Thanks to SiriusBlacklover14, for one of the nicest reviews I've ever gotten. Always looking for more ideas, and little things to add to upcoming chapters. If you have an idea, please let me know.

Thanks ;)

Setting Sun

Chapter 3

Cass awoke to find herself in the infirmary. She looked around. There were only two empty beds between where she lay, and the curtain hiding Percy's body. She wanted to move away, but she couldn't find the energy. She blinked a few times, hoping everything had just been a dream. But when her eyes traveled to a torn out page from a book mounted on the bulletin board next to her bed, with the heading Leukemia, she knew it hadn't been.

Slowly, she turned to her left, where her bed-side table stood. On it was her lyric book, with it's tore pages and lyrics no one could look at, a wore out pen, and her hat, a memory from the war she knew was odd to keep. But she just couldn't bring herself to throw it away. Cass yawned; she was tired. She frowned. She had just gotten up. With a sigh, she twisted her body and reached up to the bulletin board and yanked the paper down. It tore a bit at the top, where a pin had been keeping it on. Cass skimmed the paper, thanking who ever wrote it that it was in ancient Greek. It was so much easier on the eyes. Using her finger, she found a paragraph under symptoms. "This could cause the patient's immune system to be unable to fight off a simple infection or to start attacking other body cells, blah, blah, blah. Here it is," she mumbled to herself. "Symptoms. Some patients experience other symptoms, such as feeling sick, having fevers, chills, night sweats, feeling fatigued and other flu-like symptoms."

The door opened, and her brother, Matt, crossed the thresh hold from the Big House to the infirmary, as they were in the same building. "How are you feeling, Cassie-Cat?" the sixteen-year-old asked, striding over to a bed a few over and across from her. Laying on it was an unresponsive body. Matt had a stethoscope around his neck, and he used it to check her heart. Nodding, he scribbled something on a paper attached to a clip board.

Cass hated it when people greeted her that way, but when Matt did it, it made her smile. He looked like a real doctor. "I'm fine. Kinda tired," she said, the sun shining from the window behind her, making all of the tiny hairs on her head, the ones that were just a bit shorter then the rest, glow with sunlight, making a tiny halo around her head.

"Yeah. That could be one of your-"

"Symptoms," Cass finished for him with a grin. She held the torn paper up for him to see and waved it above her head for a second before putting it down on her nightstand. "I thought I'd remind you that I am perfectly capable of reading ancient Greek. It's a talent of mine."

Matt smiled, walking over to her bed. He grabbed the paper from her night-stand and pinned it back up on the board, then crossed the room. "Josh and I came in to check on you a few times last night and this morning, but you were still asleep. I'm glad you're up now."

Cass frowned. "What do you mean, 'still'?"

"Well," said Matt, opening one of the many store cupboards and peering inside. "You feel asleep yesterday morning. You've been asleep for almost twenty-five hours, Cass."

Cass yawned, but tried to cover it. "Holy Hera," she said while yawning. "That's a long time. Kinda sucks that I'm still tired. You know how much energy I get after a eight-hour sleep. Gods, I'd be bouncing off the walls."

"Don't worry about it. People sleep a lot when they're sick. It helps them get better."

"So if I sleep for a few days, I won't have cancer anymore?" Cass said, only semi-joking. Matt smiled at her, but the smile seemed strained, like he didn't want to be reminded of Cass's life-threatening disease. Cass quickly changed the subject, hating it when she made people uncomfortable. "Have Annabeth and them all left for the quest yet?"

Matt nodded, snatching a bottle of nectar from the cupboard and checking a note written on the back. "About an hour ago. Gods, Conner looked terrified."

"He has good reason. Last quest with this prophecy resulted in war. I can only imagine what this quest will bring."

Matt nodded. "Yes, imagine. That's all you're going to be doing with it. Imagining. Because you, Cassie-Cat, will be in bed, right here where I can see you."

Cass frowned playfully, pulling at a loose thread on her fluffy white comforter. "How long?" she asked, running a hand through her Mohawk-like hair. It stuck out on all sides, but Cass didn't mind. She called it her eccentric look.

"Until you're healed. Until you're healthy again."

"And how long will that be?" inquired Cass. "Just so I can schedule around it, you know, 'cause I'm so very popular. Parties and such." The sarcasm in her voice was so tough, almost mean.

Matt didn't reply right away, and when he did, his voice was thick. "I'm not sure, Cass. Every patient will react differently to the treatment, and it will definitely be longer without the help of a God, but less then-"

"Cut the crap, Matt," interrupted Cass. "How the Hades long do I have left to live?"

A beautiful red steam engine came roaring into a station somewhere in New York. A great amount of steam rose from it when it came to a stop, and it covered the platform. When it cleared, three young teens stood, backpacks on, and what looked like field hockey sticks. To mortals, they looked like students on a sports field trip, or players going to a tournament. They looked nothing like demi-gods, thanks to the mist.

After the other passengers got off, those waiting on the platform stood and gathered their things. They queued up and waited to get onto the train. Annabeth, Thalia and Conner were standing far at the back. They were the last ones to hand the conductor their tickets and board the train.

Once they got on, and were led to their car, they sat down at the tables. Thalia and Annabeth were on one bench, facing Conner, who was on the other. They watched as the train puffed out of the station and began to pick up speed. Conner almost pressed his face up to the window as the houses and streets and buildings near the tracks raced by, seemingly flying in the other direction. After a few minutes, the view became a blur, and he sat back down, leaving a foggy spot on the window where his breath had been for so long.

"I can't believe about Cass," said Thalia, leaning forward, as did Annabeth and Conner. They created a bit of a triangle with their heads. "I mean, people like us don't usually get stuff like that. Cancer, and all that crap. Do we?" she asked Annabeth.

Annabeth shrugged. "I dunno. I've never really looked into it. It's never happened while I was at camp." She picked at her nail-beds. A last bit of silver polish from a lazy day back a camp before the war peeled instantly under her thumbnail. "I've never hear Chiron mention anything about it happening before."

Conner nodded. "She seemed so sad, too. During the war, you know? I mean, right after what happened to Nico, too. Stheno's a bitch, even worse then Medusa."

"I don't know," said Annabeth, lowering her voice and tilting her head to the passengers who had perked up at the the name Medusa. Annabeth gave them bright smiles until they looked away, then she lowered her head again. "That lady was all different levels of crazy."

"I wonder what happened to Nico," said Thalia, love for her cousin showing through in the way she said his name. It was softer then usual. "I wonder if he's..."

"No," said Annabeth. "Lord Hades would of said something. He'd know."

Thalia nodded slowly, her blue eyes scrunching a bit. Conner smiled at her, and she gave him a small smile back. His blue eyes gleamed when he did so, and his upturned eyebrows raised a bit higher. He sat tall, with his back straight. It was rumored that the eighteen-year-old did everything in his power to grow another half an inch, because that was the height his brother had on him.

"Where does this train get off, anyway?" asked Conner.

"Chicago," said Annabeth, pulling out a piece of paper. "Then we get on a train headed to Washington, a place called Spokane. There's a stop there, and then once we get into Canada, we get off in Edmonton. The train doesn't go any further then that, but we could catch a plane or something."

"Nah," said Conner. "That'd cost too much. We spent most of what we have on the train. A friend of my mom's lives in Prince George. She knows 'bout demi-gods and all that. Her mom was a daughter of Athena. If we can get from Alberta to B.C, then we can see if she'll give us a ride up."

Annabeth nodded, stuffing the paper back into her jeans pocket with a bit of force, the price to pay when you wore jeans that cut of your circulation. Annabeth hated skinny jeans, but the daughters of Aphrodite had told her that she had good legs for them, and Annabeth had found that flattering. She was wearing a gray ski cap, the same color as her eyes, and her long curls tumbled out of it like a blond waterfall. "Sounds like a plan. Get a bus, or something."

"Or hitch-hike," said Thalia, sticking out her thumb and examining it. "I'm pretty good at it by now."

Annabeth bit back a laugh. "When did you go hitch-hiking?"

Thalia grinned at her. "Scouting mission with some of the older girls. We're all fifteen or sixteen. You'd be surprised to see how many collage-aged guys are willing to pick us up. All we had to do was act like we were interested."

Conner nodded. "Nice work."

After a minute of quiet, Thalia leaned forward onto the table, resting her elbows on it. "Hey. Where's the furthest you've ever gone on a quest? Or at all, actually. Just so we have a conversation. I hate silences."

Annabeth tapped her fingers on the table in front of her. It was one of those ones with the plastic tops designed to look like pine or maple wood. "Umm, I went to India when I was six. With my dad. The year before I decided he was an ass."

"India? And wasn't he always an ass?"

"Number one, India was where he met Helen. She was on a business trip and we stayed in the same hotel. And number two, Six-year-old girls don't usually hate their fathers. But, you know, then I turned seven..."

"Well," said Conner. "I'm from Ontario, you know, and I've been to B.C., and to New York for camp. All my quests were in that general area. What about you, Thalia?" He'd heard Annabeth call her 'Thals', but Conner didn't feel comfortable calling her that. It seemed too personal, and really, he didn't know her very well.

"Umm, I'm not sure where is farthest. I've explored a lot of rural Canada with the Hunters, and a lot of America. No where else, really."

"Oh, hey," said Annabeth. "I didn't see the Hunters in the underworld. Were they there?"

Thalia shook her head. "Nope. Half of them are mortals, and can't go into the underworld without being dead, and the rest of them were pretty damned terrified. We were on a mission anyway. Some really old deer thing. I'm not really sure what it is. Lady Artemis let them stay if they hunted the monster."

"Did they get it?" asked Conner, playing with the hem of his sweater.

Thalia shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I never got a chance to catch up with them. I IM'd them when we got back, you know, to let them know about the Gods. We never really got around to the monsters."

"Where are they? Are they gonna make camp somewhere?" asked Annabeth.

"Nah. I convinced them to go to camp. I know they won't be happy about it, and besides, we need them there. The monster attacks are up to, what? Three a day?"

Annabeth nodded. "I just hope they don't kill anybody. We'll need all the help we can get."

Andra stood in front of them mirror. She'd just woken up, and she was gazing at herself in the reflective surface. Her hair was squished on one side, the side she'd slept on. She had a small bit of dried drool on her face, leading from her mouth, and there was sleep in her eye. She rubbed it away, and yawned. She looked at herself happily. She was wearing a pair of purple satin pajamas. She hadn't felt that comfortable for almost five hundred years.

Aside from the dream, she'd had a good sleep. The dream itself had ended rather abruptly, so she hadn't had to endure it for too long. She looked at her eyes. They were gold. A lot more gold. She had been too nervous to ask her father, but she knew she should. They were odd.

Of course, she had possibilities on why they had changed so suddenly, but none of them seemed likely. She let the subject drop. With a happy sigh, she walked backwards and leaned back onto the bed. The mattress seemed to hug her as she sunk further and further down into it.

A knock on the door startled her, and Andra immediately hopped up. She looked once more in the mirror, and smoothed out her hair, then out on the 'daughter of Kronos' face she'd been practicing. It was intimidating, a bit condescending, and she hoped it made her a bit more sexy looking. She walked to the door, and opened it slowly. "Yes?"

On the other end of the door, was a small tree nymph. She had on a dirty dress like what Andra had had to wear, and burn marks on her arms and legs. There was a number stamped on her left bicep. Andra felt like giving her father's prisoner a hug, but instead, she looked the girl up and down and asked, "What do you want?"

The tree nymph, who looked no more then ten-years-old, stuttered out a reply, "Lord Kronos wishes to see you in his private dining room. I'll wait while you dress, and then I will show you the way, Ms. Marquette."

Andra looked at her, and her 'daughter of Kronos' dropped. Andra gave the little girl a small smile, and said, "I'll be out in a minute."

She closed the door, and threw open her closet. The older nymph who has shown her to her room the night before hadn't said anything about the closets. Andra looked inside and tapped her lip. Then, remembering the nymph waiting, she grabbed a pair of black leggings and combat boots, with a black form-fitting long-sleeved shirt. A purple scythe was stamped on the back. She dressed quickly and then opened the door again, letting the little girl lead her to her father.

The girl traversed the halls with skill, and she had a quick way of moving, like she was scared of being in the same place for too long. Silently, the girl knocked on the door. It was pushed open by a girl who looked much too young to be working. The dryad that had opened the door that looked much to heavy for her gestured to Andra with her free arm to go in. She turned back to thank the girl who had brought her in, but she was gone. Andra walked in nervously.

The only thing in the room was an extremely long table, with one chair at each end. An amazing amount of food was on the table in question, and Andra felt her immortal stomach growl in hunger. She'd barely eaten for half a century.

"Andromeda," her father greeted her. He pointed to the chair across from him. "Sit."

Andra crossed the room quickly and sat. Immediately, another dryad came and poured her a cup of steaming coffee, and set a plate at her place, loaded with food she hadn't seen in ages: bacon, toast, eggs and pancakes. She grinned. "May I?" she asked her father, who looked up and didn't say anything.

Taking it as a yes, Andra picked up a knife and fork, and dug in. For a moment, the father and daughter did nothing but eat in silence.

Andra finished quickly, and once her plate was taken away, she sat, quietly while her father finished. When he was done as well, he looked at Andra from across the table. "Did you sleep well?"

Andra nodded, feeling to embarrassed to say anything.

"Good. I hope your room was satisfactory? It has been a while since we've had a young woman stay here."

Knowing she had to speak, Andra said, "It was fine, thank you." A though came across her mind. "Father?"

"Mmmm?"

"Where are we, exactly. This all seems rather large, and it was dark when we arrived."

Kronos looked at her. "We are in Alaska. It was my main base before I moved to New york for the war the demi-gods are calling the 'second Titan war'."

"Why Alaska?" asked Andra, loving the fact that she was having a nice and so-what normal conversation with her father without feeling too intimidated.

"Where power is masked. Where the Gods power is useless."

"So the Gods are here?"

Kronos nodded. "In the basement."

Andra nodded. There was a knock at the door. Kronos waved his hand to the young girl holding the coffee pot. She set it down on a small serving table, and rushed to the door. She opened it slowly. A beautiful woman with a black silk wrap around her head walked in, with someone following behind her. With a gasp, Andra recognized the boy. It was Nico.