PERI'S POV

"Why do I have to be the weasel?" Frank asked, voice dripping with misery.

"Now, Frank, you and I both know why you have to be the weasel," was Leo's dry reply.

Frank only sighed dejectedly before making that funny face he makes right before he transforms. His body shrunk and stretched until there was a cute little snow white weasel on the ground.

"Aww," Hazel and I cooed in unison.

"Yes, yes, he's very cute," Leo tied some metal contraption he had wired up to Weasel Frank's back. "Now, once you get to the surface find a satellite so I can hack into a wrestling network and get a distress signal to Coach Hedge. Squeak once if you understand me."

"Squeak!"

"Awwwww!"

"Okay, off you go!" Leo helped Frank through the crack in the tunnel, and we watched as he scurried off and disappeared.

"I hope he remembers the way out I discovered," Hazel murmured anxiously. "It can get confusing."

"Don't worry, Hazel," I grunted with some strain. "I'm sure Frank can handle it."

"Oh, Peri!" Hazel managed to catch me before I fell over from fatigue. "Do you want some more nectar and ambrosia?"

"No," I grimaced as she helped me sit on a nearby work table.

She'd already forced me to eat pretty much all of her emergency rations, but they'd only offered a brief and fleeting relief. Plus, I remembered Piper saying that eating too much could cause one to burn up from the inside out.

Really, the only thing that was helping me stay strong was Nico's sword. Hazel told me it was made from Stygian Iron, from metal cooled in the River Styx. She was shocked that I was even able to wield it since normally that's strictly for children of Pluto. Did I have some sort of favor with the god of the Underworld? Maybe he had some clues about my parents. If I die, I'll have to ask the guy a few questions!

"Hurry up, Frank," Leo growled under his breath, tinkering with the Archimedes sphere.

Hazel put a hand to her temple. "Just hang on, Peri. Maybe try not to breathe so much?"

"Oh yeah? Is that your goddamn award winning advice, Hazel?" I snapped before closing my eyes in irritation.

"Okayyyy, Hazel, why don't you give Peri some space?" Leo swooped in and ushered a very shocked and offended Hazel away from me, which I greatly appreciated. "Let us know when Frank makes it out, okay?"

I laid back on the table, trying to ride through my nausea the best that I could. Even though my eyes were closed, I heard the creaking of wood and felt someone sit beside me.

"Why?"

It was Leo's voice.

I sighed. "I didn't mean to flip out on her—"

"No. Why didn't you tell me?"

Oh. My eyes opened.

"I... I don't know," I offered lamely.

"You don't know?" Leo scoffed. "It's one thing to jump into battle without a second thought, but not telling anyone, not telling me, when you're literally dying is a whole different story."

I could hear the hurt in his voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

"You kissed me," he said suddenly, his voice softer.

I dared a glance in his direction, but no words could form. I was hoping he'd forgotten. Though when our eyes met, I could see in his gaze that he had no intention of forgetting.

"You could've at least had the decency to let me kiss you back," he said before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine.

This kiss was somehow even more dizzying than the first. Had I not been laying down, I definitely would've fallen over because my legs turned to jelly instantly. He moved his lips against mine passionately, desperately, setting my skin ablaze with need. Of course, I kissed him back, and he sighed happily against my lips. My right hand kept a loose grip on Nico's sword, carefully aimed away from Leo. My left hand snaked around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss as my blood got hotter and hotter.

When I opened my mouth to take a breath, his tongue slipped into my mouth, and I gasped in surprise. The gasp transformed into a moan of pleasure that he greedily swallowed down, eager to elicit more sounds from me. Our innocent kiss was quickly becoming less and less so. Leo's hands roamed up and down my sides, and his touch on my skin was like food to a starved woman. I needed it so bad—

"Guys, Frank made it out— oh my gods!"

Leo and I pulled away from each other with a damning smack of our lips. There was no denying what we were just doing. I only prayed that Hazel's purity wasn't stolen away with what she just saw. She covered her shiny gold irises with more shame than the two of us had combined. She was even blushing. After everything that had happened today, Leo and I couldn't help but to laugh at the whole situation.

My laughter was cut short by some chest pain and I coughed into my fist.

"You okay, Peri?" Leo's voice died in his throat when he saw my fist, covered in red speckles.

"Blood?" I whispered before black spots danced in my vision and I passed out in Leo's arms.

When I came to, I groaned loudly.

"Oh! Peri's waking up." Hazel's sweet voice. "Coach Hedge, go tell Leo."

"Right away!" The satyr's gruff voice.

I blinked as my eyes began to focus on my surroundings. I was back on the Argo II. Hazel was beside me in the infirmary. Ugh, I thought I was done passing out and waking up in a secondary location. I suppose it can't be helped.

"How are you feeling, Peri?" Hazel asked, switching out the damp rag on my forehead for a fresh, cool one.

"I'm fine," I said, and I meant it.

Now that I wasn't underground, my lungs felt perfectly normal and not like they were trying to collapse in on me like a flimsy house of cards. Being aboard the Argo meant there was literally tons of Celestial Bronze around me, and that in itself filled me with a kind of strength I couldn't describe. I didn't realize how important the ship was to my powers, to my lifeline until now. My nausea was gone, but I still felt a bit weak. I began to worry that spending so much time underground might've left me with permanent damage.

I decided to test this theory. I flicked my wrist and tried to summon an Imperial Gold spear, normally an easy task. Instead, a golden tablespoon appeared in my hand. I stared at it in utter shock, my reflection mocking me.

"Wow, I've never seen you create something that wasn't a tool of destruction!" Hazel sounded impressed. "Nice job, Peri."

I swallowed thickly. "Uh, yea... real classy."

The sound of feet thundering down the stairs pulled me from my thoughts, and I quickly made the spoon dematerialize just as Leo rushed into the infirmary. When he saw me, a weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. He clutched his chest as he approached my cot. Curses, he looked irresistible as usual. Curly hair begging to be pulled and teased, muscles tight under his thin navy tee.

"Gods, I was worried sick when you passed our this time," he breathed. "I thought I'd lost you for good."

Heat rushed to my face at his confession. "Too bad. Looks like you're stuck with me."

He grinned at my teasing, fingers grazing my own as his voice lowered. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

I bit my lip bashfully, turning to Hazel who was pretending to be busy in the medicine cabinet. "Hazel, can you give us a minute? Alone?"

The curly haired girl looked torn. "I don't know... Coach Hedge said you two shouldn't be left by yourselves, and I'm inclined to believe him after the sloppy make outs—"

"Hazel!" I cried, horrified. "I didn't teach you that word so you could use it against me! Just give us a minute."

It looked like she had a brief internal battle before relenting with a curt nod. "One minute."

I groaned in agreement as she hurried out of the infirmary. Why did she have to be such a little mom all the time?

"You feeling okay?" Leo asked, sitting on the edge of the medical bed.

"Yea, much better now. What happened?"

Leo recounted the events that transpired after I passed out. Surprising absolutely no one, his plan went off perfectly and Coach Hedge was able to bring the ship around and rescue us. After that, they sailed and scooped up Percy, Jason, and Piper from the Coliseum. I was relieved to hear that they had successfully evaded death as well. Now, we were on our way to find the daughter of Athena in someplace called the Emmanuel Building.

"Oh, yea, and we also rescued Nico."

"Hazel's brother?!" I couldn't believe we pulled it off. "Help me up?"

Leo held out his hands and helped pull me to my feet. There was a slight wobble in my knees, but it passed quickly. Now it was just the electricity shooting through my palms at Leo's touch. He must've felt it too, because he dipped down and gave me a quick smooch.

"Is that okay?" he asked softly.

"Yes," I whispered.

Silently, it was like we were confirming something else. We weren't necessarily dating or getting married, but this whatever it was? We were both okay with this. We didn't have to define it with words or titles. We could both take it a day at a time. I didn't want to tell anyone (even though Hazel and Frank pretty much know). I just wanted us to enjoy this for as long as possible. I think he wanted that too.

So we walked hand in hand up the stairs, taking our sweet time. I wished it could last a little bit longer since we reached the top of the stairs far too quickly. We detached our hands when we made it to the deck. Most of the crew was there, alive, but looking worse for wear. It felt like forever ago since we were all together.

Would it ever happen again?

Leo and I made our way towards the wheel, just like we had done so many times before. Relief washed over me when I realized I could still sense the Argo humming with life at my fingertips. It felt so different though, even the wind that nipped at our necks felt foreign. Was it because we were in Greece or because we had so many near death experiences? Maybe a little of both. We were at full speed breaking through the clouds, and Festus looked just as majestic as ever. At least I could still communicate with my favorite Celestial Bronze dragon head. My eyes scanned the deck.

I spotted someone I'd never seen before with black hair, pale skin that looked like powdered milk, and eyes so sullen they could make a ghost cry. He looked like one of those prisoners of war from my old textbooks.

Nico di Angelo. Hazel helped him stand as he addressed the crew.

"Thank you," Nico rasped. His eyes darted nervously around the group. "I had lost hope."

"You knew about the two camps all along," Percy said with a slight bubbling of anger. "You could have told me who I was the first day I arrived at Camp Jupiter, but you didn't."

Nico slumped against the helm. "Percy, I'm sorry. I discovered Camp Jupiter last year. My dad led me there, though I wasn't sure why. He told me the gods had kept the camps separate for centuries and that I couldn't tell anyone. The time wasn't right. But he said it would be important for me to know…" He doubled over in a fit of coughing.

Hazel held his shoulders until he could stand again. I felt for the guy. In my experience, godly parents were nothing but cryptic and confusing.

"I—I thought Dad meant because of Hazel," Nico continued. "I'd need a safe place to take her. But now…I think he wanted me to know about both camps so I'd understand how important your quest was, and so I'd search for the Doors of Death."

The air turned electric—literally, as Jason started throwing off sparks.

"Did you find the doors?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded. "I was a fool. I thought I could go anywhere in the Underworld, but I walked right into Gaea's trap. I might as well have tried running from a black hole."

"Um…" I chewed my lip. "What kind of black hole are you talking about?"

Nico started to speak, but whatever he needed to say must have been too terrifying. He turned to Hazel.

She put her hand on her brother's arm. "Nico told me that the Doors of Death have two sides—one in the mortal world, one in the Underworld. The mortal side of the portal is in Greece. It's heavily guarded by Gaea's forces. That's where they brought Nico back into the upper world. Then they transported him to Rome."

Piper must've been nervous, because her cornucopia spit out a cheeseburger. "Where exactly in Greece is this doorway?"

Nico took a rattling breath. "The House of Hades. It's an underground temple in Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but—but the mortal side of the portal isn't the problem. In the Underworld, the Doors of Death are in…in…"

A cold pair of hands did the itsy-bitsy spider down my back. A black hole. An inescapable part of the Underworld where even Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, couldn't go. What kind of awful, hellish place could that be?

"Tartarus," Percy guessed. "The deepest part of the Underworld."

Nico nodded. "They pulled me into the pit, Percy. The things I saw down there…" His voice broke.

Hazel pursed her lips. "No mortal has ever been to Tartarus," she explained. "At least, no one has ever gone in and returned alive. It's the maximum-security prison of Hades, where the old Titans and the other enemies of the gods are bound. It's where all monsters go when they die on the earth. It's…well, no one knows exactly what it's like."

Her eyes drifted to her brother. The rest of her thought didn't need to be spoken: No one except Nico.

Hazel handed him his black sword.

Nico leaned on it like it was an old man's cane. "Now I understand why Hades hasn't been able to close the doors," he said. "Even the gods don't go into Tartarus. Even the god of death, Thanatos himself, wouldn't go near that place."

Leo glanced over from the wheel. "So let me guess. We'll have to go there."

Nico shook his head. "It's impossible. I'm the son of Hades, and even I barely survived. Gaea's forces overwhelmed me instantly. They're so powerful down there…no demigod would stand a chance. I almost went insane."

Nico's eyes looked like shattered glass. I wondered sadly if something inside him had broken permanently.

"Then we'll sail for Epirus," Percy said. "We'll just close the gates on this side."

"I wish it were that easy," Nico said. "The doors would have to be controlled on both sides to be closed. It's like a double seal. Maybe, just maybe, all seven of you working together could defeat Gaea's forces on the mortal side, at the House of Hades. But unless you had a team fighting simultaneously on the Tartarus side, a team powerful enough to defeat a legion of monsters in their home territory—"

"There has to be a way," I said.

Nobody volunteered any brilliant ideas.

I thought my stomach was sinking. Then I realized the entire ship was descending toward a big building like a palace.

"We'll figure out the Tartarus problem later," Percy said. "Is that the Emmanuel Building?"

Leo nodded. "Bacchus said something about the parking lot in back? Well, there it is. What now?"

Percy looked like at this point, he didn't care if Annabeth's quest was supposed to be solo or not. I understood the determination and sense of duty he felt. If I were Percy, I'd definitely do everything that I could to help my Annabeth.

"We have to get her out," he said firmly.

"Well, yeah," Leo agreed. "But, uh…"

He looked like he wanted to say, What if we're too late? Wisely, he changed tack because Percy looked ready to snap. "There's a parking lot in the way."

Percy looked at Coach Hedge. "Bacchus said something about breaking through. Coach, you still have ammo for those ballistae?"

The satyr grinned like a wild goat. "I thought you'd never ask."