"Hey," Jason croaks.
I'm so startled, I drop my knife. "You're awake!"
"Don't sound so surprised." Jason touches his bandaged head and frowns. "What... what happened? I remember the explosions, and-"
"You remember who I am?" I ask desperately. It's dumb, but I'm so worried he'll forget me again.
He tries to laugh, but it turns into a painful wince. "Last I checked, you were my awesome girlfriend Piper. Unless something has changed since I was out?"
I'm so relieved I almost sob. I help him sit up and give him some nectar to sip while I bring him up to speed. I'm just explaining Leo's plan to fix the ship when I hear horse hooves clomping across the deck above our heads.
Moments later, Leo, Theo, and Hazel stumble to a stop in the doorway, carrying a large sheet of hammered bronze between the three of them.
"Gods of Olympus." I stare at Leo and Theo. "What happened to you?"
His hair is greased back. He has welding goggles on his forehead, a lipstick mark on his cheek, tattoos all over his arms, and a T-shirt that reads "Hot stuff," "bad boy," and "Team Leo" Theo has "Team Leo" and "Mrs. Valdez" scribbled all over her arms, her T-shirt is tied up, and "I love Leo Valdez" Is scrawled across her stomach in messy handwriting.
"Long story." Theo says, grinning like a maniac at Leo. He grins back. "Others back yet?"
"Not yet." I tell them.
Leo curses, then he notices Jason sitting up, and his face brightens. "Hey, man! Glad you're better. Theo and I will be in the engine room."
They run off with the sheet of bronze, leaving Hazel in the doorway. Moments later, I head some Black Sabbath start blaring from down the hall.
Hazel stares in confusion down the hall, as if the music is foreign to her.
"Team Leo?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.
"We met Narcissus." She says, which doesn't explain much. "Theo had this crazy plan... and also we met Nemesis, the revenge goddess."
Jason sighs. "I miss all the fun."
Hazel is still staring down the hall, where there are loud banging noises ringing out over the music.
"What is that?" She asks.
"Oh, Theo likes to play music while she does just about anything." I wave it off. "I kinda like it. She's got good taste."
"That's music?" Hazel asks distastefully.
On the deck above, something goes THUMP, as if a heavy creature has landed. Annabeth and Percy come running down the hall. Percy is toting a steaming five-gallon plastic bucket that smells horrible. Annabeth has a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair. Percy's shirt is covered in it.
"Roofing tar?" I guess.
Frank stumbles up behind them, which makes the hallway pretty jam-packed with demigods. Frank has a big smear of the black sludge down his face.
"Ran into some tar monsters." Annabeth says. "Hey, Jason, glad you're awake. I assume Leo and Theo are already in the engine room?" She asks, tilting her head to listen to the music.
Hazel nods.
Suddenly, the entire ship lists to port. The demigods stumble. Percy almost spills his bucket of tar.
"Uh, what was that?" He demands.
"Oh..." Hazel looks embarrassed. "We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like... all of them."
"Great." Percy hands the bucket of tar to Frank and Annabeth. "You guys bring this to the -eos. I'll hold off the water spirits as long as I can."
"On it." Frank promises.
The three of them run off, leaving Hazel at the cabin door. The ship lists again, and Hazel hugs her stomach like she's going to be sick.
"I'll just..." She swallows, points weakly down the passageway, and runs off.
Jason and I stay below as the ship rocks back and forth. For a hero, I feel pretty useless. Waves crash against the hull as angry voices come from above deck. Percy shouting, Hedge yelling at the lake. Festus the figurehead breathes fire several times. Down the hall, Hazel moans miserably in her cabin. In the engine room below, it sounds like Leo and the others are doing an Irish line dance with anvils tied to their feet. Multiple times, I hear Theo and Leo yelling in Spanish. It sounds like they're having a full on battle in the engine room. After what seems like hours, the engine begins to hum. The oars creak and groan, and I feel the ship lift into the air.
The rocking and shaking stops. The ship finally becomes quiet except for the drone of machinery. Finally, Leo and Theo emerge from the engine room. They're caked in sweat, lime dust, and tar. Theo's shirt is singed,so it's not tied anymore, it's permanently short. The team Leo on Leo's shirt now reads "am Leo"
They both grin like madmen.
"Meeting in the mess hall, one hour." Leo tells me. "Crazy day, huh?"
