Chapter 1

PIPER

"Piper! Can you hear me?" Frantic faces. Familiar faces.

Not his face.

Her vision succumbs to darkness.

"We've got to stop the bleeding. She'll need immediate surgery." Doctors. Amateur medics who will try to save her life. But he's not there.

Darkness.

"Will she make a full recovery?"

Her vision goes black before she can hear her fate.

Piper dreamed of Jason. They sat on Festus's back, their first quest together. He smiled that cute smirk, the little scar curling, his golden hair ruffling in the breeze. Then, he leaned over to kiss her.

He scooted away from her, still smirking. In her gut was an arrow. She screamed in pain, but he just smirked as she slipped off the side of Festus and fell down an endless abyss.

"JASON!" she shouted as her eyes snapped open. Her eyes searched the room. She was in the rec room, in a makeshift cot from the infirmary. There are people, but her head throbs too much for her to figure out whom.

"Piper! You're awake!" She recognized the voice before she saw the face of Louis Halvard, son of Aphrodite, her half-brother. Next to him was Kristin Sanders, also a child of Aphrodite.

"Guys, give her some air," said one of the medics. Will Solace, Piper thought. Yet her brain was too fuzzy to be sure.

As they filed out, he sat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Now tell me what happened." She sat up fast, her throbbing head telling her she was most definitely not fine.

"Relax, Piper. I'll explain, but you need to relax or your blood pressure will get too high. Here, drink this." He handed her some nectar.

"Two weeks ago, Aimee found you under a tree with an arrow through your side. You had lost a lot of blood. We were able to stabilize you, but you went into a coma. It's a miracle you woke as soon as you did. We expect you to make a quick and full recovery. Whoever shot you knew what he was doing. He didn't hit any of your vital organs. His intention was obviously not to kill you."

"Jason. Jason Grace was the one who was there. He left a note…"

"We saw the note, Piper, but…Jason died. He wasn't the one you saw, or thought you saw."

"I didn't just see him! He was there! I know he's dead, or was dead, but the Romans never saw his body! Maybe Donovan somehow…" But even she realized how impossible it was. She bit her lip.

Piper McLean, enough tears have been shed. No more being the damsel in distress passing the hours weeping. You are a hero of Olympus. It is time to act like it.

Will glanced at her, concerned. "Donovan is powerful. He could have manipulated the Mist to make you see Jason, or the trauma could have caused hallucinations, but, Piper, Jason is dead."

Piper nodded, her expression hard. "Yeah. I know."

"Even so, we need to prepare Camp in case Donovan strikes again." He paused. "There is something else you need to know, but if you would like to rest first, I understand."

She shook her head. "No, tell me. Please."

Will Solace continued, "Nico di Angelo is back. He returned from the Underworld with a fifteen year old girl, Lynn Stacey."

"That's wonderful news!" Annabeth did it. She found Percy and Nico and brought them back. "How are the Jacksons?"

He swallowed hard. "Piper, the Jacksons never returned from the Underworld."

"What?" Her mouth went dry.

"According to Nico, they found a raft in one of Tartarus's rivers, and it led them out. Along the way the raft went over a waterfall, and the raft split in two. They got separated, and the raft led Nico and Lynn straight to Camp. Percy and Annabeth are nowhere to be found. We've already sent search parties, even sent Iris messages to Poseidon and Athena for any news. They're totally off the grid."

Or dead, Piper thought, the words Will was too afraid to utter.

Awkwardly, Will stood up. "I'll give you some time to process this."

As he left, her mind whirred. She tried to block out thoughts of what might have happened to Percy and Annabeth, it was too much to bear. No, there were bigger problems. No one in Camp would believe Piper about Jason being alive. Just go along with it. And that's what she decided to do even though she knew better, she knew that Jason was alive, and he was on the wrong side.

Camp Half-Blood is in trouble. We all are. If Donovan is so powerful as to bring the dead to life and turn them to his side, what else is he capable of?

And with that thought, her weariness overtook her, and she fell into a light, troubled sleep.

LYNN

Lynn stopped and leaned against Thalia's Tree on Half-Blood Hill, looking over the valley spread out before her. It really was a breathtaking view, especially at 6:15 in the morning, as the sun rose above the ocean in the distance. The fifteen-year-old girl pulled her earbuds out and popped her iPod Touch off of her armband. She smiled as she snapped a photo. After three years of unendingdarkness, every bit of light was precious, and Lynn always took a picture on clear days when the sun rose while she was on her morning run. She had grown to love this part of the day over the past two weeks; the half hour before dawn, which is when she went for her run. She hadn't gotten used to having all these people around her, so she cherished every moment when she was alone.

She'd never thought she'd think that; after spending three years in the dark with only one other person to talk to, one would thinkshe'd be overjoyed at finally being in civilization again. And it was true; all she'd longed for was to get out of the dark and be with people. But everything was so overwhelming—she'd found out that children of Hades weren't really liked around here, and now the other campers thought she was practically a ghost, coming out of Tartarus after being stuck in there for three years. And on top of all that, the only person she really knew, Nico, wouldn't even talk to her!

She sighed, and looked out across the campgrounds again. This was now her home, but it was different from any other place she'd ever been. She jogged down the hill towards the cabins, thinking over her morning. She'd gotten up at her usual time, 5:30,and gone for her run. She normally went the same route every morning, around the border of the woods and strawberry fields, then down along the beach, and back up to Half-Blood Hill, but this morning she'd changed it up a bit. She hadn't had the time yet to go and explore the woods, and truthfully, she hadn't been very eager to go back into the dark. Still, her curiosity had won her over, and she'd told herself that it wouldn't be all that bad; she could always get out whenever she wanted to. So she'd gone into the woods on her run, and what she'd found had amazing and slightly startled her.

All the ferocious beasts that were said to be in the forest must have still been asleep, or else not real, 'cause Lynn didn't see a single one. She ventured farther into the woods, and found a huge cave, more like a giant bunker, with its door wide open, in the middle of the forest! Of course,she'd expected to see some weird things in these woods, but a giant bunker? That was beyond what she'd imagined. To make things even stranger, when she'd looked inside this bunker, she'd seen Leo Valdez, the crazy young man who'd escorted her and Nico into Camp when the first got there, in the middle of the bunker, working relentlessly on something. Lynn hadn't seen him since she'd arrived, and now she knew where he'd gone off to. She'd been about to go in and look around, when Leo's hair suddenly burst into flames. That sorta convinced her to go head back to the main part of Camp, where she'd finished up her run at Half-Blood Hill, and was now stepping into her cabin.

She looked around the small room, hoping beyond hope that her new half-brother would, for some reason or another, be there. But she already knew the cabin was empty; Nico would never come back as long as she was there. She felt guilty. From what she'd heard from Chiron, this camp had been the only place Nico could really call home, and now that she was here, he was staying away. He'd been away for so long; he deserved a chance to be among the people who knew and cared for him. Lynn suddenly realized that maybe she wasn't the only reason Nico was staying away. According to the other campers, no one really liked him, apparently he'd always been a loner. Sure, he had some people here who liked him, but maybe he wanted to stay out of everybody's way, at least for a little while, and get used to being in the world again. He was probably feeling just like Lynn herself felt.

Feeling a little better, but still a tad guilty, Lynn took off her sweaty clothes, and started her shower. Minutes later, she was drying herself off, and putting on fresh shorts and her Camp tee. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 6:28. She still had time to write in her journal before breakfast. She pulled it out from her small bookshelf, flopped down onto her bed after grabbing a pen, and started writing.

Dear Journal,

Good morning! I just got back from my morning run, and, since it's been a few days since I wrote in you, and l have to fill you in on a few things, I guess that it's time for a new entry.

On Friday, I found out during my shower after Capture the Flag that I had gotten my worst sunburn yet. It's still all over my shoulders, arms, and the backs of my legs. That's the last time I'm wearing a tank top at four pm in the evening during the hottest time of the year! It's slowly starting to get better, my burn that is, and I'm actually getting more brown than red. It's a miracle!

The sunrise was beautiful this morning! I took a picture of it, as always; I am always amazed at all the colors there are in a sunrise. I know everyone says that sunsets are way better to watch than sunrises, but I think they just say that because they're too lazy to get up that early in the morning to see the sunrise. Oh, I'm sooooo glad I'm out of the darkness, Journal! I will never again take light for granted! I guess that's why I like the sunrise so much. It brings light into the day, whereas sunset takes away all the light. I don't know how I'm the daughter of the god of the Underworld and I can't even begin to imagine living down there for eternity! I guess that's why people say he's not the most friendly or kind god; he's forever been in the darkness, with no one to bring light into his life. Someday, I hope I can do that for him. I know Hades left me alone when I was born, and didn't even make any efforts to get to know me, but he did the best he could. The Staceyswere always good to me, and I was a lot better off than a lot of other demigods. I guess I should be thankful, but I can't help but feel abandoned. The thing is, I think that my dad feels the same way, so that's how he treats others, he's never had anybody to love him, and so he doesn't know how to love anyone himself. I guess that's where Nico gets all his bitterness and resentment. Well, there's nothing I can do about it, I suppose.

Oh, something super funny—and kinda embarrassing—happened yesterday. I was walking around the campgrounds after breakfast, and had wandered down by the Oracle's cave, when I heard something behind me. Ever since the Hermes boys tried to play a trick on me by losing some of those wild kites on me, I've always carried my sword with me wherever I go, so when I heard something behind me, I spun around, my sword drawn. I heard a high-pitched squeal, and looked to see who'd been behind me. It was one of the younger Aphrodite boys—his name's Louis, I think—and he was curled up on the ground, moaning. The first thought that came into my mind was, Oh no! I've slashed him across the face! Then I realized that he wasn't tall enough for me to have hit him in the face: I'd aimed higher than that, anyway. He was still groaning, so I must have hit something, but I didn't know what. It was then that he sat up, looked down at his hands, and wailed, "Oh, my hair! My beautiful hair!"

I, of course, burst out laughing, and it really felt good to laugh after being so serious all the time. I was just glad that I hadn't killed the boy, but when I thought about his comment again, I couldn't help but laugh all the harder. What kind of boy cares so much about his hair that he 1) calls it beautiful, and 2) screams bloody murder and starts sobbing like a little baby when it's chopped off on accident?! It was pretty funny to watch!

Well, I guess that's all I have to tell you today, Journal. I did go through the woods this morning, and saw something a little crazy, but I'll tell you about it when I know more. See ya!

-Lynn-

Lynn got up off her bed, and glanced at the clock again. It was only 6:46. She had a good half hour before breakfast. What to do…

She sighed. She missed her Nico. She was never bored around him. She hadn't seen him since the first few days they'd been at Camp. He'd disappeared from the cabin after the first night, and had rarely come to meals at the pavilion. Things were so different now from how they used to be…she sighed again. Maybe she'd lost him forever.

Thinking about losing someone she loved drew her mind to another person at Camp who'd recently lost someone close to her heart, Lindsey Milan. Lindsey was the only mortal at Camp, besides the Oracle Rachel Dare, and, having only recently learned about all the gods being real and all that, and losing her twin sister, Lizzie, so tragically in a war that had nothing to do with them, Lynn was sure that the young teenager was feeling lost and heartbroken.

Lynn felt like she was being drawn to go and talk with the younger girl, so she made her way towards the Big House, where Lindsey was staying. She made her way into the house and up the stairs to the upper level, where she halted for a moment in front of the three doors in facing her, trying to decide which could be the one belonging to Lindsey. She randomly chose the middle door, and the young voice that answered her knock by telling her to come in proved that Lynn had made the right decision. She opened the door, and stepped in. There, sitting on her bed skimming through the pages of a huge book, sat Lindsey Milan.

"Why do all the books in this stupid house have to either be about wine or Pinnacle?" she asked without looking up. "I bet I've learned enough about that stupid game to even beat Chiron! Apparently he's the big champion around here. Oh," she said as she finally glanced up. "You're Lynn Stacey, right? I'm normally pretty good with knowing people's names, but I don't think I've officially met you, and I guess everything that's, um, happened lately is starting to take its toll on me."

The brokenhearted look in the younger girl's eyes made Lynn's own heart go out to her. How could she have possibly thought that her losing Nico was anything like Lindsey losing her sister? Sure, Nico had meant the world to Lynn, but to lose your twin sister, who you've done everything with for your entire life, to have seen her killed, nonetheless, after getting stuck in a middle of a war that was not her own…well, it was no wonder that Lindsey was starting to break down.

Lynn walked over to the side of the bed and sat down. She lifted the book off of the thirteen-year-old's lap, and flipped through the pages. Almost every page was filled with illustrations of grapes and the process of turning them into wine.

"I really have no idea why the god of wine would need books about things he already knows how to do, unless he's gotten a bit rusty over the last couple hundred years, and needs a cheat sheet, or he's just not as smart as everybody thinks he is." Lynn shrugged and set the book down, but her heart soared when she saw the corners of Lindsey's mouth starting to twitch up in a smile.

"You mean how smart he likes to think he is. I mean, he doesn't even know who Derek Jeter is! I was like, dude, seriously? You live in New York, and you don't pay attention to baseball? He's hopeless! If all the other gods are like him, I'm glad I haven't met any of them!

"So, you're the girl who just got out of Tartarus, right? Sounds awesome! I think that you were super brave to go in there for some guy you've never even met, and then to find out three years later that you're his sister? I mean, that must've been—" Lindsey slapped a hand over her mouth.

"I am so sorry! I didn't…oh I'm so sorry I brought that up. I'm not meaning to sound hardhearted, but sometimes—a lot of the time, actually—I let my mouth run away with me. I really am super sorry! Am I talking too much?"

Lynn smiled a little. "It's fine. It was really hard finding out that my best friend was my brother, and now Nico won't even talk to me, but I'm trying to move on. There's really nothing I can do about it. And no, you're not talking too much. I tend to not talk a lot myself, so I like people who do. Please, talk as much as you want. I vaguely know your story, but not very many of the details. Would you mind filling me in?"

Lindsey nodded enthusiastically, and launched into her life story, from her first memories—her family's annual beach trip to the Outer Banks, North Carolina—to all the New York Yankees baseball games her dad always took her to—she also included all the stats of all the players on the team—to the day she and Lizzie had helped the Jacksons kill the two Gorgons, up to the battle and the tragic death of her twin. Lindsey's voice had started to crack when she began the battle scene, and now a few tears were starting to slide down her cheeks. Lynn was at a loss of what to do—her people skills were a bit rusty—but, after hesitating for a moment, she slide over next to the younger girl, and wrapped her in a big hug. The poor thing had gone through so much in the past two weeks; she just needed someone to love her.

Lindsey lifted her head and smiled weakly. "It's…it's just that everything's been happening so fast. I'm trapped here with Mr. D, and Chiron won't let me do anything to help, and I don't know if my parents even know…about Lizzie, and everyone here thinks I'm just an immature little girl, and I'm trying so hard to be strong, but it's…it's so hard! Everything's so overwhelming, and I miss my sister!"

She broke down again, and Lynn hugged her harder. After a minute, she gently brushed the tears off of Lindsey's face, and smiled, saying, "How 'bout you and I go for a walk around Camp before breakfast? We still have about fifteen minutes, and I don't think Chiron would mind. What do you say?"

Lindsey perked right up, and smiled. "Sure! I'd love to! You have to tell me all about yourself! Let's go! Is it cool outside? Do I need my sweatshirt? It's a Yankees one Dad got me for Christmas last year; thankfully it still fits…"

As Lindsey continued chattering, Lynn smiled to herself. All that the younger girl needed was someone to talk to, someone who could help her take her mind off her grief. And hopefully Lynn could be that somebody.

LEO

Leo wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Even with his fireproof body, he could still feel the heat inside Bunker 9. He hadn't gone outside the place in days, and the heavy summer humidity, plus the lack of air conditioning—seriously, this place would take a fortune to heat and cool—had made the bunker feel like a furnace. Normally, Leo wouldn't have minded the heat, but combined with all the heavy work he had been doing over the past two weeks…well, it almost made things unbearable. But for Leo, there was something worse than having to work hard in the blistering heat: being stuck here, in the middle of a war, when the only person in life he had ever had romantic feelings for was trapped on an island far away, and he wasn't able to help her. Every second away from her was torture for him, and that torture drove him to work even harder than he ever had on any other project.

When he'd first found the raft on the Camp's beaches with its two very unexpected passengers, the first feeling he'd had had been one of joy. He'd finally found a way back to his beloved Calypso! He hadn't had much time to think about his new project in all the excitement of leading Mr. Death Dude and Lynn Whats-Her-Face into Camp and to the Big House, but once he was dismissed, he rushed back to the beach, and, after further examining it, confirmed his earlier belief of it being part of the Ogygian raft. He'd dragged it to Bunker 9, and had started working on it immediately. At first, he had no idea whatsoever how on earth he was going to rig a raft to get back to Ogygia; when he'd worked on the navigation device with Calypso on Ogygia three years ago, he hadn't had to repair the raft, just build something onto it. There were so many unknowns. He didn't know if he had to build the other half of the raft in a particular way so as to get back to the island, or if it would even work. So many ways it could go wrong. In haste, he scratched a note to self on the wooden workbench.

Project Ogygia:

Step 1, figure out a means of transportation. Check;

Step 2, get that means of transportation working rápidamente!

Step 3, navigate your way to Ogygia;

Step 4, find Calypso and win her heart again.

He paused before scratching in step five, an impish grin forming on his face. He let out a low whoop, then, in careful, precise letters, wrote down the most dangerous, thrilling, final step of Project O.

PERCY

Holy Poseidon.

I'm going to be a dad.

Annabeth…pregnant…

How could he have let this happen? Sure, he used to fantasize about settling down in New Rome and having kids, living in peace and safety. But that sort of life is nearly impossible for two demigods.

He never intended to have to deal with pregnancy hormones and mood swings on an empty island who knows where with no communication with the outside world. And he tried to block out thoughts about…the delivery…and who would have to deliver the baby. It made his stomach do parkour.

They had narrowed it down. This island was most certainly not Ogygia, for Calypso was nowhere to be found. And neither could it be Elysium. This island was nowhere in any mythology that Annabeth or Percy could remember. But it had some benefits. When Elanna Wythe, daughter of Hecate and sister of Donovan Pierce had been around him, she messed up his abilities with her powers. And, in Tartarus, he was too weak to make any use of them. Now that she was out of reach, and he was out of Tartarus, his full son-of-Poseidon awesomeness had returned and strengthened him.

The past two weeks he had kept himself as busy as possible by exploring the terrain. Golden beaches encircled the island. He estimated that the island was five miles or so around. He had not yet journeyed into the heart of it, mostly to appease Annabeth's fears of them getting separated, and her not feeling up to going through the thick forest of palm trees, bamboo and other shrubbery.

He had built a little hut for them to stay in. So far it was a one-room, with a small bed made from blankets provided in their backpacks packed by Sally Jackson-Blofis. He used bamboo, insulated with large palm leaves. Each day Percy found a way to add to the hut, a mantel here, a table and chair there, anything to keep him preoccupied.

Even if they could get off the island, it was too risky with Annabeth being pregnant. She'd get sick and it could take months to reach civilization, especially with no clue where they are. But if they waited after the baby, the infant might not even survive the trip until he was older.

Why couldn't Mom have packed over-the-counter abortion to solve our crisis? The thought made his eyes cloud up. Sure, this baby would be a nuisance. There was no certainty that he would survive labor. This baby could kill Annabeth. For that alone Percy hated the child. But, he couldn't think of the baby as an it. Because this wasn't about a young couple with no self-control making fools out of themselves by getting pregnant—they were married, they kept their purity, and they were now responsible for the life of a child. Not an it, this was a child, a son of Percy and Annabeth, a grandson of the gods of Olympus.

Son. All Percy could picture was a little boy with golden locks and bright green eyes, with a love for swimming and a desire to absorb knowledge. The perfect combination of both his parents—a son Percy would be proud of. With that vision in his mind, abortion made his stomach churn.

If I lose my wife because of this child, I will forever hate him and myself. If he causes her unbearable pain, I will despise him and myself. But I cannot deny him his right to a chance of life. I made a choice, and forever I will have to live with it and myself.

"Percy, is everything okay?" Annabeth walked towards him.

She was still as beautiful as the girl he met nine years ago, if not more so. Her hair was naturally bleached blond and thick beautiful curls bounced on her shoulders. She wore a tight fitted blue camisole and cargo shorts. A tiny bit of a baby bump was showing, but it was barely noticeable. She had a tan, and her nose and cheeks were pink from sunburn. She had a bit of a glow, as research said pregnancies can cause. But Percy liked to think that his healthy seaweed and coconut salad topped with fire-roasted shrimp had something to do with it.

"Percy, why are you staring at me like that?"

His attention snapped back to what she was saying. "What? Oh, nothing. I'm fine. You know, you are beautiful." He cursed in the back of his mind. Way to sound cheesy.

She laughed, filling the space between them and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you, that made my day. But, Percy, you would tell me if something was bothering you, right? Because right now, all we've got is each other. Well, and Junior. If we can't be honest with each other, we're not gonna last long here."

He hated how he could be read so easily. "Annie, you know I have concerns. We aren't ready for this."

"You've defeated Titan lords and you're complaining about not being ready for a baby?" She laughed lightly. "I know, it'll be difficult, but the island isn't that bad. We've been here two weeks, we haven't met any dangers besides sunburn and stepping on sharp shells, and the laptop still has battery life and connects to Wi-Fi. Still can't connect to email, but once I do, we might be able to contact people. It could be a lot worse, Percy."

"Well, at least one of us is an optimist. But Annabeth, if the laptop is here, then there has to be a reason why! How come neither of us has had a demigod dream? Why have the gods ignored us? How am I supposed to deliver the kid when he comes?"

Even with keeping his tone as soft as possible, he had gone too far. Annabeth bit her lip, tears streaming. She buried her face into his chest.

"Annie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," she sobbed. "It's nothing to do with you…it's hormones and…and…your mom's cookies were going stale and I finished them and they were my only source of chocolate and I don't know how to last through a pregnancy without…without…" she sobbed some more, Percy rubbing her back gently.

What was it with girls and chocolate during hormone-imbalances? Some things men just don't understand.

He kissed the top of her head. Even with sharing his concerns, she had no idea of the fears overwhelming him. Don't let her know. She can't handle it in this state.

"No more secrets, Percy. No secrets or lies between us, not here," she said with a final sniff.

"Of course not, Annabeth, never."

But that would be the first lie of many.

Author's Note:

As you probably figured out, this is a sequel. The first enthralling installment can be read here: s/9648330/1/The-Legacy-s-End

All Rights to Rick Riordan for original characters, locations, and plot line references. All Rights to Abby Squared for original plot line and new characters. Abby Squared characters must not be used in any roleplay, fanfiction, or work of fiction without prior permission from the publisher.