Alright everyone, Chapter 17! I honestly can't believe we made it this far lol. If this chapter came out late and is formatted weird, sorry about that. My chrome book that I usually type this from just broke, so this is typed completely from my IPad. Anyway, let's get on to some reviews.

Echoxenvy: "This wasn't a bad chapter at all. I liked the dance scene and some of the funny moments. The romance drama is really building huh? And I guess we'll have to wait until camp to see Taylor. Also, Zane kissing Nico impulsively reminds me of a certain daughter of Nemesis I created...

In all seriousness good chapter, Atlas is really damn strong. Zane wouldn't have been able to defeat him even if he could have gone all out and enraged, I mean he just flicked him and he lost lol. Also Percy being mad and sad about Annabeths capture is perfectly in character, I hope you dive more into that. The only problem I have with this chapter is that there are some misspelled words, as opposed to the other chapters. I guess you must've been typing fast, huh? It doesn't ruin it at all lol I was just pointing it out as a small piece of constructive criticism. Anyway, can't wait for the next, it's gonna be something else seeing Zane interact with the Hunters.

P.S. I guess you will include Rachel at some point, but will you have the love triangle with Percy and Annabeth like in the books? If so...damn, that's gonna suck to read, as I always hated those moments in the books. Don't get me wrong, it's well written, but it just hurts man."

Response: Perhaps I may have drawn inspiration from a certain daughter of Nemesis and potentially son of Nemesis, too. And yes, we will see Taylor in a little bit at camp, so don't worry about that. So Zane's going to have a new problem with Atlas, as he's a threat he cannot beat straight up, so it's going to require him to use some of his head or get some help. And I felt Percy wasn't angry enough when I read the first couple of chapters, so I made him a little bit angrier than he was in canon. And sorry about the spelling, I don't really edit these and don't have autocorrect so if it's makes it by, it goes by. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

P.S. Haha you gotta deal with Rachel lmao

SuAvE ViPeR: "This was a really good opening to Titans Curse, I loved it. The dance scene was cool, I wasn't expecting Zane to kiss Nico, now things will be awkward. Atlas is really strong, it's unheard of for Zane to be easily defeated like that. But it was realistic because Atlas is second in command for the titans, and Zane lost to Hyperion once with difficulty, and he's the third most powerful Titan. So the power scaling makes sense. It's hard to believe though that Zane can beat Atlas within this book by himself. Maybe in a year or so, but as of now, he'll need some help. I'm interested in how you'll write it. Can wait for the next!"

Response: Thanks for the review man. Atlas is the second strongest Titan, just behind Kronos in terms of sheer power, so it makes sense that he was able to beat Zane with a flick, since he's universal. Hyperion is almost as strong as Atlas, he was just severely weakened when Zane fought him way back in chapter eight. Hyperion would have been able to do the same to Zane if he was at full strength. It'll be a little bit before Zane is able to challenge Hyperion and Atlas on his own while they are at full power, but he will be able to do so eventually. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the second chapter of Titan's Curse.

Merrik69: "Nice to see Zane finally get his ass kicked. The little shit deserves it. Good fight scenes and humor but MC is a prick, he's too OP and brutal and that Taylor is a femboy so how is he a son of ares? Also if he gonna be MC love interest you should have a backstory for him, coz right now all we know is that he's a gay feminine son of Ares that is fast and likes Zane. Also he's so dumb, one sec he kiss Nico and the other it seemed he forgot about the whole thing. Decent story but Zane's an ass, he might as well be villain."

Merrik69 2: "And another thing I forgot to say, how tf are Zane and Thalia so different in power, when they have the same godly parent? Like you say she's weak and shit, and Jason, but that guy split a mountain in Lost Hero, so isn't that enough? Like the scene where Zane destroyed Saturn was literally just to give him a feat and show how OP he is, nothing else to the story. Like gtfo with all this stuff, why do you have to go galactic, mountain level is powerful as is."

Response: So it seems to me someone has missed the point on Zane's character development. He's literally mean to be a massive prick in the first two books. If you hate Zane right now, good, you're supposed to. And yeah, I'll admit, Taylor is not exactly super well developed right now. Like nowhere near as well as Echoxenvy's Harper. But don't worry Taylor will be getting some development in this arc and in the next one as well. Also, the reason for Taylor being a son of Ares and still being a femboy is irony. Most people expect a son of Ares to be a giant, mean muscle head, but Taylor being a small, thin femboy is literally on purpose and different for that reason. Also, the reason Zane is so powerful is because Zeus blessed him with the power way back in chapter one. Remember in the first few paragraphs where Zane's strength left him after he killed the first Laestrygonian? Well after the next Laestrygonians, Zane's strength stayed after he gained the Thunder Form. His power is directly from Zeus as a blessing. Thalia and Jason do not have such blessings. And if you don't like Zane and Matt being solar system level, that's your opinion and I respect that. They are both solar system level as the gods and Titans they fight are also on that level. Matt and Zane being mountain level and being able to fight gods far above that tier makes absolutely no sense. So that's why they are not mountain level. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this if you're continuing to read it.

ReaperKurosaki: "Wow this story is so good. Don't listen to that Merrik69 guy, he's wrong. Zane and Taylor are probably the best characters I've come across in fanfiction. Zane being OP makes perfect sense, and I love it, the fights are very good and I loved the Sea of Monsters last fight, I honestly hate Luke after that. Please keep going with this story, it's awesome!"

Response: Thanks, man. And don't worry, some little bit of criticism like that won't stop me from writing this story. I'm not too sure on Zane and Taylor being the best characters, but thanks for the words at least. The fights I would say are my strong suite when I write, as I really love writing battles and epic conflicts and shit. And yeah, fuck Luke. He's a shithead who's going to get what he deserves. Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

Alright, enough with reviews. Let's blow this pop-stand.

(Disclaimer:I don't own anything portrayed here (Except the OCs). If the fact that this is on a FanFiction website didn't tip you off, you're fucking retarded.)

(000)

Artemis' tent didn't really look all that different on the outside compared to all the other silver silk tents that were lined up in a crescent shape. It was silver, obviously, and wasn't any larger than the other tents. Zoe led my group inside the tent, which consisted of me, Thalia, Percy, Grover and Nico. Before Nico, Thalia and Grover could follow both me and Percy into the tent, Zoe held up her hand, barring them from entry. Thalia glared at the huntress, as did Nico, but they didn't make any effort to go on past her.

I honestly didn't care what the tent looked like on the inside or on the outside. I just wanted to get out of this fucking cold. While I couldn't really feel the chilling bite of the winter air, I still really didn't like it at all. When Zoe opened up the tent and walked inside, prompting us to follow her, I got my first look of the tent of the goddess of the hunt. The tent looked to be about three times the size on the inside, probably due to some divine magic or something.

There were exquisite rugs and pillows pilled around the tent in random assortments, along with no furniture. Both Artemis and Bianca sat on pillows in the floor, seeming more comfortable than they would have if they sat on a chair instead. Behind the goddess of the hunt was some kind of altar, which had all different kinds of rare animal skins and pelts adorned on it. It seemed to be some kind of trophy display, and looked rather ornate despite no gold or anything being present.

Artemis and Bianca looked like they had been discussing something moments prior, but our entrance had interrupted whatever they had been talking about. Artemis turned her head from the daughter of Hades to us. "Join us." The goddess said simply, prompting us to sit on a couple of pillows close by her and Bianca. We did so, sitting down on a couple of pillows that were on to of the rug on the floor. Artemis and Bianca were silent for a few seconds, before the goddess spoke. "Are you surprised by my age?" I felt the question was more directed at Percy rather than me, as I had met Artemis before.

Percy took a couple of seconds to respond, his awkward nature really shining. "Uh...maybe a little bit." I nearly laughed at the son of Poseidon's response, but when I saw he was probably not in the mood for such a reaction, I held the laughter in. Percy's face was on the serious side, despite the earlier awkwardness to Artemis' question.

Artemis didn't really react to Percy's question all that much, but Zoe glared at the son of Poseidon a little bit. What did he do exactly? Artemis didn't really comment on Zoe's behavior and continued to speak. "I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything I really want. This form of my is something that I have purposely crafted. My true form would destroy most beings by the, simply looking upon me."

Artemis looked between both me and Percy. "Not you two, however. I sense that the both of you are much stronger than I am. Especially you, brother. You two can no doubt sense that as well." Like I've mentioned before, I had met Artemis before when the Hunt has visited camp during Percy's absence throughout the main school year. I've told Artemis about my aura sensing and have asked her why I could do so if no one else could.

Artemis didn't really have a concrete answer for me back then. "Back to the topic at hand, this form is something I prefer. This form is the average age of my Hunters and all young maidens that I patron. Before they go astray." Percy looked confused at Artemis' explanation, so the goddess of the Hunt elaborated.

"What I mean by that is to basically grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied and insecure. Forget themselves." I nearly rolled my eyes at Artemis' words. That's just human biology, Artemis. That's supposed to happen. At Artemis' side, Zoe sat down on one of the pillows, glaring at both me and Percy as if what Artemis just said was our fault. A few months ago, I would have glared right back at the Hunter and probably would have killed her if she tried anything, but now I simply did nothing but ignore her.

Artemis noticed that Zoe was giving both of us the evil eye, so she quickly made excuses for her. "You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you. It is very rare if we have males in this camp. It is usually forbidden for males to have any contact with the Hunters. The last male to see this camp was..."

Artemis trailed off, a thoughtful expression etched on her twelve year old features. The goddess of the Hunt turned to Zoe. "Which one was it again?" Artemis asked her Hunter, who I assumed was her second in command or something. I don't really know, since I maybe saw the Hunt possibly only once or twice a year.

Zoe smirked at Artemis' words and looked at both of us in disdain. "That boy in what is now called Colorado. You turned him into a jackalope." Zoe's accent was rather odd now that I think about it. She sounded like someone from a Monty Python movie, only less exaggerated and a bit more lifelike. I didn't personally like the way Artemis' second in command was staring at us, but I was determined to not react in the slightest, as that's no doubt what they want to happen.

I reached out with my aura sensing to feel the aura of Zoe, an impulse I do with just about ever person I meet nowadays. Her aura was rather shocking, not because of its strength, no. She was only about as powerful as Nico, which was still very strong. It was just that Zoe's aura felt very familiar, almost like the Titan's who nearly killed me with a flick earlier. Just much, much weaker and less intense. Suddenly the same color and shade of hair between the two made perfect sense. Atlas and Zoe had to be related or something. Was Zoe some kind of Demi-Titan?

Artemis slightly smiled at Zoe's words, almost as if remembering a fond memory. "Ah, yes. That one. I rather enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, I asked both of you here to see if you could tell me more about the manticore. Zane, earlier you told me that the manticore you encountered when trying to retrieve Bianca summoned Atlas when it was near death, taking Annabeth with it when it vanished. Is this correct?"

I nodded as an answer to the goddess of the hunt. "Yes. The manticore specifically referred to Atlas as 'master.' And before Atlas nearly killed all of us, he called Thorn 'pathetic', then referred to his own lord. I'm pretty sure there's only one person someone as powerful as Atlas would be working for."

I didn't even need to say the Titan Lord of Time's name to conjure of feeling of ice in Artemis' tent, as simply referring to him did so. "That also means Atlas must be working either with or for Luke. And that means Annabeth is in his clutches." I said, looking to see Percy's reaction as I did so. Percy looked down at the rug and clenched his fist, his fingers shifting into water as he did so.

Artemis' face was stone, not visibly reacting to anything I said. "This is bad news, indeed." Artemis didn't answer for a little while, simply staring down at the rug that Percy had been staring down at. "The reason we came here is because we followed the aura of the manticore while tracking an exotic and powerful scent the likes of I have not felt in millennia. If the Crooked One has Atlas back under his command and free from the sky, his movements towards Olympus will be very soon. The scent we are chasing could very well be the thing that could cause the downfall of Olympus, as the prophecy says."

Artemis was so still she looked as if she could have been a statue before me. "I must follow this scent." She turned to Zoe, who had already started to stand up and inform the other Hunters about this development. "And I must do so alone." Zoe looked like she wanted to start arguing immediately, but Artemis put her hand up to stop words from coming from Zoe's mouth. "If what we are following is what I believe it to be, then this task is far too dangerous, even for Hunters."

Zoe didn't look like she wanted to agree with what Artemis was saying, but she did so anyway. "I will find what we are searching and I will return it to Olympus by the time of the winter solstice. It will be all the proof to the Olympian Council that the Crooked One is more dangerous than we believed."

I was concerned. What exactly was she talking about? "What are you talking about? What scent have you been tracking? Is it some kind of monster or is it some kind of person? What's going on?" I didn't like being left in the dark about this entire thing and Artemis playing the pronoun game wasn't exactly helping. I was rude with my tone as I had been with Chiron almost a year and a half back when talking about the Master Bolt, but I was definitely almost as irritated. I was just better at hiding it.

Artemis sighed at my questioning, while Zoe glared at me. What did I do? "It's best if you know as little as possible, brother. If I am right about my suspicions, then you knowing could be very dangerous and put you in danger." I wanted to say I was more powerful than Artemis, which she said so herself, so anything that would put her in danger would be far more dangerous to herself. But I held my tongue, knowing that disrespecting her would likely earn me a tongue lashing from Zoe or one of the other Hunters.

Artemis stood up from her pillow and manifested her bow from out of nowhere. Damn that was so fucking cool. The goddess of the Hunt turned to me. "Before I go, brother, I have a small task for you." I perked up slightly, wondering what this was about. "I want you to escort the Hunt to Camp Half-Blood in my absence. They can stay there in safety until I return from my journey.

Zoe almost immediately shot up and started to argue. "But Artemis, we hate that place! The last time we stayed there..." Zoe trailed off, her gaze coming upon me and intensifying into a glare. Last time the Hunt stayed at camp was almost a year ago during last winter. They were there during the last winter solstice while Artemis was up on Olympus. We had played capture the flag against the Hunters, all of Camp Half-Blood teaming up against them.

In the past, The Hunters usually dominated in the game, but this was the first time they played since I had arrived at camp. Teaming up with Taylor and Nico, I humiliated the Hunters. I beat nearly everyone of them in a fight, using my immense strength and speed to easily overwhelm all of them. I took the flag with relative ease and beat the Hunters almost single-handedly. They had thrown a big hissy fit afterwards at the bonfire, burning down several of our cabins and shooting some campers in the legs with their arrows. Dionysus immediately drove them out of camp after that and they hadn't been back since, for good reason.

Artemis nodded at Zoe's words. "Yes, I know what transpired during your last stay at the camp. But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge over something he could fix within a few seconds. Remember, it's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you need it. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down." Yeah, but the scars that the arrows caused didn't exactly go away for many campers. I didn't say that aloud, despite how much I wanted to.

Zoe looked away from Artemis after her words, muttering something about dirty cheaters. Hey, I did not cheat in that game, I just used everything at my disposal to win. Artemis turned to Bianca, who had been quiet this entire time. "And now there is one last decision to make. Have you made up your mind, my dear?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking on it." My eyes widened slightly. What? Why was she even thinking about the decision at all? She just got her brother back after what seemed like months and now she was actually considering joining the Hunt? She had to be kidding me. Percy, to my left, wasn't knowledgeable about the decision she had to make and asked what she was talking about. "I've been invited to join the Hunt."

Percy's own eyes widened. "What? You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you! It's the only way to learn how to survive." Zoe glared at the son of Poseidon, stating that it wasn't the only way for a girl. Percy rolled his eyes at her response and continued to try and convince Bianca to not join the Hunt.

"Come on, Bianca. Camp is awesome. It's got a Pegasus stable and a sword fighting arena and..." Percy trailed off, not able to come up with anything else to convince the daughter of Hades. Percy turned to the goddess of the Hunt, who was cleaning off her bow or something. "What exactly do you gain whenever you join the Hunters?"

Artemis put her bow over her shoulder. "For starters, immortality." Percy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Yep, Percy. All those prepubescent girls you've been hanging around are probably hundreds, if not thousands of years old. I know, it takes some getting used to. "All of my Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions and my sisters in arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal...unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or they break their oath. Their oath to forswear romantic love forever. To never grow up, to never get married, to be a maiden eternally." Sounds boring. That sounds like being a Jedi or something, like to detach yourself from all emotional attachments or something. I could never do that in the slightest.

Percy looked like he was trying to process what Artemis had just said, the words turning gears in the son of Poseidon's head that had never been turned. "So basically, you go around the country recruiting people, go on adventures, kill monster and hunt for eternity? Is that the gist of it here?"

Artemis and Zoe looked at each other for a moment, before the two of them nodded in affirmation. Percy looked like he was being overwhelmed, before he shook the expression of his face entirely before turning back to Bianca. "Bianca, this is insane. What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter and you two just reunited."

Artemis shook her head. "No. He cannot be a Hunter. He will have to go to camp." She turned back to Bianca, who's still looked like she was contemplating the entire thing. "But do not worry, dear. You will still be able to see him from time to time. And you will be free of any responsibility you would have to undertake by rejoining his life. He has been a part of the camp for over a year and a half. He has had the camp and everyone in it to take care of him during that time and he will continue to be just fine the way he is. And you will have a new family. Us."

Bianca's eyes looked like they were staring into nothing dreamily. "A new family...free of responsibility." I looked at the daughter of Hades. She couldn't actually be considering this, right? Bianca turned to Zoe, who still sat on the pillow across from her. "Is it worth it?" My eyes widened a fraction. She was considering it. I couldn't believe this.

How could she actually be thinking of leaving her brother behind to go join some magical girls club, the same brother she reunited with only probably about ten minutes ago now. "What do I have to do?" Artemis and Zoe told the daughter of Hades about the ceremony she had to perform, just some oath swearing and line repeating. Artemis accepted the oath Bianca recited, causing one of the braziers in the room to glow a bright silver, signifying the oath of a new Hunter.

Bianca looked down at her arms, as if she was admiring a new tan. " I feel...stronger." I looked at the daughter of Hades in disbelief. How could she just abandon Nico like that? I reached out with my aura sense, noting that Bianca's aura had grown significantly more powerful after her oath. It also had a slight tint of Artemis' aura, like Zoe's did.

Artemis smiled down on her new Hunter. "Welcome, sister." I felt a spike of anger in my veins appear, more at Bianca rather than Artemis or Zoe. I can't believe Bianca really just did that. It's like as if Thalia just went off and joined the Hunt for no good reason and just left me alone. "Remember your pledge. It is now your life." I pushed down my anger at Artemis' words, trying to hide my rage from the goddess of the Hunt.

It worked, as Artemis' attention now turned to Percy, who looked like he was in an even worse mood. I couldn't really blame him. The girl that he liked got kidnapped and is now in our main enemies' hands and now the main reason we came here just slipped through our fingers. This entire event just turned into a shit-show. "Do not despair, Perseus Jackson. You will still be able to show Bianca the Pegasus stables and the sword fighting arena." If not for her tone, I would say she was being patronizing.

"Dawn is approaching, Zoe. Break the camp. You must all get to Long Island quickly and safely. I will call in a favor from a certain sun Titan." She must be talking about Helios, as he was the only sun Titan I knew of. Zoe nodded at Artemis' order and started to exit the tent, telling Bianca to follow her. Bianca apologized to Percy on her way out, saying that she 'really, really wanted this.' I tried to to visibly scoff at her words as she left the tent with Zoe, leaving me and Percy with the goddess of the Hunt.

Artemis soon left the tent as well, which prompted us to leave and return to our friends. The hunters around us broke camp so quickly it would have made the Marines look on at the spectacle in envy. Artemis had gone of to the cliff where Atlas had been summoned and looked off into the east at the night sky. Before she separated from us, she assured me and Percy that dawn was coming, and with it would be Helios. It didn't really look like that was the case, as the night sky was a pitch black as it was ten minutes ago when Atlas nearly killed me.

Speaking of that event, I was still angry and enraged over my defeat and was already making plans to throw myself into training for weeks to strengthen my body as much as I could. As we approached my group, I noticed it was only Thalia and Grover waiting for the two of us, Nico not with them. I surveyed the camp as it was being broken down and spotted Bianca talking to Nico off to the side.

By the awkward and hesitant look on Bianca's face and the dark look on Nico's, I could tell the conversation was not going well. Before I could try and listen in and try to hear what was being said, Thalia and Grover saw us approaching and quickly huddled up close to us and asked what had transpired in the tent with the goddess of the Hunt.

We relayed the happenings of the past few minutes to both of them, both the Hunters coming to the camp and Bianca joining them. This not two different reactions from the two. Grover with surprise and Thalia with anger. "I can't even believe she went off to join them. It had to be Zoe's fault. That stuck up, no good fucking bitch!" Thalia nearly yelled, but still kept her voice down as to not draw any attention from the nearby hunters who were taking the camp down.

Thinking back on Thalia's words, Zoe wasn't the main reason why Bianca had joined the Hunters, as Artemis was just as convincing. Thalia probably automatically blamed Zoe because of the history the two had. Thalia turned her head to Bianca, who was still awkwardly explaining her decision to Nico, whose face looked so blank and dark it was almost a shadow. "How the hell can she just abandon her brother? I mean they just found each other again and now she wants to go off and join the Powerpuff Girls?"

I had to agree with Thalia, as her thoughts were very much my thoughts as well. Back over towards the di Angelo kids, the entire situation was seemingly worsening. I couldn't exactly hear the words, but I knew that Bianca was busy trying to justify her decision to Nico. Nico didn't respond the entire conversation, as his face continued to darken the entire time.

Eventually, he had enough of his sister's excuses. Nico walked away from his sister in the direction of my group, a blank dark look on his face. I could feel his inner turmoil just from his aura, which was going crazy. Bianca cringed at Nico's response to her and awkwardly walked up to a nearby Hunter to help her with breaking the camp.

As the dawn started to break, our group split up into three little mini groups. Percy went off to talk to Artemis by the cliff where Atlas had shown up, Thalia and Grover both hung out by a tree and talked to each other, and I sat down on a log nearby, with Nico joining me after a minute or so. I didn't say anything immediately, knowing the son of Hades was likely incredibly angry. His aura was fiery and strong at the moment, painting a clear picture to what his thoughts probably were at the moment.

Nico was silent as he sat on the log, not three feet away from me. I thought things would be awkward between us, as I spontaneously kissed him back at the school, but Nico didn't really seem to care all that much as he sat less than half an arm's length from me. Finally, I couldn't take the silence and had to say something to the son of Hades. "I take it you don't want to talk about it, huh?" Nico stopped looking out into the distance and turned his sight towards the ground, showing me that he had definitely heard and processed my question. He didn't verbally respond to my question and I sighed.

"Nico, I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. Your sister, the sister that you haven't seen in a year and a half due to events that were not your fault, just left you to go join some immortal all-girls adventuring party. I really can't even imagine what that is like." I really couldn't. The only sibling I had right now that wasn't either dead or a god was Thalia, and I couldn't even imagine if she had gone off and did something as stupid as that. I felt like I failed twice tonight. Not only had I been utterly overpowered and defeated by Atlas like a child, but I also failed to bring Bianca back to Nico, as she ended up joining the Hunt.

The entire reason we came here was to retrieve Bianca, and we left the quest with Bianca joining the Hunt, Annabeth getting kidnapped, and Atlas being revealed to be working with Luke, allegedly. I had to own up to this. "I'm sorry, Nico. I failed you. Not only was I the one who ripped you away from your sister a year and a half back, I also failed to truly bring her back to you."

I griped my hand tightly, creating enough force to create a small, harmless shockwave. "Ever since the Sea of Monsters, I've either been a complete bastard, or a complete failure. All this strength and I'm still worthless." I said with an empty tone, trying to hide I I really felt about the whole situation. I felt tears threaten to spill from my eyes, which I quickly wiped away in an attempt to not look as weak as I felt.

"Don't say that." Nico said, his voice barely above a whisper. I turned my head to him, confusion written on my features. Why would Nico said that to me? Isn't he the one I failed the most? "Don't. Say that." Nico's voice rose, more firm and more confident now. "Zane, you are the most amazing person I've ever met. You're not worthless. Without you, I would have still been in the Lotus Hotel. Would I have been with my sister? Yes, but that doesn't guarantee that she wouldn't have joined the Hunt anyway. She probably would have had even more incentive to join, considering she left me after we just reunited. Without you, I probably never would have met my father and realized who I was or remembered anything about my past. Without you, we would have been killed by Luke and his Titans on Polyphemus' island a few months ago. You're not worthless, because without you everything would be different."

I was silent, in shock from Nico's words. He couldn't have been correct, right? Nico closed the gap on the log and brought me into a hug. "Don't you ever say that you're worthless." Nico's voice was nothing but a whisper, but I still heard the son of Hades. I wrapped my arms around him, returning the hug.

We stayed like this for awhile, any awkwardness that should have arisen from our kiss earlier completely gone. I felt Nico's breathe become heavy in my arms and I heard a slight stifled sob escape from his mouth. His aura was still haywire and weird, telling me that he was still torn up from Bianca's choice. He had been putting up a cold and stern exterior earlier, but now it was starting to slip.

He was still just a kid, like I was. He had emotions, he had feelings. So of course it was natural for him to cry over his sister that abandoned him. I patted him in the head as he clung to me, my fingers going through his smooth, black locks. "Nico, it's okay to cry every once in awhile. You don't always have to hold it in." I could tell the son of Hades was trying to keep things together in my arms, but he was starting to come apart.

At my words, Nico's resolve broke and he started to sob on my shoulder. I manipulated the air pressure around us so sound wouldn't escape in a ten meter bubble around us, making Nico's cries silent to the rest of the world. I still heard them, however, but I was the only one. It took a few minutes, but eventually Nico calmed down, but he didn't break our hug. "Do you want to talk about it, Nico?" I asked the son of Hades in my arms.

Nico was silent for a few seconds before he eventually started to speak. "I...I just can't believe she left me. She said it's what she wanted to do. She said she wanted to be free of any responsibility and start a new life. She said I was just as old as she was now, and I didn't need her anymore to take care of me." Nico went silent again, probably trying to calm down, as his voice started to get more and more unstable as he spoke.

"But I didn't need her to take care of me. That's not what I wanted. I just wanted my sister back! For over a year and a half I've been waiting for this day, the day I would finally get to see her again and bring her home, but she leaves me within ten minutes of me finding her!" Nico was getting angry now, no longer in the mood for crying. He broke the hug, and looked me dead in the eye, anger clear on his face.

"Well she can go fuck herself! I don't need her! I didn't need her to take care of me and I sure don't need her to be my sister! I've been taking care of myself ever since we got separated! She can go off and join this stupid Girl Scout club and go die for all I care! I hate her!" Nico was breathing heavily by the time he stopped his tirade, looking at the ground. The anger flooded away from his body language and his shoulder slumped. Nico looked at his hand, like he was contemplating what he just said. "S-Shit. I'm sorry, Zane. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." Nico's face fell even more as he looked at the snow on the ground, his facial expression one of absolute misery.

I wanted to kiss him so badly after I saw that facial expression on his face. I wanted to do something, anything, to make him feel better. I held back my impulses and just settled with a hug. "Nico, it's natural to be angry after what she did. She literally left you so she could go have fun with a bunch of thousand year old prepubescent girls she's never met before. It's alright you snapped because of that. I something like that happened to me, I'd probably do a lot worse than just snap, trust me."

I put a hand on his shoulder, and morphed my expression into one of understanding. "I do, however, know what it's like to be angry. I have a lot of experience with that emotion, trust me. If you ever need to talk about your anger, or your sister or just about anything, you know you can come to me, okay? I won't hold anything you said against you, you know?" I gave the son of Hades a reassuring smile, which prompted a small smile back from him. My eyes lingered a little bit too long in his lips. I really wanted to kiss him again, as the first time just felt utterly amazing.

I know this probably looked weird to anyone watching and probably even to Nico, but I just stared at the son of Hades' lips and felt myself draw a little closer. Dammit, what the hell am I doing? I wanted to stop, I wanted to pull away, but I also really did not want to at all. I felt myself inch closer to Nico, my mind screaming at itself to stop at once, but I just couldn't.

I was getting closer to Nico, probably to close for comfort, but I knew I was just too far gone to do anything at this point. The odd thing was that I didn't see Nico trying to pull away or anything. If my eyes didn't deceive me, he was actually coming closer if anything. Before anything could really happen, the sky off the edge of the cliff literally burst into flames.

I was forced to quick separate from the son of Hades due to the sight, and he quickly did the same. There was a massive burst of flames that shot from the edge of the cliff and landed on the ground . The snow around the fire instantly melted, creating a perfect circle that revealed the green grass beneath. The Hunters and my group all moved from where they were and walked towards the fire. I guess this was our ride.

I motioned to Nico to follow me, ignoring what I was just about to do a few seconds ago. As me and Nico were the last to approach, the massive ball of flames the size of an elephant quickly shifted into a massive ornate golden chariot that was even larger. This must be the Sun Chariot, the thing that apparently drives the sun or something across the sky or whatever the fuck the myth was. The Sun Chariot was around the size of a double decker bus but was still the shape of a chariot. The chariot had nothing pulling it, no animals or anything.

In the driver's seat was a humanoid being around ten feet tall. He seemingly radiated pure light, as if his very presence created a powerful aura. His hair was medium length, blond and curly and almost brushed the tips of his shoulders. His face was handsome and almost androgynous, but from his frame I could clearly tell he was male. He wore a golden ornate Greek style cuirass with a red cape clipped on the back. He also wore some kind of white Greek battle skirt, which allowed his defined legs to clearly be shown on display.

Judging by his aura and how it's similar to his kid's, I'd say this was Helios, Titan of the Sun. Helios walked towards the side of the Sun Chariot and trotted down a flight of stairs that led twenty feet up to the drivers spot. Helios stepped on the wet grass where snow had been before and looked at Artemis. "Artemis. Why have you called me here?" Helios' voice wasn't exactly deep, but it wasn't high either. He had a perfect pitch of both high and low tone.

Artemis stepped forwards into the circle the Sun Chariot had created. "Helios. I need to ask a favor of you." Artemis went on to explain the events of tonight and what had happened, including Atlas and the monster or something she had to hunt down. "I would request you bring both my Hunters and these demigods to Camp Half-Blood. It is a safe place for the Hunt to remain while I am on my quest." As Artemis explained the events of tonight to Helios, The Hunt had finished packing up the camp and had surrounded the Sun Chariot. They did not step within the circle the Sun Chariot had created in the snow, leaving Artemis inside it to talk to Helios alone.

Helios was silent for but a split-second before the Titan of the Sun nodded. "I accept your request. I will bring the Hunt and the demigods to Camp Half-Blood. I wish you well on your quest. I hope to see you at the Winter Solstice so you can report your findings to the Olympian Council." Helios then took his attention off of the goddess of the moon and looked at the crowd that had surrounded him. His eyes narrowed a little bit once they landed on me, an action that I considered weird.

Helios didn't do anything else too unseemly and then addressed the entire crowd. "I am the one to get you to your destination. All aboard the Sun Chariot." Helios turned back to the Sun Chariot and waved his hand, warping the chariot to his will. The Sun Chariot elongated like a Slinky and became as long as a bus. There were now dozens of seats. Easily enough for both my party and the Hunt. The chariot's design remained mostly the same, it was just much longer now. It looked a little weird, but I didn't have to carry a bunch of people back to camp now in my arms now.

I walked alongside Nico as we walked up the stairs to the seats for the Sun Chariot, somehow ending up behind Bianca di Angelo in the process. Both me and Nico pretended that she wasn't there and we didn't say anything in fear of drawing her attention to us. Once we were aboard the chariot, both me and Nico sat down in the middle of the the rows of three. The last seat beside me closest to the aisle was taken by Percy, whose face looked as downtrodden and miserable as I've ever seen it.

As the Chariot quickly lifted of the ground like a helicopter or a fiery version of Santa's sleigh, I tapped Percy on the shoulder and asked the son of Poseidon what was wrong. At first, Percy didn't respond to my question and just looked to the outside of the Chariot at the landscape that quickly flew past us as Helios commanded the chariot to fly. "I just feel like I failed. This entire night has been nothing but one big screw up. It's my fault that Annabeth got captured."

I quickly opened my mouth to tell Percy that was definitely not true, but he continued quicker than I could speak. "Zane, we both could have killed Thorn in virtually an instant. We shouldn't have let Thorn get close enough to put one of his spikes in Bianca's pocket. We should have torn him in two before he even got within five feet of her." I started to feel a little guilty at Percy's words.

He was right. We should have taken care of Thorn before Bianca was put in any danger. I don't know why I didn't do so, maybe I was afraid I could get Bianca killed or I was just holding back my bloodlust, but this was as much as my fault as it was Percy's. Percy seemingly sensed my emotions and shook his head. "This isn't your fault, Zane. I know you were in as much of a position to end Thorn as I was, but you're trying to hold your darker side in. Thalia told me so on the drive up here. I don't blame you for not taking the chance to kill Thorn."

I shook my head. "No, Percy. I'm at just as much fault as you were. I should have simply killed Thorn when we gained the advantage before the rest of our friends showed up. I was perfectly able to, but I played with him first. I thought he was no threat after I destroyed the spike in Bianca's pocket. I should have killed him immediately after that. I'm sorry that my inaction got Annabeth captured."

Not only did it get her captured, it nearly got both me and Percy killed by Atlas after he showed up once Thorn and Annabeth escaped. I didn't say anything else, which prompted Percy to once again reiterate that he didn't blame me. To me left by what could be called the window seat if there was actually any windows on this fucking Chariot, was Nico. He didn't say anything the entire ride to Camp Half-Blood, a blank expression on his face.

He was obviously still hurting over the fact that his sister up and left him to sell Girl Scout cookies in the form of arrows to monsters with the Hunt, but he was clearly trying to show it. It probably didn't help that we picked the row that was only two seats behind where Bianca was sitting, so the son of Hades had a clear view of his sister the entire ride.

I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze when I saw his brow furrow, a sign he was having a little bit of difficulty keeping it together. I gave Nico a reassuring smile, one that told him that he would be alright. Nico probably didn't have enough energy to return the smile, but I felt him hold on to my hand tightly. My cheeks heated up a bit, something I would blame on the cold if I was ever called out on it.

(000)

The rest of the ride was uneventful. Helios didn't really speak to anyone while he piloted the Sun Chariot in the direction towards Camp. The scenery around us changed quickly as the Chariot boomed across the sky, lighting up the entire planet around us as he did so. It only took a few more minutes after me and Percy's conversation for Camp Half-Blood to appear in sight. Helios pulled on the reins of the Chariot, and it immediately slowed down. The chariot slowed to a stop and started to descend onto the hill, melting the snow in a circle around us.

Zoe stood and addressed the Hunters, going over some kind of rules for the newer ones, probably for Bianca's sake. My friends got all of their shit of the Chariot and we stepped into the snow. I saw Percy looked at the camp oddly, which made sense because he had never really been here during winter. Helios stepped out of the Chariot and addressed all of us as one. "We have now arrived at Camp Half-Blood. I must now leave. I wish you all well." Helios' eyes landed on me and they narrowed, something that happened earlier.

I guess he really doesn't like me all that much. Helios didn't say or do anything else and climbed back up the steps to the Chariot. As he did so, the Sun Chariot returned to its normal size, no longer looking comically long. Helios took off from the ground like a spaceship, leaving us along with the Hunt in the middle of a circle of grass that used to be covered by snow.

The Hunters didn't speak another word to us and gathered their things they just loaded of the Sun Chariot. The marched off towards Cabin Eight, the Artemis cabin, with Grover leading the way as a guide. The Hunters obviously knew where they were going, but they knew they wouldn't be able to get rid of Grover. Apparently their dislike of males didn't extend to satyrs all that much. Funny, cause in myths, satyrs were everything that Hunters should despise.

I turned to my group, noting that everyone looked at least a little down in the dumps from the events of today, Nico most of all. "Nico, you can go ahead and go back on to your cabin. Me, Thalia and Percy will tell Chiron what happened and that the Hunt is here." Nico nodded at me, a grateful look on his face. Nico then basically melded into the shadows, disappearing from sight. From what the son of Hades has told me, he basically just shadow travelled. It's basically using the shadows to teleport to different locations and such. Pretty gnarly. I turned back to Thalia and Percy. "Alright guys, let's go."

The three of us walked through the camp, all of us not too affected by the cold. The camp during winter time was very different that how it was during the summer. For one, it was a lot emptier, due to most demigods only being summer campers. We saw a few particular campers whilst we walked onwards to the Big House. As we walked past the Hephaestus Cabin, I saw Charles Beckendorf working on an outside forge. The son of Hephaestus wasn't much different than he was on the quest a few months ago, just a little taller and broader.

We hadn't really spoken much since the whole Sea of Monsters thing, so I wasn't sure if he had any negative emotions towards me. We moved on past the Hephaestus cabin and passed through the territory of the Hermès cabin. Both of the Stoll twins, the twin sons of Hermès who took over position of Counselor after Luke became a traitor, were sitting on the front porch ruffling through some kind of bag they no doubt stole. I don't think I've ever said more than two words to the twin sons of the god of thieves, so I wasn't going to bother to talk to them.

As we walked ever so farther to the Big House, we passed the Ares cabin. My pace quickened a little as we did so, since I really wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. Once upon a time I could be found here almost every single day at one point, but those days were behind me. Remember how I said that my relationship with Taylor practically didn't even exist any more? Yeah, that's why I really wanted to move on as fast as possible without being suspicious.

I didn't want to accidentally spot the son of Ares and send my heart into heartache mode or anger mode, which I what would happen if I did. No, I didn't want to avoid this place because I was afraid Taylor would see me. He doesn't even look in my direction nowadays. I don't even think we've spoken for at least four months. As I tried to move quicker, I unfortunately spotted the one thing I really didn't want to see. Taylor, with his now boyfriend Arthur, the son of Helios. My fist tightened and I spared a few glances at the two as I walked on past with Percy and Thalia.

The two of them were not doing anything promiscuous, but they were leaning up against the blood red wall of the Ares cabin together, talking and laughing with each other. The sight made my heart quiver and my blood boil, but I didn't do anything that would draw attention to myself from the two. Pfft, like they would even care if I did. I spared one last glance at the two, noting how they had changed over the past few months. Taylor was now taller, probably around five foot four, being uttered towered over by me.

The son of Ares' hair was much different than it had been over the course of the past couple of years. Rather than just being left to flow and being perfectly brushed, the back of the hair was all pulled up into one very large braid. The front of Taylor hair still fell down into large red bangs that were allowed the be free, not taking anything away from his feminine Grace. I didn't really get too much of Arthur's appearance, as I just took a passing glance, but I did notice he was taller and that was it.

Finally, we passed the Ares cabin and my torture ended. We walked through the front doors of the Big House, which was now decorated with red and orange lights that gave the house a warm feeling. The fire from the hearth burning certainly helped that feeling as well. Sitting in two chairs by a table, were Dionysus and Chiron playing Pinochle. Dionysus didn't really look any different that how he looked back before the Sea of Monsters quest, he simply wore dark blue pajama pants and a purple knitted sweater that made him look cozy.

Chiron looked more casual than he normally did. His beard and hair were longer, less brushed and more shaggy. He was also wearing less formal clothes and looked more like your average middle aged man in a wheelchair than a legendary trainer of heroes. Chiron took his eyes off the game and looked at us. "Percy, Zane, Thalia! Good to see you three. I take it the mission went well?" The three of us looked at each other with an awkward glance. "Where's Annabeth? She normally wouldn't miss a mission debrief for the world."

Our glances became more awkward. "And Nico and his sister? Grover told me about Bianca di Angelo's whereabouts. I take it you were able to bring her to camp to undertake training?" I visibly cringed, as did my sister and Percy. Thalia took the initiative and told Chiron the entire story of what happened. Thorn, Atlas, the Hunt, Artemis going off, everything. Once the story was over, Chiron's face became serious and turned to Dionysus. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately." Chiron's voice was completely serious, as it should be. Annabeth was probably in Luke's hands and we all know what that traitor is capable of. Slight phantom pains traced my abdomen, but I shook them away.

Dionysus shook his head. "Absolutely not." Dionysus didn't even look up from his pinochle cards as he said the words. I looked at my half-brother in disbelief. What the fuck? "From what I have heard, this escapade to retrieve the other child of Hades has been a complete failure. We lost Bianca di Angelo, a potentially powerful demigod, to the clutches of Artemis with just a few words. We lost Annabel because she was dumb enough to try and stab a cornered manticore in the neck with a dagger of all things."

I felt Percy's aura spike at Dionysus' words, anger clearly resonating off him. I felt my eye twitch in annoyance at Dionysus' words, and I could feel Thalia's aura become fiery. "And now we know that Atlas has returned, free of his burden and is in command of at least some number of monsters and is possibly working for or with Luke. I will not risk the live of anymore half-bloods for some ridiculous rescue. It's very possible that this Annie Bell girl is dead." Percy's aura became absolutely murderous at Dionysus' words.

Percy instantly shifted into his Earthshaker Form, his skin turning watery and his limbs becoming blue, fluorescent stone and cracking the ground around him with his transformation. Percy threw the pinochle table away, turning it into splinters immediately. Dionysus' eyes widened as Percy zoomed forwards faster than he could react.

Percy grabbed the god of wine by the neck and lifted him up into the air. "You dare touch m-!?" Percy's blue stone finger wrapped around Dionysus' throat and immediately stoped the words coming out of his mouth. Percy's form radiated power, shaking everything around him and causing significant damage to the Big House. I sighed at Percy's actions, knowing that I would have done the same now six months ago. I knew this would come back to bite the son of Poseidon, however.

Percy leveled the god of wine to his own head and spoke to him in a deep, threatening voice. "You complete and utter bastard! How the fuck can you sit back and say those things about Annabeth when it's your fucking job to be the one to protect her and make sure shit like this never happens!" Both Chiron and Thalia watched the son of Poseidon hold the wine god's neck with wide eyes and open jaws, but neither of them could do anything about it so they did not make any move.

Percy drew Riptide from his pocket and uncapped it, allowing the Celestial Bronze sword to be free from its pen form. Percy leveled the blade at Dionysus' neck with a murderous expression. I saw Percy's arm tense and it looked like he was about to shove the blade right into Dionysus' throat, but I shifted into my Thunder Form and caught Percy's arm. Percy's enraged look shifted over to me. "What are you doing!?" I simply nudged my head towards Dionysus and shook my head.

Percy's rage ebbed and he realized what he had been doing. I was surprised Dionysus wasn't trying to escape Percy's grasp, as he hadn't really done much more than attempt to futily try and knock Percy's arm away. He could have transformed into his true form, but that probably would have killed both Chiron and Thalia, so maybe that's why he didn't do so. Percy let Riptide transform back into it's pen form and he slide he weapon into his pocket.

The son of Poseidon threw Dionysus down to the cracked and damaged floor harshly and began to walk outside of the damaged Big House. "You're not worth it." Percy said as he left, his Earthshaker Form vanishing before our eyes. Everyone in what was left of the room was silent, not sure what to make of the events that just transpired. Percy basically just threatened and attempted to kill our camp director, the god of wine and just basically got away with it.

The only person who could have actually stopped him with something else besides words was me and that would have been hella destructive. Once we recovered from our shock, Chiron told us to leave and we would discuss this later. Dionysus was still on the ground, his handsome face a picture of complete shock at what had just happened. Once he recovered, he started to fix the Big House with his divine powers as me and Thalia left.

Outside of the repairing Big House, Thalia and I walked through the camp across the cabins once more. I had no idea how that had no gotten the attention of everyone left in the entire camp, but no one left their cabins to check on what had just happened. We walked by the Ares cabin and luckily both Taylor and Arthur were gone from the wall they had been at prior to our explanation to Chiron about ten minutes ago.

Thalia's walking slowed to a stop and she began to talk about what had just happened. "I can't even believe Percy just did that. He attacked Mr. D. I know Mr. D. was being an absolute prick about Annabeth, and trust me, I wanted to do that as well, but Percy actually did it. Sometimes I forget that you and him are actually stronger than Mr. D." Thalia was still in disbelief about Percy's earlier actions a few minutes ago. I had to admire that I was surprised as well.

Yes, Percy had the power to do so, but until recently Percy usually just swallowed shit like that from Dionysus. Thalia sighed and shook her head. "Tonight has been just one big shit-show. Percy almost kills Mr. D, Atlas nearly kills both of you, Annabeth gets kidnapped and Bianca goes off and joins the Hunt. I can only imagine how betrayed Nico must feel right now."

Thalia had a massive point. Tonight really just sucked so much fucking ass. It must have been a lot worse for Nico than it was for me. Flashes of the memory at the dance where I spontaneously kissed the son of Hades filled my mind and my face grew red. I didn't really know what to make of that whole experience. I very obviously liked Nico, that much was certain, but Nico's feelings were not known to me whatsoever. He didn't react to the kiss with any reaction other than shock, so I didn't know if he felt the same way or if he was just disgusted by what I had done.

Considering his upbringing, I was going to probably lean on the latter. Nico had basically pretended it didn't happen, as we had Thorn to deal with immediately after. And then his sister went and abandoned him, so he probably wasn't in any mood to think about how I assaulted his mouth with mine at a middle school dance. I really needed help with all this, and the only person I could really trust with it was standing right in front of me. I had told Thalia about my feelings I had for Taylor and Nico both back when we started to grow closer as brother and sister, which she was supportive of me.

I was really grateful for her response, but I hadn't really talked about it much sense then, as nothing had happened. Well, something has happened now, so I need some help. "Uh, Thalia..." I started, trailing off. I got Thalia's attention, which came in the form of a raised eyebrow. "About Nico, uh...something kind of happened at the dance..." I went on to tell my half-sister how I had kissed the son of Hades out of instinct while we had been dancing and how I think I might have ruined things between us.

"He hasn't really said anything about it or is even acting different, but that's because we had to deal with Thorn and right after that happened his sister left him for the Hunt. I'm just kind of afraid that I messed things up." Thalia had a straight face at first after I finished my story, before she broke down into laughter. I glared at her, not really appreciative of her response. "What?" I asked her in confusion, wondering why she had reacted like that.

Thalia stopped laughing and wiped a small tear from one of her eyes with a smile on her face. "Zane, you're a fucking idiot." Thalia's response was the exact words I said to her several months ago when she had been talking to me about how she was insecure about her powers. "Zane, it's super obvious that Nico likes you back. I see the way the two of you act around each other. You two always blush up a storm when you do anything around each other and are almost inseparable. You told me that before I came back to life, he used to hang out over at our cabin and sleep in the same bed as you. Does that sound like someone who just likes you as a friend?"

Now that I really thought about it, Thalia kind of had a point. "I mean, come on. How can you not see it? If he didn't like you, he would have pulled away when you kissed him back at the dance. And you told me how he cried on your shoulder after his sister joined the Hunt and held your hand on the Sun Chariot. If he doesn't like you, then I don't know what liking somebody looks like." Damn, Thalia is probably right. How could I be so fucking stupid? "You should just ask him out at the Bonfire after dinner tonight. You have plenty of time to think of a confession, considering how early it is right now."

It was currently almost seven in the morning, as Helios was now in the sky pulling the chariot. But I was still hesitant. What if Nico really didn't like me and was just super close and touchy with his friends like a weird college girl? I relayed these concerns to a Thalia, who just rolled her eyes at my questions. "Zane, you need to at least give it a shot. If he doesn't like you, so what? You two can still be friends if you want that sort of thing still and pretend it never happened. And it'll never happen if you don't ask Nico out in the first place. You need to ask him out at the Bonfire."

The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. Yeah, maybe I should. I mean, what's really the harm in doing so? I nodded at Thalia words. "You're right, Thalia. I really should at least give it a try. Alright, that does it. I'm going to ask Nico out at the Bonfire after dinner. I'll tell you how it goes." Hopefully he says yes.

Me and Thalia then split out after our conversation ended. Thalia went off to the arena to get some early morning training in and I continued to stand where I was, thinking about how tonight could go and shaking in my shoes with excitement. I heard a bush move a little bit about twenty feet away and turned my eyes to it. I found nothing and it didn't move again. I reached out with my aura sense and surprisingly found nothing. I guess it must have been a rabbit or a squirrel or something.

I shook my head and made the quick walk back to my cabin, the events of the day weighing heavily on my mind. I quickly swung the door open, set an alarm to wake me in a few hours, and crashed down on my bed to sleep. I would luckily not miss any classes doing this, as right now we basically had winter break as of yesterday, so no classes for me.

I woke up in the afternoon, a little nervous feeling in my chest. I walked into the bathroom of my cabin, something I did every time I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror. Ugh, I looked fucking terrible. My hair was simply tangled and wavy, my face was dirty and covered in dirt, my clothes were dusted and crinkled and I smelled awful. I got a quick shower, washing all the dirt and filth of the last quest of myself before giving myself a look in the mirror once more.

While my hair still didn't have any style in it, it was clean, as was the rest of my body. I decided that right now for tonight, I need to look my best. I pulled open a drawer with my old braiding and nail polishing kit that I hadn't used in the past few months, determined to use it and look fresh as fuck. I gave myself a few new braids in my hair, going for the Viking look. I brushed my hair as well, something I also hadn't done in months. I even busted out the old black nail polish and gave my nails a nice makeover.

I threw on a back hoodie that wasn't too baggy, so you could clearly see my muscular frame. Same with the jeans I wore. I wore some dark jeans that were a little on the tighter side, just so you could see the work I had put into my legs. I was wearing my best clothes, had my best hairstyle and just generally went all out on my appearance. I couldn't confess to Nico looking like a diseased homeless man.

The time for dinner was quicker than I expected. Helios must have had some kind of date or something, because the sun went down quickly and the evening reigned. Due to my excitement and anticipation, I was one of the first to arrive at dinner. I sat down at my table, said 'Grape Powerade' in the goblet where my seat was, and waited for my friends to arrive.

Slowly but surely, the pavilion started to fill up with the campers that had stayed for the entire year, which wasn't all that much. All of the cabins were now only half the size, even the Hermès cabin. Everyone came in the pavilion the same as they normally did, only with one exception. I noticed that Arthur, the son of Helios, was looking rather down in the dumps. I'll admit, I hate that bastard, but seeing his normally suave and cheerful personality do a complete one eighty was rather odd.

He looked like someone had kicked his puppy or pissed on his face while he was asleep. I also noticed that Taylor, who was usually always around him, was nowhere to be seen. Hell, Taylor was nowhere to be seen even at his own cabin. Whatever. He doesn't really care about me anymore, so I don't care about him either. The last two groups to arrive were the Hunt, who all sat at the usually empty Artemis table. The last group to show up were both Percy and Nico, who both looked like they had slept for too long and didn't bother to brush up on their appearance.

Dinner went relatively normal, except the unusual participation of the Hunters. Dionysus, who looked a little more irritated that normal, announced a traditional Capture the Flag game between the campers and the Hunters, which will be held tomorrow. Dinner continued as normal after that. I wondered when the right time to ask the son of Hades out would be, as right now he looked rather miserable, so I would give him some time to feel better and ask him at the Bonfire.

Me, Thalia and Grover all noticed that Percy and Nico were not looking so great, so we did our best to cheer them up. We told our best jokes, acted as hilariously dumb as possible and just generally tried to have a good time. Our efforts were somewhat successful, as both of their moods lightened as the dinner went on. However, I could catch Nico giving his sister glances at the Artemis table, which he looked at her when he thought no one was looking. I did my best to quickly get his attention off of the sister who left him and onto me and everyone else at the table.

I asked him how his powers and his training were coming along, which he said were going good. I even offered to play Myth-O-Magic with him, which is something I didn't do very often. He usually destroyed me in like three turns thanks to his crazy overpowered deck, but I would always have fun doing so. As we played, the old nerdy hyperactive Nico could be seen under the veil of Nico's gloomy expression and his voice sounded livelier and less like he wanted to crawl up under a table and hide.

During the game, he even noticed how I had rebraided my hair and painted my nails and said it looked awesome, which made my heart jump a little and a warm, fuzzy feeling came over me. A few months back, a compliment like that would have just inflated my ego, as if proving me right in what I thought about myself. But now I felt truly grateful when someone complimented me, since it really didn't happen too often anymore.

After me and Nico started our Myth-O-Magic duel, dinner passed really quickly. During our game, I swear Thalia winked at me a couple of times as Nico's mood improved, which boosted my confidence a little bit. Once the dinner ended and Dionysus said his normal shit, which sounded a bit clipped than it usually did, all of the campers got up from the tables and headed over to the Bonfire. The affair was normal, with the Apollo cabin leading the songs and the rest of us either chilling or singing along.

The Hunt left immediately back to cabin eight after dinner, probably thinking they were too cool to hang out with us campers or something. I sat down on a nearby bench by the bonfire, looking around to try and spot a certain son of Hades. I found Nico across the area where the Bonfire was, sitting on a bench by the fire. I was about to get up and go be direct with him, but a sudden patch of nervousness filled my core. What if Nico didn't like me back or worse, hated me if I confessed to him?

Well, it's probably not the last one, since he has been acting at least relatively normal ever since I kissed him last night. My normal confidence was at an all time low and I did everything I could think of to psych myself up for the confession. How am I afraid of a little conversation? All I have to say is 'Hey Nico, I really like you a lot. Wanna go out?' I shouldn't be so nervous about it.

I've killed gods and Titans, this should be a walk in the park. But for some reason I felt more nervous right now than I ever did in those battles. I finally just said 'fuck it' in my mind and was about to get up and go talk to the son of Hades, but something unprecedented occurred. The other half of the bench I was sitting on was taken up by someone, prompting me to turn my head to find out who it was. My eyes widened at the bench's other occupant.

It was Taylor Smyth, son of Ares and probably my former best friend. He looked absolutely phenomenal. His hair, which had been pulled up into one long braid with the bangs and locks falling down in the front was astonishing. Something I didn't notice earlier when looking at him while walking past the Ares cabin was that he now had a pair of earrings. They weren't anything special, just some simple small silver earrings that he wore, but they still looked awesome.

Taylor's nails were also painted a blood red, the color of the Ares cabin. It wasn't a new sight, a Taylor had been painting his nails that color for awhile, but now they had a slightly different color to it, despite it looking very similar. Taylor wore a red, thick sweater to block out the cold, which looked absolutely adorable on him. His normal Camp Half-Blood T-shit was nowhere to be seen, but since it was cold as hell out here, that made a lot of sense.

Despite the cold, Taylor wore an actual skirt now with red and white stripped stockings along with some black winter boots. I hadn't exactly seen the son of Ares up close in a few months, so I forgot how beautiful he really was. Taylor gave me a wave and a smile which made my heart skip a beat. "Hi, Zane!" Taylor said in a cheerful and bright tone.

I was stunned. Taylor hadn't really spoken to me in four months and vice versa. Why the hell did he all of a sudden just start talking to me now? I was confused. "Uh...hi Taylor?" I said in response, my sentence sounding more like a question than a greeting. My response was delayed, as I was completely shocked that Taylor even said anything to me whatsoever.

Normally he was either doing cabin duties and talking with Arthur. "You look...uh, good." That was an understatement. These past four months were enough time for me to really forget just how good Taylor looked. No wonder I had liked him romantically back then. My mind flashed back to the scene where he had kissed Arthur up against that tree I destroyed after I destroyed a portion of the asteroid belt, which I didn't really mention to anybody. My brow furrowed slightly at the memory, the old heartbreak being felt by me once more.

The old feeling was quickly replaced by slight irritation. Why had Taylor picked now of all days to talk to me again? I wasn't sure if Chiron had to,d the rest of the camp the outcome of the most recent mission outside of camp, but if he did, then it makes sense for Taylor to seek me out after I almost got killed by Atlas with a flick. Maybe he felt sorry or felt pity or something else just as stupid.

Taylor didn't seem to notice the slight change in my facial expression. "Thanks. I tried really hard to look good today." I would say he succeeded. Taylor's voice was still cheery and upbeat, which confused me. Hell, this entire situation had me confused. Taylor stopped making an effort to see me four months ago and vice versa, and now all of a sudden he wants to talk to me? It was rather irritating and it made me a little angry, but I felt conflicted.

If I didn't know myself better, I would say I also felt...happy? But that can't be possible. I should be angry that Taylor is just pretending nothing was wrong and talking to me out of nowhere, but I'm not. I didn't really know how to feel. "I see you've put the braids back up in your hair. It looked a little off when there wasn't any for the last few months, but now it looks good." So Taylor was watching me or at least paying attention to me somewhat these past few months. I didn't really know how to feel about that. "I've also noticed you've put on a bit of muscle recently. Have you been lifting mountains or something?" Taylor referred to my muscular farm, which you could even see through my winter clothing.

I did my best to keep my response from being awkward, and I'm pretty certain I failed. "Well, mountains would be far too light for me to lift in a workout routine, so I had Chiron order me some of these enchanted weights from Olympus that are supposed to be used by gods, but they're still kind of light, so I have to do a lot of sets with them."

I realized I went off on an awkward tangent, so I tried to do a smooth recovery. "Uh, I mean, I've just been working out off and on, nothing crazy." Taylor giggled at my response, which was something that made my heart completely skip a beat. I swear, Taylor had the voice of an angel. I realized I needed to carry on the conversation with something, so I racked my mind to come up with something to talk about, something that wasn't too stupid. "Anyway, so how are things with you and Arthur?"

Way to go Zane, you fucking idiot. Great conversation topic. I guess I should ask if the son of Helios is a good kisser, if he has better abs and muscles than I did or if he was just simply better at having a normal conversation? I guess I should also ask if Arthur also has killed innocent people before, you know, as a hobby?

Surprisingly, Taylor's face didn't really change. The son of Ares just sighed, almost contently and answered my retarded question. "Well, me and Arthur broke up." My eyes widened and I was just able to stop my jaw from dropping. What? Those two had basically become the camps main ship in the past few months they were together, and Taylor just casually says that they broke up? What the fuck happened?

Taylor continued with his explanation. "It was very recently, too. Like last night." Taylor looked down at the snowy ground by the bonfire and tapped his blood red nails on the bench. "We just didn't really connect very well. Like we weren't interested in the same stuff, didn't have the same hobbies, that sort of thing. Our little relationship had been dragging on and I just decided to end it." Taylor looked from the ground to me. "Now that is over, I guess I want to reconnect with you. I mean, we haven't really talked over the past few months and now that I'm free up, we can hang out again." What?

My eyes narrowed and my face darkened at Taylor's words. He cannot be serious. After going basically no contact for four months, being busy with both his camp duties and his boyfriend, now all of a sudden Taylor wants to reconnect because his free time is open? I felt angry, hell, I felt pissed hearing the son of Ares' words. Was I not important enough to him that he couldn't keep up a friendship because he didn't have time for me? Was I so insignificant in Taylor's mind that I was the second choice after Arthur?

Now that he has time for me since his boyfriend is no longer in the picture, he really wants to go back to normal and pretend like he didn't just basically ghost me? "Are you fucking serious?" My words were serious and had an edge to them. Taylor's smiling expression faded into one of alarm and I continued. "You only want to hang out again because you just broke up with your boyfriend and now you have time? You've got to be shitting me. Was I not fucking important enough to you to at least make an effort to talk to during your relationship? You basically cut me out of your life because I couldn't fit into your fucking schedule?"

Angry and hurt tears brimmed in my eyes and my hands pressed down on the bench they were currently gripping, snapping the wood slightly. "You were my best fucking friend. You were my first fucking friend here. I spent months wondering why you all of a sudden stopped making an effort to talk to me and eventually stopped seeing me all together. I though maybe it was something I did, like all those things on the quest last summer. But apparently that's not the case."

I growled, tears rolling down my cheeks. "No, I find out that our friendship was worthless enough for you to end it based on you not having time for me and now that you do, you suddenly want me back into your life." I glared on the son of Ares, who face had become pale and was molded into an 'o' expression. I stood up from the bench and flipped Taylor off. "Go fuck yourself and have a nice life." I stormed away from the bonfire, tears running down my face.

I heard Taylor's voice behind me as I walked away from the Bonfire. "Zane, wait! I didn't mean it like that! Please, I-" I didn't bother to stay and listen to anymore, as I super sped away from the bonfire to the hill overlooking the entire camp. I felt the tears drip of my face and fall into the snow at my feet. I was more heartbroken rather than angry. Not only did Taylor, probably the first person I had a crush on, not like me back, but also considered our friendship so unimportant that he deliberately cut contact with me after he got a boyfriend in the form of Arthur Wayne. I

fell to my knees, the snow seeping it's way into my jeans, giving me a colder sensation that didn't really help with matters. I touched the snow with my hand and accidentally incinerated it with my lightning on contact. I then tried to do my best to calm down, as to not put everyone in the camp in danger. I sat in the snow, breathing heavily and angrily as I felt the power naturally brimming in me become weaker and dimmer. I could sense Taylor's aura racing through the camp at lightning speeds trying to search for me, but I took to the skies., the wind carrying me into the air.

I floated above Camp Half-Blood as the storm clouds that had been unconsciously summoned started to fade away as my anger ebbed. My breathing became less erratic and more controlled and I started to calm down. I looked at the ground below, knowing Taylor was still searching for me at the bottom. I didn't want to talk to him at the moment, or ever for that matter, so I decided to stick up here. My heart ached as I thought about how my first friend and crush truthfully didn't care about me and just saw me as a tool to kill time or something. I looked up at the dark sky, hoping my father would appear out of nowhere to give me some guidance on what to do, but nothing happened.

Figures, as my father's track record for relationships was worse than my track record so far in life. I looked at the camp be,ow, thinking about all the shitty things that had happened in the past couple of days. Annabeth got kidnapped and is now possibly in Luke's hands, Atlas is apparently free from his burden and nearly killed both me and Percy, my axe Keravnos got destroyed, Bianca abandoned her brother and joined the Hunt, and finally I found out why Taylor had basically ghosted me. I wiped tears from my eyes and gave a little sigh. "Fuck my life."

(000)

Well boys, we did it. Chapter seventeen is finished. I am so fucking sorry that this came out so late. My computer that is usually type this on fucking broke, so I had to type this shit on an IPad. I would say that it won'thappen again, but the typing on this thing is slow fucking slow that it probably will. So if you have any questions, ask in the form of a review and tell me how I did. Before I go, I'm going to explain one thing right now. Taylor is not a horrible asshole like I just portrayed him in Zane's thoughts. Taylor just said his words all wrong and Zane took it entirely the wrong way. I'll definitely explain it more next chapter and expand on this development in future chapters as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and please leave me a review to tell me how I did. Now I need to jump into the shower that has been running for twenty minutes as I typed this. Peace!