all about hope- awww thank you for the virtual hug, i needed that.i agree, there is a lack of percy in toa! and EW school don't know her

guest- aw, thank you, that's very sweet of you :)

guest (2)- nah you're right, me should be in that sentence, thank you for pointing that out

She had no doubt in her mind what it was: the Long Island Sound.

Reyna, Nico, Coach, and Grant stood on a yacht, maybe a few miles from the shore of camp. The Athena Parthenos stood behind them, a team of Pegasi attached to it. She could feel the spirit of war in the air: a battle was coming.

About half-mile to the west, a black motorboat was speeding towards them. As it propelled closer, she could make out the Roman design SPQR.

Reyna sighed, her hand grabbing onto the hilt of the sword. "The legion has sent a welcoming committee."

"Since when do we have a navy?" Grant asked nervously.

"We don't," Reyna said. "Octavian has been busy."

She counted three people in the boat.

"Is that Leila and Dakota?" Grant asked, eyebrows drawing up in surprise.

Reyna nodded tightly. "And Michael Kahale. He's one of Octavian's right-hand men, but I think I can reason with him…"

"And if you're wrong…" Nico started.

The three of them climbed on board, drawing back in surprise at the sight of the four of them, especially Grant.

Michael Kahale wasn't dressed for battle- he wore a simple purple T-shirt and running shoes.

He blinked, momentarily shocked by the presence of Grant. He then regained his composure, looking over at Reyna.

"Reyna Ramírez- Arellano," he began.

"Grant?" Dakota said, his jaw dropped.

Rosie knew Grant was having way too much fun with the whole not-actually-dead shtick.

Grant gave Dakota a nonchalant wave. "Sup, Dude- how goes the Kool Aid habit? Leila, did you do something different with your hair?"

Michael cleared his throat. "Reyna Ramírez- Arellano, former praetor-"

"I am praetor," Reyna interrupted. "Unless I have been removed by a vote of the full senate. Is that the case?"

"I have orders to arrest you and hold you for trial."

"On whose authority?"

"You know whose-"

"On what charges?"

Coach, Grant, and Nico watched, thoroughly amused by the ping-pong match.

Michael sighed. "Reyna, come on. I don't like this anymore than you do. But it's my orders."

"Illegal orders," Grant piped in.

Michael gave him a look. "Says the praetor who abandoned his position- you're going to be arrested for treason. I'm sorry, Grant, where exactly have you been the past year and a half?"

"Oh, did you not get my Christmas letter update? My bad, bro, it must've gotten lost in the mail."

Michael glared at him, before turning to Reyna. "Octavian has assumed emergency powers. The legion is behind him."

Reyna looked over at Leila and Dakota. "And that is true?"

Neither of them answered; Dakota's eye twitched.

"We're at war," Michael said. "We have to pull together. Dakota and Leila have not been the most enthusiastic supporters- this is their last chance to prove themselves. If they help me bring you guys in- preferably alive, but dead if necessary- then they keep their rank and prove their loyalty."

"To Octavian," Reyna pointed out. "Not the legion."

"You can't blame the officers for falling into line. Octavian has a plan to win, and it's a good plan. At dawn, those onagers will destroy the Greek Camp without a single loss of Roman life. The gods should be healed."

Nico scowled. "You'd wipe out half the demigod's in the world, half the gods' legacy, to heal them? You'll tear Olympus apart before Gaea even wakes up. And she is waking, Centurion."

"Ambassador of Pluto...you've been named an enemy spy. I've got orders to take you in for execution."

"Try," Nico snapped.

"Guys," Dakota said to Grant and Reyna in a pleading tone. "Just come with us, please. We can work it out."

"Enough," Coach said, sizing up Michael. "I can take this runt out."

"Coach," Reyna started. "Michael is strong-"

Another ship was approaching, and Rosie saw a sly smile appear on Grant's face, only to quickly disappear.

"Kahale! What's taking so long?" A voice boomed from the approaching ship.

"Octavian?" Michael asked.

"Of course it's me!" yelled the voice from the dark. "I'm coming aboard. Everyone on both sides, drop your weapons!"

There were figures on the ship, figures she couldn't make out.

"Sir?" Michael asked, confused. "All of us?"

"You heard me, dolt!"

Apprehensively, everyone on the yacht dropped their weapons.

"Good!"

The ship came closer, and suddenly, it made sense. The kids of the Caterina smiled down at the group- CJ, Oscar, Molly, Clare, Ringo. Tyson, her brother, stood with them and he jumped onto their deck, a harpy glittering behind him.

Tyson leapt across the deck in two strides, bopping Michael on the head. Dakota and Leila backed up in alarm.

Ella the harpy fluttered onto the yacht's roof. "Strong- Ella's boyfriend is strong."

"Look at who we picked up along the way!" Oscar shouted from the deck, pointing to Ella and Tyson.

"What is this?" Reyna asked Grant, looking at the Caterina. "Oscar, is that you?"

"Hi, Reyna!" Oscar said brightly, waving his spear wildly.

"Didn't I tell you? We do have a navy." Grant turned to the crew. "Nice entrance, gang."

"Friends of yours?" Reyna asked with raised eyebrows.

Grant shrugged. "Casual acquaintances," He said, waving her off.

"Sorry we're late," CJ said from on board, grinning at them.

"Nope," Grant said, shaking his head. "You guys came just in the nick of time."

The snake people showed up as soon as they docked on the outskirts of Athens. She was standing on deck with Piper, their friends gearing up for combat, when they saw them. Men with a snake tail instead of legs slithered along the dock, through throngs of tourists.

"You see that too, right?" Rosie asked Piper nervously.

Piper rubbed her eyes. "Oh, thank god, I thought I was going crazy. Percy, Annabeth, come here for a sec."

The two of them joined them, Percy groaning as he spotted the group of snake men.

"Great," he muttered. "Dracaenae."

Annabeth squinted. "Maybe not," she said. "At least not like any I've seen. Dracaenae have two serpent trunks for legs...these guys only have one.

"Huh, you're right," Percy said, tilting his head in confusion. "These look more human...no scales or anything. Do we talk or fight?"

No one answered him at first. There was a certain fatigue they were all experiencing, from being so close yet...so far from the end. They were all tired of making these decisions.

The group was approaching their ship now. She could tell which one was their lead- that one held its head high. His face was chiseled and bronze, his eyes a beady black. He was built in his upper half, slimy and scaly in his lower. In one hand, he carried a staff topped with a glowing green jewel. In his other hand was a covered platter. The two guys behind him appeared to be guards in armor, with spears and huge golden helmets emblazoned with the letter K.

Their leader stopped a few yards from the ship, looking up at them.

"Permission to come aboard," he said in a raspy tone.

"Who are you?" Piper asked.

"I am Kekrops, the first and eternal king of Athens. I would like to welcome you to my city. Also, I brought a Bundt cake."

Rosie let out a gasp, looking over at her friends. "I say we let him on board."

"A trick?" Piper asked, worried.

"Probably," Annabeth admitted.

"But he did bring dessert," Percy said, thinking along the lines of Rosie's thinking. "Come on up, guys! Uh...snakemen? Um-"

"Just come aboard," Annabeth told them, rolling her eyes at Percy.

Luckily, Kekrops' guards agreed to stay on deck with Buford, who ordered them to drop and give him twenty.

The rest of them met with the king of Athens in the mess hall, a Bundt cake ready to be shared.

"Please, take a seat," Jason offered to the king.

"Snake people do not sit," Kekrops said bluntly.

"Please remain standing," Leo deadpanned, stuffing a piece of cake into his mouth. His eyes widened as he chewed it. "Dang, that's one good cake!"

Rosie nudged his elbow. "Come on, pass it!" She was dying to get her hands on some good cake.

Leo glanced at the snake king, as he passed her a piece. "You don't happen to have milk, do you?"

"Snake people do not drink milk," the king replied. "We are lactose intolerant."

"Me too!" Frank said. He quickly blushed. "Erhm..I mean...lactose intolerant. Not a reptile. Although, sometimes-"

"Anyway," Hazel interrupted. "What brings you here, King Kekrops? How did you know we got here?"

"I know everything that happens in my city," he said. "I was the city's founder. The first king, born of the earth. I am the one who judged the dispute between Athena and Poseidon, and chose Athena to be the patron of the city."

"No hard feelings on that one," Percy muttered.

Annabeth gave Percy a playful shove. "I've heard of you, Kekrops. You were the first one to offer sacrifices to Athena. You built her first shrine on the Acropolis."

"Correct," the king said, albeit a little bitterly. "My people were the original Athenians- the gemini."

"Like your zodiac sign?" Percy said, perking up. "I'm a Leo."

"No, stupid," Leo said. "I'm a Leo- you're a Pecy."

Rosie exchanged an amused look with Piper, both of them on the verge of laughter.

"Enough you two," Hazel chided. "I think he means gemini, like doubled- half man, half snake. That's what his people are called. He's a geminus, singular."

"Yes," the king said, agreeing with Hazel. "Millenia ago, we were driven underground by two-legged humans, but I know the ways of the city better than any. I'm here to warn you: if you try to approach the acropolis from aboveground, you will be destroyed."

"By you?" Rosie asked bluntly.

"By Porphyrion's armies. The Acropolis is ringed with great siege weapons- onagers."

"More onagers?" Frank asked, baffled. "What, did they have a sale or something?"

"Cyclops," Hazel guessed. "They're supplying both Octavian and the giants."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Because we really need more proof that Octavian is on the wrong side."

"It's not the only threat," Kekrops warned. "The air is filled with storm spirits. Earthborn patrol the streets up to the Acropolis. I can offer you an underground passage to the Acropolis. For the sake of the gods, I will help you."

"What's the catch?" Piper asked, frowning.

"Only a small party of demigods shall go," the king answered. "No more than four. Otherwise, your scent will attract monsters. Our underground passages will lead you straight to Acropolis. Once there, you can disable their weaponry and allow the rest of your crew to approach. With luck, the giants will be caught off guard. You might be able to disrupt the ceremony."

"Ceremony?" Leo asked. A moment later, a look of realization dawned upon his face. "Oh..like to wake Gaea."

"Even now it has begun," Kekrops said, turning to look directly at Rosie. "Can you not feel the earth trembling? The gemini are your best chance."

Percy looked at the rest of them nervously. "Objections?"

"A few," Jason piped in. "For starters, you're asking us to split up on the enemy's doorsteps. Isn't that how people get killed in horror movies?"

Rosie nodded approvingly, all those marathons of watching the Scream movies paying off.

"Also," Percy said. "Gaea wants us to end up at the Parthenon. Why are we playing right into her hand?"

No one said anything.

And then Piper started singing.

Rosie had heard her best friend sing before: they had many ABBA singalongs back in their Wilderness days. What she hadn't realized was how beautiful her friend's voice was. She wasn't sure what the song was...but she and everyone else at the table was transfixed by her voice, by her storytelling.

No one spoke after the first verse.

"Pipes." Jason finally broke the silence. "I had no clue."

Piper didn't respond to him. She looked at the snake king. "What are your real intentions?"

The snake king was in what appeared to be a trace, still swaying from the effects of Piper's voice.

"To deceive you," he answered. "We hope to lead you into the tunnels and destroy you."

"Why?" Piper asked.

"The Earth Mother has promised us great reward."

"But you don't serve her," Piper reminded him. "You serve Athena...you founded her city."

"She abandoned me," the king said, hissing. "Athena replaced me with a two-legged human king. She turned our back on us. We are first and foremost children of Gaea. She has promised us a place in the sun of the upper world."

"Gaea is lying," Piper said. "She intends to destroy the upper world, not give it to anyone."

The king opened his mouth to reply, but Piper launched into another verse of her song.

The snake king's arm went limp, his eyes glazing over.

Piper then continued his interrogation. "How much of what you told us is true?"

"All of it. The Acropolis is heavily defended, just as I described. Any approach aboveground would be impossible."

"So you can guide us through the tunnels?" Piper asked. "Is that true?"

The king frowned. "Yes…"

"Piper, we can't trust this," Annabeth said. "This whole thing stinks of a trap."

"I should go," Hazel said. "If it's Underground."

"No," Kekrops said. "A child of the Underworld? My people would find your presence revolting. You would be slayed on sight."

Hazel swallowed, her eyes wide. "You know what, I'll stay here."

"Me and Percy," Rosie said, the words out of her mouth before she could take them back.

Percy looked at her with surprise. "But isn't that-"

"What she wants? Yeah," Rosie said, nodding. "But...it has to be me and you."

Percy gulped, nodding. "Ro and I will go there together."

"I should go, too," Annabeth said. "Since one of the shrines is also dedicated to Athena."

"And me," Piper volunteered. "You guys will need someone to keep our friend here in line."

Jason sighed. "I hate the idea of us splitting up."

"It could work," Frank said. "Those four will go in and disable the onagers, causing a distraction. Then we'll fly in with our blazing ballistas."

"Frank, Leo, Hazel...I want to talk to you three," Annabeth said. "Pipes, keep our friend musically distracted."

"Well," Percy said, rising from the table. He offered his hand to Jason. "Until we meet again at the Acropolis, bro. Ro and I will be the one killing giants."