Hello my guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also- therapy- it's great! Anyway, please read and review- and just you you all know I'm approaching the last chapters of the Last Olympian so that's great.

They approached slowly- and as if in a response to their approach a hissing sound echoed down the mountain. White mist billowed from the cave like someone had turned on a dry-ice machine.

In the fog, an image appeared – a tall woman with dishevelled blonde hair. She wore a pink bathrobe and had a wine glass in her hand. Her face was stern and disapproving.

She was also kind of see through. Clearly a ghost- so it was obvious that she was a spirit of some kind. Then she spoke- and that was clear enough.

"Now you come back." her voice was sharp, "Well it's too late!"

Percy's eyes were wide as she turned her head to look at Nico, "Is this Melinoe?"

Nico didn't answer, he was frozen, staring at the spirit- and Percy realized that Bianca was too- and when her gaze shifted to Thalia, who was still holding her up- who's grip on Percy had suddenly turned almost painfully tight as she whispered, "Mother?" and suddenly she looked about seven years old, not nearly twenty one as she was now- and that was a weird thought, Percy rarely thought about Thalia's age, but she was an adult now. Hopefully she was setting a precedent for them all reaching adulthood but Percy wasn't holding her breath.

In any case she looked like a little kid, lost and scared as the spirit threw down her wine glass. It shattered and dissolved into the fog. "That's right girl. Doomed to walk the earth and it's your fault. Where were you when I died? Why did you run away when I needed you?"

"I- you- Jason-"

"It's a shade." Percy's voice was quick, "Thal's, it's just a shade it can't hurt you!"

"I'm more than that." the spirit growled, "And Thalia knows it."

"You abandoned me first-" Thalia's voice was shaking, "You sent Ja-"

"You wretched girl! Ungrateful runaway!"

"Stop!" Nico stepped forward with his sword drawn, but the spirit changed form and faced him- and Percy's breath caught.

This figure was familiar to Percy, shorter than Nico, twelve years old, short messy blond hair and bright blue eyes that made Percy's heart ache- he looked so much like Luke.

Mikey.

Nico looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "Mikey?"

"No it's my mother-" and clearly Thalia was still seeing her mom- shit this was bad.

"You let me die." and Mikey's voice had never held that much venom, "You saved Luke but you didn't save me. Why weren't you faster Nico?"

"Nico it's not real!" Percy's voice was panicked and Bianca was surging forward, setting the carnation down and raising her bow and arrow.

"Leave my little brother alone you freak-"

And the ghost shifted again- this time she was harder to see, a woman in an old-fashioned black velvet dress with a matching hat. She wore a string of pearls and white gloves. Her dark hair was tied back from her face.

"My daughter-" and Percy let out a gasp at that as the ghost reached out with her white gloved hand towards Bianca, "My daughter, my beautiful daughter. I died when you were so young. I haunt the world in grief, wondering about you and your brother- did you stay with him- did you protect him as I told you to?"

"Mama?" Bianca was crying Percy realized with horror. Gods but they were helpless. .

The fog began thickening around their feet, twining around their legs like vines as the colors seemed to fade from their clothes and faces as if they were becoming shades too.

Percy gritted her teeth, pulling herself away from Thalia and straightening up, pulling Riptide from her pocket and uncapping it, raising it threateningly.

"Enough." her voice was weak and hoarse but it was still audible, that was something. "Leave my family alone."

The ghost turned towards Percy and the image flickered and she saw the goddess of ghosts in her true form.

She let out a breath- gods but it was horrible. Melinoe's right half was pale, chalky white like she'd been drained of blood while her left half was pitch black and hardened like mummy skin. She wore a golden dress and a golden shawl. Her eyes were empty black voids and when Percy looked into them she felt as if she was seeing her own death.

"Where are your ghosts?" the voice was irritated, the goddesses eyes narrowed .

"My- my ghosts?" Percy blinked, I don't have any ghosts.

She snarled at that, a look of fury crossing her face. "Everyone has ghosts. Deaths you regret. Guilt. Fear. Why can I not see yours?"

Percy's gaze shifted to Thalia, Nico and Bianca, still entrances, staring at the goddesses, clearly suffering from whatever they were seeing, whatever they were hearing her say.

And Percy's mind drifted to those who had died- so many. She'd memorised every single name, of course she had. And when it had happened she'd blamed herself for every single one of them.

But she thought of her sessions with Mr. D.

She'd had several break downs during the sessions, time and time again, and as much as Mr. D wasn't exactly caring he was someone to talk at- and he'd helped her accept the past, helped her see that what had happened wasn't her fault.

"I've made my peace with them. They've passed on. They're in Elysium living it up. I've had therapy." she moved forward, slashing at the goddess with her sword, "Now leave
my friends alone!"

The goddess backed up, growling in frustration as the fog around the others started to dissipate- and it was as if they were coming out of trances, the color flooding back to their skins.

"W-what is that-" Thalia's voice was shaky, "Where-"

"It was a trick." Nico almost gasped the words, "She fooled us but- how?"

"You are too late demigods." she gave Percy a hateful look as another petal fell off of the carnation on the ground by Bianca's feet, leaving only one. "The deal has been struck."

"What deal?" Percy demanded.

Melinoe made a hissing noise- and Percy shuddered when she realized that it was her way of laughing. "So many ghosts my young demigod. They long to be unleashed. When Kronos rules the world, I shall be free to walk among mortals both night and day, sowing terror as they deserve."

"Oh save us your evil speech." Percy snapped, "Where is the sword and where's Ethan Nakamura- I'm gonna make him a ghost. Would that make you happy you old hag?"

"Percy!" Bianca's voice was shocked, "She's a goddess.

"She's a bitch is what she is. Now answer the question." Percy was gripping Riptide tightly.

"Close," Melinoe promised. "I will not stop you. I will not need to. Soon, Percy Jackson, you will have many ghosts. And you will remember me."

"Sure, sure I will."

Thalia scowled, "If you open a path to the world, do you really think Kronos will reward you? He'll cast you into Tartarus along with the rest of Hades's servants."

Melinoe bared her teeth. "Your mother was right, Thalia. You are an angry girl. Good at running away. Not much else."

"Don't talk to her like that." Nico snapped "Percy's right you are an old hag."

And then Melinoe dissolved into fog, leaving nothing but the hiss of her laughter.

Percy focused her gaze on the others. Nico was deathly pale, his eyes filled with guilt and grief- Thalia's were rimmed with red and her hands trembled and Bianca's eyes were just as red as Thalia's, and her eyes kept flicking to Nico with a look of guilt and grief crossing her face every time she did.

"Are you guys okay?"

"We-" Nico swallowed hard, "We're fine. The thief- Ethan we need to- he's probably in the cave. We have to stop him before-" before he could finish his sentence the last petal fell off the carnation. The flower turned back and wilted.

"Uh oh." Bianca mumbled the words.

"Too late." Percy turned her gaze towards the cave as a man's laughter echoed down the mountain.

"You're right about that." the voice boomed, that was the only way to describe it. At the mouth of the cave stood two people. A boy with an eye patch who made Percy automatically lash out and punch him in the face at the mere sight of him- the last time she'd seen him he'd helped Kronos rise. She gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing as she glared up at him. In his hands was a clearly unfinished sword- a double edged blade of black Stygian iron with skeletal designs etched in silver. It had no hilt but set in the base of the blade was a golden key- just like the one in Persephones image. They key was glowing.

Next to him was a three metre tall man in a tattered prison jumpsuit. He had eyes of pure silver. His face was covered with a scraggly beard and his grey hair stuck out wildly.

He looked thin and haggard in his ripped prison clothes, as though he'd spent the last few thousand years at the bottom of a pit, but even in this weakened state he looked plenty scary. He held out his hand and a giant spear appeared.

Percy remembered what Thalia had said about Iapetus: His name means 'the Piercer' because that's what he likes to do to his enemies.

He smiled down at them. It wasn't a nice smile. "And now I will destroy you-"

"Master!" Ethan interrupted quickly. He was dressed in combat fatigues with a backpack slung over his shoulder. His eye patch was crooked, his face smeared with soot and sweat. Clearly he'd struggled- Percy didn't feel even slightly sorry for him. "We have the sword. We should go- and you can't kill-"

"Yes, yes" the Titan's voice was impatient, "You've done well Nawaka."

"It's Nakamura, master." Ethan looked rather annoyed at that.

"Whatever. I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you but now we have killing to attend to-"

"My lord!" Ethan's voice was frustrated, "Lord Kronos won't reward you if you kill that one. And you're not at full power. We should ascend and summon your brothers from the upper world. Our orders were to flee-"

"You dare tell me to flee!" he whirled on Ethan and the ground rumbled as the demigod fell on his butt and scrambled backwards, the unfinished sword clattering to the rocks. "You dare tell me who I can and cannot kill!"

"Lord Kronos wants her!" Ethan screamed the words, "She's to be his bride-"

"Like fuck I am!" Percy yelled the words- and maybe it was stupid but, well, she was pissed off, and who could blame her. "The next time I see your boss you tell him I'm gonna ram this sword up his ass so far that it comes out of his gods damned mouth-"

"Percy!" Thalia's voice was a weird mix of horror and amusement.

"You?" the Titan pointed his spear at Percy. "My brother wishes to marry you! Then I will bring you to him as a gift-"

"I'd like to see you try! You probably couldn't capture a fly you dumbo-"

"Oh for-" Nico slapped his face with the palm of his hand, "Percy don't provoke the Titan-"

"She's insane. She's clinically insane." Bianca muttered the words.

"I'll provoke him if I want to I'm not scared." okay. So that was a lie but anger was stronger than fear.

"You should fear me girl! For that I'll maim you- you need not be whole when I bring you to my brother he can heal you!" And he levelled his spear at Percy and charged.

If he'd been at full strength Percy would have undoubtedly been very badly injured- he'd have pierced her shoulder- not fatal but painful, especially with the wound she already had. Even weakened and just out of the pit he was scarily fast. He moved like a tornado, slashing so quickly that Percy barely had time to dodge the strike before the spear impaled the rock where she'd been standing.

At full strength Percy would probably stand a chance of getting away with only serious injuries and fleeing.

As it was she was so dizzy that she could barely hold her sword.

She stumbled away as Iapetus yanked the spear out of the rock, but as he turned to face Percy again Bianca shot his flank full of arrows from his shoulder to his knee.

He roared and turned on her, looking more angry than hurt and Percy gritted her teeth. Getting out of this alive was going to be a challenge she knew that much.