Disclaimer: I do not own PJO

Skylla crouched on the balls of her feet, head down, trying to breathe easy. She looked over at Nico who was sprawled out in the leaves attempting to do the same thing she was. Just breathe.

"Did you find them?" He asked between breaths. She shook her head.

He swallowed hard. "Annabeth! Annabeth!"

Skylla looked at him like he had gone mad. She darted forward and clamped her bandaged hand over his mouth. Her glare warned him to be quiet.

"Nico? Nico!" Skylla looked out into the woods. She took her hand off his mouth and he sat up.

"Annabeth," he shouted. The two waited in still quiet.

"Nico!"

Nico grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. He took off in the direction of Annabeth's voice. Skylla followed close behind. They blew past falling leaves and unnaturally big oak trees. Nico and Annabeth continued to shout each other's names, clinging to the fact the other was close.

Skylla managed to pass Nico, frantic to get to the lost girls. She hissed in a failed effort to do what Nico was doing.

They ran for what seemed like forever until they soared past a small patch of gold and green huddled at the base of one of the never ending trees. Nico dug his heels into the ground and wheeled around. Skylla was immediately aware of a strong familiar blood.

"Annabeth! Oh my gods," Nico exclaimed.

He kneeled down next to her and looked, horrified, at the gash on the side of Quinn's head.

He looked Annabeth in the eye.

"We're going to get you two home."

Quinn looked down at the broken body of her mother. Off to the right her father's body was bloody and damaged, cut and bruised and dead. Tears gathered on her chin and dripped down, kissing her mother's temple.

"Mama…Mama wake up," she said, shaking Delia carefully. "Wake up. Wake up," she said a little louder.

"Quinn, my baby girl," Delia whispered. A small smile graced her face, behind the blood stained lips. "It's time for me to go home," she continued. She gripped Quinn's hand weakly, but stronger than one could want from the dying woman.

"Home?" Quinn asked, sniffling.

"Yeah, baby. I need to go to my daddy, now. You need to go to yours," she said with another smile. Quinn glanced again at her dad. He was long gone, broken and now she was going to be alone. Didn't her mother see that he wasn't waking up?

"Quinny, Quinn look at me. Now listen. You are the bravest girl I've even known. I'm so proud of you. I'm so happy your daddy and I found you. Now, you need to be the hero I know you can be. I know you can do it! You're so strong and kind and beautiful. You are important," Delia said quietly, emphasizing every word of the last sentence. "And you need to go on without me. You and your daddy, okay? Promise me."

"I-I pro-promise mama."

"That's my girl," Delia whispered before the light left her eyes and she went with her father to be in the underworld forever.

Quinn opened her eyes slowly. She was being moved somewhere, cradled in a temporary stretcher. Her eyes peered up at the forest canopy catching every ray of light they could find. She blinked up and imagined her father and mother's laughter in the whispers of the leaves. She could practically see her mother's jet black hair let down, curly and full and happy. She could see the light that lived in her eyes, the paleness of her skin.

Quinn turned her head, not wanting to be reminded of what had past. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Annabeth sprinting beside her, her blonde curls pulled back in a ponytail and rocking with every step. Her gray eyes shone with determination and worry. Despite the lack of sun light lately, her skin was tan as if she spent every day basking in the warmth.

"Mom," Quinn said hoarsely. "Mom."

Annabeth looked at her, never breaking her pace. Her hand closed around Quinn's and she squeezed it slightly. She said something Quinn couldn't hear. She tried to focus, but the sound of her parents laughter in the wind was over whelming. The more she focused, the more she fell into darkness. She closed her eyes and they didn't open for quite a while.

Annabeth's frown deepened as she watched Quinn fall back out of reality.

"Annabeth!"

She snapped her head around to look at Nico.

"If you take over for Skylla, she might be able to get Sophos to meet us half way."

Annabeth considered this before nodding. She took Skylla's place at the front of the stretcher and watched her take off. She leapt into the darkness of the forest with a resonating hiss. She slowed down for a moment and closed her eyes. It usually took her a second to get into her 'anguis' form without completely taking off her bandages.

Her eyes shot open but this time instead of a calm blue they were a piercing snake eye. She started out jogging but soon enough she was going faster than a viper attacking it's pray. Every tree she past she left a deep claw mark in so she could find her way back should she get lost.

Sophos stood at the edge of camp, fingering a too red leaf. Colors this vibrant didn't exist beyond this forest anymore. They had been to this forest many times and stayed here the longest. Still, every time he was shocked at the sheer amount of life. It seemed like the world survived on gray and black. Though, it didn't really survive anymore. It struggled to keep its head above freezing water.

He looked down and scowled at his black t-shirt, black jeans, and black shoes. He hated that this was the only way to live.

Just as he was about to curse his clothes, again, Skylla sprinted from the shadows into the clearing. She rocked back on the heels of her boots off to his right.

"Hey stranger," he said with a grin. She didn't smile back. That was okay with him. He didn't say things so people would smile. It wasn't like he would be able to tell if she did. Skylla was wrapped with gauze from the bridge of her nose down, and only a few people knew why. Her blue eyes were filled with adrenaline and anxiety.

"What's wrong," he asked, the smile melting off his face. "Where's Nico? What happened to you?" he pushed, noticing the cut across her collar bone. She shook her head; she wasn't the one who needed help. She walked over to him and grabbed the necklace around his neck. Her eyes flicked over each one of the beads before she pinched one carefully between her fingers and showed it to him. It was made of smooth green stone, and 'νέοι πλάσμα' was carved in delicate gold.

He looked at her, all joking light out of his eyes.

"What happened to Quinn?"

To answer him, she jogged back into the forest. He followed her and when he reached her, they ran off following her claw marks.