In which Frank, Hazel and Leo get gifts.
Replies:
Undeath9087: Yeah, I never liked the tension between Frank, Hazel and Leo, so I decided to just get rid of it, as ya do. And you shall have to wait and see.
Weirdhead: To avoid the politics- I'd guess that it's because they'd be worried about stuff like favoritism- I mean, people would probably treat their kings daughter better than most of their students automatically. And honestly- I did consider doing a little extract of what would have happened if Percy hadn't been stopped by Hera- just to torture everyone by knowing what could have been.
AkitoshTheBold: Sounds like a great guy right?! And honestly I have no clue how the magic works, all I know is it does lol.

"In any case." Bythos spoke again. "We will do what we can to speed you safely across the Atlantic without further interference from Keto's monsters, but be warned: in the ancient sea, the Mare Nostrum, more dangers await."

Frank sighed. "Naturally."

Bythos clapped the big guy on the shoulder. "You will be fine, Frank Zhang. Keep practicing those sea life transformations. The koi fish is good, but try for a Portuguese man-of-war. Remember what I showed you. It's all in the breathing."

Frank looked mortally embarrassed. Leo bit his lip, determined not to smile. As much as he was used to teasing his friends, he wasn't sure if Frank would be used to being teased like that yet and he'd rather not ruin his chances of being good friends with the guy.

"And you, Hazel," Aphros said, "come visit again, and bring that horse of yours! I know you are concerned about the time you lost, spending the night in our realm. You are worried about your sister Bianca..."

Hazel gripped her cavalry sword. "Is she—do you know where she is?"

Aphros shook his head. "Not exactly. But when you get closer, you should be able to sense her presence. Never fear! You must reach Rome the day after tomorrow if you are to save her, but there is still time. And you must save her."

"Yes," Bythos agreed. "She will be essential for your journey. I am not sure how, but I sense it is true."

Aphros planted his hand on Leo's shoulder. "As for you, Leo Valdez, stay close to Hazel and Frank when you reach Rome. I sense they will face…ah,
mechanical difficulties that only you can overcome."

"Mechanical difficulties?" Leo asked.

Aphros smiled as if that was great news. "And I have gifts for you, the brave navigator of the Argo II!"

"I like to think of myself as captain," Leo said. "Or supreme commander."

"Brownies!" Aphros said proudly, shoving an old-fashioned picnic basket into Leo's arms. It was surrounded by a bubble of air, which Leo hoped would keep the brownies from turning into saltwater fudge sludge. "In this basket you will also find the recipe. Not too much butter! That's the trick. And I've given you a letter of introduction to Tiberinus, the god of the Tiber River. Once you reach Rome, your friend the daughter of Athena will need this."

"Annabeth…" Leo said. "Okay, but why?"

Bythos laughed. "She follows the Mark of Athena, doesn't she? Tiberinus can guide her in this quest. He's an ancient, proud god who can be…difficult; but letters of introduction are everything to Roman spirits. This will convince Tiberinus to help her. Hopefully."

"Hopefully," Leo repeated.

Bythos nodded, "And you three are indeed lucky." he was looking behind them, "You shall have a personal escort to the word above-" and Leo turned his head to look, his gaze focusing on a tall handsome man with green skin, long back hair tied back into a ponytail and twin tails instead of just one like most of the mermen. Leo had never met him before but he knew the god from description alone and he grinned- though Frank and Hazel just looked confused.

"Hey, you're Prince Triton right? Percy's big brother-"

"You know many people know me much better as the son of Poseidon- but I must admit I quite like being known for being Persephone's big sister. And you are Leo Valdez, her baby brother."

"Yep. Does that make us brothers by association or something?"

"Perhaps." Triton chuckled, "I've already spoken to my little sister, she will undoubtedly be up on your ship waiting for your return- I promised her I'd make sure you three got back safely-"

"Prince?" Hazel's voice was shocked and Leo grinned.

"Yeah, Poseidon is the King of the Sea, Triton is his so son technically he's a Prince."

"Yes, and technically young Persephone is a Princess-"

"Though you shouldn't call her that unless you want her to brutally murder you." Leo pulled a face, "Ethan learned that lesson the hard way." he shifted his grip on the basket of brownies.

"Yes, my sister is known for being rather fierce at times." Triton's lips twitched faintly. "I would not pick a fight with her myself I know that much."

"Well that's because Percy is unstoppable." Leo stated simply.

"I would wholeheartedly agree." Triton nodded, "Now, I would like to escort you three to the surface. Once you've safely made it up there I will have to go back to Atlantis."

"Of course." Leo nodded, "So, let's get going then."

And Leo had to admit, riding currents could be pretty fun- he, Hazel and Frank gathered close together and Triton used his powers to shift the water, creating a current that sped them upwards- whilst he kept pace besides them with a practised ease.

Leo spent most of the ride letting out loud whoops of excitement- it was so fast and bumpy that it reminded him of a roller coaster, it made his heart pound- and out of the corner of his eye Leo could see that Hazel was laughing wildly too- and Frank- he resisted the urge to laugh, Frank was clinging onto Hazel like a lifeline- as if if he let go of her he'd be tossed away and left behind.

And soon enough they were just below the surface, and Triton stopped the currents, nodding at the three demigods, "This is where I leave you." his voice was firm, "Leo, please tell my sister I said goodbye."

"Of course." Leo nodded, kicking his legs lightly-it didn't really do anything but the movement was automatic.

"Thank you. For bringing us back to our friends." Hazel spoke up, offering Triton a small smile as she grabbed Frank's hand.

"It was no problem-" Triton's lips twitched as he looked at Frank, "Perhaps you can all visit once this is over- your family were one of Father's favored lines-"

"Right." Frank flushed at that and Leo grinned slightly. "Still feels weird- I'm not used to knowing that-"

"And before you three go-" Triton waved his hand and three green/blue abalone rings were suddenly floating in the water in front of the three demigods.
Leo grabbed his quickly, looking at it curious, "Uh, thank you?" he slipped it onto his pinky finger- it was a small ring- and he was right, it felt like a perfect fit."

"They are enchanted." Triton explained, "As long as you are wearing them you will be able to breath underwater. It won't protect you against the water pressure at deeper depths but-"

"Thank you." Hazel was putting hers on and admiring it-and Frank was doing much the same. "We weren't- you really didn't have to-"

"My little sister cares for you three." Triton pointed out, "It's not much- I may be a god but I am not as powerful as my father. But I want to do what I can to give her some peace of mind, and while it's not much in the way of protection it is something- especially as you're sailing-"

"You make a good point." Leo grinned, "Seriously dude, thank you."

"Yeah." Frank nodded, an earnest look on his face, "It means a lot to have a god helping us even if you can't do much."

"I will always do what I can to help my sister." Triton's voice was firm, "Now I'll bid you goodbye." and with that the water was pushing them upwards, upwards and out of the water- and Leo let out a yelp as they broke through- and they kept moving upwards, the water was still around their waists and torso's, encasing them as they surged up and over the edge of the ship, Leo smashing directly into Percy- who had been in the middle of rushing to the side of the ship to see what was happening- and Leo instantly wrapped his arms around his big sister- she seemed to be the only one on deck- then again based on where the sun was in the sky it was probably very early.

She looked better than she had when he'd last seen her, being rushed down to get healed up by Will after that jackass Octavian had thrown one of Rachel's knives into Percy's back. Literally.

"Percy. Thank the gods you're okay now."

"I'm fine." Percy hugged him tightly, "Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine-" that came from Frank- and then- "Look out!"

And Leo turned his head, yelping as Percy swept him to the side- and a picnic basket landed where he'd just been stood.

Leo blinked slowly down at it before he let out a shaky laugh, "Aphros' brownies, didn't even realise I'd forgotten them."

"Aphros?" Percy's voice was almost eager, "Who's Aphros- you guys are really okay?"

"Of course." Hazel gave Percy a reassuring smile, "Your brother escorted us back to the surface personally."

"He kept his promise." Percy's smile made Leo want to hug her tighter- it was almost childlike for just a moment- or, if not childlike than it suited their actual ages- it was strange to think that none of the seven of the prophecy were even eighteen years old. Leo knew he acted childish a lot but- he often felt ancient- all demigods seemed to have to grow up too fast, but Percy had grown up far far too fast especially. He missed the early days- before Mount Orthys- sure she'd been stressed at times, she'd already had some trauma but she'd been so much happier in those days- and in the early days of her relationship with Annabeth and Rachel she'd seemed so happy. It pained him to see her so exhausted- so seeing her grinning like a little kid who'd just been given a present?

Yeah, yeah that was pretty nice in his not so humble opinion.

"Of course he did." Frank gave a small smile, "He's your brother and it's pretty obvious that he loves you."

"He seemed to like you too." Leo shot at Frank, "He said about your line is one of Poseidon's favorites or something right?"

"Yeah." Frank rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look on his face, "He seemed pretty nice. And he gave us gifts?"

"He did?" Percy tilted her head curiously, "What did he give you?"

"These." Leo held out his hand so that Percy would be able to see the ring, "Apparently as long as we're wearing them we'll be able to breath under water- which I gotta admit, being on a ship is probably a good idea."

"Yeah, yeah it is." Percy shifted so that she could wrap an arm around Hazel's shoulder as well as Leo's. "Gods I'm so glad you're back. Come on, we'll wake the others and once we've done that we can figure out what to do next. And you can fix up your baby for us Leo-"

"I should have known." Leo winked, "That's the only reason you keep me around. To fix things."

"Well it is your best quality-"

"And here I thought that was my charm and good looks."

"That too." Percy tucked Leo into her side, letting him rest his head on her shoulder, turning her head slightly to rest her chin on his head. "Now. Let's go get this over with so we can move on and get on with this so we can kick Queen Dirt Faces butt."