A/N: This chapter took forever . . . and I'm a total liar. You'll see later. Anyways.

Arrow of the Fallen - Chapter Three: Sleep Comes Easy

The skeletons forced us to our knees, tied our hands together, and knotted gags tightly around our mouths. The gags tasted like old kitchen rags and I wanted to barf, but I couldn't get enough air to do it. Though we were in the middle of a pretty open forest, I felt claustrophobic.

"Hold still," snickered the lead skeleton that seemed like the only one who could talk.

He beckoned two of the skeletons over and they held their pendants out to us so we could see the gruesome winking red eye. I couldn't resist the urge to make fun of skeletons wearing jewelry, but I couldn't get the words out of the mouth. The gag pressed painfully into my gums.

In a blinding red flash, the pendants lit up like strobe lights and the skeletons pointed them at us. We tried to shield our eyes, but my hands were bound and I had forgotten. The eye pendant enlarged to the size of a large door and the pupil was soon the size of a dinner plate. Red light swirled around my eyes and I started getting dizzier and dizzier, close to passing out. A black hand reached out in the middle of the light and started to drag me into the pupil of the eye, and I couldn't fight it at all, merely watched dazedly at the black hand, and then I couldn't tell what it was at all, it could've just been a bear –

"NICO!"

The redness vanished immediately and I collapsed onto the grass, my vision blurring with blue and black. Gasping and panting, I rolled onto my side to see who had screamed.

I squinted into the distance and saw a girl leap off a horse's back. Then my vision cleared some more and I saw that it was Cres, who had gotten a ride from Chiron.

"Cres," I gasped out into my gag. "You idiot . . ."

She couldn't hear me, and I couldn't really hear myself.

"Nico, stay down!"

With difficulty, I turned my head to my other side. Percy had managed to crawl near me and his gag was cast askew, hanging around his neck. In awkward movements, Percy managed to wiggle his way to where I dropped my Styggie, and sawed off the rope binding my hands. He grimaced in pain when the Stygian iron cold bit into his flesh, immediately releasing the sword when I was free. I ripped off my gag and helped untie his hands. We both tried to stand up but there was no point. Something about those pendants had drained the energy from us and all we could do was writhe around helplessly while Cres – why did Chiron bring Cres? – tried to defeat those skeletons.

I dug into my jean pockets for my supply of ambrosia but I realized I had put it into my jacket and swore out loud. I opened my mouth to ask Percy if he had any ambrosia or nectar but then the most piercing sound I've ever heard in my whole life sounded in my ears and I screamed out loud. Like really screamed. I convulsed into a fetal position with my hands slapped over my ears, but I could still hear the lead skeleton shrieking above the rest.

"Master! You have the blood of Master, the kin of Master!" the skeleton wailed like a banshee.

"Who is 'Master'?" bellowed Cres, who was the only one of us still standing and seemed unaffected by the screeching noise. Chiron was in paralysis beside her, just like Percy and I were.

"Crescent Fallen, oh how Master would kill us if he caught us taking the Arrow Ichor from one of his own blood," it screeched. "He commanded us never, ever to extract the Arrow Ichor from him, for he did not want to destroy his long lost siblings!"

The screaming wouldn't stop. I could feel something wet coming out of my ears, but I didn't dare remove my hands from my ears, though little protection they provided.

"Evaporators, you will tell me now who your master is!" she shouted over the cacophony.

Who were the Evaporators?

"Oh, oh, oh, and Master insisted to be obedient to all his blood, all his blood, even of his siblings Rhys and –"

Cres cried out abruptly at the same time the skeleton's screaming stopped.

That was because the skeletons didn't exist anymore.

Every skeleton was replaced by a searing pillar of fire and when the sparks died down, the gorge had closed itself up, like it had never been there. Like the skeletons had never been there. It was like who ever this Master dude was, he had killed his own disciples before they revealed his secrets.

"Oh my God, Nico, are you okay?"

I finally uncovered my ears. "Fallen, you are the biggest idiot ever," I sighed. Except I couldn't hear myself. Since no one was yelling, my ears were just a roar of sound. I looked at my hands and they were covered in blood. Horror boiled up inside me. What if I went deaf forever?

Chiron had already galloped over, but I couldn't hear him. He bent down and gave me exactly what I needed: a piece of ambrosia.

I gulped it down and immediately felt energized, the roaring in my ears dying down a little. Pain faded from everywhere in my body and I turned to see Percy getting up from the ground. With a frown, I stood up, but then someone pushed me down again.

"Jeez, Cres," I told her without hearing myself. "What do you want?"

She said something to me that I couldn't hear, and then motioned that she was going to take off her shirt.

"What?" I gasped at her.

She scowled and pointed to me.

"Why?"

Annoyance painted on her face, she reached over and pulled off my shirt, her face blushing a deep red that matched her hair. She bunched up the shirt and then wiped the blood off my hands and ears.

So that's why. Haha.

"I know you love my shirtlessness – oh! I can hear again!"

"Well isn't that great, di Angelo," she rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go mute instead?"

"You're so cruel," I fake cried.

"That's a good thing."

Chiron bowed his head gravely. "I believe this is the new problem facing Camp Half-Blood," he said to Cres, "and it involves some family of yours."

"But my father – Mitch – he – how could he be a half-blood?"

"Mitchell Fallen," Chiron said, so I knew Cres had told him who her father was. "And a brother named Rhys. No, it can't be . . ."

His face darkened considerably. "After capture the flag, all of you will report back to the Rec Room to discuss Cres's parentage. Oh, and Nico and Percy? You guys won't be playing in tonight's game."

"What?!" I yelped. "Look, I'm perfectly fine. All I need is a little bit more ambrosia and a regeneration session with some dead souls and I'll. Be. Fine."

Chiron sighed. "You need time for your ears to heal."

"Hey, I'm like the person who knows Cres the most out of all of us, and I have to teach her how to play and survive a Half-Blood capture the flag game. Right, Scentie?"

Cres did a little innocent girl smile. "Right, Coco."

Percy went off to barf in the corner.

"Ok, people, here's the teams for tonights capture the flag! The red team includes the Hecate, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Aeolus, Athena, Aphrodite, Harmonia, Deimo, Phobos, Dionysus, Hebe, Janus, Peitho, the Nike Guys, Morpheus, Hygeia, and Asclepius cabins!"

"Why the Nike Guys?" Cres asked me. After the skeleton incident, she was now decked out in a bright orange camp T-shirt, shorts, and ditched the boots for sneakers.

"Usually we divide the sons and daughters of Nike because they have a strong influence over which team wins or loses, being demigods of victory and all," I explained. "They're really powerful."

She nodded. "I didn't know they had black versions of the camp T-shirts," she said, pointing to mine. "Or then I would have gotten one."

"I dyed it myself and repainted on the words in silver," I said proudly. "I don't look good in bright colors."

"I don't either," she said, tugging at the fabric.

I thought she looked fine.

"The blue team are the cabins Apollo, Ares, Zeus, Hades, Tethys, Chione, Alexiares, Hermes, Eris, Demeter, Iris, Eros, Mnemosyne, the Nike Girls, Themis, Nemesis, Isao, and Aceso. This also includes Cres Fallen!"

"So I'm the only undetermined half-blood around here?"

"Yeah." I was surprised she picked up the lingo so quickly; we had only told her what Camp Half-Blood was all about a few hours ago.

Sighing, she unsheathed the sword I had given her. "I have no idea how to use this, Coco. Can't I just use my Molotovs?"

I tilted my head. "I think you can, actually. As long as there's not that much lighter fluid in them. And will you stop calling me Coco?"

She pouted. "But I like the name!"

"Who's this?"

I looked behind me. One of the most annoying and arrogant guy I had ever met stood there. He looked like some model, as usual, his camp shirt looking like a designer piece and jeans that were so low-rise they were probably going to fall off. "Van."

"Nico." The dude smirked. "Are you the undetermined gal?"

"Yeah, I'm Cres Fallen," said Cres, already getting that stupid starry eyed look that all girls got when they met him.

"I'm Van Ryon, son of Alexiares, who is the son of Hercules."

"Oh, that's really cool!" she giggled.

I couldn't roll my eyes fast enough. "Hades FTW," I said under my breath.

"Nico! Dude, I haven't seen you in ages!" James Alfred, son of Aeolus slapped my shoulder.

"James! Don't kill me with the spear again, right?" I laughed. "At least this time we're on different teams. Where's Rox?

"Over here," she stepped into view, took one look at me and said, "Damn, how'd you get so tall? You're taller than me now! So unfair!"

"I'm a guy, I should be taller than you."

"I'm still taller than James," she ruffled the hair of her twin brother.

"James could be a woman?" I whispered in horror.

"You suck," James scowled.

"Alright, the game will start in ten minutes. Blue team, west woods, red team, east woods! Boundaries are the treelines and Zephynos Creek. Remember, no intentional maiming and all magic items are allowed! Good luck!" Chiron cheered.

We planted our flag in a clearing deep in our territory that was backed up by a steep little cliff hill on one side. You would only need a small guard team to defend it 'cause it would be impossible to drop in from the cliff side.

"You guys," Sorcha Bower, the cabin counselor of the Iris cabin called. "Who's captaining?"

"VAN!" screamed half of the girls and a couple of the guys.

"NICO!" screamed the rest.

"Alright then," said Van, charming smiles and all. "Shall we co-captain?"

I wanted to puke. "Sure!" I exclaimed brightly. "I call offense!"

We glared at each other. We had said that at the same exact time.

"Van, your father is one of the freakin' gatekeepers of Olympus. You were born to be defense," I argued.

"Well, sometimes you have to take the whole team in account, you know, Nic?" BARF BARF BARF BARF. "I realized that both Morpheus's children are on the red team and I'm sure they will be the main opposing offense. You're the only guy in camp who can fight Michael and Lily and even put them to sleep, so wouldn't it make sense to put you on defense?"

I hated how he was right. Oh, and how all the girls wilted under his eye.

"Concentrate, people," Laken, daughter of Chione, the snow goddess, commanded. I loved how she was like one of the hottest girls in camp but didn't fall under Van's spell. Or should l say curse.

"Right. Van will lead the Ares, Zeus, Hermes, Tethys, and Chione cabins as offense. The Apollo cabin along with the Iaso, Nike, Iris, and Mnemosyne cabins will be hanging around midfield. Offense should bring their wounded to the Iaso dude, AKA Whitman. Defense with me will be Demeter, Eros, Themis, Nemesis, and Aceso cabins. If anyone else gets hurt, bring them to Jessica," I said pointing to the daughter of Aceso.

Van actually nodded in agreement. "I want the offenders to attack exactly when the game starts, surprising the team other team. You guys should aim to get past both opposing offenders and midfielders. Midfielders, I want you to cut down everyone who crosses the line. Will, I want you to lead the Apollo cabin in a full frontal attack, shooting arrows from high ground. Sorcha, some illusion rainbows would be cool."

"Yeah, so offenders, once you get halfway to the flag, I want you to break up into two groups. Eshaya and Laken," I explained, looking at the daughter of Tethys, the fresh water goddess, and the daughter of Chione, "I want you to do everything you can to stop Percy from ever coming near our territory. Turn his water to snow, redirect it. Ares cabin, fight with them midway into their territory. The rest of the offenders, you have to, have to, cover Kian, who is basically the fastest runner in camp. The rest of the Hermes cabin and Chris who has the power to zap everything with lightning should be able to cover you. Get the flag and run like hell back to our base. Ares cabin, Eshaya, and Laken, when you see Kian running back, make a powerful shield around them."

A slow smile was taking over Van's face. "For defense, I want the Demeter kids with vines, fighting off those Dionysus losers. Eros, love enchantment would be tres cool. And Jenna and Rachel, I want to see that swordfighting kickass of yours with all the epic powers of Themis and Nemesis combined. Point is, Nico is as important as the flag in this game. If he's distracted by a red team offender, Michael and Lily will have us. Make sure Nico is always free and can just concentrate on defeating the son and daughter of Morpheus."

"You're pretty smart," I told Van after he was done explaining.

"Thanks," he replied.

It was a moment to remember.

"What about me?"

I looked into the crowd at Cres, who looked a bit forlorn, exactly how I did a few years ago when I was still undetermined.

"Cres Fallen," Van said in concentration.

"She's can actually hurt monsters with Molotov cocktails. Midfield with the Apollo cabin lookout?"

"Perfect." Van snapped his fingers. "Everyone get in position. The game starts in three."

The offenders and midfielders ran off into the distance, and I scouted out the area around the flag, looking for places that people could sneak up on us. I placed each of the Demeter kids guarding the few blind spots and put each of the Eros demigods between them. Jenna and Rachel were behind me for safe guarding, and Jessica was placed in a strategic position behind a boulder so she could keep herself unharmed but throw her deadly accurate knives at the same time.

The horn sounded with a blast and I could hear the battle cries of our team already plunging into enemy territory. The sound soon died down as they moved further into the red team east woods. But still you could hear the clashing battle at the midline. Their offense should be attacking any minute.

Then they came into sight, a few minutes later. They were led by the Hephaestus, Dionysus, Janus, and a few of the Athena cabin. At first, I felt relieved, the Michael and Lily hadn't showed up.

But they came out right behind them and we were officially outnumbered.

The Demeter cabin threw up a wall of ivy before the red team could react, and it tied up the Dionysus kids, so they wouldn't be a problem. "Thank the Gods," I breathed. The good thing about the Demeter demigods was that they acted fast. Two of the enemy's attacking force was gone already.

Eden Vanluvven and her half-siblings, laid on the arrows and love magic, distracting the guys from Athena and Hephaestus. The Janus half-blood was knocked down by one of Jessica's knives.

I stared at them, trying to figure out why this would be so easy. Sorcha Bower must have really poured on illusion after illusion on them; they seemed already tired.

Of course, Michael and Lily were not.

"Hey hey, it's Nico, here to defend the flag!" Lily giggled.

"Lily, haven't seen you in a while." I cracked a smile.

"Nico, as much as you're one of my greatest friends, you won't remember what happens next," Michael smirked.

I shrugged. "As long as this day gets more interesting, I'm happy."

Lily grinned.

Both half-siblings outstretched an arm toward me and their eyes turned the shade of hazy purple and a mix of grey, the exact color that described the word "sleep". I wanted to curl up right there on the ground and sleep for at least a day or two. I fell on my knees and was about to blink out when I saw their little egoistic smirks and the magic left me immediately.

Raising my own hands towards them, I willed them to go to sleep. I was the freakin' son of Hades, I should rock at this. Lily's eyelids fluttered but she hastily steadied herself. All the other fighting happening in the clearing died down to a dull roar in our ears and just background movement in our eyes. We stood there, facing each other, forcing one of us to go to sleep. They were incredibly strong, and I felt the immense pressure to give in. It was like running a mile or two and you really don't feel like running the last leg even though you're really fit and athletic.

I could tell I was nearly there, but strength was draining out of me like blood that came out of that dude in COD 6 I played earlier today.

Give in . . . give in . . . give in . . . sleep . . .

NO.

I forced my powers into their brains, trying to find the passage way that would knock them out for a long time. My eyelids flickered for a moment and my body was getting amazingly tired.

Just sleep for a while.

No, I won't.

Why not?

Lily fell asleep first. I think it was a turning point. I was so exhausted that I didn't notice her collapse to the grass, but I did notice I suddenly had enough power to gain over Michael, who had cold sweat breaking all over his body. For a second, I thought I may have lost, when Michael suddenly put on energy I don't know where he got from, but it only lasted for that long – a second. I pressed harder into him, mentally closing his eyes.

You go to sleep. You give in.

Finally, he passed out, his knees giving out like his half-sister's had.

When he fell, I fell too, black swarming into my eyes. I managed to squint an eye open to look at my teammates, but they were all on the ground. What had happened?

"Hades FTW," I said, before black washed over my head.

A/N: So I lied that I would tell you what Cres was all about. See anything about her heritage anywhere? I don't. Next chapter, I promise, promise, that you'll know who Cres's dad really is and a hint about her mom. REVIEW PLEASE AND I WILL SMILE AT YOU - and probably freak you out.