AN (10/14/15): Hello! Because the second book is being worked on, I felt it appropriate to fix up some of these earlier chapters. As a summary of my old original AN: This story I put as T Rating, mainly due to concepts within this piece. There is nothing sexual in this, in that aspect it is kid friendly, but concepts like ones surrounding death, mortality, and war are in here that I feel are not preferable for younger kids to read. I just wanted to put this in as a preliminary warning of sorts to any prospective readers. This book was, and the next book will be updated weekly once I feel it is adequate enough to be posted and I have a majority of the story completed.

I do ask for feedback though. It really helps me gain a sense of what I can improve on, what you guys liked, disliked about the book. I love to see feedback from you guys, it has been possibly the best part of posting this! If you have any questions or anything you would pm me for, please feel free to! I will try to respond as quickly as I can. If you want to leave a comment but not have it in the comment box, you can send my feedback through there too. I worked on this story for a long, long time, so I do hope you enjoy! I know reading an AN at the beginning of a story is annoying, but if you stuck with me up to here, thank you! Enjoy readying and I look forward to seeing your feedback! -TashaMoon - Chapters are always 2k min. If they are not, I post two chapters within that week to make up for it -

It is easy to forget what you stand for, especially when you are one of a few fighting for it. That is how I felt when I first grew up, and I say first for a reason, but you will learn why later. Even now I still feel as if I am the only one of a few who still fight for what is right for everyone, not just for personal gain. Imagine being forced to hide who you are from your family, your friends, for fear of being ostracized. That is what I had to do, I was only able to trust a few to know the truth.

I was born to Sandra Cooper and Hades, Greek god of the Underworld. I was born during times of unrest, then all out war. Whole nations going against each other, all sparked by the ones who I had the misfortune of sharing the same father with, and select others. The gods tend to influence many people, nations, etcetera. I was the only one of my siblings that I knew about who wasn't one for that life the others set course on. I refused to join them, to be driven to their special kind of madness. To help cause the deaths of millions.

The ones who lead the fight against them were the children of Zeus and Poseidon. They lead what was ultimately the winning side, though I never got to see that victory personally. After I was born and the war broke out, my father imagined me to be the one to help end it all. Help end the discrimination. I was the only child of his that wasn't going against Olympus. That is a lot for a kid to shoulder. I was about ten when I found out about our world and I have been encompassed by it ever since. My father may not have been greatly loved by the Olympians, or even cared for Olympus himself, but it was the better of the options available.

I grew up alongside a son of Zeus, we both did not know our heritage when we were small. He and I became the best of friends, forging our path into the chaotic world together. We managed to make it to Camp Half-Blood in one piece and get claimed, even if mine was hidden from the rest of camp. If the rest of camp knew, I would instantly become the center of negative attention just because I was a child of the Underworld at that period of time in the world. We were seen as instant enemies, to be hated and scorned on sight. I couldn't blame them though, what my half-siblings were doing was worthy of that reaction. Children of the Underworld were never very welcomed at camp to begin with, just like the parallel of my father and Olympus. During this war that was put to an extreme. We would often end up growing up on our own, fending for ourselves. That, or we would meet up with others like us and live day to day. Overall, it was a breeding ground for distrust and further dislike.

Only my closest friend knew my true heritage aside from Chiron- the son of Zeus. I had always hoped that we would somehow beat the odds and be able to live to an older age as we had never fit well into our allotted rolls as children of our fathers. Nick Evans was brave, just like any other demigod, but humble ever since he was little. Children of Zeus tended to get pompous about their heritage, he was only that in jest. I was not extremely glum or dark, for some words to describe the typical Hades kid persona. I was okay with dying though if it was for something or someone I cared for. I knew I would give my life to protect those I cared about. It was hard to gain my trust, but once you got it I would stick with you to the end.

All new beginnings start with an end, that is a given. For me the beginning of the end started the day we got wind at camp about an impending monster attack. It was downtime between trips to Europe for some of us, so we were back at camp. Now, Camp Half-Blood at that time had basic magical boundaries, but the more powerful monsters sometimes were able to slip through, or if the boundaries took too much of a beating, so we had to defend it. With the amount of demigods living at camp we were like a giant glowing beacon for all monsters from miles around. A buffet hotspot if you will.

The day before it all ended, Chiron assigned a collection of us to dispose of the monsters before they reached camp and put the younger campers in danger. We only knew about them because some campers had spotted them on their return trip from the city. This was the one sanctuary in the world for kids like us and we would be damned if we didn't put up a fight to defend it.

Now, to the actual fighting. First let me start out by saying I had two ways of fighting. To the public's eye I fought with a standard celestial bronze sword. Nothing special, just one that fit me the best. But when I didn't have to watch who could see me, I had a pair of secret weapons in the form of a silver and black bracelet, and a similar necklace.

On the outside they may look harmless, but once activated they were a black as night stygian iron knife and sword with silver hilts. My knife was a personal favorite of mine from all the weapons I have tried, but I could only use that and my sword in emergencies. They had been gifted to me by my father upon my claiming. The necklace was like a circular hollow pendant with a pegasus charm in the center and the words Camp Half-Blood engraved onto the face attached to a black cord. What was really amazing about it was that it was magic - aside from the whole jewelry into deadly weapons thing. My knife was able to return to its necklace form with just a flick of my wrist and both weapons, as I had found out last year, returned to me even if I didn't retrieve them after a certain amount of time.

To the whole of camp I was just another unclaimed kid living in the Hermes cabin, but I was more than met the eye.

We departed that night into what was Long Island to take care of the monsters before they could get to us. It wasn't until the next morning that we made contact. It was really a stroke of luck we had about where we met them; it was a low valley. A crystal clear river cut through the earth at the bottom of the valley, and that was surrounded by hills, a forest, and rocks. In short, it was a very good location to have a fight. With the sound of the river to cover our movement and the breeze coming from where the monsters were, we attacked.

We split ourselves into three groups and forced them back into a rough triangle. Nick and I stuck close together once the assault started, determined to not lose sight of each other, the memory of our trip last year still burned into our heads. I worked my way through hellhounds, Cyclopes, and even a few gryphons that were flying around. I managed to only sustain minimal damage to myself; just a scratch, bump, or bruise here of there. During my fight with a hellhound I found myself looking to where one of our archers were perched in an oak tree, their last arrow buried in the gryphon that had been soaring at my head, then it exploded into dust with a squawk. Dark clouds were rolling in and a distant sound of thunder reached the valley.

Now, almost all of the campers that came along on this little trip had been out in the field before, but never all together. As a result, over time our plan to stay organized broke apart. Soon we found ourselves getting isolated. I found myself being pushed back into the nearest tree line when a big wave of thunder ran through the valley. I looked over to where Nick was fighting a dracaenae and a gryphon, but he didn't look to be the one summoning the storm. I glanced around between strikes for the other son of Zeus who had gone on this trip: Chester. But there was no sign of him.

Chester and I had never really gotten along too well, he was too snooty and full of himself for my taste, even if he had helped Nick and I get to camp once we hit the Island. He was always ranting about the war when he was back at camp, whether it be cursing out the enemy or boasting news from a recent trip of his into the warzone. He was a couple years older than me and Nick, eighteen to our fourteen, and always tried to take charge in any situation, whether it be for the good or bad. Recently he had been even more annoying than usual, going as far as to shoot me glares when he thought I wasn't looking.

I was already focused back on my fight when I smelled ozone and the hair on my arms stood on end. I had been in enough practice fights with Nick to know when to dive out of the way. I was sprayed with a shower of dirt and grass as lightning shredded where I had just been.

"Nick, watch where you aim those things!" I called out to his form that was flipping over a large scorpion, slightly annoyed at him for nearly frying me. I slashed at an incoming hellhound and heard it yelp in pain as my sword cut across its chest. Despite being a daughter of Hades, there had yet to be a hellhound that hadn't wanted to kill me.

"Not-Duck!" Nick yelled. I quickly ducked and rolled, trusting his warning without hesitation and a sword swung past where my head had been just a second prior. I bounced back up into a fighting stance and looked to see who nearly took my head off.

"Chester! What are you doing? Fight the monsters, not me! They're being overrun by the river, go help them!" I yelled as I saw him standing there, sword out and ready. He had this mad look in his electric eyes, his hair flicking around in the wind.

"Ah, but you see, you are the monster here, Cooper. Did you really think nobody would notice?" He had a cruel and twisted smile on his face. I still find myself remembering that, the memory of how coldly he said that never to be forgotten. My face must have shown shock because his next sentence was one I had always dreaded: "I know who you are."

I quickly parried away a strike aimed at my shoulder and stumbled backwards, dodging the leaping hellhound as I went.

"Your kind are the reason so many people are dying! You are always aiding the enemy, causing destruction wherever you go. I am putting a stop to you spying on camp for them." His face was red, eyes unfocused. The hound I had been fighting with dove at him but he simply raised his sword, not even looking in its direction, killing it with one swift blow. He freed his sword and came at me.

We squared off and I tried to keep him at bay as best I could, dodging shots of electricity he aimed at me and parrying away his strikes. For some reason, even though his aim was clearly to kill, I just couldn't bring myself to that level. Not again. I had enough blood on my hands as it was, I didn't want to add more. He was Nick's brother after all, even if he was a jerk.

Between blows I managed to catch sight of Nick. He had finished off the scorpion and was busy dueling with a couple dracaenae, but I could tell he was trying to get over to where Chester and I were. I would have attempted to get help from the rest of the group that came that day, but they were all off fighting their own battles, some nearly holding off being overrun. I wasn't quite sure that they wouldn't turn against me if Chester told them the truth too. I only had Nick on my side here, but he was out of reach.

"How do you even stand yourself? Being a part of the ones causing mass death and suffering. But, it is all for a good cause, right? Strengthening your father's kingdom and all that. The more death the merrier! You and your kind will never be welcome in the rest of the world, this war was the last straw. You will die alone, nobody missing you." He taunted as our battle went on, trying to distract me from the actual combat. I could feel my temper rising despite knowing he said that just to throw me off. Some of the shadows in the surrounding area started to flicker and come closer.

"I may be who I am, but that doesn't mean I can't strive to be better than them. I am not one of them, get that through your thick skull! I am on your side in this, Chester. You can't choose your parentage, but you can choose your legacy, and I choose to make a better impact than them!"

He spat and pressed me harder, causing me to growl in frustration. It was like he was blinded in some way. All those times he had ranted about the war had gotten to him or something, it was like they had culminated and were amplified even further in some way. I was itching to take out my knife but I didn't want to cause anybody else to jump at me if I could help it. I always fought better duel-wielding my knife with a sword to be able to utilize both hands.

Chester managed to get a hit off me when I was trying to see where Nick was, causing a deep slash in my left arm. I hissed at the sudden spurt of pain. At this point I just wanted to be done with this whole mess. After all I had ever done for camp: going on missions, going out on my own to do the jobs too dangerous for others behind enemy lines, but I get this in return? All the things I had seen and done to help end this stupid war, and my best friend's brother was the one doing this too.

I kicked it up a notch, tossing aside trying not to harm him and aiming to knock him out or something; anything to stop this, I would figure out what to do from there. Chiron would know what to do, I just had to reach him. I went on the attack. Chester's eyes grew a bit wider as I pressed him - he was probably realizing that he might not win this fight as easy as he had hoped with me actually fighting back. Then I saw him get this sudden grin on his face, his eyes locking on something behind me. Like an idiot, I whirled around and saw a massive Cyclops bearing down on us. I swung my sword up to block a high strike at my head and he managed to kick me back, launching me toward the monster. His kick was charged too, electricity running through me as I was flung back. I nearly dropped my sword, my arms smoking.

I had already been getting tired from all of the fighting we had been doing and traveling through the night, but I had to keep going as the Cyclops zeroed in on me. I soon found myself dodging strikes from Chester while fending off the Cyclops, fingers occasionally twitching from the discharged electricity. Once, I managed to kick Chester away from me and I had to dodge a strike of lightning that landed to my side. I was not keen on getting shocked again.

"Just stop this already!" I yelled at him in anger. I felt a large tug as I struck my hand out in his direction. The ground cracked and opened up and wispy tendrils of shadows curling up, threatening to drag him in. He summoned the winds and lifted himself off the ground just in time, landing a few feet away. He had this deadly look in his eye, even more than before - like I had just pissed him off big time. The ground closed back up and the Cyclops nearly knocked me over. I didn't have time to think about Chester right then, the Cyclops took top priority.

"Get off me!" I suddenly heard Nick shout from somewhere behind me, deeper into the trees. I spun around to see a sight that made my blood run cold. Chester had his sword as Nick's throat, one hand gripping his shoulder holding the blade, the other restraining Nick's arms behind his back as he stood behind him.

Nick tried to struggle out of his grip but Chester quickly immobilized him, hissing something in his ear. We both knew options were limited; he was weaponless, sword a few feet away, blade at his throat, Chester out for blood. It looked like he had been cut up a bit from the last time I caught a glance of him too. He had a long cut on his cheek that was bleeding along with a steadily forming black eye. At least it looked like he managed to get Chester too, a nice cut on his leg.

All around me campers were still busy ridding the valley of monsters. They weren't seeing this son of Zeus with his sword at his little brother's throat. Things had just become severely real for me, he was threatening Nick.

I felt a wave of loathing strike me and I saw a flash of Nick being knocked out by the soldier from last year. I ducked as I turned back to the Cyclops I had been fighting, slashing it, a shower of gold dust covering the ground, furiously ending my distraction.

"Chester, your fight is with me, not Nick. Let him go or you will regret it." I called to him, trying to keep my voice level to restrain my visible anger. I stepped forward but he just pressed his blade further against Nick's throat threateningly. I stopped.

"I don't think so, Cooper. As you see, I have to make it out of this and be rid of you at the same time. I know that you have a strong friendship with my brother here, but to what limits would you go to protect him? You say you are on our side, so prove it."

I felt my anger rising, causing the nearby shadows to collect around me. The wind had picked up and it started raining as we stared each other down.

"Allison, get out of here. Don't worry about me, I can handle it, just go! Find Chiron!" Nick pleaded.

"I am not leaving you Nick. He is here for me."

"You know," Chester cut in. "this is very touching and all, but I suggest dropping your weapon and walking over here slowly, Cooper. You wouldn't want anything to happen to dear old Nicky if you didn't listen, now would you?" I was madly trying to find a way out of this, but there was only one way I could see Nick getting out of this alive. Chiron, where are you when I need you?

The monsters were few and far between now, campers had started to notice what was happening. The ones who didn't have a monster to deal with had wearily started to approach him, weapons out, ready to coax him into letting Nick go. To them, it must have looked like he completely lost it, which wasn't far off from the truth. It was now or never, Chester was too far gone at this point to reason with, I could see it in his eyes. The mad gleam in them gave me chills.

"Nicole, when this is through, get Nick out of here safely no matter what happens. Promise me!" Nicole was the girl who I knew best of the group, a daughter of Hermes. She gave me a bewildered look but nodded.

I slowly bent down, paying mind to my arm, and placed my sword on the ground, kicking it a few feet away with my foot.

"Good, now come here. No tricks."

I held my hands up a bit to show him that they were empty, but I kept them ready. I started to make my way over to him with grim resolve. Some of the campers were trying to reason with Chester but it was useless. When they got too close he would jerk away, Nick tightly in his grasp, sword still threateningly close to his throat and blew them back with wind. I heard a slight humming noise in my head and a pit formed in my stomach, it felt like death was near. I gritted my teeth, resigning to the fact that this was going to turn out with only one outcome, one alternative if I was very lucky. I was scanning my surroundings, trying to find the best opportunity. I couldn't meet Nick's eyes yet. There.

As I grew closer I started to slow but the sword was just pressed further against Nick's throat, drawing a small amount of blood. I held my hands up further to show him that I was surrendering. I made eye contact with Nick. I'm sorry I told him silently. His eyes grew wide, silently telling me not to try anything and just get out of here. His eyes then changed, seeing my plan. They grew wide, giving me a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, pleading with me not to try anything. I gave him a small shake back. This was the only option. I could only imagine what he was thinking in his head, cursing my stubbornness. A tug signaled the last opportunity to go back was gone.

"Good, now come over here and-" He was cut short by a large rock slamming into his side, his blade getting knocked aside and Nick pushed a few feet away they both tumbled to the ground. I heard a few campers gasp but I quickly activated my necklace and surged toward Chester. He managed to regain his balance quickly and lightning crackled above us, struck his blade, and shot at me. I made a split second decision and dove into the shadows, the lightning breaking the earth where I had just been, Nick shouting.

I reappeared right beside Chester, he had a wild look in his eyes as we made contact, almost feral. I heard Nick shout again and I saw a flash of gold in Chester's normally blue eyes as we both swung our weapons toward the other. Both made contact. As my blade hit Chester's neck, his sword drove itself into my abdomen. Pain flared through me and my blade fell from my grasp, my breathing hitched and I stumbled. I fell to the ground as did Chester, his body falling away from me and into a puddle. As I made contact with the ground another flash of pain jolted through me accompanying the burning pain in my stomach. I curled in on myself, hands clutching my stomach.

Nick scrambled up fully and rushed over to my side. His eyes had a new light to them, a panicked look I didn't see often. He slid down to me, brushing aside some blood and rainwater that cascaded down from the sky from the cut on his cheek, casting the briefest glares at Chester's prone body. I knew he was already gone.

"Allison, oh my gods, what were you thinking! Are you- no-scratch that, beyond stupid question, you are clearly not okay. This wasn't supposed to happen, you should have left me! You needed to get out of here." He pulled out a bag of ambrosia and some nectar. I found myself struggling for breath, the pain making the act difficult. It felt as if there was a red-hot burning flame to my stomach.

Nick quickly uncapped the nectar, hands shaking, and drizzled it onto my wound, forcing me to eat all the ambrosia. Some of the campers got out of their stupor, the last of the monsters long gone by now. Even the taste of my mother's homemade caramel didn't help the moment - it just made me think of her and how I wouldn't see her again for a long time.

"Nick-"

"No, don't talk, focus on breathing." He looked at the blade helplessly, unsure what to do with the sword protruding through me until the campers started approaching, a daughter of Apollo rushing over the fastest, trailed by her brother. As the ambrosia and nectar worked their way into my system the pain lessened, but not by much. Chester had made his last strike count.

"Looks like neither Chester or I made it out, huh?" I swallowed hard, taking a breath. "But I couldn't just leave you there Nick, I saw it in his eyes. He wouldn't just let you go. Besides, I owe you one." I tried for a smile but it came out more like a grimace. It was true I owed him for keeping me up and moving after Italy last year, even if he denied it. I would have done it anyway though, regardless of that.

"Not funny Allison, you- you're dying and you are cracking jokes, and you know that isn't the same! Is this how you want to be remembered? Cracking jokes?" His voice cracked at his last sentence.

The able-bodied campers were gathered around the scene now, some hovering over Chester's body, the rest unsure what was happening and what to do. Two children of Ares were arguing about "What the Hades is happening!" I knew they had questions, and rightfully so, but I wanted to make the rest of my time count. I could already feel my life aura weakening, which was an unpleasant feeling in it of itself.

The daughter of Apollo and her brother crouched down in front of me, the boy rifling through his bag. He pulled out some slightly water soaked bandages and cloths to staunch the wound, tossing his bow to the side. He and his sister wordlessly started working, I had the worst, most life-threatening injury present among all of us. They didn't bother with Chester, it was too late for him. He pressed the fabric against my stomach and back around the blade, gently taking my trembling hands away. Then, as gently as she could, his sister pulled the blade free. A new wave of pain rolled over me, black spots dancing on the edges of my vision and I gritted my teeth. The boy quickly put some nectar on it and started wrapping.

"Damn it, Cooper. This isn't good Nick, this wound is bad. Look, I don't know what the heck all that was about, but that doesn't matter. I will not lose a patient. Screw Chester, the war got to his head, I knew something wasn't right with him since last summer. Cooper has always helped camp, he was blind not to be able to see it." Then after a pause, her eyes tracing to my fallen weapon. "I recognize those powers, but she isn't like them. She helped camp." She said loud enough for the other campers to hear. Ellen, that's her name. She was on the Poland trip. And the boy, Alan. He came last winter. I felt a small smile tug at my lips despite myself. Then I focused my gaze back to Nick.

"Nick, I would rather joke than cry about how unfair it is or something. I.. I know I'm not going to make it back to camp." I told him, my voice catching. I squeezed my eyes shut, then looked back to him as he spoke.

"No, don't say things like that. You can't be dying on me, not like this. I refuse to accept it." He muttered, panic evident in his voice as he tried to get me into a more comfortable position, briefly glaring at Chester's body.

"No, if this was how I was meant to go out, I am glad I was able to save you along the way, Nick. We will see each other again though." He just looked at me mournfully, wiping his eyes quickly, probably hoping I mistook them for the rain. Most of the other campers were keeping their distance, whispering, but let us have some privacy - probably sensing the limited time. Nicole was slowly making her way over to us though. I felt my blade return to its necklace form at my neck after never being recalled manually.

"No, Allison you have to make it. Don't talk like its already done. We can get you back to camp- we can-"

"Nick," I cut him off. "this was bound to happen at some point. War is not the place for kids, even if we are demigods. I would never be able to stay at camp like I was for long anyways, the odds were against it. Eventually someone would find out. Just.. just live your life for me, okay? Live it to the fullest and beat them for me. You can tell me all about it when we see each other again. Tell the rest of the camp what happened, and tell Chiron that I'm sorry, he knows what else. My mom already knows what I would say to her, just look after her for me please." I said slowly.

By this point I could feel myself being pulled down further, not just my aura slipping away anymore. My senses were dulling and becoming numb. I reached out with my hand and grasped his. The pain was slowly ebbing away, leaving no feelings whatsoever. Nick cradled my head, brushing my hair out of my face quietly, trying to savor the time we had left. Alan shook his head slightly as he wrapped the cut on my arm after trying to seal it , I could only faintly feel it. Ellen was trying to do some Apollo healing magic on my stomach, but I didn't know what effect it was having. Nicole was now crouched down in front of me, pieces of her short brown hair falling from her ears, her face torn.

"Allison, don't worry. I'll get him back to camp safely and keep an eye on him. You've done enough, just.. rest."

I managed to give her a small nod, trying to convey all my thanks through my look. I felt horrible that Nick had to see this, but I was happy I made what I had of my life count. I felt a strange sense of peace, but there was still this subtle persistent feeling of underlying panic. I wanted to see out the end of the war, grow up and see the world in peace again. I had to fix my sibling's wrongs, fix our legacy. I wanted to help Nick as much as I could - I didn't want him to be haunted by my death. Survivor's guilt.

For some reason though, it felt like this wasn't the end. Not just the Underworld being that end either. It was like the calm before the storm. I wasn't sure why though, I knew I was nearly gone now, that being one of the few thoughts I could still manage. The only thing left for me was my father's kingdom. I promised myself I would find Nick despite that though. I wouldn't leave him. I heard Ellen and her brother trying desperately to save the last shred of me.

I pooled my remaining strength into squeezing Nick's shaking hand. "You are my best friend Nick. Wait for me, I'm not quite done yet." I said quietly, meeting his electric stormy blue eyes for one last time. Nick gave me a sad smile, but his eyes were red and watery, black eye nicely formed and cut still leaking. The pain was hardly there, replaced with nothingness, with darkness. But I heard him respond despite that; "I'm not done either, you will not be forgotten. Until next time Allison, I will wait." He vowed.

-Cover Art by incredibru (Amazing artist)

-Look to the next chapter's AN. when I post the updated version of it for a brief summary of the story, as you might be thinking, why bother reading this still?-
Have an awesome week!