Frank plucked on his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean... That was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline books?"

"The what?" Leo asked.

Frank delved into an explanation about their harpy friend they'd met on their quest. She was apparently freakishly good at remembering books and, at some point in time, had read a collection of prophecies that were supposedly destroyed around the fall of Rome.

"That's why you didn't tell the Romans." Leo guessed. "You didn't want them to get hold of her."

"Not with someone like Octavian as augur." Persephone agreed. "Who knows what he'd do."

"Ella's sensitive." Percy explained, staring at the image of Half-Blood Hill. "She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want..." He clenched his fist. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

'If the Romans don't decide to march on it...' Persephone thought, grimly.

Annabeth laced her fingers. "Let me think about the prophecy- but right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?"

"The easiest thing is tar." Leo told them. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."

"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warned. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honour."

Persephone saw their eyes flicker to Leo and cringed. Leo cowered.

"Guys... I don't know what happened. Honestly, I-"

"It's okay, Leo. We believe you." Persephone nudged his arm, glaring at anyone who dared challenge her. Annabeth nodded at her before turning to Leo.

"We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. The cold feeling you mentioned... I felt it, too. It must have been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaia or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened-"

"How can we be sure it won't happen again?" Frank grunted. Persephone squared her shoulders.

"I'll sense it. I sensed it before Leo..." She glanced at him, trailing off. "Point being, if it happens again, I'll know, so we'll be fine." She put emphasis on 'if'. Frank seemed to stand down.

"I'm fine now." Leo insisted. "Maybe we should use the buddy system." Persephone snorted at the memory of Coach Hedge yelling at them about the buddy system in his tampered-with megaphone back when she'd first lost her memories. Leo forced down a smile, immediately knowing what she was laughing about. "Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and lime."

"Split up?" Percy quizzed. "That sounds like a really bad idea."

"It'll be quicker," Hazel reasoned. "Besides, there's a reason why a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?"

Persephone nodded her head, agreeing with the younger girl. And, they didn't exactly want to run into any angry Romans any time soon. Persephone had just about enough of seeing the teddy-bear-murderer's face.

"She's got a point." Persephone agreed, leaning forwards, her forearms resting on the table. "I'm not exactly eager to bump into Octavian."

"Nor am I. Hazel's right," Annabeth nodded. "The same reason we needed the Argo II... outside camp, eight demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board, but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No sense alerting more of Gaia's minions than we need to."

Percy didn't look too pleased, but he shook Annabeth's hand nonetheless. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good."

Hazel smiled. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth and Percy into town for the tar?"

Franks mouth opened and closed a couple times before he figured out what he wanted to say. "I... I suppose. But what about you?"

"I'll ride Arion with Persephone and Sa- with Leo, here." She fidgeted with the hilt of her sword. Persephone could practically smell the unease rolling off her. "We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet here by dark."

"Leo," Annabeth turned to him. "If we get the supplies, how long will it take to fix the ship?"

"With luck, just a few hours."

"Fine." She concluded. "We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."

Arion seemed like a pretty cool horse- minus the attitude. Persephone had scrambled on behind Leo, who was behind Hazel, and had immediately almost fallen straight back off, had she not grabbed onto the back of the mechanics shirt. She sent a swift swat to the back of his head when she heard his snicker. Honestly, she was surprised Arion could hold the three of them at once, but the horse seemed to have no problems as he galloped off the side of the ship.

Percy had taken Leo and Persephone off to the side before going their separate ways; explaining a bit of Hazel's backstory.

Apparently, the girl was from the 1940's. Come back to life just a few months prior. Honestly, Persephone couldn't say she was surprised. She felt a little silly that she didn't realise sooner, but she'd gotten so used to Nico's presence, that his out-of-time aura became normal to her. Hazel had the same aura, so she'd thought it was a child of the god of the underworld thing... Apparently, she was wrong.

She'd noticed how protective Percy seemed of Hazel. Clearly, Percy had bonded with Frank and Hazel on their quest, the same way that Persephone had bonded with her little trio of friends. She secretly promised that she'd try to get along with Hazel, having a new sister sounded like fun... if you didn't count the creepy kind of stares she kept giving Leo.

Thinking on it, as Arion kicked off towards the beach, she realised that children of Hades (and Pluto) were probably doomed the minute they were born. Her mother's letter could attest to that...