Hey! I thought I would update today since I won't be able to tomorrow. As I hope you all know, the BCS Bowl is tomorrow!! And you should also know that the Gators will win. There aren't any "if's" or "maybe's." THE GATORS WILL WIN!! Okay, sorry. I'm just a huge UF fan!! Anyway, they are preparing for their quest, and are embarking on it in this chapter. Hope you like it and review please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing PJO

Right Here, Right Now

The dark air was swirling around and around me, fogging up my view. I felt around at my surroundings, but only air greeted me. Walking forward as much as I dared, I felt around with my toe.

Then gravity took over; I began to fall.

My stomach was left on the cliff, as well as my heart. I was flying at an angle, so close to hitting the wall.

And then it all stopped. I felt no impact at all; in fact I wouldn't have known that I had stopped if not for the fact that the roaring in my ear was gone. Shakily, I stood up. Apparently I actually hadn't lost my stomach or heart because my stomach was bouncing around in my ribcage and my heart was beating at a million miles an hour. Taking a deep, raged breath, I walked forward into the unknown darkness, not even daring to guess what awaited me.

To my immense surprise, nothing jumped out at me, and tried to kill me. However, I only became more alert than before. My experiences with "safe" places were not good. In fact, that's usually where I almost get killed.

I continued walking for a little bit, but then I ran smack into a wall. I tried to push the wall, hoping for a secret room of some sort, but the only thing it did was make my arms feel like lead. Finally I gave up on the wall and took one step to my right. Immediately a wind so strong and violent ripped at my, trying to pull me in. I tried as hard as I could to grab onto, but there was nothing.

So, again, gravity and wind took over, and I started to tumble farther and farther down the deep, dark abyss.

***

I woke up, tangled in my bed sheets in Athena's cabin, and sitting up straight. My heart was pounding fast and head against my rib cage and I was sweating bullets. I looked out the window and saw that the sun hadn't even risen above the horizon.

I looked around and saw that everyone else was still asleep. I plopped back down onto the pillows, and fell back asleep.

***

The next time I woke up, it sun was glaring at me through the window. As I stared at the sun, I wondered how it could have been rising all this time when Apollo has been asleep.

"While he may be sleeping, his thoughts are still in tuned with his duties, so while he may not be moving, his thoughts are controlling the sun chariot," Thalia said, also sitting up in bed. "Whoa! How did I do that?"

"We didn't tell you? We can read each other's thoughts now," Nico said. Unnoticed until now, he was sitting in a dark corner, fully dressed, rubbing his ring. He looked tense, and I supposed it had something to do with the fact that our quest was starting today.

"No, you didn't tell me! That is so cool, but can Annabeth do it as well?"

She better not be able to do it-Nico thought quietly in the back of his head. Slightly amused as well as angry, I threw a pillow at his head, which was followed by a soft "Ow!"

"I'll have you know that I am offended!" Annabeth mumbled with her head in her pillow.

Ha, I thought. So Annabeth can read our minds as well. This could be good as well as very bad.

"Oh, Hades," Nico mumbled aloud, not even bothering to just think it since we would all hear it anyway. While he didn't finish his sentence, his feelings, and thoughts were clear; I'm mad that she can read minds too.

***

Two hours later, we were ready to roll.

We stood on the top of half blood hill, with the soft, dewy ground and what was left of the leaves crunching beneath our feet. I looked back at the camp sadly, wondering if I would ever see it again. But I pushed those thoughts out of my mind, and looked ahead of me again. We all had found some coats and mittens in the camp store, and we had equipped ourselves with them.

Apparently that had been a good idea since the sky was letting lose tiny snow flurries that swirled around, and fluttered to the ground.

"Wow, it is really cold!" Thalia whined. She had on two sweaters and a winter coat. Mittens were practically glued to her head, as was a hat.

"Yeah, it is," Annabeth agreed. She was shivering from head to toe, even though she had even more clothes on than Thalia.

"Come here," I said, opening my arms for Annabeth to come.

But I got one more person than I thought I would…

"Thalia, what the Hades?" Nico said, laughing like a hyena. When I had opened my arms, Annabeth had come, but Thalia had too.

"I am freaking freezing!" Thalia said, shivering violently. Gratefully, she snuggled closer to Annabeth and I in our little huddle, trying to absorb as much heat as possible.

"You do know that we haven't even left, right?" Nico said. He didn't look cold at all, and I suspected it had something to do with the dead being cold and all.

"Yeah, I never get cold," Nico replied, answer to my unasked question.

Oh gods, I thought. This could get very annoying.

"It already is!" Thalia, Annabeth, and Nico all said at the same time.

Laughing aloud, I pulled Annabeth closer to me, and hugged her. With the snow tainting the ground and all of us, the sun beating down on our backs, and the chill in the air, I realized that we could work this out. We could all stick together and find our lost souls again, and we could complete our quest. But most of all, we could help everyone and give our lives to a greater cause. And if what Nico had said was true, that we might become immortal, then so be it, but what we had to do right here, and right now, would be to finish our mission in life, and start being the heroes.