LEO'S POV

I stared down at the floorboards, listening intently to Frank and Hazel. They'd boarded the ship just a few moments ago, and we all gathered on the deck as they recounted what they found out on their spy mission.

"The eagles are far off," Hazel said fearfully. "But they are definitely out there."

"How close?" Annabeth asked.

"Not entirely sure now - they're closing in fast." Frank grunted. "I don't know how their tracking us or what kind of magic-"

"How magical can giant bald eagles really be?" I said skeptically.

Frank glared at me. "They're more dangerous than you think. Don't disrespect our mascot."

I threw my hands up in defense. "Whoa, man. Nobody's trying to disrespect your birds."

"They're not just birds! They're a symbol of-"

Suddenly, Peri went rigid beside me.

"Frank," she said slowly, "how big are these eagles?"

He shrugged. "Big enough to carry people that's for sure."

"That's what I thought you'd say." Peri pointed at the sky, and a Celestial Bronze sword appeared in her other hand. "They're here."

We all looked up towards the sky. An enormous black blob was soaring in the air, its enormous wings flapping threateningly. Its shadowed form tore through the sky, headed straight for the Argo II.

I leapt up. "Oh, shi-"

Peri reared back with her sword, poised to send the sharp object straight through the eagle's heart.

"WAIT!" Annabeth cried suddenly. "That's not an eagle!"

"Huh?"

"That's Blackjack!" She gasped, snatching the sword away from Peri. As soon as she made contact with the blade, it dissolved.

"Wha-?" I looked up again and got a closer look at the UFO. The outline of a pegasus came into view, and I could see Piper's head popping up from behind its black mane. Two sets of legs splayed out from either side, and I recognized Percy's and Jason's shoes bobbing along with the uneven flight.

Why aren't they sitting properly?

Blackjack landed on the deck with a soft thump of his hooves, and everyone gave a collective gasp.

Percy and Jason were unconscious.

Everyone immediately went to the pegasus's side. Piper gripped the two boys' bodies tightly. Percy had a giant horseshoe-shaped dent on the back of his head, and Jason had bleeding scratches all over his face.

"What happened?!" Annabeth demanded.

Peri and I carefully unloaded the unconscious bodies, while Hazel and Frank tended to Blackjack. We took the boys to the sickbay belowdecks, Coach Hedge already donning his nursing apron. And I was even too worried to annoy him about the whole nursing thing.

"At this rate, we're going to run out of ambrosia," Coach Hedge grumbled as he tended to their wounds. "How come I never get invited on these violent trips?"

Piper sat at Jason's side. She looked fine after a swig of nectar and some water, but I couldn't say the same for the other two.

"Leo," she said, "are we ready to set sail?"

I frowned. "Yeah, but-"

"Set course for Atlanta. I'll explain later."

"But. . ." I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to get anywhere. "Okay." I hurried off to set the coordinates.

I was dying a little on the inside not knowing what happened. I spoke to Festus, and he calmed my nerves just the slightest. Minutes flew by as fast as the Argo II herself.

I heard movement behind me and turned around to see Peri shuffling up. She leaned against the bronze railing, staring out at the large expanse of sky before us. The setting sun sat defiantly on the horizon, refusing to succumb to the darkness of night. Peri's face was hard as stone as she stood there motionless.

My heart dropped. "What happened?"

She looked over at me. "Oh, they're up now. They started bickering back and forth about who could kill who though, so I left."

I sighed in relief. "Thank the gods."

Peri said nothing, turning back to the streaked orange and purple skyline ahead.

I smiled a little and joked, "Just for the record, I think my man Jason could totally kill Percy is he wanted to."

She propped her elbows up on the rail and put her head in her hands, murmuring, "But I almost killed them both."

I blinked. "What?"

"Leo, I almost skewered them when they were flying down here!" she exclaimed. "And Piper, too!"

Her voice went soft. "Just like Tyson and Ella and Mrs. O'Leary. . ."

She growled at herself in frustration and clenched her fists tightly. "Gods, why am I such a fuck up?"

"You're not a fuck up!" I insisted. "You were only trying to protect us. I'm glad you're here with us. I know we can count on you whenever we're in a jam. You're not a fuck up. You're awesome."

She chuckled and looked up at me. "How awesome? Like, on a scale of 1 to 100."

I smirked. "69."

She laughed. "Ah, you're gross!"