Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything.
She'd paced the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down.
She confirmed that the white "We come in peace" flag was flying from the mast. She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew — and the backup plan, and the backup plan for the backup plan.
Most important, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin and watch reruns of mixed martial arts championships.
Everything seemed to be in order. Even that mysterious chill she'd been feeling since the ship launched had dissipated, at least for now.
The warship descended through the clouds, but Annabeth couldn't stop second-guessing herself.
What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked them on sight?
The Argo II definitely did not look friendly.
Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, multiple crossbows, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating and very powerful ballistae amidships. . .well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet-and-greet with the neighbors.
Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. She'd asked Leo to send one of his special inventions— a holographic scroll — to alert their friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through.
Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull — WASS UP? with a smiley face — but Annabeth vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor.
But too late to turn back now.
The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail.
On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers.
He had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.
He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.
Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.
"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk."
Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice long chat.
For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. (Maybe as a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.).
Then there was Piper's boyfriend— Jason.
He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target.
Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak— symbols of his old rank as praetor.
He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.
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𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲; 𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗁 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗌𝖾
Fanfiction"And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand, when everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am." In which the daughter of madness falls madly in love with her best friend. And well, she also...
