Everyone is just trying to get along with each other, but there's unresolved tension, especially around the situation of Andromeda and Nico. We really can't blame anyone right now, Andromeda does understand why everyone is upset but she isn't explaining anything and Hazel is doing her part as Nico's little sister. Percy really wants to coddle his little sister but Andromeda isn't really letting him at the moment.

"How?" Leo whined, staring in dismay. I arched an eyebrow, putting down another card. He whimpered. "Percy! Your sister's OP!"

"What did she do this time?" Percy yelled from above.

"She's beating me at UNO!" He whined again. I waved my last two cards tauntingly. Frank looked like he already gave up. They should've known better than to team up again Annabeth and I. Strike that. Leo should've known better and Frank shouldn't have agreed to play without knowing who he was playing with.

This is our fifth round. We lost the first two as Annabeth focused on teaching me how to play. It just went downhills for the boys after that.

Hazel stared at me blankly, never looking away but never showing any emotions. Creepy if you ask me, but I don't really care. She was sitting next to Frank, whispering encouragement in his ear.

Annabeth already placed her last card, it was just me against Leo and Frank right now. She sat behind me with Piper, who was plaiting my hair. I wasn't sure how much she trusted me, but she couldn't help her Aphrodite side. I think she already tried three different hairstyles, and I already tried on ten different outfits. It's only been two days for Chaos's sake!

Percy and Jason were on watch duty while we all just lounge around. Our destination you may ask? Odysseus, Ithaca.

I tuned out their talk, but it was important, so that's where we're going. In a way, I find this familiar. Something the monsters talked about. Was I going to tell them? Probably not. They don't trust me, I don't trust them. Last night, I did mention it to Annabeth, but she fell asleep before I got to the good part and I'm not one to say things first. It mustn't be important if she forgets about it though, so I'm not going to bother.

Leo put a green seven. Frank changed it to red. I put down my second last card, a yellow seven. "UNO."

"No!" Leo whined. Frank sighed, already accepting defeat.

Piper sniggered behind me. "Girl power. Girls rule, boys drool."

"You said it, Pipes." Annabeth laughed, looking over my shoulder. Unconsciously, her hand played with the little trinkets of my dress. Trust an Aphrodite child to bring so many gowns. It was a surprise when we realised Piper and I were the same size. I thought I would even be able to hear her squeal even down in Tartarus. Not that that would happen now.

Leo suddenly smirked. I sighed exasperatedly. He put down a yellow 7. Frank put down a yellow three followed by a green three and a red three. And me? I put down a red four. "UNO game."

"No! Why did you have that? Frank, why did you do that!" Leo dramatically flopped down on the ground as Hazel patted Frank's shoulder sympathetically. "You should've known better."

"This is the last time I give in to Leo," Frank grumbled before stealing a kiss from her. Hazel's cheeks coloured. I just didn't bother.

"Let's review the plan, one more time." Annabeth declared, getting back all the attention. "We're landing in barely an hour or so. If not for this-" she levelled a glare at Leo. "-we would've already been planning. Nonetheless, we need to make do with this."

"Annabeth, you don't have to worry," Hazel said patiently. "We already know. You, Piper and Jason, will go to Ithaca. Get the information we need, check out the situation. Then come back."

"And what about the others?" I asked. An angry light appeared in her eyes before she dampened it. Smoothing the wrinkles in her shirt, a pointless thing I must say, she said, "well, the rest will have to guard the ship."

Piper, although not as harsh as Hazel but not warm either, said, "I guess Percy will guard the ship since we're docking closer to the ocean. Leo will be doing… whatever he's been doing. Frank will be with his girlfriend of course."

"And me?" As I've said multiple times, time is meaningless to me.

Annabeth hummed in thought as others avoided my gaze. "I suppose it depends. I don't doubt you could take care of yourself. Why don't you explore Ithaca?"

"And get lost?" I gave her a blank look.

Annabeth laughed, not taking offence. "True. I'm sorry. After Tartarus, I always forget you don't know Earth. You always knew where to go."

"It's quite easy," I mumbled, thinking of my compass.

"What if you came with us?" She suggested. "You would be a great help."

"Annabeth." Piper interrupted. "I don't doubt Andromeda, but we're trying to stay undercover. Do you really think she could do that?"

"I don't think it'll be that hard," I said amusedly.

"Andromeda, do you know what you're talking about?" Hazel asked, rolling her eyes. She clearly hasn't forgiven me. Do I care? Nope. "It's the biggest gathering of evil spirits I have ever sensed. One misstep and everything goes wrong."

"That goes the same for your Mist, Hazel." I shot back. "Besides, who knows with distance? I can also control the Mist. Better than you if I recall."

Her cheeks flushed. "If I also had three years-"

"Hazel, don't go there," Annabeth warned. "I know you and Romy aren't exactly BFFs, but at least try to be civil."

"Romy?" I smirked.

"If Percy gets to have a special nickname for you that only he uses, so do I. I'm testing nicknames for now, see which one I like." Annabeth shrugged, not even flustered.

"You do you." I shifted.

Immediately, Piper slapped my shoulder. "Stop moving!"

"Okay, okay. I'm stopping." I put my hands up mockingly. Piper went back to what she was doing.

"Look, I don't understand you, Annabeth," Hazel said. "You and Percy before Tartarus hated her. Then suddenly you are best friends and Percy seems to only care about her. It's like she placed you under a spell or something. You're acting like she isn't responsible for what happened to Nico!"

"I've done worse, for your information." I pitched in. They weren't that interested. How rude.

Annabeth snorted, annoyed for me. "I know what she has done, Hazel. I know, and I've looked past that. Nico isn't completely innocent either. You don't see Romy getting frustrated with him."

"See what I mean?" Hazel looked at Frank and Leo who avoided her gaze. "You always defend her while she sits by. Nico also trusted her. See what that brought him!"

"You take that back!" Annabeth leapt up, enraged. I've never seen her this mad. It's already been Hazel's third outburst.

"No! Because it's the truth!" Hazel also got up.

"You have no idea what happened in Tartarus. You have no right to talk like you know her personally." Annabeth hissed.

"You've changed." I could see the hurt in Hazel's eyes. Piper slowed down. "It's like your world revolves around Andromeda."

"Of course not!" Annabeth scoffed. "Do you even hear yourself? Romy is my friend. She was there when I was hurt, when Percy was dying. She helped us when we needed her. Now she needs us, of course we would repay the favour! She didn't need to help us but she did. I don't expect you to love her or something, but please, keep your thoughts to yourself, Hazel!"

"You sound like we're only friends because I helped you." I pouted, showing my eyes like Percy taught me. Annabeth softened immediately. "You know that's not why, Romy!"

"You were jealous if I recall," I said. "When Percy and I told you, you worked hard to fix that. Sometime between this and that, we became friends. You were worried about me. You and Percy… showed me the loveliness of the sun and stars."

"Oh, Romy." She kissed my forehead. "That's so sweet."

Hazel looked away. "You don't know how it was those days, thinking Nico was going to die. Knowing he was relying on us to rescue him and if we failed, I would be failing my brother, the brother who brought me back to life. He is everything to me."

"Percy also means everything to me," I said sincerely. "I understand where you are coming from, and I don't expect anything from you. Frankly, I don't really care. When you're ready, you're ready. No one can force you to hurry."

"How did we come to this?" I heard Leo mutter to Frank who said back, "they're girls, what did you expect?"

"Hazel, you are also one of my friends and I don't want to argue with you," Annabeth said sadly before turning in my direction. "You too, Piper. You might be less vocal, but please. You don't understand what happened. You can't judge her if you don't know her!"

I winced as Piper tightened her hold on my hair. "Annabeth, I never thought you were one to do this. Percy I never doubted, but you? That is so unexpected." Piper shook her head. "I do not hate you, Andromeda." She said to me, "I never did. I don't hate you because I understand how impossible it must have been in your position. It's just… my impression of you at first wasn't so great, and I am just trying to get past that. That's all."

Annabeth visibly relaxed. I knew Piper is one of her best friends. I think so am I, though I'm still not good at relations. All I knew was that no one likes to choose between this and that.

"Hey, guys? I think we've reached." Jason yelled from above deck. I looked up. Piper started going even faster. Hazel sighed sadly, and walked out. Well, at least it was better than yesterday. The ship didn't crash. That has to count as something, right?

"I gotta go see this," Leo said in excitement as he and Frank left the room, leaving Annabeth, Piper and me.

"I feel like it's been very chaotic." I scrunched up my face. "Do humans always hold such grudges?"

"Children of Hades and Pluto tend to do more than others," Annabeth informed me, sitting back down cross-legged in front of me. "As for chaotic, well, you haven't seen the worst of it. At least for now, it has been smooth sailing."

"How odd. If I were to ever get into an argument in Tartarus I wouldn't even let the other party say something. Humans are… much more fragile than monsters."

"They can regenerate." Piper pulled at my hair. I put my hands on the ground to stabilise myself. "We cannot."

"That's the main difference between monsters and demigods," Annabeth said sadly. Just then, the door creaked open. I took out one of Leo's 'gifts' for me, a celestial bronze dagger, with the initials, A.J. carved at the handle, and aimed it at the door. Percy came in, with his hands up. Guess he learned his lesson from yesterday.

"Back so soon?" I lowered the dagger.

"Jason assured me they got it." He sat down next to me, ruffling my hair. Hopefully, Jason wasn't lying because I'll be pissed if he was.

"Percy!" Piper snapped. "Can you just wait for me to finish and take a picture before you go and ruin my hard work?"

Yeah, she's using me as a model. Was that the word she used yesterday? I think so. If I remember correctly she said it was for her siblings back at camp to see and admire. Something about being envious as well.

"Come on, Pipes, don't you think she's beautiful as she is?" Percy asked, smiling widely. He moved his hand away though, and Piper quickly fixed his mess.

"How long have you been here?" He asked me.

"Not long," Annabeth answered for me. "Piper just started on our fourth round."

"Better than yesterday then." He nodded. "I'm relieved I don't have to deal with this."

"Oh really?" Piper challenged. "Then I'll tell my siblings."

"No need." Percy laughed it off, but I could see he was getting tensed up. Someone really didn't like to get makeovers.

"Percy, we were deciding just now whether Romy should join Piper, me and Jason when we go to Ithaca," Annabeth said, after stealing a kiss from him.

"Oh? Is that why Hazel looked like she just met her worst fear?" He raised his eyebrow. Wow, he didn't even question the nickname part.

"Really? I'm flattered."

Piper poked my side. "I'm serious, Andromeda. Stop moving."

"What are you even doing?" I grumbled.

"You'll like the finishing result." Was all she said as she looped my hair. Or at least that's what it feels like. I hate how the pins were just poking my scalp.

"Seaweed Brain, stop joking about that." Annabeth sighed.

Percy hummed, keeping his eyes on me as he played with Annabeth's hair instead. "Sephie, are you sure? I mean, it's only been three days since you know what. How's your back doing?"

Oh yeah. That. "A dull throb. Hardly noticeable. It's been healing faster ever since we escaped Tartarus, but I haven't been doing anything strenuous, so I can't exactly say exactly." I replied honestly.

A worried crease appeared on his forehead. "I don't know." He told Annabeth. "I don't really trust what Sephie calls 'a dull throb,' you get me?"

"Oh come on!" I complained when Annabeth nodded and Piper muttered a faint, "definitely." I wasn't that bad!

"Romy, you are worse than Percy when pretending you are fine." Annabeth snorted. I must've said that out loud. Whoops. "Weren't you the one who told me you were perfectly fine after Piper zapped you with that hair straightener?"

"Was an accident!" Piper protested at the same time I said, "that's because I was perfectly fine! Didn't even leave a mark."

"That's because Percy freaked out and almost raided our entire stock of ambrosia." Percy flushed red as I folded my arms. "I only ate a fifth of what he brought me."

"And the ice-cold bath you spent an hour on? Because Piper somehow hit your back?" Annabeth sighed. "Face it, Romy. Your definition of fine and alright is completely different from ours."

"I'm not lying!" I complained.

"Maybe you're not in your terms. How about in my terms?" I pondered about this. "Well, technically, I do not know your terms."

"Romy…" Annabeth warned.

"I told you I'm fine, Ann." I sighed theatrically. "I can fight."

"Roomy, you were able to fight not even an hour after Tartarus attacked you." She countered.

"Wow. I cannot tell who is more overprotective over you." Piper muttered. "Annabeth or Percy." I cannot find any lies in her words.

"Fine, you can go." Percy relented, leaning over to kiss my forehead. "But be safe, okay? Do not throw yourself into any unnecessary trouble. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Listen to Annabeth. And most of all do not blow your cover."

"Percy, if you are this overprotective, I'm not exactly sure seeing Mum again would be worth it." I winced. "Both of you loved to coddle me back then."

"And now we'll have thirteen years of coddling to make up for," Percy said seriously. "If you think I'm bad, wait for Mum. She'll be worse than the cuddle monster."

I groaned in my hands as Annabeth and Piper laughed at my expense. "Why do you remember that?"

"Those memories were the ones I cherished most. Aside from the ones we are making now of course." He kissed my cheek.

"How cute," Piper remarked.

"I know." Annabeth agreed. "If I didn't know who Romy was, I'd be so jealous."

"You were." Piper snorted.

"I'm not the one who is still conflicted about what to think of her," Annabeth muttered, albeit angrily.

"Oh, I don't know! I'm not the one who has a whole special bond with said girl!" Piper shot back.

"You wanna get out of here?" I whisper to Percy.

"Your hair?" He asked.

"Piper's already done." That's the rule. A minute of no moving means she is already done and is just admiring her handiwork. It's been a minute and a half already. "Just don't mess it up before she gets that picture of hers and the two of you won't have any trouble." I shrugged. Percy laughed, checking on Annabeth and Piper who were in an animated argument. We sneaked out quietly.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked as we closed the door behind us. I wrapped my hands around his neck, burying my face in his chest. "I miss you."

"Oh Sephie, it's only been a few hours." He chuckled as we just stayed outside the door of two girls yelling at each other.

"Don't lie and say you didn't miss me."

"Okay, I won't." He untangled himself from me but held onto my hand. "You wanna go hang out in my bunk?"

"Do we get privacy?"

"Of course." He rubbed tiny circles with his thumb on the back of my palm.

"We barely get that anymore," I muttered as Percy guided me to his room. This feeling was so odd, not knowing where I was going. In Tartarus, I always knew. There are so many flaws in that. I could get lost. I could get cornered if I need to escape. I could easily trap myself. Like I said. Flaws.

"Hey, it's only been three days."

"You spent day one with your friends." I counted. "I didn't bring it up because you needed that. But on day two, you left me with Leo to accompany Annabeth while she was on guard duty. I think Leo vomited three times because I explicitly described to him some of the torture the monsters did on me and how I got revenge. He left me only after an hour or so and I got lost. I found myself in the stables of all places and found Hazel and Frank kissing. Do you know how awkward that was? I wanted to catch up at night but you had guard duties. Really, even Annabeth spends more time with me."

"I'm sorry, Sephie." He said, albeit guiltily. "It's a lot to catch up on, you know? I feel like… I let everyone down sometimes."

"And you're working overtime to fix that." I scoffed. I was secretly happy though, that he would tell me these things without hesitance. That he trusts me as much as I trust him. Maybe more. "Brother, you know no one thinks that. It's your self-doubt. You and I will fix that before Gaia is defeated. Or else, hm, I dunno. Maybe my mouth will slip, just as Annabeth is in the same room."

"You two are menaces. I feel like I'm a masochist." He muttered.

"Oh, brother. Our friendship started with us ganging up on you. It's a hobby we share, you know?" I said sweetly.

"Friendship? Sometimes I feel that you and her are much closer. You certainly became friends faster." He complained.

"Oh don't be such a worry-rat. You know I love you."

"Me too, Sephie." The tension melted off of him and he gave me the trademark Jackson grin. "Oh, look. We have already reached."

Percy's room was rather plain compared to the others, but that is to be expected. There weren't any personal photos which upset me. I did want to see what our mother looked like. Did I resemble her? I wasn't sure.

"I did want to share a room with you, like when we were kids," Percy admitted, flopping on the bed. I wrinkled my nose, sitting down on a chair. I do not understand how they can enjoy such… things. Annabeth had been concerned when I opted to sleep on the ground, but she had been understanding. Unlike me, I cannot fathom why. "But I guess you girls should stick together."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities after this war." I soothed him. I was almost guilty when he beamed.

"Yeah, you're probably right." His eyes lit up. "I have to introduce you to Mum's cooking." He gushed.

I thought back. "You mean the drowning pancakes?"

"Hey! We children of Poseidon can't drown, and neither can our pancakes. Don't diss them!" Percy complained. "And I'm not talking about that. I meant her cookies."

"Are they sweet?"

"Of course! We'll start small if you're not ready, but everyone loves Mum's cookies."

"I'll be the judge of that." I retorted.

"You do you, Sephie. But at the end of the day, I'll be victorious!" He crowed, raising his arms.

"You sound like this is a competition." I snorted.

"Could be." He shrugged before leaping up. "I know! A bet! If you don't like it, I'll do what you want."

"Really? Well… I want to go to California then, on a day trip." I announced. Let's see if what Luke says really is true.

"Alright. If I win…" He thought about it, finger tapping on his chin. Then he snapped his fingers. "I know! You'll go to Atlantis with me."

I paused. He didn't say anything. The room faded into the background as I stared at him like some kind of animal, blinking slowly. Percy's grin never faltered.

"Atlantis?"

"Well, yeah. Our father's realm. You'll love it there."

"Where Poseidon lives with his wife and first son?"

There, Percy scratched the back of his head sheepishly before shrugging. "Amphitrite treats me well enough. Triton doesn't keep his hatred a secret, but he is at least civil when I do visit. You'll love it."

"Fine. Whatever." I leaned back on the chair. "So what else do you want to do after defeating Gaia?"

"We're going to Montauk." He rubbed his palms together, already forming a plan. "I'm going to put Annabeth's and my plan on hold. I'm sure Annabeth wouldn't mind. She's ahead of the college students anyway, she can afford to take a break. We'll spend the whole time chillaxing."

"Is that a word?"

"If it isn't, then it should be." He looked way too pleased with himself. I shook my head. "We'll go to Montauk." He continued planning. "I'll convince our friends to come. Then I'll show you my second home. Our cabin is still there, I hope. Then we'll have tons of fun. A sibling getaway."

"It won't be a sibling getaway if your friends will be there, silly." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh well. A celebration then. We defeated Gaia!" He spread his hands dramatically. At least he's not worried about the war anymore.

"Nothing sweet." I scrunched up my face in disgust. "Too sweet."

"Sephie, that's the point of sweets." Percy pointed out. "And Mum's cookies will also be sweet." He sighed, leaning back on the bed before unceremoniously falling back on the bed because he forgot there wasn't a backrest.

"Percy, you are so awkward," I remarked as he quickly tried to pretend nothing happened.

"We can't all be perfect." He retorted. "Anyways, we'll go slow. I'll get you addicted to sweets in no time."

"Maybe." I paid no attention because he would probably carry out his plans. His optimism is… better than his pessimistic side. Like I said though, I'm the pessimistic one, not him. Maybe that was what made us different. As different as the sun and the moon. Like Apollo is loud, boisterous and cheerful, Artemis is cold, withdrawn and indifferent to anyone but her hunters. Don't ask me how I know. I don't really want to walk down memory lane. Especially now.

Percy was still rambling and I tried to listen to him. It's kinda cute in a way. I get how Annabeth likes him. Still, we were so engrossed, when Leo came over, we completely ignored him. So he decided to have revenge on us by purposely giving us a rough landing.

I shrieked in surprise as the ship suddenly landed with a thud and I fell forward, hitting my forehead on the edge of Percy's bed. He wasn't faring that well either. He fell backwards, into his massive stack of pillows completely covering his head, thus suffocating him.

By the time he managed to find his way out, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching with mixed fascination at the blood trickling down my fingers where I covered the bump earlier. "Sephie!" He knelt. "Hold on for a sec, okay? I'll go get some ambrosia and-"

"Oh, don't bother, brother." I waved his concern away. "Maybe a decade ago, I wanted your coddling, but not now. I'm perfectly fine." I instantly regretted my words as his face fell. Of course, he didn't want reminders of how he 'failed' me. Even though, you know, I don't think that. "I'll be really grateful for a cup of water though," I said softer as his hand covered the bump. It didn't really hurt much, a bit like a heartbeat, except every thud was a pulse of pain and blood poured out instead of through my veins. Faint, and I couldn't feel it unless I purposely went to search for it.

"On it. You wait here. Maybe sit down and rejuvenate. We need you in tiptop shape if you're going to go with Annabeth, Piper and Jason." He dashed off as I got up and eased into a chair.

Percy came back with not only the cup of water but with the rest of the Seven. I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Is it time?"

Hazel nodded, unable to look me in the eye but also having calmed down from before. "Percy told us you were still in his room. I was curious to know, but I guess this is it. Leo, I told you to be careful of the landing!" Leo whimpered as he was subjected to the full Annabeth glare.

"It's not too bad," I mutter. "Better than what Piper did."

"Aha! I told you!" Annabeth smiled, victorious.

"Alright." Jason interrupted finally. "I know you guys want to just stay here and prove Andy wrong, but we're behind time. Hazel?"

"Do you even know what you're saying, Jason?" I asked as Percy carefully dribbled water down my head. It rejuvenated me, and I managed to my feet, going over to where Annabeth, Piper and Jason were standing.

"Alright. Andy, I'm trusting you to help. I'm not exactly sure how far my Mist can work. I'm hoping it won't fail, but our luck is never good. So, in case it fails, you'll have to do it." Hazel said finally, rubbing her hands together. I nodded. She chooses not to argue, I won't provoke her. "Of course."