Author's note: (And if you act now, we'll give you twice the deal! That's right, two cruddy author's notes!) Here it is! I promised you I'd make this one real long, and I will keep that promise. In fact, I promise I'll keep my promise. You officially have my digital-online word. You see Inception yet? That is one awesome movie! So many twists! Loved it! Anyway, instead of making this author's note the biggest thing in the chapter, let's move on…

When Nico woke up, his ear's were buzzing, his head was pounding, and the room was spinning. He had the metallic taste of … blood, in his mouth. Then he remembered those stupid pooping birds, and how they scratched up his face … and his hand.

He brought his hand up to his face to see it wrapped up in bloody gauze. He was too weak to even make a fist, so he just flopped it back down. He then realized that he was in a bed, cover up by black sheets. He surveyed the room with his blurry vision and saw that it was the Hades cabin in Camp Half Blood. Yeah, the same creepy feel, the same dark furniture, and for some reason boxer shorts hung from the bed across from his … they weren't his, so Nico thought it must've been some sort of prank by one of the Hermes children.

But then he heard some banging, like a shovel hitting stone. His head pounded along with the shovel. He cautiously looked over to where the noise was coming from. At the back of the room, behind a bunk, some jerk was digging through the floor. Or, at least trying to. He wasn't making much progress because he was digging into a rock. But surprisingly, he actually made a few sizable dents. Nico thought it must take a lot of muscle to do that, but that wasn't the point.

The point really was that he was trying to get some sleep, and this guy was disturbing him. Nico moaned, "Mmmm … What do you think you're doing? This is my cabin buddy, and I said nothing about a hosting a sculpting class." Nico hadn't realized how dry his throat was.

The guy looked up some what startled. "You're awake? We thought you'd be out for hours." He said dropping the shovel.

"Yeah, well, thanks to some one I'm up. So, once again I say, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CABIN?" Nico yelled bitterly.

"Hey, it's my cabin too." The guy said sharply.

Nico calmed down. He was really confused. "What? But … I don't have a … you can't be … the oath-"

"Dad, didn't think he got her pregnant, but … well, here I am. He must've figured it out 'cause this winter I got claimed. I guess that makes us like, brothers. Well, half brothers, but you know what I mean."

Nico was stunned. He even felt his jaw drop a little. "Br-brother …" Nico realized what that meant. Hades broke the oath. Hades broke the oath. A little piece of him died there. A minuscule fire extinguished. His father had been the only one, repeat, only one, who had resisted the temptation. Did it make him better? Gods no. It made him bitter. It made him angry. Even more angry and bitter than before. Hades had despised his brothers to no end because of that. Nico felt in some strange, twisted way, that that proved Hades did care. If Hades had such strong feelings because he couldn't have his family, it meant he cared. It meant there was a part of Hades, that loved him and Bianca. But … another son? Another son? Another woman he loved. Another family. Another child he was forced to ignore. Nico felt a sort of betrayal. He knew this was coming when the oath was lifted, but … Hades did it before. He loved some one else other than Nico's mother. For at least 28 years, Hades had lied. Nico also felt jealous. He didn't know why. He didn't know how. He just knew that this kid had interjected himself between him and his dad. That delicate balance he and his dad had, was being tampered with. Nico's existence, to Hades, so far just meant another servant. And another disappointment. This guy. To Hades? What did he mean to Hades? Was he the son Nico never was? Or was he in the same boat. Nico remembered the reason he was finishing school in the first place. All he had told Percy and Annabeth was that Hades had made him. Hades had made him. That was technically true. Gods, everything was so messed up. Now, he felt a certain empty spot, in the pit of his stomach, where that little piece had broken.

"I'm Max. Sorry, I just thought that I'd be able to dig out the entrance again if I worked hard enough."

Nico looked up blandly. "Where's it go?"

"Well, it used to go to the Underworld. Caved in, and now I gotta dig it out again." Max explained.

"Bummer. Hey, uh, I think we're supposed to be on a schedule, what do I have now?" Nico said reaching into his dresser drawer and taking off his bloody t-shirt. He wanted to get away from Max for a bit, to at least decide where he stood with Max.

Max looked to the schedule above his bed, "Uh, Trials of Strength. Then free time. How 'bout we meet at Canoe Lake then? To, you know, get to know each other."

Nico pulled on a new shirt, and said, "Sounds cool. See you then."

Nico went to the arena for the weekly Trials of Strength. He couldn't help looking around camp as he did. They had made a couple improvements since the war ended, but it was still the same old place. The lush strawberry fields, the dangerous yet fun climbing wall, the animated campers walking around … it was so busy, and full of life. Nico had had bad memories in this place, but he had also had one of the best nights of his life there.

*Flash back*

Nico and Rose had been "hanging out" for a few months, but weren't officially dating yet. They sure wanted to though. They hadn't kissed yet, and Rose's dad probably preferred it that way. There were a few close calls though.

Nico wanted to look good that night, but he wasn't really sure what he should wear. He had decided that was the night he was going to take it to the next level with Rose. He eventually decided on a black and grey skull shirt (the skull grey; the back round black), dark blue jeans, and his aviator's jacket. He also had his watch on, so they didn't miss curfew and get eaten by the harpies.

Nico was, for the first time in a long time, generally excited about that night. He had it all planned out. Naturally, since it was a Saturday, they didn't have scheduled events, so the to of them could just hang out around camp. He'd try to play it cool, like usual.

It was about noon when Nico was finally ready. He leaped out of Hades cabin excitedly, and bolted for Demeter cabin. When he got there, he knocked on the door in a way that Rose knew it was him. (Knock twice then slam his palm on the door three times). Rose answered the door, and smiled. "You know, that secret knock thing is more for eight year olds."

"Probably. But frankly, I don't really care." Nico said happily. "You ready to go to the North Woods?" They were going to the North Woods because Nico had wondered how long it would take them to go all the way through to the other side.

"Well, what about lunch?"

"Au contre, Rose. I've got a picnic basket full of snacks. I sneaked 'em out from the Mess Hall. See, I can plan ahead."

Rose giggled. "I never said you couldn't, I said you can't plan ahead well. And I only said that because you never think about the consequences to your pranks. I think you spent too much time in Hermes cabin."

Nico shrugged. "True enough. But I think any time spent in the Hermes cabin is too much."

Around five minutes into their day trip, Nico realized that they were walking the same path he had ran after Percy told him about Bianca …

"Nico, are you okay? You're crying." Rose said.

Nico realized a tear had slipped out. He hastily wiped it away, and said, "Uh, I'm fine. It's just ... I know this kid, his dog died, 'cause he had to shoot him." That's convincing. Wait, no, THAT'S LASSIE! ****!

Rose looked at him funny for a moment, then said, "Well, alright. But if you ever wanna talk it over, I'll be here."

They walked in an awkward silence for a minute, but it didn't last long thanks to a rustling in the bush and some screaming.

"Nico, did you hear that?" Rose whispered.

"Yeah. Stay here, I'll check it out." Rose nodded and Nico crept his way over to the bush. He slowly brought his Stygian iron blade from his pocket, he spun it around in the air, then caught the handle in a certain way, so he could easily stab whatever crept beyond the brush.

"Hello? Anybody there?" Nico called as warning.

There was more rustling, and a Pegasus came galloping out with a young boy riding it. "Duck!" Nico yelled. He tackled Rose to the ground to keep her from being hit. The boy looked terrified, and he had every right to be. Normally, the Pegasus's flying route is up in the air, not down in the forest. Nico figured that it must've been the boy's first time riding.

When the panicked Pegasus pulled up into the sky, Nico slowly raised his head. "I think it's gone now." He propped himself up with his arms, and looked down to see Rose staring into his eyes. He hadn't realized exactly how pretty she was before. When the sun shone on her eyes they lit up and sparkled. Whoa.

Rose never saw Nico like that. His intense (almost completely) black eyes seemed to bore into her soul. (Which she thought made sense because he's the son of Hades). Square jaw. Shaggy hair. He was really handsome. Whoa. She felt herself blush a little. Nico just lay there with his mouth open. He soon realized he had been staring too long and lifted himself off the ground. 'Uh, we should- you know, get going." He said lamely. He brushed himself off and put out a hand for her.

They had been walking for hours, but it didn't feel like it. They lost track of time talking together, but Rose looked up to the sky, "It's getting pretty dark, maybe we should start heading back."

Nico pushed some branches out of the way, "Nah, come on. I think I can see the beach from here."

Nico climbed through a whole in the brush he made.

"Nico, come back. Nico!" Rose hissed. She reluctantly followed. the bush went on for a while but when it finally recited, it revealed a rustic, old boardwalk, with more than a few boards missing. The wood looked like it could crack any second, and Nico was exploring every end of it. "Nico, get off that thing! It doesn't look stable."

Nico found an old telescope with most of it's gold paint chipped off. "Are you kidding? This place is amazing! It must be like, a century old!"

"Exactly my point! This is going to break!"

"Oh, come on Rose. Look at how beautiful it is up here." Rose stepped out of the bushes, and put a experimental foot on the board walk. It creaked, but didn't break, which was a good sign. She climbed the three steps and joined Nico on the main platform.

Her breath was taken away. It was magnificent. The starry night sky was a light up in a divine range from dark blue to pinkish purple. The moon shone brilliantly, lighting up the sky. The ocean below reflected the violet colour and the light from the moon. There were few tremors in the navy blue water, except directly below, where the waves crashed into the side of the island, which was the only sound besides their breathing. Rose stared out for the longest time, she finally broke the silence minutes later. It wasn't an awkward silence. They were both so captivated in it's magnificence, that it just seemed right. "It's so … enchanting. Right Nico?"

Rose glanced over to see Nico studying her. When he saw her look over, Nico turned to look out again and said, "Uh, yeah." Nico looked thoughtful. He knew this was his chance. It was just how to go about saying it that had him stumped. His fingers taped nervously on the railing. He sighed, "Listen. Rose? I uh, well ... *Sigh* Jeez, you'd think this would be easier. Look. We've been friends for uh, while now, an-and I've um, really enjoyed that time. I mean the time together, not the time itself, I mean, time's cool and everything, but time is such a big concept, and you just waste time thinking about time, so when you think about it-"

"Nico?"

"Hmm?"

"You're babbling." Rose giggled. It wasn't like a son of Hades to babble.

"Sorry, but it's hard. Okay, uh … where was I?" Nico asked, completely lost at this point. His whole 'play it cool' plan had gon straight down the toilet.

Rose laughed. "Honestly, I've lost track too. You know, I think it'd be easier to just do this." She said, leaning closer and closer until … a kiss. The most perfect kiss Nico could have ever asked for. A tender display of their affection, brought out by the beautiful scenery. It was so over-whelming, that it just felt right for Rose to fall into him. It lasted for Zeus knows how long, but it didn't seem enough. Nico wanted it to be like that forever. He did realize, him being the son of Hades, that forever was usually to good to be true. But he would make this last. He realized that she was everything he wanted.

After they finally pulled away, for a brief moment to breath, Nico realized how late it really was, "Hades, it's getting late. You think the cleaning Harpies can find us all the way out here?"

Rose thought for a moment, then said, "Probably. But frankly, I don't really care." And she embraced him once more.

Nico stared into the forest, deep in thought. What was he going to do? Was just supposed to sit back and let her go? He was tired of letting things go. He had let far too many things go. He didn't want her to slip through the cracks too. He was too confused to figure out what to do. He would just put his frustration into Trials of Strength. Maybe … I don't know, maybe he'd be more calm, and could think better. It was worth a shot.

"AARRRRGH!" Nico groaned. Carrying 50 tons isn't as easy as it seems. The test was simple when Chiron first told him about it. Get across the room while lifting a certain amount of weight. Easy right? Wrong, wrong, wrong, and WRONG. Turns out it's a lot harder than you'd think. It felt like the weights were crushing his spine. And the sad thing was, he was only half way there. "...Chi-Chiron? C-c-can I st-stop now?"

Chiron looked up from his game of pinochle. "Why stop there? You're doing so well. Keep going. It'll strengthen you so you can-"

"I know, I know. I-it's just h-h-hard." Nico's legs trembled. He took a step, but fell to one knee. In an attempt at another step, he brought his other knee down. He kept going like this until he was down on his stomach, desperately struggling under the weight.

That's when he got mad. (Here we go again, right? Look, I know it's redundant at this point, but bare with me, I have a point) His pupils turned to slits, like an animal. His heart raced. His veins stuck out of his skin. This had happened three other times, to him. He pushed himself up slowly, regaining strength. His breath came out in enraged gasps. As he slowly brought himself up, gaining more and more strength as he lifted the now increasingly lighter weight, he ground his teeth, and they turned to fangs. His nails turned to claws. (They're not, repeat not turning into were-wolfs! It's just part of the side affects! Just in case you were wondering).

Nico screamed, and threw the weight across the room, breaking through the stadium wall.

Chiron and Mr. D looked up. Chiron surprised, Mr D. not even remotely moved by this. In fact, he just sighed and grumbled, "Mr. de Angio, breaking camp property with other camp property is wrong. The way you did it. You need to smash more."

Nico apparently thought that was a good idea, because he ran over to the weight set and grabbed more. He threw them like Frisbees, trying to hit Mr. D and Chiron. Chiron easily dodged them. Mr. D on the other had, just didn't care. With him being an immortal God and all, the weights didn't even hurt. (I know Chiron's immortal, too. He just has enough sense, unlike Mr. D, to run when some one's trying to kill you)

"Nico! What has gotten into you? You do not throw weights at a God!" Chiron yelled.

Mr. D pointed a finger at him. Grape vines arose from the ground and grabbed Nico by the neck, who was struggling furiously and practially barking. (Again, not were-wolfs. Just another side affect). "The horse is right, for once. You should never dishonor a God. Especially me. Your father may be Hades, but I swear to Zeus, I will send you to him if you ever do anything like that again." Mr. D growled, forcing Nico higher up.

Nico still wrestled against the vines, in an animal-like manor; clawing at them. Mr. D only tightened the hold. Nico grasped at his neck, trying to free himself, with one hand. With the other, he summoned shadows to release him. The shadows curled up the vines, and once at the top, formed two claws. The claws gripped the vines. The two, usually inanimate things fought each other, the vines trying to tighten, and the shadows trying to loosen. Until the shadows won out, letting Nico drop. He let the shadows go, so when the vines caught Nico's ankle just before impact, he had no means to defend himself.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this, boy." Mr. D snarled. "For what you may ask?" He said, forcing more vines to arise and hold down his arms and legs against the wall. "For one of you irrating little brats to push it too far." A vine curled up Nico's body, and gripped his neck again. "I knew that someday, one of you impulsive urchins would step over your rights, and you have finally done it."

Nico's eyes, teeth, and hands returned to normal. He struggled to breath, and could feel himself blacking out.

"Mr. D," Chiron warned. "He's just a boy."

Mr. D looked to Nico with such distaste, then to Chiron, with the usual glint of hatred in his eye. "This adolescent devil? This hellion? Just a boy, Chiron? Please. This," He said pointing to Nico. "Is a disgrace to the entire family. No one dishonors me this way. He will suffer."

"Dionysus, think. If you go through with this, Hades will stop at nothing to put you in Tarturus. It will be cause for great stir among the Gods."

Mr. D looked from Chiron to the terrified Nico. Innocence had returned to his eyes. He was reluctant, but he let Nico go. "You were lucky this time, boy. Next time, you won't be." With that, he left.

Nico dropped to the floor gasping and coughing violently. He held his stomach his one hand, and used the other to prop himself up.

Chiron trotted over to his aid. "Nico, do you know how incredibly dangerousand ignorant that was? You can never dishonor a God. You can never do that again. You must control your impulsive nature."

Nico was still doubled over, but he managed, "I ... I don't ... know what happened ... What did happen?"

Chiron faltered. "You don't remember?"

"I remember ... weight lifting ... then I was ... then ... dieing ... What happened?"

Chiron thought for a long time, then decided, "I don't know, but I'll find out."

After lunch, Annabeth went to Pegasus riding, now taught by a close friend of Selina. Before Percy could go to Volleyball, Thalia had pulled him aside into the bathroom area. Percy was confused but agreed to go. "So, uh, what's up?"

Thalia stared at him long and hard, then said, "What was that about?"

"What was what about?" Percy asked, because he seriously didn't know.

"Earlier today. With that giant water fist. What was up with that?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on Percy. You honestlydon't know?" Percy just gave her a blank stare. She looked into his eyes and saw he wasn't kidding. "Oh my Gods, you honestly don't know."

"What? What water fist?" Percy was getting a little worried by the tone in her voice.

"Earlier today, when Nico was getting ripped up by those birds, you totally freaked out, and nearly hit Annabeth and Nico with a giant fist of water. You stopped when the birds died, and just instantaineuoly snapped out of it. Your eyes were like ... an animal. You know, how Grover's eyes get when he's scared. It was really weird. You know anything about that?"

Percy stared at her with his mouth open. Eventually he managed, "I what?"

"I just told you, Kelp-Head. What do think happened back there?"

Percy thought hard, but came up short. "I don't know. I never-" Then Percy remembered Prom night. (Well, as much of it as he did before)

"What?"

"Prom night, I got drunk-"

"Percy!" Thalia said, letting go of her crutch long enough to punch him in the gut.

"It wasn't my fault! Somebody spiked the punch! Look, that's not the point. All I can remember from that night is before I got drunk and then, well, I think I can remember looking at Annabeth, and she looked ... mortified. I must've done something terrible, but I don't remember what."

They both thought this over, then their eyes widened in realization, "ANNABETH!"

Annabeth was enjoying the Pegasus ride. She had gotten better than last time, which didn't make much sense since she hadn't been practicing for a year, but she was enjoying it none the less. She circled over the arena, and watched Nico start to try his Trials of Strength, when she heard a distant ... screaming. She turned to see Thalia and Percy running up, (Well, Thalia was using her crutches, so it was more like limping quickly) Percy waving his arms, and them screaming her name. She figured it must of been important if they were running across camp like idiots. Especially Thalia. Every one already knew Percy was a Seaweed Brain, but not Thalia.

Annabeth landed the Pegasus half way between the Arena and the cabins. (The top is Percy, the bottom is Thalia. They're yelling at the same time. Oh, and they're talking really fast)

"ANNABETH ANNABETH, SOMETHING'S WRONG AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT, AND I THINK I MIGHT BE HURTING PEOPLE, YOU'VE GOTTA REMEMBER, 'CAUSE I DON'T, ANNABETH PLEASE HELP!"
"ANNABETH, I THINK PERCY'S DISTURBED, AND I MEAN MORE THAN USUAL, 'CAUSE HE'S TOTALLY SPAZZING OUT AND HURTING PEOPLE, ANNABETH YOU'VE GOTTA HELP, 'CAUSE PERCY'S JUST REALLY FREAKING ME OUT!"

"Calm down, both of you! All I got was 'just really freaking me out.' What's wrong?" Annabeth asked. Thalia and Percy took a deep breath in, as if they were going to start up again, but Annabeth put up a hand to stop them and said, "One at a time. Thalia, go."

"Okay, so we think something's wrong with Percy."

"That's news?" Annabeth laughed.

"No, I'm serious. I mean like, something's really really wrong. Like, he's been freaking out and hurting people, then after he can't remember any of it. We don't know what's wrong, but we think something might be trying to take over." Thalia explained. Not many people can tell when Thalia's really worried about something, Annabeth did. Thalia always liked to act tough, but when she was scared or worried it shone in her eyes, Annabeth could tell.

"Yeah, and 'cause I think you saw something on Prom night, you could maybe help." Percy added, clearly worried as well. It was just that he didn't hide it as well.

Annabeth thought about what she saw ... that was definitely a problem. "Okay, what's the plan?"

Thalia and Percy looked at eachother blankly. "We kinda thought you would come up with the plan." Percy admitted.

"Of coarse, okay so what do we kno-"

All of the sudden they heard a terrible groan coming from the Arena. "AARRRRGH!"

"What was that?" Thalia asked.

"I think Nico's doing his weekly Trials of Strength." Annabeth explained.

"Wimp." Thalia muttered.

"So, as I was saying, what do we know about this disease or whatever it is?" Annabeth asked.

"Well ... he randomly freaks out on people, then forgets everything. Oh, and his pupils get all messed up." Annabeth gave her a questioning look. " When he has those spaz attacks, his pupils turn to slits."

"That doesn't make sense. When I saw him, his pupils were just smaller, not sliats."

They all thought about it for a moment, then Percy confirmed, "Whatever it is, it's getting worse." As if on cue, a blood curdling scream came from the arena. Along with the scream came a heavy weight, which flew out, breaking the wall, which came hurtling towards them.

"Duck!" Thalia yelled, and Percy tackled both of them to the ground. It flew just over their heads and Thalia let out a giant groan. That's when Percy remembered about her injuries. "Aarrrr, get off me Kelp Head!"

Percy scarmbled up. He helped both of them up, then rambled an apology, "Sorry Thalia, I forgot, and it was going to hit somebody, and I didn't-"

"Shut up Percy, I'm fine. I'm not the problem here, that little spaz Nico is." Thalia remarked.

Annabeth's eyes widened in realization. "I think Nico has the same thing as Percy."

Percy and Thalia looked at her like she was crazy, then Annabeth pointed to the weight on the ground as proof. They just stared at it for a second, with the same blank expression on their faces, then they nodded in agreement.

They ran over to the Arena, and looked through the hole Nico just made to see him being strangled by Mr. D's vines. He raised his hand to summon shadows, and they arose to free their master from Mr. D's grasp, only to be caught again. "You don't know how long I've waited for this, boy." Mr. D snarled. "For what you may ask?" He said, forcing more vines to arise and hold down his arms and legs against the wall. "For one of you irritating little brats to push it too far." A vine curled up Nico's body, and gripped his neck again. "I knew that someday, one of you impulsive urchins would step over your rights, and you have finally done it."

"Step over your rights? What's that supposed to mean?" Thalia whispered.

"It means Nico did something real bad." Percy stated. Annabeth and Thalia couldn't help rolling their eyes at that.

"Mr. D," Chiron warned. "He's just a boy."

They watched the whole scene.

... Chiron thought for a long time, then decided, "I don't know, but I'll find out."

He trotted out, and went for the big house. Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy went through the door to go help Nico. He was still on the ground, breathing hard. He looked up to them with a certain look in his eye. The kind of look that said, 'Stay away. I'm a monster.'

Percy held out a hand, "We've got a lot to talk about."

They had went to the big house to see what Chiron could make of it. Nico as still weak, so Percy helped him get there. He sat with a blanket wrapped around him. "... And we think Percy's getting worse. Nico has it too apparently, whatever it is. I don't know, what do you think?" Annabeth asked Chiron.

Chiron was looking through an old stack of books, at the very back of the book shelf. "Well ... I have an idea, but it's a long shot. It hasn't happened in so long, let alone to two demigods at once."

"What is it?" Percy asked, although he knew he wouldn't get a straight answer. He never got a straight answer.

Chiron kept searching for a certain title, until he brought out a raged, yellow-paged book, "Aha! Here it is."

"Here what is?" Percy asked, a little annoyed.

Chiron flipped through the pages and answered, "Demigod diseases and illnesses."

"Wait, diseases? Like fatal diseases?" Nico asked.

Chiron didn't answer because of how wrapped up he was in the book he was. The only thing they got out of him was his mumblings, "...Hermes, no ... Athena, no ...Demeter, no ... Ah, Big Three. Here we are."

Big three? It's just for their children?Annabeth thought. She looked over to Thalia, remembering that night with the cyclopes. Annabeth realized, she had it too. Thalia was staring into the crackling fire, lost in thought. There was this guilty, pained look in her eyes, and Annabeth knew she was thinking about the hunt. She had reached stage 2. Pain/Guilt.

Gods, it was all my fault. If I hadn't got off coarse ... if I'd just stayed with the group instead of wandering off with that jerk, I would still be in the hunt. I shouldn't have given in to his temptation. I didn't even know the guy ... but, it kinda felt like it. Wasn't anybody I know ... I don't know, but if I just could've, stopped it somehow ...

"Would you just tell us already?" Nico expressed.

Chiron kept reading to himself, but said, "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it might be this certain illness. If so, we are in a lot of trouble."

"WHAT IS IT?" Nico yelled, clearly frustrated with all the evasive answers.

Chiron looked up innocently. "Well, Mr. di Angelo, if you are going to be so rude I might not tell you."

Nico grumbled, "Sorry sir."

"That's better. It is an ancient illness, that only Demigods can develop. It would be better if I could show you." Chiron decided.

After setting up a projector, Chiron continued. "We all know that a Half-blood is the spawn of a mortal and a God. Therefore, they have both mortal blood, and a small percentage of golden ichor."

"We do?" Percy asked, because he hadn't been told that ever. He just figured demigods just got powers.

"Indeed. This is what a normal Demigod's blood looks like." Chiron brought out a sample from who knows where.

The four of them exchanged nervous glances. "Uh, Chiron? Why do you have Demigod blood?"

Chiron looked up innocently, "Demonstration." More nervous glances were exchanged, but they said nothing. He put the small beaker on the overhead, and put a magnifying glass over it. They could see the red blood molecules, and a sprinkle of golden ones.

"Whoa! That stuffs flowing through our veins? Cool!" Nico laughed.

"Fascinating." Annabeth marveled.

"Quite. But this, is the blood of a demigod who is infected with this particular illness." Chiron explained, bringing out an ancient beaker.

"How old is that thing? It looks really old." Percy stated. Of coarse he was the one to state the obvious.

"Yes well, it's enchanted so we can do further research. It can't dry out, it's been here for decades." (Look I know it's a stupid excuse to have the infected blood lying around, but come on! What was I supposed to do? Give Chiron a knife, and let him tell Nico to go nuts?) He put it under the scope, and said, "This is by the fifth stage."

The molecules looked exactly like the other ones, except that there was a lot less red, and a lot more gold. "You see, this disease causes the golden ichor to fight off the mortal blood like a virus. By the 15th attack, you'll be pure god. But, if the attacks keep coming, by the 30th, the ichor will destroy itself completely. And, of coarse with no blood or ichor, you can't survive."

The full impact of what he was saying hit them. "You mean ... Seaweed Brain is going to die? And Thalia and Nico?" Annabeth said, her voice wavering and tears forming in her eyes. She moved closer to Percy, and he put an arm around her quivering body.

"Me? I don't have this, I never spazzed on anyone."Thalia denied. They remembered the night with the cyclopes, and gave Thalia a look that said, 'Think again.' "I'm fine! I don't have this thing! Percy and Nico do, I don't." This time it was a sympathetic look. "I don't!"

"Well, they seem to think you do, and we can't be to careful. It does surprize me though, that all three-" Thalia gave him a look. "Uh, the two of you have it at the same time. It hasn't happened in so long, let alone to three, er, two at once."

"Okay, okay, just prove to me that I actually have this thing." Thalia said, not thinking they'd have proof. Annabeth pointed to Thalia's casted leg. Thalia looked down, stared at it for a second, taking it all in, then a look of sad acceptation dawned on her face. "Oh, yeah. I guess I do." She muttered sadly.

"Not to worry, there is a cure." Chiron said. A loud sigh of relief escaped. "It's your god D.N.A. that's going out of whack, and your powers show it externally. To cure this you need to hone your powers. You'll need to train harder, and work faster than you ever had before. There can be no distractions. Unfortunately, that means almost complete isolation. Except for others who are infected of coarse. Helping each other train is a good idea."

Percy and Annabeth looked at eachother. They both knew what that meant. For the rest of the time Annabeth had before going off to England, Percy would be too busy training to see her. Which Annabeth knew, would bring up old problems. "Will I be able to see Percy?"

"Chiron gave them a sympathetic look, "Not to often. I'm sorry."

"So, we're just supposed to drop everything, 'cause of this stupid disease? This sucks!" Nico said bitterly. The truth was, they didn't have much to drop. Thalia had been kicked out of the hunt, and was currently open to suggestions on what she was supposed to do. Nico just got dumped by the love of his life, just found out he had a brother, and couldn't decide weather he wanted to strangle or accept him. Percy kept fighting with Annabeth, was trying to get her to stay, and over the coarse of the week, they had gotten a little distant. Annabeth had seen him trying to study up on architecture. She knew he was still worried and kind of resented him for it. It was like the fates had set the whole thing up, so they would be able to train. (Hence the title)

There was an akward silence, until Thalia said, "So ... when do we start?"

It's like 1:30 when I'm writing this. I've been working on it all day and I finished real late. But hey, I finished. That's good enough for me. So anyway, now you know the full extent of their illness. Chapter 8. Hm. To tell you the truth, I didn't plan on even having a chapter 8. But then again, I didn't plan on much. I basically just plunged into this with no real reason for writing it. The next thing I write, will actually be planned out better. Oh, and by the way ... This is my longest chapter yet! 6, 616! I feel accomplished. Sorry if I sound braggy.

P.S. Here's a quote that's been stuck in my head: "WHO'S GOING TO DISTRIBUTE ME MY WEALTH?"