Chapter one: Preface

"Leo?" Her voice was always softer around him. She was also already expecting him no not listen the first time, this was how most conversations went.

"Hey, Leo?" His dark brown eyes quickly glanced in her direction and, even though there was no eye contact, Piper knew he was paying attention now. "Annabeth wants everyone at the deck."

"Oh okay." He said, hands fidgeting with mechanical pieces and eyes looking down. He wasn't very active today which was probably a bad sign considering his usual habits. Leo usually didn't stand still or straight like this. Piper turned her body around giving him one last quick glance and they headed outside together.

Hazel and Percy, who were both sitting cross legged side by side, looked in their direction as they reached the far end of the ship. Piper didn't know the roman demigods very well, it had only been two days since they had ran away from Camp Jupiter. She had heard so much about Percy though, he was like a living legend. A funny comparison to make, seeing how they dealt with actual living legends on a daily basis, but that's besides the point.

It was almost sunset, the lights were casting a beautiful glow on the bronze shields and on Festus' metal tail. Everything was calm, their last sight of the american coast had been about an hour ago.

It was decided now.

Piper and Leo sat down by Jason's side and waited as patiently as they could. Leo was avoiding every possible interaction by looking at the wood constructions, he was completely enthralled by the moving oars just like the first time he saw the ship working properly. Annabeth herself was the only one standing up, crunched on the carved sides of the boat with her elbows, she was looking meditatively at the horizon and at ocean waves.

Her lips let out a low sigh as she gently turned her head to look at her boyfriend, Percy. He had a smile targeted at her, this seemed to finally give Annabeth the strength to start her speech.

"I believe we have all been introduced to each other and all that stuff. I'm not here to give a pep talk on how we will 'defeat Gaea and save the world'." She was facing them now, a hand on her waist. Her eyes were coldly analyzing each one of them. Piper had grown used to this kind of behaviour after the first few months at Camp, but she understood perfectly when the big guy, Frank, looked away instantly intimidated.

"We need to acknowledge our role in the prophecy. All of us are here for a special reason and we have no way of going back now." Annabeth's tone suddenly turned around to empathetic and caring. Her face, along with her eyes, were so much darker now. She took another deep breath crossing her arms and continued. "We will face a literal ocean filled with monsters and ancient creatures... eventually Gaea herself. Not even the gods know what is waiting for us. Chiron and Lupa, along with two or three minor gods, are managing to give us a little help from outside but they can't do much. We are by ourselves and I can't promise everything will turn out well or even that our plans will work at all." She shot an unexpected sideways glance at Leo's direction. "Even though some of you are still kids, the fates have already chosen to ignore that, we can do practically nothing about it. Just- just ask if there is anything you need, alright? We will try to help you the best we can."

That last comment made it obvious to anyone that didn't already know: Annabeth was an experienced warrior and had won many battles. That also meant she had been through a lot of grief. This wasn't the first time kids were fighting the gods' battles, far from that, but something about this quest was getting her uncomfortable, maybe even downright scared. In the end, they were all overwhelmed by the situation.

Percy took her silence in and decided to continue the meeting:

"Earlier today we were discussing how the next weeks should go for us, sort of like a schedule. We thought of having three watches everyday, each with two demigods, so we can take turns resting and training." He had his back and arm muscles relaxed, only gesturing with his hand. He was looking at no one in particular. "Except for breakfast and diner, I think we can use those as meetings and a time to get everyone together."

Annabeth approached their small circle and sat down. She stretched one of her legs in front of her torso, the other one was bent, she used it to support her elbow. Her blonde hair looked stunning in the breeze, the sun rays were reflecting a beautiful gold shine from her locks. Although it was very tangled and messy because of the humidity, the tips had a beautiful orange glow. A single grey hair lock was of a ghostly grey color, matching Percy's. Many times Piper had paused to admire her friend's appearance, she always looked marvelous with such a unique unconcerned style. She watched Annabeth flip some flocks of hair out of her eyes when she spoke:

"Who will cook and who will be cleaning or not will be decided each day separately. There is no one in charge of the infirmary, so I think everyone should visit it to learn where everything is, just in case. Jason suggested we make some personalized kits to keep in each room. We can gather the items based on the most common injuries each one has because of our abilities. The first shift tonight will be me and Jason, later we'll wake Piper and Percy up. We can discuss the rest tomorrow, sounds good?"

The first one to speak was Hazel, the smallest and youngest out of them. Piper had no idea how old, her guess was thirteen. All that she knew about the girl was that she carried a giant sword and was a daughter of Pluto. Also, couldn't forget the magic horse.

Hazel lifted her face directly to Percy:

"Do you have any news on Nico?"

Percy nodded a simple and sad 'no', already expecting her following disappointment. Percy looked as upset as her with the answer. Piper didn't know who Nico was, probably another roman friend.

Jason got up to his feet with his signature warm smile, his hair and skin also had that orange sunset glow. "Well, feel free to make anything you guys wanna eat in the hall downstairs." He looked down to Leo and Piper specifically, then continued. "I guess we still have a little while until we start seeing some monsters around here. Rest well while we can, everyone." The demigods all felt comfortable around Jason and his caring nature, the shift on the situation was clear as day.

He reached his hand to Leo who was still playing with metal parts, infinite projects in mind. "Leo, let's go eat something. C'mon buddy." Leo nodded at the insistence and stood up, grateful for the opportunity to leave the setting even if that meant he would still have to be away from the command room and, therefore, Festus.

They headed together to the stairs: Leo quickly reached the second floor, Jason took a little longer. As soon as the rest of the demigods changed interest and looked away, Piper noticed his sad expression hiding beneath the surface: head down, tense shoulders and eyes filled with deep sorrow. Just like back in Camp, Jason had a bad habit of hiding any kind of negative emotions from his friends, always trying to sell the 'golden boy' image.

Annabeth quickly started a conversation with Frank and Percy about something or other. Piper leaned her head on her hand and continued to watch the sun, now only traces of pink and orange. She briefly saw the little girl, Hazel, looking at her with unmasked interest. Piper was honestly used to that. Not only her native american origin and the long braids, but also her piercings and clothing usually drew people's attention. If that wasn't the case, many people would still recognize her because of Tristan McLean's fame. Hazel seemed different though. She was seemed almost...confused?

Piper sent her a tiny smile before returning to look at the sunset. She wondered if with time she would be able to become friends with them all. Hopefully they would have that time.

A sense of melancholy washed over her body as she listened to the waves and the gears in the ship's core. She hugged her legs a little more tightly.

For the first time, Piper missed Camp Half Blood and the safety of those borders.

/

It was a dream.

About five months ago Piper had been so… lost.

The three of them would sit at the same table everyday. Jason and Piper barely talked with each other, Leo was always passing out and falling asleep. they were all working hard to have the ship ready as soon as they could.

They liked to have lunch at 4pm, one of the only moments that the pavilion would be at least a little more silent. That day had been no different.

Piper had had an especially terrifying nightmare. The folks at cabin 10 were very sympathetic, two little girls climbed on her bed and they talked for a few minutes. One of them, Clara, had been raised here at Camp and was great at comforting others, even though she was still only seven years old. Demigods had to learn and act fast. Too fast.

They always had nightmares, that was a constant. But that day she knew, Piper desperately needed to talk to her boyfriend. They had been dragging this out for too long, she couldn't handle it. Automatically, her hands grabbed the keychain in her back pockets hands to fidget and try to relieve some of the nervousness. Jason didn't miss it, as usual:

"What you got there, Pipes?" His tone wasn't exactly accusing but, if she were being honest, Piper couldn't really tell. Her mind was so confused, her thoughts were disconnected. She had been feeling like this ever since they got back from their quest, growing more panicky and agitated each day. Annabeth had mentioned that too.

"Found it in cabin 10." She responded silently, taking a look at it for the first time. It was a plastic dolphin and it was one of it's googly eyes. Jason opened his mouth, probably to tell her to give it back or scold her.

Although she was still unable to look in his eyes, she cut him before he started his pep talk:

"Jason... I'm not- I'm not okay. It's just- why are you even dating me?" She couldn't help the words, harsh and sad words that had been on her mind ever since they got back. Words that had been haunting her every day.

He was clearly taken back by her question and yet, still managed to bury away all emotion. That got her even more upset:

"None of this is even real! The first time we met was at that dumb school bus." Piper got up from her seat, taking a few steps forward, trying to clear her mind. She backed up a bit, feeling her throat tight. "It's not real, it's Hera's doings. It's all fake. It's all-" She interrupted herself with a sob. She wasn't getting anywhere like this.

"Do you... want to break up? I mean… " Jason was behaving completely opposite from her. When she was happy, he was distant; when she was fidgeting with her ADHD acting up, he would be still and silent as a rock. But Piper knew deep down that he was surely as lost and upset as she felt. That softened her up a bit.

"I-I don't know. I-I'm not sure what's happening. I don't know what to do." She hid her face with her left hand. He reached for her right one and tried to hold her still for a little.

"Hey, listen to me, we can...stay apart… You're right and I've been thinking about it too…" She looked up at him, eyes full of tears, his hand hadn't moved an inch. "But Leo still needs our support, Pipes. We won't hide it from him, he'll catch onto that, I mean that we can't leave him." Seeing her reaction with the mentioning of Leo, Jason got up and hugged her shoulders. He was so much taller than her. She closed her eyes.

Then it all vanished.

She was now passing by a fancy jewelry store, the one down their condo. Tristan McLean had flown to Hawaii for a movie, it was supposed to be one of the big ones. When Piper woke up, she only found a thick envelope in the living room attached to a post-it note.

'Mr. McLean had to leave earlier than previously scheduled. He told you to buy a nice present for yourself, the cook is also baking a cake. It should be ready by noon. He also mentioned you could invite a friend or two to come over if you want.

We will be back in three weeks.

Happy birthday.'

Sadly, Piper remembered that day very well. She remembered how she wanted to rip the card and, at the same time, laugh at the card's content. "Had to leave earlier than previously expected" Oh, no shit! And even worse: "Invite a friend or two". That had been just politeness and they all knew it. Actually, everyone already knew about Piper. Troublemaker. Thief. The problematic teen that couldn't manage to stay in any schools. At least never long enough to make friends.

And alone all the fucking time.

She peeked at the inside of the envelope and found some dollar bills. What was she even expecting at this point?

No friends, no family, only that flawless and stupid cake. At times like these she really missed Grandpa Tom, he would sit down and tell her a story. At the very least he would have the consideration to actually be there with her.

Piper hadn't even stopped to think, what did she have to lose anyway? It was the only thinkable way for her father to call today.

She headed to a nursery home on the opposite side of the city. The place was awfully uncared for, Piper couldn't handle to visit the patients. She didn't want to get even more upset.

She marched to the only secretary and pushed the envelope, not giving him a chance to talk. "Hi. I live in this neighborhood and I've been saving some money. Please accept it as a donation for the most damaged parts of the building." She said distantly. Lies, lies and more lies.

The secretary was in awe as he opened the envelope. He looked up to see her run away, before any questionaments could be made.

Her second stop was a tattoo shop close by. The studio was tiny but it was the type of place that no one would ask what a 14 year old was doing there by herself. She chose a golden piercing right on her nose, visible for anyone to see.

Piper was finally back at their mansion's street, back to the jewelry store. She walked past those diamonds and rubies all the time. There was also no doubt that if she asked nicely her father could even buy some of those for her. Being a successful Hollywood actor and all.

She didn't care at this point though.

The security guards were onto her, just like the workers in serious white suits, watching each and every of her movements. They all knew in that neighborhood: it was Tristan McLean's rebelling teenager, that poor father.

They unconsciously let her in, magically ignoring her appearance and the gossip for a few minutes.

Now, years later, Piper knew that it had all been related to her mother's power, Aphrodite. She was barely able to control her powers back then, honestly she wasn't even aware of them for a long time. But in the dark moments, when she was in a strong emotional state, they infiltrated the minds around her. Piper had always been powerful.

She randomly picked a necklace and a pair of earrings. The workers magically didn't see her taking them and the security guards pretended to forget everything once she was out, conveniently always looking the other way.

From experience, Piper knew she would have about an hour until they realized what had happened and sent the police to retrieve the items. And she probably had about 3 hours until her father would finally call, shouting at her for stealing.

Again.

Piper entered the mansion. The tile floor was cold and the door made a horrible sound as it was opened. Her senses were tangled and oversensitive. As she climbed the marble staircase, Piper threw everything on the ground and ran up to her bedroom.

"You don't need these, Piper! You KNOW that you don't! My life is not easy like you think it is! I don't need you to make things worse! Just tell me what's wrong!" He would tell her, not the first and not for the last time.

She missed Grandpa Tom and his stories so much. She needed to know more about the Cherokee, she had to remember the songs. If only he had taught her dad and herself the written language.

She cried for a long time, until she started to feel numb again and managed to sleep until the inevitable.

/