A/N: Hello fellow demigods! I apologize for the delay in updating! As I have mentioned in the author's notes of my other story, I had a pretty rough month. Thankfully, things have sorted themselves out and I bring you, Chapter 7 of Hero!

This is the last chapter that will cover the events of The Diary of Luke Castellan from The Demigod Diaries. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned The Demigod Diaries/PJO/HOO series, I swearrrr, this thing would be published.


A few years ago, Thalia had played a game of hide and seek with her classmates from school. She remembered running down the hallways of their classrooms, only to find every single possible hiding place taken. She remembered the how, when the "it" walked down the hallway, his footsteps echoed against the floors. Thalia remembered how she had felt her throat tighten with fear. She had not found a hiding spot yet, and the "it" was already close to tagging her. She was cornered.

And that was the exact same emotion she felt at that moment, when the iron bars began to rise and the leucrota started to hiss with eager anticipation. It was a game of tag; the leucrota were the "it", and the demigods had to run for their lives.

"Thalia," Luke interrupted her thoughts. "Give Hal the Greek fire."

Thalia hesitated. She couldn't quite comprehend what Luke wanted her to do. Weren't they all going to do this together? Didn't they plan to escape as a team? "But – "

"He has to," Luke stated, his voice grave. "He's going to help us escape."

It took a few moments for Thalia to understand, and a few more seconds for the plan to sink in. Hal was going to sacrifice himself. Thalia suddenly felt light-headed. "Luke, no."

Sure, Thalia had screamed her head off at the old man just a few hours ago, berating him for his passiveness. But Hal had also helped them. He had given her Zeus' gift, he had assisted them in cooking up the Greek Fire, and he had proven himself a...friend. Thalia and Luke had rarely come across a friendly stranger during their travels.

But the bars had almost risen up to the ceiling and the trapdors were opening slowly. A leucrotae stuck its hoof into the crack between the trapdoor and the floor, and Thalia felt goosebumps rise all over her arm. The leucrotae gave a low growl. Clack, clack, clacki.

"There's no time," Luke choked. "Come on!"

Thalia thrust the jar of glowing fire out to Hal, who took it bravely. He nodded at each of us solemnly, smiling wistfully. Thalia felt her heart break. She couldn't believe Hal was so willing to sacrifice his life for them.

"Let's go," Luke murmured to her, pulling her against him as they stuffed themselves into the closet.

As soon as they shut the doors of the closet, they heard the leucrotae burst into the room. The three monsters growled and clack-ed. There was the sound of splitting and crashing wood. Thalia resisted the urge to scream.

"In here!" Hal's voice echoed. Luke and Thalia exchanged glances. It must have been a leucrotae speaking for him, but his voice didn't waver at all. "I've got them trapped in the bathroom! Com on, you ugly mutts!"

Luke chuckled. He was probably amused at how the whole scene must've looked; the leucrotae calling themselves "ugly mutts."

There was the muffled clatter of hooves on the carpeted floor as the monsters made their way towards the bathroom, and Luke grabbed hold of Thalia's hand tightly. "Now."

They shoved the closet doors open and made a beeline for the trapdoor. The panel was already starting to close,, so Luke wedged his golf club in-between the bars. One leucrota seemed to have noticed them, and spun around, baring its unnatural teeth.

"Go, go, go!" Luke yelled, pulling Thalia along. She managed to slip inside just as the golf club began to creak and bend; it wouldn't hold up for much longer.

Hal yelled from the bathroom, "You know what this is, you Tartarus scum dogs? This is your last meal!"

"No!" Thalia screamed just as a leucrota pounced on Luke. It snapped at his face, narrowly missing by only a few centimeters. Luke raised his fist and landed a punch on the monster's snout. Thalia reached out and grabbed Luke's arm, pulling him inside the chute. The panel snapped shut, breaking the golf club in half.

"Come on!" Luke urged and they began to crawl through the metal duct. They reached another bedroom and ran haphazardly to the door.

There was only a brief warning before all hell broke loose. Hal was shouted in the distance. "For Apollo!". Then the entire mansion rumbled and shook.

Luke threw the door open, only to find out that the hallway was already on fire. Flames crawled along the walls and the door to Hal's bedroom had been blown off the hinges. Fire was rolling out in waves from his room like a tsunami.

Thalia and Luke scrambled for the stairs. They could hardly see a few feet ahead of them with the thick smoke. Thalia coughed, her lungs and eyes stinging. They stumbled down the stairs, gripping the balustrade with their soot-covered fingers.

Luke had just reached the last step when a leucrota jumped on him, pushing him to the floor. The monster seemed to have barely escaped the fire; its red fur was singed and burned black. Its ears were on fire, and one of its eyes were swollen shut.

"Luke!" Thalia yelled. Instinct kicking in, she grabbed the nearest weapon she could find - which was, surprisingly, the spear she had left on the ground floor earlier in the day - and drove it at the monster's hide. It didn't seem to do much damage, however. The leucrota only hissed at her, clearly annoyed.

The monster snapped at Luke, its jaws painfully close to his face. It had a hoof firmly planted on his chest, clearly suffocating Luke. He coughed when the leucrota leaned forward, pushing him even harder to the ground.

Thalia rammed her spear into leucrotae's side repeatedly. She was desperate! She couldn't let Luke die! They had come this far!

"Thalia!" Luke gasped. "The shield! What was it called?"

"What shield?" she exclaimed, stepping back for a split-second.

"Zeus' shield!" Luke choked. "Aegis. Thalia, the bracelet - it's got a code word!"

The gears in Thalia's head clicked. Of course! Zeus wouldn't leave her with a useless piece of pretty jewelry; he'd leave his daughter with a weapon!

"Aegis!" she yelled, pumping her fist in the air. The bracelet grew, transforming itself into a wide, bronze disk. It was probably about three feet long in diameter, and two-inches thick. The front was filled with intricate designs, lines and patterns that could have only been designed by the best of the Ancient Greek artists. But the best part of the shield was the face engraved into its front. It was Medusa, fiery snake-filled hair and glowing, beady eyes.

Thalia shoved the shield in the leucrotae's face and the monster immediately backed away, averting its eyes. It whimpered like a hurt animal and retreated. Luke took a deep breath and sat up. He was shaking all over, his eyes also averted from Thalia's shield.

Thalia felt adrenaline course through her veins. They had done it! They had survived Hal's mansion. She tipped her head back and mouthed a thank you to the heavens.

The terrified leucrotae ran into the monster drapes and disintegrated. As it started to melt into a pile of ashes, a dozen different voices escaped from its mouth, all screaming the same word, "Help!" With a shiver, Thalia realized that the voices could have belonged to all the past victims of Hal's mansion.

Something creaked and rumbled upstairs, and from the corner of her eye, Thalia caught the flash of fire. The flames were slowly making their way closer and closer to where they were. She got a sudden sinking feeling.

"Hurry!" Thalia yelled, pulling Luke back onto his feet. They ran for the the front door, flinging it open just as the flames caught up to them, shoving them forward with incredible force. The building exploded.

Everything was a blur after from then on. Thalia remembered coming to on the rough asphalt; they had somehow found themselves sprawled on the traffic circle. As soon as her eyesight cleared, she noticed that Hal's mansion had been reduced to a tower of smoke. Golden red flames illuminated the twilight sky. Luke wasn't by her side, which gave her a heart attack at first, until she realized that Aegis was still lying by her side. Of course, Medusa had probably scared him away. She struggled to her feet, coughing and wheezing from the smoke. Her eyes stung like someone had poured salt water into them, and her throat was dry and parched. She picked up Aegis and tapped the edge of the shield. It shrank down immediately and became a silver bracelet on her wrist once more.

She found Luke behind the statue of Robert E. Lee, the place where they had met with Amaltheia. Luke was leaning against the foot of the statue, soot covering his face and arms, his T-shirt peppered with burn holes.

Silently, they stood side by side, watching the rest of Hal's mansion burn down. The brick walls came down on each other. The monster black curtains burst into flames and billowed with the wind. The roof came down with a loud crash, smoke spiraled up into the grey clouds.

Thalia didn't even notice it, but she was crying. A tear rolled down her cheek and a sob found its way up her throat.

"He sacrificed himself," she murmured. "Why did he save us?"

Luke didn't reply. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it, or maybe he didn't have an answer himself.

Why had Halcyon done that? Why had he chosen to give up his life to save them? Thalia couldn't wrap her mind around what had just happened. Hal had chosen to sacrifice his life for his friends. Was such courage even possible?

Hal was a hero.

Someday soon, you will sacrifice yourself to save your friends.

Thalia gulped. When the time comes, would she be able to do what Hal had just done? Would she have the courage to become a hero?

The distant echoes of sirens snapped Thalia out of her reverie.

"Come on," Luke told her, shouldering his backpack and trudging ahead. They both knew the consequences of getting caught by the police. Neither of them wanted to go back to their families or be put in juvie or foster care.

The next few hours passed in silence. They settled down in a small park and cleaned themselves up in a public restroom. Thalia changed into a clean shirt and washed her face of the grime and soot. Luke met her outside the restrooms, and together, they sat on one of the benches and waited for dark in silence.

Neither of them wanted to talk about what had just happened. Luke seemed angry about the whole event, his lips quirking up at the sides now and then. Thalia just wanted to cry. Hal didn't deserve to die. He didn't deserve to die. He was a good man.

They explored the neighborhoods and industrial areas after dark. They wandered around aimlessly. For the first time in many days, Thalia realized that they had no more glowing goat to track. They had nowhere to go.

Luke didn't even seem to be totally aware of where he was walking to. Now and then he'd bump into a pole or trip over something, his eyes glazed over and his face blank like he were a zombie from The Walking Dead. Thalia could sense an aura of grief coming off from him. She understood, they both didn't understand why Hal had to die at their expense.

"Let's stop here and rest for a bit," Thalia announced after Luke's seventh spill.

They were walking on a deserted road in some industrial neighborhood. In the dim light that the moon gave off, Thalia could see the words painted in red on the side of the brick wall.

RCHIMNOD NIRO WKSOR

She blinked and tried again. Stupid dyslexia.

RICHMOND IRON WORKS.

She guessed it was probably a deserted factory. The glass windows were broken and there was no light coming from inside.

Luke sat down, drawing his knees up to his chest.

"We could head to our old camp," Thalia spoke up. "On the James River. We've got plenty of supplies down there."

Luke nodded slowly, his eyes still blank. He pulled out a brown paper bag from his backpack; a ham sandwich, and shared it with Thalia. The bread tasted stale and the ham was too salty, but Thalia knew it was all they had for now.

Just as she was about to take her last bite, there was a ping of metal from somewhere down the alley. Luke paused, his sandwich mid-air and his mouth hanging open. "Someone's close by," he murmured, lowering his hand. "Not a regular mortal."

Thalia felt her skin crawl. After all they had endured in the past twenty-four hours, she wasn't sure she could handle another monster. "How can you be sure?"

Luke didn't reply. Instead, he got to his feet and drew Hal's dagger out of his pocket. The blade glowed faintly, Celestial bronze reflecting the dim moonlight. Thalia swallowed and followed suit, readying her spear and tapping her silver bracelet so that Aegis sprung out. Slowly, they made their way towards the wall of the warehouse.

The alleyway adjacent to it was dark and seemed to end in a dead-end. Piles of metal scrap were pushed to the end of the alleyway.

Luke trudged ahead of her and lifted his hand to point to the end of the alleyway.

Thalia gulped. "Are you sure?" she whispered.

Luke nodded. His face glowed in the moonlight; he looked confident. "Something's down there. I sense it."

On his last word, there was a metal CLANG! and a couple of corrugated tin sheets quivered at the top of the scrap tower. Thalia gulped. Something, or someone, was definitely hiding under the pile. Thalia gripped her spear tighter, her knuckles turning white. Luke continued ahead, keeping his arm back to warn Thalia. He reached out with his other hand to lift the corrugated metal and mouthed, One, two, three!

On count three, he lifted the metal sheet and something flew at him. In the dim moonlight, Thalia made out a small figure - a blur of flannel pajamas, messy blonde hair, and… a hammer?

Luke caught the little girl's wrist before she could swing the hammer down on his head. "Whoa!" Luke shouted. The hammer flew out of her hand and skittered across the asphalt.

The little girl fought against Luke's grip, kicking him in the shins. She looked young, but the grime and worry lines on her face made her look so much older. "No more monsters!" she screamed, her voice shrill. "Go away!"

Something in her terrified voice tore at Thalia's heart, and she stood there, frozen in her place. She reminded her of someone.

She reminded her of Jason.

"It's okay!" Luke tried to calm her. She continued to resist him, kicking at his legs.

"Thalia!" Luke hissed. "Put your shield away! You're scaring her!"

Thalia quickly tapped her bracelet and stowed her shield away. "Hey little girl," she said slowly. Her voice dropped to a calming whisper. "It's all right. We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."

The girl blinked at them for a second, her gray eyes reflecting the moonlight. But then she kicked again, screaming, "Monsters!"

"No," Luke said, trying to imitate Thalia's soothing voice. He squeezed the little girl's hand lightly. "But we know about monsters. We fight them too."

The little girl calmed down a bit, her breaths slowing down. She stopped kicking and stared up at Thalia and Luke. Thalia noticed how startling grey the little girl's eyes were; they seemed to hold so much knowledge at such a young age.

The little girl trembled slightly. The sleeves of pajama top had slipped off her shoulders a bit, revealing her bony frame. How long had she gone without food?

But her fists were balled at her side and she had a stubborn look, her jaw stuck out. A demigod. Luke was right. She was no ordinary girl. She had the spirit of a child of the gods.

"You're like me?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Luke replied, nodding solemnly. "We're…" he hesitated, clearing his throat. "Well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

The little girl's eyebrows knit and her chin trembled, but her voice held firm. "My family hates me. They don't want me. I ran away."

Luke winced. He glanced back at Thalia and a silent understanding came between them. They couldn't leave her alone. She was like them; she was just like them.

Thalia knelt down next to Luke and reached out to squeeze the little girl's shoulder. "What's your name, kiddo?"

The girl seemed to smile. "Annabeth."

Luke grinned widely. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth. YOu're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."

Her eyes shone with excitement. "You could?"

"Oh yeah," Luke said, still grinning. He brought out Hal's dagger from his belt and held it up. Moonlight bounced off its blade, illuminating Annabeth's eager face. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."

Annabeth wrapped her tiny fingers around the hilt and gazed at it with awe. Thalia nudged Luke slightly, almost as if to berate him for handing a child a deadly weapon. But he didn't seem to notice. He seemed so happy to see Annabeth finally ready to take down monsters with them. Thalia couldn't blame him. She was excited to go on adventures with Annabeth, too.

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," Luke continued. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

Annabeth grinned widely, and at that moment, Thalia almost forgot all that they had been through in the last few hours.

"I am clever!" she resonated.

Thalia laughed and pulled Annabeth into a tight bear hug.

They may have lost a friend that night, Hal; but they had gained a new companion on their quest, Annabeth.

"We'd better get going, Annabeth," Thalia announced. "We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

Annabeth started forward with them but faltered for a second. "You're...you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?"

Luke put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. Pride seemed to swell in Thalia's veins at that moment; Luke looked so much like a father with his hand protectively on Annabeth. "You're part of our family now. And I promise I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

"Deal!" Annabeth replied, her voice echoing down the alleyway so that she sounded like the happiest kid on Earth.

Thalia picked up her spear and nodded at Luke. Thalia wasn't so sure, but he seemed to blush; probably glad that she approved of his actions.

"Now come on," she said. "We can't stay put for long!"


A/N: Did I do justice to the famous meeting scene between Luke, Thalia and Annabeth? I do hope so! Please tell me what you think in your reviews!

Do you guys have any guesses as to what will happen next? I've got loads of surprises up my sleeve just for you guys! I really hope you guys keep reading (and reviewing)!

Still no reply from you guys regarding the performing arts plot bunny of mine? To write about the Seven in a performing arts school, or not? Tell me in your reviews!