Hello, I'm writing this because I need fifteen reviews on this before I write any more shadows. so, that's what's on the line. love you guys!

Chapter Two: after effects

3rd person Zeus' POV (shocking right?)
plz dont kill me.

Throne room Olympus

"silence!" he yelled, and threw his master bolt into the air. the chatter stopped immediately. "ok, why did you call this meeting brother?" he asked a tired looking Hades. Hades sighed.

"I have called you here today for an update on Ni-my son" they all noticed that he didn't say his name. "well, you all know by now what happened at camp two days ago" they nodded "well, he came to me seeking refuge, and I gave it to him. however, you know that I can sense my children's souls" the council shifted in their seats a little "and earlier today, my son jumped into Tartarus" there was a collective intake of breath.

"what?!" cried Zeus. Hades nodded sadly

"I do not know why. he seemed fine, a little sad, but fine. so, I have come here to ask if any of you had a hand in this" they all looked at him, and shook their heads

"no brother, we had no hand in this" Hera told him. he nodded sadly. Hestia came and laid her hand on his shoulder. it glowed giving him hope and warmth. the rest of the council just sat there in shock. why the hell would a demigod jump willingly into Tartarus?!

"well, if anyone finds news of him. tell us immediately. council adjourned" they all flashed out. except for Hades, Hestia, Zeus, and Poseidon. the latter came and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know how you feel" he told him simply. then he flashed out in a spray of sea water.

Two months later...

Nico's POV

Pain. Suffering. Betrayal. that was all I had felt. so I jumped. no one cared for me. no one loved me. why the hell should I stay where no one wanted me? in the pit, no one cared that I was a son of Hades. no one judged me for being different. the rules became: fight-live. don't fight-die. life was, well, not easy. but simple. here I was now. laying in my very black bed remembering how I got to where I am.

xXx Flashback xXx

I jumped. falling for ever, perfect, awful, what was the difference? I felt the river Cocytus below me. I landed in it. it felt like getting hit by a brick wall. I floated to the bottom. the voices swirling around me

"just give up. no one loves you"

"join us. your misery is perfect"

"you deserve to drown"

"you are nothing but a pitiful wreck"

the worst part was: I knew that it was true. everything they said was true. I wanted so much to just lay there and drown, but my sister's face popped up

"Nico! get your lazy ass out of that river, and continue! I died so that you could live! are you going to ignore my sacrifice?!" that did it. I swam to the top and gasped for air. I rolled out of the river onto the hard pointy red rocks of the pit. I was here. I'd made it. no one could tell me what to do, who to be. no one would make fun of me for my powers. I was free.

I fought many monsters, and obtained new scars, but despite that, I loved it here. one day (?) I was attacked by about 20 drachmae at the same time. I won, but my left foot was broken, and I seriously needed a nap. so, naturally, I was then attacked by a hellhound. I lost conciousness and was sure I was dead.

then I woke up. damn.

"ah, the young hero is awake" I heard a voice from the left. I turned ignoring my screaming muscles to see the most beautiful, and creepy woman ever. she was about 5'8 and clothed in what appeared to be shadows. I couldn't place her, but I knew she was at least a goddess if not more.

"um, not to be rude or anything, but who are you?" I asked. she laughed. melodious, but also malicious.

"ah I am Nyx primordial of Night and shadows" I hastily got up and knelt despite the pain.

"lady Nyx. it is an honor to meet you" she chuckled quietly.

"no need for that young son of hades. though I appreciate the gesture, you are going to reopen your wounds" I sat back down on the bed.

"so, lady Nyx. why am I here?" she looked at me with sad eyes.

"because I saw what those campers did to you" I flinched at the memory "and I wanted to offer you a new family. one that will never abandon you" I looked at her.

"how?" she smiled

"by adopting you. I have always wanted a son, but all of my children are daughters. the boys I do have, are considered too dangerous by the 'gods' and are promptly murdered" I stared. Nyx. a primordial wanted me. me! of all people she chose me! I got up and half ran across the room to her. only about 6 feet mind you. and knelt at her feet

"yes!" I half yelled. then I blushed. oops. I just yelled at a primordial. "yes. I accept your offer...mom" tears came to her eyes at that last part.

"ok my son. I am going to give you my blessing. I don't know how it will bond with you, it works differently every time. and you will be only the third to ever receive it" I nodded. "this is probably going to hurt" she warned. I steeled myself. I was still so not ready for it. she touched my face, and suddenly my whole body was on fire with pain. I let out a gasp, but held in the rest. black spots were dancing in my eyes. but that's not even the worst part. the fire condensed on my back, and with a sudden explosion of pain I felt the skin on my back rip apart. I cried out and fell flat on my face. wow. so undignified. but it didn't matter my back felt like it was being flame torched. I felt a weird sensation come from there. then the pain stopped. it slowed into a manageable trickle. I sat up, and was rewarded with a gasp from my new adoptive mother.

"wow" she said and stared for a minute "that has never happened before" she said. I started to panick

"what? what is it?" I asked nervous. she smiled at me kindly.

"you, my son, have wings" I gaped, and then turned to look at my back. two feathery things shot out from right next to the insides of my shoulders. and then because of ADHD I said something dumb along the lines of:

"why do they look metal?" well, they did...

"because, they are stygian iron. like mine. flexible, but unbreakable" I said something smart along the lines of:

"oh" she gave a dry chuckle.

"well my son, I know what you got. your control over the shadows has become much stronger, and it won't tire you out as much. you also got a new ability, you can control non-pure liquids. like the waters of the pit, blood, or Ichor." I paled. she noticed. "don't worry, I'll teach you"

xXx Flashback End xXx

it had been almost a year, Tartarus time. which was pretty screwed up. it could have been any where from an hour to five hundred years real time. I didn't bother to ask. I also got partial immortality, like the hunters. I could only die in battle. and I didn't age. which was fine by me. I heard a knock on my door. I got up and opened it.

"oh, hello mamma" she smiled

(Waring! this part contains Self-Harm. if you don't like it. don't read it. it will be in the rest of the book as well)

"hello my son. I have a question for you" we went inside, and she closed the door. uh-oh. it was personal then. schist, she couldn't know about that could she? oh, yes. she could. stupid Nico. she saw everything that happened in the shadows. I was so going to get it.

"Nico, you know why I'm here" I paled and nodded. "then, I only have one question for you. why?" I stared at the ground. I didn't want to tell her. she would disown me like everyone else. hate me for the monster that I am. she wouldn't love me anymore. I started to cry, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry mother" is all I could say. I felt her arms worm their way around me. I let myself be hugged. after a while I stopped crying. she looked at me expectant. I sighed and closed my eyes. I didn't want to see her expression as she disowned me.

"I- I have severe PTSD. and survivor's guilt. I feel like its my fault that those people died. like if I had been a little faster with the Parthenon that those people would still be alive. I couldn't deal with the emotions any more. nothing worked. I tried everything I could think of. it only ended up making it worse" my voice cracked. I looked at her. she had only love in her eyes so I continued. "I was attacked in the forest one night, I was there trying to drown my sorrows in training. when the monster cut my arm, all the stress, emotional pain, and hurt was gone. replaced only by physical pain. it was a sort of release. I started letting myself get hit by the monsters. but that raised too many questions. especially when Will told me that I should just not go in if I couldn't handle the monsters. so, I decided to stop. the betrayal happened the next day. and that's one of the reasons Will didn't talk to me. I hadn't done it for a while. I only started again a few months ago" I stopped and peered at her through my hair. she had disappointment, but no anger on her face.

"son. while I don't condone this as a good way to deal with your emotions" I heart dropped "I will not stop you. you may continue. I would prefer if you stopped, but I wont punish you if you don't." I looked at her with hopeful eyes. she reached into the shadows and pulled out a small towel. she handed it to me.

"um, thanks?" she laughed a little at my expression which must have been priceless.

"this is for your cutting. when you finish, it will heal your arm so that you don't go around with blood dripping down your arms. it will however still scar" I smiled a little at her.

"my scars remind me of who I am" I replied. then she frowned

"by the way. what were you using?" I sheepishly grabbed the stygian iron blade from the corner, and held it out to her. she looked at it in disdain. "I should ground you" I looked at her in horror. she laughed

"I wont ground you silly" then she sobered "I don't suggest telling your sisters" I agreed. that would be a disaster. "well, I have things to do. and remember, I will always love you" she left.

I stretched out on my bed, and sighed. sure, Tartarus was great and all, but I didn't have any friends. obviously. if I did, that would mean some other poor soul was stuck down here. "what am I going to do with myself?" I asked. no one answered, well, that's a good sign because it would have been weird if someone did. I gave in to the urge.

Nyx's POV

I was worried to say the least. I wanted to help him, yet I also wanted him to feel loved. I had to go to the surface. I flashed there. it was about 5 pm. so the darkness was there, but most things were still open. not that I didn't mind a little breaking and entering. I went to the nearest public library, and turned on the public computer. opened google, and searched:

Self-Harm. it came up with: (took this from an actual website)

Self-Injury/Cutting

Medical condition

Nonsuicidal self-injury, often simply called self-injury, is the act of deliberately harming the surface of your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It's typically not meant as a suicide attempt.

Treatment for self-injury may include:

Psychotherapy: Counseling can be used to help a person stop engaging in self-injury.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is a group- and individually-based treatment program that helps people gain greater...

I turned off the computer. it wasn't helping. I thought about it for a minute, then decided it was the best way.

"Apollo!" I called out once I was in a back alley. he dare not refuse. I was a primordial after all. he flashed in a worried look on his face.

"you called?" he asked a slight waver in his tone.

"yes. you are the god of healing right?" he nodded

"yes. I am"

"alright. swear on me, that you will never tell another being what I am about to ask of you" he gulped nervously

"I swear on the house of night by your terms" I felt the oath take hold.

"what do you know about self injury?" I asked. he paled slightly

"um, well, its where a person -who is usually emotionally stressed- takes a knife, or other sharp object, and cuts themselves. it is also called cutting"

"and do you know a treatment that can be done alone?" he looked interested.

"no. but there are some methods that reduce the want" I scowled slightly. he continued.

"the best is a marker. instead of using a knife, one would use a marker. it gives a small release due to its hypnotic qualities" I nodded

"thank you" I flashed out.

End of Chapter two.

sorry to all you people that don't like the whole self harm thing, it is vital for the story line.