I updated the earlier chapters because I just finished reading the House of Hades again for like the fourth time, and I realized I was missing some information. Plus I realized I needed to edit it again. Don't worry, the changes were nothing big, so the plot is still the same. Just changed some dialogue and details and fixed some errors, so you don't need to go back and read it again, unless you want to. Hope you guys are having a fun summer!

The four of them all sat around in a circle in Annabeth's room, waiting to hear what Piper had to say. Annabeth was desperate for information, which was why they had decided they would tell Jason and Leo later. Piper was troubled, because she couldn't make out what she had seen in her blade. It was hard to see anything near the end, which made her think that Gaea or her giants had been somehow trying to block the signal or whatever her dagger used to show these visions. The things she had seen didn't look too good.

"So?" Annabeth prompted. Piper came to a start, realizing that she had been lost in thought for some time now.

"I saw Percy in Katoptris," Piper said. After talking to Frank and Hazel in the hallway, she had gone to her room to get her dagger. When she had picked it up, the surface of the blade had seemed to ripple, and images had appeared on it.

Annabeth nodded. "I guessed that. What was he doing? Was there anyone with him?"

"The first vision showed him on a bed in a room that was probably underground. It looked like he was either unconscious or sleeping, but he was really pale and shivering. Then it changed to some giants or monsters talking about some kind of experiment and a surprise for us." Piper frowned. "That's probably not a good thing." She figured that any surprise from the giants was designed to kill them.

"Probably some more extra-nasty monsters," Hazel said. "Maybe they're breeding some kind of hybrid monster as an experiment."

"Regular monsters are bad enough. We don't need to deal with a combination of a empousai and a hellhound," Frank said.

"I really didn't need that image in my head," Piper shuddered.

"Can we get back on topic please?" Annabeth said impatiently. "Piper, was there anything else you saw?"

"Yeah. I think the first two images were of the present, but the next one is probably about the future. Percy was standing on a hill that overlooked Athens, and he was wearing armor. I don't know where he got that from."

"Did you see any of us there?" Annabeth asked.

Piper shook her head. "No. But I could just barely see him, because by that time, the blade was fogged over and cloudy, which is unusual. There might have been someone else that was obscured." At that, Annabeth bit her lip.

When Piper didn't say anything else, Frank asked, "Was there any other visions?"

"Nothing important." Piper hesitated, unsure of what to say. She didn't really want to share what she had seen. The other three seemed to read her expression and none of them asked anymore questions about the last vision.

Annabeth started to pace around frustratedly. "But what could that mean? Standing on a hill...at least we know that he'll be near Athens. But there are so many hills around Athens, it'll be impossible to find him."

Piper was quiet. She hated that it was her having to tell Annabeth the news. Besides, that last vision had unsettled her a lot. She kept turning it over in her mind, wondering what it could possibly mean.

Piper stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going to go find Jason."

Annabeth nodded, barely glancing up at her, too preoccupied with the thought of Percy. Piper left and knocked on Jason's door. When he opened it, he smiled at her.

"What are you doing here? Did you come for some company?" asked Jason lightly.

"Actually, I came here to tell you something." Piper told him what she had told Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank, but as before, she didn't say anything about the last vision. When she was done, Jason's expression turned serious.

"Hmm. We'll discuss this as a group later. Was there anything else you saw?" Jason's piercing blue eyes held Piper's kaleidoscope ones. It made her feel as if he knew that she was holding something back from hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to tell him. "No. There was nothing else," she lied.

Jason didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't press her for details, for which she was grateful. "Okay."

Piper thought about a question that had been haunting her ever since they had started their quest. She didn't want to think about it, but the lines of the prophecy had suggested it.

"What was that?" Jason asked her. Piper looked up, startled. She realized she had mumbled the question out loud, without meaning to.

"I was just asking you a question. I shouldn't have said anything." Piper looked at her feet. Jason put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head up so that he could see her face, but Piper averted her eyes.

"What was the question?" Jason persisted.

Piper swallowed with difficulty. "Do you...do you think all of us are going to come back alive?"

Piper finally lifted her gaze, and Jason's eyes met hers. "I hope so," he replied softly. "I really hope so."

Piper sat at the table, absently stirring her hot chocolate. It was the morning after her vision, and the crew had been discussing it in heated tones over breakfast. They hadn't come any closer to figuring it out or coming up with a plan. Most of the crew had already left, and only she, Leo, and Annabeth were left.

Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Leo shift uncomfortably in his chair. He had been moving uneasily like that ever since it had been just the the three of them in the mess hall. That was not unusual for him, as he was the son of Hephaestus and had a lot of nervous energy, but he seemed more nervous than usual. Annabeth raised her eyebrow at Piper. It was obvious she was thinking, What is wrong with him?

Compared to yesterday, Annabeth was looking a lot better than before, though she looked extremely tired and her face was covered with lines of worry. Piper felt sorry for her, losing Percy after all they had been through.

Leo fidgeted again. Piper couldn't stand it anymore. "Okay, Leo. Out with it. What is it you want to say?" she asked him exasperatedly.

Piper knew that when he kept squirming like that, it was because he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure if he should say it, if that made any sense.

Leo looked at her, surprised. "What?"

Piper rolled her eyes impatiently. "Come on. You know what I'm talking about. I've known you long enough to know that you want to say something."

"Oh." Leo looked half embarrassed, half nervous. It was clear he had been fidgeting subconsciously. Piper and Annabeth exchanged glances.

"Well?" Annabeth prompted.

Now that Leo had been put on the spotlight, he immediately looked like he wanted to run away and hide. "Umm… It was nothing."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "If it was nothing, you wouldn't be twitching and squirming like that."

He looked slightly abashed at being interrogated by the two girls. "Do you really want to know that badly?"

"It depends on what you want to say. If it's something like 'I like tacos' or something stupid like that, then I'm going to smack you on the head," Annabeth told him. Piper was sure she was telling the truth.

"It's not." Leo looked uncharacteristically solemn and serious. All of his usual macho personality was gone. He glanced at Piper and hesitated. "Piper, can you leave? I need to ask Annabeth something in private." Annabeth looked as surprised and confused as Piper felt. Usually, Leo tended to talk to Jason and Piper the most, since they knew each other best.

"Okay…" Piper got up from her seat and walked to the door, glancing back. Piper gave Annabeth a look that clearly said, Tell me about it later. Annabeth mouthed an okay. Piper shut the door behind her, leaving her to wonder what could be possibly be so important that Leo had to tell Annabeth in private.

I'm still deciding between a few ideas about Percy's dilemma, but I was just wondering if you guys have any requests for what could happen to Percy. You could leave it as a review, or you can PM me. I might use it or try to incorporate it into the story in some way. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PS. In case you're wondering, Percy will hopefully make an appearance after a few more chapters, so please submit your request/idea by the time I put up Chapter Nine or Ten.