Alright. I know I haven't updated What Doesn't Kill You in a while. Hopefully this makes up for it.

And I wanted to post this before Paradise so I would be working on two multi-chapter stories.

Hope you guys like!

Aurora stood perfectly straight, her hand ready to knock on his door. She knew it was well past midnight. She knew he would hate her for doing this. But she had to know.

Looking at the silvery moon, she couldn't help but frown. Under the moon was the last time she'd seen him. Hugging herself, she thought back to why she was even here, the terrible dream that had haunted her tonight.

Dirt.

That's all she could see for miles. That and an altar made of dark, gleaming wood and a free standing glass window that looked like it belonged to a church.

As she walked closer to the altar, she felt her feet sink into the earth. Though the ground was dry, her feet were muddy and caked. Why was she barefoot? And what was this place?

But she kept walking. Right before she would have reached the altar a familiar feminine voice called out; "Daughter."

Afraid, Aurora turned. Standing before her was a woman, maybe in her twenties. Her dark hair barely touched her shoulders. Freckles splashed her nose. Her lips were pursed sternly and her eyes were bright green. She looked down at her with barely a trace of emotions, except for the small smile she wore.

And of course, Aurora knew immediately. "Mother," she bowed. Hecate's smile didn't leave, but her eyes softened. She walked closer to her with the unmistakable sound of someone gliding over air.

"Aurora," she said, touching her face slightly. Aurora tensed. Her mother had been in her dreams a couple of times, but they'd only to warn her about unknown dangers. What could it be now? The war was over, and the seven had returned heroes. What more could the fates have planned for them?

Hecate seemed to ponder this. "Anger," she mumbled. "Yes, I know child. Having me as your mother is most difficult. I'm not like most of them. Unlike them, I know of older, stronger threats. I was one of the first to realize Gaia's wakening."

Aurora wasn't surprised. Her mother was an old goddess, the daughter of a titan. And being the patroness of witchcraft also held its dangers. "What is the threat mother?" she asked, hoping not to upset the goddess.

Hecate didn't seem to mind or notice. "Threat." She mused. " I don't believe he's much of one yet, but he might be. If we aren't careful."

Aurora was still confused. "Who? Is it a god? A titan?" she edged away, so she could look her in the eye. "Who is it?"

The goddess looked past her, gliding towards the alter. She stopped and knelt, closing her eyes and holding her head high. She put her hands to her chest, holding them up as if in prayer. She didn't speak for a while until she said finally,

"Your brother."

The dream took a turn. She was standing in a parking lot, which was void of anyone except for three people . A tall man with black hair in a dark suit. He was staring down impatiently and annoyed at a boy. He couldn't be more than thirty, she decided.

The boy he was looking at had her back turned to her, but he seemed vaguely familiar. A man was standing a respectable distance from the two. He might've been the boy's father, seeing as they both had the same brown hair.

The man crossed his arms, listening to the boy talk. "It's something important, so please take this seriously even if it sounds weird."

Aurora blinked. People said things like this all the time, but the boy's voice had a shaky edge to it, like he was going to explain something difficult to grasp.

The man gave a look of disbelief, as if he were sure the boy was going to ask something stupid. He closed his eyes for second, then changed his expression. "Ask away," he replied, like he had changed his mind. "I'm all ears."

The boy stood straighter, and Aurora got goosebumps on her skin. Whatever he was going to say next would probably be incredibly important.

"What happens if someone finds a way to stop death?" He asked, and Aurora knew automatically that the boy was in danger. It clicked in her mind suddenly, why he was asking it. He was a demigod.

The man seemed to notice the teens shift in voice. "That would be impossible," he said simply. "All living things decay over time." Aurora snorted. Tell that to the monsters, she thought.

"There is a certain point at which we become unable to function. That is-" The boy didn't let him finish.

"You didn't answer the question," he pointed out. "Please, give me your honest opinion." He seemed a bit desperate for an answer. Whatever was after him had to be hard to defeat. But enough to the point that he needed a mortal morticians' opinion? Something had to be wrong.

"I don't have one," the man retorted. "I'm not a fiction writer. I don't indulge myself in impossibilities." The man had to be incredibly mist-blind to not notice an impossibility right in front of him.

"That's too bad. Dad, the paper?" The brown haired man behind the boy pulled a slip of paper and gave it to the mortician.

"It's out contact information. If you figure it out, call me, okay?" She furrowed her brow. Why did he need his opinion so badly? And why did he have a phone? Monsters tracked demigods through technology like bloodhounds.

The man was staring, probably confused as to why the boy was so persistent. "You do understand me, don't you? I can't answer your question."

"Please try, Dr. Claymore. Because if you don't, I'm going to die."

The dream shifted. Aurora was watching a battle happening between a mortal and a monster. She winced, knowing full and well the common outcome of battles like that.

The coffee shop they were fighting was in shambles. Bullet holes riddled the place, and another mortal was mindlessly washing some dishes. Must be under some spell, Aurora thought.

Suddenly, a hissing voice yelled out "Incantare: Stulti Carcer!"

Aurora analyzed the words. She wasn't sure what the monster had meant, but she noticed the mortal stagger a bit. She looked closer and realized that it was the optician from the other dream, Claymore. He attempted to move, but he was stuck.

As the monster came forward a bit, Aurora could identify her. She had serpentine slits for eyes, and dark green irises. Her claws were lizardlike with talons jutting out. Serpent skin encased her, but she still wore clothes.

All in all, she knew this woman was Lamia, her annoying, immortal monster half-sister. She was practically toying with the man. The daughter of Hecate knew that her monster sister could've killed him with a swipe of her claws. Yet, she kept him alive.

Claymore cried out as flames devoured the building. The dishwashing mortal had no idea that he was being burned alive. Aurora felt her heart weighing down. She wanted to scream out as well, but she knew it was just a dream. He couldn't hear her. And if her hunch was correct, this had already happened. The gods had a way of tricking your dreams that way, and that's they'd always worked for Aurora.

As the flames curled around the shop, the dream changed.

She fell down onto a chair in a very posh looking living room. It seemed as if no one ever had the means to live in it. She wasn't sure what she was doing here, until she noticed that Claymore was once again here.

Fire roared in a fire place, reminding Aurora of what she'd just seen. A wood coffee table was set up for tea.

Claymore declined tea from someone. The brown haired boy's dad. This must've been their house. She sat up straighter, then blushed as she remembered he couldn't see her. The two men talked for a minute before a door opened. Dr. Claymore turned his head, and Aurora gasped.

She could finally see the boy's face. She knew him well. He had freckles a lot like her. His brown hair hung messily in his face as if it needed a cut. He had piercing green eyes, like her mother. Or rather, their mother.

His gray long sleeve shirt and jeans were riddled with green markings- symbols and words used for spells and potions. A bulletproof vest went over his shirt.

She put her hands to her temples. It was her brother. He was here. He was alive.

"Alabaster," Aurora whispered, one hundred percent sure. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek. A long time ago, when she made her journey to Camp Half Blood after the second titan war, she was told in a dream that her brother was gone. Not exactly dead, but it seemed implied. Her heart beat faster before it sank. She wasn't even sure when this was, or if he were still alive still. He could very well be dead by now.

"Dr. Claymore," he said, ignoring her presence. "Don't bother talking to my companion. He won't tell you anything important."

Claymore glanced at the man and Alabaster, confused. "Why not? Isn't he your father?"

Alabaster laughed. It left Aurora's ears ringing. It wasn't the happy type of laugh most people had, but the your-ignorance-amuses-me type. "No," He sat down in the chair next to hers, grabbing some tea. "He's a Mistform. I created him to serve as my guardian so people don't ask questions."

Claymore's eyes widened. She laughed at his lack of understanding on the matter of what the children of Hecate could do. "Created? You mean with magic?"

Her brother nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a black notecard. He put it on the table and tapped it twice. Aurora recognized this trick. He was putting the man back onto the card in which he was created. It was how all Mistforms worked.

Just as she'd thought, Alabaster's guardian dissipated into smoke, and transferred onto the card. The shape of a man was now printed on the card.

"Better," he said, giving a small smile. "He gets annoying after a while. I know this must be a lot for a mortal to take in."

"I'll manage," Claymore shot back, though his eyes were wide. "I'm more interested in learning about Lamia, particularly a way to kill her."

At this, the daughter of Hecate furrowed her brow. Celestial bronze would've done the trick. Or, any type of strong elemental magic, or disintegrating potion. What was keeping Lamia alive this long?

She looked at Alabaster again. He hadn't changed much since she last saw him, which was over two years ago. He was still scrawny, but his powers were stronger. Not by much, but she could notice it on him. He didn't appear to be any taller either. And he still looked sixteen. How long after the titan war was this?

Alabaster sighed. "I told you already I don't know. That's why I asked you for help. Do you remember what I asked you in the parking lot?"

"What would happen if someone found a way to stop death." The doctor repeated. "Why is that important? Does it have something to do with Lamia's regeneration?"

Aurora looked curiously at Claymore. What did he mean her regeneration? Sure, all monsters regenerated, but not after decades, maybe even centuries of being locked up in Tartarus. How fast was Lamia coming back?

"No," Alabaster said simply. Aurora felt an explanation coming. "All monsters do that. There are only two ways to kill a monster: one is with some sort of godly material. The other is some sort of binding spell that stops them from reforming in this world. But killing her isn't the problem; I've done that. The problem is that she won't die." He took another sip of tea.

Aurora sat with her legs crossed and she was thinking. Obviously, this was before the war with Gaia. Yes, it all made sense. The period in which Thanatos was chained up, and the doors of death were opened. And Alabaster had no clue what was going on. She frowned. Wouldn't Hecate have given him some sort of heads up about this? That the monsters couldn't die because Gaia was waking? She sighed. The gods were probably supposed to be silent. She wouldn't have gotten a chance to. That, and this was already behind them. It had to be at least two years ago since this conversation.

Just as Claymore would've answered, the dream sent her falling again.

She opened up a wooden door that belonged to another room. It creaked as she entered.

Sitting down inside were Alabaster and Claymore. Alabaster was sitting in the bed, talking to him. Claymore seemed different somehow. Aurora couldn't put her finger on it until she realized that by some trick of the light, his body sometimes seemed to be made of vapor. He was now a Mistform.

Her brother looked different too. His hair was shaggier, falling into his eyes. He seemed taller, and he wasn't as scrawny. His arms were a bit more muscular. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt that looked a bit big on him, and black jeans with purple sneakers. His eyes gleamed.

Aurora's mouth tugged on the corners. Claymore was probably his guardian now, and he was safe. He survived Lamia, and was now…here. Where ever 'here' was.

For the first time, she felt more aware of herself. The fact that she was wearing normal clothes and shoes had occurred to her since now. Her locket swished back and forth across her chest.

"I don't know," she heard Alabaster say. "I think I'm supposed to meet someone."

Claymore raised his brow. "She didn't say who?"

The son of Hecate shook his head. "No. Mother is cryptic that way. She just said 'a sister'."

The doctor widened his eyes. "Do you think she meant Lamia again?" he seemed alarmed at the thought of the lizard woman coming back.

Alabaster shrugged. "I highly doubt that. I had a couple of sisters. Some of them died. Hecate can control the dead a bit. Maybe that's what she meant."

The black haired man seemed indifferent. "I don't know, and neither do you. We'll have to wait. Accept it."

Under his breath Alabaster grumbled. "I hate not knowing."

Aurora laughed out loud this time. "You're such an Athena child." She said.

Instead of not hearing it, like a normal dream of hers, Alabaster turned to her head on. He looked at her with furrowed brows. "Are-are you real?" he asked tentatively. Claymore seemed to be studying her as well.

Aurora stared at him. "Define real," she decided to say.

Alabaster got up, and stood directly in front of her. He had to be at least eighteen now. He had a bit of stubble on his face. He had to be over a foot taller than her. "Do, I know you? You seem, familiar."

Her eyes softened. "Alabaster," she said calmly. "It's me. Aurora."

He looked at her again, eyes wide, before hastily pulling her into a hug. She was shocked but eventually she wrapped her hands around his waist. His head nestled into her hair, and he used his free hand to run through it, examining the purple at her ends.

"You're safe," he mumbled into her hair. He pulled apart and held her at her shoulders. A smile was spread across his face.

"And you're older. How old are you?" he asked, sitting back down on the bed.

"I'm fourteen." She supplied, and he nodded. "About as old as I was when the war started."

Claymore held up his hands, indicating for them to stop. "Alabaster, who is she, your girlfriend?"

Aurora raised an eyebrow before laughing. Alabaster blushed and laughed with her before explaining. "No. This is Aurora, my sister. Aurora, this is-"

"Dr. Claymore, I know." She interrupted. They both looked at her.

"How'd you know?" the doctor asked, intrigued by her.

She scratched her neck. "I'm dreaming. I have no idea how you can see me right now either."

Alabaster looked confused. "What are you dreaming about?"

"Right now? Seeing you. But before I was looking at your whole Lamia ordeal. I saw you ask Claymore the question in the parking lot, Lamia attacking him at the store, and you two talking in your house."

He looked at her. "That was what," he turned his attention to Dr. Claymore. "Two years ago? How did you see that."

"Mom showed it to me."

Dr. Claymore sat up, a bit more interested. "Hecate talks to you too?"

Aurora nodded. "Of course. I can't imagine her not talking to anyone of us." She looked back at Alabaster. "And I really can't imagine her leaving out the little detail that you're alive."

The son of Hecate looked horrified. "She told you I was dead? I don't think she would-"

"The others told me you were gone. Not dead just…gone."

Alabasters eyes raged. "Honestly, I'm glad you're safe. But get out of there."

Aurora tried to reason with him. "You know I can't. I step one foot out of those boundaries I'm dead."

He groaned. "They're poisoning you. When's the last time you made a Mistform?"

"Yesterday," she replied back, countering her brother's anger.

"Potion?"

"Saturday."

"Spell?"

"I gave this girl the stripes the other day," she supplied, sitting down next to Alabaster. "Honestly, I'm fine. I'm worried about you."

He looked over at her. "Well you shouldn't be. Dr. Claymore and I are perfectly alright. Aren't we?"

The Mistform man stood. "We're quite capable of anything that could be thrown at us. We've been doing this for years."

"Yes," Aurora stood defiantly. "And I've been training for two years. Sword fighting and archery are just as natural to me as magic. Spells and Mistforms aren't going to keep you alive forever."

Alabaster stood to match her. "If you think I'm setting one foot remotely close to that camp, think again. I fought on the Titan side for a reason. I'm honoring that."

Aurora ran a hand through her hair. Alabaster was always incredibly stubborn. She began to speak when a sound cut through them. Her vision turned snowy, and she blinked. A second later she was standing behind a clear, thin wall.

Alabaster inspected it. "It's clear energy. The dream is breaking up. I don't think Mom did this."

Aurora grimaced. "No, the Gods did. Morpheus or Hypnos maybe. They don't want me talking to you."

He crossed his arms and grumbled. "Figures. What now?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to find you. They might be able to interrupt this," she looked up at the sky with an angry expression. "But they won't stop me from finding you. Where are you?"

His eyes softened. "That might not be a good idea, you know." He seemed a bit weary for someone who didn't care much for gods.

"I doesn't matter if it's a good idea. It's the right one. Hecate warned me about a threat Alabaster. I think it's you."

He furrowed his brow. "Me? There's no way,"

"You still don't trust the other gods. They don't want you alive. You've still got resentment and anger towards them. You're left in the dark, which is dangerous. And I'm sure Gods have been checking up on you."

Alabaster didn't say anything. He hit his hand against the force. Energy rippled. "Fine. If you have to. I'm not coming to your camp, however." He stated.

Aurora looked around. It was because of the gods that she was in this mess. Now she had to help her brother before it was too late for him.

"We'll see what happens," she reasoned, nodding.

His eyes softened. As much of a fighter Alabaster was, he was still an older brother to her. "I'm in upstate New York almost all the time. Close enough so that a half blood from Kronos's Army wouldn't have to go very far."

"Mind telling me exactly where?" Aurora asked.

"A place called Poughkeepsie. Across the river, two hours northeast. There's a train station here. Probably the easiest way to get here. I'm staying at a place called The Grandview. Be warned though, a lot of monsters are incredibly disguised as humans. Most of them have slits for eyes, and uncommon irises. Get here safe, and we'll talk about camp."

He seemed willing enough to go back with her, as long as she was safe. "And be careful. Some Demigods don't make it out of here alive. I'll be waiting."

As he shared the last piece, his figure distorted, and both of them turned into black. She saw faint images of a boy and a little girl with glowing green eyes and a small girl with glowing blue eyes. An image showed a girl fighting in rags, her caramel hair piled on her head in a knot. The last showed a girl with curly caramel and purple hair staring at a tree, looking over at Camp Half Blood. The little girl had been her. And the boy was Alabaster. Lou Ellen had been fighting with them.

Slowly, Aurora drifted into conciseness. Her eyes opened and she found herself back in bed. Her hair fell into her eyes as she shook her head. A massive headache was creeping up on her. But she had other problems on her mind. She remembered something Alabaster had said in the dream.

"What happens if someone found a way to stop death?" He'd asked. And he'd never gotten an answer. Now she felt like it was her turn. Alabaster was in danger of being obliterated by the Gods, and she had to stop them. Meanwhile, she was in danger of letting the Olympians down, and helping an enemy. She sighed.

Aurora stood up. She needed to know what to do, but she needed answers. And she knew one person that could give them to her.

She knocked. No answer. She did it again and only heard grumbling. She crossed her arms and examined the door. She could easily rip it off using magic, but she decided to try the knob first. Unlocked.

She twisted it open and stepped inside. Dark walls and dimly lit candles. Their fires were green, giving off an eerie glow. The floor was tiled to look like some sort of earth. It didn't smell the way she thought it would. It smelled more like a wet marsh than death or must. But there was no sound. Not even the chirping of crickets was heard.

She closed the door behind her, and all of a sudden there was a swift movement. She didn't turn however, and wasn't surprised when an arm wrapped around her throat and a gleaming black sword was poised above her neck.

"Who are you?" his voice asked, cold and menacing.

"Calm down, Death Boy, I'm not here for games." She quipped, showing that she wasn't impressed.

The son of Hades put down his arm and his sword. "It's seriously past midnight." Nico said bored and tired. Aurora twisted around to get a look at him.

Messy as ever dark hair and eyes she couldn't quite find. His pale skin looked weird against the green glow. He had been sleeping in plaid black boxers and no shirt, but his sheath hung on his hip. He looked tired and annoyed, but not quite mad.

"Yes, I can tell time, thank you," she retorted to his earlier statement.

"If you're here to banter I suggest you leave. I'm not in the mood for this." He put the sword on another bed and went back to his own before Aurora grabbed his wrist.

"No. I'm serious. I need a question answered." He voice changed dramatically. She sounded older, more serious and a bit desperate.

Despite him noticing this, Nico still didn't acknowledge it. He figured she was just spooked by a dream. "It can't wait until morning?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. He looked down at her. Her blue eyes said it all. No.

"Someone's life could be on the line." Nico arched a brow.

"Could be?"

"I'm serious."

"So am I." he countered. She could really be a pain sometimes.

Aurora sighed and put her hands on her temples. "Do you really have to be so difficult?"

"I'm the son of Hades and it's three in the morning, what do you think?"

"This is going nowhere," she mumbled, and leaned against a wall. Looking sideways at him, she decided to at least give it a go. "You know a lot about death right? And don't give me some smart ass response, I'm not in the mood."

A smirk could be seen forming on his face. "Yeah." He replied simply.

The daughter of Hecate looked him dead in the eyes. Any nerves or uncertainty vanished from her face. She stood tall, almost matching his height. Nico looked at her, confused.

She released a breath. "What happens if someone finds a way to stop death?"