Nico di Angelo hadn't come out of the Hades cabin for almost 2 days. No one knew if he had eaten, if he was sick, no one knew anything. Nico, however, knew better. He in fact hadn't eaten. Not out of spite, he plain wasn't hungry. Love can do that to you sometimes. He knew people probably wondered about him. They probably thought he was sick with pneumonia or tuberculosis or fucking Bubonic Plague. He didn't care, nor did he want to care.

Nico got up and walked to the bathroom. He didn't glance at the mirror for fear of the truth it would tell. Instead he grabbed the razor he was too young for, and sliced it swiftly across his wrist. The first cut stung. He ignored the pain, and gasped aloud at the pain and beauty of the fresh cut. He cut another, than two three and four. He sat in a daze, watching the scarlet blood flow down his arm. He wasn't harming himself out of anger, he was just….breathing. Nico was bleeding to know that he was still alive.

When he finally cleaned up all the blood, he went back to his bed. Nico was in a state where you just let things happen. Nico had give up trying to accept the fact that he couldn't have Luna, and he wasn't planning on trying to get her anymore. Michael Yew had beaten him to the Punch. He wasn't mad at Michael, (how was he supposed to know that Luna was diggin' the Asian Apollo dudes?) Because it wasn't really Michaels fault. That meant he wasn't really mad a Luna either. However, he couldn't pin the blame n himself as well. So who was at fault? He didn't know. He didn't care either. With all these conclusions warped into his love-sick mind, Nico drifted to sleep.

He dreamed he was kissing Luna. Her soft lips were connected with his, the taste of creamy peaches floating into his mouth, sliding his tongue along her teeth. He dreamed of holding her and never letting her go. He dreamed of just being with her, ignoring time so that they could be one. When he woke up, but the sweet dreams didn't soften the ache in his heart, when reality set back in.

Outside in Camp Half-Blood, Percy and Annabeth wondered about Nico. Once, Annabeth had tried to open the door and talk to him, but the door was locked. Eventually they gave up. "He will have to come out sooner or later" Annabeth said one time. Instead of spending all their energy failing to help Nico, The power couple directed their focus to healing the magic border. Annabeth, being the genius that she was, had found out that the power of the Golden Fleece could be extracted from Thalia's tree and the magic converted into saving the border. "The extracting had to be done by an Earth-Healer" her notes read, which must have meant a child of Demeter would have to do the job.

One by one, Annabeth mentally singled out each Demeter child at Camp Half-Blood until only Katie Gardner was left. She was the leader of the Demeter cabin and had the best knowledge of her powers.

"Katie" Annabeth asked after breakfast

"What's up?"

"Well, I think I've got a way to fix the magic border-"

"Really? How?" Katie cut her off.

Annabeth explained about the extracting of the Golden Fleece, and how a daughter of Demeter had to do it.

"Wait, are you asking me to do it?" Katie asked, getting excited

"Only if you're willing. It may drain your strength for days. There isn't much information on extracting the powers of the Golden Fleece; no one has ever done it before. You would be the first."

"So cool..." Katie breathed.

"So…" Annabeth prodded "are you in?"

"Absolutely! When do we do it?"

"How about after lunch today. You'll have more energy after you've eaten."

"Okay! I'll meet you by Thalia's tree then."

The two departed, feeling like a million bucks.

"Do we have to go through the instructions again?" Katie whined.

"Do you want to this right?" was Annabeth's rhetorical reply.

Not far away, Percy was playing with grass. It was nearly 1:00, and they had been going over the procedure since 12:30. For what felt like the 80th time, Annabeth read the directions.

"First summon your powers by concentrating on the Earth. Then, concentrate on the object in front of you-that would be Thalia's tree in this case-and pull at it mentally with your powers. You might experience pain in this step." Katie sighed and continued for Annabeth.

"Next focus on the object you are trying to convert the magic to. Feel the flow of energy from your mind to your hands and let the energy flow out of your palms. If you break your concentration the extraction and conversion will fail yadda yadda ya…."

"You think this is funny?" Annabeth scowled. "The protection of the camp lies in this border and your acting as if it's all a game!"

"Alright" Katie heaved another sigh. Then, as if possessed, Katie summoned her powers. It began gradually from the earth, her life source. The roots of the grass seemed to convey their strength into hers as did the flowers and the trees. She opened her eyes and narrowed in on Thalia's tree. She concentrated, hard, half out of spite and the other half determination. As directed, Katie pulled mentally with her powers. As predicted, it hurt. She felt as if a rope had wound itself around the core of her brain and was playing tug of war. It tugged at her, like an invisible hand, groping for any sign of a mental struggle. Katie took advantage when the pain began to cease, and flung her arms toward the camp border, right at the entrance. The pain was worsened. The flow of magic energy washed through her, beginning with Thalia's tree and tugging at her mind, flowing into the invisible border. This time the pulling was sharper, more acute, as if it had purpose. Migraines were nothing compared to this, but Katie would not give up. When the energy began to flow out of her hands, it felt like someone had stabbed through them with a butcher's knife she could see shimmers of gold, thin as dust trailing out of her palms. Remembering that she had to concentrate on the border, Katie directed her gaze at the entrance. This made the pain only throb more. Now it had spread to her feet. The earth was being drained, all the plants giving her their last strength. A tree no less than 5 feet away began to drop its yellow, sick leaves raining a shower of its remnants. The grass around her began to shrivel and die, turning crusty and brown. The searing pain fired up her legs, through her hips and up to her spine, sparking every nerve ending she possessed. Whether or not she screamed, she couldn't tell. Katie felt like her entire body was being mercilessly scorched and that any moment her eye-sockets would bulge out from the pressure. She tried to withstand it, but it was no use. With one final push she squeezed all her power toward the border, and collapsed on the ground. The magic propelled her back with such force that she fell two feet away from where she had just been stationed. The instant she hit the leafy green grass, it died around her, forming a silhouette. Annabeth screamed and Percy ran to her aid. Together they carried the hero back to camp.

Back inside the Hades cabin, Nico had gone back to bed. Sleep was the only thing that separated him from his agony. When he woke up again, there was a fireplace in the wall in adjacent to his summoning pit. Then, with a faint pop, the goddess Hestia was seated next to the fireplace. She pretended not to notice Nico and prodded the flames. Meanwhile the demigod was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, but no matter how much he rubbed, Hestia didn't go away. "This must mean that she is real" Nico concluded.

"Hestia?" he smiled "What are you doing here?"

The goddess herself smiled, brightening her rosy cheeks. "I can always tell when something is not right in your home, Nico." Her voice was like silk, slippery smooth and altogether wonderful.

"Why me?"

"Do you remember the first time you came to camp? You were 10 years old, innocent, with a charm so subtle that most don't see it. You were observant, and you stopped at my hearth to talk to me. Only a handful of heroes have ever done that, and none within the last century. Therefore, we have a, well, unique connection I guess."

Nico studied the look in her eyes. It was warm, but he couldn't tell whether it was filled with compassion or sorrow from all that she had seen.

"Here" she said removing a silver chained necklace from her elegant neck. "Take this" she got up, her petite 5-2 frame draped with a silky toga that dragged on the floor. Her perfect red-orange curls were secured in a ponytail by a golden clip. She was breathtaking. Hestia smiled her sweet smile as she clasped the necklace behind Nico's neck. It hung down to reveal an Ace of spades with a skull in the center. He liked it. As If reading hi mind she said "I thought you would like it." Hestia paused and continued.

"Whenever your heart is hurting, press the skull. It will give you knowledge, understanding or whatever you may need. But don't look too hard, some may be more subtly given."

"Thank you, Lady Hestia."

"But remember, don't abuse its powers."

Nico recalled all the heroes that had abused a gift that a God or Goddess had bequeathed them.

"Oh, and I thought you might like the hearth."

Nico looked at the fireplace that hadn't been there before he woke up. He turned back to thank her, but she was already gone, leaving Nico with a warm feeling in his heart he hadn't felt for years.

Luna Logan looked at herself in the mirror, and frowned with disgust. She yanked out her makeup case, which could have covered every face on the Dior runway for the next 10 years. She applied her usual toner, blush, bronzer, but she was feeling daring. She gravitated toward blue mascara and brown eyeliner. The color combo made her eyes pop with animation. Slightly more satisfied she opened her hair curler drawer and grabbed out her Helen of Troy 1 inch, 1 ½ inch and 2 inch barrels. Luna plugged them all in. She opened a smaller drawer attached to her mirror that was filled with styling clips. She separated her hair into its layers and pinned them all up except for the bottom layer. While waiting for her curlers to heat up, Luna applied primrose eye shadow with a hint of violet sparkle. Finally, the Helen of Troy's were ready. She picked up the 2 inch one first and wrapped a lock around its barrel. She did this with the entire bottom layer, each lock bending to the rotation of the wand. She was so skilled and practiced that she could do the back without looking. She unclipped the second layer and twirled the locks around her 1 ½ barrel, showering each piece with scent-free hairspray. "So far, so good" she thought. When she arrived at the top layer, she meticulously curled by locks, and even held the hairspray can at a certain angle to ensure the best results. After nearly an hour, her hair was curled. As usual, it was perfect from root to tip. But she wasn't done yet. Luna reached for a bobby pin, but her hand caught on the drawer, scattering golden pins across her vanity table. "Crap" she muttered and scooped them back into place. After she got a hold of a bobby pin, she stuck it in her hair so her curls were pushed up and around her ear. She did the same on the other side. Luna admired her hair for an instant, and then walked to her wardrobe.

Her wardrobe actually was a wardrobe. It was 12 feet high and 16 feet long. As you can imagine, the Aphrodite cabin was HUGE. Luna climbed into the wardrobe-it was that big-and skirted over to the casual dress section. After about 30 minutes of contemplation, she finally decided on a lavender halter dress that had flowers printed on it. "Not too dressy, not too casual" she reasoned with herself. She slipped into the dress and walked out of the wardrobe. Now for shoes.

Luna hustled to the side of her monstrous wardrobe and pulled on a lever that revealed a shoe rack. The rack fell down like an ironing board in an old movie. Underneath one rack another one could be pulled out and another and another. Luna sorted them into sandals, flats, small heels, high heels, platforms, booties, boots, winter boots, sneakers, and converse. Luna skimmed over the sandals and concentrated on the flats. Her hand stopped on her favorite pair-gold with little bows on them. She slipped them on and they fit like a glove-or a shoe, for that matter. Now Luna was ready for her date with Michael Yew.

Michael met her out in front of the Aphrodite Cabin. "Wow" he breathed placing a hand in the small of her back and walking her out towards the courtyard.

"You look amazing"

"I try" Luna nonchalantly twirled a lock of hair. "Where are we going?"

"I thought we would go out to the beach." He answered

"To swim!" she was horrified

"No silly, just to sit. I have something special prepared."

When they reached the beach, Michael instructed her to close her eyes. She complied and he walked her foreword and sat her down on a chair.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now"

Luna did, and gasped in awe of what was in front of her. A dining table, maybe 4 feet long was in front of her. Purple tablecloths lined the mahogany wood and dishes of food covered it from end to end. At the tip of her hand was a golden fork, knife, and on the other side, a spoon. A goblet that would fill itself with whatever drink she wanted lay in front of her as well. She admired the food, and wondered how it all got here. In the middle of the table, a three pronged candelabra was lit. It was the most romantic thing she had ever seen.

"I…I don't know what to say" she said, shocked.

Michael took a harp out of nowhere and began to serenade her. She watched his articulate fingers grace the strings if the golden instrument. She looked down at her empty plate, and a note appeared. She picked it up. It was a haiku.

To Luna Logan

I love you so very much

Yours truly, Michael

"Aww" she cooed and embraced him. "Thank you"

Michael blushed. "Let's eat"

And that they did. Luna piled her plate with chicken casserole, sweet potatoes, tomato soup, garlic bread, peas, and everything else in sight. They are, talked and enjoyed each other's company. Neither one of them had felt this before, and Luna felt equally frightened and grateful.

When they finished dinner, and desert they sat down on the sand. Michael wrapped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his chest. "You know, I've never felt this way before" Luna said, smiling at the stars. "Me neither" Michael answered. Luna pulled back slightly to look into his big blue eyes, and he did the same. As if one, they moved in, and Luna cocked her head to the side. Their lips were millimeters apart and neither one of them moved. Abruptly, a shriek rang out, and a fury of black Harpies flew toward them.

"Harpies!" Michael cried. He was terrified. "We must have passed the camp border!" he groped for her hand, and found it. He tried to pull her along back to camp, just as a Harpy crashed through the table he had meticulously set. Food drinks and glass littered the beach. Luna tried to run, but her foot was stuck in the sand "C'mon!" Michael yelled over the racket. A harpy flew within 2 inches of his nose. He staggered back. One flew directly at his face and cried. "SQUAK!" Michael screamed and ran as fast as he could, scrambling away from the beach. Meanwhile, Luna had gotten her foot out of the sand. Suddenly, a harpy flew so close its massive wing knocked a pin out of her hair. Another one's claws snatches at her dress, tearing it and he ski underneath. Luna screamed and clutched her leg. When she retracted it, her hand was scarlet. "Michael!" she yelled, desperate for help. He was nowhere to be found. She tried to run towards the beach, but she couldn't see in the mass of black feathers. There must have been 30 harpies. One's claws raked her shoulder and another pecked at her head. She swung her arms wildly, but couldn't get in a good swing. She screamed again, but it was all in vain. The flapping around her increased. Then, a harpy flew straight into her chest, sending her sprawling back…..into the ocean. "AHHHHHHHHUUGGGHHH!" Luna yelled, madder than hell. She tried to stand up, but a wave was picking up momentum behind her. When she finally got her footing, it crashed down on her, sucking her down onto the ocean floor. Luckily it was shallow enough to where she could stand back up. When she did, she yelled and kicked the water that waded at her ankles. She walked onto the beach, her dress sticking to her skin. Her hair was a mess, and it slapped her in the back when she turned her head. It had lost all its curl. Her favorite shoes were nowhere to be found, and her leg and shoulder throbbed as the salt seeped into her wounds. She tried picking the loose sediment and small shells from her skin, but some were lodged in too deep. She cried again in anguish and wiped the mass of running makeup on her face. She looked like shit and wasn't feeling any better either.

Slowly she made her way back to the Aphrodite cabin. She walked in and slammed the door. All of her friends were waiting to hear about the date. When they saw her condition their faces fell from eagerness to concern.

"What the hell happened to you?" her friend and sister Sophia asked

"You look awful!" said Kenzie, another sister/friend

Her friends fired questions at her, and finally she told them the story. They were appalled.

"What a douche bag!" said Sophia.

"That bastard! I can't believe he would just leave you! Kenzie gasped.

"He sooo doesn't deserve you honey." Rashod, the gay Aphrodite guy said.

One by one they offered her support and advise.

"What I would really like now, is a shower." Luna said. And that's what she did. After that, Sophia helped pick out all the shells from her skin and cleaned her up further. Kenzie gave her nectar and ambrosia. Together, the 3 friends and the rest of the cabin talked about what Luna should do about Michael Yew.