Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes of Olympus. All rights go to Rick Riordan.

Lift-Off

"Okay, I think that's all." Leo reported, popping up from downstairs. "This ship is ready to roll."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked, "The last time you said that, we didn't even make it out of the woods."

"That wasn't my fault!" Leo protested. "How was I supposed to know that Coach Hedge had-"

"What about me?" Coach Hedge asked as he walked on board with Annabeth and Jason, each one toting a heavy bag. The night before, Annabeth had enlisted their help in bring some extra supplies on board while Piper helped Leo with the ship. Leo would rather have Annabeth helping him out, but he knew better than to argue with the daughter of Athena.

"Nothing," Piper replied, "What's in the bag?"

"Some extra weapons," Annabeth explained, "Nyssa and Malcolm had been working on some more concealable weapons for the past year or two, and they lent us these. I don't think we will be able to use all of them – for example, we have four or five different bows that probably won't be used – but we have room and they had plenty of extra. It's always better to have more than you need than less than you need, anyways."

"Oh, did they give you some of those javelins I was showing them last week?" Leo asked. "You know; the ones that turn into working ear buds? I was noticing this morning I had forgotten to put some on the ship."

"I'm sure they did," Annabeth replied, "Anyways, we need to somehow get all of this down to the weapons room. Any volunteers?"

"Me and Jason can do it," Piper volunteered.

"And what about me?" Coach Hedge asked.

"How about you…" Leo started, unsure.

"Go check to see if the cable works," Annabeth suggested.

"You should make sure we get all of the stations; we don't know what our Roman friends will like." Leo added.

"Okay, I like that idea." Coach Hedge replied.

"In fact, if you find a station that you really like, you can stay on it. You deserve a day off." Annabeth offered.

"I'll go do that now. But if you cupcakes need any help blowing things up…"

"Coach, go check on the cable," judging by her tone, Leo could tell Annabeth's patience was running low. She turned to him. "Did you check the ship?"

"Yep, the ship has been checked, double checked, and triple checked. This baby is ready to fly."

"Good, because we're behind schedule. You were supposed to meet out at the edge of the woods, not still be in the bunker! What happened?"

"We were having technical difficulties."

"Meaning?"

"Coach Hedge decided to experiment with some of the cables."

"Oh…" Annabeth paused, as if waiting for something. "Leo, we still need to lift off."

"Right." Leo ran to the wheel. "Just a second," his fingers hit the intercom, and his ADHD gave him an irresistible urged. "Ten seconds to lift-off. Ten… nine…" every count had him hitting about ten different buttons. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered footsteps coming up the stairs. "Eight… seven… six…"

"Is a count-down really necessary?" Piper asked as she appeared from downstairs.

"Yes, and now I've lost count. Now I have to start all over again."

"Just get us off the ground." Annabeth told him, making him hesitate.

"Hey, I'm working as I count down. So no harm done, right?" Leo noted. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Ten… nine… eight…" as he worked the numbers became faster, "Seven, six, five," by then, he was holding the Wii controller in his hand, "Four, three-two-one, and lift-off!" He jolted the controller upwards.

Of course, the ship didn't take off like a rocket. The Argo 2 rose up gradually, and Leo could barely feel the movement as him and everything around him gained elevation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are off to New Rome!" Leo announced.

"It's about time," Annabeth muttered under her breath. "What is that?"

"Oh, that's the record player. It plays a sample of "La Bamba" every time the ship rises." Leo informed.

"Can you turn it off?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure, but is it really hurting anything?" Leo questioned.

"Leo…" Annabeth's tone was a warning; Leo realized this was not the time to argue with her.

"Okay, okay, I can unhook it, no problem." Leo informed her. "Is there another song you'd like to hear instead?" Annabeth's glare was enough of an answer to the question. "Okay, maybe not."

The Argo 2 was silent all through New York and Pennsylvania; that is, silent except for Leo humming "La Bamba" under his breath. The ship was enchanted to fly faster than normal, so it wouldn't take the one day and nineteen hours that it would by car.

"Where's Jason?" Annabeth asked as they flew over Illinois.

"He's taking a nap," Piper replied, "He couldn't sleep last night, so he was up all night teaching some of the other head counselors a couple of Roman sword techniques." Leo could understand that; he doubted any of the current crew members had a good night's sleep last night. He definitely didn't.

"I guess flying to your old camp when there's a possibility that they will start firing on us wouldn't be the best sleep-bringer." Leo commented.

"No, it wouldn't. It's a good thing you sent out that message, right?" Piper agreed before noticing the look on Leo's face. "You did send them a message, right?"

"Um… I might've forgotten about it…" Leo replied.

"Forgot about it? Your telling me that you forgot to send the peace message to New Rome, when you know that they will attack us the second they see us if you don't." Piper noted.

"Uh… yes," Leo confirmed. "In fact, I should go do that now."

"Yes, you should." Piper agreed.