XXXVI Frank

Frank arms himself in his family’s attic arsenal, finds Ella reading Chinese scrolls, and hears her recite a fragment of prophecy about the legion’s crown and a son of Neptune drowning. On the roof, Percy detonates incoming cannonballs with water while Hazel reassures Frank about his spartus feat, boosting his confidence. Frank proposes escaping via a veteran pilot arranged by his grandmother, admits he is descended from Neptune through Periclymenus, and worries he cannot access his shapeshifting power.

The trio realize Ella may have memorized lines from the lost Sibylline Books, explaining why Phineas wanted her. As Laistrygonians demand Frank surrender, he sends Percy and Hazel to ready the Cadillac and protect Ella, then stalls the ogres. Frank unleashes the attic’s potato gun and specialty arrows, creating chaos, but the barrage collapses the house around him.

Frank flees the burning mansion, meets Percy, Hazel, and Ella in the Cadillac, and Percy detonates the sprinkler system to disrupt pursuit. They break through the ogre line, but Frank sees the family home consumed by fire and wonders if his grandmother escaped on her own terms.

At the airfield, Ella panics at the sight of the plane and refuses to fly. Percy promises to send a friend to guide her safely to Camp Jupiter; Ella quotes another ominous line about the Mark of Athena before vanishing into the woods to hide. With ogres closing, Frank covers the retreat with hydra-rope and explosive arrows, then intercepts a cannonball threatening the plane.

The Cadillac explodes behind him as Frank boards. The pilot takes off immediately under fire, and the plane climbs toward Anchorage. As Vancouver disappears beneath smoke and flames, Frank grieves his losses and perceived failures while their mission presses north toward freeing Thanatos and reclaiming the legion’s eagle.