Leo leaned far out over the edge of the Argo II and spit out as far as he could. A wad of saliva flew through the air and landed with a splash in the ocean over ten meters from the ship. Jason, who stood beside Leo, cheered over this great victory and clapped Leo on the back. The boys were so involved in their game that they didn't notice the two figures shaking their heads at them from across the deck.
Hazel and Piper watched, unimpressed, as the boys spit farther and farther out over the edge. Eventually, they turned away from the pair and continued the conversation they'd been having before.
"She was the only person he remembered, even when the rest of his memory's were all gone!" Hazel squealed to Piper.
"She never gave up looking for him, even after he'd been gone eight months!" Piper returned in the same high-pitched tone. As is obvious, Piper and Hazel were gossiping over the love story of Percy and Annabeth, who had been together longer than anyone else aboard the ship.
Down below decks, Coach Hedge lounged in an overstuffed recliner armchair. His hand was stuck in a bowl of popcorn and his small eyes focused on the illuminated T.V. screen. He was shouting at the people in the television, and these shouts could be heard echoing all throughout the lower decks of the ship.
In another room, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy were seated around the table in the lounge. The conversation held between the three of them was of a much more serious matter.
"I'm not sure he can be trusted. I saw him at dinner... he looked like a zombie." Annabeth said in a hushed tone.
"I don't really know the guy, but he seems like the kind of person you could trust. I don't think he was acting of his own free will," Percy said, continuing the trio's conversation of Leo's firing on New Rome.
"I don't like him. But even so, he doesn't seem like the type to attack. He just doesn't seem that serious," Frank said quickly.
"So we're in agreement. Something forced Leo to fire on New Rome. Something, or someone, wants war between the Greeks and Romans and they've got powerful enough magic to possess a person and control them to act completely against their will." Annabeth said firmly.
"Could it be Gaea? She's been growing more and more powerful of late. She could have some mind-possessing demon or whatever that could have gotten to Leo." Percy said questioningly.
The trio continued their serious conversation in hushed tones, as Leo and Jason continued their competition, Hazel and Piper their gossiping, and Coach Hedge watching fencing competitions in his room.
None of them were aware of of a ninth passenger aboard the ship. None were aware of it's evil lurking presence, and none of them would have ever guessed that it could have ever possibly existed again.