I know I said I'd try to update on the weekends but Monday is close enough. Anyway, this chapter doesn't have much action but now we're finally getting at the actual plot of the story. And Stormrunner74 that was a good guess when you said it sounded like Percy's and Annabeth's kid but don't forget that Percy is around eighty years old and the kid from her dream was a teenager. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

I knew something was up the moment I walked to the pavilion. For starters no one noticed me, and based on my cabin mates reactions from earlier I thought they would have been pestering me for my life's story, or at least awed stares like last time.

Instead they were all huddled at their tables, talking in low murmurs. I tried to hear what they were saying but I could only catch bits and pieces that made no sense to me.

Mortal senses are so dull.

I sat down at my table, noticing a woman with curly black hair and frantic green eyes talking to Chiron, gesturing wildly with her arms.

"What's going on?" I asked softly and my siblings looked up from their own hushed conversation. "Who is that woman?"

"That's Sara McDonald, she used to be Sara Jackson but she got married." Tony explained to me in a whisper. "As in Percy Jackson's daughter."

"Why's she so upset?" I asked, looking over at her. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, or a panic attack at least.

"Her son Darren was supposed to arrive at camp a week ago." One of my sisters piped up, Jezzi I believed. "He never arrived and she's just finding out."

I looked at the woman's green eyes and a sinking feeling started in the pit of my stomach. I had a feeling I knew what happened to her son.

"It's odd though." Jezzi stated, taking a bite of pizza. "I mean, Darren's mom is a legacy and so is he, all he can really do is breath underwater and withstand lots of water pressure. He can't control the water or anything and he still gets wet. His aurora isn't strong, and he's a good fighter. Logically strong monsters he wouldn't be able to beat shouldn't be attracted to him." She took another bite, thinking. "So where could he be?"

I had a feeling that it wasn't a rhetorical question, she actually expected an answer, or at least for us to get what she was hinting at. Of course I was clueless but Tony put down his slice of pizza, looking at her and shaking his head.

"Come on Jezzi, we both know that's absurd. Like you said, he's a legacy not a half-blood."

She shrugged. "He goes to camp here, just like the others."

"Others?" I echoed and they looked at me, surprised.

"Yeah, the others that have gone missing." One of my brothers explained, I think it was Desmond, but I wasn't sure.

"Others have gone missing?" I repeated, shocked and baffled. Is that why Hades was wondering if more demigod's had died?

"You dummy." My blue-eyed sister said, cuffing him upside the head. "She just got here, she doesn't know."

"Don't know what?" I asked, exasperated. "Can someone please explain this to me?"

Tony looked over at Reese before looking at me. "Later." He promised and I refrained from groaning.

"Okay." I agreed, looking down at the plate of pizza in front of me. Before I could touch it however Chiron stood up, causing everyone to go silent.

"As everyone has heard Darren McDonald is missing." Chiron announced and I could sense the anxiety in the air.

"Are we going to look for him?" A girl demanded, standing up from the table where the hunters were eating. She had short, choppy black hair and intense blue eyes, a circlet around her head marking her as the lieutenant.

Must be a child of Zeus or Jupiter, they look like Jason's eyes. I thought, wondering why one of the hunters cared about a male.

"We're going to send out search parties, yes." Chiron said, but he looked solemn, I knew he thought we wouldn't be able to find him.

"I'll go looking for him." Alex said, stepping out of the shadows and some campers jumped in shock, unease rippling through the air. They looked at him in confusion, probably wondering why he wanted to go searching for Darren.

I see people still aren't to accepting of Hades children. I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Just because Hades was the Lord of the Dead doesn't mean they have to be afraid of his children. Honestly, death wasn't scary.

"You can't go alone." Chiron argued. "It's too dangerous."

"I'll go with him." I said, the words pouring from my mouth as I stood up. Everyone looked at me in surprise and I felt uncomfortable with all their stares.

Sure, I didn't know the guy myself so I had no reason to volunteer to look for him. But I just knew that he was the boy from my dream, and besides, he was Percy's and Annabeth's descendant. I owed them one for pulling me out of the dumpster and helping nurse me back to health, finding their grandson was the least I could do.

And it would give me a chance to talk to Alex alone, figure out just what had happened to me last night. Besides, Chiron wouldn't let him go alone and I had a sinking feeling that no one else was going to volunteer. I couldn't leave him hanging after he helped me last night.

"Are you sure Dianna?" Chiron asked. "You just got here."

I nodded, determined. "He's Percy's and Annabeth's grandson right? I owe them one, it's the least I can do for them."

The hunter girl studied me before nodding. "If you find anything IM Hailey, the Hunters will look for him as well." She nodded at Sara. "We'll find out what happened to your son. Let's move!"

The Hunters all got up, following their lieutenant out. Hailey gave me a wave goodbye and I waved back, looking over at Alex.

"Ready to go?" He asked and I looked ruefully down at my pizza.

"Yeah." I said, picking it up and tossing it into the nearest sacrificial fire, praying to whatever God or Goddess listening that we'd find Darren, or at least a clue.

Alex pulled me towards the shadows and in a second everything went dark and we were gone.

. . .

My stomach growled loudly, again.

Alex groaned in exasperation. "Seriously? That's the third time in five minutes."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "It's not my fault." I protested. "You dragged me out before I could even take a bite of food."

"I asked if you were ready."

"That's not the point." I argued, my bare feet slapping on the concrete as we walked.

"Then what is the point?" Alex asked.

"The point is I'm hungry and I've hardly eaten anything in sixty years." I said, getting a couple odd looks from people passing by. "That works up an appetite. Come on, let's take a little break. We've been searching for hours with no results."

"Fine." Alex said curtly, leading me down a street. "I know a good place."

I smiled. "Thanks, oh and I have no money, so you'll have to pay. Sorry."

Alex groaned. "You're so needy."

"I'll pay you back when I get some money." I promised him, following him to a coffee shop. I sat at an empty table, waiting while Alex got some food, telling him to get me whatever looked good, I'm not picky.

I found myself staring out the window, watching people go by and marveling at how much everything had changed physically but how much people still remained the same.

"Fascinating isn't it?" A woman remarked, sounding like she was sitting in front of me. I stiffened at the sound of her voice, clenching my hands into fists as I bit back a remark, wondering why she bothered talking to me. "Humans are constantly changing the world around them with their technological devices, yet their behavior stays similar. Even after all of these millennium."

"Hecate." I said as a way of greeting, not turning to look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to give you a warning."

I snorted. "You couldn't have warned me about anything else that happened?" I asked, a little bitter. "What makes this so special?"

"Zeus has granted me permission to speak with you on this matter. Not freely of course but I'm allowed to . . . point you in the right direction." Hecate explained and my interest peaked.

Zeus let her come? This must be big then.

And if she's coming to me then I'm involved somehow. I fought a groan. Of course, my life just can't be easy, can it?

"And to give you this." She finished, putting something on the table and I heard her slide it over to me.

I stayed in my position, watching two men chatting across the street while they waited for something. I didn't reach for the item or make any movement to acknowledge her or what she had given me.

I kept my eyes trained out the window, not even looking at her reflection. I couldn't bear to look at her, not after she'd abandoned me and wiped my friends memories of me. Not after she abandoned me, Hailey and Zach when we were fighting Python. I couldn't help but think that if she had stuck around things could've ended differently. Maybe Zach would have been alive, maybe I wouldn't have been sent to that gods awful place.

Now she showed up years later like we'd had a pleasant conversation the other day.

Gods, the nerve of her.

But I felt myself itching with curiosity, wanting to just take one peek at her, at the woman who gave birth to me, if Goddesses/Titans/Whatever she was even did that. I couldn't help but wonder what she thought about me and I'll admit that's part of the reason I couldn't face her. What would I see in her eyes? Love? Pride? Disappointment? Anger? Or nothing? Would she just look at me with a blank indifference even thought I was her daughter? Even though I had rescued her from Python? I didn't know what would be the worst, I didn't know what I wanted to see in her eyes, or even if I wanted her to acknowledge me as her daughter. I wasn't quite sure what to think of her and I had a feeling that she felt the same way about me.

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked, watching a car pull up and one of the men hop in.

"You were given a choice." Hecate said and I frowned softly. "You chose this path Dianna. It's not going to be easy."

"Since when is it ever easy?" I asked with a small snort. "And what choice are you talking about?"

"You know." She insisted. "And I don't have much time –"

"There's a shocker." I muttered under my breath, surprised that I'd gotten this long of a conversation out of her.

She ignored me. "52nd street, that's where you'll find a clue. If you can figure out what the clue is exactly."

"I don't suppose you'll tell me?"

"You know how this works." Hecate said and I figured she was going to leave soon, but I sensed some hesitation. "You're not entirely cured." She informed me and my heart sank in dread as I fought a wave of panic.

What? No! No, I'm mortal now! Right? Oh please, the Fates can't be this cruel. After everything, I can't do it. I can't go back there, I'll go insane.

"You're not immortal." Hecate informed me and I found myself letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, my chest aching. "You can't turn into a wolf either, but I'll let you discover your limitations. I've said too much already, I must go."

Her chair scraped as she stood and I wondered why she didn't just flash out. "I hope . . . I hope I never receive a coin for you."

I frowned, hearing her heels slap against the floor as she walked quickly out of the shop. I finally turned my head, staring down at the table and seeing a coin.

It was pure gold, but splattered with crimson. I picked it up, examining it up close. Yup, it was blood.

I ran my fingers along the smooth edges, staring at the golden olive tree design on one side, flipping it over and staring at the golden trident.

The symbols of Athena and Poseidon. I thought, turning the coin over in my fingers. That's Darren's great Grandparents.

"I hope I never receive a coin for you."

"Was the coin made for Athena and Poseidon?" I mused aloud, examining it. A jolt of shock went through me as I realized that this was the coin from my dreams.

"What's that?" Alex asked, coming back with a tray of goodies and hot chocolate. My stomach growled in anticipation, it smelled so good my mouth watered.

I wordlessly handed him the coin, grabbing a muffin and practically inhaling it. He studied the coin intently while I devoured the food and hot chocolate he had bought for us.

"Is this imperial gold?" He asked after a while and I froze, my mouth full of a pastry I didn't know the name of but gods it tasted like Elysium.

I swallowed and shrugged. "No clue, Hecate just gave it to me."

"Your mother?" Alex asked in surprise and I scowled at the word. Alex smirked at my scowl, twisting the coin around in his fingers. "What? You don't like that word?"

I gave him a little glare, his cocky smirk only growing slightly.

"52nd street." I muttered, picking up the last pastry, slightly disappointed that they were gone already. "That's where she said we'd find a clue, if we knew where to look."

Alex frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "What does she expect us to find there?" He asked, seemingly baffled. "All that's there is some houses and my school."

"Any alleys?" I asked, thinking about my dream and Alex nodded thoughtfully.

I brushed the crumbs off of my clothes, putting the pastry in my mouth and standing, pushing the chair in. Alex got the hint and stood as well, leading me out of the shop and to the shadows.

He grabbed my hand and I swallowed the last of my pastry. "Don't let go or you'll be gone forever." He warned me and I looked over at him and scowled a little.

"You could have told me that earlier."

He laughed and we dissolved into the shadows.

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling like my face was about to peel off. Alex tightened his grip on my hand and I realized with shock I had been slipping. Then we were stumbling out of the shadows, Alex looking even paler then before.

"Whoa, you okay?" I asked him, steadying him.

"Yeah." He said, straightening himself out. "Shadow traveling takes a lot out of me. It's even harder bringing someone else along with me."

"Okay, then no more shadow traveling." I instructed and he gave me a death glare, I crossed my arms and glared at him stubbornly.

Sure it was pretty unnerving to have a child of Hades give you a death glare, they were pros at them, but I'd stared into the pits of hell so really it didn't scare me as much as it used to.

"Fine." He snapped after a long stare down and I smiled triumphantly.

"Good, now that we have that covered let's go search for this clue."

. . .

"There's nothing, absolutely nothing."

I looked up at the setting sun, getting frustrated. "She said there was a clue here, if we knew how to find it."

"There's nothing here Dianna." Alex said, sounding irritated. "We've combed the street, surrounding streets and alley ways at least three times by now. There's nothing, not a fleck of blood or monster dust. Not even the mortals know anything."

"She wouldn't lie to me." I snapped at Alex, my nerves taunt. The faster we found this clue and got back to camp the better, I wasn't sure how much more of this my bare feet could take.

"Are you sure about that?" Alex asked me, leaning against the wall of an alley, partly hidden in the shadows. "I mean, what's she ever done for you? You won't even accept the fact that she's your mom."

"Shut up." I hissed at him. "You don't understand –"

"Then enlighten me." Alex said, leaning against the brick wall and crossing his arms. "Make me understand." I bit my lip, silently seething.

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

Alex nodded. "There you go, you know you're not what I've heard. They described you as loyal, caring, stubborn –"

"Who did?" I asked, baffled.

"Your friends." Alex said, pulling out and examining his Stygian iron knife. "I'm a child of Hades, I can talk to the dead you know. I expected different, know you're just a short tempered bi –"

"You'd be short tempered to if you were me." I snapped at him, defensive. "You don't have the right to judge me without knowing all the facts. I figured you of all people would understand that."

"Because I'm a child of Hades?" He asked softly, the shadows hiding his facial expression from me and his voice emotionless.

"When I was alive people feared the children of Hades because their dad was the Lord of the Dead. Honestly, it was so dumb. They were shunned for the stereotype on their dad, not for who they were as a person. I saw how everyone reacted at the pavilion and the amphitheater when you came out of the shadows, I know it's still happening to you, even if it's not as bad as before."

After a bit of silence Alex spoke up, his voice flat. "And how do you feel about the children of Hades, the children of death?"

"Thanatos is actually the God of the Dead, Hades is the God of the Underworld." I pointed out. "But death doesn't scare me anymore." I shrugged. "Call me crazy but it doesn't, my time is long overdue and after everything I've been through the Fields of Asphodel sound like Elysium to me."

Alex stayed silent and I opened my mouth to ask him about my dream but he spoke before I could even get a word out, changing the subject.

"Do you think it was the Romans?" The golden coin flashed in the dim light as he examined it.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him in surprise.

"Do you think the Romans are doing it?" He asked me, questioning me. "After all it's only Greek Demigods and Legacy's going missing, not a single Roman has. And now this coin, it's imperial gold, just like the weapons the Romans use. Suspicious isn't it?"

He sounded pretty sure of himself, and I felt like he was only asking out of courtesy.

"People have already been suspecting the Roman's, now this coin is all the proof we need." Alex explained, clenching his fist around the coin. "The Romans have been taking our people, who knows what they've been doing to them. But they're still alive, none of them have found their way to Hades. We have to strike now, get them back before the Roman's kill them or take any more of us."

I looked at him in shock. "You're talking about a civil war." I whispered.

He looked at me, his dark eyes flashing. "They can't get away with this Dianna." He growled. "Those bastards think they can just take the people we care about –"

"Who did you lose?" I asked softly, cutting him off and he froze, staring at me.

"How do you know I lost someone?" He asked evasively, completely ignoring my question.

"The way you talk, as if you have a personal grudge." I pointed out. "And you were the very first person to volunteer to search for Darren. But you didn't really come out here to find Darren, did you?"

I felt the waves of despair coming off of Alex, the shadows all drawing towards him and the ground staring to turn black beneath his feet.

"Who did you lose?" I asked gently.

"I didn't lose anyone!" He snapped. "She's alive! I'll find her!"

"Who?" I gently prompted.

His dark eyes watered with unshed tears and he slumped against the wall in defeat, his head hanging low. "My – my little sister." He whispered.

"How long has it been?" I asked him gently.

"Two years." He said softly. "But she's not dead, her spirits not in The Underworld. I would know it, Hades would know it, Thanatos would know it. But it's like she completely vanished, not even the Furies can find her."

"But we will." I said determinedly. "Hecate gave us this clue and we have to figure it out."

"All she gave us was this useless coin and this stupid street address!" He shouted in anger. "How is this supposed to help us find Mackenzie?!" He threw the coin in a fit of rage, burying his face in his hands and slumping against the wall, sliding down it.

I sat down beside Alex, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "If there's one thing I know about the Gods it's that they can never give a straight answer." I told him and he snorted. "But their messed up and confusing hints are never lies. There is a clue here and we can find it, we can't give up."

Alex nodded, wiping away the stray tears that had managed to escape. "This conversation never happened."

"What conversation?" I asked innocently, figuring he didn't want the campers to know he had been crying. I could relate, there was a few things I didn't want them to know either and I didn't like it when people saw me cry either.

Alex gave me a thankful smile, standing up and brushing off his clothes as he looked around. "I think I lost the coin."

"We'll find it." I told him, standing up and looking in the direction he threw it. The school was covered in shadows, looking quite sinister in twilight. I never did like schools.

We walked towards it, combing the ground for the coin for about twenty minutes until Alex called me over from the steps of the school. "Found it."

I headed over, brushing the dirt off of me and examining the coin, it had landed in front of the doors, the golden olive tree facing the sky.

"Ironic." I muttered. "Athena side up in front of the school."

"She is the Goddess of Wisdom, her children love learning." Alex pointed out, bending down to pick it up.

"I hate school." I said and Alex chuckled.

"Don't let Athena here you say that." He teased. "Or else you might just go missing."

I laughed a little as he picked up the coin but something nagged at me. "You go to this school, right?"

"Yeah, so does Alison." Alex said, putting the coin in his pocket. "Funny story actually, I was the one to bring her to camp and get her the position as the oracle."

I thought for a moment, going over Hecate's words. She never said Alex would figure out the clue, she said I would. But why? She knew Alex was helping me, so wouldn't she have advice for him? She told me my friends needed me once, so she wouldn't ignore them.

Is Alex supposed to be helping me? Or does he already know the clue?

He found the oracle at this school, he found her. Is this the clue? This school? Or is the clue inside the school? Alex already goes to it, so maybe that's why she didn't mention him.

I fought a groan, looking inside the glass doors of the school and into the shadowy hallway.

"I think I figured out the clue." I said. "Or at least found out a way to get closer to the clue." I took a deep breath, turning to look at Alex. "I need to enroll in your school."

Tada! Chapter seven. So yeah, updates will be on the weekends or as close to them as I can manage, slower then my last story but that can't really be helped. So see ya with chapter eight this weekend! :)