I awoke; graying and fading wooden planks greeted me from above. It took me only a moment to realize that I was in the Big House, but why? I moved my hands around sparingly, feeling the soft woolen sheets around me. I must have been in the bed I surmised. I tried to get up, and that was a huge mistake. Rising waves of pain washed over my body, causing me to fall back onto the bed and groan loudly.

"Nico!" Coincidentally, I heard Percy's voice along with the shattering of glass as he rushed into the room.

"Hey." I managed to slur out.

Percy rushed over to my side, putting his hand on my arm. "How are you feeling? Still in pain?"

"Yeah a lot actually, I feel like I got hit by a truck. What happened?" I honestly tried, but couldn't remember anything that had happened that could've put me in the bed.

"Y-you don't remember anything?" He stuttered out, afraid of his own voice as if it would give something away.

"What happened Percy? Why do I feel like this?" I said shifting upwards, balancing upwards on one elbow on top of my cot, so I could look him in the eye. I knew he couldn't lie to me then.

"Let me uh... let me get Dionysus." He said quickly, looking away from me and leaving the room. Letting me wallow in my own confusion, I knew my own temper, and I knew that was about to get frustrated really quickly.

I heard some muffled conversing in the other room, straining to hear I tried to use a shadow to listen in but found I didn't have the strength; I only proceeded to make myself more exhausted than I already was.

Dionysus and Percy walked into the room together, one looking significantly more apprehensive than the other.

"Child, how do you remember nothing that's occurred? I swear the nerve of some kids." Complained Dionysus as he strolled into the room, wearing his trademark tacky floral print shirt and holding a cup of 'wine', looking rather annoyed at me and the situation he was forced to be in.

"Sorry, all I can remember is waking up here and some stuff that happened the night before… that's about it." I said trying to avoid actually saying that Percy and I had sex the night before.

Dionysus looked at me seriously for a moment, catching me completely off-guard, it was as if his eyes were peering into my very soul and he was taking a look inside. His eyes widened in shock, a mixture of emotions played over his face, ones I couldn't quite discern for myself.

Turning to look at Percy, "I cannot believe you Perseus Jackson, get outside now!" He bellowed, basically kicking Percy out onto the landing of the Big House.

I tried to use some more of my powers again, to try and listen in but I was mocked at "Do you really think you can spy on a God using a shadow? Naïve much?" whispered Dionysus through his complete shutdown of my powers. I began to just lie on the bed and pout, no one was telling me anything and I was completely useless.

Minutes passed and Dionysus and what appeared to be a very shame-filled Percy, "He knows Nico, everything." He said as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment, and as I heard those words so too did mine.

"We're Gods did you not think we couldn't figure out that two teenagers, especially children of the Big Three, were fooling around on our camp?" Said Dionysus, chiding us like the little children we apparently were.

"Do either of you know what happens when two half-bloods have sex?" He asked again, ever the more irritated at our apparent lack of knowledge.

"No…" Squeaked out Percy, completely subdued at this point, he had absolutely no idea, we had both assumed that sex was the same; not that either of us had really talked about it to begin with.

"When two half-bloods have exchange err… fluids, a power exchange takes place the strengths of one of the half-bloods will inevitably flow out of them and into the other making one of them significantly weaker this is usually the weaker of the two to begin with. This is because 90% of half-bloods A) don't go around having sex that often and B) it was created to ensure the survival of all of you because although one of you will lose the power the child of the two will eventually become stronger than both. Obviously that second half doesn't apply to you two, but because you two did have sex Nico did lose his powers momentarily, and because he was a child of the Big Three he didn't permanently lose them but he will be severely crippled over the next few days." Explained Dionysus, his explanation had completely changed everything, I couldn't believe that having sex was actually…. Deadly.

"So what do we do then? To restore Nico's powers that is?" Said Percy, he was back to being the confident boyfriend that I knew, now that he had some information that is.

"That's not really the problem actually… Nico's powers will return over the next day or so, but once a couple has um… 'relations' they have one week to have it recognized by their respective parents or else it is automatically voided by the council." Said Dionysus, scratching his head as if he had just told us some upsetting news, except this was slightly more than upsetting news.

"Wait, so Mr. D, what happens if our relationship is voided?" I asked it wasn't looking good for us.

"You two can't be together." He said, like a judge slamming a gavel down upon the wooden recesses of our lives.

"How do we get our relationship approved then?" Percy said red in the face and demanding to know.

"First off, don't get upset with me it's not my fault you two couldn't keep it in your pants. And secondly, it's pretty standard for everyone the couples must go to each of the other's respective parents home and do something that is asked of them by the parent. And that's about it." Said Dionysus

"Except, we're both children of the Big Three and no one wants us to be together because we'll be too powerful." Said Percy with a sigh of defeat

"Actually you two might legitimately have a chance, if you're with another man that means you can't foster another child of the Big Three." Said Dionysus picking up our spirits in the slightest

"So that settles it Nico, we have one week to get to the underworld, and Atlantis." Said a determined Percy, but at that moment I had remembered something from the back of my mind.

"Yeah, but I forgot to ask again, what did happen to me anyways?" I said

Both Dionysus and Percy became instantly down trodden, "I'll let you tell him, he likes you more." Said Dionysus as he left the room, in the same moment Percy came over to sit by me, taking my hand in his and he began to cry.

All I could make out was, "You were weak from the night before, it was some half-blood that no one really knew. H-He… t-touched. A-And. H-hurt. Y-You." But then it began to make sense, my mind filled in the blanks for me as the horrifying nightmare took hold in my mind again causing me to sob as much as Percy was at the present moment.

The disgusting incident in the showers, that boy who raped me, took from me my own innocence. I was awash with anger and sadness, disgust and a feeling of dirtiness I wanted to scrub the feeling off of my body but I knew I couldn't; I only hoped that the tears could do what my mind could not. "Please Nico, be strong, for me." Cried Percy

That was it, that was what I needed, I had to be strong we only had one week and now wasn't the time to cry about it. I was strong, why should a little sex bother me? I watched my own sister's death; I could be strong for Percy right now. My tears began to dry, as I looked into the eyes of my boyfriend and smiled.

"Let's go."