Leo groaned as he came to, aware of the bright lights above him.

"I hate this song."

YMCA was being blasted.

"Really? But it's so catchy!"

Leo's eyes popped open, and he realized his back was to Max and Bing. All three of them were tied up together, still in the dancing hall. Leo couldn't move his arms; his hands were tied behind his back.

"Guys?" He managed to croak out.

"Good, you're awake, make it stop!" Max whined from next to him.

"I really think the music is the least of our worries," Bing admitted, glancing around nervously at the dancers around them.

"What do we do?" Max asked.

Leo gulped, looking around the hall. The gears he was sure that were in his mind were turning rapidly. He was looking for options.

"Leo?"

"I'm thinking." That was a fancy way of saying he was stalling.

His companions, of course, already knew that. Leo knew they were probably both rolling their eyes right now.

Truth was, he didn't exactly see any options for them. They were surrounded on all sides, not only by the creepily in-sync dancers, but the polo-cladded employees as well.

The music track screeched to a stop, only for the Macarena to come on. Max whimpered from behind him.

"I can't believe they aren't allowing us to dance!" Bing whispered. "This is torture!"

"Yeah, that's torture," Max snapped sarcastically.

Mona appeared from the crowd, sneering and with her clipboard in hand. She motioned to some of her fellow employees, all who started surrounding the three of them.

Wordlessly, the employees approached them. Two men flanked Leo on both sides, each grabbing one of his arms.

"Alright, fellas, let's not get hasty-" Leo said with a nervous laugh, his words cut off as he was yanked up.

The men cut the binds on Leo's lower extremities, and the two of them led him through the crowd. He caught a brief glimpse of Max and Bing, both being led away similarly.

The men led him back out into the hallway, which was completely abandoned. The silence unnerved him.

"Bet you guys can't guess what number I'm thinking of," Leo prodded at the men, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of them.

To no avail- nada.

They brought Leo to an unmarked door. One of the men kicked it out, throwing Leo in. He landed on the ground with a grunt.

"Leo?" came a frightened whisper.

"Bing? Is that you?"

"Yes!" Leo placed his hands up to the wall separating him and where Bing's voice was coming from. "Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Max is here too, on my other side. Max, say hi to Leo!"

Leo waited to hear Max's hello, but heard nothing. He figured the distance between the two of them was too much.

"I can't hear him, Bing."

"Oh. Well, he says hello and he wants to get out of here."

"Him and me both."

Leo sighed, taking in the sight of his tiny, metal cell. It didn't look like there were many exit points, except for the door he came into through and a few bars a couple feet overhead.

"Hey, guys, any good exits in your cells?"

"The door."

"Thanks, Bing," Leo said with a sigh.

"Max says the door too. He also said something else I won't be repeating, if you catch my drift."

"Maxipedia!" Leo yelled out, hoping that would be the one thing Max could hear.

"What do you think they're going to do to us?" Bing asked tearfully. After a second, Bing scolded, "Maxwell! We're not going to be demigod and satyr ceviche!"

Another beat passed, a beat in which Leo didn't say anything.

"Right, Leo? We aren't going to be ceviche?" Bing asked hopefully.

Leo snapped his fingers together, waiting for his usual, signature spark. He felt himself frown as it never came. Something had to be up with the room- something was blocking his powers.

"I've never had ceviche," he finally spoke up.

"So not a helpful answer," Bing muttered.

"Max?" A voice called out.

Leo heard what he was sure was the sound of Bing jumping.

"Who's there?" Leo called out.

"Erhm, it's Roger…and Ernest and Marg!"

"We've come to rescue you!" Marg's voice cheerfully rang out. "This is so exciting!"

The sound of Bing's crying echoed off the walls.

"You guys," he said dramatically. "Are the best friends I've ever had."

"Really, Bing?" Leo said. "Might I remind you that everyone on this ship was just trying to kill us two seconds ago?"

"Leo, we want to help, we promise!" Ernest called out.

"Oh, I'm suddenly convinced," Leo snapped back sarcastically.

"Max wants to know if you have a better idea," Bing said flatly.

"Yeah, tons-"

"Here's an idea, I've got a bolt cutter, maybe you'd like to use it?" Roger cut it.

"Rog, I think this is the start of something beautiful."

The bolt cutters appeared between the bars above Leo's head. Leo stepped onto his toes, grasping the cutters and taking them. Grunting, he cut the bars overhead.

"Okay…I'm gonna get a running start and try to jump up to the window, okay?"

"But, Leo, you're so short!" Bing protested.

Leo felt his cheeks heat up. "Okay, I'm not that short-"

"You were jumping?" Ernest cut in.

"Right. Here I come."

He pressed himself up against the back wall as much as he could, getting himself ready. After a quick exhale, he ran forward, leaping up and projecting himself towards the window. His fingers ached as they dug into the ledge.

"Come on!" A hand popped up from the other side, reaching out to him.

Leo grabbed the hand, using it to pull himself the rest of the way, grunting as he squeezed through.

He awkwardly almost fell on his head, as Roger and Ernest quickly rushed forward to catch him.

"Are you alright?" Ernest asked in a concerned tone, grabbing his elbow to help him up.

"Get off me!" Leo snapped, brushing them away.

"Leo!" Bing scolded. "You be nice to our friends!"

"No, okay-" Leo scrambled up, holding his hands out in front of him. Ernest, Roger, and Marg all took a nervous step back. "I've seen Night at the Museum, I know sometimes old people can be the villains."

Roger rolled his eyes.

"For heaven's sake, relax. The entire ship has gone mad and is doing the Macarena, we know something is up."

Leo paused. "You do?"

Roger pointed at him menacingly. "And we know you three have something to do with it."

Marg shook her head rapidly. "And we don't want to know! We just figured you kids need to get out of here- and fast."

Leo paused again, taking a second to look at the three people standing before him. Was it possible that they were just clueless mortals who had been swept up into this? And for some reason actually wanted to help? Why weren't they also affected by the spell everyone else seemed to be under?

"Fine," Leo finally decided, realizing their best bet was to team up with the local retirement community. "Could you guys help me get the other two out?"

Roger came prepared for a prison break; Leo watched as he pulled several tools out of his pockets, already tinkering away. It sent a jealous pang through Leo as he thought of the tool belt he pawned off.

A door suddenly swung open, a wide-eyed Bing appearing from behind it.

"You," he said, jabbing a finger at Leo. "Better apologize to our friends for saving us."

"Bing-"

"No time for apologies," Roger said curtly, heading towards Max's cell.

"You've already been forgiven, dear," Marg said, pinching Leo's cheek.

"Gotta say," Max appeared from his cell, giving Roger a quick handshake. "Not hearing Leo talk for twenty minutes was the most peace I've ever had in my life."

"Hey, now, Maxipedia-"

"Alright, team, what now?" Ernest asked excitedly.

"Well, we know the ship is after you guys," Roger looked over at them suspiciously. "Care to tell us why…?"

An awkward silence fell among the group. Leo exchanged looks with both Bing and Max. How could they begin to explain anything? How long had Ernest, Marg, and Roger been on this ship themselves? Why weren't they affected by the ship's spell now?

"We're…different?" Max supplied weakly. "That should be obvious by the fact that we're on a seniors cruise."

"It's hard to explain," Bing said with a timid smile. "There are…certain forces beyond our power that may be at play on this ship."

"You've said enough," Roger said, holding a hand up. "If it's beyond logic, I don't want to know."

"I lost my copy of the ship's blueprint," Max told Roger. "You wouldn't happen to know…?"

"We can get you back to the deck, no problem. I'm just wondering how you three plan to escape from a ship that's surrounded by water on all sides?"

Leo, Bing, and Max all immediately looked at one another, the same thought hitting them.

"Festus!" Leo exclaimed.

Bing nervously wrung his hands together.

"I don't think we have time to get him, do we? What if those employees come back?"

"We can't leave him," Max quickly interjected.

Leo looked over at Max, surprised. Max was hardly a fan of Festus.

Max met Leo's eyes, and shrugged.

"You're right, he grew on me."

"Of course he did," Leo said with a grin. "Who doesn't like a freaking metal dragon?"

"Dragon?" Ernest asked, confused.

"Dog," Leo said quickly. "Festus is…our dog. We left him in the control room….the one where they found us."

"You don't like dogs?" Mag asked Max.

Max shrugged sheepishly. "I'm allergic."

"Control room?" Roger repeated. "Alright, we'll go there to grab the dog- how on earth did you get a dog on a ship?-and take you to the deck…?"

"And we've got it covered from there," Leo said. "Trust me."

Roger shrugged, turning back toward the corridor and beckoning the group to follow him. The six of them ran, following Roger as he twisted and turned throughout the ship.

As they turned another corner, they reached a blockage: a group of elderly folk, all dancing in unison.

Bing shrieked, making Leo wince- he made a mental note to talk about Bing's dramatics after this.

"Quick!" Bing exclaimed. "Everyone start moonwalking!"

Bing started moonwalking with tears streaming down his face, as the rest of the group stared at him.

"Do we have to?" Ernest whispered to Max.

"Do I look like I moonwalk?" Max deadpanned back with a serious expression on his face.

"No need to," Leo said, flicking his hand, a spark igniting.

He wasn't sure what the other three were seeing, but their eyes went wide.

"Leo," Max said in a warning tone.

"I'm not going to hit anyone," he reassured Max. He truly wasn't- not when these people were probably under a spell and not acting of their own accord.

He aimed the spark at the ceiling, sending it flying. It hit the ceiling tile with a smack, sending the hallway into darkness.

Someone- Bing, probably,- screamed, grabbing onto Leo.

He lit another spark, a tiny one, just enough to illuminate his face.

"Follow me, guys," he instructed.

He felt more hands grab onto him, as they all stumbled through the darkness, pushing through the confused crowd.

"Ow!" Leo suddenly exclaimed, running into something.

"I believe that's probably the door," Max muttered.

"Genius, Maxipedia."

Leo fumbled for the door knob, and finally the light from the control room flooded the hallway. Quickly, he ushered the group into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Where is he?" He exclaimed, looking around the control room for Festus's signature carry-on mode. The only thing he spotted was the red telephone receiver on the ground. He looked over at Bing and Max. "He's not here!"

"Does he respond to his name? 'Here, boy', perhaps?" Marg offered.

Leo bit his lip to prevent any sarcastic quip from coming out.

"No, he's not quite trained yet," Leo said.

"I have the name of a good dog trainer, if you'd like-"

Marg's words were suddenly drowned out by a distant, but audible croak. Max and Bing's faces lit up with recognition, and Leo knew they were thinking the same thing he was: Festus.

"A dog!" Ernest exclaimed. "I hear a dog barking!"

"That's coming from the deck," Max said. He looked over at Roger. "Can you get us there?"

"You know I can," Roger said in a clipped tone, almost looking annoyed. "Follow me."

The deck seemed like a good idea- after all, Leo was very into the idea of finally leaving this freaking ship.

However, the ship's deck was swarming with those polo-cladded employees, all welding clipboards as weapons. Mona was at the forefront, snarling at them.

"We've been expecting you three," she said. "It seems your friend found us."

And sure enough, there was Festus perched on the deck, claws digging in. Leo had an eye for most machines, but Festus was different. Leo knew all his ins and outs, and he could tell when something was just wrong. Festus was injured.

"No, Mona," Bing said confidently, stepping forward. "We've been expecting you."

Max and Leo exchanged eye rolls.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw a polo-cladded employee approaching, holding his clipboard up high.

Leo pushed Bing out of the way with one fluid motion, sending a fireball towards the employee. The employee ducked, and several others behind him scattered.

"Oh, now it's on!" Bing shouted angrily, launching himself at Mona.

The crowd erupted, as employees charged towards their group. Leo sent his fist flying towards one of them, Marg gasping and clutching onto Ernest. Leo noticed Roger's face was unfazed, but nonetheless stepped in front of the couple protectively.

Max had managed to wrestle a clipboard out of someone's hands, wielding it awkwardly above his head. Bing was currently trying to wrestle both Mona and another employee to the ground.

"Leo!" Roger called out as he summoned another fireball to send flying- he wasn't going to be able to sustain that longer. "You have to get to that dragon!"

And when Roger's eyes fell on Festus, Leo understood.

Roger could see him.

He told himself it made no sense, because how could Roger see-?

Roger met Leo's eyes, and no words were changed, but he understood that perhaps, Roger was like them. Ernest and Margo, he noticed, were still clutching onto one another fearfully. Leo wondered what they were seeing.

The idea of older demigods- of surviving past teenhood- had never occurred to Leo. He assumed he and all his friends had varying expiration dates.

No sooner than this thought occurred, it was gone, because Roger charged the group of employees blocking off his path to Festus.

"Go, Leo!" He shouted.

Leo ran forward, to the ship's railing, where Festus was perched.

Festus howled as he reached him.

"It's okay, boy," he comforted quickly before reaching behind his leg, pressing the button to retract him.

He wheeled Festus quickly off to the side, realizing Ernest and Marg had moved, the two of them crouched beneath a lifeboat.

"Good boy!" Ernest exclaimed, patting Festus carryon.

"This ship has the worst customer service," Marg complained to Leo, shaking her head.

"Holy Manger!" Bing slid under the boat, joining the group of them. "I haven't seen a group of people this angry since Black Friday fifteen years ago!"

"What happened then?" Ernest asked with piqued interest.

"Maybe later guys," Leo cut in.

Max smacked a final employee with a clipboard, Roger on his tail as the two of them ran over.

"Alright, everyone, hands in," Bing said seriously, putting his in.

Max rolled his eyes, swatting his hand away.

They were surrounded on most sides by employees. Luckily, they had the advantage of also being surrounded by multiple lifeboats, which were currently blocking a free path to them.

"What do we do?" Bing asked. "Any ideas?"

Max gulped. "There's something I could do…but I really, really don't want to…."

"Maxwell, if there's any time to dance it's now."

Max let out an aggravated sigh. "That's not…" he looked over at their older companions. "Can you guys get below deck?"

"Max," Leo began. "What are you-"

"No," Ernest said, shaking his head. "We aren't leaving."

"We couldn't possibly!" Marg said.

"I need them to leave," Max said, his voice coming out high-pitched and strained.

"We'll go," Roger quickly cut in, exchanging a quick look with Leo. "We'll go, okay? Are you…are you three going to be alright?"

A silence fell upon the group, as Leo looked over at Bing and Max. Were they going to be okay? He didn't have a clue what Max could possibly do to get them out of this situation, except…

Oh.

Leo gave what he hoped was a comforting smile to the others.

"Yeah," he said, trying to keep the shakiness out of his voice. "We'll be okay. Max is right, though- you guys should go back to your rooms. It'll be safer there."

Roger nodded, and Leo could tell he was the only one who understood.

"Of course," he said. "Ernest? Marg? Let's go."

Ernest and Marg looked confused- Leo could only imagine what the Mist was showing them- but nonetheless, the couple immediately embraced him.

"Uh-"

"Stay safe, you three," Ernest said, as Marg pulled Bing and a begrudging Max into their group hug.

"You guys are the best," Bing said with a sniffle.

Roger stood suddenly.

"We have to go," he told the couple. He gave their trio a final look. "Good luck with…the dog."

Roger gestured for the couple to follow him, and inexplicably so, the employees surrounding them on all sides parted for the trio.

That made sense- the ship didn't want them. They were after him, Max, and Bing.

As soon as they disappeared from view, Leo snapped his attention to Max.

"What do you need from us?" He asked Max.

Max's eyes darted across deck, where another line of unattended lifeboats were up against the ship's railing.

"We're going to need to get over there," he said. He looked more nervous than Leo had ever seen him, and Leo was reminded of how young he was- the kid was ten. He was a kid. "To one of those boats…so be ready to run. And-and I might pass out, that's what happened last time-"

"Are you sure about this, Max? You don't have to do this."

"No," Max said, gulping. "I have to. It's the only way."

Bing's eyes became wide. "What on earth are you two talking about?"

Max's eyes flicked over to Leo, a clear expression of fear in them.

"His powers, Bing," Leo said quietly

Bing gasped. "Max, no!" He exclaimed, whipping his head towards Max. "It's too dangerous! When did you even use them last?"

"I was eight," Max said, his voice becoming distant. "Dad was so mad…I, uh…I'd rather not talk about it."

"See, Leo, he can't possibly-"

"I'll do it, Bing," Max said impatiently. "Just be ready to release that lifeboat."

"You want me to run ahead of you two?" Bing asked incredulously.

"Hey, Bing?" Leo said.

Bing looked over at him, and Leo felt an easy grin form on his face.

"You got this, man."

Bing blinked, and suddenly he grinned.

"Gentlemen," he said with a quick bow.

Bing sprung up, and with a holler began sprinting towards the railing of their boat.

"Come and get it, zombie brains!"

Leo looked back at Max.

"If you need help, Maxipedia-"

"Start wheeling Festus, Leo."

"Aye-ay, Captain."

Leo extracted the handle from Festus, jumping up and beginning to sprint after Bing. He sent a stray fireball into the crowd, some of the employees scattering.

But it didn't matter.

Because behind him was a wave forming, a wave towering fifty feet over then.

"Hurry!" Bing was screaming from the lifeboat tied to the ship's railing.

Leo quickly leapt over the railing, hoisting Festus with him as they tumbled into the lifeboat.

"Max!" Bing screamed, climbing over the two of them, craning his head over the rail.

Max was crouched in a runner's start, his face fixed in determination as the wave came crashing down around him. The wave didn't touch him, as it flooded the entire upper deck, employees suddenly flailing in the water.

Leo recognized the look on his face. He had seen it before on the faces of Rosie Reiger and Percy Jackson, Max's older siblings. The only difference was that Leo was pretty sure Rosie and Percy weren't causing this when they were ten.

It was no wonder Gaea had wanted him.

Leo was quickly untying the ropes attaching them to the railing.

"Bing, help me!" He instructed.

"Max-"

"Untie, Bing!"

Bing began whipping through knots alongside him.

Leo glanced up, finding Max swimming through the water. No, not swimming- running.

And then it became stumbling, because Max's face was becoming pale. His limbs almost become like Jello, as he waved his arms around wildly to keep balance.

He was losing strength.

"Oh, god, Leo, he's going to pass out!" Bing cried.

"Maxipedia!" Leo yelled out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Hurry up!"

Max gave them a weak nod, attempting to speed up. Leo noticed his legs shaking, as Max suddenly tripped over his feet, disappearing from view as he slipped underwater.

"No!" Bing screamed.

He leapt forward, the lifeboat shaking as Leo grabbed his arm.

"Bing, no! We'll-"

Leo's words were cut off by a loud SNAP, and suddenly the ground fell out from under their feet as the lifeboat fell towards the water.

They landed with a forceful jolt, Leo and Bing both stumbling as the boat rocked. Leo was hit with a splash of water, not only from the sea but from the waves Max had conjured from above.

"MAX!" Bing roared, his cheeks wet with tears.

"I'm going back up there," Leo told him.

"I'm coming with you."

A sudden spring of water shot up above them, and the two of them watched as Max tumbled towards them. He crashed into a heap onto the lifeboat, moaning in pain.

"Max!" The two of them yelled in unison, leaping forward.

Max popped right up, a manic look in his eyes.

"I did it," he announced with a sleepy grin on his face. After a second, he dropped back to the ground, unconscious.

"Let's get out of here," Leo said hurriedly, sitting at the front of the bow, picking the oar off the ground.

"But, Max-"

"Start rowing Bing!"

Bing stopped arguing, plopping himself behind Max's unconscious body.

The two of them began rowing, the sound of chaos on the ship behind them slowly becoming softer. Leo said a silent prayer in his head, hoping Roger and Ernest and Marg and the other innocent passengers would be okay.

"What do we do now?" Bing exclaimed from behind him. "How do we get to Cincinnati?"

"One thing at the time, Bing!" He pushed his arms to go faster.

"But, we literally have nothing! We're in the middle of the ocean-"

"Row, Bing, row!"

Max's eyes suddenly popped open, and he sat up with a gasp.

"What is this, Lewis and Clark?" Max said in a disgusted tone, looking back and forward at the two of them.

"I call being Lewis!" Bing hollered.

"Does it make a difference?" Leo asked, exasperated.

"Huge difference!"