Okay, here's the next part of the sugar-high/mast-climbing scene. It doesn't have much of the Percy sugar high in it, and it gets pretty serious after the first few bits, but hey, the action is about to start.

Alright, guys, so I'm having a little trouble writing the next chapter, which is from Jason's POV. I know he's been really OOC pretty much this entire fanfic, and I would love to hear your guys' ideas on how to make him better. Also, if you have any fanfics to recommend that would help me with the way I portray him, that would be great. Point: I need help making Jason more in character. Any takers? You can PM me, or put it in a review, or whatever. I just need advice, and all that.

Hopefully, I'll still be able to update again tomorrow, as usual, but if I don't, you'll know why. If that happens, though, I do promise that I will review the next day, Tuesday, no matter what. I just don't want the quality of my writing to suffer.

Happy Reading, my lovelies!

Chapter XLVII

Frank

Frank climbs up right after Hazel, watching her to make sure she doesn't fall, ready to catch her if she does. He shouldn't be worried; if anything, he's the one that would fall, but he's allowed to be concerned for his girlfriend, right?

He blushes, thinking of her as his girlfriend. But he knows he's right; even if she's younger and a little old-fashioned, they're definitely boyfriend and girlfriend. There's nothing else to call it. And he couldn't be happier about it.

Hazel pulls herself out onto the crosspiece of the mast above him, scooting over so there's just enough room for him. He's a little cramped, crushed against the mast, but since it means that Hazel has to lean against him so that she doesn't push Jason over, he doesn't complain.

He studies her face, really looks at her for the first time in a while, and he knows he's staring, but he doesn't care. It's like he can't help but look at her; like there's some magnetic force pulling his eyes to look at her.

The wind tosses her cinnamon toast hair into her face, but she doesn't seem to care. She closes her eyes and breathes in, smiling, happy. Then she snuggles closer against Frank's chest, and he wraps his arm around her.

Now that she's safely tucked against him, Frank can look around. So he does, finally pulling his eyes away from her and gazing out over the clouds.

The ship continued rising into the air after they all started climbing, and now they're far above the sea, glittering below them, and above some of the lower clouds. It's like a whole different world. The sky is bluer than Frank has ever seen it, and the sun is shining brightly. The only sound is the wind whistling around their ears and the conversations of each of the demigods.

Percy's still hanging upside down, making silly faces up at Annabeth, who's rolling her eyes at him. Part of her attention is being drawn to a conversation with Leo, which sounds like it's about one of his upgrades. A crane of some sort, maybe. Piper and Jason are talking in earnest, joking and laughing with each other.

"It's nice up here, isn't it?" Frank asks, not really asking, just thinking out loud. But Hazel answers him anyway.

"Yeah. Yeah, it really is." She says, looking up at him, smiling softly, glowing with happiness. Her eyes are vibrant gold, shining brightly. "It's nice to have some fun for once."

"Maybe we should give Percy sugar more often. It makes for some pretty good entertainment." Frank says, and she laughs. The sound of her laugh warms his heart, and he can feel a ridiculous smile on his face, but he doesn't care.

Then he spots land, far off in the distance, presumably the coast of some part of Greece. From this far off, it doesn't look like anything special; just a brown and green smudge on the horizon. But for some reason, he feels drawn to it, like he's supposed to go there...

"Hey, Leo," He calls, "what part of Greece is that?"

Leo turns to look. "Oh. Probably Pylos. We were getting close to it, last time I checked."

Frank freezes. "Pylos?" He asks weakly.

A familiar voice whispers in his mind. Pylos. It says. I await you in Pylos.

"Yeah, Pylos. Didn't you have an ancestor from there? Perri- something or other?" Leo asks, but Frank barely hears him.

"We need to stop there." He hears himself saying, as if from a long way away. He can't stop staring at the land in the distance, so it takes a bit for him to realize that everyone's staring at him.

"What?" Jason asks.

"Why?" Leo adds.

"Frank," Hazel says softly, "what's wrong?"

Her concerned eyes manage to drag him back to the present.

"When we were is Epirus," he starts, "in the House of Hades, I heard a voice."

"I remember. But what does that have to do with Pylos? Nico said it was normal." Hazel says.

"Because the voice said, 'Pylos. I await you in Pylos.' I think it was the ghost of my ancestor, Periclymenus. And I think I'm supposed to go there and find him." Frank explains.

Everyone is quiet. Percy sits up, his face serious.

"Frank, that could be dangerous. Gaea knows about your ancestry too. It could be a trap." Annabeth says.

"Even if it is, I think he needs to go." Percy interjects, no longer goofing around. "He can't ignore a summons from his own ancestor. And if it'll help us against the giants, I'm all for it."

"Uh, well, it might not have much to do with them." Frank says. He actually has absolutely no clue what Periclymenus could have to tell him, but he's not about to say that out loud.

"Considering that it no doubt has something to do with you-maybe your powers-and you're part of the Seven, I think that there's very little doubt that it won't have something to do with the giants, Frank." Percy points out.

Frank sees his point, but he can't help but hope that it might have something to do with his curse-a way to fix it, maybe. True, with Leo's new fireproof pouch, his stick of firewood is about as protected as it's going to get, but maybe there's a way to reverse it. A way to make it so that his life force no longer depends on a half-burned stick of wood.

"Well, you can't go alone." Hazel says. "I'll go with you."

"Actually, Hazel, it might be better if you stay back. That way you could try and use the Mist to hide the ship. Then it might take a bit longer for Gaea to find out that we've stopped." Percy tells her.

"Even if she does, Gaea's going to know he's here as soon as he steps on land." Annabeth argues.

"He won't have to. Not until he finds what he's looking for, anyway. He can fly, remember? Well, he can change into something that can fly, anyway. Same difference, really." Percy reminds her.

"Well, if you don't want Hazel going with him, who do you think should?" Annabeth asks, seeming to realize that she needed to try a different argument. "He definitely can't go alone; that's not safe."

"I'll go with him, for one, and Jason, if he wants to." Percy states calmly, looking to Jason for an answer. Jason hesitates, looking at Piper, but then he nods, his face determined.

"No way, Percy! No, just no." Annabeth protests, shaking her head vehemently. Percy grabs her shoulder gently, turning her towards him.

"I'll be fine, Annabeth. Besides, it'll be fun. Right, Frank? Jason? We can have a guys' day out." He grins. "Leo could even come, if he wanted to."

Leo looks up, startled. Apparently he wasn't paying attention. "Um, I'd rather stay here. Keep an eye on the ship, you know."

"That's fine, too. And three is the best number for a quest anyway." Percy adds, shrugging.

"No, I won't let you, Percy. Besides, that leaves the ship virtually unprotected. You three are our best fighters." Annabeth says.

"You guys'll be fine." Percy replies dismissively. "And you're exaggerating. You girls are scary when you're mad. I'm sure you'll be able to keep things well under control while we're gone. And Leo's no slouch either; he's just as good a fighter as the rest of us guys."

"What if it's a trap? What if you don't come back?" Annabeth's voice is small.

"Don't worry, Annabeth, we'll be fine. And I'll come back; I always do. You should know that by now." Percy says gently. She doesn't answer, but something passes between them, and she straightens, her gray eyes fierce and stormy.

"Fine. But if you get yourself killed, so help me, Percy, I will bring you back from the dead so I can kill you myself." She threatens. He grins.

"Okay, then. So, Frank, Jason and I will go with you to Pylos so we can talk to your ancestor. Weird, isn't it, that I'm technically Periclymenus' uncle?"

"Weird is an understatement." Frank mutters, having only realized it when he pointed it out.

"Well, now that we have that sorted out, we should go back down to the mess hall." Percy continues.

"Why?" Annabeth asks.

"So we can get ready to go, of course. And I'm hungry. I can't kill monsters on an empty stomach, can I?" He grins, then lets himself slide forward so that he freefalls through the air.

Frank watches him, sure he's about to see him become a demigod pancake on the deck of the ship, but he grabs a rope at the last moment and swings around the mast.

"Come on, Wise Girl!" He calls. "I'll catch you, I promise."

"You better!" She yells back, before sliding forward. Percy catches her easily, and they set down lightly on the deck.

"Our turn!" Jason says cheerfully, standing in midair, using the winds to support his weight. He bows to Piper and holds out his hand. "My lady?"

She laughs and takes it, and they float slowly down to the deck, landing right next to Percy and Annabeth.

Frank looks at Hazel. She looks up at him with big gold eyes, and he can see her worry written plainly on her face.

"Hey, Hazel, I'll be fine. I promise." He tells her. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Leo, who's still sitting on the mast with them, politely turn away to give them some privacy, and he sends the son of Hephaestus a grateful look.

"I know you will. But I'd feel better if I was going with you." Hazel explains.

"Well, now you can have a girls' day with Annabeth and Piper. Leo can join you, too, I'm sure he'd love to be included." Frank says. Leo looks up at his name.

Hazel grins. "I wonder if Piper could convince him to let us put makeup on him."

"No way. Not happening." Leo interrupts, shaking his head. "Never in a million years."

"Oh, Leo, you of all people should know that Piper's powers of persuasion are hard to resist." Hazel says with pretend sympathy. Then she giggles. "I can't wait to see how you look in a dress."

Leo grins. "I'll look irresistable, as always. Team Leo for the win!" He cheers, raising a fist.

Beside Hazel, Frank pretends to vomit, and Hazel laughs again.

"So, anyway," Frank starts, "which would you prefer? Dragon or eagle?" Normally, he'd choose an eagle, since it's technically easier, but shapeshifting has been as easy as breathing since Venice.

Leo raises a hand. "I, personally, would prefer anything but an eagle. The last time you carried me as one, you dropped me, and that's an experience I'd rather not repeat."

Frank ignores him and looks at Hazel instead, waiting for her answer.

Her eyes twinkle mischeviously. "Dragon." She says.

Not one of my better endings. Still, I like it.

Did you guys get my hint? When it was Leo's chapter, I mentioned Pylos. Did any of you guess what was going to happen?