Hey, look, I've given you a long chapter in return for my long absence. Forgiven?

I'm so sorry, but I'm so busy with school and I'm a props assistant in a play, and I'm so tired and I've got like three tests next week, and oh my gosh, I'm exhausted.

I know I don't have a regular update schedule and I'm so sorry. I'm working on so many stories and one of them is completely pre-made so those chapters will most likely come out on schedule, but I'm trying.

If anyone's out there reading this, review and tell me! Reviews tend to help chapters come out faster. Go figure. My priorities really depend on how I'm feeling, and I really want to get going on this story but we've reached a pretty enraging and boring part. It's got Octavian, man. Why would I wanna write about him?

But I do wanna get to the end of this book to get to the next, and I've still got my plans in mind, but my inspiration is going away, so I gotta get things out while they're still fresh (somewhat) in my mind.

For now, enjoy!

:)

First Person: Zytaveon

Okay, so this is how things went.

Percy seemed content with the idea of battle, despite the odds of four against several dozen arai. Fighting was pretty straightforward, after all. Wandering through the darkness, waiting to be attacked, now that was just annoying, like the plot of a movie just being dragged out. So much anticipation.

We had all fought together and separately, and we had a Titan on our side, so what could possibly go wrong? (Can you just feel the sarcasm?)

"Back off."

Percy jabbed Riptide at the nearest shriveled hag, but she only sneered.

"We are the arai," Said that weird-voice over, like the entire forest was speaking. "You cannot destroy us."

Annabeth pressed against his shoulder. "Don't touch them," She warned. "They're the spirits of curses."

"Bob doesn't like curses," Bob decided.

The skeleton kitten Small Bob disappeared inside his coveralls. Smart cat.

The Titan swept his broom in a wide arc, forcing the spirits back, but they came in again like the tide.

"We serve the bitter and the defeated," Said the arai. "We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you."

The firewater in my stomach started crawling up my throat. I wasn't sure if I would even be able to swing my sword, every muscle was tense and on edge, and I felt my entire body and soul afraid of the power that now had a hold over me.

'Use my power to save your friends. It would be mere child's play to destroy them all. Just give in, say yes.'

I knew that there was no doubt giving in to save Percy and Annabeth, even Bob, would be a one way ticket to permanent possession. I had to do this on my own. But that was a lot easier said than done when you were practically incapacitated by fear. Normally I wouldn't have been so scared, but I didn't know what to think about anymore, I couldn't control my feelings as they basically ran away from me.

"I appreciate the offer," Percy said. "But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers."

The nearest demon lunged. Her claws extended like bony switchblades. Percy cut her in two, but as soon as she vaporized, the side of his chest flared with pain. He stumbled back, clamping his hand to his rib cage. His fingers came away wet and red.

"Percy, you're bleeding!" Annabeth cried, which was kind of obvious at that point. "Oh, gods, on both sides!"

It was true. The left and right hems of his tattered shirt were sticky with blood, as if a javelin or sword had run him through. Or an arrow…

Percy nearly fell over from queasiness alone. Vengeance. A curse from the slain. Two years ago, a fight with a monstrous ranger who could only be killed if each of his three bodies was cut through simultaneously.

"Geryon," Percy choked. "This is how I killed him…"

The spirits bared their fangs. More arai leaped from the black trees, flapping their leathery wings. I was already jumpy enough, actually falling over as I swatted one away with the flat of my blade. Yeah, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get back on my feet again, my arms and legs unable to muster the strength to fight gravity.

"Yes," The arai agreed. "Feel the pain you inflicted upon Geryon. So many curses have been leveled at you, Percy Jackson. Which will you die from? Choose, of we will rip you apart!"

Somehow, Percy stayed on his feet even after being run through - which didn't exactly make me look any better considering I'd managed to swat an arai to the side and fell over while Percy sliced one and managed to stay standing with that arrow wound. The blood stopped spreading, but he still looked like he had a hot metal curtain rod sticking through his ribs, his sword arm drooping from being heavy and weak.

"I don't understand," Percy muttered.

Bob's voice seemed to echo from the end of a long tunnel. "If you kill one, it gives you a curse."

"But if we don't kill them…" Annabeth began.

"They'll kill us anyway," Percy guessed.

"That's bad," I guessed, my voice shaking.

"Choose!" The arai cried. "Will you be crushed like Kampê? Or disintegrated like the young telkhines you slaughtered under Mount St. Helens? You have spread so much death and suffering, Percy Jackson. Let us repay you!"

The winged hags pressed in, their breath sour, their eyes burning with hatred. They looked like Furies, but these were definitely worse. At least the three Furies were under the control of Hades and had been redubbed the Eumenides after that whole Orestes thing. These things were wild, and they just kept multiplying. If they really embodied the dying curses of every enemy each of us had every destroyed…we were in serious trouble. We'd faced a lot of enemies.

One of the demons lunged at Annabeth. Instinctively, she dodged. She brought her rock down on the old lady's head and broke her into dust. It wasn't like Annabeth had much of a choice, not to mention that retaliating after dodging was simply her natural muscle memory, but instantly Annabeth dropped her rock and cried in alarm.

"I can't see!" She screamed in panic, touching her face, looking around wildly.

Her eyes were pure white.

Percy ran to her side as the arai cackled. "Polyphemus cursed you when you tricked him with your invisibility in the Sea of Monsters. You called yourself Nobody. He could not see you. Now you will not see your attackers."

Well, at least that was a considerably tame curse. I'd known that becoming too reliant on my sight would one day become a dangerous disadvantage, so I went through a period of life where I practiced fighting with my eyes closed, purposefully blinding myself in a controlled environment to become better at using my hearing and instincts, along with my shadow abilities (Not to mention I practiced every night that I didn't want to really wake myself up but I had to go to the bathroom so I basically sleep walked).

"I've got you," Percy promised.

He put his arm around Annabeth, but as the arai advanced, I couldn't see how he could protect any of us. I leaned on my sword, took a deep breath and held it as I pushed myself to my feet with all the strength I could muster.

A dozen demons leaped from every direction, but Bob yelled, "SWEEP!"

His broom whooshed over our heads. The entire arai offensive line toppled backward like bowling pins. More surged forward. Bob whacked one over the head and speared another, blasting them to dust. The others backed away. I looked over to Bob, waiting for the Titan to be laid low with some terrible curse, but Bob seemed fine - a massive silvery bodyguard keeping death at bay with the world's most terrifying cleaning implement.

"Bob, you okay?" Percy asked. "No curses?"

"No curses for Bob!" Bob agreed.

The arai snarled and circled, eying the broom. "The Titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? You, Percy Jackson, have already destroyed his memory."

Bob's spearhead dipped.

"Bob, don't listen to them," Annabeth said desperately. "They're evil!"

Time seemed to slow. I wondered if the spirit of Kronos was somewhere nearby, swirling in the darkness, enjoying this moment so much that he wanted it to last forever.

Bob turned, his wild white hair looking like an exploded halo. "My memory…it was you?"

"Curse him, Titan!" The arai urged, their red eyes gleaming. "Add to our numbers!"

"Bob, don't, they didn't mean any harm…" I wheezed.

It was even getting hard to breathe now, and all I was doing was standing still, leaning on my sword.

"Bob, it's a long story," Percy said. "I didn't want you to be my enemy. I tried to make you a friend."

"By stealing your life," The arai corrected. "Leaving you in the palace of Hades to scrub floors!"

Annabeth gripped Percy's hand. "Which way?" She whispered. "If we have to run?"

I grimly understood. If Bob wouldn't protect us, our only chance was to run - but that wasn't any chance at all.

"Bob, listen," Percy tried again. "The arai want you to get angry. They spawn from bitter thoughts. Don't give them what they want. We are your friends."

Even as he said it, I had trouble believing it. He'd left Bob in the Underworld and hadn't given him a second thought since. What made them friends? The fact that Percy needed him now? Percy always hated it when the gods used him for their errands. Now Percy was treating Bob the same way.

"You see his face?" The arai growled. "The boy cannot even convince himself. Did he visit you, after he stole your memory?"

"No," Bob murmured. His lower lip quivered. "The other ones did."

Percy's face fell as his thoughts moved sluggishly. "The other ones?"

"Zyta, Cee-Cee…and Nico." Bob scowled at Percy, his eyes full of hurt. "Nico visited. Told me about Percy. Said Percy was good. Said he was a friend. That is why Bob helped."

"But…"

Percy's voice disintegrated like someone ad hit it with a Celestial bronze blade. He'd never felt so low and dishonorable, so unworthy of having a friend.

The arai attacked, and this time, Bob did not stop them.

I swung my sword in one desperate attempt to give Percy and Annabeth a head start, slicing through as many arai as I could. Since they were all lining up to swarm the two of them, I got more than one at least, maybe five at most.

All I knew after that, was that everything started burning. I knew what was happening and muttered a "Saw this coming…"

I stayed conscious long enough to see my fingers turning to dust and the rest of me destabilizing and turning to ash. I'd turned many monsters into ash to defeat them over time back when I believed it was the only power that I had, and even once I'd learned my new abilities. I now felt the burning pain that came before death as my vision disintegrated along with the rest of me.

I wasn't sure if I screamed, I'm not sure if Percy or Annabeth were shouting my name, and I'm not sure if I heard a disappointed humming of a Primordial as though he was a parent scolding his child.

And I'm not sure when it was that I woke up at Camp Half-Blood.

First Person: Der Meister von Allem

Who am I? I'm the most awesome person you're ever going to meet. Duh.

I searched through the spirit layers of the Underworld, looking down upon the foggy image of Tartarus. Going there personally wasn't an easy task, even for me, but looking around wasn't too big of a stretch. I located a big surge of Primordial energy that got my attention, and finally I found the demigods and the chosen one - well, one of the chosen ones, there were technically two. But only one was in Tartarus right now. Then again, for a moment I felt both at once, and for a moment things started looking better. Then it got back to normal, which is to say, bad.

"Come on, Urie."

He twisted his mechanical Celestial gold (yes, my own invention of Celestial bronze and Imperial gold) lance as it clicked and whirred. The lance had been upgraded many times and would most likely be upgraded many times in the future. The weapon expanded in many stages, from basic javelin to pure on monstrous dragoon level of badass-ery.

"Coming, coming," He promised, playing with the new upgrades like the child that he was.

I sighed. "Hurry up or I'll never upgrade your lance again. Worse, I'll downgrade it."

He gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Shift. We've got a situation."

I jumped down through the Veil and down to Tartarus. The clock was ticking now, I had limited time to help them.

Percy Jackson was running with Annabeth Chase, slicing through the arai to clear a path while the Titan stayed with the disintegrating boy. There was nothing to be done about him at the moment, but the arai were no longer focused on either of them, so I went after Percy and Annabeth first. Percy probably brought down a dozen curses on himself, and though they didn't feel them right away, he kept running, each step becoming more and more painful. He wove between the trees, leading Annabeth at a full sprint despite her blindness.

The arai were right at their heels, hissing angrily with the scuttle of clawed feet and the beating of their leathery wings telling Percy their close proximity. He slashed at one of the black trees they ran past, causing it to topple and crush several dozen arai as they were smashed flat.

'If a tree falls in the forest and crushes a cursing demon, does the tree get cursed?'

A very interesting query.

Percy continued slashing tree trunks. Though it bought him a few seconds, it didn't buy them enough.

Percy stopped them just in time to stop them from running straight off a cliff.

"What?!" Annabeth cried. "What is it?"

"Cliff," Percy gasped. "Big cliff."

"Which way, then?"

Percy looked down the cliff but knew that it wasn't an option. It could be ten feet or a thousand. There was no telling what was at the bottom. They could jump and hope for the best, but he doubted 'the best' ever happened in Tartarus.

So two options: right or left, following the edge.

He was about to choose randomly when a winged demon descended in front of him, hovering over the void on her bat wings, just out of sword reach.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Asked the collective voice, echoing all around them.

Percy turned. The arai poured out of the woods, making a crescent around them. One grabbed Annabeth's arm. Annabeth wailed in rage, jugo-flipping the monster an dropping on its neck, putting her whole body weight into an elbow strike that would've made any pro wrestler proud. The demon dissolved, but when Annabeth got to her feet, she looked stunned and afraid as well as blind.

"Percy?!" She called, panic creeping into her voice.

"I'm right here," He said, confused.

He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she wasn't standing where he thought. He tried again, only to find she was several feet farther away. It was like trying to grab something in a tank of water, with the light shifting the image away.

"Percy!" Annabeth's voice cracked. "Why did you leave me?!"

"I didn't!" He turned on the arai, his arms shaking with anger. "What did you do to her?!"

"We did nothing," The demons said. "Your beloved has unleashed a special curse - a bitter thought from someone you abandoned. You punished an innocent soul by leaving her in her solitude. Now her most hateful wish has come to pass: Annabeth feels her despair. She, too, will perish alone and abandoned."

"Percy?"

Annabeth spread her arms, trying to find him. The arai backed up, letting her stumble blindly through their ranks.

"Who did I abandon?" Percy demanded. "I never-"

Suddenly, he stopped, a wave of dread washing over him. An innocent soul. Alone and abandoned. He remembered an island, a cave lit with soft glowing crystals, a dinner table on the beach tended by invisible air spirits.

"She wouldn't," He mumbled. "She'd never curse me…"

He stared blankly in shock. The eyes of the demons blurred together like their voices. Percy's sides throbbed, the pain in his chest became worse, as if someone were slowly twisting a dagger.

Annabeth wandered among the demons, desperately calling his name. Percy longed to run to her, but he knew the arai wouldn't allow it. The only reason they hadn't killed her yet was that they were enjoying her misery.

Percy clenched his jaw, his grip on his sword tightening. Suddenly, the effect of killing the curses no longer scared him. He didn't care how many curses he suffered. He had to keep these leathery old hags focused on him and protect Annabeth as long as he could.

He yelled in fury and attacked him all.

I pulled myself from the Veil and put my hand on Annabeth's shoulder, managing to make contact despite her curse. A terrible curse, this one. There was an infinite amount of pain to be gained from the wounds inflicted upon your enemies, but to be lost, alone, blind, abandoned, unable to be reached by any…that kind of curse could drive one mad even should they be saved from perishing. To die like this was better than to live like this.

I sent a wave of energy through Annabeth and her curses suddenly started fading. Only two arai curses, easy to reverse. With a gasp, her eyesight returned and she gathered her bearings.

"What-?"

"Shh. I will help you through this battle, but you must follow my instructions. Else Percy Jackson shall be beyond my aid."

Annabeth noticed Percy, hacking and slashing and smashing every arai that came close. Riptide cut through the arai as though they were made of powdered sugar. One panicked and ran face-first into a tree. Another screeched and tried to fly away, but Percy sliced off her wings and sent her spiraling into the chasm.

Percy endured curses ranging from painful - a stabbing in the gut, a burning sensation like he was being blasted by a blowtorch - to subtle - a chill in the blood, a uncontrollable tic in his right eye (who curses you with their dying breath an says: 'I hope your eye twitches!'?)

Percy was slowing down, bit by bit, and the arai were endless - for every one he cut down, six more seemed to appear - and Annabeth began to realize the number of curses he was taking for her.

"How?" She whispered. "What do I do? Just tell me and help him."

"I will make sure the arai will not be able to tell you are healed. You must play the part, keep their attention away from you while I handle them. We must act quickly, before-"

Percy sliced at a demon that had sunk his teeth into his thigh while he hazily shuffled towards Annabeth, who all believed was blinded while I was invisible, only peaking out from the Veil to Annabeth.

"Go, now!" I hissed.

Annabeth nearly froze in panic, before putting her arms out and screaming Percy's name, her panic and tears real not because she was lost and cursed, but because she saw what was really happening to Percy. She wanted to run to him, even pretend to be wandering his way, but forced herself to start wandering through the ranks of the arai as they parted for her.

Percy came her way, but when he sliced at the demon that had bitten his leg, he immediately fell to his knees. He gagged and struggled to breathe, doubling over, shuddering, retching, as a dozen fiery snakes seemed to work their way down his esophagus.

"You have chosen," Said the voice of the arai. "The curse of Phineas…an excellent painful death."

Percy choked as he tried to speak. Phineas the seer had drunk a vial of deadly gorgon's blood. After Percy's victory, Gaea had warned him: 'Do not press your luck. When your death comes, I promise it will be much more painful than gorgon's blood.' Did this count? Technically he was dying from gorgon's blood itself, but there were also dozens upon dozens of curses layered atop. He clutched his sword as his knuckles started to steam and white smoke curled off his forearms.

But Percy continued fighting. He wouldn't die here.

If he died, the arai would go after Annabeth next.

I walked through the ranks of the arai and put my hand on Percy's shoulder, trying to sustain him. "That's it, keep fighting. Come on, Urie, hurry up…"

The arai clustered around him, snickering and hissing.

"His head will erupt first," The voice speculated. "No," The voice answered itself from another direction. "He will combust all at once."

"Bob…" Percy croaked. "I need you."

Percy didn't even believe himself as he released his hopeless plea. He raised his eyes, beginning to see through the Veil as he began to die. The sky boiled and the ground blistered. What he had seen of Tartarus before was only a watered-down version of its true horrors - only what his demigod brain could handle. The worst of it was hidden, the same way the Mist veiled monsters from mortal sight. Now, as Percy died, he began to see the truth. The air was the breath of Tartarus. All these monsters were just blood cells circulating through his body. Everything Percy saw was a dream in the mind of the dark god of the pit.

"You see me, kid?" I demanded. "Your fate within this place is beyond my sight, but this is not where you fall. It can't be. Remember Nico? Strong kid. He's your friend, right? He saw this side of Tartarus because of his birth, he never had a Veil to hide from him these horrors. He's alive right now, circumstances aside. This nightmare is mind-shattering, but you can fight it just like him."

Nico…one of the many people Percy hadn't treated well enough. Lu and Veon might've talked to Bob before, been his friend just like Nico, but it was Nico that had mentioned Percy - it was only because of him that they had made it this far through Tartarus.

"Percy? Percy! Perseus Jackson!"

"You see the horror of the pit?" The arai said soothingly. "Give up, Percy Jackson. Isn't death better than enduring this place?"

"I'm sorry," Percy murmured.

"He apologizes!" The arai shrieked with delight. "He regrets his failed life, his crimes against the children of Tartarus!"

"No," Percy said. "I'm sorry, Bob. I should've been honest with you. Please…forgive me. Protect Annabeth."

He didn't expect Bob to hear him or care, but it felt right to clear his conscience. Percy was doing what most with such pure souls did when facing death. He couldn't blame anyone else for his troubles. Not the gods, not Bob, he couldn't even blame Calypso, the girl he'd left alone on that island. Maybe she'd turned bitter and cursed Percy's girlfriend out of despair. Still…Percy should have followed up with Calypso, made sure the gods sprang her from her exile on Ogygia like they'd promised. He hadn't treated her any better than he'd treated Bob. He hadn't even thought much about her, though her moonlace plant still bloomed in his mom's window box.

Percy had made mistakes, he regretted many things, but at death, there was a point where a hero had nothing left to lose. That was when their true colors were revealed, and it never got old for me.

Percy used all his remaining effort to get to his feet. Steam rose from his whole body, his legs shook, and his insides churned like a volcano, but he would go out fighting.

"Highwind!"

Urie came flying out of the sky, slamming his spear down at the center of the ring of arai beside Percy, knocking the demigod off his feet, but otherwise he was unharmed. By Urie anyway.

The arai? Not so much.

He wiped all of them out in one big explosion from his lance slamming into the ground with both his strength as well as the upgrades I'd made.

"Took you long enough," I called.

"Sorry," He said. "I was handling the other guys." He flipped his lance into a battle-ready position. "Arai. Stupid curses."

I drew my metal whipblade, made from Celestial gold as well, as the arai began to round up again around the two of us and the fallen Percy. "Let's be quick about this." I flicked my whip with a snap in challenge. "Come and get it!"

Urie and I went wide, each taking half of the creatures. We used wide attacks to turn the monsters to dust, unaffected by the curses thanks to our blessings.

I was faster and more agile with my attacks, my whip was solid when I needed it to be, but able to extend for longer range or shrink to become a into a sword - even a shotgun should I require it. I used my whip to slice off limbs from the arai before shrinking my whip into a sword and finishing them off. My primary weapon was a whip, so I used it to disarm any arai within a certain radius before destroying them all as a preferred fighting style.

Urie, meanwhile, was a brute-force fighter, slower with his lance but certainly not weaker. With each swing of his lance, he destroyed the arai with ease, no disarming needed. He sometimes slammed his lance into the ground, creating a shockwave that annihilated any arai too close and dazed others depending on the strength he put into his hits.

The arai were great in numbers, one of their strongest techniques that resulted in an inevitable death by countless curses should one try to challenge their kind, but Urie and I were unaffected and therefore cleaned house.

"I summon the power of the Tonberry!"

With a whoosh, the arai - living and the dust that remained from the fallen - all were sucked away in a hurricane of darkness and screeching. I looked over to Urie, who looked just as confused as I was. We tried to see into the storm that the arai were being funneled into, but it looked like a black hole from the angle I was at, and I couldn't see behind it.

"SWEEP!"

Any arai that remained intact as they were drawn in were instantly reduced to ashes. It was the Titan, Bob, who seriously knew how to use a broom. He slashed at the arai, destroying the demons while a kitten on his shoulder arched his back and hissed, leaving nothing but ashes that joined the chaotic mass of curses.

Then, within a split second, it was gone. All the arai, all the dust they had left in the slaughter, the storm, all gone. No more arai rose to replace the fallen, maybe there were no more left, maybe the rest had fled. Standing in plain view where the storm had once been, that boy, the chosen one, stood holding a simple rectangular lantern, glowing with a dark purple-blue flame, and he closed the door to the lantern, locking away the captured power of the arai's curses.

I saw that his eyes were glowing white with the power of Order, a power named after a force just as deadly as Chaos. There was a rage in his eyes, or maybe it was fatigue. In any case, he then fell to his knees, dropping the lantern beside him, before falling against the ground, the glow in his eyes fading away again.

Urie kneeled next to him, checking his condition before giving a nod in my direction. He was alive. That was good enough.

"Percy!" Annabeth was quick to surge to her boyfriend's side. "What's wrong with him?! Can you heal him?! Do something!"

I kneeled beside him and put my hand on his forehead. "That's…a lot of curses."

Annabeth cradled his shoulders and wept into his scalp. Percy's eyes were lost, barely seeing. His consciousness was like a small helium balloon, loosely tied to the top of his head. It had no weight, no strength. It just kept expanding, getting lighter and lighter. He knew that soon it would either burst or the string would break, and his life would float away.

Annabeth took his face in her hands. She kissed him and tried to wipe the dust and sweat from his eyes.

"Bob, can you help?" I asked. "You're stronger than I am at this stuff."

Bob loomed over us, his broom planted like a flag. His face was unreadable, luminously white in the dark.

"Lots of curses," Bob said. "Percy has done bad things to monsters."

"Can you fix him?" Annabeth pleaded. "Fix Percy!"

Bob frowned. He picked at the name tag on his uniform like it was a scab.

Annabeth began again, "Bob-"

"Iapetus," Bob interrupted, his voice a low rumble. "Before Bob. It was Iapetus."

The air was absolutely still for a moment.

"Well, I like Bob better," I smiled. "Which do you like?"

The Titan regarded us with his pure silver eyes. "I do not know anymore."

He crouched next to her and studied Percy. Bob's face looked haggard and careworn, as if he suddenly felt the weight of all his centuries.

"I promised," He murmured. "Nico asked me to help. I do not think Iapetus or Bob likes breaking promises." He touched Percy's forehead. "Owie. Very big owie."

Percy's curses began to lift, but Bob could only heal the most recently inflicted ones - including the gorgon's blood - but that still left him with many more that added up to be disastrous, but at least he wasn't immediately in danger of death. He was still damn close though. The poison remained, but it had only been slowed.

I kneeled. "You'll have to get him proper treatment."

"Bob cannot cure this," The Titan agreed. "Too much poison. Too many curses piled up."

Annabeth hugged Percy's shoulders, and he gave the smallest of cringes from pain.

"Careful with him," I warned.

"What can we do?" Annabeth asked. "Is there water anywhere? Water might heal him."

"No water," Bob said. "Tartarus is bad."

At least Bob was willing to help Annabeth if Percy didn't make it. That was more than enough for Percy, his dying wish that would allow him to rest in peace. Annabeth's safety.

"No," Annabeth insisted. "No, there has to be a way. Something to heal him."

Bob placed his hand on Percy's chest. A cold tingle like eucalyptus oil spread across his sternum, but as soon as Bob lifted his hand, the relief stopped. Percy's lungs were as hot as lava again.

"Tartarus kills demigods," I said. "This isn't an easy place to find healers. It heals monsters, but you don't belong. Tartarus won't heal Percy. The pit hates your kind."

"I don't care," Annabeth said. "Even here, there has to be someplace he can rest, some kind of cure he can take. Maybe back at the altar of Hermes, or-"

In the distance, a deep voice bellowed - a voice that was familiar, unfortunately.

"I SMELL HIM!" Roared the giant. "BEWARE, SON OF POSEIDON! I COME FOR YOU!"

"Polybotes," Bob informed them. "He hates Poseidon and his children. He is very close now."

Annabeth struggled to get Percy to his feet. Even with Annabeth supporting almost all his weight, he could barely stand.

"I'm going on," Annabeth declared. "With or without you. Will you help?"

The kitten Small Bob mewed and began to purr, rubbing against Bob's chin. Bob looked at Percy pensively. It was hard to read the Titan's expression, to tell if he was angry, or just thoughtful, to see if he was planning revenge just feeling hurt because Percy had lied about being his friend?

I put my hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "We can't stay, I'm sorry. Our time here is limited enough."

"Who are you, anyway?" Annabeth demanded. "Why are you here? Can you help us?"

"Let's just say that we're here for him." I jabbed my finger at the chosen boy. "But we'll help you by extension. May we one day meet again on better terms, Annabeth Chase. Now, listen closely. There is one place here where you may find aid. There is a giant who might know what to do. Bob can guide you."

Annabeth almost dropped Percy. "Uh…giants are bad."

"One is good," Bob insisted. "Trust me, and I will take you…unless Polybotes and the others catch us first."

I walked over to Urie, who had picked up that chosen boy and carried him over to give to the Titan. "He'll be fine, but who knows when he'll wake up? His soul's being torn between two infinitely powerful beings all at the same time."

I looked down at my hand and saw it was beginning to sparkle with energy as my form began to fade.

"Time's up," Urie announced.

"Wait, who are you?" Annabeth demanded. "At least tell me what you are. Names?"

Urie and I shared glances, before I shrugged. "Hannah. Hannah Der Meister von Allem."

Urie brushed his white locks out of his face, an obvious way of showing off to someone who knew him too well (*mentally points at self*).

"You can call me Ithuriel."

With that, we were pulled back into the Veil.

First Person: Lucy

I woke up dancing.

Now, it's a very disorienting process, let it be known. There were strobe lights and a shouting crowd that was clapping to the beat of a song around me. My feet were bare as I danced across hardwood floor, a band playing from somewhere, or maybe it was just a track on speakers. Or maybe it was magic.

"Step into the rainbow, find another view~
"Chase the tender light, borders let's cross over~
"Ready to define the mists inside your heart~?
"Take a breath and start your life~

"Waves of a new day~
"Clear all the gloom away~
"Hope is what we simply need to proceed~"

I spread my arms for the slower and longer beautiful notes of the song, lost in my enjoyment of the music and the dance, the beat and the tune.

"Waves ~ of a new day~
"Clear ~ all the gloom away~
"Hope ~ is what we simply need to proceed~!"

The music took over, the crowd jumping and dancing to the rhythm while I spun and moved and tapped my feet and danced in a circle with the crow around me.

"Waves ~ of a new day~
"Clear ~ all the gloom away~
"Hope ~ is what we simply need to proceed~!"

There was more music, laughing, clapping to the beat, strobe lights of all colors blinding yet flashing to the beat so it wasn't as disorienting as it could be. This was joy, bliss even; this was one of those moments that I could enjoy for the duration of the song. I knew it would be over soon, that the moment will have come and gone, but for now, I needed to make the most of it.

"Step into the rainbow, world you never knew~
"Chase the heights of light, soar beyond your sorrows~
"Dance among the colors, let them be your dreams~
"Close your eyes and see anew~

"Dawn of the new day~
"Clears all the gloom away~
"This is the hope that we need to go on~!

"Dawn ~ of the new day~
"Clears ~ all the gloom away~
"This ~ is the hope that we need to go on~!"

As the music continued, the crowd began to disperse and dance on their own with partners and small friend groups. I took the opportunity to walk off the dance floor to grab a cup of ice water from the snacks table.

"Enjoying yourself?" Papa asked.

"More than you know!" I shouted over the loud music and crowd.

"Happy Birthday!" Audrey shouted, pulling one of those party poppers that spewed confetti.

I froze in confusion. "Is it my birthday?"

My thoughts were all jumbled up at the moment. I felt a sense of familiarity - yes, I'd been told about a party earlier and this must've been it. But birthday? That didn't sound right.

"No," Kandai said. "Her birthday was a few weeks ago."

"Bleated birthday," She deadpanned, popping another of the confetti things in my face before walking off.

"Where's Ithuriel?" I asked.

Kan shrugged. "He said that he'd be here soon. A surprise, perhaps."

"Veon?"

"With Emily. They're in the other room. Ah, there they are."

Emily shoved Veon forward. "Go for it!"

Veon looked slightly perturbed, waving Emily away and walking up to me. "How's it going?"

"Fine," I said casually. If he was nervous about something, I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. That would just be mean. "You missed the Sunleth dance."

He chuckled. "Right. I heard it from the other room."

Kandai looked between us as though he was watching a reality TV show in real life. "I'm, uh…I'ma go look for Ithuriel."

He snuck away ever gracefully, taking Emily's arm and whispering something to her as though sharing secrets while they disappeared into the crowd.

"S-So…how 'bout a dance?" Veon requested.

"Sure."

I tossed my plastic cup into the trash can and waved for him to follow me to the dance floor. The Sunleth theme was fading out and another one of the songs began. It was the 'Eyes on Me' waltz from FFVIII.

Veon looked at the speakers like they had betrayed him, before holding out his hands. "Let's see if I can remember how to waltz."

I laughed. "Ditto."

He took my hand first and I put my arm on his shoulder, but he was hesitant about where he was supposed to put his other arm on my waist. He was tall, so he initially put it right at my shoulder blade, then lowered it to my hip, then aimed in the middle for my waist. I stepped closer so that it was less awkward of an angle, before starting the dance.

"Put your right foot forward, the male is supposed to lead."

In all honesty, this was how it was for most of my dances - I was always leading, but still following the female steps to attempt to preserve the guy's self-esteem. We had once needed to dance for a choir performance, and then another time for a hoedown slow dance.

"Now left foot to the right."

"Your right or my right?"

"My right. Sorry, your left foot to your left, my right foot to my right. Now rotate this way and right foot to the right. Now rotate and left to the left, and rotate, right to the right so that your feet make a box."

He remembered how to do it pretty quickly, with the occasional slip up from both parties, before we started laughing and making our steps more deliberate, apologizing and chuckling as each person made a mistake.

"Okay, time for the famous part."

We stepped in front of each other, right hands out with his palm up and mine down, before we stepped to the left of each other, pulled back, stepped to the right, then we stepped to the left and fully crossed each other, arms going over my head, then stepping left and right again and crossing once more. We then released hands and stepped to be back to back, slid past each other to the beat of the song, stepped out and then took hands with outstretched arms, I spun on his arm and then reversed to step out again at a new angel, repeating the process to turn us 180 degrees before I spun back in and we ended up in our previous waltz position.

The whole time I narrated the steps for fun, even though we both knew the dance pretty well: "Left, and right, and around, and left, and right, and around, and slide, slide, slide, slide, take my hand and spin, and whoo!"

We began the regular waltz again, slightly out of breath and laughing together. This was the feeling I wanted more of, the closeness, the trust, the relaxing feeling that came from loving someone who you didn't have to hide anything from, who you didn't have to pretend around. By the time the excitement died down and the waltzes downgraded to simple swaying, I sighed and relaxed my head on his shoulder. He rested his chin on my head after a moment of hesitation, as though asking for permission, and I swear I could've fallen asleep like that.

With a peak, I saw Emily throwing a pair of thumbs up and Audrey giving a sarcastic golf-clap as if to say "Great job, you made it at least, even if it took an inordinate amount of time. But a 'C' is still a passing grade. Kinda."

I gave her a finger and closed my eyes to rest against Veon again in peace.

"So…Lu?"

I felt Veon's voice rumbling in his chest, and I couldn't tell if I wanted him to be quiet or if I liked the sound of his voice from such a close proximity.

"Hm?" I hummed.

"I was thinking, since we've been rooming together for so long in that apartment without destroying each other, that maybe we should…I mean it would make sense for…y-you see my dad has given me a bit of funds so maybe we could…"

"What?" I prodded.

He took a deep breath. "Maybe we should move out."

I raised my head to look at him. "Move out?"

"Get our own place, I mean."

I lowered my head and stared at the location where his tie would be (he didn't wear a tie because he wasn't a fan of them and I had once mentioned that he looked better without them). I took in the details of his collar as I tried to process his words.

"But…I mean, the apartment is free, no rent - it was given to us by the Primordials. I mean, that's not too shabby. And I like it."

"Right, right. Forget it, it was just a stupid thought-"

"Ve, what did you mean? I mean, what were you imagining? We get our own home? Like, in New Rome?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Or…maybe we could go out into the real world."

"You know how dangerous that is."

"Yeah, but Legion veterans do it often. We could be one of those branches that sends new demigods to New Rome or Camp Half-Blood, we could live in a community and protect it from monsters."

"It wouldn't be as safe."

"Maybe not. Our lives would be full of worry, we'd have to take tons of precautions about who we interact with, where we work, where we shop, study for college stuff, yada, yada, yada, but…I just feel out of place here. I mean, it's great and all, the Legion protects New Rome, but what happens when we get out of shape, when we start to forget how to fight, and then when New Rome inevitably gets attacked by another apocalypse? I want to go out and do good to the world, be the trump card that no one knows about. If the camps are in jeopardy, if there's a quest where someone needs a little aid, we could be out there as a place where demigods and the supernatural are welcome, we could be diverse in our skill set and be the cavalry when the world goes to hell - which it does so often."

I smiled. "Yeah, it does."

"I wanna be a demigod - half human, half god. I don't wanna completely shut out the camps, obviously, we can visit as many times as we want, but…I wanna be out there in the world."

"And risk dying every day? Ve, I don't wanna come home from work or school or whatever one day and wait for you to come home only to find out that you're dead somewhere in an alley where I might've been able to help you had I found you but I never knew anything. Ve, that's exactly what happened to my dad, you know. I told myself, "He'll be back, he's never let me down," and then I find out that he's not coming home from some bitch that locked me up, and…and I couldn't survive that feeling again, not from you. I couldn't lose you like that."

His head dropped. "I know, I…I know. I'm sorry. We don't have to do anything, I just…I shouldn't have brought it up."

I raised his head so that his eyes met mine. "Hey, I'm not completely opposed to the idea. Just…maybe when we get older. How about…25? We can get the Hephaestus kids to hack into the internet and give us identities so that we're not brought in for questioning for never having existed in the past, and so we can get jobs, go to real college, and buy stuff legally. We can get a house, with a TV obviously, and a dog, we need to get a dog. Preferably a puppy. Let's name him Tidus. Not Teedus, Tidus."

Veon laughed. "I'd love that. And we should get a heater. Heaters are necessary for winter. I will not be happy if we don't have a heater."

"We need a heater, yeah. We'd have to set up precautionary system too, wardings against monsters, as well as cameras for human burglars. Did you know that people just walk up to houses and steal packages sitting on the porch?"

"Yeah, those people are just rude. And we'll be able to vote for the president. We should totally make the next one a woman, I'm just saying. African Americans got their freedom and then women fought for equal rights - we've had Barak Obama, now we need a woman!"

I laughed. "We'll be old enough to drink too! I can legally walk into a bar and clubs!"

"For what reason would you want to go to a bar or a club?"

"Hunting monsters, obviously."

"That's it?"

"Uh-huh."

"We'd need to get insurance," Veon realized.

"And pay taxes," I pointed out.

"And if we survive that long together, we'll also be old enough for alone time together."

I chuckled nervously. "I have my hopes. And my fears."

"Yeah, well so do I."

I leaned my head against his warmth again. "I think we can make it work. I can't imagine anything that would tear us apart."

"Heaven and Hell have tried."

"Heaven and Hell seem pretty conflicted about whether they want us together or apart."

"Well, whatever they throw at us, I'll be fighting for you through it all."

"And I, for you."

He kissed my head. "You wanna go home?" He whispered into my hair.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. I'd love that."

Then, there was a commotion from the doorway as Ithuriel shoved his way through the people - including Emily and Audrey - and then leaned on his knees dramatically as he breathed hard for a couple moments.

"Whoo, finally! There you are Rei!" Veon and I separated just slightly to face him as he walked over and stared at me. "I need to speak with you."

He eyed the room (who was now staring at him) and then looked between the two of us.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Veon looked at me and then Ithuriel before sighing. "No, Ithuriel. She's all yours."

He took a step back and I instantly felt disappointed that I'd lost contact with him. I felt cold without his warmth beside me, and slightly clammy. Had I been sweating?

Ithuriel took my arm and I got that feeling of suddenly stepping on a treadmill as we were teleported…to my apartment, my shared room with Veon. Ithuriel started looking around the room, checking the bathroom, the window, then the bed.

"This…this is where it's strongest."

"Ithuriel?" I asked cautiously. "What's wrong?"

"You, you, you, you're…you're warping this reality." He pointed at me accusingly. "You're not just a figment of my imagination, not anymore. You arrived right here." He pointed at my bed. "A-And then suddenly the world shifted and everything started to adapt to your point of view of your happiness. Our realities blended together, that's why I've been so confused - YOU! You're…are you real?"

I tried to process everything that he'd just said. "Sorry…what?"

"Is your name Ren?"

"Um…no. That was my mom's name. Well, the name she constantly went by, anyway. Do…did you know my mom?"

"Is your name Rei?" He blurted instead.

"Um…yes? I'd assume you'd know. By after I got adopted, my name changed to Lu-"

He took me by the shoulders almost desperately. "Are you Rei?" He repeated. "Are you my Rei, are you real? Are you trapped in Chaos with me?! Are you my daughter?!"

First Person: Zytaveon

Okay, so back to me. Great, my turn.

So after I got turned to dust and nearly died, there was this weird guy with white hair that was suddenly standing above me, and I realized that he was healing me somehow. I gasped and felt my body suddenly was now back, I could feel my limbs again and they tingled, but were otherwise unharmed.

I coughed heavily as I was eased up by that guy with white hair. "Easy, kid. You're gonna be okay for now, but that was dangerous. You're body has been remade by Tartarus now, and who knows what kind of traps he has in store for you."

"Remade by…Tartarus?"

He nodded. "I'm Ithuriel, by the way."

"Like the angel?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, my parents were heavily religious. They just, you know, got the wrong religion. I'm a son of Ares."

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't stay for long, but I'm here to help you and your friends. My partner should be helping Percy and Annabeth now, but we should hurry and get over to them. Can you stand?"

He helped me to my feet, and though I wobbled, I regained my balance and knew that I just needed a little bit of stretching to gather my strength.

"What did you say about Tartarus rebuilding me?"

He chuckled nervously. "Well…you just died there, kid. Or at least, you nearly died. Your body was destroyed and the souls inside were almost released, but Tartarus put you back together. I've helped to regain your control, but now you and Order are more vulnerable than ever. Are you even compatible for Order's power yet? Have you taken the trials?"

"Trials?"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Just great. Look, I need to go help Hannah - my partner - and your friends. Bob, take it from here, will you?"

"Wait! The trial thing, how do I do that? Will it help Order get more power?"

"If you're compatible. If you fail those trials, all of us will lose too."

"I can do it. If I can help Order fight Tartarus, if we can take back any ground that we've lost, then I'll do anything."

'I have to help my friends, I have to prove to Lu that I can do this, that she doesn't have to throw her life away for me.'

He stared at me for a long moment, before putting his hand to my chest where I felt the gem that Lu had given me when she'd jumped into Tartarus.

"Don't fail us. Remember all that's on the line."

"Who are you, anyway? How did you get here, how are you connected to Order and Chaos a-and Tartarus, and Bob?"

"I don't have time to explain, but I'm a friend, I swear. You have to trust me, Zytaveon, and I have no choice but to trust you too. You and your girlfriend have screwed up the universe, but we have a chance to fix things. And who can really blame her for what she did? If it were me and Hannah, I would've done the same. This is a big burden to bear, bigger than any of us realize. Are you really prepared?"

I nodded. "As prepared as I'll ever be."

He nodded hesitantly. "Good luck."

He pressed his hand into my chest and the gem, and the world went white.

I saw Ithuriel running away, and at the same time, I didn't. It was like a dream, I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or if what I saw was real.

"Bob, or Iapetus," I said, though it wasn't my voice. "Will you aid Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase?"

"Bob…Bob does not know."

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Hear his calls, hear is plea. And decide for yourself, who Perseus Jackson truly is. He has made his mistakes, but he has the potential to change."

Bob listened. He listened to the thoughts Percy had of him, how he understood what he'd done to Bob.

'I'm sorry, Bob. I should've been honest with you. Please…forgive me. Protect Annabeth.'

Bob's eyes snapped open. Without a word, he had decided. Small Bob purred on Bob's shoulder and stretched, as though preparing for a battle.

"Let us proceed, Bob."

The two of us walked forward to see the wave of arai attacking their friends - Ithuriel and another girl who must've been Hannah fending them off seemingly without any trouble.

Curses that inflict pain based on the pain you've inflicted. Where else had I heard that power before?

I held up my hands, summoning power I didn't know I'd ever possessed. Within my hands, an orb of energy gathered like a Kamehameha wave was about to be made, but instead, the energy transformed to give me a simple lantern. You know, like the thing Hook captured Tinkerbell in during those movies and cartoons? It was a rectangular prism, four rectangles of glass making up the sides, connected to two square bases, one with a hook leading to a handle. Inside was a lit yellow/orange flame.

A Tonberry lantern - a creature known for vengeance and death based on the amount of damage you'd inflicted. They often waved a lantern to release spirits that inflicted the damage, and couldn't those spirits very well be arai?

"I summon the power of the Tonberry!"

I held up the lantern and the arai were swept up in a torrent of death and revenge, curses and hatred, each of the monsters sucked into the enchanted lantern. The flame turned a dark blue to midnight purple with the curses trapped inside. Bob joined in with one of his sweep attacks, and the arai didn't stand a chance.

Once the attack was finished, my vision began to fade again. Had this been real? Had this just been a dream? Strange dream. Kinda pointless.

Whatever. I just wanted sleep at the moment. Yeah, sleep. That would be nice.

I felt like I was punched in the chest, and found myself falling on the beach in Camp Half-Blood.

How the hell did I get here? Wasn't I just…dying or something?

I picked myself up, brushing the sand off my clothes. My poor, innocent jacket.

I looked around. The camp seemed to be abandoned, almost in a zombie-apocalypse kind of way. I was about to walk into camp to check things out, but then I heard a loud crashing of a wave and bubbling from the ocean behind me. I turned and looked to see the water shifting, swirling in a whirlpool before splitting to reveal Audrey standing on the sand below where the water had once been. She walked forward as the water replaced itself behind her. She didn't even flick her wrist or anything, the water simply followed her mental commands.

"Audrey?"

She didn't seem to acknowledge me, her face stoic - not scowling, but not…alive, either.

Then she raised her hand and the ocean attacked.

Song is Sunleth theme from FF XIII. That tune is so catchy, but with the two different sets of lyrics, I tend to mix them up. They should just make it one big song, I mean both sets of lyrics are in English, why change it?