Doing something again and again without change and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. The gods were often a good example of this, though Jason would never say that aloud.

  They tried to ignore Gaia waking. They tried to hide the Titans’ rise, neglecting the problem growing in their very backyard as if it didn’t exist. When the time came, Kronos stormed their home territory with an army of defected demigods from their lack of action. The proud gods couldn’t even stop him.

  Their first line of defense was compromised more than once, yet they did nothing. Spies kept the Titan Army as a massive threat to Camp Half-Blood, and time and time again the demigods were one quest away from extinction, all because of a few traitors. It took a stupidly brave choice from a half-blood to make sure something as such would never happen again.

  Fortunately, Jason had good faith that Camp Jupiter's situation wasn’t as bad. Loyalty, honor, and strength were the pillars of Roman life; betrayal was largely unthinkable. Throughout the Titan War, they had no spies or traitors they knew of, as the thought of betraying the legion was simply so foreign.

  This dichotomy between the camps during the war was something Jason had discussed with Percy and Annabeth before. He wanted to understand just why the camp faced so much backstabbing and treachery. However, the answer was a bitter realization.

  The freedom and individual nature of Greece and Camp Half-Blood was something Jason couldn’t help but thrive in. It was a sharp, liberating contrast to the duty-bound life of the Roman legion, and Jason had learned more about himself in his short time at Camp Half-Blood than all his years at Camp Jupiter. Yet it was that reason that caused the disloyalty to the Gods, which only made too much sense. The Greeks saw the war as an errand unfairly forced upon them and the gods as deadbeat parents who only cared about them when they needed dirty work done.

  However, the Roman mindset centered around that this was their duty, their reason for existing as servants of Rome and the Gods. That mentality made disloyalty nonexistent in the legion.

  When Jason described this thought process to Frank, his friend nodded in agreement, but he noted, “I feel like the Greeks would be insulted by that, though.”

  “It’s a cultural thing, for sure,” Jason admitted. “They won’t be happy with it, but that’s who we are.”

  “Isn’t this pretty obvious, though?” Frank pointed out. “What are you trying to say?”

  Jason flinched as the bus they were on bounced with turbulence. Couldn’t the legion have provided a better form of transportation? “Our friends at Camp Half-Blood had a lot of problems with spies and traitors during the war. If we had that problem, it was never brought to light.”

  “They see it as a jerk move, we see it as a responsibility.” Frank realized. “Our duty and purpose. It just…makes sense to us.”

  He was right. No matter how confused Jason was about himself being Greek or Roman, that purpose would always stay the same. This was their duty, nothing more nothing less. He understood the Greek’s point of view and sympathized with how they felt shafted by their parents, but that simply wasn’t a sentiment the Romans shared.

  They weren’t doing a favor, they were doing their job, and the only gratitude they needed was a pat on the back from Lupa or their praetors.

  “Speaking of traitors, I’d been meaning to ask why you took him on the quest.” Frank frowned, pointing to the seat behind them where their third quest member sat fast asleep.

  While Camp Jupiter didn’t have any traitors against the gods, it did have a psychopath who killed his own allies. Which pretty much counted as betrayal in Jason’s book. “Right. Do you remember why he was exiled, Frank?”

  “He killed his centurion, right?”

  “Yeah, he’s a psychopath,” Jason narrowed his eyes at the snoring boy, recalling his remorseless puke-green eyes. “But the incident happened when I was away, on this very quest.”

  Frank gulped, also turning as the information dawned on him. “So you brought him along so he wouldn’t do it again?”

  “And get rid of him, if necessary.” Jason added lowly.

  Jason believed everyone made mistakes, and he always tried to keep an open mind to everyone. He definitely didn’t enjoy the idea of killing another demigod at all. However, this was someone who had killed his superior officer and tried to murder two of his closest friends with no sense of remorse. If Bryce had any inkling of doing it again, Jason wouldn’t hesitate to stop him before he could.

  Bryce Lawrence came from a family line of wealthy and powerful veterans of the legion, part of the Second Cohort. It would be difficult for Jason to confront him in Camp Jupiter, especially before he had actually committed his sadistic crimes. Here though, it gave him more operating space.

  “I don’t like it,” Frank grunted, crossing his arms. “Reyna and Nico met him, right? I’ve only seen him a few times, but even I can tell he’s insane. He looks like the type of guy to enjoy the Fields of Punishment.”

  Jason shrugged. “Pretty sure he’s a psycho, not a masochist. Still, he shouldn’t be that much of a threat to us.”

  “Let’s hope.”

  “At least the auguries were favorable.”

  “You know, it's hard to call anything from Octavian favorable at this point.”

  Jason grinned crookedly, mimicking Percy’s contagious smile. “Hey, he hasn’t done anything yet.”

  “Neither has Bryce.” Frank dryly replied before stifling a yawn. “I didn’t sleep well last night. Wake me up when we’re there?”

  He nodded and fell back into silence as Frank joined their resident lunatic in sleep. After years of training with Lupa and the legion, Jason found it difficult to fall asleep after waking up, even if he should have been dead tired. When awake, his mind simply couldn’t stop being alert, looking for dangers and potential threats.

  He tried to dig up the old, old memories of this quest. His recollection wasn’t the best, and that was before Hera messed with his brain. Still, he knew last time the quest went to Aeolus’ floating island after weeks of fruitless searching, which had luckily drifted over Mount Whitney in California for the time.

  Aeolus had given him the location of the Trojan Sea Monster’s predicted location and didn’t try to kill him then, so it was a pretty successful day. He still remembered the place, of course, and used the all-powerful excuse of ‘demigod dreams, y’know how it is’ to justify the knowledge.

  Honestly? The quest to kill the Trojan Sea Monster was brutal. The thing had been killed just once by the greatest demigod in history (though title might change in a few years, Jason thought cheekily), and only grew deadlier in its reformation. They had chased it from island to island before finally cornering it with Aeolus’ information, and even then it was disgustingly difficult to kill.

  Jason sighed. There was no use reminiscing on how he killed it last time. This time would be completely different, so he needed to take things one step at a time. He could use some advice right now…

  Carefully, Jason reached over to Frank and took the small prism in his bag, making sure not to wake him up. Taking a denarius out, he angled the prism near the window, letting a small rainbow the size of a tablet form. “Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show me Annabeth Chase in, um…Las Vegas?”

  “The Trojan Sea Monster…” Annabeth wandered into a corner of the hotel lobby, trying to get away from the blaring noises and flashing lights of arcade-style games. “Hercules killed it by letting it swallow him, before cutting it apart from the inside. How did you do it?”

  “The same thing. Hit it with a lightning bolt while inside, too,” Jason grimaced through the rainbow image. “I was stuck in a hospital bed for weeks after that.”

  Annabeth winced, trying not to remember her own long experiences in the infirmary. Something like that was hard to replicate and one wrong move meant death. “That may be too risky.”

  “It was very lucky,” Jason agreed. “But I can’t think of anything else. Its scales are too tough to do much damage from the outside, and it's surprisingly fast, too.”

  Annabeth’s eyes flickered around her, bouncing from person to person. “I’m sure we can think of a weakness. In the meantime, play to your advantage. It’s a sea monster, right? It’s probably near unbeatable in its element, but if you can draw it near land, you would have more options.”

  “It’s a start.” Jason agreed. “Well, I’ll keep thinking. By the way, I’m trying not to wake up Frank but that background noise is a little loud.”

  He turned the image, and Annabeth smiled softly at the image of their big panda bear sound asleep, completely unaffected despite Jason’s worry. “We’re at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. It’s a five-star hotel that speeds up time for those in it.”

  “Oh.” Jason frowned, seemingly trying to place the name. “Wait, isn’t that where Nico was?”

  “That’s why we’re here.” Besides the free shower and food, of course. They needed a break from demigod living every now and then, seriously. “We can’t stay for long or we’ll lose too much time, but we have to try and find Nico and his sister if we can.”

  Jason chewed the scar on his lip in concern, which Annabeth didn’t fail to notice. She had heard Jason had become close to Nico while she and Percy were, well, indisposed, and his reaction at the moment seemed to confirm this. “Any luck?”

  She sighed, looking over the lobby again. It wasn’t too crowded thanks to the magic of the hotel, despite the decades of people living here. It made games always available to play without a line, but also made it difficult to search for a pair of Italian demigods. “None so far. We don’t have much time, either. I wish Grover could help us with his nose, but…”

  “He got distracted?” Jason guessed.

  “He deserves the break.” Annabeth reluctantly admitted. “He’s been under a lot of stress, especially since he knows we’re hiding something from him. But at this rate, we’ll have to leave soon.”

  Jason looked a little dismayed at that. “Without Nico? And Bianca?”

  She nodded in frustration. Annabeth had been having this problem lately, one called ‘things aren’t going my way’. With all her memories and new knowledge, Annabeth felt like she should be able to solve everything now, and plan out every step of the way. No more unknown variables, no more surprises.

  She wasn’t blind to see her hubris. When the Nemean Lion showed for seemingly no reason, Annabeth had to accept that there would always be unknown factors in their life, reasons she would never know. There were times when she had to just roll with the situation.

  Thankfully, she did know an expert in that very well. “It would have been convenient, but we have more pressing problems.”

  “Sounds pretty typical,” Jason accepted. “Anything for Hazel?”

  She shook her head, more than a little frustrated. “We have a plan for it…but nothing during this quest or near future. Right now, we have to wait for things to play out.”

  Patience was in thin supply but in constant demand. Annabeth had no choice but to wait until the right moment to either carry out her plans, or see if they even had the chance to work.

  “Good luck, then. Thanks for the advice.” Jason added.

  Annabeth waved him off. “Of course. I’ll gladly be the brains of our operation anytime.”

  Jason chuckled. “We’ll be needing it. See you, then. Say hi to Percy for me.”

  “If I can even find him.” She muttered, waving goodbye before going to look for Percy.

  Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult. She caught him coming out of the waterslide, shaking his hair like a wet dog. She eyed him with crossed arms, and Percy froze like a deer in headlights when he saw her standing behind him. “Uh…I thought Nico or Bianca might be here, because it's really popular with kids, right?”

  Annabeth just snorted. “Sure. Can’t you keep yourself dry?”

  “Staying dry through the entire slide ruins the experience.” Percy shrugged, before catching himself. “Not that I was trying to have fun, it was just something I noticed.”

  “Mhmm. How many times have you gone down it?”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Four. I mean, five if you include this one.” He admitted.

  She shook her head. “You got distracted.”

  “Sorry. Where’s Grover?”

  Annabeth pointed to the left, where the rows of games stood. “Last I saw him he was at the redneck-hunting game, next to the 3D architect simulator–um, though he might be gone now.”

  “What was that?” He smirked, not missing the slip-up. “An architect simulator? Where have I heard that one before?”

  “Okay, fine.” Annabeth relented. “It was hard to stay focused.”

  “Tell me about it. I…I think we’ve spent too much time here.”

  She nodded in agreement. “Unfortunately, we have to leave.”

  The longer they stayed, the more the Lotus Hotel would attract them like moths to a flame. It would become more difficult to leave and even harder to keep track of time. How long had they been here now? Two or three hours, maybe?

  Even right now the smell of the food and sounds of the games grew more inviting, as if realizing their intention to leave. They came in here to rescue the Di Angelos, but at this rate, they would be the ones needing rescuing. They didn’t have time for that.

  “Why’s it so hard to concentrate in here?” Percy grumbled, his clothes beginning to dry.

  They walked down the lanes, looking for a certain satyr. “It’s carefree, with no responsibility and endless entertainment. You’re not only safe but taken care of.”

  Annabeth spotted Grover at the end of the aisle, still clicking away. She looked around her, seeing all the people wandering around without a care or worry in the world. The hotel promised comfort, safety, and everything one would ever want, without the reality of the world they lived in. It was a demigod’s dream world.

  Annabeth had had enough of dreams. “Let’s go.”

  They grabbed Grover by the arms, dragging him away in sync. “Huh?! No! I just got to a new level!”

  His flying shoes tugged his legs in the other direction. Annabeth reached over, tugging at the laces. It was always the plan to get rid of them before entering the Underworld and now seemed as good of a moment as any.

  The winged shoes flopped to the ground, tiny wings frantically flapping around. They left the shoes flying around helplessly, heading to the door. The bellhop hurried up to them, but Annabeth brushed him aside without even letting him speak.

  “Can’t we at least get a good night’s sleep?” Grover pleaded, but they burst through the doors anyway.

  Immediately, she was blinded by the sunlight. Of course, the Casino would have no windows, to make the passage of time even more warped to the people inside. Stormy clouds brimmed at the edge of the horizon, reminding Annabeth of their quest. She glanced at Percy, and sure enough, Ares’ backpack was still slung over his shoulder.

  “Check the newspaper.” She told Percy, and he grabbed one from the nearby stand.

  “June eighteenth.” He responded.

  Grover bleated in disbelief. “We’ve been in there for three days?! How is that possible?”

  “We have three days left.” Percy tossed the newspaper away. “We still have a good amount of time.”

  “Good amount of time?!” Grover’s hooves tapped-danced frantically. “Have you forgotten we don’t even know how to get to Los Angeles?”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll just take a cab.” Percy patted his friend on the back, flashing his green Lotus Casino card. “Isn’t that right, Your Highness? ”

  Annabeth wanted to kiss the Seaweed Brain right then and there, but she didn’t have time. “Taxi!”

  “This is where it appeared in your…dream?” Bryce sneered, kicking a rock across the cliff.

  Being only a few hundred feet long of an island, Jason had to fly his questmates across the water to Gull Rock. A unpopulated edge of rocky cliffs, overlooking the crashing waves ahead of them.

  A perfect spot for a battle with a giant sea monster, honestly. Memories of the Trojan Sea Monster battering away at the cliff walls rose as he scanned the shore, wondering where the monster was now.

  If he was right, and if the monster followed the same pattern as last time, it wouldn’t be long before it appeared near here causing a storm. They had time to prepare a trap.

  The problem wasn’t just finding the sea monster, it was trapping it and stopping it from running away. They found the sea monster multiple times in the first quest, but it simply escaped and they didn’t have a backup plan. Preparation for this hunt was key, and it was why they needed Aeolus’ prediction to get to the spot first and set up a trap.

  Jason studied the uneven cliffs, trying to find a good spot. Frank soared up ahead as an eagle and suddenly screeched at Jason.

  He had found something. Convenient timing. “Frank’s got a spot. Let’s go.”

  Bryce turned his gaze up, his eyes glinting. “That was Frank, huh…”

  Jason didn’t like that look. He remembered Bryce’s obsession with torturing animals, a widespread rumor that wasn’t confirmed until he killed his centurion. He just hoped the descendant of Orcus wouldn’t try anything with so much on the line.

  They followed Frank’s feathery form south, and pretty soon it was clear what he had found. And alcove into the cliffs, making a U-shape between the earth and the sea, a peninsula of the water. A perfect spot to corner the Trojan Sea Monster.

  “Good job, Frank.” He nodded appreciatively as Frank landed next to him, back to human form.

  “Yeah…good find.” Bryce leered at Frank, and Jason fought the urge to stand between them.

  Frank didn’t seem too comfortable either, taking a discreet step back. “Um…right. If we could lure the monster into that, we could prevent it from escaping by circling around and blocking the entrance.”

  “Exactly.” Jason gazed down at the water, noting the sharp rock formations jutting out. “It’s shallow water too, so it can’t swim under either. It’s perfect.”

  Bryce laughed, his crooked nose making his expression more sinister than humorous. “Personally, I enjoy a good massacre. But I have a feeling we’ll be on the receiving end of that. Do you even have a real plan to kill it?”

  Jason thought about Annabeth’s words. He had to take away the monster’s advantage. By limiting its mobility in the water, he could do it. But was that all? Besides this idea, he had no specifics on how to counter the monster’s strength.

  “We’ll figure it out when the time comes.” Jason decided.

  Bryce just grinned spitefully. “Whatever you say.”

  He stalked away, and Jason decided to let him wander off. It wasn’t as if he was wanted.

  “If he just stays out of the way and doesn't do anything stupid, I think I’ll be fine with just that.” Frank suggested, and Jason couldn’t help but agree.

  The son of Mars pointed to the jagged rocks just above the sea level. “What if we could use that?”

  “As a weapon? Like spikes that destroy ships when they land?” Jason shook his head. “The sea monster’s too intelligent to run into them.”

  “Maybe it doesn’t have to run into them…” Frank mused, and Jason wondered if the war god genes were kicking in. “We could still use it as a natural weapon…”

  Jason saw the look in his eyes and immediately knew he was lucky to have brought his friend along. “What’s your idea?”

  The skeleton guards chitter-chattered when she approached, but Hazel just glared at them. They didn’t try to stop her, so she walked straight into the glittering obsidian palace. The bronze gates were wide open for her; Hazel wasn’t going to question it.

  Hazel went through the courtyard and garden, though not before seeing if she could eat a pomegranate as a dead person. She could not.

  The stairs to the House of Pluto were lined with black pillars on both sides, and skeleton soldiers looked at her curiously as she ascended step by step. The final doors stood loomed, boiling menacingly in the torchlight. Hazel reached for the doors, but wings flapping turned attention upwards.

  All three of the Dirae came flying down, their already ugly faces contorted in displeasure.

  “You should not be here, Hazel Levesque.” The middle hag warned.

  “Shouldn’t I? I am the daughter of Pluto, ruler of all you can see here. I go where I say I go.” Hazel responded, digging in her heels.

  “But you are not alive.”

  “Not for decades. Which means I haven’t seen my father for that same time. If he won’t try to see me, I’ll look for him myself.”

  Sometimes…sometimes the only way I can care for my children is to keep my distance. He had said that to her once, didn’t he?

  But this was different. She was already dead, so Hazel couldn’t accept his excuses anymore. No, she would confront them in person. “Open the doors.”

  They fluttered nervously but didn’t move. Hazel reached out with her senses, but the celestial bronze doors refused to obey her like normal, nothing but a slight shake. Her powers were dead, figuratively and literally.

  Not all of them, though. While her control over the riches and earth was inaccessible, Hazel felt more connected to the dead than she had ever been. She had never tried it in her first life, but frustrated determination is a great ingredient in the recipe for new trials. Hazel set her gaze at the skeleton guards all around her, and they began to shudder, bones rattling.

  “Open. The. Doors.”

  Immediately, they began moving forward, pushing each other out of the way to get to the massive doors first. The skeletons piled on each other, throwing their entire weight against it. With a creak, they began to swing open.

  “Huh.” Hazel pondered, watching them force the gap wider and wider. “Who knew skeletons were so strong? It’s inhuman.”

  Ooh! She just made a pun, didn’t she? With that thought, Hazel giddily skipped into the throne room. Leo would be so proud of her. The Dirae followed her nervously, and ahead of her was the World’s Worst Absentee Father.

  He sat on his throne of obsidian, studded with thousands of precious gems, more valuable than everything Hazel summoned in her life combined. Pluto was at least ten feet tall, radiating power and authority.

  He was dressed in Roman garb, a black toga lined with red that reminded her of Nico. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. “Father.”

  “My daughter.” Pluto rumbled, his expression indecipherable. His eyes brimmed with intense power, but Hazel met his gaze nevertheless without backing down. “You have come at a bad time. Why are you here?”

  Hazel trembled, partially from the dangerous aura from his words, but mostly from anger. “I’m here because you never did. You know, I’ve gotten past you being completely absent my whole life, but if you couldn’t help in my life couldn’t you at least help in my death?”

  “They were going to send Mama to the Fields of Punishment, and you didn’t do anything!” The words spilled out of her, years of resentment boiling over. “I had to save her! You could have at least done that much, after all that happened because of you!”

  It wasn’t fair, she knew. Maria fell so far because of her own greed (though how was she supposed to know Hazel’s powers would be cursed?). She refused to listen to Pluto and Gaia manipulated her. However, Hazel wasn’t trying to speak facts; she was trying to hurt feelings, as much as his inaction had hurt her.

  Would he smile and compliment her like he did after she beat Sciron? Would he make deadbeat excuses like all godly parents did?

  Pluto didn’t do either. He just sighed, and stood up, walking down to his daughter. With each step, he grew smaller and smaller, before he was only a little taller than Hazel. “I’m sorry, my daughter.”

  “W-what?” Hazel took a step back, off guard.

  “You may not believe me, but I am very sorry for what happened to you and your mother,” Pluto admitted with a heavy voice. “But of all the gods, I especially must respect the laws of life and death, which includes the judgment of souls. As the Lord of the Dead, I have to uphold the rules…even when it costs me.”

  “Then why didn’t you help us before? And why did you just leave me a-alone for all this time?”

  Pluto just shook his head, his fiery eyes fading to sadness. “The gods do not often associate with mortals. Paying attention to them is not our strong suit, and by the time I realized Maria’s declining sanity, it was too late. She was too stubborn in Gaia’s influence.”

  He placed a gentle hand on Hazel's shoulder, and to her surprise it was warm. “We can never be truly like a father and daughter, especially after…but that does not mean I do not care for you. Sometimes, the only way I can care for my children is to keep my distance from them.”

  “It’s not the only way for me.” Hazel declared, refusing to take that excuse again. “You can’t leave me alone, father.”

  Pluto looked confused. “You are the spirit of Asphodel. You can’t—”

  “I’m your daughter! I never belonged in Asphodel, and I still remember everything.” Hazel protested. “I’m the furthest thing from ‘just a spirit of Asphodel’.”

  A distinct look of pride spread subtly across her father’s face. “That I cannot disagree with. You wish to not be alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I will grant that wish, for I am proud of your strength, in life and in death.”

  Hazel didn’t want to feel good about the compliment, but her heartbeat had other plans. She placed her hand on her chest, trying not to fan her face. “Father? What did you mean by this is a bad time?”

  “The world may be in turmoil soon.” Her father replied stiffly, an air of danger hidden under his tone. “Some decide to act on their arrogance, and now they believe they can do whatever they want with no consequences.”

  The Dirae suddenly hissed, and one flew over to Pluto. She whispered something in the god’s ear, and Pluto’s face hardened. His form began to flicker slightly, and he turned to Hazel with gritted teeth. “Hazel, stay in the palace for now. I have business to attend to.”

  “Come to Papa tool belt!” Leo whooped, scooping up the seemingly insignificant tool belt with a flourish.

  The rows of worktables and storage cages were lined with scattered equipment; enough material to last Leo a lifetime. Bunker 9 was lined with bulletin boards pinned with blueprints, one of which was a lot more important than the others.

  Leo took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of rusty metal and electric gears. The Argo II was the most important invention of the century, but it required something Leo didn’t have yet.

  The figurehead wasn’t just any dragon. It was Festus, the literal heart and soul of the ship.

  When Leo closed his eyes, he could still hear Festus’ last creaks when Gaia broke free of the metal dragon’s grip. Festus had shielded Leo from her wrath, his metal hide crumpling like paper under Gaia’s wrath.

  The astrolabe was destroyed then and there with him, shattering all of Leo’s hopes of returning to Ogygia. There was no time to grieve or regret; after escaping the massacre that was Camp Half-Blood, Leo had to immediately work on another flying ship, the Argo III.

  The new dragon figurehead was only a weak replica, as Leo couldn’t recreate the unique control disk that Festus had. He tried to mimic his personality and abilities, but it never had the same life-likeness that Festus had after Piper awakened him.

  “Still…there’s a lot of work to do.” Leo muttered.

  He had to first find Festus and attach his wings, then figure out what to do with the Argo II. He was going to make something to house the Keys of Hades, but Annabeth assured him that they didn’t need it.

  There was so much he could do now that he was here. The giant machines in here could be repurposed to guard the border. There were hundreds of theoretical inventions outlined on the wall that could help against the Titans. He might even be able to make something to navigate the Labyrinth—

  “There you are!” Someone ran in through the limestone door, making Leo jump. “Oh, wow, I forgot how insane this place is.”

  “Geez, Pipes,” Leo grumbled. “Scared the jeebies out of me.”

  She just shrugged, before walking over and pointing Katoptris at his chest.

  “Um, what?”

  “The game isn’t over, dummy.” Piper rolled her eyes. “I’m taking you to prison.”

  He spluttered. “Piper, this is bigger than a game of Capture the Flag! There’s so much I can get started on.”

  “Uh-huh.” She looked doubtful. “Your cabin’s not going to be happy with you ditching them for this.”

  “What else is new? It’s not like I can really tell them about the Bunker. Chiron said it was too dangerous to come here even during the Titan War.” Leo just shrugged. “I’ll have to keep it a secret or he’ll get even more suspicious.”

  Piper frowned. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘what else is new’? Leo, does your cabin not like you?”

  “Um…it's not like I fit in, you know?” He lit his hand on fire, gesturing to it. “This is a curse to them, y’know? The time’s not right to reveal it.”

  “So you’re just going to bottle it all up again?” Piper didn’t sound happy at all, and Leo flinched at her tone. “Leo, we’re all here for you! You can’t keep hiding everything.”

  “I’m not, okay?” Leo protested. “I’m just…waiting for the right moment to tell.”

  This was a different time, with different people and different circumstances. Without their ‘Hephaestus curse’ for Leo to conveniently fix, would they treat him as a curse instead?

  “You don’t know if they won’t accept you right now. You can’t fit in if you don’t try—”

  Leo interrupted her, feeling defensive all of a sudden. “I’m fine, Pipes, just drop it, okay? You can bring me to jail if you want.”

  He ignored her pleading look, turning back to the worktable and the tools ahead of him. Machines and equipment didn’t judge. They just did their job, like Leo would do now. He would joke around with and befriend his fellow campers, but Leo didn’t need to fit in. His destiny was somewhere else, after all. With someone on an island that no man found twice.

  ‘Old habits die hard, and old feelings carry over. When you remember what has already happened, it can be easier to ignore how it is happening again. It becomes easier to distance yourself.

  Will the son of Hephaestus continue down this road? Fate is changing for him most drastically…so much can happen for him, good or bad.

  How will the daughter of Pluto continue? Will she try to reclaim her own life, and do the impossible?

  Their quests are reaching a turning point. Their first trial is approaching. Here, they will see if this time they are meant to win…or if they are destined to fail.'