"He's gone, Reyna. He's dead." Nico said, his voice showing his surprise and emotion. She looked down at his lifeless body in disbelief.

"Nononono!" Reyna cried, reaching behind his head and holding his dead body up.

"Wake up!" she commanded. When he didn't respond, she crushed his body in a hug, sobbing as she held him.

"You can't go… we need you… I need you! You promised… you promised me…" she finished, crying as Nico laid a hand on her shoulder. His eyes were moist as well.

"Reyna. There's nothing we can do now. He's gone." Nico tried to pull her away, but she suddenly reached into her bag, and pulled out a glass bottle full of green liquid.

'When you need it most, use it…. It'll fix everything.' she recalled Mercury's words. She opened Micah's mouth, and poured about a quarter of the liquid down his throat. Nothing. She held his body closely, still crying.

"Micah come back… come back to me." she whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As he floated through what felt like nothing, Micah recalled the many times he had felt this sensation. Death was nothing new to him; in fact, he had faced Hades' Doors more than he would like to admit. Many times it was by complete chance; freak accidents that he could have never predicted, like getting struck by Zeus' bolt when it had been stolen the first time... another story, another time. But as he began his descent into the Underworld, something felt different. Usually, he could feel his body healing, waiting to suck him back into his body. However, as he floated nearer and nearer, he didn't feel his body healing; There was only one explanation. The poison must have been magically enchanted to stay in his body even after he died.

'So, this is it. My only speed bump in my return has been flattened.' The dark voice rang. Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, an angelic voice spoke.

'Come back to me.' an angelic voice rang through Micahs vision. Micah could feel the Darkness grow gloomy, then heard a scoff

'Well, they always find some loophole. Don't think this is the end, you mortal worm. Our time together has only just begun. Until next time, Lyte.' the darkness dissipated. Micah stretched out towards the voice, everything around him going white. Micah suddenly jolted and sat up, sucking in a massive breath, the life slowly returning to his body. Reyna touched his face, then buried him in a hug.

"How? You were dead!" Nico exasperated. Micah looked up at Reyna, who was trying to regain her composure. He leaned his head onto her shoulder wearily, Reyna stroking his hair.

"You were gone." she managed to sob.

"I was. Then I heard your voice." he whispered into her shoulder. After a few moments, Nico coughed. They both stood up, too emotionally exhausted to blush. Micah felt his back, then pulled off his shirt, both Nico and Reyna surprised. His back was healed. Micah clenched his fist a few times, then sped off, reappearing instantly.

"Other than needing a serious nap, feel incredible!" he marveled. He grabbed both Nico and Reyna in a hug.

"Thank you." he said genuinely. Nico simply and pushed him into Reyna.

"She saved you. I thought you were… gone." Nico said quietly. Then he smiled slyly.

"Well, I need to go find Leo. Yell if I'm needed." he said shadow traveling away.

Micah squeezed her, smiling.

"Thank you." he whispered. Reyna still wasn't yet over the fact that he had literally been dead a few moments ago. After she was brought back to reality, she pushed him away and punched him across the face. He reeled a little, then looked down at her smiling, and wiped a drip of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Do you take some hidden pleasure in hitting me?" he asked. She just gaped at him in pure blind rage, before unleashing on him.

"YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SCARED I WAS?! YOU DIED, MICAH! DIED!" she screamed at him.

"YOU'RE LIKE MY BEST FRIEND! AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE…." She was interrupted by him grabbing her in a bear hug and shushing her quietly as she cried into his chest.

"You're stupid, you know that?! Stupid stupid stupid!" she sobbed. He held her out at arms length, then instinctively wiped her tears with his thumb. He tilted her chin to look right into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Rey. I didn't mean to do all this to you. The poison was just… too much to fight. But you saved me, and I'm here now. Please understand I would never leave you if I had the. You're my best friend, Reyna… my only best friend." he finished barely above a murmur. He dropped his hand slowly, the realization of how deeply this affected her sinking in. He turned away from her, his shoulders tight from guilt.

'You almost gave in…. You idiot!' he chastised himself angrily.

'You promised her you'd do everything in your power…. And you almost just gave in!' he clenched his fist angrily. His head hung low in shame and anger. Reyna snapped out of her daze and saw how distraught he was. Reyna stepped forwards and hugged him from behind.

"I… I'm sorry I got so mad, Mike…. It's just…."

"No. I'm sorry. I promised you I'd be there for you. I… I failed you." he murmured depressedly.

"Mikey, don't talk like that. You didn't fail me. I… I didn't mean to make you feel that way." she said, resting her head between his shoulder blades.

"You… you just mean alot to me, ok? And I don't want you to leave me alone." she added hopelessly. He turned around and hugged her.

"I will always protect you, Reyna." he promised. She scoffed at the idea.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don't need a guardian."

"Then I promise I'll always be your friend, Rey." she looked up at him.

"Best friend?"

"Best friend." they were interrupted by a cough, looking up to see everyone else standing there watching. Reyna repelled from him like same-poles of a magnet, blushing profusely. Micah just winked at Percy, which made Percy snicker.

"Whenever you guys are… finished… we think we've found something." he explained. Everyone else walked away, leaving them alone again. Reyna stomped off after them, grumbling about no respect. Micah stretched his back one more time before joining them.

'Man, it feels so good to be back' he thought happily. When they all reached Annabeth, she was staring at the floor, which was now cleared of all the dirt and debris, revealing a pattern.

"Oh, good. You're all here. Check this out. Notice anything?" Annabeth asked. They all looked at it in confusion, until Micah spoke up.

"It's out of order." he said. Annabeth looked at him like she had genuinely not expected anyone to guess.

"Uh, yeah. That's exactly correct. Notice how the pillars, since some are broken, each cast a different sized shadow? But each begins on a piece." Annabeth elaborated. Micah nodded his head, catching on.

"Path of Shadows…. They shadows are arrows, pointing to where each piece goes." he deduced. Annabeth nodded her approval.

"Let's get to work. Everyone, grab a tile, and move it to where the shadow ends." Percy instructed. In about 10 minutes, all but one piece was in its proper place. Piper held the last piece.

"Well, here goes." she shrugged, placing down the final piece. A click could be heard, and they all quickly stepped back as the pieces slid to the left and right, parting to reveal a tunnel underground. Dust and dirt flew up into the air in a cloud. When it dissipated, they were left staring down the pitch black tunnel.

"Yay… more tunnels." Leo nervously deadpanned. Frank slapped him on the back, smiling.

"Light the way bud." he grinned. Leo gulped, then lit his hands shakily, and led the 10 of them into the dark vault.