(A/N) Okay, okay, okay. I know you guys don't like character death, but please no hate! (*ahem* Matt *ahem*) Matt the Guest said that he'd stop reading now that Owl Girl was dead, and I say good riddance. You hated on one of my other stories and I wouldn't want a rude user such as yourself posting hateful comments on my story. I know you may be a troll that's just trying to make me angry, but I still cannot help but be appalled at the harsh words you said on my other fanfiction Fallen and then the apology that I am forced to deny now that your behavior is out of control.

On a happier/sadder note, I just realized that this story is coming to a near-close. I know that it is much shorter than its prequel, but this is because I didn't switch between Annabeth/Nico/Jason's POV and Percy's. You'll figure out why towards the end of this chapter, but don't worry; there are still a few, meaning less than five, chapters left for me to write. Then it's on with the third book in the trilogy!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, I only own the plot!

Nico POV

The burial for Annabeth was held only a few hours after Jason woke up. All the campers filed out of their cabins dressed in black and to the fire, where her closest friends, including me, uttered little eulogies that were difficult to get out without bursting into tears. The Athena cabin had made their counselor a beautiful shroud with incredibly detailed owls perched on olive branches, and they carefully covered the body with it, muttering goodbyes under their breaths.

I knew that the one person that Annabeth would want at her funeral was not present, for he had been the one to kill her. Perseus Jackson was pacing the cage that used to hold Jason when he was infected with the Shadow's Song. I was disgusted with the former hero that I had once had a crush on. Jason and I had dropped our cases, confirming that Percy had been the one to kill Travis and that his change in personality was just the sociopathic desires that all murderers had.

Leo walked over to Annabeth's covered body, whispered a quiet, "See you in the next life," and lit his fingertip aflame, lowering it onto the shroud. Not a word was spoken as the flames leapt into the sky, swirling and crackling brightly. It was as if a shining star had been snuffed out. She could have been happy. She could have lived a long, happy life with Percy or another demigod but it had bene the one that she had loved and trusted most that had killed her. They had braved Tartarus together, they had fought titans and Giants side-by-side, yet Percy had turned his back on her, backstabbing her in the worst way possible.

Nobody even dared to venture into the room where Percy's cage stood and the kid was practically starving in there. Everyone shot him furious glares if they walked by, which they rarely did, and people who were assigned to bring him food left it just out of reach to torture him. I bent my head as the sound of Annabeth's blazing fire filled my ears, easing my thoughts and helping me concentrate on just the grief. I'd been to many funerals and burial ceremonies, but this one had been a low blow. I'd lost one of my friends who was too close. Too young. Too gentle…well, at times.

The hour seemed to stretch to infinity and the crowd began to disperse, the campers trickling back to their cabins to change into camp clothes. I lingered for a few moments, watching as the flames leaped and swirled like a nimble dancer. I swore I saw the smiling face of Annabeth in the white-hot core of the flames, but I singled it out as just a mirage.

I padded to my cabin silently, laying low as to not attract attention. That's when I looked up and, perched on top of the Athena cabin, was Thanatos. His black wings shimmered in the light of the dying sun and he gave me a nonchalant wave before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. I looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed that, but everyone's head was down and their faces solemn.

I found myself walking past Cabin Thirteen, not bothering to change out of my black attire; nobody would be alarmed since that's what I usually wore. I climbed the Big House steps and slipped inside, seeing Chiron talking in hushed tones with Dionysus. "I'm here to see Percy." I told them firmly. The other times I'd asked if I could visit, they'd managed to convince me that I had other important things to do, but today all activities were cancelled due to give campers time to mourn.

"Are you-?"

I cut the centaur off, and rather rudely at that, "Yes, I am sure, Chiron. He needs to know what he has done." Chiron nodded and motioned towards the hallway that led to the spare room that Percy's cage was in. We had all hoped that we wouldn't need that cage anymore after Jason's recovery, but sadly that was not the case. The cage that held so many horrible memories was here to stay, and you couldn't help but notice the faded and irremovable stain that was Jason's dried blood on the metal floor. Would a stain of Percy's blood join it?

I unlocked the door and pushed it open, making sure my poker-face was on correctly. Percy had his back to me and sat crisscross applesauce, his shoulders slumped and his back hunched. I saw a food tray that was set on the floor only a few inches away from Percy's arm length. I didn't blame him that he was turned away from it; I wouldn't want to torture myself either.

"Perseus Jackson the murderer. I'd like to hear out your side of the story." I said flatly, my voice devoid of any emotion. The son of Poseidon turned his head to face me, his red eyes flashing angrily, then resumed his attention on the back wall of his cell. "Look at me." I ordered, yet Percy refused to be obedient. I looked at the plate of food that was still hot from the oven and picked it up, walking over so that my face was nearly pressed against the bars. "You want to talk?" I asked. "I have food." I intentionally tapped the edge of the plate against the bars. Percy seemed to straighten and that at least told me that I'd gotten his attention.

Perseus made a growling sound in the back of his throat, which sounded a lot like, "Go away." I guessed that that was a no. Even then, I persisted.

"You sure?" I questioned and wafted the scent over to him, tapping the plate against the bars once more to try and get him to open up.

"Are you trying to torment me?" Percy hissed like a snake, and just as coldly. He turned, his teeth grinding together out of frustration. He reached for the plate, but I held it out of his reach. "I guess you are." he grumbled, mostly to himself.

"You get food if you answer my questions. How long has it been since you've eaten? A few days at most?" I taunted and Percy's stomach growled loudly and insistently. The son of Poseidon gripped his abdomen and pursed his lips, but nodded.

"Fine. What do you want?" he snarled, his tone far from the friendly tone that I usually associated with Percy.

"Why did you kill your girlfriend?" I asked and eyed his hands, which were twitching with anticipation as if he were going to snatch the plate out of my hands. If he did that I'd have no leverage. Percy propped himself up against the back of the cage and I noted how deeply defined each and every bone in his body was. His cheek bones jutted out against the skin and every one of his ribs could be carefully counted.

"You were questioning me as if something was wrong. You drew your weapons, so I drew mine. It was a matter of defense, really." he snorted, even though he was well aware that I knew he was lying. "Now food, please."

"I was a witness. Why bother lying to my face when you know I'm never going to believe it. You don't get food until you tell the truth." Just to prove my point I popped one of the strips of bacon into my mouth and chewed melodramatically, swallowing loudly as I watched Percy's mouth water. His stomach let out another growl and the son of Poseidon moaned a little. I knew that this was inhumane, that I was, in fact, torturing Percy, but I needed answers, and I needed them now.

"I didn't appreciate how you thought I was not myself, how you kept mentioning 'the real Percy.' What if someone insisted that you were a phony and began throwing accusations?" I had to admit, he had a point. I handed him a strip of bacon through the bars and he devoured it eagerly.

"Next question; why didn't you stop that one night when I was following you? Why didn't you say that it was just you and you were simply sneaking around like I was?" I asked.

"You were stalking me. What would you expect?" I handed him a quarter of a pancake, which he took so gingerly it might as well be the most fragile glass in the world of a bag of small gems. I watched him eat it slowly, relieved that he knew not to scarf it down or risk throwing it all up again.

"What's with that hole in your leg?" I interrogated, my voice deadly serious. The son of Poseidon quirked an eyebrow at this.

"What hole?" he asked, but I knew that he knew what I was talking about, he was just too stubborn to admit it. What had gotten into him?

"Show me the backs of your legs." I ordered. Percy stayed put, crossing his arms. I walked over to the garbage can and held the plate over it at a terrifying angle. Percy literally leap to his feet and pressed himself against the bars, reaching out to me with a very thin and frail-looking hand, a silent gesture that begged me not to do it. I tipped the plate some more and the food began to slip. A piece of bacon fell to its oblivion.

"No!" Percy cried and scrambled to his feet, turning around to face the wall in a position that people would normally stand in if a cop was to frisk them. I smirked and set the plate down, walking over for further examination. The hole in his leg was huge and showed bone, the flesh around it decaying a little to the point where I nearly threw up.

"How are you walking?" I growled and peered at the white gleam of his fibula that sent shivers up and down my spine. Percy only responded with a shaky shrug. He was trembling all over and his hands were quivering violently. "And what's that?" I asked, gesturing to the lumpy form on the back of his neck. Percy's hand immediately flew to cover it. He bit his lip and refused to answer and I was surprised that he would do so when the risk was missing yet another meal.

"Answer it and I give you the entire plate and stop interrogating you for good." I proposed and held the plate that was heaped with welcoming and provoking food up to the bars.

"PARASITEFROMCAMPJUPITER." Percy blurted so quickly that I could barely register it, but I got the gist as he snatched the plate out of my hands and began to gorge on it.

"Guards!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and Percy froze like a statue. He turned to me, his red eyes no longer panicked but rather seething with rage. He dropped the plate and it shattered on the floor, resounding throughout the Big House. I heard the yelling and the sound of pounding footsteps as demigods rushed to my aid. They had just reached the door when Percy flicked his wrist and it closed, the lock and hinges fusing into place so that it could neither be unlocked nor kicked down.

I gasped and stumbled backwards as Percy gripped the bars with both hands and, with what seemed like little or no effort, bent the bars and stepped out of the opening. He balled his hands into fists and grinned like the Cheshire cat, only without humor, only malice. Campers were banging on the door and screaming my name, but my voice wouldn't work. I took a step back as Percy jumped down from the slightly raised platform that the bars were attached to.

"It seems you have found out the secret." he chuckled without any sort of comicalness. "And, like Travis, it will die along with you. Do you have any idea what it is like to starve in a wretched human body for days on end? My kind has never had to endure such conditions. Perseus' spirit was so strong that it took most of my energy to shove him down again, and even now he fights like no other, Splitting headaches all the time. Only now that I-we- are half-starved, it has lulled Perseus into dormancy, just how it should be. Thanks for the idea, by the way."

"Screw you. Get out of his body." I spat and braced myself against the door. To the campers who were panicking on the other side, I shouted, "Percy isn't Percy. Don't trust him! It's the parasite from Camp Jupiter that's talking and wearing his skin like a costume, not him!" There was a chorus of gasps and the panic became even more so.

Not-Percy stalked towards me like a big cat that was ready to pounce on his prey. Trinity had been confiscated and melted down for scrap metal, leaving him weaponless, but I knew that after he bent the bars like that and fused the door shut with only a wave of his hand, I was still at a large disadvantage. "Time's up, Death Boy." And with that, he charged