Vince woke up a few hours later to knocking on his door. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Bianca sleeping next to him. He slowly pulled his arm out from under her to go open the door. He got up and walked over and answered the door. Annabeth was standing on the other side. "Hey Vince, are you feeling better?"
He yawned before he answered her. "Ya, it's almost like it never happened," he told her. She smiled at him and looked behind him. She saw Bianca on the bed and gave him a mischievous smile. "Just what was going on in here?" she asked him. He looked back and quickly closed the door so that she could only see him. She chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell," she assured him. "Hurry up, we need to get going."
She walked away and he walked back to the bed. He thought about waking Bianca but decided to let her sleep. He pulled on a new shirt from the magically stocked closet. It was black like his last one but this one said "angel's heart". He walked out to see everyone else. He sat down in the armchair opposite of Reyna. He sat silently and willed the horses to head to Colorado.
Annabeth continued to smile at him knowingly, making him blush slightly. Eventually the horses stopped and Vince went back to his room to get Bianca. When he walked in she seemed to be just waking up. He smiled and sat down next to her. She smiled back and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He kissed her on the top of her head and he swore he could smell perfume in the air.
"Come on, let's go rescue Percy," Vince said as he helped her up. They walked out the door and into the living room. They realized everyone was gone and they figured they had all already stepped outside. They had started walking to the door when they felt the carriage shake and they heard a muffled boom. They rushed outside and the others were fighting strange creatures wearing hoods. They were in cloaks that hid their faces. Even in their long cloaks they were surprisingly fast and agile.
They had a variety of weapons from whips to swords to sickles. Bianca quickly drew her bow and Vince threw his hat. He grabbed his sword out of the air as Bianca fired an arrow. It missed by miles. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at her bow in her hands. "I broke my vow, I can't shoot a bow anymore," she said quietly.
Vince's eyes grew wide as well and he held her. She got over the shock and her eyes grew determined. She shrugged his arms off of her and she drew her combat knife. "I can still fight, don't worry," she told him with a smile. "Okay, be careful," he told her, worried. He charged into the crowd and hacked and sliced at the strange enemies. He lost track of time as monster after monster crumbled into dust. Eventually he started to feel overwhelmed and his side burned.
He tried to fight through the pain and make it to one of his friends. He looked around and saw a black blade slicing through the air nearby. He fought his way to Nico slowly as he held his side. It seemed like hours before he was even halfway to him. He tried shouting his name but he couldn't hear himself. He yelled again but he still couldn't hear. All he heard was the blood pounding in his ears.
He collapsed and was soon swarmed by the cloaked enemies. He watched a sickle come down on him and he closed his eyes. He heard the clang of metal on metal and he opened his eyes again. He saw Nico standing over him, his sword holding back the curved weapon. Behind him he saw Reyna fighting off the creatures as well. Nico sliced at them as he pulled Vince to his feet. He threw his arm over Nico's shoulder and they fought towards the carriage.
Vince saw a sword coming down at him and he instinctually brought his sword up to block it. The sword cut straight through his sword, making it shatter. The blade didn't quite miss and left a nasty cut from his forehead to his chin, cutting over his eye and lips. Nico quickly sliced the creature into dust. They continued to fight until they got back to the carriage. Nico set him on the steps and defended him.
Soon after Annabeth and Reyna had joined them. Only Bianca was still in the crowd fighting. She was making an attempt to make it to the carriage but couldn't find an opening. Vince laid on the steps with his eyes closed and labored breathing. Bianca decided to make a run for the carriage and slice one more monster then made a run towards the others. She made it halfway before one of the monsters stabbed her in the back with a sickle.
She screamed loudly and everything seemed to stop. The creatures seemed to take in her wound and the demigods stared in her direction. The scream echoed over and over in Vince's ears. Then his eyes snapped open. His side and the cut on his face steamed. His shirt and jacket soon caught fire. Except the flames burned black and seem to suck in light rather than emit it. He stood up and he reached in his pocket. He removed the rope that Nyx had given him and did as she had instructed.
He felt his anger surge into it in the form of darkness. He felt it extend until he held an 8 foot long whip. It coiled at his feet and he slowly rose. He was far above the ground and everyone was staring at him. The monsters, his friends, even Bianca was looking at him as her eyes drifted shut. He emitted a dark aura as he looked at everything.
Suddenly long, dark, angel wings burst from his back. He pulled his whip back and his face contorted in anger. "I lost her once, I will not lose her again!" he shouted in a dark voice. Even though it was clearly only him talking it sounded as if hundreds of people shouted with him. He brought his whip down on the crowd of monsters and they all melted into darkness then evaporated. His whip shortened and disappeared in his hand as he floated down to Bianca.
He waved his hand over the hole in her back and it disappeared along with the blood. He picked her up and carried her back to the carriage, his wings folded halfway behind his back. He laid her on the ground and looked at the other demigods. Then his aura and wings vanished. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed next to Bianca.
_
Oh my gods! Vince nooooooooo! Just kidding. I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm gonna be honest, I wish I had included some more adventures and shenanigans before this point but oh well. There is still some time before they face Eris. Maybe I'll bring Aphrodite back or something. I am toying with one idea. Since I didn't include the scene between Nyx and Vince I might write a separate chapter for that. Make sure to tell me how you feel about it. See ya!
