I am going to try and update this at least a few times... I do not have any plans of undoing or redoing this. I just need some breaks every so often.

Being hugged by Meggy was like being hit with a Mack truck, even for Aaron and he was a big boy. Smaller cyclops or not, she was very strong. "I missed you, brother!" Meggy bellowed, squeezing him fiercely. "I cannot believe your back!"

"Neither can I, I missed this place. So tell me, what happened, do you have any news with Nico? Why'd he leave?"

She sighed, putting her brother down. "Meggy is unsure, but Meggy could feel necromantic magics, more potent than your own. She suspects he was talking to someone long dead."

"Damn, as I learned, you should never talk to the dead unprepared. They have no needs, only wants and they can siphon energy from their summoner... we have to be careful, who knows what being is manipulating him."

"Careful indeed." The girl beamed suddenly. "Wanna talk to Miss Metis? She is interesting!"

"Sure, why not."

Meggy led him away from their room in The Big House and down towards the Beach where a big cabin had been created on the border of the Camp. It oozed power, like a shrine would. "Meggy helped make this, it was fun!" They knocked on the door and after a moment Metis opened the door. She looked beautiful and blonde, with thick muscles and an air of fierce power around her. "Hiya, Miss Metis, Meggy is here with her brother Aaron!"

The woman smiled right back. "Hello, Meggy... and it is nice to see you again, Aaron." He knew well enough she knew what her other half, in Camp Jupiter, so they were very familiar with each other. "What brings you to my domain?"

"Meggy wanted to know if you could help us to find Nico DiAngelo. The missing Son of Hades."

She sighed. "I have been looking for him for months, but with no results. Something is protecting his essence, I can tell he is alive but that is it."

"Damn." Aaron said, frowning. "The boy has tremendous potential, even for a son of Hades. I taught him swordplay and archery and several other things. He is not to be trifled with... but he is still naive, with the wrong person leading him astray we have a serious risk presented. As his soon-to-be stepfather, I feel a rather large pressure to find him. As his teacher and friend, I feel that pressure far more."

Metis nodded. "I can imagine..."

"""

Before dinner, Meggy, Tyson, Percy and Aaron went down to the sword arena. Quintus was glad to have company. He still wouldn't tell them what was in the wooden crates, but he did teach Percy and even Aaron a few sword moves, which was saying something as Aaron had surpassed everyone in Camp at that point due to his time as Camp Jupiter. The guy was good. He fought the way some people play chess—like he was putting all the moves together and you couldn't see the pattern until he made the last stroke and won with a sword at your throat.

"Good try," he told Percy. "But your guard is too low."

He lunged and Percy blocked. "Have you always been a swordsman?" Percy asked.

He parried Percy's overhead cut. "I've been many things." He jabbed and Percy sidestepped. His shoulder strap slipped down, and Aaron saw that mark on his neck—the purple blotch. But it wasn't a random mark. It had a definite shape—a bird with folded wings, like a quail or something. "What's that on your neck?" Percy asked.

Quintus lost his rhythm. Percy hit his sword hilt and knocked the blade out of his hand.

He rubbed his fingers. Then he shifted his armor to hide the mark. It wasn't a tattoo, Aaron realized. It was an old burn…like he'd been branded. 'A murderers brand...'

"A reminder." He picked up his sword and forced a smile then turned to Aaron. "Now, shall we go, I am curious as to where your skills lie?"

He pressed Aaron hard, not giving him no time for any more questions. Aaron struggled, the man was as good as Ares or Hades was, his movements inhumanly perfect. Something was going on, a mystical energy that muted his bloodline and made him stronger... it was getting suspicious.

While he and Aaron fought, Tyson and Meggy played with Mrs. O'Leary, who Tyson called the "little doggie." They had a great time wrestling for the bronze shield and playing Get the Greek. By sunset, Quintus hadn't even broken a sweat, which seemed kind of strange; but Tyson and Percy and Aaron were hot and stick, so we hit the showers and got ready for dinner.

Aaron stayed in Posiden's cabin that night, he had long gotten permission to do so thanks to his work with the Gods. As High priest he was allowed to go into any of the cabin actually, even Apollo's.

Aaron struggled to sleep, his mind wired and awake and panicky. He felt... well it was a foreboding, his senses telling him something terrible was happening. He was getting better with that skill, thanks to the Romans, and Hades' personal training. He felt... wrong and that was something that would not go away.

So He was still awake around midnight when he realized there was a strange light in the room. The saltwater fountain that Posiden had apparently given his son was glowing. Aaron and Percy both threw off the covers and walked cautiously toward it. Steam rose from the hot saltwater. Rainbow colors shimmered through it, though there was no light in the room except for the moon outside. Then a pleasant female voice spoke from the steam: Please deposit one drachma.

"Percy this is a collect call, we need to put in a drachma." Percy grabbed a drachma from the bottom of the fountain and tossed it in.

"O, Iris, Goddess of the rainbow," Percy whispered. "Show me…Uh, whatever you need to show me."

The mist shimmered. They saw the dark shore of a river. Wisps of fog drifted across black water. The beach was strewn with jagged volcanic rock. A young boy squatted at the riverbank, tending a campfire. The flames burned an unnatural blue color. Then Aaron saw the boy's face. It was Nico di Angelo. He was throwing pieces of paper into the fire—Mythomagic trading cards, part of the game he'd been obsessed with last winter.

Nico was only ten, or maybe eleven by now, but he looked older. His hair had grown longer. It was shaggy and almost touched his shoulders. His eyes were dark. His olive skin had turned paler. He wore ripped black jeans and a battered aviator's jacket that was several sizes too big, unzipped over a black shirt. His face was grimy, his eyes a little wild. He looked like a kid who'd been living on the streets.

Nico tossed another trading card into the blue flames. "Useless," he muttered. "I can't believe I ever liked this stuff."

"A childish game, master," another voice agreed. It seemed to come from near the fire, but Aaron couldn't see who was talking.

Aaron puffed up. "He is talking to a ghost, damn it... they are manipulative and cruel, I warned him to be careful... what is he doing."

Nico stared across the river. On the far shore was black beach shrouded in haze. "I've failed," he muttered. "There's no way to get her back." The other voice kept silent. Nico turned toward it doubtfully. "Is there? Speak."

Something shimmered a wisp of blue smoke, a shadow. That of a ghost. "It has never been done," the ghost said. "But there may be a way."

"Tell me," Nico commanded. His eyes shined with a fierce light.

"An exchange," the ghost said. "A soul for a soul."

"I've offered!"

"Not yours," the ghost said. "You cannot offer your father a soul he will eventually collect anyway. Nor will he be anxious for the death of his son. I mean a soul that should have died already. Someone who has cheated death."

Nico's face darkened. "Not that again. You're talking about murder."

"I'm talking about justice," the ghost said. "Vengeance."

"Those are not the same thing."

The ghost laughed dryly. "You will learn differently as you get older."

Nico stared at the flames. "I just... to save my sister from her immortal life, to get her back I need... I wish I could ask for help, but no one will come."

"I will help you," the ghost promised. "Have I not saved you many times? Did I not lead you through the maze and teach you to use your powers? Do you want salvation for your sister or not?"

Nico turned from the fire so the ghost couldn't see him, but I could. A tear tracked its way down his face. "Very well. You have a plan?"

"Oh, yes," the ghost said, sounding quite pleased. "We have many dark roads to travel. We must start—"

The image shimmered. Nico vanished. The woman's voice from the mist said, Please deposit one drachma for another five minutes.

There were no other coins in the fountain, it didn't matter though as the image faded entirely, the connection was broken.

"Aaron, what did he mean... salvation for his sister, she's alive?"

Aaron shivered. "He is trying to undo her immortality, to free her and get her back. To do that, he would need to offer another soul, to cancel out her powers. It is forbidden magic, I only know if from my studies with Hades. It was key to my coming back here, for my pilgrimage. He is strong enough to force her immortality, weak as it is, to snuff out..." They both shivered and shared a look. "We need to warn Bianca."

"You do that, Percy, I will speak to Hades."

Closing his eyes, Aaron reached out to his lover. 'Are you aware of what your son is doing?'

'Yes, but I cannot stop him, the laws of interference... he is bound to something bigger,...can you help my son?'

'Our son and yes I will...'

A wave of loving warmth flooded his mind. 'You are amazing.'

'I do try...'

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

I missed this story.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.