"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." -Edmund Burke

On what felt like the last night of our lives we had a beach party. There was a bonfire, we roasted marshmallows, a couple half-bloods got drunk on spiked ambrosia, and in the morning when the flames had died down and the coals had turned gray we packed up and headed towards New York.

I remember leaning over the side of the Princess Andromeda, watching the sea spray dance back and forth below. Monsters and demi-gods alike paced back and forth on the deck anticipating the coming battle, but I just watched the waves crash again and again into the side of the boat. It's kind of hard to find comfort in thinking about death, so instead I tried to focus on what I would do after the war. Kyla had made me two promises the night before, and honestly the only thing I wanted at that moment was for them to come true.

"Hey Lander." I glanced up to see Kyla leaning on the railing next to me. She wasn't looking down below or at me, but instead was squinting up at the sky.

The wind was whipping her short purple hair back and forth, and it kept getting in the way of her eyes. Her skin looked even more pale in the gloomy morning, and for a split second it was hard to imagine her as the same girl I had met months ago when I first boarded the Princess Andromeda. Then she finally looked my way and flashed me a carefree smile that lit up her entire face.

"Hi Kyla," I murmured.

Cocking her head forward she seemed to scrutinize my face. "You okay?"

I nodded briefly, making sure not to meet her eyes. Sighing she leaned her forearms against the wooden railing, as if she just couldn't wait to be off the ship and on land. "We'll be in New York soon, and then once that's over we've still got that deal."

"Serenity and Pringles."

"You, me, Alene, Damon, and Rickie. It might just be the best day of our lives."

"I don't think that anything could beat last night."

Kyla laughed, and her laugh echoed endlessly against the metal of the ship. "That might be true, but you'll be surprised how much the relief of being alive can make an already good movie even more enjoyable."

"Last night was still epic."

"I guess you did make-out with Delilah, which was more enjoyable for you. I don't think it would have helped for me." Kyla scrunched her nose. "She's not really my type, too bitchy and whiny."

Stepping away from the railing I turned away from her. "Thanks Kyla."

"Lander," she called after me, her voice sounding consoling but not apologetic. "I was just joking. You know that I just want what's best for you, and I don't want you to like a girl just because you think you won't get another chance."

"Well I might not considering I'm probably going to die in a few days time."

I heard her sigh and could almost imagine her rolling her eyes. "Lander, please don't do this again. I know-"

"Meeting right now," Alene interrupted as she brushed right in between us.

Kyla shifted her focus from me and raised her eyebrow. "What about?" Kyla and Damon were probably the only half-bloods onboard who were brave enough to question Alene.

"Teen lounge," she snapped, obviously not interested in continuing what she already considered a finished conversation.

Alene looked exhausted, even more than usual. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and her clothes were disheveled and rumpled. Ringed with black circles her eyes seemed to glare out at everything and everyone. Her right hand seemed to be subconsciously rubbing the butterfly tattoo on her left wrist, though both of her arms were completely covered in greek sharpie writing.

"Maybe you should take a break Alene. You look kind of worked up right now."

Without another word Alene stomped away and disappeared below deck. Kyla shrugged and cast a glance towards a few monsters who were standing nearby. "C'mon Lander, this sounds possibly important."

Walking along the winding hallways and corridors of the cruiseship was still confusing for me, even though I'd spent months living here. The carpeting and walls onboard the ships were chewed up and covered in claw marks which some of the other demigods had complained about, but there's really no way to avoid it considering the amount of monsters onboard the ship.

As I followed behind Kyla and dwelled on that, I found myself lost in other thoughts until a figure jumped on me from behind.

"WAGHHHH!"

"Sorry Lander!" Rickie took a step back, but was still grinning widely. His blonde hair was in a messy array, and out of everyone I had seen that day he seemed to be the most energetic. He might have only been two years younger than me, but everyone treated him like the pet.

Kyla was laughing again. "I wouldn't suggest trying that on Alene. She's kind of in the mood where she'll stab you if you look at her in the wrong way."

Rickie fell easily into step behind us. "Yeah, well she's always kind of like that."

"You'd think she'd be in a better mood from last night. She and Damon were getting along okay," I said quietly.

"Things have always been complicated between them," Kyla mused thoughtfully.

"I don't know, but I thought last night was pretty awesome!" Rickie was practically bouncing up and down. His was wearing his bright pink backpack that he never seemed to part from, and for a moment I could almost see him as just a kid living a carefree and happy life.

"Mmhm," Kyla said. "We're headed towards a meeting in the lounge by the way."

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask you guys about it. Alene came and got me a couple of minutes ago, but she didn't tell me anything about it."

"She didn't tell us anything either," I said with a sigh. No matter what, Alene always seemed to be in a bad mood. She acted like it was herself against the rest of the world, and everything and nothing seemed to frustrate her.

Rickie shrugged, obviously not interested. His ADHD combined with his natural energeticness gave him a very short attention span on any subject that didn't immediately pique his interest.

Kyla stopped in front of one of the doors, and pressed her ear against the cold wood. A frown flickered across her face. "Wait out here for a few seconds guys." Casting a quick glance down the hallway to see if anybody else was nearby, she slipped into the teen lounge shutting the door immediately behind her.

Shrugging I sat down on the carpet next to Rickie. Under normal circumstances I would protest to being left out of things, but things in the teen lounge could get out of hand pretty quickly. On my first week onboard I had been challenged to a death match before the meeting had even started, so I guess you could say I didn't have the fondest memories of the demigod's chosen meeting place on the Andromeda.

"You've heard the rumors, right?"

I cast a doubtful glance towards Rickie. "What?"

He grinned, fiddling with a few of the key chains that were attached to his backpack. "Percy Jackson."

I froze in shock. I could feel my heartbeat speed up as I struggled to remain level-headed. Percy Jackson was a name that I had heard far too often in the past months, and never seen. At times it had felt like he was the center of everything, the pivoting point of the entire war. He was the heart of our enemy, and if you stab the heart, they die.

"What is it?"

"He's coming. Percy Jackson is coming to the Andromeda."