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"She’s right," Nico said "Even if the pit hadn’t been buried, you couldn’t have flown into it without being pulled down I’m the only one who has actually been into Tartarus It’s iet close, it sucks you in I never stood a chance"

Frank sniffled "Then Percy and Annabeth don’t stand a chance either?"

Nico twisted his silver skull ring "Percy is the uys, but it’s true If anybody can survive, he will, especially if he’s got Annabeth at his side They’re going to find a way through Tartarus"

Jason turned "To the Doors of Death, you uarded by Gaea’s ods possibly--?"

"I don’t know," Nico aduys to Epirus, to theus there If we can survive the House of Hades, fight our way through Gaea’s forces, then ether with Percy and Annabeth and seal the Doors of Death froet Percy and Annabeth back safely?" Leo asked

"Maybe"

Leo didn’t like the way Nico said that, as if he wasn’t sharing all his doubts Besides, Leo knew so about locks and doors If the Doors of Death needed to be sealed from both sides, how could they do that unless someone stayed in the Underworld, trapped?

Nico took a deep breath "I don’t kno they’ll e it, but Percy and Annabeth will find a way They’ll journey through Tartarus and find the Doors of Death When they do, we have to be ready"

"It won’t be easy," Hazel said "Gaea will throw everything she’s got at us to keep us frohed

Piper nodded "We’ve got no choice We have to seal the Doors of Death before we can stop the giants fro Gaea Otherwise her arot to hurry The Ro on Caot one month at best," Jason added "Ephialtes said Gaea would awaken in exactly one htened "We can do it"

Everyone stared at hirade the ship," he said, hoping he was right "I’ot to be all kinds of neeapons I canto hit Gaea’s armies with a whole new arsenal of hurt"

At the prow of the ship, Festus creaked his jaw and blew fire defiantly

Jason ed a smile He clapped Leo on the shoulder

"Sounds like a plan, Admiral You want to set the course?"

They kidded hi him Admiral, but for once Leo accepted the title This was his ship He hadn’t come this far to be stopped

They would find this House of Hades They’d take the Doors of Death And by the gods, if Leo had to design a grabber arh to snatch Percy and Annabeth out of Tartarus, then that’s what he would do

Neeance on Gaea? Leo would be happy to oblige He was going to make Gaea sorry she had ever messed with Leo Valdez

"Yeah" He took one last look at the cityscape of Ro bloodred in the sunset "Festus, raise the sails We’ve got some friends to save"