(A/N) Sorry about the long update. I am kicking myself right now, but at the same time I am so excited that all of you appreciated a Shadow's Song trilogy!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO

Nico POV

"Jason! Jason? Ugh, where has that blonde run off to now?" I groaned and slammed the door of Cabin One. Was he holding a grudge against me because I made him scarf down all of his breakfast? I had to admit, I had been a little harsh. These things took time to recover from, and I was rushing the process. That wasn't very friend-like. Now I hadn't seen Jason since breakfast and it was nearing the evening now. I had no idea where he possibly could have run off to, but I knew that I had to apologize as quickly as possible.

I'd checked everywhere…except the woods. I mumbled curses under my breath about how ignorant the son of Jupiter was and trudged off to see where he went. My mind began to wander as I pictured myself in Jason's shoes. The more I thought about it, the more it pained me to know how I'd treated him. I imagined only having one eye and only eight real fingers. I imagined having to put up with getting deprived from my favorite things at camp, including the rock climbing wall and capture the flag. I had to admit, I'd been anorexic during the titan war. It's not that I didn't want to eat to stay thin, it's just that I refused to eat because of all the stress that had been crushing me. I simply had more important things to worry about than eating.

Little by little I'd gained the weight that I'd lost back. It had taken time, though, and now we, the campers, had been forcing Jason to gain weight. I should've known that he was going to throw up and had taken it easy on him. I was so distracted I conked heads with someone. I stumbled back onto my butt, as did the other person. I looked up to see Jason rubbing his head, cursing under his breath.

"Jason!" I cried and threw my arms around him. I quickly realized that it was awkward and pulled away, collecting myself. In a more dignified tone I asked, "Where have you been? I've been looking all over."

"In the woods. Thinking. I decided that I'd accept the diet that the campers have assigned me. I'll try my best to gain back the weight. Promise." he said sincerely and helped me up. If you looked at him in the eye you could see right through his façade; he was really hurt on the inside and he was just apologizing and accepting being pushed around by everyone else just to make ends meet.

"No, it's my fault. Our, the campers', fault. We can't force the process of your recovery. You need to take your time. From now on, I'll stick up for you. You don't have to be ordered around anymore. I'll even try to persuade Chiron to let you play capture the flag." I knew it was the right thing to do. My friend was suffering and it was my job to do whatever I could to make him feel better. He grinned and his blue eye sparkled with hope and happiness, his smile not strained for once.

"That's great, Nico; I can't even describe how thankful I am. Even if you don't succeed in changing everyone's mind, I'm glad you tried for me. You're the best friend in the history of the world, but you'll never believe what I just saw." I gave him an odd look.

"What? Have you been snooping around the girls' bathroom? You perv." I joked, but Jason's face had turned dead serious. Whatever he saw was nothing to laugh at.

"I saw Percy." he said in a low voice. I could tell that my face lit up. I was grateful towards Jason for letting me know that Percy was alright, but when Jason's face still didn't lighten up, I knew that something was terribly wrong. Something had happened to Percy. The son of Jupiter continued, "I saw Percy and Annabeth talking in the woods. I'd followed him after an odd confrontation with him; he had been acting very strange, so I decided to check it out. After exchanging a few words with him, Annabeth seemed to catch on that there was something going on as well. Percy had been wearing these tinted sunglasses and Annabeth knocked them off." He paused.

"And-?" I asked and noted that my voice was full of concern and suspicion. I wrung my hands and idled with y skull ring. Percy had to be okay. We couldn't have two children of the Big Three get sick in the same year; if what was happening to Percy was anything like the Shadow's Song, we were in big trouble.

"His eyes were red." Jason finished and waited for a reaction. It took all my willpower not to laugh. Really? Percy's eyes being red? That sounded a little far-fetched to me. Jason was just kidding me; joking to make me concerned for Percy's safety. This was just a ruse; a trick to deceive me and make me think that we were in some sort of danger. I was stupid to think that there was anything wrong in the first place.

"Stop laughing. This isn't funny." Jason hissed, his voice seething with fury that was so genuine I nearly staggered back. I'd just realized that I had been snickering under my breath, but Jason and I were in such a quiet and secluded area that he heard it as clear as day. The desperateness in his tone made me snap out of this. Was Jason not joking? Was Percy really in trouble?

"Was he possessed? Like…" I stopped, knowing that the Shadow's Song was a touchy subject when you brought it up to Jason.

"Like Shadow." the son of Jupiter finished, his voice tight. He grit his teeth in a startling grimace and made a low growling sound in his throat.

"We have to check this out and I know the perfect person for the job."