AyeraeW- i agree, there were definitely pacing issues that made BoO anticlimatic! as far as Caleo, it's weird bc I like Leo and I like Calypso as individuals, but definitely not together- I really wish he could've focused on Leo's independence more.

Radoddish- boys smh

SEASBLU- wait i'm dying blocking calypso from memory is such a mood hahaha

if you are troubled by the events occurring in America like I am, I urge you to do some research. Educate yourself. Be an active ally in the movement. If you're looking for some literature, I recommend How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.

Oddly, watching Frank shoot vicious harpies as they entered Greece was therapeutic. Greece was unbearably hot- it brought back the memories they left in Africa.

She was braiding back her hair, currently slicked with sweat, as Leo whooped at the helm.

"Hot and steamy!" Leo exclaimed from the helm, a wild grin on his face. "Ah, just like Houston- what do you think, Hazel? All we need are some giant mosquitos and then we're the city with no limits!"

"Noooo," Hazel groaned, even though she was hiding a smile. "You probably cursed us, Leo- we're going to get attacked by giant Greek mosquitos now."

Rosie was standing a few yards away from them, next to Nico. She watched Frank smile, laugh, and say something to Hazel and Leo. Rosie thought of the conversation she had with Frank, as they were traveling from Malta.

Frank had tripped, an embarrassing fall that made Rosie turn away so she wouldn't laugh. Leo was right next to Frank, and Rosie was ready for the arsenal of jokes. Instead, Leo had helped him up, and was concerned that Frank had hit his head.

"Geez," Frank had said, coming up to Rosie after he recovered, shaking his head in amazement. "Maybe we should send Leo to spend time with Calypso more often."

"What?" Rosie asked, with more force than she intended to.

Frank blinked, taken aback. He shrugged. "Hazel seems to think something happened between the two of them…"

"Oh."

"Yeah," Frank said, shaking his head. "I don't get it either-"

At that point, Rosie had stopped listening. She was now trying to picture a world in which Leo Valdez was in love with someone. Sure, she and Piper had endured all of Leo's crushes back at Wilderness- Kelsey Carmichael types, girls who were usually completely unattainable and uninterested in Leo. Every week in Wilderness, it seemed to be a new crush, someone Leo was convinced he was "madly" in love with. It was a repetitive cycle of watching him proclaim his love, chasing them, failing, and repeating. And yet, this time...there was no showy, outward gesture. Leo was calm and composed, which worried Rosie the most.

"There!" Nico exclaimed suddenly, bringing Rosie back to the present. He pointed to a river in the distance, snaking through some hills. "Maneuver us that way- we're very close to the temple."

As if on cue, black lighting rippled through the sky, making Rosie jump.

"How do you do that?!" Rosie exclaimed, partially terrified and partially in awe.

Nico smirked at her. "I don't know what you mean."

Rosie shoved his arm, playfully. Nico's face shifted from surprise to happy in a matter of seconds. Little did Nico know that once someone gained Rosie as a friend, they wouldn't be getting rid of her anytime soon.

"Everyone, arm up," Jason announced, appearing in front of the crew. Leo, try to get us close- but don't land."

All of them gathered on deck, preparing to descend. The ship was currently hovering up the river Nico pointed out. Some ruins stood upon the top of one of the hills- tendrils of black smoke rose from somewhere within.

Rosie, feeling like a pile of nerves, jumped up and down, waving her arms around.

Piper raised her eyebrows at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yup!" she said, continuing to jump. "Psyching myself up." She knew they were probably heading into battle, but couldn't help but be excited for it: she had missed out on the last few, after all. "Look!"

Gleefully, she threw her hands above her head, the water above them exploding up in an impressive formation.

Coach and Hazel started whooping, unable to contain their excitement at the powers that had returned for Rosie.

Piper looked at Coach and Hazel, utterly confused. "Um. What is going on?"

Hazel paused, eyes wide. "Um- nothing. Uh….Rosie's psyching thing must be catching on." Hazel nudged Coach as she began to jump up and down. "Right, Coach?"

"Yeah!" Coach said, trying to muster enthusiasm as he jumped up and down along with Hazel and Rosie. Piper, Jason, Nico, Frank, and Leo gave them weird looks, probably concerned they were losing their minds.

Another strike of black lighting came down, stopping any kind of movement from them.

"The Necromanteion," Nico said. "The House of Hades."

"Can we, um, set down a little closer?" Piper said a little nervously, peering down at the river.

"We can't," Hazel explained. "That's the River Acheron."

"Oh god," Rosie said, immediately embarrassed. "Someone could've told me that-"

"I thought that was in the Underworld," Jason said, confused.

"It is, these are the mortal headquarters," Hazel explained. "This flows straight into the realm of Pluto-uh, I mean, Hades."

Rosie saw Nico raise the scepter of Diocletian out of the corner of her eye. That thing still made her a little nervous. Dead legions had never seemed to be on their side.

Frank seemed to share the same nervousness as her. He cleared his throat, staring at the scepter. "So, um, Nico...have you learned how to use that thing?"

"We'll find out," Nico said in a deadpan tone, and Rosie had the inappropriate urge to laugh. "We won't use it until we have to- too much interference with the Doors of Death might shatter them permanently, leaving a rip we can't fix."

Coach Hedge pounded his fists together. "I'm ready to bust open some monster heads."

Rosie winced. "Coach," she said gently. "Maybe you should stay on board. You can give us back-up with the ballista." She wanted Coach to get back to Mellie- and his future child.

Coach scoffed. "Stay behind? No way!"

Rosie shot a pleading look at Frank who, fortunately, got the message.

"She's right, Coach," Frank said. "Remember Rome? You really saved us with some air support."

Coach's face softened, as he finally gave in and nodded. "Alright-I'll stay behind."

Jason nodded in approval, gripping his sword. "Okay- we're good to go, then. Let's go to the ruins- time to crash Gaea's party."

Nico led the way, past tourists who didn't even give them a second look. Hazel and Rosie exchanged amused looks- the Mist was a powerful thing.

They reached a stone doorway carved into a hill, where Nico stopped, turning to face the group.

"Okay," he said, exhaling. "This is where it gets difficult."

"So far, it's totally been smooth sailing," Leo said, grinning.

Nico glared at him, and finally, Rosie knew what it was like to not be on the receiving end of that glare.

"We'll see how long you keep that sense of humor, Leo," Nico said, rolling his eyes. "You guys don't understand what's coming- underground, you're going to see things that are hard to look at. You might hear voices. Who has the barley cakes?"

"Got them," Hazel said, pulling out the crackers they had gotten from Triptolemus in Venice.

Rosie bit into her cracker, and felt like gagging.

Leo nudged her, a disgusted look on his face. "Kind of tastes like your cooking."

"Ouch," she said, feeling the palpable tension between them.

"Alright," Nico said, looking slightly green as he gagged. "That'll protect us from the poison."

"Aw," Leo said in a mock upset tone. "Don't tell me I missed the poison."

"Soon enough," Nico muttered. "Just stick together, and maybe we'll avoid getting lost...or going insane."

"Joy," Rosie muttered to herself, following Nico as he led them underground. She hated that it was underground; it made her nervous. However, she just had to remind herself that they were getting closer to Percy and Annabeth.

"The House of Hades is below us," Nico explained as they walked. "These upper levels are newer. Archaeologists didn't realize they weren't digging deep enough."

The tunnel they were in suddenly stopped, a huge block of stone in their way.

"Cave-in?" Jason guessed.

"Test," Nico replied. "Hazel?"

Hazel stepped, placing her hand on the rock, and the entire boulder started to crumble to dust. The tunnel shuddered, cracks appearing in the ceiling. For a brief moment, Rosie had a vision of all of them being crushed under the debris.

As the dust settled, a set of stairs appeared. Pictures of black cattles were painted on the cave's walls.

Rosie could hear Piper sigh upon seeing this.

"I hate cows," she moaned.

"Agreed," Frank said.

"They're just the cattle of Hades," Nico said. "It's a symbol of-"

"Look," Rosie interrupted, pointing.

A chalice gleamed on the first step of the stairwell, looking to be full of green liquid.

Leo whistled. "I'm guessing that's our poison. Yay?"

Nico picked up chalice gingerly, inspecting it. "We're standing at the ancient entrance of the Necromanteion. Odysseus came here, and dozens of other heroes, seeking advice from the dead."

"Did the dead advise them to leave immediately?" Leo asked.

"I'd be okay with that," Piper said.

Nico ignored them, taking a sip from the chalice. He grimaced for a brief second before swallowing. He turned to Jason, offering him the chalice. "You asked me about trust, and risk. Well...here we are, Son of Jupiter- do you trust me?"

Rosie didn't know what that meant- then again, she also had a complicated relationship with Nico.

Jason didn't hesitate, taking the chalice from Nico and drinking from it.

The chalice was passed around, all of them taking sips from it. When it got to Rosie, she tried to ignore the sickly green color of it. She closed her eyes, taking a sip, shivering as she swallowed it.

Once they finished, Nico nodded, apparently satisfied. "Great- congratulations. Assuming this poison doesn't kill us, we should be able to find our way through Necromanteion's first level."

Piper's eyes widened. "Just the first level?"

Nico didn't answer this. Instead, he turned to Hazel, gesturing down the stairs.

"After you, sister."