Wow sorry that this took so long. Thanks for the amazing reviews and support!

Percy's Pov

I don't understand what just happened.

Let me think back…okay, point one, Piper was somehow launched…no, maybe she fell…anyways, Piper fell from the sky.

Point two. She disintegrated. Even though she should've died on impact, somehow she survived. When she finally took her last breath, she stopped moving and started to disintegrate into…ash? Maybe it was dirt? Or could it have been pebbles? I don't know. We didn't touch it, just in case we did the same. Also, it was her remains. How could we have touched it without freezing or acting hysterically?

Point Three. When we got back, we checked The Respawn as always, just in case a newbie arrived while we were gone. Surprisingly, there was Piper. We were absolutely shocked. How was this possible? Nobody had ever died on this island that we knew of but this…this was insane. Did that mean we could all come back? I had no idea.

I stood near Annabeth as she muttered to herself, trying to work everything out.

"How is this possible?" She ran a hand through her hair, bewildered. "I don't understand…life giving properties?" I pulled her into a hug, kissing her forehead.

"Whatever the case, there's at least one positive." I grinned. "Piper's still alive."

"Yes, but what does that mean for us?" Her startling gray eyes locked with my sea-green ones, pleading silently for an answer. "Are we immortal until twenty? Or do we have a limited number of lives? Do we all have immortality?"

"Something tells me you have an answer."

"….I don't like it." She murmured, breaking away from me. She covered her mouth with her hand as she studied the miraculous Piper. "But what if…what if we're all-"

I cut her off. "Save it for the monthly meeting, Wise Girl. Luckily for you, that's in twenty minutes."

"Great." Annabeth muttered. "Twenty minutes of dread and misery to spend with my thoughts."

Twenty Minutes Later

Annabeth didn't even start with formalities or greetings. Everyone had barely sat down before she blurted her amazing point. "I think we all might be computer programs." She breathed out heavily, releasing the weight that must've leaned heavily upon her the last twenty minutes.

"Computer programs?" Luke repeated blankly. "That's…"

"Sort of impossible." Thalia finished, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "I don't think it's possible for a program to think and feel by themselves."

"That's just it." Annabeth gulped, "What if we're being programmed to say these things, to think these thoughts? What if our minds aren't our own?"

The room was silent as we processed what she was saying. "But what does that mean about…I don't…." Silena spoke hesitantly. She was one of the regular people, those who weren't hunters, that were allowed to join our Monthly Meeting Club. "What about love?" I glanced at her, then at Annabeth. Annabeth had already looked at me, and broke my gaze awkwardly.

"Yeah, what about our feelings for the people around us?" Clarisse asked gruffly. "I don't think I was programmed to hate Prissy." I rolled my eyes at my stupid nickname. Seriously, just because I broke her spear that one time didn't mean she had to call me names.

"I don't know." Annabeth looked down at the table, her voice soft and slightly broken. It took all I had to stay back and not comfort her. Comforting was not 'appropriate during meetings'.

Thalia spoke again, still trying to figure out a way for this crazy idea to work. "Okay, so what if we're not programmed? What if, though, we were like placed in this computer…or this island itself is digital and…" She trailed off, trying to make a way for it to work.

"What if we were made into viruses like the Bug?" Nico suggested quietly. We all turned to look at him. "What if we aren't actually in here?"

Jason broke the silence that pressured us, waiting for an explanation for Nico's forbidden statement. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what if we're actually in, like, life-sustaining containers or something, and The Bug's computer system is keeping us alive. What if we're thinking and reacting as we would have had we actually been here, but it's just our minds hooked up to computers that play out events for us to conquer?"

"Deep." I noted. I examined my hand, wondering if it was real or if it was just an illusion. "So we can get hurt, but we can't die? What happens to the people who poof then?"

"I think, if Nico's suggestion is real," Annabeth's beautiful gray eyes spun like wheels on a car, faster and faster to produce solutions we ourselves were unable to comprehend. "then I think those people are woken up on their twentieth."

"Woken up?" Reyna questioned. "You mean that we could also be taken captive?"

"Who knows what the world is like now." Luke shrugged. "For all we know, this could be it. Just this little island. Maybe we're wrong, and the computer consumes the person who poofs when they turn twenty." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Silena blink hard and hold her breath. I know Luke didn't mean to hurt her, he was just talking, but she was still broken inside from Beckendorf. I think we all were.

"Maybe…" Annabeth muttered. "But then where would that leave us? Computer programs that are extremely advanced, like I originally thought?" She shook her head. "I don't think so."

Connor joined in on the conversation. "I'm not that smart," he started, grinning guiltily. "But I know that most of you, excluding Percy,"

"Hey!" I protested, knowing what he was gonna say.

"Are pretty smart," he continued as if he hadn't heard the interruption. "So I'm just a little confused here. What are we? Are we even human, like we've all assumed? Maybe we're part of the Bug."

"No." Thalia said quickly. "We can't be part of the Bug. They…they've killed too many people. When could we have done that?"

"On the websites." I realized suddenly. "When we search and stuff…what if we're unconsciously helping the Bug rather than hindering it?"

"That can't be true." Silena glanced around helplessly. "I don't believe it."

"It's a great possibility…" Annabeth said nervously. "But I really hope it's not true. I don't think we could have ever…"

"Just in case, we should ban all computer usage, just until we figure out a fail-safe plan to make sure we aren't helping the Bug in any way." Chris piped up helpfully.

"Good idea," Annabeth nodded in his direction. "Alright, meeting adjourned. Until next month, everyone do what you can to keep people busy and not paranoid. Don't unintentionally start any uprisings, but deny any information asked about this meeting. Everyone got it?" We nodded, and she began to stand. "Meeting over."

{Line Break}

"Stop the computers." Thalia strode in, cool and confident, Clarisse right behind her. Everyone turned to look at them. "Everyone log out and shut them down. As of right now, nobody is allowed to use a computer unless you are part of the council. Even we won't be using the computers, unless in very dire circumstances."

"Why?" One kid complained as the others watched him, nobody moving. Nobody really comprehended the fact that the computer usage was over.

"Because we say so, punk!" Clarisse glared, but Thalia gave her a look and she stopped.

"New issues have come up and the council has decided that there is no more purpose to using the computers." Thalia explained as much as she could.

"You guys rule our lives!" A fourteen-year-old girl whined, finally standing up to the council. "Just because you're bigger and older, you all boss us around! It's not fair!"

"So it's not fair that the strongest, oldest, smartest of us advise and do what's best for the rest of the population?" Thalia laughed incredulously. "You've gotta be kidding me! And what do you suggest to be the best option?"

"Give the people a voice!" She shot back. "Make representatives for each age group and put people on the poll. Keep us updated, or something!"

"Shut up, kid, you have no idea what you're talking about!" Clarisse tried again, but Thalia held her back.

"Listen," Thalia began, trying to figure out the best way to explain exactly what was happening while explaining nothing at all. "When I was your age, I was just here. Everything was new, nobody knew what was happening. We tried to set up a bunch of different legal systems, that being one of them, but nothing was working. So we panicked, and the best of us, not me, I can assure you, took control. They helped us through, and we trusted them. They dealt with problems that we couldn't even begin to think of solutions to. And look what we have here. A well-working society. Now, things are changing, and it's starting to look like the beginning again. So now is the time to have our little government be made up with the best, the people who truly understand this situation. I know it's not fair, I totally get it. But sometimes, you just have to go with it. So come on. Let us lead you. Turn off your computers and go to the eating tables. There, by last name you will be assigned a new job based on your skills and interests. Annabeth made up a lot of the list and she's pretty smart so yeah."

The girl thought about it a moment, then turned off her computer. The rest followed her example, each exiting the door in a single-file line to get their new order of work. Thalia and Clarisse watched them leave.

"We have too many sheep here." Clarisse commented. "Everyone thinks for themselves, but few actually say it."

{Line Break}

Nico's Pov

I watched the kids from a distance. Everyone was confused, they had no idea what was going on. I sighed internally. One of them was supposed to become a new hunter. I wondered who it would be. I hoped, deep down, that I would be nominated. After all, I was strong, even though I didn't look it, and I could wield my weapon well. On the other hand, though, I was unsocial and slightly aggressive towards my peers.

I got off the wall, realizing that I should probably check where my new job would be. Mason? Cook, maybe? I hoped not. I hated cooking, ever since I accidentally set the kitchen on fire I was banned from it. As I walked over to the big letter 'D' posted on a wooden sign, I noticed kids giving me dirty looks. I ignored them, as usual. They probably just hated on me, as usual. I didn't blame them. Who couldn't hate me? Even I disliked myself. The only person who pretty much appreciated my existence was Hazel, my sister. And maybe Reyna, she was a cool friend.

I trudged up to the paper with my name on it.

It read: Nico di Angelo, age seventeen; Hunter

What? Was my initial thought. They were really letting me join? I was actually excited. I rushed to find Hazel, to tell her the great news. As I left the board, everyone glaring at me, I realized that, for the first time in forever, I was smiling.

{Line Break}

Bianca's Pov

I touched the screen as I watched my little brother, the tears rushing down my face. Finally, he had found purpose. I knew that influencing Annabeth to pick him was a good idea. He would have friends for once. I smiled, my face nearly breaking with joy. I loved him so much. If only he remembered me….

"Don't worry, Bianca." A woman's voice soothed, and a soft hand rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. "You two will be reunited soon enough. We just have to wait for the right moment."

"I know." I managed through my tears. "I'm just happy that he's actually happy. I really hope he finds friends."

"He will," Calypso smiled at me as I turned to look at her, wiping my eyes. "remember?"

"Yeah, I do." I sniffed. "I just never thought what we do actually would work."

Well, this chapter took a turn even I didn't expect! Thanks for all the support! Sorry for this taking too long, I'll try to update faster next time, but ya know finals and everything are this week, it's a miracle anyone's even updating this week. I don't even know where I found this time. I've been working on this a long time, though. I just finally found inspiration and ideas to make it happen!