(A/N: I'm sorry the last chapter was so late and like terrible, I'll definitely change some parts in the future when I find the time too. Thank you guys for following and liking my story by the way! I feel like I don't appreciate you guys enough. Anyway, enjoy this new chapter and stay safe/healthy! Also sorry it's late! It took longer to edit than I thought.)

"She's gonna judo-flip you," I whispered to Percy as we joined the crowd forming around the ladder that was dropped from the giant ship.

The Argo II was ginormous. It was made entirely of wood and resembled a Greek trireme. It was definitely bigger than a football field and looked amazing. It even had a dragon masthead that I could have sworn I saw move.

"She's... not," Percy replied hesitantly.

"What's with the pause? Afraid that I'm right?"

He rolled his eyes.

I looked ahead and saw four demigods climb down from the ladder.

Reyna stepped forward, greeting the blond named Jason Grace. However, before she could get far into formalities, Annabeth and Percy both surged forward and kissed each other.

Seeing them kiss made me feel jealous- but not like me liking Percy. I was more jealous of their relationship. Imagine having their type of love, one so strong a goddess couldn't even erase. Percy held the sky for her, Annabeth took a knife for him, I don't think anybody could think of a better love story.

As if on cue, Annabeth judo-flipped Percy and almost made me burst out laughing. They said some words to each other before she helped him up.

"Uh, that's Annabeth, she doesn't normally judo-flip people," Jason said awkwardly before introducing Leo.

Leo Valdez, the guy who I had a crush on in middle school and is conveniently a demigod. What are the odds?

I stepped forward, pulling along Hazel and Frank, who were both hanging back awkwardly. "What? No hello to your best friend?" I mocked, looking at Annabeth.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to see you too, Arina."

Percy quickly introduced Hazel and Frank while I looked at Piper and Leo, who both looked more or less surprised by me.

Honestly, it's weird how many people I know on that ship. What's next, Luther Davson is also a demigod? My old teachers were secretly monsters in disguise? Actually, I believe that. They were mostly horrible.

Reyna started barking orders, but naturally, Octavian argued against it.

"You're letting these intruders into camp? With there-there- warship-"

"Hey, Octavian, can you shut up?" I questioned, crossing my arms and staring at him.

He glared at me, about to open his mouth in reply before Reyna interrupted him.

"We are not taking them to the camp, we'll be eating here, in the forum."

"Oh, cause that's better," Octavian grumbled, crossing his arms.

"These are our guests, you shall burn an offering to the gods for bringing back Jason and Piper," Reyna ordered.

"Yeah, go burn your bears," Percy stated with a grin.

Most of the officers and campers dispersed then, going off to prepare most likely. The only people left near the ladder was us.

I looked at Percy, smirking. "Told ya she'll judo-flip you."

"Lucky guess."

"Annabeth, would you have judo-flipped Percy again if he would go missing, again?" I inquired.

"He'll be lucky if I only judo-flip him."

We laughed before walking towards the area where we were going to have the feast, the others chatting away.

As we walked, I could feel an eery chill go down my spine. It felt oddly familiar, but I couldn't place where I felt it. However, I had a feeling it was something really bad.

I could tell Annabeth was feeling jealous, or something along those lines by the way she looked around and talked to Percy.

We sat at a table with the rest of the kids on the boat, Hazel, Frank, Percy, Octavian, Reyna, and several officials. Around us, wind spirits flew around and Romans laughed together.

"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly as I slipped into a seat beside her.

I sat between her and the end of the table. Opposite of me was Piper, Jason, Leo, who was making these pinwheels and attaching them to the spirits.

"Um... y-yeah," she responded, looking down at her food.

Reyna called for a toast of friendship before we began sharing stories.

Jason and Piper apparently woke up together on a bus with Leo and Hedge, a saytr I nearly killed on my first day at camp. They were later on brought to Camp Half-Blood and sent on a quest to free Hera from the Wolf House.

"Impossible!" Octavian exclaimed, "That's our most scarced-"

"Yeah, we know, and it would destroy her and the Romans will blame the Greeks. Now shut up and let Jason finish," Piper ordered.

Octavian looked ready to bite back but stopped midway.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'the Romans'? Aren't you a Roman?" I inquired.

"Well, that's the complicated part," Piper stated.

Annabeth jumped in then. "According to Hera, she switched a Roman and Greek demigod and placed them in opposite camps because she believed one of them would be a part of the Great Prophecy."

"I was the Greek switched to the Roman," Piper began.

"And Eliza was the Roman switched with the Greek," Annabeth finished.

Wait... does that mean-

"But there's only supposed-"

"How about we finish with the stories first before getting into that?" Jason interrupted.

I leaned back in my seat as Percy began the story, telling the majority of it while I chimed in occasionally.

By the end of it, I could tell Annabeth was about to cry when he mentioned the only thing he remembered was her name.

Again, relationship goals right there.

"Well, I see why they made you a praetor," Jason remarked.

"On that note, there's only supposed to be two praetors, not three," Octavian pointed out.

"Either way Jason and I both outrank you, so we can both tell you to shut up," Percy stated, earning a fist bump from Jason and making Octavian turn purple as his shirt.

Percy and Jason began a brief conversation praising each other before I felt Annabeth kick her boyfriend in the shins.

"We should talk about the Great Prophecy, I believe you guys are aware of it?" Annabeth inquired.

"Yes, Octavian, have you committed it to memory?" Reyna turned to the pale augur.

"I have, but-"

"Recite it please, in English."

Octavian rolled his eyes before beginning. "Eight half-bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire the world must fall-"

"An oath to keep with final breath, and foe bears arms to doors of death," Annabeth finished, reddening by the stares she was getting.

Frank leaned forward, staring at Annabeth. "Is it true you're a child of Mi- I mean Athena?"

"Yeah, why is that such a surprise?"

Octavian scoffed. "If you're truly a child of-"

"She is what she says she is, and she's here in peace. Percy has spoken highly of you as well." Reyna cast Annabeth a glance I knew all too well.

Jealousy.

"Well, that still doesn't explain why Eliza was sent to Camp Half-Blood and why I'm here. If she was in the prophecy, shouldn't Hera have switched her instead of me?" I questioned, interrupting their mini stand-off.

"Yeah, that doesn't add up," Percy agreed.

"Hera says that she knew a child of the Underworld would be involved, and she thought it was Eliza because her dad's apparently Charun. Then you were discovered later on," Annabeth elaborated.

"Oh great, I'm second-choice for prophecies too," I said sarcastically.

"Anyway, we must sort out what the other lines of the prophecy mean. We obviously need to combine forces and find these 'Doors of Death'," Annabeth stated.

Hazel picked up a ruby off the table. "My brother Nico went looking for the doors."

"Your brother-" Annabeth began.

"Yes, she's my sister, continue Hazel," I urged, cutting Annabeth off.

"Well, he went looking for them and... he disappeared. I don't know what happened to him," Hazel admitted worriedly.

"Don't worry, we'll look for him along the way. We need to find the doors, which are in Rome. The original Rome, according to Thanatos," Percy stated.

"You meant Thanatos?" His girlfriend seemed surprised.

"Yeah, and I nearly died, nothing big," I added.

The others stared at me as if I sprouted another head by my statement, except for Percy and Leo, the first being used to it and the second busy with the pinwheels.

"Now death is free monsters won't be able to return, but the Doors are still open so they might be able to still get out." Percy took a bite out of his burger.

"Like water leaking through a dam," Piper said, fiddling with a braid in her hair.

"We have a dam hole," Percy said with a smile.

"A big dam problem," I agreed with a smirk.

"What?"

"Inside joke, anyway, we need to find a way to close the doors before even thinking about battling the giants or Greece. With those things open they'll just keep on coming back," I pointed out.

"You're proposing to go to the ancient lands and the Mare Nostrum," Reyna stated, picking an apple off a floating tray and twirling it in her hand.

"Mary what?" Leo questioned.

"Mare Nostrum, it means our sea, it's what the Romans used to call the Mediterranean," Jason explained.

"It is the birthplace of all gods, giants, and monsters. Travelling in America is hard, but there it's ten times worse."

"Yeah, but that's what you said about Alaska," Percy pointed out.

"It's the place where all monsters are from, that place will be filled with more monsters than you can imagine. And if eight of us go, we'll smell like the world's best barbeque to a pack of feral dogs," I said.

"It has been off-limits for Roman demigods for centuries, no one in their right mind will dare go there," Reyna stated.

"Well, good thing we're crazy, right? And the Argo II is the top of the line warship perfect for protecting us all," Leo reassured, making more pinwheels.

"We have to act quickly. We don't know what Gaea's planning, but she's getting stronger by the day, summoning more monsters and invading dreams," Jason said.

"'Eight half-bloods shall answer the call', that means it has to be a mix from both of our camps. Hazel, Frank, Jason, and Piper for the Romans and Percy, Leo, Annabeth and I for the Greeks," I pointed out.

"And we're supposed to just accept that? You just said Piper isn't even a Roman! She doesn't count," Octavian exclaimed.

I stood up, staring him down. "You honestly want to argue with me? Piper, Jason, Percy, and I were kidnapped, our memories erased and placed in opposite camps, so we earned our right to be on this quest. Leo, Frank, Hazel, and Annabeth have helped us, fought giants, and are far more skilled than your incompetent ass will ever be as well."

Octavian stood up, ready to argue with me, but a familiar voice called out from behind us.

Turns out, it was Percy's half-brother, Tyson. He ran towards us with Mrs. O'Leary and Ella, who was riding the hellhound.

"Ella is pretty and scared. She won't go on the boat," Tyson said.

Tyson was the opposite of every demigod-eating cyclops. He was sweet, innocent, and one of my friends. He would literally cry if he actually hurt a fly.

He was wearing a flannel shirt with denim and had the SPQR banner across his chest as he wrung his hands nervously.

"No-no-no more boats. Titanic, Lusitania, Pax... boats are not for harpies," Ella muttered anxiously.

"Did the chicken girl just compare my boat to the Titanic?" Leo questioned, appearing offended.

"She's not a chicken and she's just high-strung," I stated defensively.

"No boats, bad luck." Ella looked at Annabeth before squawking. "Wisdom's daughter walks alone-"

Frank stood up, worry flashing across his face. "Uh, Ella, this might not be the best-"

The harpy didn't listen. Instead, she covered her ears and continued, louder. "The Mark of Athena burns through Rome, Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."

Everyone went dead silent after that, you could probably hear a pin drop. Not long after, chatter returned to the tables around us, but we remained silent.

"Hey, Tyson, why don't you take Mrs. O'Leary and Ella outside for some fresh air-" Percy suggested, being the first to recover.

"Wait, what did that harpy just say?" Octavian said, staring at Ella.

"Ella reads a lot!" Frank blurted out, "she must have read that from-"

"No, that sounded like a prophecy," Octavian stated.

I laughed. "Really? Back at Camp Half-Blood harpies have enough sense to clean cabins and dishes, do harpies recite prophecies here? Do you consult them instead of your bears?" I remarked.

The senators looked at Ella and Octavian before laughing, the whole idea seeming ludicrous.

"Well, guess you guys can go then, right?" Percy glanced for approval at Reyna.

She looked at Ella with an expressionless face. "Yes, go ahead."

Tyson smiled before climbing on Mrs. O'Leary's back and riding off into a nearby shadow with Ella.

"We must consult with the Senate before letting our legionnaires embark on this quest," Reyna stated.

"This whole thing smells like treachery," Octavian pointed out, "that trireme is not a ship of peace!"

"Come aboard, man. I'll give you a tour and show you it's perfectly safe, I'll even give you a tiny sailor's hat," Leo suggested.

Octavian's nostrils flared, but before he could argue, Reyna agreed and ordered them off.

Just as they were walking away, I felt that weird chill go down my spine again. However, I couldn't place where I recognized it from.

"Uh, Reyna, if you don't mind, is it okay if I show Annabeth around-" Percy began.

"No," she snapped, "I'll like a word in private with her first if you don't mind, my fellow praetor."

Annabeth glanced at Percy and I anxiously before following Reyna out of the forum as the rest of the Romans started to disperse and go off on their own.

I was left with Hazel, Frank, Piper, Percy, and Jason.

"Um... so... whatcha guys want to do to kill time?" I asked awkwardly, slipping out from my seat.

"I guess we could catch up," Piper suggested with a shrug.

"Do you guys know each other?" Frank inquired, confused.

"Yeah, we went to school together," I revealed.

"Oh, you were the girl in the pictures! Piper showed me some of them," Jason realized.

"Yep."

An awkward silence followed that.

"So, how's Camp Half-Blood?" Percy asked.

"It's good, Leo didn't manage to burn it down in the past couple of months," Piper said, smiling.

"Nah, burning it down would be too easy," I pointed out, "I say flood it."

Percy deadpanned. "Are you just saying that because-"

"Yes."

The others broke off then, Frank and Hazel going off in one direction, same with Piper and Jason. Unfortunately, that left me with Percy.

I know things got better- I even said that, but I guess being alone with him is worse.

Percy and I were walking around the forum, passing lares and kids chasing each other. The place seemed calm and reminded me of Camp Half-Blood sadly, making me homesick instantly.

"I'm really sorry about Alaska," I blurted out.

Percy sighed. "I've already said it was fine."

"Yeah, but Annabeth's my best friend and-"

He turned to me. "You are going to tell her, right?"

"What do you mean me? I thought you were-"

"You kissed me, I didn't kiss back."

"You're her boyfriend!"

"You're her best friend! She deserves to hear it from you, not me. Also, you're the one who kissed me."

I sighed, kicking some dirt under my foot absentmindedly. "At least... at least be there, I don't want to tell her alone."

"Yeah, of course."

Unfortunately, we became preoccupied with something else at that moment.

The Argo began firing on Camp Jupiter, blowing up buildings and setting stuff on fire. Soon, the Romans started yelling and firing catapults at the ship while we tried to reason with them.

Percy, Hazel, Frank, and I got cornered near a fountain, but that was hardly a problem. I was just mainly worrying about Annabeth, who I haven't seen since she left with Reyna, and Piper and Jason, who were surrounded by angry legionnaires.

"Percy!"

Annabeth came ducking out from the crowd, avoiding a plate of sandwiches and several fists.

"What's going on?" Percy questioned.

"I don't know!" she replied.

Octavian climbed down from the ship covered in soot and his robes tattered. "I warned you! The Greeks have fired upon our camp! Kill them!"

"We need to get outta here now," I yelled, firing more shadows at the demigods and bending the Mist to try to hide us.

"Frank, Hazel, make a choice, are you guys going with us or not?" Percy turned to the duo.

Hazel slipped on her calvary helmet. "Yes, but there's no way you're getting on there without a distraction." She whistled, Arion appearing in a blur.

"We'll Iris-message you later," Percy said.

She nodded before speeding off on Arion, confusing and scaring a small chunk of the Romans.

"I could shadow travel us on there," I suggested.

"But-"

"It's worth the risk!" I argued, dodging a brick.

I glanced over to Piper and Jason, who weren't faring any better since the last time I checked.

Piper tried using her charmspeak, which washed over the Romans and made them hesitate. However, a stray brick flew through the air and hit Jason, knocking him unconscious. The Romans surged forward at this.

"Frank, it's up to you, can you help them?" Percy looked at the anxious Asian boy, gesturing towards Piper and Jason.

Frank nodded before I grabbed Annabeth and Percy, pulling them to the fountain's shadow.

I imagined the vague layout of the ship, maybe a foot above it to be exact.

A second later, we stumbled onto the ship's deck, Percy cutting off the rope and dropping Octavian into a couple of Romans.

Much to my shock, Leo was actually firing on the camp, loading the ballistae with a dazed expression.

"What are you doing, Leo?" Annabeth exclaimed, staring at him.

"Destroy... must destroy," he replied in the midst of shooting another firey spear.

Percy tackled him, his head hitting the deck and his eyes rolling up.

"Annabeth! Go!" Percy ordered.

Annabeth nodded, rushing towards the control panel and pressing a couple of buttons before we lifted off and flew away uneasily.

Frank appeared, as a dragon of course, and placed Piper and Jason on the deck. From there, Jason was rushed downstairs to deal with his head injury.

I looked at the others uncertainly, risking a glance back at the burning camp.

I was downstairs, eating some ambrosia while the others chewed Leo out upstairs. The only people absent from that was Hazel, who was still off with Arion, Percy, Piper, and Jason, who was being tended by Piper.

"You okay, Arina?" Percy questioned, popping his head into the lounge/mess hall of the ship.

The lounge/mess hall was pretty sick if you asked me. The walls were designed to look like Camp Half-Blood, which did not help my homesickness. There were also these cool chairs with cupholders, sword holders, massage functions, and built-in headphones.

"Yeah, I did better than I expected shadow travelling to a place I haven't been before," I remarked, drinking some water.

There were also cups and plates from camp that filled with whatever you wanted, non-alcoholic, of course.

"Okay, well, I'm going back upstairs with Annabeth to talk to that kid," Percy said, saying 'kid' distastefully.

"C'mon, there must be a good reason why Leo attacked the camp," I stated, standing up from one of the reclining chairs, "maybe Octavian tricked-"

"Annabeth said it was all him, and why are you defending him? We barely know him."

"Well, I've known him far longer than you have, I went to school with him, remember? Also, why would he even attack the camp with Octavian onboard? I doubt he's that stupid."

"Whatever, let's just go up." He turned, walking down the hall towards the stairs.

I sighed, following him.

There were nine bedrooms, one for each of us, including our chaperone, Hedge. According to Annabeth, she already got some stuff for Percy and my room from our place.

I did leave a lot of junk lying around in Percy's apartment once I moved in with his parents and him.

Living with Percy, his mom, and his step-dad was pretty good. They were really nice and Mrs. Jackson is a phenomenal cook. I could honestly eat her blue cookies all day and not give a shit about my homework.

Mr. Blofis even got me a spot in Goode High School, the same school Percy goes to. The place is nice and I owe Mr. Blofis big time for getting me into the tenth grade despite the fact I never did ninth officially too.

Leo was standing with the dragon masthead, talking to Frank about something when we came up.

"Is Jason-" Leo began worriedly.

"He's fine, just resting. Piper's keeping an eye on him for now," Annabeth cut him off.

Leo relaxed slightly but still looked on edge.

"Annabeth said you did fire the ballista on camp," Percy said, his expression cold.

"Man, I'm sorry-" Leo started.

"Sorry?" Percy questioned, looking angry.

Annabeth put a hand on his chest, pushing him back while Leo trembled in fear.

"Okay, he fired the ballista," I said, stepping between them, "but we have bigger things to worry about, like the quest. I'm sure saving the world is far more important than destroying Camp Jupiter."

He begrudgingly agreed, stepping back.

Leo explained the damage to Annabeth, talking about what supplies we needed and a bunch of other stuff I didn't understand.

The dragon head started making squeaking noises, making me jump back in surprise.

Leo sighed. "Perfect."

"What's perfect?" Annabeth inquired.

"Festus found us just what we needed. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something and tell your girlfriend to meet us in the Great Salt Lake, Utah?"

Frank nodded, looking a little annoyed by the way Leo ordered it before turning into a bird and flying below.

"I'm going to Iris-message my brother," I said, turning and heading back downstairs.

"Nico?" Annabeth replied, confused.

"No, Dennis."

I walked down the hall, finding my room quickly and opening it with ease.

It was a standard room, having only two bags lying on the ground. There was a double-sized bed, a dresser, enough room for stretching, and a fountain in the back.

I opened one of my bags and found my clothes folded neatly inside with a note on top from Mrs. Jackson wishing me well and good luck on the quest. The other bag had my Stygian sword, a bag of drachmas, notebooks, a camera, some film, and a star map.

I grabbed a drachma and walked up to the fountain, throwing a coin in and praying to Iris. A moment later, an image of my brother and Quilo appeared, both of them sitting across from each other in a barrack.

"Quilo! Dennis!" I whisper/yelled, unsure if there were any unwanted listeners.

They both jumped back in surprise.

"Arina! Are you okay?" Dennis inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine, were you hurt or anything?"

"He's fine, but what the hell happened back there? Why did your ship start firing at us?" Quilo questioned.

"I don't know, we're trying-"

"What do you mean by, you don't know?"

"Does it fucking matter? We barely made it out alive, okay? Jason's hurt right now and our ship's barely flying," I spat, crossing my arms at him.

"Hey, chill, I'm just worried, okay? Octavian's rallying the legionnaires and he wants blood. He sent out eagles to track you guys down and he wants to kill all of you, Greeks and Romans."

I froze. "What?"

"Reyna doesn't want a fight, but Octavian's basically got the whole legion to follow him now."

"Fuck..." I looked at the ground, tapping my foot while trying to think of something. "Okay, I'll tell the others. Please keep my brother safe, I don't know how many of the Romans know we're siblings and if they find out-"

"Yeah, I know, they'll use him as leverage."

"Hey! I'm right here, y'know!" Dennis pointed out.

"Just keep an eye on him, I have to go," I stated.

"Yeah, of course, bye." He and Dennis waved before I swiped my hand through the rainbow and rushed to the lounge.

"We're gonna land so- uh, hold on!" Leo's voice came over the intercom.

I slipped into the lounge, strapping myself in a seat with the others as the ship began its shaky descent into the lake, Hedge yelling 'bring it on, lake' the whole time.

Not long after we landed, Leo and Hazel appeared in the doorway.

"We landed, what now?" Percy questioned, tearing his eyes away from the live-feed of Camp Half-Blood.

"We should figure out the prophecy Ella said. That was a prophecy, right?" Frank double-checked, looking around at us.

"What?" Leo questioned.

"Ella, the harpy, read all these ancient books that contained prophecies from ancient Rome that were supposedly destroyed," I explained.

"Oh, so that's why you didn't say it was a prophecy because the Romans would've wanted her," Leo realized.

"Ella was a captive when we found her." Percy clenched his fist, his expression hardening. "I couldn't let that happen again. Anyway, I IMed Tyson to take her to Camp Half-Blood to protect them from Octavian."

"Well, safe as they can get. I messaged my brother, and according to Quilo, they've sent out eagles to track us down," I stated.

"We'll worry about that later, same with the prophecy. How can we fix the boat?" Annabeth inquired, looking at Leo.

"Well, the easiest thing to get is tar, you can get that at some roofing place in town not far from here. Then there's lime and Celestial bronze, which are located on an island not too far from here," Leo said.

"But we have to work quickly, if Quilo's right, the eagles would be on us in hours," Hazel pointed out, "and then probably the whole legion."

We all looked at Leo then.

"Guys, I'm really sorry about that. I don't know what happened and-" Leo began, trying to defend himself nervously.

"Leo, we've talked and it couldn't have been you, I felt that cold feeling too. It must've been some sort of magic Gaea or Octavian cooked up to cause the Romans to attack us," Annabeth reassured.

"Well, I felt it too. It felt kinda familiar though," I remarked, tapping my foot.

"Could it be something from the Underworld?" Percy guessed.

"Maybe..."

"Anyway, back to the mission, we'll split up then, right?" Annabeth checked.

"Is that the best idea?" Percy questioned.

"Well, we are eight immensely powerful demigods, I presume, so I guess our scent would be worse than having a phone. I think splitting up would be the best idea, Piper and Jason stay on here, of course, then three people get the tar and three people get the lime and the Celestial bronze," I suggested.

Annabeth looked at me, mildly surprised. "When did you get so good at planning?"

"Uh..." I glanced at my shoes, uncomfortable.

An image of the strategy room on Mount Othrys appeared in my mind followed by Kronos and some Titans congratulating me on a good plan.

"Doesn't matter," Percy said, "but who's going where?"

"I'll find the Celestial bronze," Hazel offered, "I'm good at finding metals."

"Well, long as Annabeth's my buddy, I'm good." Percy laced his hand with Annabeth, smiling at her.

"Frank! You were amazing as a dragon, maybe you could fly them to town?" Hazel suggested.

Frank cast Leo a skeptical glance, probably not trusting him with his girlfriend.

"Uh, a dragon would bring too much attention. I can just shadow travel us there and back, then you, Frank, and Leo can get the bronze and lime," I stated instead.

"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Frank agreed, seeming more at ease.

"Arina, you-"

"I'll be fine." I brushed off my friend's concerns before turning to Leo. "How long would it take for you to finish fixing the ship?"

"Probably a couple of hours."

"Okay, let's go then."

Turns out, I was fine.

I've been to Salt Lake City once last year for a private mission with... Ethan. I vaguely recall the place, but it was enough for me to shadow travel, fortunately.

We appeared in a mostly vacant alleyway, sans some stray cats and rodents.

"See, told you I'll be fine." I let go of Annabeth and Percy's arms, stepping forward and looking at them.

"Let's just get the roofing tar," Annabeth stated, walking out of the alleyway, hand in hand with Percy.

Oh yay, I'm the third wheel. What fun.

It didn't take long to find a store that sold roofing tar. However, there was a minor problem. Tar monsters.

By some chance, we chose the one store run by monsters, so now we're stuck fighting like twenty tar monsters for like a five-gallon, plastic bucket of tar.

"How many times have we've been attacked in a store now?" I questioned, trying to slash a monster but just getting my sword stuck in it.

"Too many," Annabeth replied, ducking a swing from one of the tar monsters and getting a chunk of tar on her hair.

Tar monsters were these seven-foot blobs with legs and arms, kind of like the ones in Scobby Doo. Big, sticky, and annoying as hell.

"How the Hades do we defeat them?" I asked, managing to free my sword and backflipping back. I ended up back to back with Annabeth and Percy.

The tar monsters surrounded us, closing in.

"I have an idea," Percy said.

A second later, the water pipes in the building burst, drenching us and soaking the monsters until they became a sticky, black puddle surrounding us.

"Okay, let's go," Percy stated casually, walking up to the bucket of tar and picking it up while Annabeth and I stared at him.

"What? We don't have all day," Percy said, heading towards the exit just as the tar monsters started reassembling themselves.

"Oh great," I muttered as Annabeth and I ran out behind him in pursuit.

"You think you could get us back, Arina?" Annabeth inquired.

"No, we're gonna run back obviously," I remarked sarcastically.

"This isn't a time for sarcasm!" Annabeth exclaimed, both of us ducking as tar was slung at us.

"There is always a time for sarcasm!" I grabbed Annabeth and Percy's arms again, steering them towards a shadow before shadow travelling.

I felt us travel through a dark, shadowy, narrow passageway before stumbling onto the ship deck.

"We should get this to Leo," Annabeth said.

Percy nodded, carrying the bucket while running down the steps towards the engine room with us following.

"Hazel, where's Leo?" Annabeth asked as we almost ran into her in the hall.

"Engine room," she replied, standing in front of Jason's room.

We nodded before shuffling down the crowded hallway to the engine room at the end of the hall, the ship lurching dangerously back in forth once we were inside.

"What's that?" I questioned as we handed the bucket of tar over to Leo, who had tons of fake tattoos and his hair gelled back.

He looked kind of hot, to be honest.

"Uh, we've might've angered some nymphs in the lake," Frank stated as Leo dug around in a box for tools.

The ship tipped to the side again, making me slip and fall on my back.

"I'm fine," I said, the ship tilting to the other side and making me slide across the floor.

"I'll go deal with them," Percy stated before going back upstairs.

Frank offered me a hand, which I gratefully accepted, before pulling me up.

We started helping Leo with fixing the ship as Percy argued with the lake nymphs outside, making the ship rock around quite a fair bit.

Several hours later, we finally finished fixing the ship.

(Okay, so I know I just went on hiatus like a month ago, but I'm going on another one-week one to start backing up these chapters so I won't end up posting them late again. By that I mean I'll be posting chapter 30 while I'm writing chapter 31. I'll also be spending some time on some personal stories and online school. The hiatus will be from July 5-11. I'm really sorry about this, but it'll better in the long run.

Also, I'm really confused about something. Did Percy ever finish junior year (11th grade)? According to the Wiki page, he never did it but he's going to University in the Ship of the Dead. Anyway, for this story I'm just gonna go with the missed up timeline.)