NOTE: Something unexpected came up, and I don't know if I'll be home by the designated time, so I decided to post this early. You might hate me for the longer wait once the chapter's over, though... -Nyx

DISCLAIMER: We do not own PJatO or HoO – Rick Riordan does.

oOo

He stared at me silently. The anger had vanished again. There was just sharp attention, the feeling that he was absorbing every word.

Even after I finished, he stared. Fear started up in my stomach again – now I'd spoken, and I'd really put Hunter and Brook in danger. If Kronos found out, there was no I'll comply and save them – I'd really, truly put them on the chopping block.

At last his eye cleared and focused on mine. "So he told you to go against your morals, basically?"

I hung my head. "I… No, it's more. All year, he's been teaching me to… To think differently, to see the world in strange ways… All this time, he's been manipulating me. I didn't see it until now, but he is trying to change my morals, as you put it."

"And he threatened to hurt us if you didn't do it?"

"If I didn't give him what he wanted," I said. "He also mentioned something about giving me more leash if I complied."

Silence.

"He… I know, I know we've been against the Olympians, but he wants me to be Nico-"

"I got it. Don't repeat it."

I swallowed thickly and decided to wait.

He thought for just a minute, eyes focused on the table. We'd sat down as I explained. Man, I'd have killed to have Hunter and Brook there, but I knew it was dangerous. Dangerous an stupid. My stomach squirmed as I remembered that I'd put them in a dangerous position again.

"…And what were you planning to do about all this?" Ethan asked finally.

"I was willing to do it. To stop… To stop him from hurting you guys. Trying to escape is suicide, and I couldn't even consider letting him… I mean, look at Brook…"

"That's it? No escape options? You're…. You're trapped?"

"Locked in a cage," I confirmed, squirming. I didn't like being in cages. Especially cages held by evil Titans.

He closed his eye. "Tell me… Would you consider an escape, would you try, if you had that option? If you weren't trapped?"

Alarm bells went off in my head. He was too interrogative. There was a point he had, something in his mind, that he wasn't telling me. Whether he was working up to or around it, though, I wasn't sure. "In a heartbeat, assuming I could take you all with me."

"So you're planning to escape the first chance you get?"

"Yes. Why, you suddenly figure out how to work magic and get us out of here?"

What he said next, I couldn't hear. It was mumbled and quiet, stressed, pressing on his voice like a heavy foot on a creaky floorboard. It almost seemed to hurt him.

"What?" I asked, leaning forward.

His eye jumped up to meet mine, but it was distant, as if he were afraid to get too close. "I said… I said I've been planning to escape, too. I've been plotting to leave."

oOo

"What…?!"

"Don't yell! Don't yell! Anyone hears, we're dead!" Ethan hissed.

I sighed and forced my voice to lower. The horrors I'd taunted myself with before had been suppressed. "And to think, you told me not to consider it, or that you didn't offer it when Kyle was alive or-"

"I did!" he spat. "It's not as easy as it seems, you know that. Care to let me explain?"

My eyes darted around. "…Shouldn't we explain it to Hunter and Brook, too?"

"The only reason I haven't told any of you is that you're all part of the Guard, and you're Kronos's favorites. Me, as the founder, I didn't have much of a choice. But, and especially since Kronos is threatening you, it was dangerous for you to know. But I think… Maybe, since he's come out and made those threats… It's time to tell all of you."

I snorted. "About time. Everything, this time, not just the partial truth?"

"I've done my best," Ethan said softly. "And don't pretend you haven't tried to lie to me for my sake, too. And I can't tell you everything, seeing as Kronos is already onto you, but I promise I'll do what I can."

"Is it the kind of plan that leaves us alive, or are you going to tell me the only escape is death?"

"Look at me, Bree. How many eyes do you see?"

This was familiar. He always started the major principles of his life with that question. "One."

"Exactly. The other one was given for a fate, a life, not death. Would I tell you or anyone else, myself included, to kill themselves?"

"…No."

"No," he confirmed. "Listen, I want you to go grab Hunter. Kronos is already mad at me. Not for this, but something else – she should be near him. You get her, I'll grab Brook. Meet back here?"

I nodded. "Alright. Wait five minutes after Hunter and I to come back before you get Brook, alright?"

"Do I look stupid, too?"

I stared at him, calculating. My composure had come back. I had taught myself, long before I met Kronos, to try and look confident to all those I met. He insisted on flawlessness; I insisted on a good-enough sort of image. So my fears were hidden now. Still there, still mind-wrecking. The thought of my brother brought on a wave of nausea.

But staring at Ethan, I found that it was manageable. Escape plan or not, it was.

I smirked. "No, not really, only when you're breathing." Then I darted out the door before he could hound me for it.

oOo

The mood was quite solemn, actually.

Once I'd been cheered up out of my pouting state, there really wasn't need for humor. This was, after all, quite a serious business.

"So what are we all here for?" Hunter asked as Brook followed Ethan in. She had, of course, seated herself at the head of the table. "Pep rally?"

Ethan's gaze was flat and sincere. As was his monotone. "No. Kronos threatened Bree today. And us – he wants her to play his pet evil demon, and if she doesn't, he swore he'd do to us what he did to the Hecate kid."

Silence.

After the initial shocked moment, Hunter said, "No, surely he didn't-"

"He did," I cut her off. Her mouth snapped shut and she glared, but I ignored it. "Starting with Brook. He said he's known about our investigation on the dark-haired boy's death since it happened. In specific, he wants me to kill my brother, and continue to reinforce his rule once he's taken Olympus."

Hunter was quiet for a moment. Her eyes closed. We stayed silent, respecting her time to think.

Eventually, her bright golden eyes opened, sharpened like aiming lenses and pinned on me. "You're sure?"

"Positive."

"…Are you okay? There's a mark-"

"Yes, he did that," I said. "I wasn't in the mood to listen."

Brook, quietly, sat next to me and grabbed my right arm in a lopsided hug. She didn't say anything.

"…What did you do?" Hunter asked. Her gaze was unreadable.

"I planned on doing it," I shrugged. "I… I couldn't put my sisters through that."

"It was a hard decision," Ethan cut in. "Point is, he's gone too far. Do we all agree?"

Beside me, Brook nodded, silver eyes wide. I sighed and nodded as well, figuring my answer was a given. Hunter, however, didn't react.

His gaze lingered on her. "…Hunter?"

"He's not what you think he is," she growled. "I won't stand for him threatening anyone, but what you don't understand is that he's not all hate and evil, and so long you're so biased I'm not going to agree with anything. He might be in the wrong, but I don't think you guys know him as accurately as you should."

"Oh, really? Hunter, too far is too far. I don't see how that changes. There's just one line, and he crossed it."

She scowled at him. "Don't tell me what's wrong and right, Ethan."

"Alright, you tell me, then; was it right of him to beat his daughter?"

Beat his… What?!

She had fallen silent, frozen, cold gaze locked on him. I saw that face and I knew; it was true. She was furious he'd said anything, she'd love to have us believe it was false, but the answer was scrawled across her face.

Brook made a pained sound and clung tighter.

A cold ball of ice had gathered in my throat. "Hunter…"

"Bree, don't."

"What didn't you say something? How long has this been going on?"

"It's not your business-"

"He's hurting you, Hunter, so you can bet your sorry butt it's my business!" I snapped. "Why didn't you say something?"

She shrugged. "Because you'd get the wrong idea. He'd become the stereotype Disney villain who has no personality; he's just the bad guy, he just needs to be killed, end of story. And that's not the case."

"But…"

"But nothing. It's not… It's not that he doesn't care. He's not neglecting or hateful."

"Seemed hateful to me," Ethan muttered.

"And that's exactly why I said nothing," she growled.

"You know, you still didn't answer my question. Was it right?"

She fell silent.

"I thought not. Even the Kronos you believe he is… Is that the kind of person you want dictating the world? Is that the kind of person you want controlling your siblings? You heard what he told Bree."

"Hunter," Brook whispered. "I… I don't like him, either. I want to go home."

Home. Mount Othrys. Seattle. Everywhere.

Nowhere.

"He abused you and Bree," she continued, voice getting stronger. "I'm not going to forgive that."

Hunter sighed hoarsely and massaged her temples. "Fine! Fine! He's hit me! He's talked about some pretty dark stuff! He tortured people in his basement! He killed the Hecate kid! He's a control freak, he's obviously been leading Bree down a path she doesn't want to follow, he can be sadistic, he's bent on revenge, and he hardly cares about people the way a human would! There! Are you happy now?!"

"Ssh," Ethan muttered.

"And you know what?" she went on, glaring. "What are you going to do about it? Pray tell, wise one. Show me your expert idea on how to get out of this fine mess, because if you don't, we're all going to die or become part of the universe's destruction. Or murder people. Show me your miracle worker. You don't got one, do you? So what are you going to do? Don't tell me you plan on… On…"

She trailed off. Ethan had reached into his jacket. From this angle, I couldn't see what he was drawing out, but from the look on her face it might have been something along the lines of a nuclear bomb.

He glanced away from his pocket and glanced at her. "You were saying?"

"…That you can't just join Olympus's forces. They're just as bad," she finished, as if in a daze.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning forward. Of course they ignored me.

"I know," he said. "I know. Wasn't planning on it. But we can't leave it to him, either."

She paled further. "You can't be serious. This is just as bad as him telling Bree to kill her brother."

"You can't kill a Titan, Hunter, no matter how hard you try. And we're desperate." He set the object from his jacket on the table in front of him.

My breath stopped short. Everyone said that demigods avoided modern-day weapons, but…

But there it was. The gun. The safety was on, and it looked like you could fire it with just one hand if needed. That's about all I can tell you, because my knowledge of firearms was never that great.

Brook, however, perked up and reached out one hand. Before anyone could stop her, she was handling it, testing its weight and its grip. "Hm. Where'd you find this, Ethan?"

"I've had it for a… For a while."

"You're hiding something," Hunter growled stiffly.

"If you're that interested, that is the gun my father used to shoot himself. I kept it for sentimental reasons."

"You, sentimental?" Brook muttered, saying nothing else on the topic and handing the gun back. He took it.

"We can't do that, though," Hunter sighed. "It's wrong."

"Hunter, we can't just plan an escape. Not only is it impossible, but it'd just be a recreation of us abandoning Brianna," he said. "I've thought about this over and over. We can't… We're the only ones who have a chance of stopping him. So we should pretend everything's okay, run off, and let the world suffer when he takes over?"

"You're talking about shooting my father-"

"I'm talking about shooting the Titan who tortured people, threatened others, beat some, and plans to burn the world to ashes. I'm talking about saving six-point-five billion lives. I… I never meant… For it to hurt you. But it was inevitable. I think… It's probably best I explain now rather than just randomly fire without you knowing."

She glared at him. "He's not just that Titan, Ethan."

"That's what he will be when he gets Olympus. When he wants something, he'll go to lengths to get it. Hence the reason we're all in this room now," Brook pointed out. "And once he gets Olympus… What he wants from then on out is to fulfill his revenge. And I don't want to see that happen."

"There's another way-"

"Hunter," I said softly. "I don't want to shoot him, either."

"Really?" she muttered.

"I don't want to shoot anyone, Titan or demigod or immortal or human. But Ethan's right. We don't have a choice."

"He planned to put you in a torture chamber," Brook said. "You know, just pointing that out."

"He plans on killing humans and blotting out the sun and making the world his personal warzone," Ethan added. "Hunter, I don't… We're not trying to…"

She was silent. Her eyes had closed again and she was deathly still, posed with her feet on the table, not a sound to be heard.

I don't know how long we sat there. But eventually she opened her eyes and said bluntly, "You know, the other day, he told me what he has planned for Percy Jackson once he takes over. You're… You're right. He's not going to fix this world."

"He's not going to restore balance," Ethan reworded, smiling at the pun quietly. "And that's what we all came here to fight for, isn't it?"

"There was also the man that gave me and my siblings food and shelter, but yeah, there's that, too," Hunter spat bitterly. "But the last thing I want to see is that scythe turned on the world. He has it in him. I've seen it. Mind you, it's not the only thought that ever crosses his mind, but… I know him better than you guys do. Don't push me."

"We wouldn't dream of it," Brook whispered, smiling at her.

Hunter huffed and turned back to the gun. "So, Chihuahua. What's the weapon do?"

He sighed and sat down, holding the gun in one hand and then the next. "…I'm afraid to tell you."

"Really? After all this?"

"Yes. Because if he finds out, if he tries to get the information out of one of you…."

"You'd feel guilty as Tartarus," she summed up.

He flinched. "Yeah."

"Yet we already know too much, so you might as well tell us everything."

He sighed and held out the gun again, displaying its long side, the sleek barrel. His finger brushed the trigger lightly. "…I'll explain part of it. Need-to-know, okay?"

"It seems fair," Brook said gently. She glanced at Hunter and I. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," we mumbled. It was almost like old times.

Ethan sighed and clicked off the safety. "This was a last resort. We were driven to do it because I saw him hit you, Hunter, and the things he did, and Herald… Herald, being Herald, knows a lot about the outside world. He cares for it. And the thing I gave my eye for is the chance to save this world, so damn me if I help him destroy it." He chuckled dryly. "This gun might not work. But here's what it is;

"Since we can't let the Olympians win, either, it'll have to be done after Olympus has fallen but before Kronos leaves Luke's body behind and becomes practically untouchable. Granted, Luke is hard enough to kill anyway, but this is our best shot. Hopefully, Kronos will get rid of Olympus, and then we'll get rid of Kronos, and go from there. Make sense?"

"Yes," Hunter said for us. She was our spokesperson again, and not just during a formal occasion. A small, warm, hopeful flutter started in my stomach.

"So that's the plan. What else you need to know is… And I know you won't like it, but the rest of what you've got to know is what to do in case I'm dead by the time our chance arises."

"You won't be," Brook murmured. "We won't let you."

He gave her a sad smile. "Didn't we all promise Kyle we wouldn't let him die before we finished Black Butler? You guys have to promise me you'll follow through if I don't make it, alright? Not that I'll live, but that the plan will."

"We swear," Hunter said solemnly, and shuddered. I nodded in agreement, trying to imagine a world without Ethan in it. It didn't seem possible.

He turned back to the gun. "Anyway, I keep it in its holster inside my jacket. Keeps it hidden, keeps it close. What you do is click off the safety…." He demonstrated by clicking it a few times. "Then you aim. Point the barrel at your target. The bullet is enchanted to hone in on its target, but there are no promises. Then you just…" He shrugged. "Pull the trigger. The bullet will do the rest."

"The bullet's magic?" Brook asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. Took Herald a while to get all the ingredients. I can't tell you exactly how he made it work, but it's made for its job."

"You said it might not work?" Hunter reminded him.

"Well, yeah. A magic bullet with a designated target point and special, rare purpose isn't easy to piece together. It could blow up or be a dud or just be a regular, human bullet. It could fail to hone in or to even fire. I don't know. That's the biggest risk."

He flicked the safety on and sheathed the gun, hiding it in his jacket. Without realizing I had tensed, I relaxed, glad it was out of sight. It made me jittery.

In a good way, though.

We had a weapon. We had a chance. I didn't have to be a demonic killer. Brook and Hunter had an escape. The world wouldn't fall to Kronos's visions once the horrible Olympians were overthrown. It could solve everything, that one little bullet and its designated barrel. Ethan zipped up his jacket, and I thought he looked quite proud.

I flashed back on that night we'd washed ashore on Long Island. He'd talked about being nameless and making a true difference, fighting for what was right, explained the deal he'd made with his mother. A small price, he'd said, an eye for the world. He'd talked about how he wanted to make good on that deal. And then; Do me another favor, and don't forget what I said tonight, either. I don't think I'll ever be so calm as to rethink my way through it again. Remind me from time to time.

His past, losing his eye, running in the Labyrinth – it didn't seem to bother him much. At least, not anymore. He was never one to linger in his past. He cared nothing about the small Japanese blood he must've had – his last name, the slight curve to his remaining eye, despite his skin and height – or get wildly upset with his father's death or become angry with his mother. And as that gun proved, he gave the present and future everything he had.

Staring at him, I smiled, knowing I'd never have to remind him about what he'd said. He wasn't going to forget.

"One other thing," he said. "While I'm writing my will, my sword… It's name is Savior. If I die, take it. It has a bigger fate than I do, I'm sure of it. Give it to another demigod. It's not bound to me by any enchantments; it'll be safe."

Hunter sighed and nodded. "Right. Will never do, because we're all going to make it."

"Oh hell we will," he said, and a wicked smile crossed his face. The wild light of a fight danced in his eye as he patted his jacket where the gun was hidden.

I glanced around the table one more time. There was Hunter's hot glare, no longer at us but at an unseen foe. Brook, quiet, determined, resourceful. Me, finally shaking off Kronos's warnings and threats and demon-talk. It felt good to be free of it, like someone had removed a drenched rag from my face, allowing me to breathe at last. With them and that gun, I didn't need the demon. I could be Bree None-Given, not the freak, not the not-really-a-demigod, not the daughter of Pluto or sister of Nico. Then there was Ethan, a fierce light in his eye, hard as rock and totally unmovable. He'd been fighting for this all his life.

Now, we had a fighting chance. That's more than any demigod has ever needed.

oOo

Nyx: Yay! We are finally seeing some unity between them, if it's not complete. They're still a little mad with one another, but they're cooperating. How excited are you to know Ethan's plan? Or do you hate him for it? Let us know!

Nic: One other question, because we just love you guys so much… how excited would you get if we told you the name of the next chapter was named "The Raven"?