"Nico?" Rachel gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" Nico reached out with the hand that wasn't covered with blood. Rachel took it and allowed him to slowly pull her off her seat. He held his blood smothered blade at his side, making sure it wasn't too close to her. "Rescuing you. You doing alright? Sorry I had to make a mess," he said as he stared at the boys' body on the floor, blood pooling beneath it.

"Yeah," she replied once she was back on her feet, releasing his hand. She avoided glancing at the body and the pool of blood forming around it and focused on Nico's face instead. He'd grown quite a bit in the years since Gaea's defeat: his face no longer looked so gaunt. His hair, while still bushy and messy, had been trimmed into an undercut. A black JanSport backpack rested on lean, muscled shoulders. There were only slight glimmers of any resemblance to the twelve-year old boy she'd met what felt like eons ago.

"I didn't see you at camp all summer," Rachel said. "You just got back from the escort mission?"

"Yup," Nico said. "She was a feisty one, an Ares kid no doubt, but I'd only just started to crash for the night when Chiron woke me up."

"I can tell." Rachel saw the bags under his eyes, though they were no longer as prominent as she remembered them usually being. "I'm assuming you can't just shadow travel us out?"

Nico shook his head. "Coming here at this hour was draining enough, and I just summoned a few friends to distract the other guards close by. Now c'mon." He grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her toward the restroom entrance.

"What's happening?" Rachel asked. "Why is my father's party being held hostage?"

"No time to explain," Nico said. He walked to the bathroom door and slowly opened it. "Now we've got to get out as fast as possible."

"You think we can grab my suitcase in the stairway?"

"Suitcase?" Nico asked, looking bewildered. "What on earth do you need a suitcase for?"

"I was planning on moving to camp," Rachel replied. "We're going to the stairs, right? I heard them say they saw it. If it's not there anymore, we move on. You ok with that?"

"Sure."

As they left, she caught a glimpse of the other side of the floor and saw only flashes of scarlet light and heard the clashing of metal. Nico's skeleton warriors were formidable, but they couldn't rely on them for too long. They bolted as quickly as they could, making their way back to the stairwell. Thankfully, the suitcase was still right where she left it, though it was now lying face up, showing the name tag with her name written on it.

Nico removed his backpack and unzipped it after placing it on the ground. "Now put it in here. Hurry."

"Um….I don't think that's going to work."

"It's enchanted," Nico explained. "It's like Chiron's wheelchair."

He took her suitcase from her hands. As he began to stuff it in, Rachel watched in awe as the suitcase suddenly twisted itself to fit the otherwise small opening in the backpack. Even after all these years, the world of gods and magic never ceased to surprise her.

As soon as he finished, they immediately began to make their way down. As they made their way quickly and quietly several floors down towards the back exit, Rachel realized that she still hadn't gotten any answers to her burning questions.

"Hey," she asked as they jogged down the stairs. "What about my parents? Did you hear anything about a William and Margaret Dare?"

"I overheard someone talk about questioning the hosts, but-"

"Then what are we waiting for? C'mon, we need to get my parents away from these people, and anyone else that's in danger!"

"Look," Nico said. "I know that you're worried, but the people who invaded this place aren't out for them…they're here for you. You were going to leave them anyway, weren't you? That's why you were all packed up to-"

"How can you tell me to abandon my own parents?" Rachel shot back angrily.

She was adamant about staying. Sure, they were assholes, and it would be likely they wouldn't even remember what happened once this whole thing blew over. But she knew that even they would do the same thing if they were in her shoes.

"Look," Nico began. "We're not abandoning anyone here. Chiron's sending in backup to help stop these people. I'm here to make sure that you don't do anything stupid like that ."

"How about you tell me what's going on first instead of ordering me around like I don't know how to handle myself?!" Rachel's patience had run out. "Who are these people? What's going on?"

Nico looked up at the higher flights of stairs, listening carefully for any footsteps. After a moment, he began to explain. "Ten minutes ago, some people managed to convince the entire party to leave at gunpoint except your parents. They were interrogating them to find out where you were."

"Why?" Rachel asked. "What are they after me for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Nico exclaimed. "You're the Oracle . If they've gone this far as to interrupt a public event, risking exposing themselves just to get you, they must really want you bad ."

"And you have no idea for what?"

"No."

"We need to do something about my parents."

"Look, I know you're worried, but I'm sorry. We can't!" Nico said. "You of all people can't just throw yourself into danger even if someone's life depends on-"

"They're down there!" a voice cried from above.

Rachel froze. From a few floors above, two boys carrying swords peer down at them.

"Get them!" she heard a girl's voice cry out.

"Run," Nico gritted through his teeth. And they did. But they didn't even make it down two floors when there was a flash red light and he crumpled to the floor, dropping his sword.

"No!" Rachel cried and ran to his side.

Without warning, Nico's arms snapped up around her neck, locking her in a chokehold as strong as iron. Rachel wheezed as she tried to talk to him. "Nico- Stop! What are you-"

"I…It's not me," Nico insisted, his eyes wide in terror. "I can't...I can't control my arms."

"Sarah, let him go," one of the magicians said. "Orders were to not hurt her too badly. You don't want to upset the boss, right?"

Rachel felt the grip around her neck loosen as Nico removed his hands. As soon as she was free, she doubled over, gasping for breath. She turned and saw that their captors comprised of a boy and a girl carrying long, white, hooked shaped blades. The girl, Sarah, carried a hook shaped stick not unlike the one the boy Nico killed earlier had and stared at her with steely brown eyes.

"Right," she replied. "Nathaniel," she said to the other magician, "Go get his sword. I'll bind her. There's no need to waste energy with another spell." She turned to face Nico. "You're going to pay for what you did to Sam, you hear me?"

Nico remained silent. Nathaniel jogged down the stairs and picked up Nico's sword by the hilt, noticing the blood. As Sarah bound Rachel's hands behind her back with a zip tie, she glared at her captors.

"What do you want from me?" she snarled. "What have you done with my parents?"

"You'll see," Sarah replied. "Now get up. We can't keep the boss waiting too long."

They marched them down back to the main dining pavilion where the party was being held. When she walked through the doors, her breath hitched in her throat.

The entire pavilion had been emptied of its guests, save for a lone figure in the very front of the main dining table shaking and kneeling on the floor.

At the sound of their arrival, William Dare turned and meet his daughter's eyes. "R-Rachel?"

"Dad?!" she cried. Rachel tried to run to him but was stopped by a tug to her hair from one of the boys. "Where's Mom? Where's Mom ?"

But instead of answering, William started shaking his head and began muttering to himself. "It's all my fault. I should've…but I couldn't …"

He turned his head to look at what appeared to be a pile of dust on the floor beside him, mixed in with burned bits of a red fabric. Wait, no…there was something sticking in it. Something that looked like…a skull? And that red fabric looked familiar…like it came from a dress she'd seen before...

It didn't take long for Rachel for the truth to dawn on her. "No..."

"Oh, hey Rachel." greeted a familiar voice. "Told you I was sure we'd be talking again soon. I was worried we might lose you once you left the party: our team hadn't arrived yet."

Rachel turned towards the voice, and who she saw made her jaw drop.

Joel Gensai had shed her dress in favor of stylish joggers and a hoodie both in black. But what drew Rachel's attention the most was a long, menacing looking steel katana that she grasped in her left hand. Her twinkly eyes shone with a mischievous, mocking expression that makes Rachel's blood boil.

"You know her?" Nico's asked. Apparently, the ability to speak and turn his head were the only body movements left in his control.

"W-We just met today." Rachel explained. "But I don't understand. All these people…what about your Dad?"

Joel shook her head. "There was never any Mark Gensai, or a Gensai Enterprises. Just a front we created with some, what do you people call it? Glamour? Mist? …Whatever. Doesn't matter. We arranged a meeting with your parents, so we could get an invite to the event. In fact," she motioned towards Rachel's father, "I think it's still working."

At that, William suddenly turned and glares at Joel. "Whatever you think you're doing, you won't get away with it! The police are outside…I'm good friends with the Police Chief, you know!"

"All these upper-class idiots are the same, aren't they?" a cold, airy male voice interrupted.

To her left, the door to the restroom opened, and emerging from it came a tall figure clothed in white, billowing robes. Concealing his face was a gold mask which resembled one of the Mycenaean death masks she had seen once at the Met. The expression on the mask was solemn, quiet, emotionless, yet something about it struck fear into her heart. The fabric of his pure white robes flew around his legs as he walked, making him look as if he was floating on the floor, like one of the wind spirits she'd seen at Camp.

Behind him trailed a small, creature whose scales shone brightly even in the dimmed party lights. As it approached, Rachel realized that it was a Komodo dragon, and that its scales appeared to be made of literal gold from head to toe except for its claws and eyes, which shone a bright ruby red.

The masked figure spoke something in a language she couldn't understand, and, to Rachel's astonishment, he reached into the air and pulled out a long, curved blade. He walked to her father's shivering form and, to Rachel's horror, ran his blade across throat with a swift, sharp motion.

"NO!" Rachel screamed. Her father toppled, blood pooling around him as his blank eyes continue to stare blankly ahead of him. "You fucking bastard!"

"I thought you hated him, didn't you?" the masked man asked. He sounded young, maybe only a few years older than her, but no less menacing. "At least that was what the reports said. You should be relieved. Now you won't have to worry about him ever again."

"I-I didn't mean…I didn't want-" Rachel tried to form some words, but shock had overtaken her completely. "I didn't want this . He was innocent, dammit!"

"Innocent is a pretty strong word to describe a man like him," the masked man replied. "Especially after what he must've done to you."

Then he turned toward Nico and froze. " You," he gasped. "Wow, who would've thought we would've met again here of all places?"

Nico glared at him but didn't look afraid. "Should I know you?"

The masked man walked over to him. "I used to be an unclaimed like you, Nico di Angelo. Then I found a new home with the armies of Kronos. We were going to bring a new age of freedom, free from the Gods. But then…"

Without warning, he punched Nico in the face, who toppled backward. " You and your damn father's army helped take that away from us!"

"No!" Rachel screamed.

Nico glared up at his captor, scowling. The red aura around him suddenly vanished, and he clutched his now bleeding nose.

"I should kill you for that," the masked man said, ignoring Nico's defiant glare. "But I think we can find some better use for you."

"What do you want with me?" Rachel shouted, trying to shift the man's attention away from Nico. "What's the point of all this?"

The masked man walked away from Nico to face her. Towering over her, staring at her through the lifeless expression on the mask he wore, he excreted menace.

"Do you fully understand the capabilities of your gift, Miss Dare?" he asked. "The fact that you are the only one in the world besides the Fates who can glimpse all our destinies? That's a power that even the gods must respect. Thankfully, I am no god.

Rachel snarled at him, giving the best look of loathing she could give. Suddenly, she felt the ever-familiar sensation of her head spinning. She knew exactly what would follow next. Her muscles tensed, her eyelids suddenly grew heavy as the Spirit of Delphi took ahold of her body.

"Wha-What's going on?" she heard Joel ask, confused. "What's happening to her?"

"The spirit of Delphi is speaking now, that's what!" the masked man exclaimed, his voice sounding farther and farther away as Rachel shut her eyes. "But...why now?"

The Spirit had always been forceful with her, as if it was trying to make up for the decades it had spent trapped in a husk of a body. Contrary to widespread belief, she was fully conscious whenever it took ahold of her. And man was it uncomfortable, with the way her body felt as if she were having an incredibly bad hangover.

She didn't even have the strength to shriek in pain when the spirit rasped out its ominous rhyme.

Only with Titan's mortal spawn can the torch be found

The key to what you seek lies with the deathly hound.

The entrance to its realm shall be opened with a saying of peace

The inventor's design can be unlocked with a backwards fleece

A secret unearthed, a future's stake at hand.

Fire's fury shall save friends with a last stand.

The spirit relinquished its hold, darkness eating away at her vision…and then nothing.

-ψ-ψ-ψ-

Nico had been asleep for merely two hours when Chiron banged on the door to his cabin to inform him that Apollo had sensed Rachel was in danger. The mission had been organized in a rush, and though Nico had left before he knew who else would be aiding the rescue effort, he knew that Jason and at least three others would be arriving by pegasi to aid him.

But that didn't change the fact that he'd failed.

I'm sorry, Rachel.

Her parents were both dead, and soon she would be too. His death sense was overwhelming, pulsating even more than when he'd realized Bianca was gone.

"W-What the hell was that?" the katana wielding girl, Joel said in fear.

"That," the masked man explained, "was a prophecy. It's honestly the least creepy thing in this world you'll be getting used to. It knew what we were looking for, before we even asked…" He paused in thought. But why tell us now?"

Nico had a hunch on why. But whatever his conclusion was wouldn't matter as long as he was still bound and helpless. He couldn't even reach his sword, which had been placed on a table only a few feet away from him.

"What now then?" the other henchman asked.

"It means we take care of the Sisters after we obtain the Torch," the masked leader decided. "We'll discuss more later. We need to begin the ritual now ." He walked over to Rachel's unmoving form, reached into his robe and took out a scroll, unrolled it and began to read it aloud.

Nico didn't exactly consider himself fluent in ancient Greek, but his brain was hardwired to pick up certain phrases. He recognised a few words: Open and Trap. The rest was all strange chanting in a tongue that he didn't recognize, but which he was sure wasn't Greek. What kind of magic is this?

After a moment, Rachel opened her eyes wide, glassy and blank. Her mouth opened, and bright green smoke funneled out of her mouth, billowing into a thick cloud. The emerald essence gathered into the scroll, which began to brighten a blinding light.

The masked man stopped chanting and the light disappeared. Rachel dropped to the ground, eyes closed, unconscious once more. Though this time, her skin had turned a sickly shade of yellow, like Nico's own had been so long ago. "I'm going to prepare the portal now," the masked man said as he rolled up the scroll. He turned towards Joel.

"Kill the girl," he ordered coldly. "But take di Angelo with us."

"No!" Nico tried to get up but felt his muscles lock up again as he was struck by the paralyzing spell. It made his muscles as heavy as iron, his joints like rusted steel. He could only watch helplessly as Joel advanced towards Rachel, sword drawn.

"Please!" he begged, trying to at least stall him. "M-maybe if I give you something in exchange for her life? Anything…just don't kill her."

His masked captor faced him. Even though his features were hidden under his mask, Nico had feeling that behind the cold, golden face he was smiling.

"Really, son of Hades?" he exclaimed. "You really think you're in a position for negotiating with us? What on earth do you think we'll want from y-"

BANG!

The doors of the cafeteria flew open.

"GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" Jason screamed as he charged in, the others following. Nico could barely contain his relief.

"Stop them!" the masked man barked to his henchmen. But before one of them could even raise her wand, a ball of light hit her square in the chest, sending her flying.

"Nico, move dammit!" Calypso shrieked as she flung a spell at a nearby magician. The masked man and Nathaniel rushed towards her but were forced to duck under a blast of electricity aimed at their heads.

"EAT SHIT, SUCKERS!" Clarisse La Rue cried with a fury only a child of Ares could muster as she charged. With a well-timed swing of her shield, she sent a surprised Nathaniel flying back, where he hit a wall.

Joel ran towards Jason and swung her blade in an arch and slashes with resounding speed. Jason barely blocked it. An enormous bronze shield flew out from his wrist, catching her off guard.

"Neat trick," Joel remarked, eyes focusing again on her foe.

"Thanks," Jason said, and then rammed his shield at Joel, causing her to jump back. "And you're gonna lose because of it."

Then Nico remembered that the spell on his body had lifted again, apparently because whoever cast it was lying unconscious on the floor. He scanned around the room for his sword and saw it placed on one of the dining tables a few feet away from him. As he crawled towards it, a flash green light narrowly missed his head.

"Dammit!" the masked man cursed, casting another fireball that Nico managed to dodge with a roll. "Get him, Eustace! Keep him away from the girl!"

The golden reptile sprinted toward him with surprising speed, only to be blasted away by Calypso. She sent one hurtling towards the masked man, igniting a ferocious duel.

Nico didn't look back until he finally got his sword back. A moment later Clarisse ran to him, pulling him up.

"C'mon, pipsqueak!" she urged, motioning towards the kitchen door. "Follow me!"

Nico saw the other two henchmen lying unconscious, one of them having smashed his head straight through the wall. "But what about-"

"Take her!" Calypso commanded, still locked in battle with the masked man. She fires a spell at Rachel's unconscious form, which rose into the air and wisped towards Clarisse and Nico. "Jason and I'll get there later! Just go!"

Even from a distance, Nico could tell that she was becoming exhausted while her opponent shows no sign of it. Still, he ran with Clarisse as fast as his lungs could allow him to, looking back to make sure that Rachel's still form was still following them. Even when Clarisse managed to get them all the way out the back door, they kept running, narrowly avoiding contact with the police that were still in the area.

Somehow, without anyone noticing the unconscious girl that was flying right behind them, they made it to an alleyway two blocks away from the Dare penthouse. By then, Nico's legs felt like jelly, and he ended up throwing up right in front of Clarisse, narrowly missing her shoes.

She jumped in shock, nearly kneeing Nico in the face. "What the fuck? Not cool!" she yelped.

"Sorry," Nico replied as he wiped his face with his forearm. "Should we counter the spell on Rachel now? Check how she's doing?"

"Yeah," Clarisse replied. She walked over to Rachel's levitating form and felt her forehead.

"She's still alive," Clarisse confirmed, as if Nico wasn't already aware of that. "But she's freezing. I can use my jacket to warm her-"

A resounding BOOM in the distance interrupted her, coming from the direction they fled.

"Was that-?"

"Let's hope it's who I think it is."

Nico does, fear piling up at the thought of having to face the others if Jason didn't make it back.

They continued watching Rachel for a few minutes, making sure her condition didn't worsen, when Jason and Calypso finally arrived. Their faces and clothes were covered in soot. Nico grimaced when he saw that Jason had not one, but three deep slices on his sword arm as well as a nasty gash on his cheek, all which bled profusely.

"The magician I was fighting accidentally set the penthouse on fire," Calypso explained as she reached into her backpack for blocks of ambrosia. Thankfully, she seemed to have escaped without a scratch, though Nico wondered if she'd already healed any wounds she might've gotten. "I managed to summon a wind spirit to distract him so we could flee. I hope Rachel's parents have insurance."

"Honestly, I don't think they would mind," Nico said. "Rachel was planning to move out when I found her. And, well..."

"Huh," Jason remarked as Calypso handed him a bag of ambrosia from the pack. Then his eyes widened as he realized what Nico meant. "Wait, the dead guy on the floor...was that-"

"Her father." Nico finished grimly. "They killed her mom too."

Jason winced at the news. Nico could tell he was thinking the same thing. Rachel was now an orphan, just like him. And losing the Oracle too? He had no clue how she would cope once she woke up.

Calypso went to Rachel, muttering the counter spell so that the girl slowly floated onto the ground.

"Yeesh, Grace," Clarisse said as she glanced at Jason's wounds. "That bitch sure did a number on you."

"She would've beaten me," Jason muttered as he drank from his water bottle. "I don't know where on earth she learned to fight like that, but she's ridiculously fast and light footed. It's not a Roman or Greek form she's using either. She used the dull edge of her sword to swing at my shield arm, trying to injure me." He grimaced as Calypso wrapped bandages around his bleeding arm, working some magic to aid in the healing. "Where on earth did she get a celestial steel katana ? Who the hell are these people?"

"They wanted the Spirit of Delphi," Nico replied. "And they got it."

Calypso's piercing brown eyes widened. "What do you mean they got it ?"

"I mean exactly what I mean," he said. "Somehow, the guy in the mask used some form of magic to extract the Spirit of Delphi from Rachel's body without killing her."

"That's impossible." Calypso said. "What kind of magic would he use? I've never heard of anyone, not even a god having that kind of power."

"But do you realize what this means?" Jason interjected. "No prophecies…no guidance for demigods…what do we do?"

"Thing is," Nico explained, "before the Oracle was captured, it spewed out a prophecy without being asked anything."

"That's...strange." Clarisse remarked. "Do you have any idea why?"

"I don't know how the Oracle knew what the masked man wanted. But my hunch is the prophecy was meant for both him and for us."

"If only it could've helped only us," Jason remarked. "But what about the attackers? You have any idea who they are? Who their leader is?"

"No." Nico replied. "But the thing is, he said he recognized me from the Battle of Manhattan. He said, I used to be an unclaimed like you."

"You're shitting me." Clarisse said. "I thought all the other enemy demigods were killed after we won?"

"But what about the Doors of Death?" Jason asked. After swallowing a few cubes of ambrosia, his cuts had ceased bleeding and begun to decrease in size. Although they didn't close completely, it lessened the anxiety Nico had for his friend. "He could be another one of the escapees."

"That's true," Nico replied. "He could be."

But it still didn't sit right with him. He remembered the way the energy of the ritual made him feel: his insides turned cold, the symbols he was sure were Egyptian Hieroglyphs that had surrounded Rachel's body. The fact that something existed that was powerful enough to capture the most ancient and most powerful of spirits only stressed him out even more.

But they had more important things to worry about at the moment. Rachel's body temperature had dropped dangerously low. Since she could freeze even more if they took her back by pegasi, Nico decided to summon Jules-Albert. When he arrived in a flash of smoke, they managed to squeeze Rachel into the middle seat, propping her up with the seat belt. Nico took shotgun and stared outside the window as Jules-Albert drove them back to camp.

The years after the Giant War, while being some of the best of his life, caused Nico to wonder how big their world really was. He could barely wrap his mind around the idea of the Roman aspects of the gods when his father had explained them to him, and he had been curious since about the possibility that the Olympians were hiding more information regarding their place in the world. But he'd kept those thoughts to himself, sure that his father would never divulge such secrets without a higher motive.

Now, after witnessing magic more powerful than he'd ever imagined, and facing foes he'd never heard of, that curiosity had returned.

He wished that it hadn't.