LAUREN'S POV

This went against everything that was drilled into me in training. We were just walking through a horde of monsters. Not running, not fighting for our lives, walking through. Hydras were just looking at us. I swear they all had a smug look on their faces. As if they were saying "Puny Demi-Gods, won't stand a chance." It made me want to kill them all. But I don't think that would end well. I realized that we didn't have a plan and mentioned that to Annabeth. "Fine" she said "Let's go get some supplies as well and come back later."I felt relieved cause we had postponed a lot of danger, but the threat was still there.

We found a few small stores on the island and packed our bags full of things. Food, rope, flashlights, and lots of random stuff just in case. By the time we finished stocking up, it was already dark. So for the heck of it, we spent the last of our money on dinner and slushies, then set up camp.

ANNABETH'S POV

Lauren was freaking out now. The shock of a horde of hydras not trying to kill us wore off, and now she babbled on about how Nico could be anywhere and in danger or unarmed. She wondered about all these things till i finally knew how others must have felt when I talked about Percy. I finally found out how to shut her up. At least for a few minutes.

NICO'S POV

"What's that!?" yelled Scarlett, who fell back from the surprise

"That's the symbol of Hephaestus" I said

"So that means I'm his Daughter?"

"Yep"

"But I've never done metal work"

"It doesn't mean you're not good at it. But Hephaestus' children don't work only in metal, they use everything. I know a guy, Leo, who can make working model helicopters with just pipe cleaners. Nothing else. and they actually fly!"

"Well I did once re-wire my phone to receive data but only register it as a WiFi connection so I don't get charged"

"There you go!"

"Ok well if its all true, then are you three on a Quest?"

"Yes" said Kyla "And believe it or not, you were prophesied to be part of this"

"Ok now you're pushing it"

"No lie" said Frodo who had just snapped out of staring half open-mouthed at Scarlett.

"Alright alright, but are we gonna need to fight more things like that Hydra?"

"Even worse, some ancient monster rising from Tartarus." said Kyla

"Well then I need a weapon"

"What do you use?"

"Well I'm not a bad archer I guess"

"Done" said Frodo and separated one of the bows from his ring. He handed it to her as she stared open-mouthed at his hand as if it would turn into one of those Hydras at any moment.

Kyla also noticed her reaction and jumped in "Oh and we forgpt to mention that Frodo has a ring that can turn him invisible and can store weapons in it. He can also call it back to him at will."

To prove this, Frodo took off his ring and threw it somewhere in the grass. Then he stared at his bare finger and said "Now watch" as he said that, the ring appeared there. It literally burst there with a little fire and everything. Then he really started showing off. He switched rapidly between weapons, not even letting it fully form before changing it again.

"Alright" said Scarlett, a little distracted by the ring "well what do we do?"

"The prophesy said

'What was defeated must rise again,

gaining strength in deaths deep den,

in land of cruise and relaxation,

five must find their destination,

to board the vessel, you must not pay,

but what is good doesn't always stay,

siblings' secret keeps assurance,

be prepared for untimely happenstance,

an ancient foe to defeat once more,

on the way you meet one more.'" said Kyla

"Wait, it said five. There's only three of you."

"Yep, well there were five of us, then we got separated and we ended up here, and the other two are on an island somewhere. We know the siblings secret, that's Frodo's ring that let's him talk to another child of Athena called Annabeth, she has a hat that can turn her invisible. This keeps us in contact with the others. You are the one we meet on our way, so now all that's left is to get into Tartarus and fight whatever this thing may be."

"What about me? I need to be able to help too"

"How 'bout we make camp for the rest of the day. Frodo can continue training, and Scarlett can get the crash course on fighting." I said

"Sounds good to me" said Frodo

"I'm up for that" said Scarlett

FRODO'S POV

I started training with Nico while Kyla worked with Scarlett. The shield on my arm felt natural somehow. Fighting with one hand did too. I found that two swords gave me the most freedom to attack, while one sword and a shield made defense much easier. I found ways to incorporate both tactics while fighting. It took some time, but I found a way so I could switch what I was holding with my left hand easily. I'd press my right hand on my left knuckles and imagined the sword or shield forming already in battle position and it would. That way, I wouldn't have to stop to put it on. This change up, more than skill, was what let me match Nico in fighting, which was good, because I didn't have time to hone each technique now. I looked over to Scarlett and saw how determined she was to learn fast. Kyla was throwing everything she had at her, and she was retaining it all! I stared in awe at how fast she learned to fight and defend. When I looked back at Nico, he had his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. "Looks like Frodo found 'The Precious'" he said with a chuckle. I blushed and his smile just widened. "I think we've finished here." he concluded "Maybe you should go practice with a bow and arrow now" he added with a wink.

KYLA'S POV

I overheard Nico and Frodo talking and smirked a bit. I had a feeling that's what happened. He had the same reaction around Scarlett that Leo had around me. I decided I'd cut him some slack. But just this once. "Hey Frodo, since you're done with Nico, maybe you should come over here and learn to actually use your bow and arrow properly" I teased. It took him a few seconds to catch on, but eventually he walked over. I looked at Scarlett and saw a poker face. She wasn't gonna show her emotions while at work. I liked that. Frodo got here and I immediately got them both working hard.

Half an hour later, Frodo and Scarlett were both much better archers than before. I didn't think Frodo would get much better this fast, but I guess a daughter of Artemis is a good Archery teacher. He was nowhere near as good as Scarlett though. She was being modest when she said she wasn't a bad archer. She was actually really good, and improving fast! she was now on moving targets while Frodo got closer to bulls-eyes on the normal targets. If you could call them that. The targets were really just leather armor with a hole in the middle where the bulls eye would be. Frodo was hitting the armor every time at least, and Scarlett was shooting balls of rolled up leather that Nico was tossing. All this leather was taken of skeletons by Nico. He would place his hands on the skeleton, and it would just sink in the ground as if buried, but the armor would stay. Frodo had collected more shields and some armor for his ring, then the rest had been turned into targets for practice.

FRODO'S POV

Wow that was tiring. Training was done for the day but we still had a few more hours of sunlight left. I told the others I was going for a swim in the cave. Nico gave me a slightly questioning look, but Kyla understood. Scarlett was still in Poker face mode. Feeling my way through the cave, I started to think. I always seemed to over-think things, but sometimes it brought out some good ideas. I reached the small lake and undid my bandages. Glad to see scabs had formed cleanly. I sat down at the edge Kicked my shoes off, and put my legs in, swishing them back and forth lightly. I looked around the lake now. It seemed higher than before, confirming my suspicion that there was an underwater tunnel that led to open water. The tide must have been at its lowest when we were brought in and then filled before we woke up. I looked down to the bottom of the body of water. it wasn't very deep. Maybe seven feet of so. I watched as the light refracted and made strange patterns on the ceiling. That's when I zoned out. As always, my vision seemed to go out of focus, and my mind took over, replaying memories or pondering.

I remembered the day I was welcomed into camp. How welcoming it was. I started breathing heavily when I thought about school. I was always that one different guy. I'd moved three times and had to start at new schools each time, but it was always the same. People were nice, sure, but there was always something there that made me feel different. At first I thought it was my ADHD and OCD, but there were others at my schools that had the same thing. It wasn't that. I'd eventually began to just accept that I'd never fit in as much as others. Of course there was Stemmings, but he was a new friend and even he got along with others more than me. But when I came to camp. I felt at home. Just a few days of being with people that knew how I felt and understood my struggles, I couldn't believe that I thought my life before was normal. Well i guess it was in comparison to fighting monsters with swords, but I mean feeling the way I did. My thoughts started to fight for dominance and was overwhelming me, so I pushed them a side for a moment. I pulled off my shirt, took some deep breaths, then slipped into the salty water. I was right, the water was a foot or so above my head, but I didn't stop there. I exhaled a bit, watching the bubbles rush to the surface as I sank faster and sat on the rocky floor. I shut my eyes and let the thoughts flood back in. They swirled and ebbed like the water around me, then calmed. My first thought was my dad. It's been weeks since I saw him, but I hoped he knew I was safe. I left in such a hurry. Thankfully I was under water, or else I might have started to tear up. I released a few more bubbles, then returned to the surface for a new breath.

This time I exhaled half my breath right away and felt the water engulf me as I sand steadily to the bottom again. This thought was about Scarlett. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this thought, but it was already here so I might as well finish it. I thought about how Aphrodite had promised to meddle. I knew this is what she meant. Right away it was obvious to the others. But I didn't even know her! Without thinking, I went into a sub-thought. The way she walked. Light, yet confident. Perfect posture, yet had a casual air about her. The way her eyes seemed to alter from deep thought, to in a flashback, to look into your soul, to gentle and caring all within the space of a few seconds. I lost track of time and realized I was almost out of breath. I quickly floated back to the surface and let my lungs breathe. I went down again and just pushed all thoughts away again to calm my mind.

I sat like that for ten seconds or so and decided it was time to swim now. I opened my eyes and began to calmly glide through the water. I hugged the bottom and let my fingers slide against the rough rock bottom. I love swimming. It makes me feel like I'm flying almost. I bank left and right, pull up and dive down. I'm it total control, and gravity has no power on me. Oxygen on the other hand does, so I breach the surface and float on my back towards the edge again, looking at the smooth cave ceiling with light refracting on to it. I made it to the edge, and climbed out.

I thought I heard something and my head turned to where I thought the sound was. It was probably just the water dripping from me. I focused on what I was about to do again. I stood up, took two steps back, and ran at the water. When my feet were near the edge, I planted them both, and pushed off. I made an arc in the air and dove into the water. I loved doing this because when I hit the water, its like I'm in a jet-stream and I can move so much faster. When I lose my speed, I sink to the bottom, plant my feet, and push up. Since the water was semi-shallow, the force brought me almost out of the water, and I was able to dive again. When I surfaced again, I was sure I heard something. "Who's there?" I said

An embarrassed looking Scarlett stepped out of the shadows "Sorry" she said "The others were out looking for firewood and you were gone for a while so I was curious. I didn't mean to intrude."

I knew I was blushing, but I hoped that the faint light would hide that. "It's ok" I said pulling myself out of the water "I was just finishing up anyways." I sat at the edge of the water re-doing my bandages.

Scarlett took a few steps closer and said "How long have you known you were a Demi-God?"

"A few days" I admitted

"Then why are you already on a Quest?"

"I'm not sure. I guess the fates just felt like it"

"Aren't you scared?"

"Yes. Very much"

"How do you cope?"

"Nico and Kyla are great friends" I saw the slight deflation in her posture. I think it was because she was hoping that a way to cope would be easier to attain. "You should talk to them. I bet you'll like them."

"Okay" she said. Her eyes suddenly changed to that deep in thought look and her eyebrows furled very slightly.

"Is everything okay?"

Then it disappeared "Yeah, we should get back now."

What was that? "Yeah, let's go" I tightened the last of my bandage and pulled on my shirt. I wondered what she was thinking about as we walked back out of the cave. It was dark out now and Kyla and Nico had built a small fire. I sat down next to Nico and saw that he was deep in thought. His expression was one that I didn't like. He was really worried. I looked at Kyla and she mouthed 'Lauren'. Just then, my ring began to glow blue. I turned invisible and talked to Annabeth "Hey"

"How are you guys?"

"Safe. We found another Demi-God. Her name is Scarlett. Nico is sad about Lauren though."

"Yeah, she is freaking out about him too."

"Ok. Let's let them talk. But first whats going on? Anything new on your end?"

She recounted the events of that day. "Well then. I guess I know what we're gonna do tomorrow. Underworld here we come."

"Yeah. Ok let Nico talk to Lauren."

Without responding, I pulled off my ring and tossed it to Nico. "Someone wants to talk to you" I said

His face lit up right away and he didn't pause to say anything else. He ran off to be alone and put the ring on. He disappeared in mid-stride.

"Who want's to talk to him?" asked Scarlett

"Lauren" said Kyla

"Who's that?"

"The other girl we were separated from. Also Nico's girlfriend."

"Oh" she said. There was the tiniest hint of disappointment on her face, and it was only there for a second, but it was enough to feel like a slap to the face. Not that I wasn't used to it, but still. Kyla also noticed, and while keeping the conversation going so as to not show that we noticed her disappointment, also managed to cast a comforting smile my way.

"So how did you get here?" Kyla asked

"I ran away with my friend. I was on vacation with my mom. She came with us. At one point she got all jittery and told my mom it was time. Long story short, We ran, but got split up. She said something about a prophesy that needed me and a Pan I think. Then she said she had to protect my mom. She promised me that I'd be alright so I kept running. Then that Hydra found me and would have eaten me if you guys hadn't killed it."

I stared at the fire and zoned out. I love fire. I found a twig and put it in the fire. Once it was charcoal, I blew out the small flame at the tip, and started to draw on my arm. Oblivious to the conversation going on right beside me.