You know those times when someone tells you to write something based off of a word and you have absolutely ZERO creative juices flowing for it? This is one of those times.

This is between TLH and MoA, before we see Leo's video scroll in SoN. I wanted to get into the minds of the Lost Hero trio before the quest actually starts (since Annabeth's PoV is the first we see in MoA).

It's not my best. Keep that in mind :(

I own nothing you recognize as canon.

21: Quest

Penny for Your Thoughts?

Was Jason nervous? Oh yes. He stood next to the lake looking at the monstrosity of a ship Leo had built, wondering if this was such a good idea. The Romans were already facing doom—did they really need a warship to come up to them?

Jason tried to put on a brave face. The toga he wore felt overdone, but he insisted he wear it. He wanted to look professional for the Romans.

Now he felt silly.

Chill, man, he scolded himself. Reyna will understand. Once you explain what happened, I'm sure they won't freak out.

That was about the time Festus roared and shot a fireball into the air. He looked extremely threatening.

Jason grimaced and faced Annabeth. "Um," he squeaked. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?"

Annabeth nodded, though she looked nervous herself. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Leo knows what he's doing."

Jason glanced at Leo, who was grinning like a madman. "I trust Leo for a lot of things, but…"

Jason felt a chill. For a moment, his vision tunneled. The chill hit his spine and made him shudder. Something hissed in his ear, but he shook his head and ignored it.

"But what?"

Jason looked at Annabeth. She was giving him a weird look.

"Don't you think this is a bit…much?"

Annabeth shrugged. "We're in a hurry. We've got no choice. If it makes you feel better, Leo wanted to stick a smiley face on the hull to show we come in peace and I told him no."

Jason sighed in relief. "I do appreciate that."

Annabeth left him alone for a moment, and Jason let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The chill from earlier was gone, but Jason still had a bad feeling about it.

Piper was nervous. It should have been about the quest—about Leo building the awesome-yet-dangerous flying ship.

No, Piper was more worried about leaving the Aphrodite Cabin back in the care of Drew. Unfortunately, no one else was qualified for the temporary leadership.

Drew was already acting all high-and-mighty, but Piper hoped she'd helped the others in the cabin to grow a bit of a backbone—just enough to deal with their terrible half-sister for a few weeks.

"You sure you can't stay a little longer?" Lacy asked her as they made their way to the dock.

Piper shook her head. "We're already late as it is. The Romans could be in danger!"

Lacy looked a little crestfallen. "I know…"

Piper held her hand. "Remember what I told you. Ignore Drew's taunts. Don't let her see you afraid. She's just a bully."

"And bullies can't feed if they're ignored." Lacy smiled. "Got it."

Piper hugged her half-sister. "You'll be fine. Drew's calmed down a bit since last winter."

Lacy's eyes bulged. Piper followed her gaze and saw Leo hanging off the bow of the ship without a harness. He was buffing up Festus, his legs the only thing keeping him from falling into Long Island Sound.

Festus creaked and twitched. Leo scolded him, but Piper was too far away to tell what he said.

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Lacy asked.

"He's handled worse," Piper informed her. "He wants Festus to be spotless for the Romans. First impressions, and all that."

"I don't think buffing a dangerous fire-breathing automaton dragon is going to make it look less dangerous."

Piper giggled. "Oh, hush."

Piper was still a little apprehensive, though. It wasn't just Festus that seemed dangerous. The whole ship looked ready for war. She couldn't help but notice the ballistae on the deck.

One wrong button and Leo could accidentally fire on an unsuspecting city, Piper thought darkly.

She shook her head. No, we have to trust him. Leo knows what he's doing.

Leo felt the butterflies in his stomach but pushed them down. "Hold still, Festus, I'm almost done."

The bronze dragon head whirred and clicked in response. Leo frowned. "Relax, bud. We're in camp. There's no threat here. Except maybe the Ares and Nike cabins when they face off in Capture-the-Flag, but that's different."

Leo twisted himself and lifted back on to the deck from the railing. He cracked his neck and waved at everyone on the pier.

"What's takin' you guys so long?" He called. "We've got a date with some Romans!"

Jason, in his ridiculous robes, came aboard first. Annabeth and Piper followed close behind. They all had trunks and bags packed, and Buford had helped tote them to their respective rooms.

Leo saluted the three. "Welcome aboard, shipmates! I am Captain Valdez, your boss. You all must do as I say or I'll be making you walk the plank. Understood?"

"Leo," Piper warned. "Stop goofing around and get us in the air. The Romans are waiting."

"You know, you're supposed to say 'Aye, aye, Cap'n.' It makes it that much more fun."

Annabeth shook her head. "Please, get us out of here."

Leo shook his Wii remote and pressed some buttons on the console when he hopped over to the controls. The glorious Argo II rose into the sky quickly. The campers and Chiron all shouted good-bye and good luck from below.

Leo froze for a second. For a strange moment, he had the urge to steer the ship straight down into the water. Splash—end of quest. His hands shook with the effort not to do it. His vision went foggy, almost like he was in a dream.

Kill them, a voice hissed in his ear. Kill the Greeks—no, kill the Romans, first. Then kill the Greeks.

Leo unfroze. He shook his head and looked around. He'd spaced out for a second there. That was weird, he thought as the warship shot through the sky towards the other end of the country. What was I thinking about, again?

Leo shrugged it off and steered the ship to New Rome, not worried about anything other than Jason's funny toga ripping off halfway to California and slapping Leo in the face.

A/N: Eh, sucky at best. I want to get past this and the next chapter so we can get to Pillar, cause that one's a really fun one! Though, to be honest, if I don't get out a better idea for Thrilling, I'm probably gonna switch it with Pillar. :)