absquatulate━━HEROES OF OLYMPUS

: ̗̀➛ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏

━EVAN didn't know what was going on exactly (he had been carefully listening to Leo quietly explaining what a 'chicken nugget' was) but when the room fell silent he awkwardly shifted in his seat.

The chairs were comfortable, don't get him wrong, but they weren't very wing-friendly, and it was rather annoying to have the feathers keep poking in his back.

The room was so silent you could've heard a pin drop.

Then Piper started talking. To sum it up, she had a gut sense that the eidolons were still present, simply because no one had told them to go away.

When she was done explaining, the others looked at her uncomfortably. Up on deck, Hedge sang something that sounded like "In the Navy" while Blackjack stomped his hooves, whinnying in protest.

Finally Hazel exhaled. "Piper is right."

"How can you be sure?" Annabeth asked.

"I've met eidolons," Hazel said. "In the Underworld, when I was...you know."

Dead.

Evan had forgotten that Hazel was a second-timer. In her own way, Hazel too was a ghost reborn.

"So..." Frank rubbed his hand across his buzz-cut hair as if some ghosts might have invaded his scalp. "You think these things are lurking on the ship, or—"

"Possibly lurking inside some of us," Piper said. "We don't know."

Jason clenched his fist. "If that's true—"

"We have to take steps," Piper said. "I think I can do this."

"Do what?" Evan asked.

"Just listen, okay?" Piper took a deep breath. "Everybody listen."

Piper met their eyes, one person at a time.

"Eidolons," she said, using her charmspeak, "raise your hands."

There was tense silence.

Leo laughed nervously. "Did you really think that was going to—?"

His voice died. His face went slack. He raised his hand.

"AH!" Evan nearly fell out of his chair in shock.

Jason and Percy did the same. Their eyes had turned glassy and gold. Hazel caught her breath. Next to Leo, Frank scrambled out of his chair and

put his back against the wall.

"Oh, gods." Annabeth looked at Piper imploringly. "Can you cure them?"

Piper focused on Leo, probably because he was the least intimidating.

"Are there more of you on this ship?" she asked.

"No," Leo said in a hollow voice. "The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again."

"Not here, you won't," Piper growled. "All three of you, listen carefully."

Jason and Percy turned toward her. Those gold eyes were unnerving, to say the least.

"You will leave those bodies," she commanded.

"No," Percy said.

Leo let out a soft hiss. "We must live."

Frank fumbled for his bow. "Mars Almighty, that's creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!"

Leo turned toward him. "You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment."

Evan wasn't sure what that meant, but Frank staggered like he'd been punched in the gut. He drew an arrow, his hands shaking. "I—I've faced

down worse things than you. If you want a fight—"

"Frank, don't." Hazel rose.

Next to her, Jason drew his sword.

"Stop!" Piper ordered, but her voice quavered.

"Listen to Piper." Hazel pointed at Jason's sword. The gold blade seemed to grow heavy in his hand. It clunked to the table and Jason sank back into his chair.

Percy growled in a very un-Percy-like way. "Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead."

Annabeth reached toward him as if to restrain him, but Hazel waved her off.

"Listen, eidolons," Hazel said sternly, "you do not belong here. I may not command you, but Piper does. Obey her."

She turned toward Piper, her expression clear: Try again. You can do this.

"No." Jason grimaced. "Children of Aphrodite hold no power over us. Charmspeak does not affect the soul."

"The soul..." Evan murmured, then snapped towards Duska, who had been quietly chewing on his pizza—wait, was that Percy's food?

"What?" Duska looked up. "What's wrong?"

"You're a son of Psyche!" Evan nearly couldn't contain his excitement. "Psyche is the goddess of the soul!"

"What are you—" Duska's narrowed eyes widened. "Oh, you mean— yeah, I got it."

He laid down his pizza, straightening up. "You will leave those bodies," he commanded, even more forcefully than Piper.

Jason's face tightened. His forehead beaded with sweat. "We—we will leave these bodies."

"You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship," Duska continued, "and never to possess any member of this crew."

Leo and Percy both hissed in protest.

"You will promise on the River Styx," Duska insisted, eyes darkening into the look Evan had seen him do while commanding troops.

A moment of tension—Evan shifted in his seat. What if he had been wrong after all?

Then all three eidolons spoke in unison: "We promise on the River Styx."

"You are dead," Duska said.

"We are dead," they agreed.

"Now, leave."

All three boys slumped forward. Percy fell face-first into his pizza.

"Percy!" Annabeth grabbed him.

Piper and Hazel caught Jason's arms as he slipped out of his chair.

Leo wasn't so lucky. He fell toward Frank, who made no attempt to intercept him. Leo would've hit the floor had Evan not caught him at the last moment.

"Ow!" Leo groaned.

"Are you all right?" Evan asked.

He helped Leo up. The Latino had a piece of spaghetti in the shape of a 3 stuck to his forehead. "Did it work?"

"It worked," Evan said, feeling pretty sure he was right. "I don't think they'll be back."

Jason blinked. "Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?"

Piper laughed. "Come on, Lightning Boy. Let's get you some fresh air."

i'm in maths listening to hamilton on repeat, though i think i'll switch to EPIC before i lose my mind

it's just me, myself and i, stuck in a maths class, living with these equations you left behind