HELLO! The gang and I are back with another update. To everyone who reviewed, favourited, or followed this story- I will never, ever be able to thank you enough! Seriously, everytime I read a new review (Even if it's from you, Taylor :P) it makes my entire day- no, scratch that, my life! :)

This chapter is kind of a filler, but the action will be picking up again soon! Nonetheless, please enjoy, and please review.

If there was one thing Jason had learned from Camp Jupiter, it would be that a leader can never stop being a leader. Once elected praetor, Reyna had told him, you had to be calm and level-headed. You could never drop the illusion of being in control, especially when it was just that: An illusion.

Partly because of that, and partly because he didn't know what else to do, Jason was doing his best to seem like he knew what he was doing.

Unfortunately, the effect was somewhat ruined by the storm cloud hovering over his head. Almost as if the cloud knew what was happening, there was no rain- just the crackling of electricity that was making Jason's hair stand on end.

Sometimes, the calm was just an illusion.

And sometimes, that was painfully obvious.

Jason looked to his left as Piper approached, leaning slightly on him. She looked up at him searchingly, and he did his best to smile reassuringly. She returned it, but he saw in her eyes that she didn't buy it for a second.

"Y'know," she began quietly, so only he could hear, "Leo probably isn't sleeping, right?"

Jason smirked dryly. "Yeah. I know."

"You also know that you haven't slept for just as long?"

Jason looked at her almost sheepishly, and she raised her eyebrows. He shrugged, trying to get out of her scrutiny. "I've got to make sure we keep going." Piper shook her head, smiling knowingly.

"Do you?" He glanced at her, and she sighed. "Jason, you stopping doesn't mean we all stop. We can keep going. You don't need to be our leader all the time."

Despite himself, Jason couldn't help but sound a little defensive when he asked, "You don't think I can do it?"

Piper bit her lip. "I think you can- but I also think that you think you have to." Jason averted his eyes. He loved Piper, he did, but sometimes she didn't understand. He did have to. He had to control what he could, while he could, because things were all to quickly spiraling far out of his reach. Almost as if she could read his thoughts, Piper nudged his elbow gently, and he pushed back jokingly, letting his arm rest around her waist.

She looked up at him, almost pleading him to listen. "Jason, you aren't at camp anymore. We're a team." She turned her head, and Jason followed her gaze around the deck. Sitting cross-legged a small distance away, Hazel and Frank were talking in hushed tones. Frank's eyes were tinged red. A ways down, Nico Di Angelo and Leo were emerging from below-decks, and Coach Hedge was pacing up and down in front of the door.

Something inside of Jason hardened. He trusted these people with his lives- Leo and Piper especially, but everyone on the Argo had become family. Some things you just couldn't go through without getting close to each other, and living on a giant warship while trying to save the world was one of them.

And yet.

The ship, despite the dark circumstances surrounding their quest, had always been a lively place. Now, with two such integral parts of their team gone, the Argo II was quiet and solemn. A somber air had descended over everyone onboard, demoralizing them and leaving them searching for something that was, quite probably, out of their reach forever.

Jason exhaled sharply, and very suddenly, spun Piper into a crushing hug. He wasn't much into PDAs, but now, as he rested his chin on the top of her head, he thought it had been just what he needed. He'd felt Piper, initially, stiffen in surprise, but she quickly softened into his hug, responding in kind. He pressed her tightly to himself, then felt her draw back. She looked up at him, surprised. He kind of thought it was in a good way.

"What was that for?" Piper asked curiously, and Jason felt stronger than he had in a while. He smiled grimly.

"The team." Their eyes met briefly, and Jason spun the opposite way, raising his voice to get everyone's attention. "Can we all gather over here for a minute?"

Everyone looked up, and began to make their way towards the front of the boat, Frank helping Hazel to her feet. Coach Hedge, even without the normal hop in his step, arrived first. "What is it, Grace?" His voice sounded wearier, much older, somehow. As the group congregated around them, Jason felt the cloud over his head disintegrating, sparks flying wildly.

"We," he began, "are going to find them." No one had to ask who he was talking about.

"How?" asked Leo, smile gone from his face.

Jason shrugged. "No idea." Identical looks of surprise appeared on everyone's face as they registered the fact that Jason Grace, the compulsive organizer, was winging it.

Jason loved it.

"I have no clue how we're going to do this, but we are doing it. Percy and Annabeth didn't fall into Tartarus for nothing." Nico winced almost invisibly, and Jason continued. "We have the statue. We have the new plans." He gestured to Leo. "We have Nico, who's probably the best person we could ask for right now."

"I dunno, I probably would have gone for a Victoria's Secret model-"

"The best demi-god we could ask for." Jason clarified, as Leo looked chastined and Hazel looked scandalized. Jason briefly wondered who'd told her about the lingerie store, then decided he had better things to think about. He turned to Nico. "Do you know where we should go?"

Everyone's attention turned to the dark haired boy. Though he was the youngest of them all, everyone but Hazel had been somewhat wary of Nico. Something in his eyes didn't look quite sane, and he had a dark aura around him like he spent way too much time with dead people. When he spoke, it was with a mild, and slightly bored voice. "I think." They looked at him, and he clarified. For the first time, some emotion was present in his voice. "Before... Percy told me to lead you to the other side. I assume he meant Epirus, the mortal side of the Doors of Death."

"Which are where, exactly?" Frank asked, and Nico looked at him darkly.

"Greece."

"You don't sound too happy about that." said Piper, hint of a question in her tone.

Nico sighed, with the air of someone about to deliver horrible news. "We don't know where in Greece the doors are. We're being chased by angry Romans. We're not prepared."

Leo bristled defensively. "The Argo can handle it." He glanced at Festus protectively, but Nico shook his head.

"You don't understand. Ancient Greece is where everything began- the monsters, titans, even the gods. The life source of the Olympians moves around every so often; you know that right now it's in America. But a part of the gods and monsters will always be in Greece. The two are entwined- you can't have one without the other."

"So you're saying," Frank cut in, "That some aspect of every Greek monster will be there."

"Now that the Doors are open, yes. Anything and everything that was once a part of Greek mythology could be there."

For a minute, it was silent, then Jason spoke up. "We can do it." They all looked at him like he was crazy, but Jason continued. "We're motivated. We're strong. We're fighting for something other than ourselves." They looked around at each other, his words obviously sinking in.

For the first time, Jason loosened his grip on Piper, pacing around the circle ferverently. "Leo, you need to start on the updates for Festus. We need everything we can get. Frank and Piper, we've got to start working on the whole camp problem. Nico, Hazel- start thinking about the Doors of Death. Anything you know will help." He turned to face the group, and felt, for the first time in days, something of that energy that had orginally been with the group.

"What about you?" Coach Hedge asked, twirling his club.

Jason let out a long breath, tense shoulders relaxing slightly. "I," he said, with a small, surrendering look at Piper, "am going to take a nap."

With a small amount of trepidation, he glanced around the group, looking for judgement in their eyes. Instead, he saw only a steely kind of determination, matching his own.

They would get their friends back.

They'd close the Doors of Death.

And gods-damnit, he'd find a way to get back to his camp when this was all over.

To both of his camps.

The mood had changed on the Argo II. It was still sad, definitely, but it was more alive, somehow. The everpresent shadow of Gaea was still looming over them, but now it seemed broken.

The lightening arking over their heads was probably helping.

Jason smiled, despite himself. Now all he had to do was sleep.

Then he- no, then they would figure it out.

Unfortunately, three old ladies chose that moment to fall from the sky directly on top of Jason.