Hey everyone!

First off, I'm super sorry it's been so long *cries* I had to take a week off due to a play I was running spotlights for - it was tech week and we had five hour rehearsals each day. Then life was crazy, so I'm two days late. Also, as mentioned last chapter, having a broken finger isn't fun. FYI, I'll be posting on Friday's now. Just to answer any time you're wondering when I'm gonna update - it'll be the next Friday. If I'm late, it's likely because I'm a chronic procrastinator, so feel free to spam me until I get moving and post the next chapter. Unless I'm late because of crazy life, reviews asking me to update (as long as they are phrased nicely) motivate me. I've read many rants from authors about reviews asking to update, but personally (not criticizing authors whose preferences are different) I don't mind them.

Anywho, on to the important things. Welcome to chapter nine! This is the last chapter I had pre-written, but don't worry, I've already worked on chapter ten. I got so into it I wrote twenty pages in like one or two sittings and it's very angsty and dramatic, but it doesn't fit into the timeline, so I'm going to have to write more. It'll probably be two if not three chapters work, so yay!

I keep getting distracted, lol. In this beautiful chapter, Nico gets time to shine, more angst and drama, Leo gets some angstyness, Cat is really not having a good day, Annabeth gives her thoughts, Cat has a sightlier happier moment, more hints at things to come, and lastly a couple Percabeth moments. Enjoy everyone!

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 jumped down the last few rungs to the floor of the engine room with a loud clunk. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to steady his racing thoughts. He wasn't good with people, and most of the time it didn't bother him. Still, he wished he could have found the right words to comfort his practically life-long friend, but he had drawn up blank. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he glanced around the crowded space for Leo, shoving away thoughts of his fight with Percy. Leo glanced up when Nico approached, raising his eyebrow at the unexpected guest.

"Hey, Nico. Something you need?" Leo's question was notably absent of his usual jokes and smile, although he tried to fake one. Nico was used to fake smiles, but this time he wasn't sympathetic. In fact, if he was being completely honest, he was angry. Maybe it was just leftover from Percy's words and their fight, but he couldn't believe what Leo had done.

"What is wrong with you?" He growled, a dangerous undertone lurking in his words despite his best efforts to stay calm.

Leo crossed his arms, all traces of humor slipping away. "Um, excuse you?"

Nico stepped closer, glaring at the shorter boy. "I warned you, if you hurt her, I would-"

Leo interrupted him angrily, though his voice remained steady. "Actually, you didn't. Percy did. And I didn't-"

"You didn't what? Hurt her? Really? Then why did I come back to check on you and find her crying on the deck?" Nico half-shouted at him, knowing he was overreacting, but not really caring all the same.

Leo's eyes widened and he turned away, fidgeting with the machinery. "She was crying? Nevermind, don't answer that." He muttered. "It wasn't my fault, alright? Just go away, it's none of your business anyways."

Nico's glare turned murderous, cold anger pulsing through his body. "It wasn't your fault?"

Leo turned to meet his eyes. "Yeah. That's what I said. Glad your ears are working. Except I'm not so sure they are, cuz I also said to leave, Di Angelo." His face was stiff with fiery anger, the polar opposite of his usual jovial expression.

Nico just stepped closer. "Not until you admit it and apologize. I knew you were bad for her."

"Oh, really?" Leo shouted, and he too took a step closer to Nico. At this point they were practically nose to nose. "You don't know anything, Mr. Skulls and Crossbones. Get out of my ship!"

Nico did nothing but glare back, and Leo's body tensed in rage. The punch was so unexpected from Leo, of all people, that he didn't see it coming. For the second time in a day, a friend's fist slammed into his nose with a crack, and he stumbled backwards. He could see Leo's fist smoking slightly, and he thanked Hades that it hadn't been ablaze when he lashed out. Before he could recover, Leo grabbed his shirt and glared up at him, his body radiating heat.

"You didn't see what she did. She's stronger than anything I've heard of, much less seen. Even Percy didn't disagree when I said we couldn't trust her. Her father is freaking Chaos, and we've known her for just a tiny fraction of her life. Do the math, Di Angelo. We barely know her, and she's got the power to kill us all with a flick of her hand. So yeah, I backed off. I'm not kissing someone I don't trust." He growled, releasing Nico and stormed back to his work.

Nico could only stare after him, shock overriding his anger. The truth, however much he hated to admit it, was that Leo was partially right. Logically, they couldn't trust her. But Nico knew her more than the others, he knew they could trust her.

The others didn't know that though. Leo was doing what he thought was best, and Nico couldn't blame him for that. Finally, he left the room, resigning to wait until they were both calmer. Then he could figure out how to get them to trust her. He had to.

Catalia turned around with a gasp as he exited the ladder, her hand fluttering to her mouth and her eyes latching onto his face. Nico frowned at her and raised his hand to his face, and felt the blood dripping onto his fingers from his nose. He cursed under his breath, and hurriedly wiped his face off, as best as he could. He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't paused to consider her reaction.

Nico hesitated, and stepped towards her. "I'm sorry, Ellie...I didn't mean to-"

Her eyes flickered down to his hands, and she gave a half sob and turned away. Confused, he looked down at his hands, covered in blood from his nose. Realization hit him, and he nearly groaned. She must have been so upset that she didn't register that the blood was his, and not Leo's. He didn't know how he felt about her caring more if he'd punched Leo than vice versa, but either way, girls were too complicated. He didn't have the words or the energy to talk to her, so he quietly slipped down the side ladder and to the floor of the bunker. Footsteps echoed from the entrance, and Percy jogged in, grinning. He stopped short when he caught sight of Nico, however, his face darkening.

"What happened?" Percy asked, his hand drifting towards his pocket where he kept Riptide.

Nico shook his head at him. "Nothing. There's no danger or anything, relax."

Percy nodded slowly, eyeing him, as if he was trying to read Nico's emotions. "Is Cat okay?"

Nico sighed, and nodded. "Well, physically, yeah." He responded, unsure how to explain the mess he and Leo had made.

Percy's face scrunched up. "What happened?"

Nico winced, tempted to hide in the shadows and ignore everyone and everything. "Leo. He was being a jerk. Thus the bloody nose. Again." He said, slightly bitter. He still hadn't gotten over their fight, even though he knew it had been partially his fault.

Percy's eyes widened and he groaned, dragging his hand through his hair. "Look, Nico, I'm sorry. I was stressed and worried, and while I know you're hiding something...I trust you enough to not ask. I shouldn't have said those things. Or hit you."

Nico raised his eyebrows, surprised Percy was apologizing. "It's fine. I shouldn't have either." He muttered, looking away.

"Okay, now that's settled, care to explain more?" Percy prodded, crossing his arms.

"The two of them almost kissed, but Leo pulled back, said he couldn't, or some crap like that. She told me, I went down and talked to him, and you can see how that ended." Nico said, waving at his face.

Percy's face darkened for a brief second. "Wow. Poor Cat." He laughed a little and his face brightened. "But geez, who knew that scrawny kid could punch so hard?"

Nico stared at him. "That's it? You're not angry?"

Percy sighed. "A little, and I feel terrible for Cat...but in all honesty, I don't blame Leo. We...had a talk, earlier, and I get where he's coming from. So sure, I'm not happy about it, but like I said, I don't really blame him."

"Oh. Now I get it." Nico muttered, remembering what Leo had said about Percy not disagreeing with him. "I agree, but I'm still angry at him. Probably just because he punched me though." He answered, feeling a half smile plaster itself on his face.

He wasn't really sure why he lied instead of reasoning with Percy. Maybe he was just tired of fighting, or he was pretending to be on their side so if it got messy, he was prepared. Or maybe, deep down...he kind of agreed with them.

Percy smiled grimly. "Let's get this ship in the air, yeah?"

Annabeth Chase

Annabeth walked around the group of demigods, checking on the various stacks of supplies and crates. All that was left to do now was load the ship up and get one more night of sleep. The Demeter and Aphrodite campers had begged for permission to decorate the cabins, and Annabeth had agreed, figuring it would be a nice touch to the ship. Everyone was standing on Half-Blood hill, waiting for Cat and the boys to return with the ship. Annabeth sighed, wishing she was packing to go to college, not another world-saving quest. On the other hand, she was still going with Percy, and it would give her a chance to study his sister's powers more. She was still astounded at the display of power Cat had shown earlier...creating a living creature. That was a completely new ability, an insanely powerful one, and it both excited and scared her.

Something in the younger girl's face when Annabeth had asked her about creating a human had seemed… off. Logically, well, ignoring the fact that everything about Cat already went against logic, if she could create a mouse, she could create a human. And that was amazing, but also amazingly scary.

Jane interrupted her racing thoughts with a gasp, and Annabeth turned around to see a massive shadow covering the hill. She looked up and spotted the Argo II, or at least its twin sibling. The ship descending from the sky was almost identical to the ship they'd used during the giant war. The only visible differences was the decoration on the hull, which was much more extravagant than the original, and a few new dangerous looking things sticking out from the sides of the deck.

Annabeth squinted until she could read the word etched on the side of the ship in swirling gold letters: Episis. She couldn't place the name, but it was as good a name as any for a ship, and it actually fit it quite well. Alex and Jane were staring at the ship in complete awe, having never seen the original. Jane wasn't hiding her amazement nearly as well as Alex, and Annabeth smiled a little. The two girls reminded her of the first quest she'd ever gone on, off to the underworld with Percy and Grover to retrieve a lightning bolt. The quest, which had been huge at the time, seemed like child's play compared to her more recent adventures.

The ship stopped descending a few feet from the ground, and Percy poked his head over the railing with a grin. Annabeth smiled back at him as he tossed a rope ladder down. Nico climbed down first, followed by Percy, Cat, and finally Leo. Cat scooted away from the boys the minute she climbed down and hurried towards the cabins.

"Cat!" Annabeth called after her, stopping her before she could go too far. "I brought your bags, and some extra stuff from your cabin I thought you could use. Your cabin mates were quite helpful in adding things." She said sarcastically, checking to make sure the Hermes cabin hadn't stolen her bags again.

Cat gave her a half smile and a muttered thanks, but she left anyway, running towards the cabins. Annabeth watched her go with a frown, confused at her strange behavior. She jumped as strong arms slid around her waist and turned her around, and smiled as Percy's dancing eyes met hers. He kissed her gently, sending butterflies knocking around in her stomach, and stepped back with a grin. She smiled, rolling her eyes at his goofy grin, and turned to more serious things.

"The ship looks great, did everything go smoothly?" Annabeth asked, watching Leo direct Festus to help construct a makeshift lift to load the cargo.

"Well...mostly?" Percy responded, his words more of a question than a statement.

Annabeth glanced back at him and followed his glance to Nico, noticing his swollen and slightly bloody nose, then to Leo, whose expression was unnaturally cold and stiff. She shot Percy a concerned look, but he shook his head.

"I'll explain later." He said, squeezing her arm. She nodded, wondering what had happened, but followed him over to help with the loading.

Cat Jackson

"Dang it!" Cat shouted, running into her empty cabin and slamming the door shut. With an angry shout, she slammed her foot into the bunk nearest to the door. The second her foot collided with the metal, a memory shot to the front of her mind and yanked her in.

"Dang it!" She shouted, slamming her food into the nearest tree trunk with a yell. "Why, mom?! Why'd you save me and not him? He was right there, mom! Right in front of me and you left him to die! You left me, trapped in here, alone! What's the point, huh? What's the point of saving me to languish in here forever?! Why did you do this to me?! I would have rather died with him than this!"

Finally, her anger spent, she collapsed to the ground, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I just don't want to be alone anymore." She whispered, her hands stretching out in front of her and streams of crystals spinning around them. Barely even aware of what she was doing, the crystals swarmed into the figure of a boy. There was a flash of light, and she flung her arm over her eyes, shielding them.

"Ellie?" The voice was heart-wrenchingly familiar, a voice she'd begged to hear again, just once.

Slowly, she lowered her arm, hope flooding her mind, and-

"Woah, Cat?"

Cat's eyes snapped open, staring at the boy leaning over her.

"You good?" Travis Stoll asked, offering his hand.

Disorientated, Cat took his hand and stood up, realizing she'd fallen to her knees during the flashback.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just tripped."

"Sure you did. It's not like you were yelling and kicking things and then suddenly collapsed and started hyperventilating." Travis said, shrugging.

Cat eyed him suspiciously. "How long have you been here? And why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be overseeing stuff at the ship? Also where's Connor?"

Travis folded his arms. "How long have you been here? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be helping with stuff at the ship? Also, where's Percy?"

Cat rolled her eyes at him and folded her own arms. "I asked first, you answer first."

"Fine. I came back to grab something, I've only been here for like ten minutes. Connor is still at the ship overseeing stuff. Your turn." Travis said.

"I'm here to get away from stupid people, if you were already here you know how long I've been here. And Percy is also probably still at the ship. Adios, boss." Cat said, and with a mocking salute she walked away.

Travis caught her arm, dragging her back and wagging his finger at her. "Nuh-uh. You aren't getting away that quickly." With a smirk, he held up her wallet, holding it out of her reach when she lunged for it. "Explain, and your belongings shall be returned."

"Belongings? As in multiple?"

Travis nodded, his trademark grin spreading across his face, and Cat's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Fine. I thought Leo asked me out at my birthday party, but he pulled back when we almost kissed. Nico went down to talk to him and I think they got into a fight. And this morning Percy and Nico already had a fight, and it was all my fault. I've ruined everything by regaining my memories. Percy and Annabeth don't get to go to college, Leo doesn't like me anymore, if he ever did, everyone is getting into fights, and risking their lives to fight my father. Plus, my whole life is getting turned upside down, and I keep getting flashbacks and I don't know if I even want to remember anymore. And I know Nico is hiding something that he knows about me, just like Chiron did. Alex distrusts me already, and Percy is just going to replace me with Jane. He probably doesn't even think of me as his sister, but he does with Jane. Everyone is acting like I'm a completely different person now, and I don't want to be. I don't want to lose everything I have because I gained something I don't even want!"

The words spilled out, tumbling over each other in a rush to get it all out. Cat sucked in a deep breath as she finished, feeling relieved that she had finally said all of it.

"Woah. That is not at all what I was expecting." Travis said, blowing out a breath. "Uhhh…"

Cat looked away from him in embarrassment. She'd never been that close with her cabin-mates, much less told them everything on her mind.

"You don't have to say anything, Travis. I'm sorry I dumped that all on you." She muttered.

"No, it's fine. You need to talk to someone, and everybody in your circle of friends is involved in that mess. It makes sense." Travis paused for a second, his hands fidgeting with her wallet. "Hey, listen. I won't pretend to understand all of that, but you aren't a different person. You're still Cat - feisty, slightly insane, dramatic, and known to steal the show on occasions. Just roll with your crazy past, and everyone else will figure it out too. You are the almighty queen of the popcorn wars, and nothing shall stop you!"

Cat burst out laughing as Travis struck a dramatic pose and bowed. "Wow, Travis. I never knew you were so good at pep talks." She said.

"You have now been freed of that ignorant conception." Travis said, tossing her wallet back to her.

"Why yes, I have. Thanks, knight of the dunce cap."

Travis's eyes widened in not-quite-mock outrage. "Oh no you didn't!"

The nickname was from the same summer as the popcorn wars, and he'd made the whole cabin swear to never utter the words again. Cat shrieked and ran out the door as Travis lunged at her, their laughter filling the air.

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 liked it! the ending feels kinda random to me, but I had to find somewhere to put the chapter break, so hopefully it's not awkward. Please drop me a review and let me know what you thought, it only takes a minute but it makes my day! Also, if you have any ideas/requests, please share them, I'd love to do it! There are lots of times to add in requested interactions or moments, and I often can't pick what POV to write from. Have a great day/night :D