Hello everyone!

Welcome to chapter seven! Today Nico gets punched into a tree (oh no!), a dramatic fight happens, we get a glimpse at Alex's backstory, more things are revealed, a team meeting actually makes some progress, and Cat is not having a good day.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Percy Jackson universe, sadly. I'm merely borrowing them to play in my sandbox for a bit! Cat is my very special OC, however, as is Quentin, Episis, and any other odd names you don't remember. Alex and Jane are OC's created by some talented friends of mine.

Nico di Angelo

Nico watched Catalia return to camp, mulling the morning's events over in his mind. It was disconcerting to realize he'd only woken up a few hours ago - he felt like he'd been awake for hours. He let her get a head start, guessing she'd want a little more time on her own. After a few minutes, he started after her, knowing he couldn't avoid returning to the meeting forever. Nico wondered if the others had made any progress or decisions, or if they'd just argued and shouted questions the entire time he'd been gone.

Not for the first time, he repeated what he remembered of the prophecy to himself, trying to understand it. Children of death harbor secrets never told. Sure, Nico had secrets...but didn't everyone? The mention of them in the prophecy must mean one of his secrets would affect the quest. The obvious one, of course, was his connection with Catalia, which affected the quest massively...but it wasn't 'never told.' Hopefully, Catalia would eventually know, but more importantly, Chiron knew. As private as he was, Nico failed to think of a secret that absolutely no one knew, unless dead people didn't count. Bianca crossed off many of his secrets, as long as 'never told' truly meant never.

Without warning, arms crashed into his chest, slamming him backward into a tree trunk and knocking the wind out of him. All prior thoughts of secrets and prophecies fled his brain as his instincts took over, screaming at him to run or fight, both of which were impossible. Nico gasped for breath, his hands scrabbling uselessly against his attacker's muscled arms. Finally, he managed a solid kick to his opponent's gut, and immediately the tight grip loosened. Nico fell to his knees, coughing, and groped blindly for his sword.

Luck wasn't on his side, however, and his attacker recovered quickly. Before Nico could draw his weapon, he was pulled to his feet and pushed against the tree again. Nico struggled violently, clawing any inch of skin he could reach, until his eyes landed on a familiar item and his arms slackened in shock.

"What the Hades, Percy?!" He shouted, finally succeeding in shoving the older boy off. Percy recovered his footing quickly and glared at Nico, his eyes full of fire. Riptide, thankfully still in pen form, was clenched tightly in his hand, which was balled into a fist. Nico took a step back, startled by the intensity of his friend's gaze. He hadn't seen Percy look that angry since they'd battled the Giants at the Parthenon, and he had to admit… it was scary. As Nico watched, unsure how to react, Percy's face crumpled and his rage dissolved.

"I'm sorry, Nico…" Percy said, looking so much like a lost puppy Nico would have laughed if the circumstances were different. "I just… all that stuff with Cat… and more quests and prophecies and danger and she's coming…" his voice broke and he trailed off, shocking Nico. He'd always seen Percy as the older, unbeatable war hero who everyone looked up to and practically worshiped. But the boy in front of him looked nothing like the warrior Nico was so used to seeing.

"Yeah." Nico managed, wincing inwardly when it came out harsher than he'd meant. Clearing his throat, he tried again, wishing he knew how to handle emotions. "I mean, I get that. But why in the name of-" he paused again, taking a deep breath before he continued. "Why would that make you attack me? I didn't do anything!" Nico said, his voice rising as he abandoned his attempts at empathy.

Percy looked amused, as if he had heard Nico's thoughts. But as he spoke, his smile faded and was replaced with a frown. "Because. I know you're hiding something. You had that look the whole time — none of it surprised or even fazed you. You know something about my sister, don't even bother denying it, and you had better tell me. And I swear to all the gods, if you knew, all this time…" He left his threat unfinished, but his stone-cold gaze was warning enough.

Nico sighed and looked away. He truly wanted to tell Percy, and not just because he was wary of him. But an oath was an oath...especially one sworn on the river Styx. Knowing there was no way out of this, he resigned himself to hurting his friend in order to keep his promise. Nico met Percy's eyes, his face a mask of icy calm. "You don't need to know anything I could tell you. It's mine and my friend's business, not yours. Just stay out of it, Percy."

Percy's eyes flared. "She's not your friend! You don't have any real friends! She's my sister and it is my business!" He shouted, his whole body tense as he stepped closer.

Cold, piercing anger shot through Nico, and all logic and rationale fled his mind. He completely forgot the reason for their conversation, his mind only responding to the fiery words. Nico clenched his fists, his own voice rising in an icy tone. "Sister? She's more of my sister than yours! I've known her longer than you! She's not even your real sister!"

Percy jerked backwards at Nico's words, his eyes widening and a hurt expression flashing across his face. It didn't last long, and his rage soon returned, his fists trembling as his whole body went rigid. Before Nico could react or even register what he'd said, a stabbing pain shot through his face and he saw stars. Stumbling, he fell backward and slammed his head into the tree behind him. When his vision cleared, he was lying on the forest floor, his head pounding and warm liquid dripping down his face.

Percy was crouched next to him, but his attention was focused on something else. Nico followed Percy's horrified gaze, his eyes widening as he saw her. Catalia was standing only a few feet from them, her hands covering her mouth and tears glistening in her eyes. Before either boy could say anything, she turned and fled back towards camp, the faint sounds of sobbing disappearing with her.

Nico slammed his fist into the ground, ignoring the stab of pain. All he'd wanted to do was help Catalia, and instead he'd managed the exact opposite. Now on top of the terrible quest, she'd watched her brother and best friend fight, and gods help them if she'd overheard their conversation. Nico stood up gingerly, ignoring Percy as he stood and left without a word. He grabbed the tree trunk for support as his vision spun. Groaning, he turned in the direction he thought was camp, but instead found the ground rushing up at him. Well, crap. He thought, bracing himself for a second fall, but it never came. Instead, hands grabbed his arms and lowered him gently to the ground. Nico forced his eyes to open and saw Jane's wide blue eyes looking down at him, her eyebrows scrunching together as she released his arms.

"Nico?! What happened? Are you alright?" She said, her hands fluttering around his face, as if she wanted to help but didn't know where to start.

He nodded, then winced as the motion shot another stabbing pain through his face. "Mm…fine." He slurred, then realized how ridiculous he sounded.

Jane stifled a giggle and eyed his face. "Whatever you say, tough guy. You don't have to tell me what happened, but at least tell me where it hurts."

Nico blushed a little, embarrassed at her finding him like this. "Uh...everywhere?" He said, but it came out more like a question than an answer. "I mean, my head hurts everywhere." He added, hoping she'd be satisfied and leave him alone.

Alas, luck had truly abandoned him today, and instead Jane frowned and leaned closer, examining his face. "Well, you've got a nasty bruise, and your nose might be broken, but those are easy fixes. I'm just worried you might have a concussion if your head hurts that bad." Her shoulder-length brown hair brushed Nico's cheek, making him realize how close they were. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain and nausea that rewarded his abrupt upright position.

"I'm fine. Thank you for catching me." Nico said, or at least tried to say. His nose had bled into his mouth, turning the last words into an unintelligible mumble. This time, Jane couldn't restrain her giggle. Nico frowned and turned away towards camp, but Jane sobered up immediately, rushing to his side.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Here, I'll help you get back to camp." She smiled, looping his arm around her neck. Nico stiffened instantly, but Jane didn't seem to notice. He wanted to pull away, but realized he probably wouldn't make it on his own. Grudgingly, he let her support him until they reached his cabin, which was thankfully at the edge of camp. He pulled away as quickly as possible, grabbing the porch railing to support himself.

"Thanks." He said stiffly, then turned and hurried toward his cabin.

Jane opened her mouth, looking a little miffed, but Nico ignored her and stumbled inside the cabin. Pushing thoughts of Percy and Catalia out of his mind, he walked to his bunk and laid down, promising himself it was just for a minute.

Alex

Alex stormed into her cabin, glaring at anything her gaze landed on. She'd sat through nearly an hour of the others debating every aspect of the prophecy and quest, growing increasingly annoyed at the situation. First the drama queen had run out, then Nico had gone after her, then Percy had gone after them, and then Jane had gone after Percy. Annabeth and Leo had been engaged in smart-people talk about prophecies and memories or something like that when Chiron had told her to go find Nico and the others. As annoyed as she was about having to fetch her half-brother, it was still better than listening to nerds blather on about bolts and nuts. They're the nuts, Alex grumbled to herself, shoving the door to her cabin open. She was met by the sounds of Nico snoring, stopping her dead in her tracks.

Seriously? He left an important quest meeting acting like there was an emergency, vanished for hours, and got her sent to fetch him...to take a nap? Oh, he was going to pay for this.

She grabbed a cup of water from her nightstand and made her way to his bed, smirking. When she reached his bunk, however, a completely unexpected sight greeted her. The glass slipped from her hand, shattering into a thousand shards as it hit the floor. Alex gaped at Nico's bloodied face as he jerked awake, blinking rapidly.

"I know you like waking me up, Alex, but I don't think breaking things is necessary." Nico's voice was slightly slurred, and his eyes didn't quite seem to focus on her, despite his obvious attempts to conceal it.

She raised her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms. "New days require new methods." Alex shot back. "Care to explain what happened to your face?"

"What?" Nico gave his half-sister a confused look, reaching up to touch his face. Realization dawned in his eyes and he groaned, flopping back onto his pillow. "How long has it been?"

Alex frowned, slightly concerned for him, although she'd never admit it. "I dunno. You left the meeting about three hours ago."

Nico jerked upright again, narrowly avoiding slamming his head into the upper bunk. "Three hours? You mean I've been asleep for over an hour?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno what you've been doing. But I want to know what happened to your face." She said pointedly, not missing his wince as he got out of bed.

"It's nothing." he muttered, but Alex didn't budge. Nico rolled his eyes at her. "Fine. Percy punched me into a tree."

Alex snorted involuntarily at the mental image his words created. Nico stared at her, an indignant expression slowly spreading across his face, which only made her start laughing. He gaped at her for another minute, but she kept laughing and eventually he rolled his eyes and vanished into the bathroom. Alex abruptly stopped laughing as she remembered the purpose of her errand, and she followed Nico into the bathroom.

"Hurry up and get packed. Chiron wants us to leave as soon as possible, and there's still a lot to get done."

Nico paused in the middle of washing his face, turning wide eyes to Alex. "You mean we're leaving for the quest… today?" he spluttered incredulously.

Alex nodded, throwing a towel at him. "Yep. I knew demigods were spontaneous, but this is like, crazy spontaneous. Isn't there supposed to be, I dunno, a briefing first? Or like, specific training? I mean, I'm all for just going out and kicking some monster butts, but I hadn't pegged horse dude as that kind of guy. I still have no idea what we're even doing, much less what to pack to go save the world."

Nico just nodded at her, looking distracted. Alex sighed, realizing he hadn't listened to a word she said, and followed him back to the main area of the cabin. After digging around for a backpack, she tossed her few belongings into it. Most of the items were practical - the long black dagger with a red leather hilt she'd selected as her weapon, water and her secret stash of junk food, a flashlight, a few changes of clothes, toiletries, and her music player. The final thing she packed was hidden under her mattress and locked shut with a key she never took off her neck. Inside were pictures of memories she didn't want to remember, a diary she'd never admit she had, and a cellphone she checked everyday, hoping for news from people she'd tried to erase from her mind. She shoved the silver box into her backpack and zipped it shut.

Standing, she slung it over her shoulder, and tapped her foot, waiting for Nico. She hadn't planned on coming to this camp, much less going on a wild goose chase quest, but at least it would get her mind off the past. Maybe I'll even have fun, she thought, then snorted. As if I could have fun or make friends with that bunch of idiots.

A sharp rapping on the door broke into her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. Alex strolled over to the door and pulled it open, blinking as the bright light assaulted her eyes. Jane looked up and smiled at her, fidgeting slightly with the charm bracelet clasped on her wrist.

"Hi, Alex! Chiron sent me to fetch you and Nico so we can finish up the meeting and stuff. He said we're meeting at the sword arena." Jane paused for a minute, glancing over Alex's shoulder. "And I just wanted to... erm... check on Nico." She finished awkwardly, looking back down at her hands.

"Yes, we're coming, and Nico is fine." Alex said, shoving Nico out the door as he came up behind her. She started following him, then paused, looking back at Jane. "Wait, why'd you want to check on Nico?" Alex asked, eying Jane suspiciously.

Jane started to explain, but Nico quickly cut across her. "She walked back from the forest with me." He said smoothly, and Jane shot him a confused look.

"Uh-huh." Alex looked between the two of them and fake gagged. Smirking at their indignant expressions, she strode ahead, leaving the two spluttering behind her.

Cat Jackson

Cat shoved the last few things into her bag, struggling to hold back her tears and ignoring the concerned looks several of her cabin-mates were sending her way. She'd barely spoken to any of them since her claiming, despite Travis and Connor begging her incessantly to tell her everything. She'd claimed she needed to process it all first - which was true, even if it wasn't the full truth. In a matter of hours, she'd learned she was thousands of years old, the daughter of two primordials, her father was an evil maniac who was trying to destroy the world, her mother was dead, her brother was pure darkness, there was a huge prophecy, she had to go on a quest to stop her father, her adopted brother and her best friend had fought over her, and she had regained all of her memories. Well, almost all of them. She still felt like something was missing, but the answer kept flitting away from her. In addition to that mountain of things to process, she also was 90 percent sure Leo had asked her out. Well, more like 70 percent…or lower. Romance wasn't exactly her forte.

With a sigh, Cat grabbed her bag and left the cabin, heading to the arena. She waved as cheerily as she could manage at her friends and tried not to wonder if she'd ever see them again. Jane had found her as she'd wandered aimlessly on the outskirts of camp and told her to pack her bags and meet everyone at the arena. Cat figured she should be surprised they were leaving so soon, but from what she understood of the prophecy, they had a deadline to meet. She shot a longing glance towards the lake as she passed it, wishing she could just dive into the cool waters and avoid all her problems. Tearing her gaze away, she jogged the rest of the way to the arena and slipped inside.

Chiron looked up as she entered, smiling kindly at her. Cat ignored him, still hurt that he'd kept so much from her and then dumped it all on her with no warning. All of the books, notes, and various maps from the big house now covered a table in the middle of the arena. The prophecy scroll was spread out on the middle of the table, held open by several books.

Annabeth waved distractedly at her, not taking her eyes off the map she was examining. Percy was reclined on the lowest row of seats behind Annabeth, bags piled at his feet. He sat up hurriedly when he saw Cat, and she turned away, feeling his worried gaze scanning her. Judging by his reaction, he wanted to talk to her about the fight, and she couldn't handle that conversation right now. Searching the room for an escape, her eyes landed on Leo, who was lounging on a crate near the table.

Cat made her way over to him and settled down next to him, watching him fidget with bits of metal from his pockets. She smiled in awe as his fingers flew over the scraps, forming a small model car and deconstructing it just as quickly. Unconsciously, her own fingers twirled, creating a replica of the model car out of crystals swirling around her hands. Leo made the scraps into a cute mouse, then glanced up and winked at Cat. A squeaking sound broke the silence, and she grinned, impressed at his creation.

"That's cool, how did you make it do that?" She asked, but Leo scrambled off the crate, the little metal mouse falling to the ground and breaking. Cat stared at him, startled. "What-"

Leo just gestured at her hands, his eyes wide. Confused, she looked down, and shrieked when she saw a live mouse in her hands, crawling over the model car she had made earlier. She flicked her fingers slightly and the mouse crumbled into black tendrils and vanished.

Leo jerked back and finally found his voice. "What the heck was that?" He shrieked, much louder than necessary. Cat winced and shrugged casually, trying to ignore Percy's worried gaze boring into her.

"Creation powers." She said, hoping he would leave it at that, but naturally, he didn't.

"Yeah…but…that was a living thing." He spluttered.

"You can create life?" Annabeth gasped, coming around the table to join them.

"Yeah." Cat winced again as Leo and Annabeth stiffened and exchanged a glance.

Annabeth turned back to Cat, shaking her head. "That goes against all science and logic," She said, and Cat sighed.

"I know, but aren't our whole lives against logic?" Annabeth nodded, but her gaze only grew more serious.

"If you can create a living mouse...can you create a human being?" Annabeth whispered, her eyes wide. Cat froze, noticing that Chiron's attention had sharply turned to their conversation, adding yet another gaze piercing into her. Ignoring the memories filling her head, she shook her head with a laugh. "Don't know, I've never tried. But I doubt it." Cat lied easily, shoving memories of a time long passed out of her mind.

"But where did it go?" Leo asked, slowly returning to his seat on the crate.

Cat turned to him, trying to ignore the looks both Chiron and Percy were still shooting at her. "Oh, um…" She hesitated, not sure how to explain. "Being the adopted daughter of Chaos has…perks." She said, then turned away again, not wanting to see the look on his face. She knew that they didn't hate her for her parentage, but that didn't make it any easier to admit. They don't hate me yet, she reminded herself. But as soon as they find out what I did…what I couldn't do…what I'll have to do…they will hate me, and they'll be right to.

The arena door slammed, snapping her out of her depressing thoughts. Alex, Nico, and Jane entered, each carrying a bag and dressed for travel. Cat's eyes latched on Nico instantly, barely noticing as the two girls joined the group. Nico met her gaze, his guilt and worry surprisingly obvious to her. She didn't look away, searching his face for answers, but found only bruises and conflicted emotions.

"What happened to you?" Leo asked, and Nico closed up again, his emotions vanishing back behind walls as he turned his attention to Leo.

"None of your business." Nico snarled.

Leo flinched and leaned back, looking surprised. "Sheesh, no need to…" he trailed off as Chiron cleared his throat, and Cat turned her attention to the centaur.

"Now that you are all here, we can begin. I'm sure you all have some questions, so before I send you off, I will answer as many as I can."

Alex snorted. "Some questions? We got a lot more than that. First one: why in the name of everything sane are we leaving today? We barely got any warning, we have like no clue where we're going or what we're doing, and we have no time to prepare!" She took a deep breath and barreled on before Chiron could speak. "Secondly, what the heck are we doing on this quest thingy, where are we going, what in the name of Hades does the prophecy mean, how the heck is she thousands of years old, what weird things can she do, and how do we even know she's on our side?" Alex asked, her sharp eyes snapping to Cat as she folded her arms.

Taken completely off guard by the barrage of questions, all Cat could do was stare at Alex, dumbfounded. Sure, she had expected them to have a lot of questions…but she hadn't expected any of them to doubt her loyalty. Alex continued to glare at her as the room erupted into chaos. There was both outrage at Alex's accusations and agreement with her questions exploding from all sides of the room. Chiron groaned, muttering to himself about how he couldn't wait to get them all off his hands. Cat stifled a smile at his words, trying to tune out the yelling.

Finally Chiron stood, his thundering voice echoing through the arena. "Quiet!" Silence fell instantly at the command, and everyone turned to look at him. "You are leaving today because the fate of the world is in your hands, Alexander Murphy." Chiron said sternly, ignoring Alex's flinch and startled gasp. "Chaos is rising again, and he must be stopped. You will travel to Greece, to one of the few relatively safe entrances to his dominion left. Prophecies can never be fully interpreted until they have come to pass. And as for your inquiry of Catalia - that you must learn on your own."

Cat nearly interrupted Chiron out of habit, despising his constant use of her full name, but she restrained herself, well aware there were much more important things to deal with.

"I cannot say anything that will cause you to trust her, nor can I fully explain something I was not there to witness. I doubt you will even be able to comprehend her life and skills, and I don't know if she will even attempt to explain. But that is her decision, and you will respect the leader of this quest. Am I understood?" Chiron's voice left no room for disagreement, and even Alex didn't argue any further. "Any questions?"

Oh, Cat had plenty. The first one regarding the fact that Chiron had called her the leader of the quest. Logically, of course, it made sense, but she hadn't expected anyone to mention it.

Annabeth raised her hand, and Chiron nodded at her, seeming relieved that there wasn't a barrage of questions. "How are we going to get to Greece, Chiron? The Argo II was destroyed in the war, we can't fly, and I'm guessing we don't exactly have time to take a road trip." Chiron nodded, a slight smile touching his face. He turned to Leo, who was still fidgeting with spare parts. Cat followed his gaze, confused. Leo looked up, raising his eyebrow at everyone's stares.

"What? Did I burn my pants off again?" He asked, looking down.

"What- no." Chiron said, looking incredulous. "We were discussing how to get to Greece." He said pointedly, but his meaningful look was completely lost on Leo..

"Oh. That's nice?" Leo said, looking confused. "But - uh - why is everyone looking at me?"

Chiron sighed. "I am not completely oblivious as to what you do in that bunker of yours, Mr. Valdez."

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh…you mean…oh."

Cat shot Leo a questioning look. "He means what?"

Leo shifted guiltily, and Cat's curiosity heightened. "I kinda…sorta…well that is to say…Istartedbuildinganewargo…" he mumbled.

"You did what?" Percy asked incredulously, causing Cat to jump a little. He'd been so quiet that she'd forgotten he was there.

Leo cleared his throat and repeated himself. "I started building a new Argo." He blurted, a sheepish smile flitting across his face. "I was bored…and it seemed like a good idea." He defended hurriedly, but Annabeth interrupted him.

"Leo, it's fine! No one is mad at you for building something helpful." She said, smiling.

"What's the Argo II?" Jane asked quietly, and Cat jumped again. Sheesh, people need to stop being so quiet.

"The flying ship Leo built that we used to transport us during the war. It got destroyed during the trip from the Parthenon to Camp." Nico answered, causing Cat to jump for a third time.

"That's it!" She shrieked. "Everyone move where I can see you and stop being quiet!" Everyone turned to stare at her, and she realized in horror that she'd spoken aloud.

"Uh…Cat?" Percy asked, sounding so confused it would have been funny, given different circumstances. "What…?"

Cat cleared her throat with an embarrassed smile. "Um…sorry…just got a little startled…carry on." Percy nodded slowly, still looking confused, but to her relief everyone stopped staring at her.

"Anyways…" Annabeth said, "This is perfect! Having a new Argo fixes the transportation problem."

Leo started fidgeting again. "Well…um…it's not exactly perfect…it's not finished." He said, looking down at his hands with a frown.

"Oh…" Annabeth said. "Well, could we finish it soon?"

Leo shook his head. "It'd take months to finish, even with help. I'm sorry."

Annabeth's shoulders slumped, but she smiled at him. "Don't worry about it…we'll figure something out."

Chiron nodded thoughtfully and turned to Cat, his eyebrow raised in an unspoken question. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was implying and she hurriedly shook her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Chiron." She whispered, but Annabeth heard. She followed Chiron's gaze, and her face lit up as she realized what the centaur was thinking.

"Of course! Cat, couldn't you finish the ship?"

Cat hesitated, shoving away memories for what had to be the fiftieth time that day. "I…"

"You don't have to, Cat, it's okay." Percy said quietly. She glanced at him, knowing he meant the exact opposite of what he said.

She sighed. "I'll try. But I'm not making any promises."

"Wonderful." Chiron said, smiling at her and trotting back to the table in the center of the room, eyeing the seven demigods.

Leo raised his hand before Chiron could continue. "Just, ah, one other issue, Chiron. The ship isn't exactly stocked with supplies or furnished, and I'm guessing that's way too much detailed work for Cat to do…" he trailed off, seeming to feel bad for bringing more bad news.

Chiron's face grew thoughtful again, but Annabeth already had a solution. "I can go and get some of the cabins together and have them help with that. I know you have extra furniture from last time, and we have plenty of supplies for everything. If Leo can just give me a list, and you'll release, maybe four cabins from regular work today, we can have the ship stocked and ready to leave tomorrow morning."

"Perfect, then we have a plan. Annabeth, you can get started on that now, and once the ship is ready you can load everything on there." He said it without question, as if there wasn't any doubt that Cat would be able to finish building an entire ship in a single day. "Leo, take Catalia to the bunker. Percy, go with them. The rest of you, help Annabeth and finish preparing."

Leo nodded and turned to Annabeth, already starting to write a list of supplies.

Alex tilted her head, the movement catching Cat's attention. She narrowed her eyes at Cat before turning to Chiron. "One more question. You said she was our leader?" Her voice was carefully neutral, but Cat could hear the underlying hostility.

Chiron gave her a stern look. "Yes, she is. She knows more about Chaos and your quest than even I do." Alex nodded stiffly, and Cat looked away, unsure what to make of her.

Annabeth finished talking with Leo, and after a brief conversation with Percy, she left, Nico and the two girls following her.

Leo turned to Cat, holding out his hand encouragingly. "You ready?" Cat nodded, trying to calm her inner turmoil. Percy took her other hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, and she smiled at him. They didn't understand why she was upset, but they cared about it anyway, and she appreciated that more than she could express. She could tell Percy still wanted to talk, but she could also see that he understood why she couldn't. Why she had to forget, just for a few moments. Leaving her bags in the arena, she followed the two boys out of camp and headed for the woods, swinging her arms happily as they walked.

"Let's go kick some unfinished ship butt!" Leo smirked and dashed off towards the bunker. The two siblings exchanged a grin and took off after him, laughing. For just a few moments, they were simply a trio of carefree teenagers, without the weight of the world upon their shoulders.

Credit: A massive thank you to my wonderful beta, StarOfOlympus for the help and encouragement on this entire story. I couldn't have done this without you!

Hope you enjoyed! One little comment I will make, is that I am not implying that concussions aren't a big deal by Nico dismissing Jane's comment. I've had one, and they are not fun, and can also cause serious brain damage, which is no joke. Anywho, please leave a review and let me know what you thought!