Hey, guys! Another short chapter today, but one I don't think you guys will be too bummed about. Trust me, things are about to look up. We're leading up to the big final battle sequence, it's gonna get crazy pretty soon.

Thanks to those of you who reviewed last week! Enjoy!

XLI
PIPER

"This isn't fair," Annabeth said irritably, unfolding her arms and glaring at Chiron. "You know if it were anyone else, he'd be the first to say we need to do something."

"And what would you say to him in return?" Chiron challenged, raising an eyebrow. Annabeth didn't answer, instead lowering her gaze to stare hard at the carpet in the living room of the Big House. With a heavy sigh, Chiron rolled his wheelchair around the end table beside the couch and approached the others. "Annabeth, I'm sorry. Really, I am. But a rescue mission to Mount Olympus would be extremely dangerous. I don't want to send anyone in there—not right now."

"I'll go myself," Annabeth suggested fiercely, gray eyes flashing. "Please, Chiron—I can't just sit here and do nothing."

Chiron frowned sadly. "I understand how you must feel. But consider this: we don't even know if there's any point."

Sitting on the sofa, Piper felt her heart clench painfully as the implication of those words struck her. Annabeth stared at Chiron, looking like he'd just slapped her across the face. "You're wrong," she said in a shaky voice. "He's alive. I know he is. He has to be."

"You haven't, uh… heard from the gods by any chance, have you?" Jason asked Chiron.

"I'm afraid not. I think now we need to consider the possibility that Hypnos was stopped by Erebos before he was able to wake the other immortals. If that really is the case, then we'll need a new game plan. Nyx's defeat was a major advantage. But it will take all our strength to bring Erebos down as well."

"All the more reason to focus on getting Percy back!" Annabeth insisted. Piper cringed at the look on her friend's face—it was rare to see the daughter of Athena this distraught. She would probably be halfway to the Empire State Building by now if Piper, Jason, and Frank hadn't caught up with her and forced her to the Big House first.

"Believe me," Chiron said patiently, "I want to see him return safely just as much as you do. But running off recklessly isn't the way to handle this situation. Think about it, Annabeth. I know you're more sensible than this."

"What's there to think about?" Annabeth argued. "He's always the one to save other people. All I want is to do the same for him."

Chiron frowned grimly. "Do you really think he would want you to?"

"I'm his girlfriend," Annabeth said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms. "I don't care what he wants."

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," Chiron said again. "But we just aren't ready to take on Erebos without a serious plan."

After a few seconds of silent glaring, she said shortly, "Fine. But we'd better come up with one quickly." She spun around and stalked out of the Big House, slamming the door behind her and making everyone inside flinch.

"Uh… You don't think she'll do anything crazy, do you?" Frank wondered, sounding worried.

Piper stood up with an uneasy sigh. "I'll go talk to her."

"I'm coming with you," Jason said at once. Piper didn't have the heart to turn him down. She wasn't sure if he could help at all, but since they'd made up he seemed altogether unwilling to leave her side—a fact which she couldn't say was unwelcome. So she didn't object when he followed her outside, though she did at least make him promise to let her do the talking.

"Annabeth!" she shouted once her friend was within earshot, jogging after her to catch up.

Annabeth stopped and turned around slowly, and Piper had the feeling she was rolling her eyes. "If you're worried I'm going straight to Olympus, don't be. I know an order when it's implied."

"To tell the truth, I don't know what I'm worried about," Piper admitted. "You, Percy, the gods—heck, all of us here. Things haven't exactly been going so hot lately. The way our luck's been, I'm pretty sure fighting Erebos now would be more disastrous than usual."

Annabeth's eyebrows knitted together. "You don't know that."

It was strange, Piper thought, to see Annabeth acting so defiant. She was usually so calm and level-headed, always the first to shoot down recklessness and devise a proper plan of action. She must have been shaken to the core. Piper thought back on her dream and what she and Annabeth had discussed afterward—how they now had a pretty good idea of why Erebos wanted Percy. She tried to imagine what she would do in her friend's place. If Erebos had been after Jason, and Jason had surrendered to him, wouldn't she be trying to do the same thing?

"I know this completely sucks," Piper said sympathetically, feeling as though that were a huge understatement. "But if you think about it—"

"I don't want to think about it!" Annabeth burst out desperately, throwing up her hands. "All I've been doing lately is thinking about it. Ever since Erebos sent that message everything I've done has been to keep Percy from answering it. Every minute I worry that he's… planning some escape, working out how to leave without being seen. I can't stop imagining what Erebos plans to do to him, wondering every second I look at him if it'll be the last time I ever see him. And now he's gone and I'm scared that it's happened—that he won't be coming back! I don't want to think that way anymore! I'm tired and I'm afraid and I've already lost one friend and I just can't—" Her voice cracked as a sob interrupted her sentence, breaking the end into silence. She wrapped her arms around herself and bowed her head as tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her face.

A little stunned, Piper was slow to act. But what surprised her was that Jason wasn't. He reached forward and grabbed Annabeth, folding her into his arms and letting her cry against his shoulder. At that moment, Piper was glad he'd come with her. Security like that was exactly what she thought Annabeth might need, and the simple truth was that when it came to reassuring hugs, they were really much better coming from someone bigger and stronger than you.

As Annabeth's sobs quieted, Piper reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not alone in this," she said solemnly. "You're not the only one who's worried or afraid. I know things don't look good right now, but until this thing is over, we're going to keep fighting. We're going to find Percy, one way or another. But we need to do it together. You know how dangerous Erebos is."

Breathing slowly and brushing loose tears from her face, Annabeth pulled away from Jason and gave him and Piper a small smile. "I know," she admitted. "I just hate being powerless, not knowing what to do."

"That's why we have to figure it out," Jason said. "And for that, we're gonna need you. You're kind of the best strategist we've got."

"Kind of?" Annabeth repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Piper chuckled in relief, glad to see Annabeth returning closely to normal. "We can beat him," she said firmly. "We just need the right plan."

"And a whole lot of firepower," Jason added wryly.

Piper elbowed him in the side. "Not helping." Jason held up his hands and opened his mouth, but his response was drowned out by a sudden and loud mechanical roar that made them all jump in surprise.

Festus? Piper wondered at once, recognizing the roar with ease. She remembered Nico telling them that he'd left the dragon in Death Valley, being unable to operate him, and talks had been made about sending someone to retrieve him. She'd forgotten all about Festus, to tell the truth, for which she felt kind of bad. But evidently someone must have succeeded in finding him. She would have to be sure to apologize to him at some point. It felt like something she ought to do.

But then a very familiar voice yelled a second later, "Hey! Somebody call for a little extra firepower?" and Piper's heart leapt into her throat. It was impossible. There was no way that voice was actually there. She had to have been imagining it—her subconscious still so swamped by grief that she could hear him in her head. Her mind was playing tricks on her, no doubt. Which was really unfair—she knew he was dead and that he wasn't coming back. But even then, she couldn't stop herself from spinning wildly around on the spot, eyes searching desperately for the sight she knew couldn't possibly be there.

But it was.

The ground beneath her, Jason, and Annabeth rumbled as the great, mechanical, bronze dragon landed flat on all fours, almost knocking them off their feet. And as if that wasn't enough of a jolt, Piper choked on her own breath when her eyes landed on the person seated at the base of the dragon's neck, familiar impish grin in place.

Leo was back.

:D

Review for another quick update! Later days, guys!

-oMM