I hate forests. They're especially worse when you're tired and cranky.

Isabella by my side, I brushed past heaps of trees. Twigs scratched my skin, and I pulled a leaf out of my hair.

Isabella sneezed.

"Bless you," I said.

She smiled at me, sniffling. "Dandelions."

I blinked. "Oh, will you be okay?"

She nodded. "As long as I avoid them. Besides… they're still not as bad as the monsters."

I shrugged. "Well, as long as the allergy isn't fatal."

We kept going, approaching the foot of the mountain. It towered above us, reaching into the clouds. It made me feel small and insignificant… kind of like how I feel when I'm standing before my father.

"Long trek," Isabella remarked.

I nodded, running my hand through my hair. "Afraid so."

Sword by my side, we began to climb the mountain. We followed a grainy path, passing even more trees and thick bushland. I saw mist and smoke curling ahead.

"The Mist," I told Isabella. "Literal, and magical. Stay near me, okay?"

She nodded. She moved a bit closer to me. I could feel her anxiousness. Honestly, I couldn't blame her. Climbing up a misty mountain was not how I wanted to spend my winter either.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Isabella asked.

"Who?" I asked. "Jake?"

Isabella nodded.

"He's a tough guy," I replied. "Tougher than most mortals. He'll be fine."

"Can we visit him in the future?" Isabella asked.

"If we get out of here alive," I responded.

Isabella shivered.

"Just being honest," I shrugged. "Being a demigod increases your chance of death by tenfold. It's why I didn't want Jake coming with us. I don't want any innocent mortals getting killed."

"That's thoughtful of you," Isabella said, smiling.

"Saves my dad some work," I shrugged. "Though, all mortals die eventually."

Isabella's face shadowed over. "Yeah… I guess."

"Most mortals don't like to think about death too much," I replied. "Coming to terms with your own mortality is a hard thing, I get it. But when you're me, it's not so bad. I'm learning to appreciate life."

"That's good," Isabella said, trying to smile again. "I'm happy for you."

"Don't be," I grunted. "Hanging around zombies 24/7 is not something you wanna do, kid."

Isabella went pale.

"Yeah," I deadpanned. "They never stop complaining."

"No, Nico, look…" Isabella pointed ahead of us. Through the mist, there was a shadowy figure. It was humanoid, but since it was on the mountain, all my red flags went off.

I held out my sword. "Who's there?"

The figure drew closer. Isabella hid behind me.

"Show yourself," I demanded.

The humanoid figure came over to us. He was what I'd call an 'even split'. His skin was half Caucasian, half green. Yeah, green. His ear, on the green side, was pointed like an elf's. His hair was half strawberry blonde, half dark green. It was done up in a neat bun. On the blonde side, he had a blonde eye. On the green side, purple. He was slightly chubby, and wore a purple and white checkered vest with white sleeves. He had plain jeans and black slacks.

"... who are you?" I asked, scowling.

"Huh?" he asked. His voice was feminine. "Oh, hi. Didn't see you there."

"Who are you?" I repeated, more firmly.

"Why are you half green?" Isabella asked. She faced me, and hissed, "Nico, why's he got a girl's voice?"

"They," the half-and-half guy said.

"Huh?" Isabella asked.

"Why do they have a girl's voice," the person said, slightly annoyed. "I'm intersex. I don't really identify as male or female." They blinked. "And who are you anyway, with that big sword? Why are you here?"

I just stared at them. "Um… what are you?"

They crossed their arms. "Gods, why are you all so helpless? Demigods, I swear."

"You're a monster?" I asked.

They shook their head. "Half-nymph. Half-human."

"Half… nymph?" I asked.

"Demi-nymph," they said. "Half nature spirit, half homo sapien. And you and your friend are half god."

I frowned. "Who are you?"

"You've asked that three times now," they deadpanned. "Do you always introduce yourself like this?"

"I like them!" Isabella decided.

I groaned. "I'm Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades. This is Isabella Johnson, godly parent unknown. We're on a quest to venture to the top of this mountain to stop some monsters."

"Well why didn't you say so?!" the demi-nymph laughed. "I thought you were just here to take pictures like those mortal tourists do!" They offered a green hand. "I'm Sage. Nice to meet you."

They grabbed my hand and shook it. I stepped away from them, quickly.

Sage frowned. "Do I have cold hands?"

"He doesn't like being touched," Isabella told them.

"Ohhhh," Sage nodded. "Anyway, so you two are on a quest?" They shook their head. "Tough quest ahead of you."

"Why are you on this mountain?" I asked.

"Nowhere else to go," Sage answered, a dark shadow appearing over their face. "My dad thinks I'm a freak and my mom… my mom is nowhere, so… I just hang around other monsters. That's what I'm treated as, anyway."

I frowned. "Yeah, I understand that… people treat me like that too."

"Son of Hades, huh?" Sage asked. "You must be pretty powerful… and maybe scary, too. That's cool."

"You can come to Camp Half-Blood," I told them. "You might feel at home there."

Sage looked away. "I'm not a demigod."

"Doesn't matter," I replied. "There are nymphs there. Maybe your nymph parent might be there."

Sage stared at their fists. "I… I don't know…"

"Well, I won't force you," I told them. "It's your life. You can stay here, or go there. Up to you. Even Camp Half Blood doesn't work for everyone."

Sage smiled at me. "Thanks for giving me the option. You're way nicer than any of the monsters up there. If all demigods are like you… maybe I'll give this Camp Half-Blood a try."

They then gasped, sweat appearing on their brow.

"What is it?" I asked.

"They know you're here," Sage said, eyes darkening.

"Who?" Isabella asked.

A booming laugh echoed above us.

"What was that?" Isabella whimpered, grabbing my bomber jacket.

The ground trembled, and it wasn't from me. Something was coming. Not something. A lot of things were coming, and fast.

"The monsters," Sage whispered. "They know you're here."

I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

"Thank you, SSSSSSSage," a cold voice hissed. "You've led us right to them."

There were monsters everywhere. We were surrounded, fenced in.

Why does this keep happening, I thought angrily.

I held up my sword, grabbing Isabella's arm.

A Scythian Dracaena came towards me, hissing as her snake-like legs twitched. As well as her, I saw a few Cyclopes, Laistrygonian Giants, and our old friend the male empousa from the party.

"You again," I spat, glaring at the male empousa.

"Long time no see, little demigod," he chuckled. "Did you really think you could run from me?"

"I'm sorry," Sage whimpered, their eyes watering. "I didn't realise you…"

I sighed, looking down at Isabella. "There's too many for me to take on. We're getting out of here a different way. Hold on."

The male empousa bared his teeth. "Don't you dare, demigod!"

"Nico!" Sage shouted.

Isabella clenched onto my jacket as we shadow-travelled away.

It was cold, on top of the mountain. There wasn't any snow, but I still felt an icy breeze getting underneath my skin.

Not to mention my body felt like mush. I blinked, lying from my position on the ground. I was sitting on wet grass, rocks towering above me.

"Nico," Isabella said, gently shaking my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I coughed, trying to force myself to sit up. "Yeah… just, shadow travelling is the worse."

"Nico…" Isabella looked around. "Where are we?"

"On top," I answered, breathing in, "of Mount Othrys."

Isabella blinked, gazing at the surroundings. "Wow…"

I stared at her. "Can you pass me my gatorade?"

Isabella did so. I took a long sip out of it, before forcing myself to sit up. I wiped some icy water off my forehead.

"Thanks," I said. "Alright, we'd better get a move on before those monsters find us."

I stood up, Isabella staring at me worriedly. I could feel her fear pricking at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Isabella tugged at her scarf. "I'm just… scared, Nico. Scared that something will happen to you."

I raised my brow. "To me? Kid, the prophecy's about you. You're the one that's going to tear those monsters to pieces. Don't worry about me."

"But…" Isabella blinked. "You're my friend."

I looked away for a moment. "I… well… I'm glad you think so, but…"

"I don't want anyone else to die," Isabella admitted, her sadness coming off in waves. "My whole world was shattered when my dad died."

I awkwardly touched her shoulder. "Yeah, I… I get how you feel. My world was shattered when I lost my sister. But in the end, all you can do is move on."

"I want him back," Isabella whispered.

"I want my sister back too," I told her. "But… the dead don't come back to life. Most of the time, anyway." I winked.

Isabella blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

I sighed. "Long story, kid."

We trudged up the mountain, stepping over countless bushes, puddles of mud, and things like that. I was really sick and tired of nature.

"So…" Isabella spoke up. "Where exactly is this prophecy supposed to take place?"

"I'm not entirely sure," I admitted. "But I do know you're supposed to put a stop to all of the monsters here. How, I don't know. But we'll figure it out. That's usually how demigod things work."

Isabella grabbed onto her head. I felt a stab of pain coarse throughout my body.

"What is that?" I asked, supporting Isabella.

"No…" she breathed. "It's coming."

"What is?" I asked.

"The end," she replied. "I can feel it."

I frowned. "What do you mean by-"

The ground began to shake.

"What's going on..." I breathed. "Isabella!"

"Guys!"

I turned around, seeing Sage running over to us. They bent down, placing their hands on their knees as they panted.

"Sage!" I yelled.

"The monster beneath the mountain," they panted. "It's coming!"

"The monster beneath the mountain?" I asked.

"No," Isabella whimpered, falling to her knees. "Make it... stop..."

"Bella..." I said, grabbing her arms once more.

The ground continued to rumble. A dark presence was growing beneath my feet. The wind whistled, blowing through the trees. I saw a storm brewing in the sky.

"You should get out of here," Sage told us, their eyes watering.

"We can't," Isabella told them. "This is... my destiny..."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

"We were sent here by a prophecy," I told them.

"My destiny..." Isabella whispered.