Leo tries to figure out the secrets of the Athena Parthenos because Annabeth said it’s the key to defeating Gaea and stopping the war between the Romans and Greeks. Leo finds nothing and feels guilty because he secured the statue before making sure Annabeth and Percy were on board. He goes to sleep next to Athena’s statue and dreams he’s in his mother’s old workshop. Gaea taunts that death is near. A shadowy giant chases Leo through a doorway to a decimated Camp Half-Blood. Gaea’s voice tells Leo the Romans can’t be stopped marching on Camp Half-Blood. Leo runs up the hill to find the world gone. A sorceress gives Leo a choice, jump off the cliff or into a cave beneath her. She tells Leo that he will be the first to die in the House of Hades unless he chooses to escape now. Jason wakes Leo and tells him Nico has information before they get to Bologna.

The mess hall walls are enchanted to show scenes of Camp Half-Blood, which makes Leo feel homesick. Jason, Hazel, Frank, and Nico round out the group. Piper and Coach Hedge guard the deck. Nico communed with the dead about the House of Hades.