Frank goes to bed as a bulldog to stave off demigod nightmares but awakens as a python, which confuses him because he has never changed animals in his sleep before. When he turns human again, the voices of Mars and Ares argue in his head telling him to kill the Greeks or Romans. They’ve been hounding him since a possessed Leo fired on Camp Jupiter and started the war. The voices make it hard for Frank to function, and he isn’t sure why his friends aren’t having the same problem.

He gets dressed and is glad he doesn’t have to wear a hoodie to protect the magical piece of firewood that controls his lifespan because Hazel keeps it safe for him. He grabs his quiver and bow, which Leo figured out was camouflaged as a backpack. Leo constantly teases Frank and makes him feel less worthy than the others, so Mars and Ares tell Frank to kill him. Frank joins everyone on deck and sees dozens of monsters that look like cows amidst the tourists in Venice. Frank, Nico, and Hazel volunteer to go find a god despite the monsters.