25

                                    

                                          
After attempting to sleep for hours with no results, I rolled out of bed, pat my hair down, and walked down to the lobby of the hotel it seemed everyone was already waiting for me. 
                          
"Sorry I took long," I said as I sank down into one of the open chairs in the lobby. They all peered at me nervously. 
                          
Hazel shrugged as she straightened herself up. "You aren't that late. We can start now, though. Anyone have any plans to offer?" 
                          
The room was quiet, which only made me grow more desperate. How could, between the seven of us, there be no plan? 
                          
After what seemed like years, Jason cleared his throat to talk. Everyone looked up at him and that caused him to turn a light pink. 
                          
"Well, if we're dealing with Arachne, we should check where she hid last time, the cavern with the pit to Tartarus, right?" Jason suggested nervously. 
                          
I shrugged as I slumped down in my chair. "I guess you're right, but that's risky. Annabeth told me about it, and it wasn't easy getting there." 
                          
Calypso frowned and crossed her arms. "Wait, you mean Annabeth told you about everything she did to get to the Athena Parthenos? I suggest we just follow her trail! Easy, right?" 
                          
"Would Arachne even be using the same hideout, though?" Frank asked, which caused Calypso to sigh. "I mean, I wouldn't rule it out." 
                          
Piper nodded. "I think it's worth a shot to check. Percy, tell us more about it." 
                          
So I told them what Annabeth had told me about her journey. What she'd told me during Tartarus and after. I remembered most of it, but it was hard to recall the details. 
                          
I told them about the room where Annabeth had found crates full of plastic swords and how she climbed down a giant cliff. 
                          
Then I told them all about the followers of Mithras, who I was pretty sure were wiped out after the cavern had fallen, but I wasn't sure. 
                          
I told them how she made a bridge out of the plastic swords to get across and then how she was trapped by Arachne. 
                          
They pretty much knew the rest, Annabeth's fight of her and how we had come in, and then how Annabeth and I had fallen into Tartarus, so I didn't explain that part. Partly because they knew and partly because I didn't think I could recall it without tearing up, and I needed to stay focused right now. 
                          
"Do you think Arachne could still even be there, though?" Leo asked. "And is it even safe there?" 
                          
I sighed. "I don't know, but I think going there is worth a shot. And we never know until we try it."
                          
"Yeah, where would we even look instead?" Calypso asked. "We can't search all of Rome if we're all down there." 
                          
Hazel nodded. "Calypso brings up a good point. I think we should split up, some people searching different areas." 
                          
"I agree," I said. "I'll go underground. Anyone wanna come with me?" 
                          
Piper laughed as she nodded. "I volunteer. If there are any remaining Mithras followers, I may be able to charmspeak them." 
                          
"I'll go, too," Jason volunteered. "Flying you guys over that cliff and makeshift bridge might be safer than using plastic swords." 
                          
"We'll come up with places to search here," Hazel assured me. "The remaining four of us will break up into twos and search the city." 
                          
Leo nodded. "We can do that. How big is Rome anyways?"