversation, "So who are we choosing to carry the potion?"

"Right," agreed Piper. "It should be someone who can react quickly and heal whoever gets killed."

"Good idea, Beauty Queen," said Leo. "I nominate you."

Piper blinked. "But... Annabeth is wiser. Hazel can move faster on Arion. Emilia can shadow-travel. Frank can turn into animals–"

"But you've got heart." Annabeth squeezed her friend's hand. "Leo's right. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"Yeah," agreed Jason. "I have a feeling you're the best choice, Pipes. You're going to be there with us at the end, whatever happens, storm or fire."

Leo picked up the vial. "Is everyone in agreement?" No one objected, but Leo cast Hazel a look, reminding her of one part of his plan– she needed to make sure he could keep it with him. He pulled a chamois cloth from his tool belt and made a big show of wrapping up the physician's cure. Then he presented the package to Piper.

"Okay, then," he said. "Athens tomorrow morning, gang. Be ready to fight some giants."

"Yeah," murmured Frank. "I know I'll sleep well."

Leo dismissed himself, glancing at Emilia to let her know the vial was with him. "I've got to work on the engine. And youneed to call your girlfriend."

She knew he needed this space to finish the part of the plan he didn't want to tell her very much about. Something to do with Festus and the physician's cure. Sullenly, she made her way down to her room, beginning to get ready for bed. She went to check on Leo before she called Hylla, but didn't get to speak with him, eavesdropping for a moment and realizing he was busy.

"...so tomorrow, then?" she heard Xochitl asking. "Is Emilia okay? Are you okay?"

"We're just... coping," said Leo casually. "It'll be fine."

"You know, I may not have known you for that long, but I can tell you're lying. You don't have to pretend everything is fine if it isn't."

"You and Emilia sound way too much alike for people who didn't grow up together. It's kind of scary."

"I'm scared for both of you. I don't want to tell her because I worry I'll start to cry but I'm... now that I know, I hate thinking of you guys on those quests. It's been... really nice getting to know you. You make me laugh, you make me feel like I can be my own person even when my siblings are all doing these way cooler things and I feel kinda lame, you listen to my crazy ideas–"

"Hey, you listen to my crazy ideas, which, arguably, are way crazier. But on that note it is a little funny to see a non-demigod– like, no ADHD– person come up with the things you end up saying." Xochitl must have made a face, because he added quickly, "It's funny! I... really like it. I've been thinking about you lot. I..." He hesitated to say anything, and Emilia wondered if it was because he was sure he was going to die. Was it right to say anything? He didn't end up finishing his sentence.

"I think I know what you want to say," said Xochitl. "You listen to me, Leo Valdez, when you defeat that Earth Bitch, you are bringing yourself and my sister to San Diego and I am going to give you a tour, I'm going to take you on a date, and I'm going to give you a proper kiss. Because you're a hero and I don't care how forward this sounds– I want you to be my boyfriend someday because you're the smartest, cutest, and funniest guy I've ever known and you're the only one who's ever told me I'm pretty in perfect Spanish. Got it?"

Leo stammered. "I– well– that sounds– okay. That would be... really nice."

Emilia tiptoed back to her room, giving them privacy for however the conversation would continue after that. She set up her prism, preparing her rainbow to call Hylla, figuring that after her estimation that Orion would be defeated within the day, she'd have good news to share.

Hylla looked exhausted as she connected, eyes red and puffy as if she'd been crying.

"What happened?" asked Emilia immediately. "Are you alright?"

"Orion..." She drew a deep breath. "Has been defeated. Reyna dealt the blow with help from our mother. She and the others are undoubtedly about to arrive at Camp Half-Blood. I..." Her lip trembled. "We'll continue moving to help them soon, I just needed a moment to see you. Kinzie... she was lost in the battle."

"Oh, Hylla..." Emilia wanted more than anything to reach into the screen and hold her hand. The distance was killing her– none of this should have been happening. She should not be this far away from Hylla in a moment like this. "I am so, so very sorry."

Hylla sniffled, carefully wiping her eyes. "She died with great honor. I held her in my arms, I watched... I watched the light leave her eyes. It... I... I need to leave the Amazons. I need more than this from life. I need to know it's possible to live normally, to not be miserable all the fucking time. I need to be near you, I need to feel human. I'm scared, Emilia, I'm scared of what'll happen to both of us tomorrow. Damasen and Bob have spoken of this terrible stirring. Something awfulis going to happen, I can feel it in my bones. I don't want to lose you, I don't want..." She burst into tears, covering her face. "I don't want to feel this way anymore!"

Emilia wished she could have shadow-traveled to her side, even just for a moment to let her cry on her shoulder. "Hylla, after tomorrow we are going to be free. We are going to honor Kinzie and all our fallen with a great ceremony. We're going to sit down and enroll in college, we're going to have dinner with our families and we're going to... to... make a bonfire at the beach, we're going to live each day after that however we want, without the gods involved, without monsters and the stench of death. We're going to be together and we are going to be unafraid. I swear it. I'm going to make sure of it."

"I don't want to lose you," repeated Hylla. "Emilia, I'm so scared. That wretched dream of you being swallowed by darkness, it came back."

She faltered, unsure how to comfort Hylla here. Pollux may have done his share keeping Emilia from going down a spiral about it before, but how could she hope to do the same for Hylla? How could she tell her this premonition was nothing when even she wasn't sure? She didn't know what Leo's fate was, she didn't know what her own was.

She realized both she and Leo might die tomorrow. He had a plan to do it defeating Gaea but she had no idea what would happen when she was no longer needed, when blood was spilt to raise Gaea and anchor her to the world without need for Eris's little creation. There was only one dose of the physician's cure.

It had to go to Leo. But how could she tell Hylla that? How could she even imply this promise might not be seen through? How could she say her dream meant nothing knowing very well something terrible was coming?

"We're warriors," whispered Emilia. "We're going to see this through. I'm as scared as you are. I don't know... anything. I don't know what to expect. I hate that we're in this situation. All I know is that whatever happens tomorrow, I am... I am so grateful to have met you. To have had the time we did–"

"Don't say goodbye," pleaded Hylla. "Please don't."

"I'm not, don't worry. I'm thanking you. For everything. As a reminder to myself that I carry your love with me to battle. Can you think that for yourself, too? That my love, Kinzie's love, Reyna's love, it all forms part of the armor you'll be wearing tomorrow?"

Hylla nodded wearily. "I can try. I can try... gods, I've never felt this powerless. All I want is to be there to help my sister, to help you, but I can't do anything in either situation. My hands are tied. I love you, Emilia. Please... come back to me. Now more than ever I need you to make good on that."

Emilia couldn't promise anything. She knew that. She offered Hylla a weak smile, though she tried her best to look encouraging. She wasn't crawling back to her from Tartarus anymore. She might be crawling to her to die in her arms like Kinzie did. This time, the darkness might actually swallow her and show no mercy.

"I love you, too, Hylla," said Emilia quietly. "One way or another, everything ends tomorrow."