***Thanks to WiseGirl1993 for your reviews, glad you're enjoying the story! And thanks to everyone who is following this story! Here's chapter three, hope you like it! Chapter Four, from Annabeth's POV, will be up by Friday 3/21. Also, disclaimer, I am not Rick Riordan, so none of this belongs to me.***

III. PIPER

Looking at her dagger before bed had been a huge mistake. For the last week, it had been showing Piper a series of increasingly disturbing images. She only got it out tonight because she was hoping to learn something useful, particularly after Percy's dream of Gaea saying he, Frank, Hazel, and Leo were all destined to die before they even reached Athens. Piper didn't really want to use her knife, but if she could learn information that might keep her friends alive, it was worth being frightened by what she saw.

Unfortunately, Katoptris was less than helpful. As Piper sat on her bed, the knife balanced against her knees, the first thing she saw in it was Leo facing down a hulking figure, not quite as big as a giant, but still massive. Leo was weaponless; he didn't even seem to have his toolbelt. But before she could dwell on that image, it changed to show a woman kneeling beside a stream, her back to Piper. There was a quick flash of what looked like a scorpion, but Piper didn't know if it was related to the image of the woman, or something else. Then, a series of images flashed across the knife: Reyna and Coach Hedge battling gryphons, while Nico sat slumped against the Athena Parthenos; Percy, Frank, and Hazel being swept down a hill by a wash of murky water (enough with the images of people drowning, Piper thought); a woman who looked vaguely familiar standing on the deck of the Argo II and holding out an olive branch; a giant laughing as he stood over two figures huddled in a metal cage; and finally, Octavian, getting kicked in the shins by a Kerkopes, one of the wild dwarves Leo had unleashed on the Romans to slow down their assault on Camp Half-Blood. The last image made her smile, but the others worried her, particularly the one of the giant, who she thought was probably Porphyrion, laughing and standing over a cage. The image had been too fuzzy for her to make out who was in it, but she guessed it was intended for two of the demigods aboard the Argo II, so that they could be used as sacrifices to wake Gaea. The thought made her sick.

Piper sheathed the stupid dagger and flopped back on her bed. She should have been exhausted. After yesterday's so-called adventure in the House of Hades and today's super fun fight with the sea serpent, not to mention their failed trip into Preveza, Piper ought to have collapsed on her bed and been dead to the world for at least a few hours. And her body was tired, but her mind wouldn't shut down. Her nerves were buzzing like she'd ingested too much caffeine. She kept replaying images in her head: the monster army pouring out of the tunnels, Jason giving up his rank of praetor, Frank leading the dead army into battle, following the dead through the dark to help Hazel and Leo, the giant Clytius, and, most importantly, seeing Percy and Annabeth again.

Piper had to admit that the relief of seeing them alive had temporarily overwhelmed her. She hadn't been able to hold back the tears as she hugged Annabeth. While Piper had never given up hope that her friends would make it through Tartarus alive, it had seemed like a long shot. But they had survived, somehow. And now, having sent Nico and Coach Hedge with Reyna and the Athena Parthenos, it was just the seven of them, off to fight the giants in Athens. Piper remembered their previous fights with the giants, which had meant nothing since they were now reborn, and shuddered. She thought of the visions she had seen in Katoptris and gave up on sleep entirely.

Flinging back her covers, Piper stood up and stretched. It was after midnight and the ship was mostly quiet, except for the creaking and groaning as it rocked from side to side in what felt like yet another venti attack. Piper was getting tired of those. A few weeks ago, she would have rushed on deck to help, but now she simply stepped into the corridor and listened. She could hear Jason and Leo on deck, yelling in defiance, and she figured the situation was under control. This was why they took turns on watch; so that the entire crew wasn't rushing above decks for every random monster attack. Instead, Piper made her rounds.

It had become a habit over the last few weeks. On the nights when she couldn't sleep, which were frequent, and she wasn't on guard duty, she would walk around the ship, checking to make sure that the people she loved were safe (at least, as safe as they could be on a giant warship constantly under attack). It was how she had found out Leo often slept in the engine room and Nico slept in sick bay, though she hadn't told either one she knew; where they slept was their business. She had just been glad to discover that both of them occasionally did sleep. After the skolopendra attack in the Atlantic and losing Percy and Annabeth in Rome, Leo had been pushing himself to the breaking point. He seemed a little more relaxed now that they had their friends back, but something was obviously still up with him. Piper had some suspicions about where Khione had sent him and who he had met there. She'd seen the blood drain from his face in Malta when Frank mentioned Calypso, but if Leo wasn't ready to talk about it, she wasn't going to force him.

As for Nico, Piper suspected she was the only one who knew he slept in sick bay. They had offered him Percy's cabin, but for whatever reason, Nico adamantly refused to stay there. The first time Piper stumbled across him asleep, he had been curled up on top of the covers, fully clothed, hugging a pillow like a stuffed animal and muttering in his sleep. She couldn't make out the words, but the sight of him made her heart twist. With his dark hair covering his face and his knees pulled up almost to his chest, he looked like a little kid. He was shivering. Piper had grabbed an extra blanket from the other bed and gently draped it across him.

Now, standing outside her own door, she wondered where Nico, Reyna, and Coach Hedge were now. The image in Katoptris had shown them fighting gryphons, but she hadn't been able to make out any details of where they were. She just hoped they could make it safely back to Camp Half-Blood and stop the war between the camps.

The rocking of the ship was becoming less violent, which hopefully meant that the boys were taking care of the venti. If they'd needed help, they would have sounded the alarm. She could still hear them yelling, punctuated by an occasional roar from Festus, so she knew they were alright. In the cabin next to hers, she could hear Hazel retching. Piper wished there was something she could do for her friend, but she knew from experience that Hazel preferred to be left alone while she was dealing with her motion sickness.

For the first time in weeks, Percy and Annabeth's doors were shut, which made Piper happy. They were back; against all odds, they were alive. Piper could hear Percy's snores through his door, which made her smile. She figured the guy deserved the rest. There were no sounds from Annabeth's room, but Piper hoped that meant her friend was sound asleep.

She moved off down the hall, passing Jason's door, which was open since he was on deck. She paused outside Frank's room and heard snuffling snores that weren't quite human, leading her to believe that Frank often slept in some animal form. Across from Frank's room, Coach Hedge's cabin door was open. Piper poked her head in. The coach's room was a pig-sty (or was it a goat-sty?), a jumbled assortment of weapons and sports equipment, but it made Piper miss the satyr already, though she would never admit it. However, she was grateful to be able to walk around the ship after curfew without having to worry about being smacked with a baseball bat.

Suddenly, from the mess hall, Piper heard a noise. She stiffened, listening. There it was again. It almost sounded like—a sob. Piper's heart dropped.

She crept to the door of the mess hall and looked in. Annabeth was sitting at the table, looking at the video feed from Camp Half-Blood. Because of the time difference, it was still evening there. The summer sun was just beginning to set over Long Island Sound, tinting the sea and the cabins with an orange light reminiscent of the campers' t-shirts. The camp should have been settling down for the night, but instead, campers were rushing around, gathering weapons, drilling in formation, and checking supplies. Most wore armor. Some, clearly on patrol, paced back and forth along the hills and beach, weapons drawn. None of that surprised Piper; it was what the video feed had been showing for days as the Roman legion got closer. What did surprise her were the tears streaming down Annabeth's cheeks.

"Annabeth?" Piper said softly as she stepped into the mess hall. "Are you okay?"

As soon as she said it, Piper realized what a stupid question that was. Her friend had just been through Tartarus and now she was watching the home she had lived at since she was seven prepare to be attacked. Of course she wasn't okay.

"Do you want me to get Percy?" Piper asked.

Annabeth shook her head and swiped her hand across her cheek. "No, I don't want to wake him up. He's earned some sleep."

"So have you," Piper said gently. She sat down across from Annabeth.

"I tried. Nightmares."

"Oh." Piper studied her friend. Annabeth's cheeks were a little sunken and her t-shirt hung more loosely on her than before, but overall, she looked in pretty good shape for someone who had just been through hell, literally. The biggest relief, to Piper anyway, was that Annabeth's eyes were the same. There was some darkness, some sadness, that hadn't been there before, but neither Annabeth's nor Percy's eyes had the fractured look of Nico's. She figured it was probably because they had each other, while Nico had been forced to travel alone. "How about some hot chocolate?"

Annabeth managed a weak smile. "That sounds amazing, actually."

"Coming right up," Piper said.

Annabeth continued to watch the walls as Piper made two cups of hot chocolate. "It makes it worse," she said, "seeing it and knowing we won't be going back anytime soon."

"I know," Piper said as she handed Annabeth a mug and sat back down with her own. "I almost wish Leo had just left the walls blank."

Annabeth nodded absent-mindedly and sipped her hot chocolate. "I hope it works. The statue, I mean. If it can heal the gods' split-personality problems—."

"Then maybe we can get some godly back-up in Athens," Piper finished. "Which would be helpful."

"Definitely," Annabeth said. "We have to defeat the giants before they can wake up Gaea. Because once she's awake, even the Olympians won't be able to stop her."

The way she said it, with such certainty, sent a chill down Piper's spine. "How do you know?"

"Because," Annabeth hesitated, as if trying to decide how much to say. She locked eyes with Piper. "Because we met Tartarus himself at the Doors of Death and even a Titan and a giant together were no match for him. If Gaea is even half as powerful when she awakes, we won't stand a chance."

Piper listened as Annabeth told her about the giant Damasen and the Titan Bob, formerly Iapetus, who had helped Percy and Annabeth cross Tartarus and then sacrificed their lives to allow the two demigods to escape. When she finished, Piper didn't even know what to say. She just put a hand on her friend's arm as Annabeth brushed away tears.

"That was my nightmare," Annabeth said finally. She took a shaky breath. "It's like my dreams are stuck on a loop. I just keep replaying that scene in my head, over and over again, seeing Bob and D-Damasen as the Doors shut, trying to think of a new strategy, something that we could have done differently, but—."

"But there was nothing we could do."

Piper and Annabeth both jumped. Piper turned to see Percy leaning against the doorway. She had no idea how long he had been standing there; she'd been so absorbed in Annabeth's story, she hadn't heard him walk in. His arms were crossed and he looked exhausted.

"Sorry, wasn't trying to startle you. I heard voices, so," he shrugged. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"It's fine," Annabeth said. "Nightmares?"

"Yeah." Percy ran his hand through his hair and Piper noticed his fingers trembling. "Guess we should have expected that."

Piper recognized the expression on Percy's face because it was one she'd often seen on Jason's. He was trying to maintain the illusion of the confident leader, while inside he was freaked out. She guessed that he was doing this more for her benefit than Annabeth's. Judging from the way Annabeth was studying her boyfriend's face and frowning slightly, Piper figured she had guessed right. Time to go.

She patted Annabeth's arm as she stood up. "We're going to defeat the giants and put Gaea back to sleep. We'll find a way." She put just a touch of charmspeak into her words and both of her friends' shoulders relaxed a fraction. She squeezed Percy's arm as she passed him. "Try to get some sleep, you guys."

Feeling drained, as if Annabeth's story had sucked the energy out of her, Piper made her way back down the hall. The ship was now rocking gently with the waves. She paused at the door of her cabin, listening for noises from on deck. She heard Leo's voice and Jason's laugh, so she knew they were safe.

For now.

Piper wasn't sure whether she actually heard the voice, or if it was only in her head, but it sounded like Gaea, taunting her again. She tried to push from her mind the thought that Leo was fated to die in Preveza.

"I will never let you hurt my friends," Piper whispered to the demented earth goddess.

She thought she heard a laugh, as low as the rumble of an earthquake, but she couldn't be sure.

Shaking, but determined to try and get some sleep, Piper shut her door, curled up under the covers, and counted pegasi until she fell asleep.