"Leo!" Annabeth was the last person to board the ship, taking up Jason's assisting hands. "What's going on?"

She saw the new Hermes kid from the crowd, puffing her chest out, so smug yet so innocent. The domino mask she had didn't do a good job of obfuscating her face. "Behold! This is the work of Phantom Thief Chocolat Parfait!"

That earned an annoyed growl from Leo, "This brat here snuck into the docks and accidentally started Argo II's launch sequence."

Mike wasn't impressed, "I thought your security was near-impenetrable?"

Leo frowned at him, but Jason quickly diffused the situation by saying, "'Near' being the key term. But that is neither here nor there. Turn the ship around."

Annabeth was about to agree when she saw something at the corner of her eye.

"Hey Carter," Walt looked at the impressive vehicle approaching them, "I follow the path of Anubis."

Their leader had donned his combat avatar, ready to take the ship head on, "Yeah, and?"

"I don't think a magician who follows the path of an underworld god would fare well in an aerial battle."

Walt turned to the side and saw Jaz, "Well, now's a good time to check out that claim." A scepter, and a wand in her hands.

Annabeth had the quick thinking of commanding everyone to get into the ship's bridge as the looming semi-corporeal form of a falcon-headed giant came into view.

"What do we do?" Lacy asked.

Jason turned to Annabeth, "I haven't read the schematics of the ship, so I don't know what she's capable of."

Annabeth couldn't fault him for that, because he had focused on training the kids at the camp. Besides, "I have."

Jake, despite being bandaged and supported by his half-siblings, spoke up, "Okay team, take up your positions."

"What does that mean?" Lou Ellen asked.

The other Hephaestus kids, however, nodded. Their youngest, Harley, actually looked giddy with excitement.

"I'll take the right wing," Nyssa said, taking a seat in front of a computer console that had two monitors.

"No fair!" Harley whined, before running across the room, "Dibs on the weapon controls!"

Leo turned to Annabeth, "For the record, Argo II hasn't been greenlit yet." He walked towards the center of the bridge, "I guess I'm manning the steering wheel."

Jake Mason took a seat at a nearby console, "I am on navigation, I guess."

Shane and Christopher both looked at each other before shrugging. "Engine room for us then."

Nyssa looked away from her screen, "Just the two of you? You need more people there."

Jason turned to one of the guys from the Aphrodite Cabin.

Annabeth recognized that one, Lachlan, one of three male Aphrodite kids. Self-absorbed but a good judge of character.

"Nuh-uh." Lachlan said. Also super lazy.

Lacy turned to him, "C'mon… they'll need all the help they can get!"

"B-but-" Annabeth saw both Shane and Christopher loop an arm over his and start to drag him away.

The other Aphrodite kids laughed at their sibling's predicament, with Delilah actually giving a dramatic wave, before they settled over a lounge area to the side. They also dragged both Mike and Lou Ellen with them.

"Galatea!" Jake called out, "Check if all the crew members are on standby."

"Alright." Annabeth jumped at the voice that came out of nowhere, "Scanning…"

"What do you suppose that is?" Jaz said.

"The design is very…" Carter's voice could be heard clearly despite being floating a few feet above the grounds, the combat avatar magnifying his voice, "Greek. My Greek history isn't up to par but I think that's a warship… a tremaine?"

Jaz snorted, "isn't that the name of Cinderella's stepmother?"

"Trireme!" Carter said with a eureka tone.

"Wait," Walt squinted his eyes and peered at the approaching vehicle, "…is that?"

"So… Galatea is the ship's A.I.?" Annabeth asked, impressed.

Jake turned, his revolving chair making an awkward squeak, "Designed and coded her myself. She's like a daughter to me."

The Hermes kid (what was her name?) bounced up in glee, looking over a hologram of a globe on the side, "See! I told you, you're real Galatea."

"Once again, Galatea is a program, and as such, cannot be considered real."

That deflated the kid, "Phooey."

"But, like," One of the Aphrodite kids spoke up, peeking out on one of the windows, "The aesthetic is all over the place." Carrie began, "You're A.I.'s all sci-fi while the ship is… um, steampipe."

"I believe the term is 'steampunk', Carrie." Delilah corrected, "Anywho~ does this ship have snacks?"

A ping was heard from the cabin's speakers, "Engine room here." Annabeth recognized Christopher's voice, "We're all green!"

"Fuck, it's hot in here." Lachlan at least sounded energetic.

"All green for me." Nyssa called out.

"Same here!" Harley raised and waved his Wii controller on the other side of the room.

"Navigation's…" Jake was tinkering with…a dub step soundboard and the aviation controls of a Learjet. The ship then hummed further with life, "…all set!"

"Annabeth?" Leo tried to hide his excitement, "We're at your command."

She nodded before saying, "Galatea! Please give us a view outside."

"I don't think they're friendly." Walt said.

"Yeah?" Jaz said sarcastically, "Did those big bows tell us otherwise?"

Carter used her powers to make his combat avatar float. "Prepare for battle!"

"That is… a mansion?"

A projection of the view outside materialized in front of them. Actually, there were three projections: an overhead, bird's eye view of the ship and its surroundings on the lower right corner, a world map with a blinking red dot on the lower left, and the main 'screen' which gave a zoomed-in view of the front. Below the main screen were little window pop-ups of live camera feed of the places in the ship.

"This sci-fi stuff totally clashes with the vibe of the ship." Carrie commented. "And are those kids?"

Lou Ellen hummed thoughtfully, "That guy…"

Mike turned to her, "Know him?"

She shook her head, "But that magic…"

Lou Ellen thought about it for a moment before leaning towards her friend, "Mike, can I ask a favor from you?"

"Uh-oh."

I am the [God of the Sky], Carter, that is an atrocity to my [Domain].

"You don't say," he whispered under his breath. "You don't suppose they're hostile?"

We could ask them, but those ballistae aren't looking friendly.

As if on cue, the very ballista they were looking at fired at them.

It caught Carter by surprise, but the enhanced reflexes provided by his combat avatar made it easy to deflect it with a swat of his hand.

"Harley!" Alice looked over his shoulder, at the monitor with the cool circles.

"Not me, that was the automated system recognizing hostiles."

Leo groaned as the figure before evaded it with quick reflexes.

Jason looked at the screen, "…that's…"

The first blow has been struck.

In response, the falcon-headed being summoned strong winds. The morning news would report that this would be an unprecedented event, meteorologists would be baffled at its sudden appearance, even more was the fact that for such a strong one, it was mostly contained on an area of New York.

The strong winds were enough to make the aerial ships rumble and shake.

Inside the bridge, most of the people there had to grab on to something for support. Annabeth had to call out to everyone if they were unhurt, she herself crotched on the floor.

Lights flickered on and off, papers and scrolls were strewn around, a few trinkets and books had fallen from cabinets and bookshelves. The hologram before them flickered in and out before stabilizing.

"Warning," Galatea intoned, "Category 3 cyclone detected… recalculating… Category 4… no-"

"Engine room's a wreck you guys," Shane's Long Island accent could be heard from the comms.

"That fire can't be good," Lachlan's panicking before a loud smack was heard.

"Then help me put it out, ya damn schmegegge!" Christopher yelled, followed by what Annabeth could swear was the sound of a fire extinguisher being used was heard.

Nyssa was looking at her screen, "Minimal damage so far within the ship, as far as I can tell. But Chris is speaking in Yiddish so that couldn't be good."

Annabeth turned to Jason, "Jason?"

He was nowhere to be found. So was Lou Ellen and Mike.

Lacy called out to her, "Annabeth, look!" The preteen pointed at the bottom of the screen, to one of the CCTV camera feeds the ship had.

"I think this is the part where I say this is a bad idea." Mike said, following Jason's lead. Their leader had caught on to him and Lou trying to sneak out.

"You're right, Mike," Lou turned to him, "You should return to where the others are."

The ex-praetor was walking with such a militant pace, Mike literally had to run to keep up with him. Lou? She just glided in the air, using her magic to make herself float.

"You've done your job now, Mike," Jason said, not looking at him, "It would be better for you to prioritize your safety now."

Originally, Lou wanted to sneak out to see up-close the magic the falcon-headed dude was using. Lou needed someone to accompany her, so she asked Mike if he could accompany her. Now that Jason followed them, well...

"Yeah Mike, we have everything under control-" the ship swayed dangerously again, making him and Jason lose balance, as Lou tried to assist them.

"Forget it," Lou has a knack of getting herself in danger, "I'm coming with you guys."

"Where are you going?"

The three turned around and saw the new recruit, Alice, there.

"Go back," Jason said, "it isn't safe where we're going."

Alice's domino mask was all crooked, but she was able look at them with no problem, "Harley said you guys were acting suspicious and asked me to follow you guys."

Before anyone could reply, the ship rocked again, making them lose their balance.

Turns out, Walt was right. He had little to no affinity for sky-related magicks. So, he settled with an amulet that could transform into a large flying falcon. At first, Walt decided to climb on its back but decided not to when the ballistae started firing on Carter's form.

Good thing too because when it got into a certain distance, his large falcon was obliterated by the ship's ballistae.

Jaz was in the middle of an incantation. Since the flying ship opened fire at them, she began channeling the powers of the goddess she followed, an eerie red glow emitting from her body.

Carter had taken to fighting them head-on, using Horus' [Authority] as a [Sky Father] to summon strong winds.

Carter got everyone's attention. Jaz, caster magic to defeat them. Walt, well-

Walt then decided to be the as useful as he can be in this situation:

[ N'dah ]

the supporting role.

All three of them got enveloped in a bluish bubble.

Jason could feel the blood in his veins singing. The only time that ever happened was when he was flying in the air, whether it be riding a Pegasus. riding an airplane, or being hurled by monsters, it was the same – the heavens was happy that he was there with them.

Now, as he watched as the teen(?) floated and summoned storms, his first instinct was to see it. His next instinct now that he was looking at it was to destroy it.

Jupiter was his father, and as such, his existence was all but exalted - as far as the skies was concerned. But there was a sneaking suspicion that someone else, or rather, two people superseded him in that arena.

This boy was definitely not one of them. If anything, there was a certain familiarity to the young man's aura, but there was also hostility in that familiarity, like two predators in an impasse, where one wrong move could spell disaster.

The demigod blood in him didn't think much about calculating moves. It was vibrant, energized, and ready for a scuffle. He was using all his concentration to not go on autopilot and let his divine heritage do the talking.

The falcon-headed figure raised a hand again, increasing the strength of the tempest winds, but Jason.

Jason was here.

Raising his own hand, a bolt of lightning emerged from his hands, aiming straight for his foe.

I am Jason Grace
Pontifex Maximus of New Rome

Carter Kane saw the lightning bolt. But he was part storm too – Horus was his patron god. You cannot defeat a storm with another one. The strike merely tingled, like static electricity after wearing a wooly sweater: nothing noteworthy.

The boy, Jason was it? Bold claim to make about being a demigod of Roman gods, not like they exists.

Right?

But still, the Horus-influenced brain of his recognized what Jason was going. A spar. No, a fight. No, a match! No, no, no: a duel!

Carter felt Horus influence him further.

I am Carter Kane
Pharaoh of Egypt

"Shouldn't we help Jason?" Mike asked, watching their leader fought toe-to-toe with a behemoth.

Alice looked at the fight with sparkly eyes, "Kakkoii! Go Jason! Faighto! Kick his butt!"

Lou Ellen could feel magic around them hum with excitement. Someone other than her was not just channeling it but was using it like how magic wants to be used. Ambient magic was temperamental, and to manipulate them willy-nilly usually ended with disastrous results. They were like young kids aching to go play, and they knew no concept of morality and mortality.

This boy, Carter, used it to a terrifying degree she's only ever seen once – 'Hecate's Traitorous Golden Boy' Alabaster C. Torrington.

Carter reminded her of Alabaster, Hecate's Cabin's most accomplished and most tragic demigod.

"Look out!" Alice called out.

Jason being able to fly was not a surprise to Lou, nor was it a surprise on how Jason was able to summon elemental storm magic, but it paled in comparison to Carter being able to withstand the powers of a demigod of one of the Big Three. In fact-

"This is bad."

It wouldn't be obvious to someone who isn't well-versed in combat magic, but… Jason's labored breaths, his faltering tenacity, and the direction of where Jason and Carter were going to.

Jason was getting cornered.

He was going to lose if no one helped him. And who knows what'll happen if they lose.

"Mike," Lou Ellen called out. The strong wings made it hard to hear, "Watch the kid for me."

Mike couldn't react fast enough, "No, Lou! Don't go in there!"

Jason was their strongest, most capable demigod. Annabeth could rival (and possibly best) him when it came to the title 'most capable', but Annabeth was no powerhouse. With Percy gone, Nico with unreadable loyalties, and Thalia with the Huntresses, Jason was the only representative of the Big Three that could support the Camp. And the most qualified for the role of leader in Lou's opinion.

Nico wasn't as worldly as the others, Thalia was too jaded, and Percy was too pro-gods and single-minded to a fault. In comparison to them, Jason was leagues better than any of the three. Jason not only saw the trees in the forest, but he also had Annabeth's sensibilities.

In short, Jason had the pedigree, experience and abilities Camp Half-blood needed. To lose Jason would be a huge blow for Camp.

Gliding in the air, Lou tried to close the distance between her and Jason. Only to be stopped by a bug.

"Storm Magic," Walt whispered as he watched as Jason summon a storm from the tips of his fingers.

This isn't good. Are they from the opposing faction? Sarah Jacobi was known to employ destructive tactics but… to use storm magic?

Jaz let out a pained groan, "With this, it is done."

From the corner of his eyes, He saw them. Buzzing, flying.

It was a plague of locusts. One of the higher-tier magicks of healers.

Jaz tried to catch her breath, "Not just that," her smile was from ear to ear, "Look up!"

"Warning, sensors are picking up-"

Annabeth could see them on the screen. A swarm of locusts had appeared out of nowhere. Not that they could harm the ship, but-

"Bah," Jake smacked his good hand on his desk, "damn bugs blocked all cameras outside."

"What the heck is going on outside? What are all these damn bugs doing inside the engine room?" Lachlan's voice was annoyed, "Kill it. Kill it. Just step on these damn bugs- argh! They're in my shirt. Disgusting-"

Their screens were showing bugs until Alice's face came into view, she had swatted the bugs on the main camera using some sort of plastic stick with blinking lights, Mike carrying her over his shoulders.

Lacy turned to Annabeth, "What do we do now, Annabeth?"

"Retreat." That was the plan until Jason decided to disappear and go out. "We need Jason and the others back-"

There was a crash this time, from above. The ceiling!

"This is some bible shit right there." Leo said, trying to steer the ship away.

The storm outside made it extremely difficult doing so. First a swarm of locusts and now… "It's raining hail and fire!"

"Fuck this shit!" Harley said. "Nyssa, I need system clearance to use our flamethrowers."

Nyssa typed on her keyboard, "Already on it." She paused, "since when did I became a bridge bunny?"

"Nyssa!" Jake yelled at her, "Focus!"

"Oh, right, sorry."

"You too Leo, stay clear of any fireballs or ice that could damage the ship." Annabeth said.

"Copy that."

In the midst of all these, the Aphrodite kids were trying to keep themselves composed, but, cracks were starting to appear in their composed solidarity. In fact, "We're fucked," Delilah summarized in a whisper to Carrie.

Walt watched as an area of the ship gave way and, "Flamethrowers?"

The locusts burned at first, sending bugs into confusion until Jaz recuperated, "Well, I guess this'll be my first time trying to control this plague."

"Oh, are you now?" Walt saw a girl, floating in the air, descend towards them.

"Who're you? Are you working for Sarah Jacobi?" Walt asked.

"Huh?"

"Storm Magic! You would resort to Chaos Magic? For shame!"

The girl tilted her head, "What are you talking about? Magic is magic. Intent lies on its wielder. Besides, I just want to talk."

Walt narrowed his eyes, "Funny coming from the one who struck first."

The girl set her lips into a thin line, "Well, I guess talking it out's of the question then?" At their silence, she exhaled, "with that I ask," power coalesced in her palms,

"is that all the magic you command?"

Jason was losing. It wasn't a matter of his foe being better, because Jason could see his foe's attacks and could react accordingly. It wasn't a matter of power because as far as he was concerned, they had the same skillset and abilities. If he'd guess, it was a matter of who had better reserves. This was a battle of wills, in which to tire is to lose.

If he doesn't do anything, he'd-

"Dad!" He yelled as if his life depended on it, because it did. Help from his father rarely happened, but this was also an affront to his [Domain].

And as if on cue, thunder roared from the background and there was a flash of light.

When he opened his eyes, Jason was looking at a bolt of light.

He gasped. "This is…"

His father's [Symbol of Power].

No mortal or demigod could completely use this power freely. The power coursing through his veins, invigorating they may be, wasn't the overwhelming force that he thought it could've been.

Actually…

It was as if his father was loaning a small percentage of his [Authority] to him, while patting his back saying, "Go get 'em!"

Jason wasn't expecting much to a father that has always been absent from his life, but this…

He could feel his lips turning into a grin. "Thanks." Dad.

[Symbol of Power]

Horus' voice echoed in Carter's head.

Carter, we should battle more seriously now, our foe is-

Horus overtook Carter's body and summoned his khopesh. He made a slash to the side, which Carter saw. "That's an arrow."

Annabeth looked at the screen, "That's…"

From the clouds emerged a car.

"What a gaudy-colored Tesla," Carrie commented, but her sigh of relief was unmistakable.

On the Tesla was a beautiful male, golden-haired, strong-bodied, and carrying a bow.

Looking at the car made Annabeth's eyes hurt. It was the sun after all, but the one riding it-

"Apollo."

"Brother."

The god simply looked at the thing in Jason's hand before smirking at him.

He readied an arrow in his bow and let loose.

The single arrow flashed before multiplying and multiplying until a sea of arrows were sent flying, each targeting a locust with extreme accuracy.

He readied an arrow again, before another sun emerged from the clouds.

Annabeth watched as Egypt's Sun Boat emerged.

They need to retreat now. Annabeth wasn't well-versed in Egyptian myth but it all fell into place: the plagues, a falcon-headed being, and a boat that carried the sun – this was the Egyptian pantheon.

Annabeth didn't think much about other powers especially since the Greco-Roman power was the dominant power of the [West] but they were on the [East] side of the river.

Ever since antiquity, Egyptian powers have always been dominant on the [East].

Besides, since they struck first, no matter the angle, Argo II was at fault. Hence, retreat. Better lose face than be condemned as invaders in an inter-pantheon incident. How do we pull out Jason and the others?

"Galatea, prepare to fire net guns." She turned to Harley, "Harley, take aim."

"Shin Takarajima
新宝島"

Minato was looking at signage on their school entrance when felt someone nudge his sides.

"Neat, huh?" Suzu had tied her hair into an intricate bun, possibly one of Drew's creations again – the female demigod having taken the role of hairstylist for Suzu.

"I guess." He shrugged. "The student council knows their stuff, huh?"

"I have the DVD and everything, I could lend it to you. It's a classic!" Suzu said, tilting her head forward, noticing something on her shoe.

"I'm good." Besides, Minato doesn't have a TV of his own, let alone a DVD player.

"Suit yourself," she looked up, a jester's grin on her lips. "Anyway, what're the orders of our esteemed Jotei?"

Minato raised a brow. Sure, people joke about in even around Mayu (who took it in stride), but if there is power in words then… "How do you write that? [女帝]?" Empress, as in the Tarot card, or empress regnant – [she who wields an empire].

"Depending on who you're talking to." Suzu's smiled was sincere, as if remembering a fond memory with their female classmate, "I personally would write it as [上帝], since she's respected by all." Lord, or one of its many derivatives – [she who is most illustrious among all].

"Japanese characters are so hard." Drew said from behind.

Minato scrunched his brows. Semantics aside, it was amazing how Jotei fit Mayu. She gave directions with a sureness in her voice, appears to have a strong grasp on how to realize the class' vision, and was a highly sought-after classmate of theirs as of late. A Jotei alright.

Suzu tilted her head, "Maybe for a bilingual like you," she crossed her arms, "But, more importantly, shouldn't you be in class? We're filming again today."

Drew's eyes widened, "Oh yeah, I forgot. See you around guys."

Suzu waved at her other friend before turning to Minato, "Shall we go, Minato-kun? The drafts for our pamphlets aren't going to pick themselves."

On their way to pick up their designs, Suzu tapped her shoulder. "Minato-kun, isn't that Mayu's friend?"

"Sorry, I'm late." School was finally over. Just like most of the student body, Ethan Nakamura couldn't really focus in class today. But while his schoolmates were preoccupied in making their bunkasai a success, Ethan was more preoccupied with a certain someone. "Have you waited long, commander?"

They were in a konbini, lounging by the entrance as other students and patrons milled about.

"Please," the teen said, waving a hand, "That title doesn't suit a loser like me."

There were bags underneath his green eyes, as if he hasn't slept soundly for quite some time now. His brown hair was unkempt, his clothing more so – appearing to be tattered and ridden with holes. "You look…"

Once upon a time, there was a verdant luster in Alabaster's gaze, now-

"I look awful." Alabaster followed it with a laugh, sincere, but self-deprecating. "But that is neither here nor there."

Ethan handed him an onigiri he'd bought from the konbini.

Alabaster had to look away; the once brilliant leader of Kronos' army was reduced to this…

"This is good, what is this?"

"Onigiri." Ethan said, looking at anything but him.

"A what?"

"A rice ball." Came from a new voice.

Ethan turned, "Arisato-san and-"

"Just call me Suzu." The girl introduced herself with a slight bow, her English accent sounding off. Serviceable but off.

Quickly, Alabaster snapped a finger, "Not to worry, I am able to speak in Japanese."

The girl clapped, "So cool! Are you Īsan-kun's friend?"

Ethan could see [Mist] focusing over Alabaster's mouth and ears, blurring it, translating it. He was using magic.

"I guess you could call me that."

"Are you sure about that?" Minato's voice had cut into the easy atmosphere. His gaze looking directly into Ethan.

Suzu turned to Minato, "Minato-kun. That isn't very nice."

Ethan had to chip in, unsure how to react to a hostile Minato. "Yeah, we go way back. Don't we, Alabaster?"

Alabaster in turn only looked at Minato challengingly, "I guess we do. But that isn't really your business, isn't it? Minato, was it?"

Minato stared at him before placing a hand over his chin, "I suppose." He made a slight wave of his hand.

The [Mist] dissipating from Alabaster's mouth and ears, shocking the green-eyed boy. "But it would be remiss to obfuscate the truth from lies, Alabaster." Minato's English was impeccable, accent neutral. But his words was there, 'there will be none of that magic shenanigans here.'

"Come Suzu, let's not keep Mayu waiting." Minato turned to Suzu.

Suzu merely pouted before nodding, "I guess, sorry about that. It was nice meeting you though."

Alabaster's eyes didn't leave Minato's back even the Japanese boy was meters away from them. Only when they were out of sight did Alabaster let his guard down.

"Who the heck was that?"

"He's…" Ethan began, but the flash of a camera caught his attention.

-snap-

"Drats!" Another female voice yelled from afar.

Ethan looked at it's origin and recognized her. Sitting two seats away from him, the school's self-described ace reporter. "Ruri-san, what the hell?"

She didn't even give him a glance, her eyes busy looking at the clunky camera in her hands, "Sorry about that Nakamura-san, but I'm in the middle of chasing after a scoop!"

She appeared to have found a good photo before delating, "Aw man, just when I thought I had it." She looked up, "Sorry, but can you point me to where Arisato-san went off to?"

"You have to nail two shots, Harley. Otherwise we'll leave one of them behind." Annabeth said, walking over to Harley, and peeking on his monitor.

The Sun Boat has begun an all-out assault, sending attacks of every shape and size.

"I could make that shot... if Leo would stop moving the ship around!" Harley said, adjusting the wii controller in his hands. On his screen, Annabeth could see that a mark was trying to settle in on Jason, evading attacks made by the Egyptian pantheon.

"No can do, kiddo," Leo said, steering the ship, "I slow down one bit and game over for us."

"And…" Harley began, "There!"

First shot, success. In fact, they managed to grab Apollo and his car too.

On the screen, Jason struggled at first before realizing that he was being pulled towards the Argo II.

"Good job, Harley, now do it again for Lou."

Luckily, for them, Lou noticed what they were doing and decided to float away, but not before giving the two people she was fighting at a very crude sign with her fingers.

"Don't do that, okay Harley?" Nyssa called.

"I know!" …and shoot! And line and sinker, or something to that effect. Lou was now safely secured.

"Okay Leo, everyone's accounted for. We retreat!"

"On it!" Leo began, "Grab on something!"

And with twist on ship's wheel, Argo II made for a hasty retreat.

-boom!-

The ship groaned as a particularly strong blast from the Sun Boat hit them point blank. It was like, a concentrated ray of the sun-

Annabeth looked over, "Galatea, report!"

"Calculating damage… calculating… warning: ship's overall capacity only at 38%..."

Nyssa was typing furiously, "Well, the ship's protective magic's obliterated, but that's only because it did it's job properly."

"Fire! Fire again! Where's the fire extinguisher?"

"Calm down and focus on putting out the fire!"

"You okay over there, Engine room?" Annabeth asked.

"We'll survive, but-"

-crash-

"Leo!" One of the Aphrodite kids called out, "Get your shit together, we're getting creamed here."

"I know, so shut up!" he moved the ship's wheel again which made it rock to the side. The whiplash made Lacy fall from her seat.

"Warning: ship is now below 20% efficiency." Galatea's voice intoned.

Annabeth saw the screen. The screen that showed them where they are on the world map was now static. The one that fed them sight of their location from a bird's eye perspective was cutting in and out.

The door emerged, and Jason and the other entered the bridge, "What the fuck's going on?"

Nyssa was typing on her console again, "That sun boat thing's giving chase."

Also with them was, "Damn Egyptians!"

"Apollo!" Annabeth didn't have time to be surprised, the ship was barely operational at this point.

The god in question merely strode to the ship's wheel and picked Leo by the collar, "you're a tinker, not a navigator of the [Skies]."

He turned to Jason, "Lead us to safety, brother."

"Jason," Annabeth only noticed what he had in his hands, "That's…"

Jason had visible aura on him. And his eyes were brighter. He let go of that… thing… in his hands and the lightning dissipated with a flash of light. "Thanks dad." He whispered before going to the ship's wheel.

He took hold of the wheel, and Annabeth swore the ship hummed to life.

Jason felt the knowledge pouring into his head. As if on instinct, he knew how to navigate this airship.

But he was going at this blind. The camera only showed them the view of the ship at the front, and with the strong winds, the torrential rain of fire and ice, and that sun boat shooting lasers of doom at them, he needed all the help he could get in this one.

"Annabeth, I need an escape route."

Annabeth nodded, "We can't lead them through the Camp, I don't think our Camp's defenses can handle the power of the sun raining down hell on them."

"Okay. I trust your judgement, Annabeth, but please, I'll need that plan as soon as possible."

He then turned to his friend, "Leo, I need eyes." Jason twirled the wheel which made them tilt to the right.

"What does that mean?"

"I can only see what's in front of us," Jason began, before a rainbow appeared in front of him.

From the view, Mike's head appeared. "Hey, Jason, I'm still outside."

A fist started to hit him on the head, Jason then noticed that there were two knees by his ears, "E-yo! It's me again, magical girl Chocolat Parfait, at your service!"

"Alice?" Harley called out, walking towards the Iris Message.

"Yep! I made Mike here call you guys inside."

Mike tried to swat the fists hurting him, "There, I called them, now will you please stop hitting me? We need to get back inside-ack! Damn insects."

Jason steered the wheel again, making the ship angle to the left this time. A crash rumbled in the ship, "Actually, Mike, hold that thought for a minute."

"Jason!" Annabeth exclaimed, scandalized, "You can't be thinking-"

"Sorry, Annabeth, it's either that or we all go down."

"Don't worry, Jason-sama I know what you need. You need someone out here to serve as your eyes, right? I noticed that earlier when these bugs tried to block all the cameras." Alice said, moving her knees, making Mike lose his balance.

"You're very smart to notice that, Alice. Thank you." Jason said.

"Ha! All in the day's work for a phantom thief like me! Now, no evildoer will stand up against the might of… er… what's this ship called again?"

"Argo II!" Leo yelled, annoyed.

"Ew… I'm calling her Galatea. She's the spirit of the ship anyway."

Jason didn't have time to stop the two from bickering, because he turned to Lou, "Ms Lou Ellen, can you go outside and use your magic to guard the two from harm?"

Lou nodded, before floating towards the exit.

Jason then turned to Aphrodite's kids. "Lacy," The young blonde stood up, ready for attention.

"Ah, none of that. I'm just your fellow camper."

Delilah stood up, "Well?"

Carrier and the others followed, "What do we do?"

He placed them around the room, by the windows. "Keep your distance, we don't want you guys to get hurt if the windows get smashed."

Leo actually registered what Jason said and stopped his angry tirade at the Hermes' kid, "Well, there's binoculars on the-"

Nyssa looked up from her console, "Leo, just hand them over."

Leo looked sheepish, "Oh, right." He then ran to the side, opened a random chest and brought out binoculars. He then handed them to the scattered Aphrodite kids.

"Annabeth, we've got eyes." A crash, they rocked for a bit, "we could use that plan now."

Annabeth took a deep breath before nodding.

"Okay-"

"They're retreating!" Jaz yelled triumphantly.

"But wait," Walt said, trying to trace the trajectory of the ship's direction, "it's turning around?"

"Not to worry, the Sun Boat's-"

"Wait, what?"

It was ambitious, alright.

It was obvious that the Sun Boat was trying to direct them further into the sea, but Annabeth was having none of that.

They were safer the closer they are to civilization. This wasn't an [East] or [West] thing anymore, it was [they will live for as long as Argo II is near the shores of New York].

Annabeth took a huge gamble on that one: actually, she guessed that since this was a pantheon they were up against, they wouldn't do any harm on the very people they were so depended on.

Alas, that meant that they too had to be careful in making sure that the city was left unaffected.

She took a risk and it paid off. The laser beams weren't being fired at them haphazardly anymore. Even the plague of rain and fire had stopped. The locusts were still there but they were starting to thin out.

"Annabeth, the ship's going to fire it's laser again." Lacy said, peeking with her binoculars.

"Jason! Evasive maneuvers!" Galatea's functions had been crippled by the ship's damage, so they had to depend on this themselves.

"Everybody, hang on to something!"

"Wait-"

-crash-

The ship rocked, but they'll live.

"Annabeth!" Carrie said, "we're going back into the ocean again!"

"No, not to worry."

In fact, that was her plan all along. As this was the sun they were up against, the Sun Boat cannot go from [West] to [East]. Because the sun rises from the east and sets on the west. It's a fact.

"Amazing!" Lou yelled thoroughly impressed, "You made use of a [Law] to our advantage! That the sun can never do a U-turn!"

This whole time, Annabeth was guiding them to go from the coasts of New York city, to straight back into the sea. Perfect too because with direction they're going to, they wouldn't be near that mansion that had those kids.

"Alice," Jason called out, "Can you see anything that might harm us?"

"Uhm," the girl paused, "I don't think so. Clear blue skies from as far as I can-"

"Warning… Argo II's levitation matrix has reached maximum strain and is currently overloading." Galatea began.

"Levitation matrix?" Jason turned to Leo.

"The magical script that made the ship float-"

"Oh no." Jake began.

"What?" Delilah asked. "What's gonna happen?"

Annabeth had a sneaking suspicion. "Everyone, grab hold to something, we're about to-"

"Ah! We're falling!"