Narrator / January 11th

Annabeth had to have been the most confused person on the planet when she opened her eyes. She was sitting on the ground, resting against a bench in Central Park. However, it wasn't really much of a park anymore. Piles of ash replaced where all the trees had been, and the lakes were now empty. It was in the middle of the night, and the only kind of light she had was the moon that shone brightly.

In a single second, all of her memories came back to her and her heart raced as if she had just ran several marathons. She look around but saw no sight of Percy, nearly jumping when she found him resting against the bench next to her. She checked, and there was no cut in his stomach at all. In fact, he had no battle scars and looked as good as new - but still unconscious.

Then, she saw what was going on. In the distance, her killer was battling against demigods who wore identical armor, except they were red, green, and blue. Footsteps approached her and she turned to see Nico kneel besides her.

"Thank the gods!" Nico said, wiping sweat off his forehead

"Nico?" She croaked. "What happened?"

He swallowed. "You um... died"

"Huh?"

"You and Percy. Gods... we found both of you in a pool of blood, but thankfully we had this" Nico opened his palm and an orange stone glowed so brightly she had to look away. "Oh, sorry. Anyways, I don't know how I did it, but I resurrected you"

Annabeth just blinked. For the first time in her life, she had absolutely zero idea at what was going on. In less than in hour, Luke had came back to life, she and Percy had died, and then she had been brought back by Nico and a mysterious stone.

"You look confused" Nico said

"Gee, I wonder why" She snapped

"It's the soul stone, Annabeth. We found it" He revealed. "It has the power to resurrect people"

Another realization came back to her. "Where's Luke?"

"Luke?" Nico raised an eyebrow but then it looked like he, too, had realized something. "Oh. I don't know. When we came, L- I mean Samael was about to make sure you were dead. I didn't see Luke though"

"You're hiding something" Annabeth quickly figured

"I'll explain everything later, promise" Nico said

They turned their attention towards the fight in the distance. Slowly but surely, Annabeth and Percy's killer was coming to a stop, and was being overpowered by his counterparts. Victor delivered the finish blow, thrusting his spear forward and shattered a chunk of armor that had been struck multiple times. Layton fell to his back and dropped his sword, his armor returning to a silver color and the red glow fading away.

The moon retreated and the sun came back out, but the battle damage on the land remained. Central Park was probably going to be the biggest story in the news behind all of the natural disasters after this.

"Will is going to be so jealous when he finds out I'm a better healer than he is" Nico said as he excitingly stared down at the stone in his hands

Annabeth cracked a smile. "Thanks Nico, you really saved us"

He shrugged. "I couldn't just let you die - its not good for my conscience"

"How'd you get here anyways?" Annabeth asked

"Well I was with Chloe all the way in Kansas, but we flew here on a dragon. Ryan and Victor just happened to be nearby" Nico answered

Returning her attention back to the fight, Annabeth was confused to see Chloe kneeling down next to the person who had just killed her, saying something. Ryan and Victor had their helmets removed and looked confused. Next to her, Percy began to stir.

"W-What" He mumbled as slowly opened his eyes

"Percy!" Annabeth choked on a sob as she threw her arms around his neck

"Annabeth? What happened?" He said

She didn't reply and instead let herself soak in Percy's presence.

"Nico? What's going on?" Percy asked

"Tell you later. For now-"

The ground shook as a monstrous shriek came in the distance. Each one of the seven demigods turned to see a large dragon made of pure smoke spiral up into the sky, gazing down onto them like its next meal.

"Where's the soul stone?" It demanded, the voice unfamiliar

No one replied, so the dragon curved down and circled them in with its large snake-like body. Nico put his hands behind his back to hide the stone while Chloe stood up and put her hands out in front of her, facing the dragon.

"We don't have it" She said

"I can sense its presence fool! Hand it over and I might not kill you" It said

"How about you tell us who you are first?" Ryan requested

"My name is Ira, the second of the seven supreme Shadow-Dragons" the dragon answered impatiently. "Now where is it?"

"Nico, just give it over" Annabeth said

"What? No way!" Nico shook his head. "Annabeth, we need this stone"

"It'll be no use if we're dead!" Annabeth shouted within a whisper

Ira spiraled back up into the sky and shrieked again, sending a shower of dragon spit to rain down upon the demigods. Despite sounding somewhat human, it's shriek was completely monster-like. Ira shook his head before taking a gigantic bite out of a building, taking no more than two bites before swallowing it up.

"I could you eat you all in one bit, right now, if I so choose" Ira threatened. "The soul stone, or your lives"

"So what about that dragon you flew here on?" Annabeth pointed out

"Oh, uh, it flew away" Nico said, clearly lying

"I know you just brought us back from the dead, but you're about to get us kill again" Annabeth sighed

"Hold on, we died?" Percy spoke up

"I'm gonna shadow-travel us out of here" Nico muttered as the Ira continued to look around the area

POV Switch

"We don't have the soul stone" Ryan insisted

Ira sniffed around until his head recoiled back. "Its scent is gone. What did you do?"

"We didn't do anything" Ryan rolled his eyes

"I know where the stone is!" Chloe said

"Where?" Ira quickly inquired

"Luke Castellan stole it. He said something about wanting to kill a dragon" Chloe lied

"That fool! He would dare betray us after we give him life!" Ira roared

The dragon melted away into smoke, and the demigods also noticed that Percy, Annabeth, and Nico had disappeared.

"So much for a thanks" Victor muttered

"Oh shut up, you'll get it later" Chloe replied

"Now, what do we do with this guy?" Ryan asked, lightly pushing his foot against the silver-armored demigod

"I'll take him to Hera, she'll know what to do" Chloe said. "You guys head to camp, Nico and the others will be there"

"Not a chance, Chloe. We're not gonna let you deliver this guy by yourself. He's too dangerous" Ryan said

"I can handle myself" Chloe assured

"And I'm not denying that, but any one of us wouldn't be able to handle this guy on our own" Ryan defended

"He's passed out and in bad shape. Taking him to Hera will be a minimal effort job" Chloe folded her arms

"What're you hiding Chloe?" Victor asked

"I'm not hiding anything" Chloe scowled

"Victor, get to Camp Half-Blood. We'll meet you there" Ryan said and Victor nodded before turning to walk away. "Well, let's get it over with"

"Go with Victor, I already told you that I don't need your help"

"You and I both know that you're hiding something, and unless you tell me, I'm coming with" Ryan stepped forward

Chloe extended out her katana in a warning, stopping him. The two glared at each other, waiting for one to make the first move.

"You know who he is" Ryan concluded

"So what if I do?" She said stubbornly

"Take off his helmet Chloe. You're hiding valuable information, and I don't want you getting in trouble over this" Ryan sternly said, lowering her blade with his hand

"What're you gonna do? Ground me?" She put her really? look

"The Olympians are worried, Chloe. This guy is at the center, and they've ordered for him to be turned in. I'm not going to do anything, but they will" Ryan explained

"Sorry, but I can't do that. You're just going to have trust me on this one, Ryan" Chloe said

"Chloe... are you working with the dragons?" Ryan raised an eyebrow

Her scowl deepened. "Really? You think I'd do that? Conspire with the enemy?"

"You both are giving me a headache. Just take me to the Olympians"

"He's asking to be turned in Chloe. Step aside, I don't want to have to fight you" Ryan stepped forward but was once against stopped by her katana

"I don't want to have to fight you either. This is what the dragons are trying to do - turn us against each other. Please just trust me Ryan"

He glanced back and forth between the demigod still on the ground and Chloe, before finally giving up and sighing. "Whatever you do is on you, Chloe. I hope you really will turn him in"

Once it was just the two of them, Chloe kicked Layton in the side. "Are you serious? I'm trying to save your behind, and you asked to be turned in"

"You're cute when you're mad... that hurt by the way"

Chloe blushed and tried her best to ignore his comment, offering out her hand. He ignored it and stood up on his own, but stumbled and nearly fell. Chloe caught him and slung his arm over his shoulder.

"And I thought I was the stubborn one" She said

"Where are you actually taking me?" He questioned

"Up to you. Where do you plan on going?" Chloe replied

"I lost my wristbands when Altera killed me, so I have to go find The Hidden Archives manually. You should probably follow your friends, this quest isn't for you" Layton said

"I can handle myself, and I'm getting real tired of saying that. Plus, you'd probably die just by trying to walk right now" Chloe retorted

"Gee, I wonder why. Maybe someone kicked me in the ribs after I finished two consecutive three-on-ones" Layton pointed out sarcastically

"Just shut up and tell me where to go"

Camp Half-Blood

After Percy and Annabeth were both fully caught up, they went with Nico to deliver the soul stone to Chiron, who was shocked to see it at first, but calmed down and took it in his hand.

"You were able to bring them back with this?" Chiron asked. "And you two died?"

"I guess it was because I'm a son of Hades, or else it might've not worked" Nico replied. "But the point is that we need to keep it safe"

"Luke's alive again" Percy blurted out

Chiron's eyes widened a bit. "Come again?"

"Hold on" Nico interjected. "That wasn't Luke - or well, it was, but he's under Syn's control. He was brought back by the soul stone also"

"But he's still out there somewhere, and we need to find him" Annabeth pointed out

"Or, we could just leave him be" Percy argued

"I think we should find him Percy. We can interrogate him for information, and it'll be better than him getting the jump on us" Nico said

"Fine. We go and find Luke, try not to die, bring him back here, and question him. After that, we use the soul stone thingy to make him un-alive again" Percy listed

Annabeth studied her boyfriend carefully. "Are you alright Percy?"

"I'm fine. One hundred percent" He assured

The two had a miniature stand off until Nico cleared his throat and motioned that they needed to go. They turned away from each other, knowing they would talk about this later.

"Come on, we've got a demigod to catch" Nico said

Time Skip

"We are completely lost" Percy sighed

"Well it was your idea to check the forests" Annabeth replied

"Maybe you should have said something" Percy said

"I did say something! I said that we should check the outskirts of the city, you know, where he was last seen" Annabeth defended

"He disappeared, Annabeth. He could be anywhere, so starting with the least likely spot is the wisest decision"

"What would you know about wisdom? Plus, look at where your plan got us. We're in the middle of nowhere!"

Normally, Nico didn't mind being the third wheel, but this was totally awkward. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to take of his friends bickering. Currently, they were on some random beach nearby New York, and they had stopped when their argument began.

"This is exactly why we should always leave the planning to me" Annabeth said

"Then maybe you should've gone and looked yourself" Percy replied

"Please, we both know you wouldn't let me do that. Face it Percy, you're jealous"

Out in the ocean, a large snake-shaped creature caught Nico's attention. It swam around, but was careful to not break the surface.

"Guys"

"I am not jealous Annabeth! What is there to be jealous of?"

"You're totally jealous"

The creature suddenly titled its head towards Nico, and he could see a pair of glowing blue eyes examining him. Percy said something, but it was inaudible over the waves that were begging to crash against the shore. Nico wasn't sure if that was due to Percy's frustration, or the large sea monster taking interest in them.

"Um, guys"

"Just admit it Percy, you're jealous" Annabeth folded her arms and turned away from him

Percy rubbed his temple. "This is why I don't take you on quests"

"You've been going on quests?" Annabeth demanded, facing him again. "I specifically told you not to-"

"Guys!" Nico exclaimed, finally grabbing their attention. "Look"

The couple turned to where Nico was pointing, and as they did, the monster erupted from the sea and shrieked. It spiraled up until it stood a good hundred or so feet above them. It was nearly identical to Ira and Toxicus's dragon forms, but it seemed a bit slimmer and their eye color always seemed to differentiate.

"The son of Poseidon. I've been waiting to meet you" it said, the voice a female

"Another Shadow-Dragon" Nico guessed

"Correct. I was born when an argument between Zeus and Poseidon caused the deaths of everyone onboard the Titanic" it confirmed

Percy raised his hand. "Wasn't it an iceberg that hit-"

"Silence!" It ordered. "I believe I would know how I was born, imbecile. The ship would not have hit the iceberg, had Poseidon's fury not shifted the waves"

"Now I can't watch that movie the same way" Percy mumbled miserably

"You're such a Seaweed Brain" Annabeth scoffed

In less than a second, the dragon curved down and circled around the trio of demigods. "Nico Di Angelo... you personally will pay for the death of Toxicus. As for you, Annabeth Chase, I may spare you"

"What about me?" Percy asked

"Oh, you will die a painful death. There's nothing I hate more than anything associated with Poseidon and his spawn" It answered

"But Annabeth's my girl-"

"You know what I mean!" the dragon said. "I'm well aware of your status. I've been following your story ever since the very beginning with the three furies. Quite the evolution, but your epilogue is here" It said

Percy rolled his eyes, accustomed to his opponent threatening to kill him. "So do you have a name then?"

"My name is Mare, the third of the seven supreme Shadow-Dragons. All of the tsunamis - that was me only using a small portion of my power"

Mare stopped circling the demigods and curved back up, and the demigods readied their weapons, ready for one more fight.