Lost

21

"Maybe we use Coach Hedge as bait," Thalia suggested as I started the car.

Hazel burst out laughing. "Have you spent time with Coach Hedge? He'd probably annoy the monsters so much that they would stay away."

I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Hazel's right. You have not spent enough time with that satyr. He'd probably call them all cupcakes."

Thalia rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air, although her face had turned a little pink. "It was just a suggestion, jeez!"

The rest of the ride was silent as no one else had a plan, not even one as ridiculous as Thalia's.

When we reached Half Blood Hill I parked the van. Thalia instantly rushed out of it.

Thalia ran up Half Blood Hill, leaving me and Hazel alone. She was obviously upset and would probably spend the rest of the day sulking in Cabin One.

"I hope she's okay," Hazel commented as the two of us climbed the hill together.

I nodded. "She'll be fine, she's just angry. She's get angry a lot. She'll calm down by dinner....hey, what's everyone doing?"

As we approached the camp we saw a swarm of people, including Thalia, all around the amphitheater, but there was no fire yet.

"Campfire?" she suggested, although we both knew it was far too early. "Meeting? Maybe they found something out."

We rushed over to the amphitheater, and as we got closer Hazel gasped.

"Is that....is that Leo?!" she exclaimed. "Oh, gods, I'm so going to punch him!"

My eyes widened as I realized who was sitting besides him. Although she was dressed in mortal clothing opposing her usual Greek style dresses, I could still tell it was Calypso.

We walked over to the amphitheater where Leo was talking on and on about where he was, but no one really seemed to be listening. They all looked concerned.

"Leo Valdez!" Thalia screeched, reaching him first. "I'm gonna punch you!"

He screamed in terror as Thalia slapped him across the face. "Oww! What was that for?!"

"Oh, you know!" she yelled as some campers held her back. "Your 'note' was crap!"

"I agree!" Hazel protested as she ran over to him. "But as Thalia already slapped you recently, I'll wait to punch you tomorrow!"

Chiron sighed. "You three, sit down. Leo has just finished informing us of something quite important."

We all sat down as Chiron filled us in on how Leo had survived, rescued Calypso, and even gone through The Sea of Monsters. Leo piped in every few minutes, only to get glared at by Thalia.

"Most importantly, Leo saw Arachne," he said.

My eyes widened. "Where?! Was Annabeth there? When was it? Was she alone? Is she working with anyone besides spiders?"

"She had several different types of monsters. We killed a few, though. Festus flamed them," he said triumphantly. "And it was about a month back. Maybe two. And no, we didn't see Annabeth, but they were on a pretty huge ship. Sure, it wasn't the Argo II, but it was pretty nice."

"I don't care about the ship. Did you find out where they were going?" I asked.

He nodded, which caused my heart to skip a beat. "She mentioned something about Rome and the Athena Parthenos, which is here, so that's weird."

Then we filled Leo in about everything. How Annabeth had supposedly died, but was actually just kidnapped by Arachne. The note, Reyna and Nico's disappearances, and how the Athena Parthenos played into it.

"Simple. I'll make another Argo. I'll call it the Argo III!" he said with a grin.

I shook my head. "No, now that we know where Arachne and the others are, we can't wait. We have to go as soon as possible. By plane."

"Who will go, though?" Thalia asked. "I mean, I would, but planes..."

Thalia's fear of heights, I thought while frowning. Of course, I forgot...

"I am," I said. "I don't even care about planes anymore. I have to go. Chiron, please."

"I'll allow you to go. Who else?" he asked.

"We'll go," Hazel piped up. "Well, I will. I can't speak for Frank."

Frank nodded. "I'll go, too."

"Me, too," Leo said. "I can help! I can fix things, and even bring Festus. Although I don't know if he can get through airport security..."

"Then I will, too," Calypso volunteered. "I know I'm not much help as I'm not a goddess anymore, but I'm going with Leo. And I may be able to help with monsters. I've learned quite a bit about them. Magic, too."

"Piper and Jason will want to come," Leo blurted out. "I know they will. Where are they, anyways?"

Chiron frowned. "They're practically across the country helping Piper move. I don't know if they could make it as there's no real way to contact them, but I have been able to call them recently..."

"So call them!" Leo piped up. "They'll want to come, I swear. And they'll drop everything, I know they will."

"It's settled then," he said. "You seven will go, just like the last prophecy. But before I call anyone, what happened on Olympus?"

I sighed before telling them everything that had happened, and I could tell that they were all disappointed by their faces.

"Well, at least we have a new plan," Hazel said. "And this one is going to work, I just know it."

I wish I were as optimistic as Hazel.