LEO

I couldn't believe what happened.

Everything was just such a blue. We had secured the grapping lines the the Athena Parthenos just as the floor had given way and webbing snapped. Jason and Frank had gone to save Percy and Annabeth, but when he came back up, he only saw a very angry Percy, struggling to get out of Jason's grip and into the pit. He was screaming, something about how they couldn't be separated again, shifting from anger to desperation when it came to getting into the pit.

The pit was quickly buried under several tons of debris, and I pulled the Argo II out of the cavern seconds before the entire place fell apart. Now, we were parked on a hill, overlooking the city. In the time it took to get here, Piper had used charmspeak to get Percy to sleep. It was the only way to keep him in the Argo II while we left.

Hazel, Frank, and Jason had all gone back to the parking lot to try and dig a way out for Annabeth, but they came back hopeless. They didn't need to say that they couldn't find one—you could see it just by the look on their faces. They said that the whole cavern was gone and that there were way too many police officers and rescue workers to really take the time to look around.

The overall atmosphere in the ship was filled with grief and sadness. I could practically hear Annabeth nagging them and saying that the only thing to do now was to continue the quest. She'd be pissed if everyone just moped around for her instead of staying focused.

The others and I carefully loaded the Athena Parthenos in the hold, and I had told Coach Hedge to prepare for departure instead of continuing to beat himself up.

I had hoped to keep everyone busy. Not to forget, but to just keep their minds off it for a while. I rested his hand on the Archimedes sphere, and that's when I knew I just couldn't do it.

I should have been happy, but I had lost too much for it.

"It's my fault," I said, my heart weighing as much as the fallen parking lot.

"No," Hazel's voice broke through to him. "No, this is Gaea's fault. It has nothing to do with you."

As much as I wanted to believe that, I couldn't.

Hazel seemed to want to argue, but before he could, we heard the door open abruptly, capturing all our attention.

"Annabeth," Percy said. "Whe-where is she?"

Nobody wanted to say anything. It was a mixture of both not being wanting to be the messenger and not wanting to say it aloud. Saying it made it too real.

"Percy," Piper began softly. "Frank, Hazel, and Jason all went back to try and find her, but…" Piper couldn't seem to find the end to the sentence. Percy looked at Jason, who stood up and walked to him.

"We tried, we really did," he began, his voice raspy. "But the whole cavern seemed to have disappeared. The whole place was flooded with people. We couldn't find her." Jason's eyes met Percy's, and that seemed to be enough. "She's gone."

I expected Percy to freak out again, like he did earlier, but there was an awful stillness to him. His eyes seemed so empty as he registered what had happened.

"But she's not dead," Nico said, now calling the attention to him. He leaned against his black sword. "I'd be able to feel it if she was. She isn't dead, Percy."

Percy seemed to be at odds with himself, both trying to comfort himself with this while not trying to think what everybody else had to be thinking.

Nobody was sure if she could make it to the Doors of Death.

"Annabeth made me promise to get you guys there, so we should go. I bet she's planning on meeting us there. If we can survive the House of Hades, fight our way through Gaea's forces, then maybe we can work with her to seal the Doors of Death from both sides."

"And get her back safely?" Percy asked.

"Maybe."

I didn't like the way Nico answered that, like he knew something that the others didn't. I knew a bit about locks and doors, and I wasn't sure how she could seal the door without staying in the Underworld. I don't doubt that that was exactly what Nico was thinking, too.

"I don't know how she'll manage it, but she's Annabeth. If anybody can think of a plan to do it, then she can," Nico answered. Percy nodded in agreement, but seemed to be deep in thought about the whole ordeal too.

"It won't be easy," Percy warned. "Gaea will do anything to keep us from sealing the doors. Then again, what else is new?"

"We've got no choice. We have to seal the doors before the giants can raise Gaea. Otherwise, her armies will never die," Piper said. "We've got to hurry, too. The Romansare in New York. Soon, they'll be marching on the camp."

"We've got one month at best," Jason said. "Ephialtes said Gaea would awaken in exactly one month."

"We can do it," I said, getting everybody's attention. "The Archimedes sphere can upgrade the ship, and I'll study those ancient scrolls we got. There's got to be all kinds of new weapons I can make. We'll hit Gaea's armies with a whole new kind of hurt."

Festus creaked his jaw and blew fire defiantly, seeming to agree.

Jason managed a smile and clapped me on the shoulder. "Sounds like a plan, Admiral. Want to set the course?"

I knew they were kidding, but I accepted the title this time. It was my ship, and I hadn't come this far just to be stopped. So help me, I would do anything I can to find the House of Hades, get to the Doors, and get Annabeth out of Tartarus.

I looked outside, taking in the view one last time. "Yeah. Festus, raise the sails. We've got a friend to save."