So I totally forgot to do this, and I changed the last chapter so it included a credit, but I want to make sure that those who've already read the chapter also know, having Luke and Tori's child in the dream sequence last chapter be named Diana was an idea that lucifersfavoritechild (on AO3) came up with in their story, Luke/Tori – Fluff (which you totally should go read: /works/9538736/chapters/21569033). I just wanted ya'll to know.

Onto the story! (Zeus knows you've been waiting long enough.)

Children of the Barricade

I tensed as someone draped a warm arm over my shoulders. "What can I say, except, you're welcome!" Apollo sang in a tune I didn't recognize. I gripped the golden arrow in my hand, staring at the pile of ashes that was Asterius, trying to retrain myself from stabbing Apollo with his own arrow.

Apollo pulled away slightly so he could look at me, but kept his arm around my shoulders.

"That was a rather violent thought, I ought to speak to Ares about this," he told me, shaking his head. "Those children of his are awful influences."

"Jesus," I sighed, still not looking at him, before realizing that my voice didn't sound hoarse or scratchy. Now that I thought about it, my throat didn't feel sore at all anymore. What's more, the exhaustion I'd felt a moment ago from my battle was slowly ebbing away. My chronic pain dimmed to a level so low, it felt almost nonexistent.

Apollo finally pulled away, removing his arm, to face me. "Apollo, actually." He grinned, showing his perfect, sparkly white teeth, and winked. He was older today, which I was secretly grateful for. I mean, he still looked young, about my age, but it felt more comfortable than if he were his usual 17.

When I didn't say anything or move, Apollo's grin dropped and he opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off by shoving the arrow into his face, arrow tip stopping just inches from his nose.

He frowned, it almost looking like a pout, and took his arrow back, shoving it back into his quiver.

Suddenly something occurred to me and because I, too, am a vindictive bitch, I made a dramatic flourish with my hand as I said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Is 'Dad' too informal? Should I address you as Lord Apollo? I know that I am still under contract with the council." I paused. "Please, forgive me for the indiscretion." Apollo started to object, but I ignored him and talked over him. "Allow me to remedy my mistake." I started to bow, but suddenly he was gripping my arm, keeping me from actually bowing.

When I looked up at him, he looked older than I'd ever seen him: maybe mid- to late-thirties. It was such a shock, my act dropped and all I could do was stare at him, bewildered.

His voice was the quietest I'd ever heard: "You don't have to do that with me."

Carefully, I pulled my arm from his grasp and took a step away. His appearance changed again, back to around my age. I looked away awkwardly and noticed that my appearance had also changed. I was wearing a fitting CHB orange tank-top and denim shorts that were frayed at the ends. My tennis shoes had changed to black converse that looked almost brand new. My quiver had even been re-filled.

I narrowed my eyes and looked back at Apollo.

He shrugged. "Aphrodite isn't the only one who can change people's appearances for the better."

"Thanks," I deadpanned.

"That's not what I meant—"

"Shouldn't you be in agony or something?"

"I'm hurt." Apollo put a hand to his chest and looked so wounded I almost apologized, but gritted my teeth.

"Asterius told me that the gods were fighting within themselves," I explained in a monotone. "I imagine you'd be just as effected."

"You're triumph over him in a sacred temple has stabilized me somewhat, for now," he said. "I don't have a lot of time, though."

"Sacred temple?"

"Yes, the Temple of Me, here in Pompeii."

I took a moment to take that information in. I was in Pompeii? Italy? I thought I'd been in Greece this whole time. How long had I been in that cage? Asleep?

"I know your plan," he said, pulling me back to field. His voice, was once again quiet. I froze and it felt like someone had just shoved a hot iron rod into my head. Before I could respond, he continued. "I want to make sure you know what you're doing, what you're getting yourself into. Something like that will take a great sacrifice." His voice changed, becoming pained, and his eyes swirled with something that looked like loss.

I felt lightheaded. My chest constricted like someone had wrapped a ribbon around my lungs. Rowan, the voice in the House of Hades, and now Apollo, god of prophecies, had all told me the same thing. Not just that, but the expression Apollo wore was concerning.

Sacrifice. Like death? Mine? Or…someone else's?

I wanted to ask him, but I knew he wouldn't give me any straightforward answers if he gave one at all.

"Are you going to go back to the council? Stop me?" I asked, my voice gravelly, though I wasn't quite sure why.

To my surprise, Apollo shook his head. "No, I won't."

"How am I supposed to trust your word?"

"I swear it on the Styx." In the distance, thunder rumbled. Apollo shifted on his feet, looking sheepish, something I thought I'd only ever see once in a blue moon. "Besides, I'm…kind of hiding from my father, currently." It took me a moment to remember who his father was, but once I had, I crossed my arms and gave him a look.

"Oh?"

"Forget it." Apollo shook his head and waved me off. "I…shouldn't have said anything."

I wanted to prod, but thought better of it. Shifting on my feet uncomfortably, I looked around at the field, the scorched marks from the sun's intense rays. I wondered how long my achievement would stabilize his form. I didn't want to be around to find out, though. It sounded dangerous, being around a god fighting within themselves. Confusion and pain were not a good combination in humans, and I imagined even less so in gods.

Then I remembered how I'd gotten into this whole mess in the first place. My hatred and anger returned.

"Why help me?" I demanded. "If you threw me into Tartarus because you were…too afraid of how powerful I was?" I sounded more hurt than I wanted to, but I waited for his answer, watching his expression carefully. My eyes were burning, but there was no way it was from tears. I must've been reacting to something—allergies, maybe.

Apollo frowned at my sudden outburst. "You say that like it was a unanimous decision," he replied in a low, angry tone. "I voted against throwing you into Tartarus, but it didn't matter, because majority rules."

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Yeah, right. Because I'm your daughter? You feel it's your duty?"

Apollo took a step toward me, his eyebrows furrowed, lips turned down. It was very uncharacteristic of him. "No. Because you are my daughter, and I know that you are not what the other gods think you are."

My arms fell limply to my sides and I swallowed hard. "Then why didn't you—"

"What? Defy what the council has ruled?" he interrupted, raising his voice. I blinked and suddenly he was seventeen. It struck me like lightning how much he looked like Will. I wasn't sure if he'd done that on purpose, to toy with my emotions, but from his expression and tone of voice, that wasn't his intention. Seventeen was the age he was most comfortable with, and it made sense under duress he'd look that age. "You think that I didn't want to? You think that when we were discussing your punishment after the Second Titan War I didn't try to talk Zeus about lightening up your punishment?"

"I thought you weren't allowed to interfere with our lives," I spat bitterly. My heart was pounding out of my chest, though, at his words. Why was he telling me this now? Had I provoked him that much? This was usually how we interacted, though to be fair we didn't really interact often enough for there to be a "usual." Still, when we did talk, he didn't react like…this. Whatever this was.

"This isn't about the Ancient Laws!" Apollo snapped.

"Then what's it about?" I snapped back, my hands balling into fists at my sides.

"Zeus is the Lord of the Sky. Lord of the Heavens." Apollo gestured wildly toward the sky, getting more worked up than I'd ever seen him. "King of the gods. And my father. You think that I can just…defy him on a whim without repercussions?" His eyes were wide, his chest heaving. He shifted restlessly on his feet, and his hands flapped against his legs.

I looked at him for a long time, my brain slowly working through his response, his reaction, what that emotion was in his eyes, and it suddenly clicked: he was scared. Of Zeus, it seemed. But that couldn't be right, could it? I mean, he was right, Zeus was the king of the gods, but Apollo was also a god. That had to mean he still had sway. That he shouldn't be as scared as he looked when talking about Zeus, or other gods for that matter. Yet…

I took a step toward him, and opened my mouth to speak, to ask him, but he interrupted me by throwing what looked to be a small coin purse at me. I just barely managed to catch it before it hit me in the face.

"You might need that soon," he said. "Just a little extra for all your hard work."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks…" I faltered and tried my best to say the word, but couldn't. "Apollo."

The corner of Apollo's lips pulled up. "Only got the capacity to say it once a day, eh?"

"More like once a century," I commented under my breath.

Apollo shook his head and chuckled. Also really uncharacteristic of him. It was really starting to weird me out. I didn't like his inflated ego and big-headed attitude, either, but not seeing it on him was actually concerning to me. It was just something I associated with him, something that was him. To see him acting like anything but that meant something was wrong.

To be fair, something was. He was hiding something from me, and he'd just revealed how scared he was of Zeus. (Which was supremely weird to think about—him opening up to me. Why all of a sudden? Why now?)

Apollo suddenly doubled over with a yelp. His form flickered. There wasn't much difference between the two forms; it was almost like another part of himself or some kind of doppelganger was trying to escape from his body.

I took a step toward him, a hand hesitantly outstretched. "…Apollo?"

"I have to go," he gasped.

"Wait—!" I tried, but he was already gone, vanished just like that. I lowered my arm and sighed. Well, that had gone swimmingly.

I looked down at the coin purse in my other hand. It was heavy, filled with what felt like coins—go figure—but also something else, it felt fuller. Curious, I opened it up to find a thick roll of what looked to be euros all bundled together neatly and tightly with a rubber band. I took that out and nearly dropped it like a hot potato. The topmost bill was a 500 euro note. I didn't want to know what was underneath, how much was in this wad of cash. I looked back at the spot Apollo had been before disappearing. Where the fuck had he gotten hold of this kind of money? And he was…giving it to me?

Trying to push that to the back of my mind for now, I looked back into the purse to see a small pile of golden drachmas. Those would definitely come in handy. As for the euros, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with all this cash. Was he giving me a way to fly back to the States? Maybe he'd put the 500 on the outside just to make it seem like there was more than there actually was.

Letting curiosity get the best of me, I took the rubber band off the roll of money, and carefully unraveled it. The stack of bills was folded in half and before I could even unfold them completely, I was distracted by the small scrap of paper that'd been rolled up in the middle of the bundle.

It had one word written on it in elegant handwriting I could barely even read (fitting for Apollo): Siena.

Well, I guess now I had a destination. That was good. Though, this information was coming from a god, so how good this would turn out to be was questionable.

It also meant I couldn't go back to the States yet (I wondered if the money in this bundle was even enough for a flight back to the States). As much as I wanted to. As much as I wanted to go home, see my siblings, see Dan.

The golden drachmas! If I could find a rainbow, I could IM them!

I quickly rerolled the money, put the rubber band back around it, re-packed the bundle back into the coin purse, shoved it into my pocket before turning around and looking back the way I'd come from. There wasn't much way back into those little house/maze-like areas. I'd had to walk around, find a way out of these ruins.

I turned in a circle, looking around, trying to see another way out. I saw a bigger building in the distance, to my right, and decided to head that way, see if it'd lead me anywhere. Now that I wasn't focused on surviving, I realized how hot it was. I was sweltering in this heat. It was so humid! And I felt dehydrated. I'd need to find water, also. Great.

Right on cue, my stomach rumbled.

I sighed audibly. "I know," I groaned, talking to my body. "I'll get you what you need."

When I made it to the building, I did another sweep and noticed some cars parked up at the top of a small hill. Confused, I walked forward, toward the cars, hoping that if there were cars, there'd be people. Not that I could speak a lick of Italian, but maybe I'd be able to find someone who spoke English.

It was easy enough, thankfully. Though, I didn't find anyone from the States or even the UK. I found someone from China who spoke English fluently, on vacation. She was an older lady, and very nice. Her name was Mei (pronounced like May). She called a cab and decided to leave Pompeii early so she could take me to get a late lunch.

It was quiet between us. I was always bad at making conversation. After everything that'd happened—going through Tartarus, finally coming to terms with my grief from Luke's death, fighting a giant, and talking with my father—something like normal conversation didn't really…feel right. What was I supposed to say? Talk about?

Thankfully, Mei didn't seem to mind the silence. She simply sat and looked out the window, a small smile that never left her lips. It looked like she was enjoying the scenery.

We went to brunch at a small café, and she convinced me to try the hot chocolate even though it was hot and humid (even this early in the day). This was after two glasses of water. I was grateful that she'd managed to convince me because the hot chocolate they sold here looked like they'd simply taken a chocolate bar and melted it until it was just the right consistency for pouring smoothly into a mug. It reminded me of the chocolate waterfall in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The flavor was nothing like I'd ever tasted before. Honestly, it tasted what ambrosia or nectar would taste like in its true form, not based on what our favorite foods were.

I tried to tell her she didn't have to pay for our brunches, but she insisted and I couldn't find it in me to disagree with her for long. Afterward, we took another cab to a bus station and she helped me buy a ticket (she, again, offered to pay and I tried to decline but she insisted enough that I eventually gave in) to Siena. We said goodbye, I thanked her again, and I got onto the bus. I went straight to the back and sat down next to the window. I was tempted to put my weapons in the seat next to me, but was afraid of having to move them if the bus became too crowded.

I hated having to take them off my person, but the seats didn't allow me to sit with them on. Besides, I'd still have trouble unsheathing them while sitting. So I bundled them up (sword, dagger, and quiver of arrows) and set them against my seat, between the bus and my leg.

Mei told me that the bus ride was just over five hours (because apparently she spoke Italian well enough, too), so I rested my head against the glass of the bus and closed my eyes. I hadn't expected to fall asleep as fast as I did, but when I did, my dreams weren't their usual demigod dreams. They were filled with scenes of Tartarus—the blood-red clouds, the monsters within them; the arai; the large, reptilian monsters that jumped from caves and attacked the other monsters in our convoy. The list went on and on, but I couldn't seem to wake myself up.

When someone grabbed my shoulder, my eyes flew open and I reacted instinctively—I grabbed their hand from my shoulder before putting them into a wrist lock. The person let out a yelp and collapsed into the seat next to me whimpering and struggling to get away from my grip.

My heart was racing, my vision seemed blurry, mixed with Tartarus and reality. And, unfortunately for me, Apollo's magic had worn off: my chronic pain had spiked to nearly deafening. When the visions from Tartarus finally faded and my chronic pain dimmed enough I could think again, I registered where I was and what I was doing.

I remembered I was on a bus to Siena. Next to me was a woman, about my age, who I currently had in a wrist lock. The other people on the bus were looking at us with concerned faces. The bus driver was looking intensely at me through the rearview mirror. We were still sitting idly at the bus station.

My heart still hammering against my chest, the pinpricks in my body making it difficult to respond quickly, I released the woman's hand and shifted away from her in my seat as much as it would allow.

"I'm so sorry, I…I-I was having a bad dream," I explained, hoping she spoke English. "You startled me."

The woman was shaking out her wrist, with a pained expression. She was either ignoring me or hadn't heard what I'd said. Instead, she turned toward the people on the bus and, in rapid, fluent Italian, said something. Her gestures were placating, so I had to assume she was assuring them everything was okay. At least I hoped, because I didn't want to have to find another bus. Or become a fugitive in a foreign country.

After a moment of tense silence—which I used to try and get a handle on my chronic pain—everyone turned back to face front. The bus driver turned his eyes toward the road and we were off.

The woman turned back to me and smiled, which shocked me. I'd just nearly broken her wrist and first, she calmed the bus down, and now she was smiling at me. With a quick glance around, I saw a few empty seats. I looked back at her. I couldn't believe she was still sitting next to me. (I also wished I had asked Mei to take me to a drugstore so I could've gotten the Italian equivalent to ibuprofen.)

"Must've been one bad dream for you to have startled like that," she said in a British accent. Her skin was brown, darker than mine, and her hair was long and curly. She wore a tank top and denim shorts, but they weren't frayed on the ends like mine, they were folded over. She had a small leather backpack still on her back.

When I didn't say anything, she took her backpack off and set it in her lap before stretching her hand out. "I'm Bridget."

I stared at her hand, wondering if she had any sense of self-preservation, because usually when someone puts you into a wrist lock, you avoid them as much as possible, not continue sitting next to them and introduce yourself.

I looked back up at Bridget and her eyes flickered to her hand before meeting mine again and nodding.

Hesitantly, I took her hand and gave it a short, firm shake.

"I'm…" I stumbled, not really sure why I did. For some reason, I found it hard to tell her Victoria, like I had been telling everyone since Luke's death. But having finally worked through my grief—maybe not fully, but I certainly felt more at peace than I ever had—it felt wrong to use Victoria. I really did like Tori. I managed a smile. "I'm Tori."

"So are you like some martial arts teacher or something?" Bridget asked with a laugh.

"You could say that," I mumbled.

"Camp Half-Blood," she read from my shirt. "That where you train? Bit of a strange name."

"Uh, yeah, I'm a…I'm a counselor," I told her, stunned that the Mist hadn't changed the name or obscured the logo on my shirt. I knew some mortals were able to see through the Mist to varying degrees, perhaps she was one of those mortals. "It's a themed camp—Greek mythology. That's why the logo's a pegasus."

Bridget nodded. "I like it. And do you teach archery, too?" she asked inclining her head toward my bundle of weapons.

"It's a camp favorite." I managed a laugh. It was more hysterical than anything else. Out of everything I thought I'd encounter on my way to Siena, this was not one of them. Not even remotely. Though, it was better than a monster any day. (Now if I could just find a way to get my chronic pain back down to a manageable level.)

Bridget was a talker. I actually found it fun spinning my life as a demigod into something that sounded somewhat normal to someone who seemed pretty normal (other than her aversion to safety and being able to see through the Mist). What's more, it kept me from falling asleep again. After such terrible dreams, I was not ready to go to sleep, despite how tired I still felt. Sleeping had already been hard for me, now it was going to be harder than ever.

After a while, I couldn't handle my the pinpricks anymore and asked her if she had any painkillers. To my relief, she did (though the Britain equivalent to ibuprofen). After I took three, and they kicked in, I felt much better. It was higher than when Apollo had healed me, but at the usual level I'd lived with since I'd gotten chronic pain.

Bridget was on her way to Siena, too. She was taking a gap year; a history major, she was trying to take in all the history she could before heading back to school, visiting as many museums and historic landmarks as she could. Funnily enough, she had quite an interest in Ancient Greek and Roman history, which was why she was currently in Italy.

When conversation died down, she brought out her smartphone and a couple pairs of headphones, offering one to me. I was unsure if a mortal held an electronic device, but I used it by listening with headphones, if it would attract monsters. I was more nervous than I would've usually felt about this decision. It could've been after effects of Tartarus, or because a monster attack would endanger these people, or both. But either way, my heart was pounding as I held the headphones, trying to decide what to do.

In the end, though, I gave up. I decided to risk it, because I wanted to try and enjoy this experience (extremely selfish, I know), of feeling like a normal person for a little while. For just a little while….

As I was putting in the earphones, glad Bridget hadn't noticed my hesitation, she brought out a device that had several headphone jacks, so more than one person could listen at a time. Instead of playing her music, she started talking about her favorite musicals as we listened to some soundtracks. (I hoped the Fates were having a good laugh.)

I told her stories of the performances I had teched for, and of all the stories from Dan's shows. For a moment, I almost felt normal, talking about productions my brother hand been in, and which musicals were my personal favorites.

When there was only a few minutes left of our bus trip, Bridget put away everything and turned to face me more fully again. I had a feeling it was about to get serious, and was suddenly nervous.

"Okay, I wasn't going to ask, but I'm kind of a go-for-it, forward, no-nonsense person," she started, her speech quicker than it had been the whole ride.

I smirked. "I couldn't tell."

Bridget laughed nervously and brushed some hair from her face. "Okay, so I've noticed your jewelry and I really wasn't going to ask, but it looks…well it looks personal and I was just wondering where you got them. Or if you got them from someone…special?"

Her tone suggested something, but I was unsure of what exactly.

I looked down at the ring on my finger, the one Luke had given me, and twisted it, thinking.

"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," Bridget said. "I know it's a nosy question, and I'm a nosy person, but I'm just really curious and I let it get the best of me. I figured, why not?"

"My boyfriend," I started as I stopped twisting my ring, but keeping my gaze on my hands.

"Boyfriend," Bridget sighed. I looked up at her, surprised by her disappointment.

"…ex…boyfriend," I clarified.

"Oh?" I think Bridget tried not to look as interested in this information as she did right then, but she hadn't succeeded. Though, I had a feeling she wasn't really trying, either.

"He died." I added, looking over at her.

"Oh." She sagged back into her seat, staring at the one in front of her. I could tell she was contemplating something before glancing at me with a sheepish look. "You're allowed to slap me if this is too forward, but you wouldn't happen to be bi, would you?"

I blinked, having not expected that question. Of course, with Bridget, expectations meant nothing. She'd surprised me multiple times throughout this bus ride. At least she was consistent.

I smiled and laughed, not at her question, but at this foreign feeling. "Actually, you know, I've never thought about it," I told her truthfully. I looked back down at my ring, my mood sobering. "Luke was…my best friend. He was all I wanted and needed in a partner so I've never really thought of being with anyone else." I looked back at Bridget, shrugging. "Male or otherwise."

Instead of hopeful, her expression was calculating. Just then the bus stopped. I looked out the window and realized we'd finally arrived in Siena. I looked back at Bridget who was pouting.

"You know, I need help finding a shop for some clothes, and some other random items like a prism and a flashlight. Painkillers." I told her as I grabbed what little things I had. Maybe it was mean—now that I knew she was interested in me—because I felt like I was leading her on, but I was also genuinely asking for help. "I came here kind of on a whim and I'd really rather not look like a lost tourist—both by being lost and confused and by wearing stereotypical tourist clothes. I could really use someone who knows Italian."

Bridget brightened again, smiling. "I'd be happy to help you find a boutique or something. Maybe we could…also get a late lunch?"

I wanted to shoot her last suggestion down, but she was smiling so hopefully and with big brown puppy-dog eyes that I couldn't find it in me. Rest assured, I'd make sure she knew that a relationship with me might not be the best—besides, it was the same with Nick, in that I didn't know if I could love someone as much as I loved Luke, which would be unfair to Bridget, who seemed nice enough.

"Sure, that sounds…fun." I nodded, smiling.

We exited the bus and sat down (I'd put my weapons back on my person before this) on a nearby bench as she searched for shops (both for clothes and the items I was looking for) nearby using Google Maps. Once she'd found something promising, she looped her arm in mine and went to hail a cab. On the ride over, she asked me what I liked about the musicals we'd listened to on the bus ride. (Though, there had only been time for two—Heathers: The Musical and Hamilton.)

We went to a larger store equivalent to Walmart or Target in the States. It was more likely that I'd find everything I needed all in one place (rather than a boutique like she'd suggested earlier). I was able to find a backpack, flashlight, and painkillers (I bought three bottles), but no prism. We decided to get clothes and then go look for a store that might carry prisms. Bridget was all too happy to help me pick out clothes.

It was actually really fun. I felt like a normal mortal, which was almost therapeutic after having gone through so much demigod shit in such a short amount of time. I could just relax, laugh, and have fun looking for clothes and having our own little fashion show. If this were a movie, this was where the montage would be.

When we were finished (Bridget picked out a few things, too), we headed toward checkout. I realized I hadn't organized the bills Apollo had given me like I had planned to on the bus. I set my basket down on the floor as we waited in line and pulled out the coin purse, trying not to be self-conscious about the wad of cash. I quickly undid the rubber band and fully opened up the roll. I should've fucking known they'd all be 500 euro notes.

"You've been holding out on me," Bridget commented. My head snapped up and I felt blood rush into my face. Flustered, I fumbled trying to fold and roll the bills back up. "You didn't tell me you were loaded," she continued, as I took one of the bills from the top before putting the rubber band back around the bundle.

"A…gift," I explained, putting the money back into my coin purse. "From my…father." I rolled my eyes. "He left my mom when I was still a baby. He got in touch a few years back and has been trying to make it up to me since. Small world—we bumped into each other in Pompeii. I guess this is what he thinks is 'making up.'"

"By throwing money at you?" Bridget joked.

"It's complicated," I murmured, looking down at my basket.

After a moment of silence, Bridget spoke again. "You should get a wallet for all that. Coin purses like that haven't been used since the 1670s." She paused, looking at my purse. "That looks like what they used in Ancient Greek times!" Without warning, she put her hand up underneath mine and stroked the pouch with her other hand. "Your dad had this?"

"He…likes collecting Ancient Greek artifacts," I lied. "Wonders of wonders, he also likes Ancient Greek history."

"This can't be an actual purse from Ancient Greece," Bridget commented. No doubt it was. I silently cursed.

"Oh, yeah, well…as you saw he's pretty loaded," I quickly explained. "Sometimes, he likes to make replicas of artifacts that can be used now."

Before Bridget could say anything else, someone behind us said something in Italian. Bridget dropped her hands, and looked over my shoulder, responding to them before looking back at me. "The line's moved." I'd been so absorbed in our conversation, I hadn't even noticed.

We picked up our baskets and moved forward. After paying for our things we went in search for a prism and wallet. Bridget insisted I get a leather one since Italy was known for its leather-made things. I caved, a wallet wasn't the most expensive thing to get, all things considered. Then we went in search for a prism. Bridget had to ask around, but we finally found a small shop that sold crystals, jewelry, paperweights, etc., as well as prisms.

Bridget had found a café for our late lunch using her phone. I'd changed my shirt (and taken more painkillers; we'd done a lot more walking than I was expecting) while she'd done this, because I felt the bright orange and the large logo were just too inconspicuous, especially here. We were walking from the main road to get to, but as we passed a gift shop that I just so happened to glance in on, I saw someone familiar. Too familiar. So familiar, in fact, that I was thrown back into my demigod life so violently I tripped and nearly did a face-plant on the pavement. I was suddenly very aware of why Apollo's note had directed me to Siena.

My time of feeling like a normal girl were over. Too soon.

The person looking through the shirts currently, though not facing me, was wearing a purple t-shirt and jeans. He was heavyset and tall. From the back, I could tell his hair was black. I didn't need to see him from the front to know that he was Asian. I'd seen him only once, but I would never forget a person who debated on whether or not I was worth saving.

Bridget squeezed my shoulder gently, breaking me from my swirling thoughts. Her eyebrows were furrowed, eyes filled with concern.

"Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?" She hesitantly looked at who I was staring at, her hand still on my shoulder. She turned to face me again, though my eyes stayed on the boy. "Do you know that person?"

"I do." My voice sounded more disappointed than I had wanted it to. I focused back in on Bridget. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to rain check our lunch."

Bridget didn't look as sad as I thought she would, which surprised me. "So we'll be seeing each other again?"

"Oh." I guess I was hopeful. Even if this amounted to nothing romantic, which it most likely wouldn't for me, it would've been nice to have a mortal friend. Though, a mortal friend who seemed to be able to see through the Mist. "I actually don't know." I finally told her. "My life is a bit…chaotic. All the time. I'm not sure…"

Bridget finally removed her hand from my shoulder and held it out. "Here, give me your mobile and I'll put my number in."

I shook my head, giving her an apologetic look. "I don't have one."

Her eyes bugged out of her head and she laughed (shocking me yet again). "How have you survived so long without a phone?"

"Like I said, my life's been…chaotic."

"All right," she sighed, shaking her head. She reached into her purse, then, and pulled out a small notepad and tiny pen. She started scribbling something on the paper and glanced up at me with a rueful look. "Look at you, making me do this the old-fashioned way," she muttered, rolling her eyes at me, but grinning. When she was done, she ripped the paper off and handed it over to me. On it was her number.

"I don't—" I tried to object.

"Just take it," she interrupted. "Phone me when you find one of your own. Or steal someone else's." She winked.

"Ever the optimist," I commented, taking the slip of paper from her hand and folding it before putting it into my pocket. "Really, I want you to know that I don't…. It's just that—"

Bridget laughed, but it had a sad edge to it. "Trust me, I've dated enough to know when someone isn't interested."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, I'd still love to be friends. So keep my number and, seriously, phone me when you get the chance."

I couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

Bridget grinned, but I saw another flash of sadness in her eyes. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

"Thank you so much for helping me, I really had a lot of fun today." I held out my hand. Bridget smiled and pulled me into a hug. I tensed for a moment, before forcing my arms around her so it wouldn't seem weird.

When we pulled away, I looked back at the boy still sifting through the shirts. "I'd better…" I pointed toward the gift shop. "Go talk to him."

Bridget nodded. "Hope to see you again." She smiled and winked. "Soon."

I couldn't help the answering smile from stretching across my face. "Yeah, same. Thank you, again."

Bridget nodded once more before we stepped past each other. She was still headed to the café. I took a few deep breaths as I walked away, forcing myself not to look back. I knew if I did, I wouldn't want to return to the demigod world, but I also knew that I was here for a reason. And I was getting closer and closer to that reason.

I entered the gift shop, not sure how I would approach. I knew him, but he only knew my name. How was I to introduce myself? Besides which, if I was supposed to meet him here, did that mean the Argo II was nearby? Was Apollo trying to tell me I'd be traveling with them? That didn't make any sense, I wasn't even one of the Seven!

I frowned at the trinkets I was currently standing in front of, my head spinning.

I decided to wander around the store until I could come up with a way to introduce myself. Which was a battle in and of itself because I was terrible when it came to human interaction already. Add on this extra stress of the impending end of the world and some role I apparently had to play in it (whether that be to save it or destroy it), well this was going to be downright impossible.

Looking around, though, I got distracted by the souvenirs, thinking maybe I could bring my siblings back something fun. Apollo knew I had enough money left anyways. The only problem was figuring out what would suit my siblings. Some of them, I could get a keychain for. Shot glasses were out of the question because not only were almost all of them not old enough yet, but CHB was also a dry camp, alcohol was strictly banned. And my brother didn't drink, so.

In the end, though, I decided to get them all keychains. They were easily portable and if I kept them zipped tight in my backpack, I had less chance of losing them (less didn't exactly make my odds of not losing them that much higher, unfortunately).

I went to checkout, painfully aware that I still hadn't figured out a way to introduce myself to Frank. But when I glanced at him as the cashier rang me up, he was heading toward checkout, too. I quickly turned my gaze back to the cashier, who said something in Italian.

I made a face and shook my head, "I don't…" I trailed off, feeling awkward and wishing I had someone who spoke Italian with me.

The cashier held up a plastic bag and I shook my head. Once the transaction was complete, the cashier merely smiled and waved, which I returned as I left. I let out a breath when I got out, silently cursing myself for not having talked to Frank. Surely that's why I was here? So why did I have to be so damn awkward?

I started forward slowly, putting the keychains into a small pocket on the bag and zipping it tight, trying to quickly think of some haphazard plan so I wouldn't look weird slowly walking forward with a pained expression on my face. Maybe I could…accidentally bump into him, or something. Or maybe—

"Um, excuse me, miss?"

I turned to see Frank approaching me, looking an impressive combination of nervous and relieved.

I was so stunned that he'd approached me that I didn't speak as he came to a stop a few feet away.

"You…you speak English, right?" Frank asked, looking much more nervous.

"Oh, yes, I do," I finally managed. "Can I help you? I can't speak Italian, either, so…I don't know how much help I can offer."

"Well I…I was just wondering if you knew another place I could buy some clothes," Frank explained. "Just by some chance. I-I got a shirt, but they don't have much else. You see, my…friend"—he seemed to struggle with this word, which I thought was odd—"lost most of mine a while ago and I need more."

"Actually I do," I told him. "I was just there earlier today. I can definitely take you there, if you'd like."

Frank smiled, his shoulders relaxing in relief. "Oh, that'd be great, actually. Thank you."

I smiled. "No problem."

The cab ride was silent, which I was fine with. But I could tell Frank didn't feel comfortable with it. He kept shifting in his seat, glancing out the window before glancing back at me. Every now and then, out of the corners of my eyes, I saw him take in a breath as if to say something, then blow it out like he decided better of whatever he'd wanted to say.

"S-so what are you doing in Italy?" Frank asked when we arrived at our destination.

I thought about what'd happened to me that led to this—Mr. D's mission, Tartarus, Gaea, Asterius, Apollo—as I paid the fare and got out, Frank following suit. "I decided to be…spontaneous, I guess you could say. Didn't really plan, just decided to come." We started walking toward the entrance. "How about you?"

Frank frowned. "Not here long." He looked away. "I don't think I'm liking Italy all that much, to be quite honest. Just gonna get some clothes. I fly out later tonight, actually."

"Oh? Where to?" I was just being a little shit at this point and playing along at this point. I was trying to find a good point to reveal who I was and what I was doing here.

Frank paused. "Greece. Though I don't know that I'll like that any better, either," he muttered.

"Why's that?"

"…family reunion," Frank said slowly. "Of sorts."

"You don't like your family?"

"Not most of them."

"I understand. I don't like most of my family much, either."

Frank nodded but didn't say anything else as we made our way to the Men's clothes section of the store.

I stood off to the side as he picked out clothes, humming one of the songs from one of the musicals Bridget and I had listened to. When Frank was finished, we went to checkout. Still in silence.

As we were exiting, Frank turned to me and asked, "I didn't even realize, I never got your name."

I felt my heart jump in my chest and let out a small breath so he wouldn't here. "I'm Victoria—" I was going to add, "And you?" but didn't get the chance because Frank stopped walking and dropped his bags.

I kept walking a few paces, pretending to ignore his reaction before turning and looking back at him. He didn't know I knew him, and it wasn't like I was going to tell him I knew because of a dream I had about them arguing about a life or death situation involving me. That'd just make it more awkward than it needed to be.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

He continued to look at me in silence, his eyes wide, mouth ajar. I opened my mouth to say something, but Frank beat me to it, "Victoria…Williams?"

I tried to look confused. "Yeah, how…how'd you know?" I stepped back toward him.

"Uh…Percy, Percy Jackson?" For some reason, he seemed to have trouble saying Percy's name, but kept talking before I could ask what that was all about. "He's friends with you, right? The Prophecy of Seven, you know, he's one of the Seven. He's talked about you—what-what are you doing in Italy?" I went to answer, but he continued before I could. "Wait, when you said you were being spontaneous—?"

"I meant that I was taken here against my will," I interrupted, nodding. "By titans and Earthborn."

"Oh, that's right! You went through Tartarus!"

I jumped at that, now genuinely confused. "How did you know that?"

"Nico di Angelo—"

"Nico?" I asked, realizing that the last time I saw him was right before he'd been shoved into a giant bronze jar. "He's okay? You've seen him? Where?"

"He's on the Argo II with us. Right now, actually," Frank answered just as rapidly as I had asked the question. "He's…well I wouldn't say okay, but he's alive. He told us a little about Tartarus. Well…that he was there. He said you were with him. That's why I know."

"Can you take me to see him? Can I…can you take me to the Argo II?"

"Uh…yeah. Yeah, sure." Frank blinked and bent over to pick up his bags. "It's not too far. A short cab ride and a small-ish walk through a park, but it's a short walk."

"Thank you, I was so worried about him. We were split up when we finally made it out of Tartarus," I explained as we walked to the main street. "By Gaea's underlings." I couldn't believe I'd forgotten about him. But to be fair, I'd had other things on my mind. A lot of other things.

"So who's your godly parent, then?" Frank asked as the cab pulled up.

"Apollo," I answered before we slid in. Frank leaned forward and said the name of, I assumed, the park the Argo II was at. The cabbie nodded before taking off.

"I actually wanted him to be my father, actually, if you can believe that," Frank laughed. "I'm great at archery."

"Who's your parent? Do the Roman gods not…claim their children when they get to camp?"

"It's more complicated," Frank started. "We're thrown to the wolves. Literally. Lupa, who's, like, the equivalent to Chiron, is a wolf. And she has children that we spend training with before we're…released into the wilds of California in search of Camp Jupiter. Usually, we know our godly parent before we get there. We get tattoos"—Frank showed me his, on his forearm was the initial SPQR, two crossed spears, and underneath that one line, like from a bar code—"when we…prove ourselves to the legion. SPQR is short for a Latin phrase that means The Senate and People of Rome. The crossed spears represent my godly parent, Mars"—he frowned at this—"and the line shows how long I've served the legion. Generally speaking."

"'Prove'?" I repeated.

"Yeah, like we go on a successful quest," Frank said. "Or we fight and defeat a particularly nasty monster that's trying to attack our camp. Hazel, another one of the Seven—I think she's told me you guys met briefly—got hers by preventing some unicorns who'd started a stampede from trampling a fellow camper."

"Wow, that sounds…" I tried to think of something nice to say, but I was blanking. Everything about their lives sounded so…harsh. They were all just kids, coming in and expecting to fight with wolves, fend for themselves against monsters just to get to the camp? And then what? Are scrutinized, not even considered part of the legion until they proved themselves. It sounded like high school (from what I'd learned about it, anyway, from my time out in the mortal world) on some serious steroids.

The cab pulled up to our destination, not giving me a chance to finish my sentence. I paid the fare again before we got out. I let Frank lead the way. Though, I could see the giant war ship floating in the air already. Night had fallen by now, and the moon was just coming away from the horizon, bathing the ship in its silvery light. The ship looked small, however, which told me we were farther away than it appeared.

I was actually glad the park was an open space, too, because I was already on edge. If we'd had to trek through trees or something, I don't think I would've made it. After Tartarus I just…I felt more anxious about…everything, basically.

"You don't have to struggle to compliment it," Frank muttered, looking around the park as we walked. His snapped to me, though, eyes wide like he'd just realized what he'd said. "I'm a loyal Roman, and will serve my legion with pride and until my last breaths, don't get me wrong. But sometimes…" He sighed and shook his head, looking away again. "They always expect you to be so together, and always have a plan. You're not allowed to…make a mistake or do something wrong. Or even cry! You always have to be one hundred and ten percent sure of yourself." His shoulders slumped. "It's just…hard sometimes."

I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't want to say "I'm sorry" because if I didn't like it, then I shouldn't subject others to it either.

"That seems really unfair," I finally said, looking at Frank. "Especially for…just kids."

Frank looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-three."

"Some people would consider you still a kid, too, you know."

I laughed, which felt good. "This is true, but I…I guess I consider anyone under twenty still a kid." I paused, sobering up, and looking down at my feet as they trampled grass and murmured, "The children of the barricade who didn't last the night."

"…you lost me." Frank said. I could feel his eyes on me.

I looked up at him. "Oh, I…sorry, a musical reference. I like musicals, if you can believe that." I grinned and Frank laughed. The first time I'd heard him laugh since we met.

"What musical is that from? Sounds pretty depressing."

"Les Mis," I told him. "It is a pretty depressing musical. It's about one of the French Revolutions that failed pretty…well, pretty miserably. Only four of the named characters survive and you don't even really like any of them. But it's a beautiful musical. Well worth a listen."

"I think I'd like that." Frank smiled. I smiled back. Then Frank stopped and looked up. Several yards ahead and having above us was the Argo II. Frank looked back at me. "I'll go up first."

As we approached, a rope ladder dropped down. Frank readjusted his bags so he could climb up. I waited until he was a few feet ahead before grabbing onto the rungs. Right before I lifted myself up fully onto the ladder, the earth beneath me shook ever so slightly, sending chills up my spine, reminding me of what was at stake. Swallowing hard, I began to climb.

Frank paused at the top of the ladder, hanging onto the railing that was lined with bronze shields. A defense mechanism to protect the ship from attracting monsters. With so many demigods in one area at once, it was bound to send out a signal, like a beacon of light in the middle of a pitch black night.

"Hey, guys," I heard him say. I tried not to look down, but I didn't want to look up either, so I looked around the park. It was too dark for me to make out anything distinct, and the light of the moon wasn't enough. But it was beautiful in a mysterious way. "So, as you may have seen, I bumped into someone while I was shopping for clothes." Frank continued, his voice halting and nervous.

"You just brought a random demigod to the Argo II?" I heard Jason ask. His voice was controlled, but I could hear the incredulousness and anger just underneath the surface. So did Frank.

"No," he snapped. Though, for Frank, for as long as I'd known him, that's not saying much. "I'm smarter than that. It's hard to explain. I'll just…let her explain." He pulled himself up and over the railing, then, allowing me to climb up the rest of the way and pull myself over the railing as well.

I held my breath and kept my gaze firmly on the ground, but high enough I could see everyone's feet—I only counted four pairs of, including Frank. I was taking inventory and using the rest of my senses in case I was attacked. I knew Jason didn't like me one bit, and to bring who he didn't trust onto the Argo II might warrant an attack from him.

Once I'd planted my feet firmly on the ground, I looked up. Before I could really look at anyone for long or make some kind of greeting, someone else spoke.

"Evil Enchantress!" Leo called. I looked toward the stern in time to see Leo jump from behind the helm and start toward our little group. He had a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Leo," I called back, trying for a smile of my own.

"It's good to see you…alive," he said as he got within a few feet. And it may have been my imagination, it was dark, but I could've sworn his eyes flickered in the direction of Jason.

"Good to see you, too," I responded.

"Tori." It was a different voice. I looked to my right to see Nico, though he nearly blended in with the dark. Beside him, Jason flinched almost imperceptibly, but didn't make a sound or move away.

Nico looked a little worse for wear. Still thin, as he had in Tartarus, but he looked sickly. His clothes hung off his small frame, his long dark hair, making his face look thinner and eyes sunken in. It also looked like he could use some sleep. (I'm sure I'd come to know that feeling well, soon.)

"Hey, Nico," I said quietly, with a small smile.

"You're alive," he breathed, looking so relieved it hurt. Which actually surprised me because of what transpired before we were taken topside. Honestly, though, for me it was water under the bridge. I think I still felt betrayed and hurt, but it was no longer directed at him. Looking at him, I was reminded how young and how much he had gone through already. He had his reasons for keeping his secret.

"I am." I nodded. I was about to tell him that I was glad to see him alive, but his body, despite being stick-thin, slammed into mine painfully as he wrapped his arms around my neck. I was so shocked at his show of affection that I completely froze.

His arms tightened around me as he whispered, "I was so worried."

Slowly, I brought my arms around him, carefully because he felt so fragile (was he eating?). "I'm glad you're alive," I breathed, holding back tears, not wanting to cry in front of Jason.

"I'm glad you're alive, too," Nico responded, his voice thick. He pulled away then. "I'm sorry, too. About what happened, what I kept from you. I shouldn't have done that. I just…" He broke off and shook his head. Then remembered that there were others surrounding us and around him seemed to get…darker. Don't ask me how that works or how he did it, it just did.

"I forgive you," I said quickly, in a quiet voice, trying to keep it between the two of us.

Nico didn't respond verbally, but the darkness lessoned around him and his eyes said, "thank you." He stepped back, a little behind the rest of the group. That's when I noticed that two were missing.

"Where are…Annabeth and Percy?" I asked, looking around at everyone. I could tell something was wrong, because as soon as I mentioned them, they all looked away from me. I swear the temperature around us also dropped ten degrees.

I could see the hurt in their eyes and on their faces. They shifted uncomfortably, some of them furling and unfurling their hands into fists. My heart plummeted, despite my anger at Percy and my rocky relationship with Annabeth, because they were so young and had so much life ahead of them. It just wasn't fair.

"They're not…" I tried breathlessly. The world started spinning. "They're not—"

"No!" Nico exclaimed quickly. "No. It's just they…" He looked away, looking extremely pained. But I didn't miss the flash of another emotion in his eyes. I couldn't pinpoint what it was at the moment, though, because I was still reeling, waiting for him to tell me what'd happened to them. "They fell into Tartarus."

My voice was barely a whisper. "What?"

"Annabeth had a solo quest," Frank began, in a small voice. I could see the tears shining in his eyes, like liquid silver in the moonlight. "To find and retrieve the Athena Parthenos. It'd been lost since the Romans invaded Greece. It's what caused the initial split between both sides."

"We were told that it'd heal the rift, and in turn, that it'd prevent a war between our two camps and heal the gods," Hazel continued.

"A war between the camps?" I asked, my throat closing up. My siblings. Dan. Knowing him, he'd want to fight alongside our siblings, our home. I couldn't let him do that, not when he was making a life outside of being a demigod.

"Yes," Leo said, looking down at his shoes and rubbing his arm. "We made it to California all right. We were going to pick up Percy, Frank, and Hazel. And make peace with the Romans. The visit was going fine. It was tense, but they invited us in and we talked. We were talking, and it was all going fine, until…. Until I—"

"Eidolons," Piper cut in, throwing him a sympathetic look before turning to address me, her look much less sympathetic, though still pained. "Eidolons are malicious spirits. They possessed Percy, Jason, and Leo. The one in Leo took over his body and blew up parts of New Rome, which is what sparked the war between the two camps. And that, in turn, caused the rift in the gods' two personalities as well."

"Long story short," Jason said, sounding impatient as he glared at me (earning some glares of his own). "Annabeth retrieved the Athena Parthenos from Arachne. But it was sitting over an entrance into Tartarus."

"We found her," Hazel quickly took over, in a softer tone. "But what was left of the floor was crumbling fast. We were so worried that the Parthenos was going to fall into the pit that we focused on that, trying to get it into the ship. Annabeth's ankle…" Her voice faltered, her eyes glazing over, like she was being pulled back to the moment she realized something was wrong. "…Arachne's web had wrapped around Annabeth's ankle. It began to drag her down. Percy—" Her voice broke completely and she let out a small sob. Frank went over to her, took her hand, and put an arm around her shoulders. Hazel leaned into him. My heart ached watching them.

After a moment of comforting her, still stroking her hand, Frank looked up at me. His voice was thick and faltering as he finished, "Percy lunged to save her, but the pull was too strong. He wasn't going to leave her behind. So they both…fell together."

It was silent for a long time after, Frank's words hanging in the air. I couldn't believe…they'd fallen into Tartarus? And they weren't that much older than Nico. Still just kids. Just kids…

"I made a promise," Nico said so quiet I almost didn't hear him, breaking me from my thoughts. My anger. "I promised…Percy—I promised him that I would lead the rest of the Seven to the House of Hades in Epirus, to the Doors of Death. We're going to meet them on our side. They're going to make it through Tartarus." That last part was said with strong conviction. I also didn't miss how his voice stumbled over Percy's name.

There it was again. Percy. Something about Percy. It was tickling the back of my head, but I never had time to really analyze it.

Including now.

"I'll help," I said, taking a breath. I believed as much as Nico did that they'd make it through Tartarus. Whenever I thought of Percy and Annabeth, my mind went to me and Luke.

Their love was strong. All they ever needed was each other.

"No."

Jason. Surprise, surprise.

I turned my eyes to him, crossing my arms and glaring. "Apollo sent me, actually. So you don't really have a choice. You wouldn't want to piss off a god, now would you?"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Jason shot back.

"Have I ever lied to you?" I asked with a sarcastic edge.

"I don't trust you—" As if to add effect, he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"You don't need to remind me," I interrupted, shifting more into a fighting stance. My eyes went to his hand at his hilt and I raised an eyebrow. "I just went through Tartarus and faced the bane of Apollo. You don't scare me."

I was satisfied with the flash of surprise in Jason's eyes before he hid it behind a mask of ice.

"You should be scared of me," he warned just as the atmosphere changed around us, became charged. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end. I instinctively reached for my own sword.

"Jason, come on, man," Leo said, breaking through some of the tension that was building between me and the son of Jupiter. The electricity in the air disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "She hasn't killed me yet."

"Not funny, Leo," Jason snapped, not taking his eyes off me. Both our hands were still on our respective hilts.

"And, this is technically my ship. I made it. She's my friend. She stays. And, look, if Apollo said she's supposed to be here, then she's probably supposed to be here."

"He didn't say it explicitly," I clarified. "But he wrote me a note, directing me to Siena. Why else, today of all days, would he do that? If I wasn't supposed to be on this ship, I wouldn't have bumped into Frank."

"I think that's pretty solid," Frank said, his voice a bit small.

"Frank—" Jason tried.

"I say she stays, too," Frank interrupted in a firmer voice before looking at me and offering a small smile. I responded with a grateful smile of my own.

"I agree," Nico chimed in. "It'd be useful to have another person with us. To help me lead you guys to Epirus. Another fighter." Nico looked at Jason, then. "You can't argue with the logistics of that."

"And if she betrays us?" Jason shot back, turning is cold blue eyes on Nico. To his credit, Nico didn't even flinch. If anything, Jason flinched.

"She won't." Nico stated shortly.

"How do you know that? I can't just trust your word—"

"I watched the man I loved die," I snapped through gritted teeth. I was just so sick and tired of Jason's attitude. Not only that, but I was getting so irritated that my prickles were spiking. "In my arms because of what I let happen. Because he knew, he realized the mistakes he had made. And he gave his life to finish what he'd started. To try and fix whatever that was left in Kronos's wake. I have learned from my mistakes. You—can—trust—me."

Jason didn't stop glaring at me the whole time. When I'd finished, he opened his mouth to say something, but Piper took his hand. He glowered at me for a second longer before turning to look at Piper, his expression softening so much it was baffling to see him change so much so fast.

Piper's expression was pleading. "Let her stay." Her voice was quiet, genuine. There was no charmspeak that I could detect. Though, seeing how they looked at each other, I didn't think she'd ever use charmspeak on Jason, purposeful or not.

They looked at each other for a long time, having what seemed to be a silent conversation. Finally, Jason looked back at me, his expression morphing into a stone again. "Fine. You can stay. But if you make a single mistake, you're gone."

With that, he and Piper turned, heading below decks.

I let out a big breath. "He's so charming. Much like his father," I commented.

Leo and Frank gave me an apologetic look. Hazel looked a little unsure about me, but didn't say anything. Nico looked relieved to have me here.

"Come on," Leo said. "I'll show you where you…well, a room. I don't know if you'll want to stay in there, though. I'll show you around the rest of the ship, too. Maybe you can pick out a better spot to sleep while you're here."

"Great, I could use some sleep." That was almost a joke, considering how scared I was of going to sleep, lest I be pulled back into Tartarus again.

Finally! I have delivered you another chapter! *insert that girl from those New Year's vines, throwing a bowl into the ground and screaming*

Anyway, I am so sorry that this took so long. I thought I knew where I was going and then when I finally got there, my brain decided that wasn't the right way to go and so writer's block crept in. It was awful. But I'm so glad that I finally got this to you. (A big thanks to QueenofIce101 for that, she let me give her some spoilers so I could bounce ideas off her.)

A thing to note, let's just say Hedge is passed out, in a deep sleep in his room below decks. I know it's kind of out of his character, with the rest of them being awake, because despite his violent tendencies, he is a good chaperone, but I realized that he was still on the ship during HOH half-way through the exchange after Tori gets on the Argo II and I'm just too exhausted (from writing, basically this whole chapter all day) to go back and change things so I may add Hedge in. It's also late, and I have to get up early for work. Also, I really, really wanted to get this to you guys after such a long wait.

I want to give you guys a huge thank you for sticking with me (to the end of the line). It means so much that I have such loyal readers. It really does. I appreciate so, so much and I want you guys to know it. So, thank you. Truly.

I know it's been nearly a month since my last update, and I apologize for that. I can't assure a shorter update this next time, because, now that I have Tori on the Argo II, I'm going to need to reconstruct the troubles they face throughout the trip to Epirus. I do have some original ideas, but for the most part, I'll need to re-read their chapters and brainstorm how I'll incorporate Tori (whether she's on the quest or not).

As you may have figured out, the title comes from the song "Turning" in Les Mis. I was unsure at first what the title was even going to be, and then I wrote that sentence, and it struck me: Perfect. So I went with it.

As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated (and desperately needed)! ^_^

Thank you for reading,
TheBrightestNight