"Piper is dead." As soon as the words left the daughter of Athena's mouth they echoed across the wooden ship. The remaining demigods aboard the Argo II were gathered on the top deck trying to process Annabeth's announcement, but they weren't sure how to take the news.

Leo laughed. "Very funny Annabeth. I didn't know you had such a dark sense of humor."

"It's no joke Leo," Nico spoke up. "I can feel it. She's gone."

"No - no, there must be some sort of mistake." Leo said defensively.

"It's no mistake, Leo. Poseidon told me of her passing in a dream." Annabeth choked, obviously fighting back tears.

That's when the revelation really started to sink it. Hazel started sobbing. Leo left in a burst of flames. The sky went dark as storm clouds brewed above the ship. Nervous glances were thrown at Jason as he conjured up a lightening storm.

Everyone was thinking the same thing. How could we let this happen? Why were we all so preoccupied with our own lives and let this terrible fate befall poor Piper?

Nico cleared his throat. "Now, I didn't know Piper as well as some of you," Nico looked at Jason while he spoke. "but, I knew her well enough to know that she would agree with what I'm about to tell you. There is a time and a place for grieving: This isn't it. We all have work to do. What happened to Piper is heartbreaking, but if we let our guard down for a moment something like this can and will happen again. Let's put aside our feelings for now and focus on finding whoever did this to Piper."

"That's easy for you to say, corpse breath," Leo spat, his voice rising. "How dare you tell me what to do or how to feel. You aren't even supposed to be here. Piper is. I bet you don't even care about what happened to her. Well, you know what? Not all of us are so chummy with death."

"ENOUGH," Jason screamed. "ONE MORE WORD VALDEZ AND I SWEAR I WILL BLOW YOU ALL THE WAY TO CHINA."

Everyone was taken aback by Jason's out of character outburst, Leo more so then anyone.

Percy attempted to diffuse the situation by changing the subject. "I think Nico is right, but there's something I still don't get. Annabeth, why did my dad summon you? Why not me?"

"Because it is against the ancient laws for gods to directly interfere in their children's lives. Poseidon says that a powerful sea witch named Ursula killed Piper. He also said that a mermaid she has imprisoned who goes by the name of Ariel is the key to Ursula's undoing." Annabeth caught Nico's eye. He could tell that she was purposely not mentioning his presence in the dream. Nico silently thanked her.

"This little mermaid named Ariel. She has good intentions I believe she will help us."

"How do you know for sure?" Frank asked.

"I've spoken with her under the sea once before." Percy replied.

"Yes, and she saved my life during that storm, even though it would have been easier to let me drown. We all should split up and find Ursula's hideout. The most obvious place she would be is in the ocean, but she could also be on land preparing the sacrifice. Hazel, you and -" Annabeth stopped mid-sentence. Something by Hazel's feet had caught her eye.

Lying on the deck was Piper's knife, Katoptris, and it was soaked in blood. A mixture of panic and rage swept the demigods.

Percy whistled. "Everyone calm down. Ursula is just trying to scare us and it is not going to work. She will pay for what she's done to Piper. I'll see if I can find her or Ariel underwater. Jason, see if you can spot them from above."

"Alright, but only if Nico comes with me."

Percy was taken aback by this, but knew better then to argue. Jason was in a fragile state of mind. "Ok, that's fine. Leo, you and Frank should stay and protect the ship. I wouldn't put it past her to sneak onboard while we're distracted. Hazel, you and Annabeth should go ashore and search the underground to find anywhere that may serve as a site for the sacrifice."

Everyone consented and wasted no time in beginning their assignments.