WARNING: Chapter 17 was updated with new information. You should probably go back and read it. If your just gonna read this chapter without going back thats cool. It shows youre a barbarian. I like that.

Jason woke up in the infarmary.

His head hurt. He lightly touched his forhead and winced. There was a bump above his right eyebrow. He looked around and saw Frank sleeping next to him in a chair.

"Hi," he said weakly.

Frank mumbled something in his sleep. Jason wasn't sure, but he thought he said something about a guy named Mimas and butterflies. Weird, but then again, when were demigod dreams normal?

"Hey," he said louder this time. "Frank wake up."

More butterfly nonsense.

"Frank!" he poked Frank's arm. "It's the end of the world! We're all about to die!"

Jason waited but nothing happened. He leaned forward. "BOO! GRR! Wake up! Come on Zhang! Wake up!"

It didn't work.

Jason leaned  back, defeated. He sipped some nectar that sat on a table near him, and sneezed.

Frank's eyes shot open. "What- oh hey! You're awake! Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have drool on my face?"

Loud noises didn't wake him up, but sneezes did. Go figure.

"Nevermind." Jason said. "It's nothing." He looked around the room. "Wait a sec, I'm not in Tartarus anymore!"

Frank scooted his chair back, like Jason made him nervous. "No, you and Mrs. O'Leary appeared this morning.You were unconscious so we brought you down here. You scared Coach Hedge by the way, He is not happy."

Jason's head started to throbb. He remebered now. He had woken up to the sound of Percy talking to the hellhound. Annabeth had been asleep, unaware of her boyfreinds conversation. Jason had asked him if it was his turn to take watch. Percy took out Riptide, said 'Sorry about this.' and then everything went black.

"I remeber now." He told Frank what had happened, including their fight with Arachne. "Where's Mrs. O'Leary?"

"In the stables," Frank looked at the door. "We should probably go tell Leo you're awake. He's been real worried about you."

Jason rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah, ok. But first I should probably go see Piper. She was pretty upset when I left."

"No," Frank said.

 Jason blinked "Excuse me?"

"You can't," he looked ready to cry.

Jason jumped out of the bed he had beeen lying on. "Something happened while I was gone. Why can't I see Piper?"

Frank shook his head.

Jason ran toward the staires. He bolted up them three at a time. Finally he reached her door.

Now a polite boyfriend would of knocked before entering his girlfriends room. Jason obviously was not a polite boyfriend. He kicked the door and ran in.

He stood there, and looked at the wreckage. He ran out of the room and onto the deck.

Hedge, who was standing against the rail, yelled "You nearly gave me a heart attack earlier, Grace! I should make you do fifty-seven pushups as punishment!"

Jason ignored him and ran to the head of ship. Leo was there, steering the Argo II.

"Leo!" he grabbed him away from the ship's controls. "Where's Piper?"

Leo's eyes were puffy. He had been crying. "Her and Hazel are...are..."

"Are what?"

Leo put his face in his hands. "They're gone, Jason. They were both taken. It's all my fault!"

"Leo," he tried to stay calm. "What happened?"

Leo told him about how they had discovered Piper was missing, and about Lamia's attack. "I forgot to set alarm again! Its all my fault."

Jason sat on the floor. He wanted to roll up in a ball. The last thing he did with Piper was make her cry. Now she was gone, he might never get a chance to apologize.

Leo knelt down next to him. "I'm so sorry." he repeated.

Jason wanted to get mad at him, but he couldn't. They had been through to much together. Leo was his best friend. "It's ok man. I don't blame you."

Leo looked surprised. "You're not mad?"

Jason forced a smile. "Of course not. It's not your fault you forgot to set the alarm. Things happen."

Leo wouldn't meet his eyes. "Thanks Jason. For everything."

Jason nodded. "I think its time for a meeting."

Leo groaned. "I hate those. They always turn out bad."

"Not always."

"Stop lying."

"They're will be donuts."

Leo paused. "All right. But only if I get the jelly one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason didn't lie. There were donuts. But everyone was so anxious that nobody ate, Except Hedge, who also nibbled on his napkin.

"Alright Cupcakes," he burped. "Lets get this meeting started. Grace, you go first."

Jason told them what he had told Frank. The other's were happy to hear Percy and Annabeth were safe, but that feeling didn't last long.

Nico sighed and gave the hungry satyr his silverwear to munch on. "Percy would do that. Send you back, I mean. But I'm surprised he didn't make Annabeth go instead."

"I was thinking the same thing," Frank said. He looked pretty upset. Jason hadn't even stopped to consider how Frank must be feeling. His girlfriend had admitted she had feelings for Leo, then she had dissapeared. Jason wasn't a child of Aphrodite, but he could tell Frank needed some serious relationship help.

Leo absentmindedly poked his donut, making jelly flood his plate. "Maybe it's because he doesn't want to lose her again. Or 'cause in a life or death situation, he would pick Annabeth to help him fight and not Jason." His eyes flickered to his friend "Uh, no offense."

"None taken," Jason said. He didn't blame Percy. He proabably would of preffered for Piper to have his back then the son of Posideon. Not that Percy wasn't a good fighter. They just didn't know each other that well. "I think your right. Plus Annabeth would kill him if he sent her back."

"No kidding," Frank mumbled.

"Now," Jason's hands were sweating. "Can we discuss the more important problem?"

"Yeah," Hedge brushed crumbs out of his goatee. "Like how the toilet paper was changed from extra quilted to soft! Outrages!"

Jason expected everyone to start laughing, but the old satyr was dead serious. "Uh, Coach?"

"Yeah?"

"I meant about Piper and Hazel."

"Yeah yeah ok, but first we need to adress this problem! My little rump is not happy with these changes! Not happy at all! Now, I ask you. What are we gonna do about it?"

"Coach," Frank gripped the arms of his chair. "Piper and Hazel are in danger. They could die."

"I'll tell you what were gonna do about it!" Coach continued. "We're gonna stop at the nearest store and were gonna buy some toilet paper! Extra quilted toilet paper! No more of this soft buisness. Ugh, soft. The word feels disgusting on my tounge."

"Coach-" Frank gritted his teeth.

"Soft is for pansies. Tough satyrs only use extra quilted."

"Coach-"

"Pan used extra quilted, you know. So did Grover Underwood. Cause smart and tough satyrs only use-"

Frank rose from his chair. "Coach! Shut up!"

Gleeson Hedge stood up. "What did you say?"

Jason shared a look with Leo. Uh oh

The fear was clear on the son of Mars's countenance, but he didn't back down. "Look, I'm sorry. But Hazel...and Piper are in danger. They could be dead. And we need to save them before its too late. We can not be wasting our time discussing stupid toilet paper types! It doesnt matter! I don't care if your little goat rump is unhappy!"

"But-"

"And if you think toilet paper is more important then our friends, then you can just leave! Go back to the wild! Meanwhile, were going to work on saving them and the world from Gaea!"

Silence. No one said anything. Hedge walked over to Frank, slowly, his eyes in slits. Jason held his breath. Leo seemed ready to bolt. And Frank...well Frank looked green. Like, REALLY green.

Then Hedge did something they did not expect. He looked at Frank and said "You're right."

Frank flinched. "I'm what?"

"You're right. I care to much about myself to even consider your problems. Maybe it would be best for everyone if I just left. I was never much of a protector anyways."

Frank unfroze. "Coach, no! Thats not what I meant!"

But Hedge had already left the room.

"Great," Leo mumbled. "Now its just the four of us."

Nico looked at Jason mumbled something about bad dreams, and fell asleep on the table.

"Make that five," Leo muttered.

Frank slumped into his chair. "I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to make him leave. I just got so mad. I couldn't help it."

Jason looked at all the empty chairs. Percy and Annabeth were in Tartarus, Piper and Hazel were somewhere, and Hedge was sulking in his room. Perfect.

"Guys," he said. "This seems like a divide and conquer move by Gaea."

Leo held his head. "Why can't anything go right for us?"

" 'Cause we're demigods." Frank grumbled. "Stupid, messed up demigods."

"Hey," Jason tried to lighten the mood. "Dont be so upset. Yeah were demigods and our lives suck, but that doesn't mean we can't try and make them a little better. Right?"

Leo pulled mints out of his toolbelt. Frank played with his bows.

"Right?"he urged.

Leo sighed. "I guess."

"Yeah," Frank said quietly.

"Ok then." Jason put his hands together. "Now Leo, does your ship have a tracking device or something?"

"Yeaaaaah."

"Then could we like track Piper or something?"

Leo concentrated on his mints. Finally he looked up. "I...I think so."

Jason smiled. "Great! Then lets go!"

"It's just...it's way to easy. Nothing is easy for us. Nothing."

 Frank nodded. "He has a point."

They were right. "But what choice do we have? It's our only option. Unless one of you has a plan?"

They shook their heads in unison.

"Leo, what do we need for your tracking thingy?"

The son of Hephestaus scratched his head. "Uh, a sample of Piper or Hazel's DNA. Spit would work really well."

Frank snorted. "I dont think we have any of that. I personally prefer to keep my siliva inside of me, not in a jar."

Leo glared. "Fine. Then I guess we could use hair?"

Jason snapped his fingers. "I think I saw Piper brushing her hair once. That's got to have some stray strands on it, right?"

Leo nodded, and got to his feet. "You guys go get the brush, and I'll get the tracking device ready."

"On it!"

Jason and Frank ran into Piper's room. Jason faultered, but he went in. Her room was so messed up. She must of put up a fight. He smiled. That was his girlfriend alright. Stubborn as ever.

It took a few minutes, but finally they found the brush. And...Yes! There were indeed hairs in it! The two demigods were about to bring the piece of plastic to Leo when they passed Hedge's room. Both boys stopped.

"I've got to apologize." Frank said. "I never meant to hurt the old goat."

Jason nocked on the door. Secretly, he wanted to make ammends with the satyr too. They had known him for so long. He had sacrificed himself for them at the Grand Canyon. Jason would never admit it, but the coach had made a spot in his heart. A tiny one, but still. It was there.

They waited a few seconds. Frank groaned. "Please don't let him be gone too!" They pushed the door opened and found a leaf sitting on the bed. It said:

Cupcakes,

        Hate to say this but you were actually right about something. For once. I've been a bad chaperone. Heck I've been the worst chaperone in the history of ever. What I'm trying to say is that I'm leaving. Going back to the wild. Maybe go to Camp Half-Blood and help with this dumb war. I don't know. Don't bother looking for me. You have enough things to worry about.

                                                      Gleeson Hedge

Jason started to tremble. He wasn't sure what from. Anger or sadness? Fear? Probably a combination of the three. He dropped the leaf Gleeson had used as paper and went to the deck, Frank behind him.

They found Leo playing with hs Wii remote and making a sour face at his controls. He turned to the sound of their footsteps and his face relaxed a little. "Finally. I thought you died."

"Gee, thanks," Frank sat down on the floor.

"Hedge is gone," Jason's eyes stung, but he willed himself not to cry.

"What? Why?"

He told him about the note they had found. "Ah, man," Leo said. "Why is it that everyone we care about even a little bit runs away?"

Jason shook his head. "I've been asking myself the same question for the past 5 years. Here, we got the brush."

"Hold it!" Leo said. He took out rubber gloves, a mask like the ones dentists use and tweezers. "Ready."

"Why?"

"Dude this is Piper's hair. I aint gonna touch it. When is the last time any of us took a shower? Plus, girls have cooties."

Frank rolled his eyes. "You're crazy."

Leo put the gloves and masks on. "Maybe. But I'm also safe from contamination. And a fatal disease or lice." He grabbed the brush from Jason and handeled it like it was Greek Fire. Slowly, he used the tweezers and picked up a strand of hair. He placed it on a small gray tray with a scanning device thing attached to it. Leo put the brush down and exhaled. "Whew," he took his protective gear off. "Glad thats over with."

"Now what?" Frank asked.

"Now? Now we just wait for Festus to locate Piper. Then we will set course for a trap, no doubt."

Jason was impatient. He didn't care if he was leading them to a painful death. He just wanted to see Piper again.

Finally after about three agonizing minutes of waiting, the machine beeped.

"I found her," Leo said.

ok so that took like FOREVER. im really sorry guys! i got so much homwork this week (hi Mrs. Blakely) i nearly died!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was crazy

anyway

this is dedicated to Thespanishespia because her profile pic made me laugh (i dont know why. probably cause i have no social life so even a fly will make me laugh) and cause shes one of my followers. So there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH! i want to brag about something to you guys! if you dont want to read this whatever. i dont care what you think! just take your stuff and leave! you wouldnt be the first one!

im just kidding guys i dont care if you skip this. i just have the sudden urge to type about something good that actually happened to me. so yeah. here it goes

IN DRAMA, WE GOT NEW PARTS TO THIS WEIRD OLD PLAY AND I GOT THE LEAD ROLE OF ANNE(so exciting! ermurgod) WHO IS MARRIED TO WILL AND I HAVE TO LIKE HUG WILL TWICE ( no comment) AND THE WORST PART IS THE GUY PLAYING WILL IS KINDA SORT OF CUTISH (fangirl moment over boy that ive only known for a few weeks and yet i have already felt feelings toward him) SO IT WILL BE AKWARD. BUT IT DOESNT STOP THERE. MY PARENTS WILL BE WATCHING. (why do the gods punish me so?) MY MOM IS SO OVERPROTECTIVE, SHE WONT LET ME SEE A MOVIE WITH FRIENDS UNLESS SHE  COMES. SERIOUSLY MOM I HAVE A LIFE! LEAVE MINE ALONE!!!! GODS. AAAAAAAAND WHEN I TOLD MY DAD I HAD TO HUG A GUY DURING THE PLAY, HE GOT ALL STRICT AND MAD AND HAD A TALK WITH ME ABOUT DATING!!!! TRUST ME, YOU HAVE NOT WITNESSED PURE TERROR UNTIL YOUR DAD HAS GIVEN YOU THE "BOYFRIEND TALK" I MEAN SERIOUSLY? i noticed that i was more complaing and not bragging. Funny, i seem to get those two mixed up a lot. hmmmm.

you guys are probably thinking to yourselfes "well, theres 1 minute of my life i will never get back cause i wasted it on reading about this stupid giirls probalems. teehee."

Well you know what?!  i dont give a poop! thats right! I DO NOT CARE! ok i care a little BUT ONLY A LITTLE. So yeah

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i now realise that none of the above made sense.....eh

BEFORE YOU LEAVE GO LOOK UP PAINT ON YOUTUBE HE IS AMAZING

ok i guess thats all

comment and vote

percabeth for life :D