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Part one. Chapter eight.

Confrontations and comforts

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Aris was in the middle of stretching after her mini workout when Coach Hedge deemed it acceptable to just burst into her room. She yelped in surprised, staring at the faun—sorry, SATYR—with wide eyes. He wasn't the least bit bothered as he looked all over her sparsely decorated room. He checked under the bed, in the closet, even checking under the vanity which already hid nothing.

"Can I help you ?" Aris demanded, absolutely appalled.

"Where are they ?" He turned to her with narrowed eyes.

"Where are who ?"

"Percy and Annabeth !"

"What ?"

"Don't play smart with me, cupcake," Coach warned as he wagged a finger at her.

Aris grabbed it with her index and thumb, shoving it away with a scowl. "Don't point fingers at me for no reason."

"Why you little—"

"What is going on here ?"

Both Aris and Coach turned their glares from each other to the person at her door. Jason wasn't phased. He just patiently awaited an answer as he gripped the top of the doorway.

"What's going on, is that your crazy faun—"

"SATYR !"

"WHATEVER !" Aris snapped, glaring at him before looking back at Jason who was now leaning against her doorway. "This goat man burst in here and started searching the place like I have a bomb hidden in here ! What is I had been naked ?"

"You weren't," Coach rolled his eyes.

"I could have been."

"Coach, why did you burst in here ?" Jason spoke up calmly, clearly not wanting to deal with their bickering.

"I'm looking for Percy and Annabeth."

"And you thought they were in my room ?" Aris raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"They could have been ! Your room is just the first I searched. If they weren't here, I would have moved on to the other rooms."

"Lucky me," Aris rolled her eyes.

"Wait....they're both missing ?" Jason clarified.

"Yes ! How, I don't understand ! We're on a flying ship ! How does anyone kidnap people on a flying ship ?"

Aris snorted. "I'm sorry, we think they've been kidnapped ?"

"What else ?"

Jason sent the satyr a pitying look. "Oh Coach."

"What ?"

"They haven't been kidnapped," Jason calmly said.

"So you know where they are ?"

"Well, no—"

"They're boning," Aris cut in with an eye roll.

"WHAT ?"

"I mean, it was only a matter of time," Aris shrugged. "I'm surprised it took two nights. I thought they would have jumped each other that first night."

"Our attempt at peace being foiled probably put them off," Jason commented.

"Or the faun's—"

"SATYR !"

"—YELLING," Aris raised her voice before going back to normal, "ruined the mood."

Coach Hedge was red. He looked between the duo of Romans and started yelling, "Okay, you two ! Get dressed and wake up the others ! We are turning this ship upside down until we find those two hooligans and after that WE WILL IMPLANT SOME WELL NEEDED RULES !"

And he trotted off, fuming. Aris just burst into laughter at how ridiculous the image of a fuming faun in a neon orange polo looked stomping away like a child. He was even shorter than her for crying out loud ! And Aris was by no means a tall person. She stood at 5'4", barely. Jason was chuckling too as they watched him leave. Their eyes met and for a minute, they were thirteen again, giggling after watching Terminus go off on Octavian because they snuck a knife in his pocket. That was the day they had first kissed, though it happened hours after the prank.

Then they remembered where they were and who they were with. They remembered their reality and their situation. The smiles faded, both looking sad for the briefest second before Jason became neutral again and Aris scowled.

"Get out," she ordered.

Jason didn't even contest it as he pushed off the doorway and closed the door behind him.

🖤💔🖤

Aris crossed Percy and Annabeth as she reached the mess hall, changed out of her leggings and sports bra and wearing light washed jeans with a red camisole. She snorted as she patted Percy on the back. "You're in so much trouble," she sang before entering.

They were right behind her. Piper looked mostly relieved. Leo couldn't stop grinning and muttering, "Classic. Classic." Frank was red, presumably since he was the one who found them. Jason let a small smirk tilt his lips before turning back to his plate. Only Hazel seemed scandalized, maybe because she was from the 1940s. She kept fanning her face and wouldn't meet the couple's eyes.

Naturally, Coach Hedge went ballistic.

"Never in my life !" Coach bellowed, waving his bat and knocking over a plate of apples. "Against the rules ! Irresponsible !"

Aris decided to add fuel to the fire and wondered, "What rules ?"

Percy sent her a look. She only smirked and winked.

"You know the rules, Mallory ! No couples spending nights together ! There will be no boning or jumping each other on this ship ! There will never be no teenage pregnancies on my watch !"

"Coach," Annabeth said, "it was an accident. We were talking, and we fell asleep."

"Besides," Percy said, "you're starting to sound like Terminus."

Aris had to hide her face in Frank's shoulder to not laugh out loud.

Hedge narrowed his eyes. "Is that an insult, Jackson ? 'Cause I'll—I'll terminus you, buddy !"

"It won't happen again, Coach," Percy easily lied (because come on, he was obviously going to sneak off to see his girlfriend at night). "I promise. Now, don't we have other things to discuss ?"

Hedge fumed. "Fine ! But I'm watching you, Jackson. And you, Annabeth Chase, I thought you had more sense—"

Jason cleared his throat. "So grab some food, everybo—"

"Oh we are not done, Jason Grace !"

"We're not ?"

"NO ! Don't think I didn't see you and Mallory making fun of me earlier !"

"You're making it very easy for us," Aris noted.

Hedge pointed his club at her. "Oh, just you wait girlie ! I'll—"

"What ? What will you do ?" Aris challenged. "Because outside of physically beating me, nothing will stop me from making fun of you. If even that."

"Nobody will be beating anyone," Jason cut in.

"You used to like beating me."

"I did not beat you," Jason denied.

"You spanked me."

"Oh my gods, Aris," Jason lamented. "Why ? Just why so you have to go and say shit like that ?"

She smiled saccharinely. "I'm a bitch remember ?"

"Yes. Yes you are," Jason agreed.

"Oh, look who put on his big boy pants today. I don't think you've ever called me a bitch to my face. Though, degrading was never really—"

"Hey, you know what everyone ?" Jason loudly clapped his hands. "Let's just get started because I don't see how this ends without one of us killing the other."

"Good plan," Annabeth agreed.

Everyone warily looked between Jason and Aris who sat as far away from each other as possible but took their seats. That's when they started discussing things. Percy's dream sobered Aris right up. He told them about his dream—the twin giants planning a reception for them in an underground parking lot with rocket launchers ; Nico di Angelo trapped in a bronze jar, slowly dying from asphyxiation with pomegranate seeds at his feet.

Hazel choked back a sob. "Nico...Oh, gods. The seeds."

Aris took her hand and squeezed it. "You know what they are ?" She gently asked.

Hazel nodded. "He showed them to me once. They're from our stepmother's garden."

"Your step...oh," Percy said. "You mean Persephone."

"The seeds are a last-resort food," Hazel said. She was clearly nervous, because all the silverware on the table was starting to move toward her. "Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico always kept some in case he got stuck somewhere. But if he's really imprisoned—"

"The giants are trying to lure us," Annabeth said. "They're assuming we'll try to rescue him."

"Well, they're right !" Hazel looked around the table, her confidence apparently crumbling. "Won't we ?"

"Yes !" Coach Hedge yelled with a mouthful of napkins. "It'll involve fighting, right ?"

"Hazel, of course we'll help him," Frank said. "But how long do we have before...uh, I mean, how long can Nico hold out ?"

"One seed a day," Hazel said miserably. "That's if he puts himself in a death trance."

"A what now ?" Aris did a double take, not sure if she heard correctly.

"A death trance ?" Annabeth scowled. "That doesn't sound fun."

"It keeps him from consuming all his air," Hazel said. "Like hibernation, or a coma. One seed can sustain him one day, barely."

"And he has five seeds left," Percy said. "That's five days, including today. The giants must have planned it that way, so we'd have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is hidden somewhere in Rome—"

"That's not much time," Piper summed up.

"We'll find him, Hazel," Aris promised.

"And at least we know what the lines of the prophecy mean now," Piper added. "'Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death.' Your brother's last name: di Angelo. Angelo is Italian for 'angel.'"

"Good gods," Aris mumbled.

Nico di Angelo mattered to Aris. He was probably the only friend she had after the Titan War, or the closest thing she had to one anyways. He didn't judge her. He didn't try to fix her. He just let her be. And of course, knowing about Greek demigods was a secret that brought them both together.

There weren't that many Romans in Kronos' army but there were still a handful. They all knew about the Greeks since...well, their leader was Greek. They just didn't care. They weren't exactly there because they believed in Rome and its divine patrons after all. They wanted to tear it all down. So they honestly didn't care much about the centuries of bad blood between Greeks and Romans.

Nico knew the truth. So did Aris. That just brought them closer together, the former updating her about what was happening on the Greek side (even if she didn't really care). But Aris let him. He didn't have many people. She understood that. So she wasn't about to reject him when there was someone who understood her the way he did.

"Nico..." Hazel muttered sadly.

"We'll rescue him," Percy promised her. "We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death."

"That's right," Piper said encouragingly. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right ? He must've found them."

"He can tell us where the doors are," Percy said, "and how to close them."

"And we're also going to save him because it's a decent fucking thing to do." She looked at everyone else with furrowed eyebrows. "Why am I the one reminding you of this ?"

Hazel took a deep breath. "Yes. Good."

"Uh..." Leo shifted in his chair. "One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right ? So we're walking into a trap ?"

Hazel looked at Leo like he'd made a rude gesture. "We have no choice !"

"Don't get me wrong, Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico... he knew about both camps, right ?"

"Well, yes," Hazel said.

"He's been going back and forth," Leo said, "and he didn't tell either side."

Jason sat forward, his expression grim. "You're wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I."

Hazel shot to her feet. "I don't believe this. He's my brother. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him ?"

Frank put his hand on her shoulder. "Nobody's saying that." He glared at Leo. "Nobody had better be saying that."

Leo blinked. "Look, guys. All I mean is—"

"Hazel," Jason said. "Leo is raising a fair point. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as...well, a little shady." Aris scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she listened to Jason in disbelief. "Do we really know where his loyalties lie ? We just have to be careful."

Hazel's arms shook. A silver platter zoomed toward her and hit the wall to her left, splattering scrambled eggs. "You...the great Jason Grace...the praetor I looked up to. You were supposed to be so fair, such a good leader. And now you..." Hazel stomped her foot and stormed out of the mess hall.

"Hazel !" Leo called after her. "Ah, jeez. I should—"

"You've done enough," Frank growled. He got up to follow her, but Aris grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"Give her a minute," she advised. She then longly observed Jason, pouting thoughtfully. "Tell me, do you only defend traitors you want to sleep with ?"

"Excuse me ?"

"You're not excused." She straightened and stared at him with cold eyes from across the table. "I've killed people. Romans. Yet you were perfectly happy defending me and saying that people make bad choices and can change. Yet, Nico only knew about both camps, another thing I am also guilty off by the way, and...he's enemy number one ?"

"That's not what I'm saying. And circumstances—"

"Fuck circumstances ! You know, I've been mad at you since my trial but never once have I considered you a dishonourable or unfair man." She stood up and stared him down. "Guess I was wrong."

"Where do you get off on saying shit like that ?" Piper yelled.

"My daddy used to touch me when I was little and it messed up my ability to make personal relationships," Aris smiled tightly. She ignored the three wide set of eyes that turned to her.

"You're sick," the other girl sneered.

"Trust me, I know." And with that she walked out of the room, going to find Hazel.

🖤💔🖤

"Knock, knock." Aris knocked on Hazel's door as she shyly poked her head into the room. "You up for some company ?"

Hazel didn't say anything but shifted on the bed, leaving space for Aris to side next to her. The girl slid into the room, shutting the door behind her before settling down next to the younger girl. She soundlessly opened her arms. That's when Hazel started crying and buried herself in them.

"Shh," Aris soothed, gently stroking at the girl's hair while she held her. "You're okay sweetheart. It's okay."

"How could they say that ?" Hazel sobbed.

"They're dumb," the daughter of Venus bluntly stated. "Don't pay attention to those idiots, okay ? We're going to save Nico. Even if it's just the two of us, we'll save him. I promise."

Hazel nodded, crying some more. Aris let her. She just held the daughter of Pluto until she was ready to let go.

She didn't hug many people. But when she did, Aris never let go first. Surprisingly, it was because of something Mars had told her once : "If someone is trusting you enough to bring them comfort in their time need, never let them go first. You never know how much they might need you."

And true to his word, he never let her go until she was ready to let go. She was going to do the same for Hazel.

It took a while. Hazel had stopped crying but she still wanted to be held. It didn't matter that Aris' leg was starting to cramp up or that Hazel's tears had soaked through her top and left a wet patch right over her boob, making it look like she was lactating. She wasn't going to let Hazel go until the young girl pulled away. And she eventually did. Aris smiled at her softly, cupping her face and wiping her tears.

"Better ?"

"A little..."

"Are you hungry ? You didn't really eat at breakfast because of..."

Hazel shyly nodded. "I could eat."

"Wait here, I'll bring you something."

"Thanks Ari."

"Of course." Aris gave Hazel one last smile for good measure before getting off the bed and exiting the room.

She made it two steps before she heard, "How is she ?"

Aris looked at Annabeth and shrugged, "Not great. She's always admired Jason for some reason, so hearing him say that..."

"Gods," Annabeth shook her head. "I never thought..."

"I know. I was just going to get her something to eat."

"Mind if I join ?"

Aris thoughtfully appraised the girl and finally nodded towards the mess hall. Annabeth smiled at her and fell into step next to Aris. They walked in silence until reaching the lounge.

"Percy talked about you last night."

"When you two were off, not jumping each other's bones ?"

Annabeth chuckled with a blush as she sat down near where Aris had began putting together a bowl of berries. "Yeah. He...he seems really attached to you." She was quiet from a minute. "Thank you."

"For what ?"

"Looking out for him. I can tell, despite how much you tease him, that you care about him."

Aris paused in her movements before exhaling through her nose. She took a seat next to the blonde. "He didn't treat me any different."

"What ?"

"At camp, after he found out that I was a traitor and had fought with the Titans, he didn't treat me any different." Aris shrugged. "People assume a lot of things about me. Because of my mom, because of how I look, because of my past. Your friend Piper's one of them. Just because Jason and I have a past, she's convinced I'm trying to steal him. But...I don't know. I've only ever wanted one thing. And Percy gave it to me. He didn't make assumptions. He got to know me by asking questions. By giving a damn. He was the first person to do that for me since Luke."

Annabeth straightened. "You knew Luke ?"

"He's the one who brought me into the Titan army," Aris nodded. She pursed her lips, confessing, "I wasn't planning on joining, you know. Everyone assumes that I intended to join but that's not true. When I left camp, it was just that. Leaving. I wanted to get out of there. I had next to no friends. My dad was dead. I just...I had to leave. I ran into Luke in San Francisco. Literally. I don't know what he saw but he took pity on me. Bought me some food and clothes and gave me a place to stay. I don't know how he knew that I was a demigod but he did. Slowly he sold me his cause."

"He manipulated you ?"

"No," Aris shook her head. "My choices were my own. He told what he wanted to do. Why he was doing it. He gave me a choice, stay or leave. I chose to stay and fight with him. I was mad at the gods. They haven't done shit for me my entire life."

Annabeth observed her. "Why did you change your mind ? About joining this quest ?"

Aris didn't shy away as she admitted, "I don't care about the gods, Annabeth. They can burn as far as I'm concerned. But I care about them. Frank, Hazel, Percy. I'm here to keep them safe."

Annabeth nodded. "Thank you."

"What now ?"

"For being honest."

Aris gave a small half smile. She got back up and grabbed a donut for Hazel. "You want something ?"

"Can I have a donut too ?"

She handed her a donut before grabbing herself some water and putting strawberries in it. "He is really in love with you. Spent the whole quest moaning about how much he missed you and wished he remembered more about you. It would have been sweet if it wasn't so nauseating."

Annabeth chuckled. "You're funny."

Aris chuckled with her, lighter and softer. "Want to come join me and Hazel ? I was going to tell her embarrassing stories about Jason growing up to make her realise what an idiot he is."

"Oh, I can tell you Percy's stupidest moments too !" She grinned, getting to her feet.

"Come on then."

Annabeth laughed and got to her feet. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

🖤💔🖤

Aris thought Jason was a crazy kid but apparently Percy was a whole other level. That boy was a complete savage from Annabeth's stories. She was in the middle of telling her and Hazel about the time Percy was turned into a guinea pig when Frank burst into the room out of breath. 

"Where's Leo ?" he gasped. "Take off ! Take off !"

All three girls shot to their feet.

"Where's Percy ?" Annabeth demanded. "And the goat ?"

Frank grabbed his knees, trying to breathe. His clothes were stiff and damp, like they'd been washed in pure starch. "On deck. They're fine. We're being followed !"

Annabeth pushed past him and took the stairs three at a time, Aris and Hazel right behind her while Frank trailed, still gasping for air. Percy and Hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted. Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, "Awesome. Awesome." Percy was covered with nicks and scratches, like he'd jumped through a window. He didn't say anything, but Aris saw that he grasped Annabeth's hand weakly as if to say, Be right with you, as soon as the world stops spinning.

Leo, Piper, and Jason, who'd been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.

"What ? What ?" Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break ? What's wrong ?"

"Followed !" Frank yelled again.

"By what ?" Aris asked.

"I don't know !" Frank panted. "Whales ? Sea monsters ? Maybe Kate and Porky!"

Aris blinked, holding her hands out and gently rubbing up and down his back. "Okay sweetie, deep breaths."

"That makes absolutely no sense."

"Not now, Annabeth !" Aris warned.

"Fine. Leo, you'd better get us out of here."

Leo put his sandwich between his teeth, pirate style, and ran for the helm.

Soon the Argo II was rising into the sky. Annabeth manned the aft crossbow. She shook her head when asked if anything was following them. Percy, Frank, and Hedge didn't start to recover until the Atlanta skyline was a hazy smudge in the distance though.

"Charleston," Percy said, hobbling around the deck like an old man. He still sounded pretty shaken up. "Set course for Charleston."

"Charleston ?" Jason said the name as if it brought back bad memories, him and Aris sharing a distasteful look before realising that they were fighting (though weren't they always fighting ?). "What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"

Frank unzipped his backpack and starting bringing out souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs. Oh and Ari ! Here, this is for you."

Aris smiled when Frank gave her a thin bracelet with a single white bead. Simple and delicate. Everything she was not but that she liked in her jewelry.

Annabeth looked like she was trying to calm herself. "How about you start from the top—of the story, not the backpack."

They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. Percy and Frank took turns relating what had happened at the Georgia Aquarium, with Coach Hedge interjecting from time to time: "That was awesome !" or "Then I kicked her in the head !"

When Percy explained about the captive sea creatures in the aquarium, Aris could understood why he seemed so upset.

"That's terrible," Annabeth said. "We need to help them."

"We will," Percy promised. "In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish..." He shook his head. "Never mind. First we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

Coach Hedge had lost interest in the conversation—probably because it was no longer about him—and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique. Aris raised an umimpressed eyebrow before leaning back against the railing and sipping at her strawberry water.

Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. "A bounty on our heads...as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get WANTED posters ?" Leo asked. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list ?"

Hazel wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about ?"

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days," Leo said. "I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe...but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks ?"

"Hey !" Frank complained.

Aris scoffed. "Excuse you ?"

"Aris—"

"I'm sorry, I've less hurtful things than that and been called a bitch but this is fine ?" She whirled on Jason with a glare. "What are you suddenly a mysoginist too ?"

"That is not what is happening !"

"So you're going to tell him off ?"

"Leo, that was uncalled for," Jason sent his friend a pointed look.

"Dude, I was just joking !"

"Okay, knock it off, all of you," Annabeth ordered. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map."

Piper leaned against the control panel. She'd done her braid with white feathers today, which Aris thought was stupid but whatever.

"A map," Piper said. "But a map to what ?"

"The Mark of Athena." Percy looked cautiously at Annabeth, like he was afraid he'd overstepped. "Whatever that is," he continued. "We know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."

"The giants' bane," Hazel added.

Percy nodded. "And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

"Um..." Frank rolled his not-exactly-Chinese handcuffs between his fingers. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it ?"

Aris felt her mismatched eyes widened as she started realising what the Mark led to. She had been hearing stories about the Mark for years but was never sure what it was. But when you thought about it, you put all the clues together, there was only thing it could be. She nudged Jason who looked down at her, confused as to why she was nudging him when she's the one who keeps pushing him away. But the truth was Aris didn't know who else to talk to about this. She could tell Annabeth but she didn't know how.

I know what it is, she mouthed.

What ?

The Athena Parthenos.

Jason's face reflected exactly how she felt. "Shit," he muttered.

"I know," she muttered back.

If they wanted peace...this could be very very bad or very very good. Luckily, everyone had been too focused on Annabeth to pay attention to the two veteran Romans.

"I—I'm close to an answer," Annabeth said, pulling their attention again. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, Aris, the way you reacted to the name Charleston...have you been there before ?"

"Yep ! I swear, this just feels like an unnecessary trip down memory lane of all our quests. First we meet Bacchus. Now we're heading to fucking Charleston," Aris rolled her eyes. "Next thing you know, the Trojean Sea Monster will make an appearance."

"Don't even put that out there," Jason shook his head. "We barely survived that."

"Well, duh ! Who thought putting a son of Jupiter in Neptune's territory was smart ?"

"You."

"Oh, fuck off," she swatted at him.

Jason swatted back before sighing, "We did a quest there with Reyna about a few years ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."

"The what ?" Piper asked, though there was a hostility in her voice which made Aris roll her eyes so hard it hurt.

"Whoa !" Leo said. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that."

"It was designed by Roman demigods," Aris explained. "It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes."

"Until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter," Jason added.

Hazel crossed her arms. "So the Romans fought on the Confederate side ? As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say...not cool ?"

Jason put his hands in front of him, palms up. "I personally was not alive then. And it wasn't all Greeks on one side and all Romans on the other. But, yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices." He looked sheepishly at Hazel. "Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking."

Hazel stared at him. Slowly it seemed to dawn on her that he was apologizing.

Jason elbowed Leo.

"Ow !" Leo yelped. "I mean, yeah...bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

Hazel pursed her lips. "Fine. Back to Charleston."

"Wait seriously ?" Aris looked at Hazel. "That's it ?"

"They apologised."

"Technically they didn't."

"What do you want me to do ?"

"I don't know. Make them work for it," Aris shrugged. "A little grovelling."

"What, you want us to get on our knees and beg for forgiveness ?" Leo scoffed.

Aris tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "That's actually a good idea."

"Aris, no," Hazel denied. "You're fine guys."

"Your loss. Jason looks great on his knees."

"What was he—oh...." Frank turned red when Aris raised an eyebrow.

"Gods, Aristea." Jason rubbed his face. "Please, stop. I have a girlfriend."

"I know," Aris smirked. "Her annoyance and insecure jealousy brings me joy."

"You are a terrible person," Leo stated.

"Says the asshole who wrongfully thinks he's worth three Franks," the daughter of Venus shot with a sneer of distaste towards him.

"Are you saying we should check that submarine again ?" Hazel jumped in, bringing the conversation back to its point.

Jason cleared his throat and shrugged. "Well...I can think of two places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the Hunley—that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside."

"I'll go," Leo said. "That sounds cool."

Jason nodded. He turned to Frank, who was trying to pull his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs. "You should come too, Frank. We might need you."

Frank looked surprised. "Why ? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy assured him. "It took all three of us to break that glass."

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason said. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has plenty of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."

Frank gulped. Aris nudged him encouragingly and smiled. "You got this," she promised.

That made him smile back slightly and relent, "Okay. Sure." He frowned at his fingers, trying to pull them out of the trap. "Uh, how do you—?"

Leo chuckled. "Man, you've never seen those before ? There's a simple trick to getting out."

Frank tugged again with no luck. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh. Aris sent him a fond smile.

Frank grimaced with concentration. Suddenly, he disappeared. On the deck where he'd been standing, a green iguana crouched next to an empty set of Chinese handcuffs.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo said dryly. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

Everybody but Aris busted out laughing. Frank turned back to human, picked up the handcuffs, and shoved them in his backpack. He managed an embarrassed smile though the daughter of Venus knew it bothered it more than he was letting on. So she hugged around her little brother's waist to show that she was there. Frank happily held her there, clearly relaxing a little.

"Anyway," Frank said, clearly anxious to change the subject. "The museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two ?"

Jason's smile faded. Aris grimaced. They shared a looked before he sighed again with a nod. "Yeah. The other place is called the Battery—it's a park right by the harbor. The last time we were there with Reyna. We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling—like maybe it would only talk to girls. So her and Aris went but it just disappeared again. Finally, she went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

Everyone waited.

"What did it say ?" Annabeth asked.

"We don't know," Aris shrugged. "She never told us. But after that...well she was never the same to me again."

It was after that quest that Reyna distanced herself from Aris until she was being a total bitch and ignoring her.

"But it must have been important. She seemed...shaken up," Jason mentioned. "Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news."

"A prophecy that made her act like I didn't exist anymore ?" Aris bitterly mumbled.

Jason sadly smiled at her. She might pretend she didn't care about it but he knew her. He knew how much it had hurt her when Reyna stopped talking to her. He had tried talking to Reyna about her but she had always waved him off and told him it was complicated and didn't want to talk about it.

"A girls' adventure, then," Annabeth said. "Aris, Piper and Hazel can come with me."

"Should Aris really come ?" Piper wondered. "It wouldn't talk to her last time."

"Maybe it will this time," Annabeth shrugged. "It might have had a reason last time."

Aris shrugged. The other two girls nodded though Hazel seemed nervous. No doubt her time in the Underworld had given her enough ghost experiences for two lifetimes. Piper's eyes flashed defiantly.

"So that's settled." Annabeth turned to Leo, who was studying his console, listening to Festus creak and click over the intercom. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston ?"

"Good question," he muttered. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight."

Piper leaned over the console. "Are you sure they're Roman ?"

"No, it's another random group of giant eagles," Aris drawled before rolling her eyes. "Of course they're Roman."

Piper scowled but said nothing.

"I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight—"

"Which would be a very bad idea," Jason interrupted Leo, "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome."

"Or I've got another idea," Leo said. "If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning—"

Hazel started to protest, but Leo raised his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel said. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know ! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."

Hazel scowled. "When you say should have enough..."

Leo shrugged. "How do you feel about barely enough ?"

Hazel put her face in her hands for a count of three. "Sounds about typical for us."

That seemed like a green light.

"Okay, Leo. What kind of decoy are we talking about ?" Annabeth questioned.

"I'm so glad you asked !" He punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and repeatedly pressed the A button on his Wii controller really, really fast. He called into the intercom, "Buford ? Report for duty, please."

"The fuck is a Buford ?" Aris demanded.

Frank took a step back. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who is Buford?"

A puff of steam shot from the stairwell, and an automatic table climbed on deck.

Apparently, Buford was a three-legged table with a mahogany top. It (Aris was not giving it human pronouns) bronze base had several drawers, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. Buford was toting a bag like a mail sack tied to one of his legs. He clattered to the helm and made a sound like a train whistle.

"This is Buford," Leo announced.

"You name your furniture ?" Frank asked.

Leo snorted. "Man, you just wish you had furniture this cool."

"But Buford ? Really ?"

"Yes," Leo defiantly told Aris. "Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table ?"

Buford spewed steam. He stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wooden blades. The blades spun, and Buford took off.

"A helicopter table," Percy muttered. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag ?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," Leo said. "I hope you don't mind, Frank."

Frank choked. "What ?"

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"Those were my only extra pants !"

Leo shrugged. "I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." He rubbed his hands and grinned. "Well ! I call that a good day's work. I'm gonna calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner !"

"I'm gonna kill him," Aris muttered under her breath.

Pari Speaks !

Gonna be honest, this chapter did not end up being the way I planned it but I'm not mad. I actually liked how it turned out. Also, Aris has beef with Coach Hedge. There is no real reason for it either, she just doesn't like him. Though, he'll grow on her. A little. Tiny bit.

Also some more soft Aris in this chapter. She would die for Hazel and Frank. And her and Annabeth starting to bond.

And the Arson bickering in this....I love it. And Aris' Leo hate is starting to show because now, he has given her reason to not like him.

Anyways, that's it for now ! See you soon my loves !

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