Chapter 2

"So what now?" demanded Nico when Percy had finally fallen asleep some hours later curled up on his chest. It had taken the small child an age and half to go to sleep and now that he was Nico was terrified of waking him up again. Even though Nico had promised the child over and over that he wouldn't leave Percy refused to be held by anyone else and so instead Nico had gotten some first hand experience about how difficult it is taking care of a demi-god child. Now all of them minus Frank and Hazel, who were on guard duty, held a whispered meeting in the control room.

"We continue on," said Jason with a sigh, "the deadline is too close for us to make a detour quest to fix Percy. We'll just have to manage without him."

"Isn't this the part where we find a kind goddess who is willing to watch and guard him while we fight the war? This fight is going to be a lot more difficult if one of us is always on babysitting duty." Said Leo scratching his head.

"By one of us, you mean me." Said Nico dryly.

"Definitely not an option; you're a child of the Big Three, we're going to need you out there fighting. Even if we can't find anyone else to guard him, he is sure to warm up to the rest of us eventually so other people will be able to look after him." Said Annabeth stubbornly. Nico had to repress a smirk at that. Sometime over the past few hours Annabeth had decided that although she wasn't too great with kids she wanted to take care of cute little Percy too. Much to Nico's amusement Percy had run crying from her telling Nico the scary blond girl called him mean names like 'seaweed-brain'. It was extremely gratifying that for once Percy chose him over Annabeth.

"No. Percy can't be near the battle; he's too vulnerable even when we're not fighting monsters, this whole ship is waiting deathtrap for a four-year-old. We have to find somewhere safe where he can stay." Said Nico firmly.

"Well hey, when I built the ship I wasn't exactly thinking we'd be inviting itty-bitty kids on board for field trips." Said Leo defensively.

"It's fine Leo, we know that, but Nico is right. Percy is not safe here with us when he'd like this, and I for one would not be able to stand the thought of being responsible for the death of a child this small, particularly when it's my friend." Said Jason sighing.

"What if-" began Piper hesitantly, "What if we were able to break whatever spell Percy is under on the way though? It's be better to have him on the quest with his abilities after all."

"How the hell would we do that?" demanded Nico secretly against any plan to put even an ounce of danger upon Percy, the rest of the world be damned.

"Well…" said Piper slowly, continuing when Jason gave her an encouraging nod, "Hebe is the goddess of youth right? So we just need to find the god of age-"

"Of course! Gera's the god of age! He is one of the children of Night! Percy and I saw him in Tartarus… And he was on one of the lifts going to join Gaea's army! He'll be there!" said Annabeth excitedly.

"So what? We take a four year old into the middle of battle so we can convince an unstable enemy god to cast a spell on him? Yeah that sounds like a fantastic plan." Said Nico rolling his eyes, "And who's to say he wont just turn Percy into an old geezer instead?"

"I admit that it's a dangerous plan, but right now it's the only one we really have." Said Annabeth giving him an annoyed look. The others shifted uncomfortably as the tension seemed to snap and crackle between the two demigods, "I am his girlfriend. Believe me, if anyone wants to keep Percy safe it's me. However, I really think that the only real way to do that is this plan."

"I disagree." Hissed Nico his grip tightening on Percy, "That plan will only get Percy hurt. If I leave now I can shadow travel him somewhere safe… Or at least get him to the Ocean where his father can take care of him."

"No, whatever happened we need to watch Percy like a hawk. This is all part of Gaea's plan, and if we send him away we will only be playing right into her hands." Said Piper shaking her head, "You heard Hebe; Percy is apparently "the perfect choice for what she(Gaea) wants". If that's really true then Gaea won't stop at anything to get her hands on him and frankly I don't trust even the god's security system."

"That's another thing." Frowned Leo, "I am assuming crazy earth lady still wants Percy to be the Hero she sacrifices to awaken, but if Hebe was working for her then why on earth would she turn him into a kid? Or are snot nosed brats the new 'in' hero and I am just behind the times?"

"No…" said Nico cold panic suddenly spreading through him, "…I am so stupid why didn't I see it before?!"

"Nico what is it?" asked Jason with concern.

"We have to guard Percy." Muttered Nico his eyes darting about, his every instinct screaming at him to take Percy and run for it even though he knew that wouldn't do anything for him when Gaea really did arise.

"That was the plan." Said Annabeth testily glowering at him with confusion.

"No you don't understand," said Nico urgently, willing Annabeth with all her knowledge of ancient rites to understand, "Not only is Percy a significant hero in this age, but thanks to Hebe he is now a innocent."

"Oh gods…" said Annabeth catching on and looking horrified.

"Hello, son of Hephaestus still out of the loop here." Complained Leo.

"There are different types of sacrifices that can be made each type holds a different sort of power when used. In order to raise Gaea they will need a particularly powerful one." Said Nico gravely.

"We always knew Gaea was going to go for sacrificing two of us, enemies forcibly taken to spill their blood is a quite powerful act, but it is still weak enough that it would require two of us. It also seemed like for a while that she wanted to get to lovers to sacrifice which is an even more powerful rite. But now…" Annabeth trailed off looking distressed.

"Now it looks like she is going to try for the most powerful sacrifice of all; the destruction of pure innocence. Killing a defenseless child is one of the most evil acts that someone can commit and would cause enough of an upset in the balance of the world that Gaea could not only awake, but she could also take her own physical form which has never been possible before. After Hebe's intervention Percy now fulfills all three of the requirements for the most powerful sacrifices that can be made. Gaea won't even need to get her hands on a second demigod; if she gets her hands on Percy then it's over." Whispered Nico grimly