For those who were curious, these last chapters are the original ending with only one small adition. Thank you to everyone who gave me their thoughts on that matter.

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Nico opened his eyes slowly, the glowing beams of the Apollo cabin came into focus above his head. Every inch of his body ached. He had been in dozens of fights over the years, so many he had lost count but this was different. The physical pain was bad but nothing compared to the ache he knew he could do nothing about.

She was gone. Well and truly gone. He should have seen her plan before the battle. It had been obvious. Only immortal death could close the wrongness that had been the deathgate. Kaie would never have let anyone else die to end it. It had been her goal the entire time. It was why Gaia had rebirthed her. Why let one of your other descendents die when you could just cycle through your pawn another time.

Could Kaie even be reborn after sacrificing herself to the gate like that? Nico blinked at the ceiling, unable to block the wetness that spread across his eyes as the ache in his body deepened. It didn't matter either way. Even is she would be reborn one day, he would be long gone. As a child of Hades he understood this too well. He had lost her.

"You awake?" Nico turned his head towards the sound of Percy's voice. The older demigod sat in a chair tilted back against the closest wall, arms crossed over his chest. Nico immediately noticed the dark circles under his cousins eyes.

"How long was I out?"

"Four days. You almost died. Apollo is still surprised you didn't" Percy's voice was even as he watched Nico, waiting for some kind of reaction.

The son of Hades sat up slowly, the sheet he had lain under sliding down his exposed chest. His physical pain spiked as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Apollo said you needed bed rest." Percy offered a hand to Nico. Cut from the same cloth they both knew Nico wasn't going to lay around even when in pain.

A strange reflection caught Nico's eye and he crossed to the mirror on unsteady feet. Percy hesitated then followed. Coming to a stop, Nico ran his eyes over the scar that marred his chest. A large sunburst shape the size of his hand sat in the middle of his upper chest. The slightly raised skin pale against his darker skin.

"You were thrown back about a hundred yards by the force of the deathgate closing. Four broken ribs, a shattered vertebra, and internal bleeding, all healed courtesy of Apollo but he couldn't do anything about that mark which was somehow not caused by any of those injuries." Percy told him calmly.

Nico's gaze was drawn upward and he ran a hand over his head. There was barely any hair left, only the growth of the few days he had been unconscious. It was darker too, pitch black with no sign of the chestnut highlights his mother had passed on to him.

"The field was set on fire and it took us a minute to get to you. Apollo healed the burns but can't do anything about the hair. You could talk to Aphrodite though." Percy's voice lightened at the last part but his face remained dark as he waited for Nico's reaction.

"Damn." The word fell from Nico's lips as a whisper, reminding him of the last word he had heard before everything had disappeared.

"Yeah." Percy had stopped a few feet behind Nico and now stood with his hands in his pockets. "There's a good reason the God of Medicine was surprised you lived."

"We need to go up to Olympus as soon as you feel up too it." Nico's gaze met his cousin's in the mirror as Percy spoke.

"Why?" He was suddenly angry and the single word came out as a harsh growl. He was angrier than he had ever been since Bianca's death and all of it was directed at the Olympians. Yes, some had fought but why had the majority sat back on their thrones and watched as someone, their sibling in many ways, died to keep them safe? Why had their precious rules and boundaries been enough to protect them but not Kaie?

"They..." Percy stopped talking as he realized Nico wasn't ready to listen. Grabbing his cousin by the elbow he pulled Nico out of the Apollo cabin, keeping the weakened demigod upright each time he stumbled.

Nico watched the camp as he was pulled along. The sun was brighter, the air cleaner, the smell of the salty air coming from the Atlantic sharper but he noticed none of this. Instead he watched the eyes of the younger demigods as their gazes followed the older pair. He realized with regret that he knew few of them. He could tell who their parents were but he didn't know names, their backgrounds, or anything about them. They were as distant to him as any mortal he met walking through the world.

Percy stopped pulling Nico once they were on the beach, far from where anyone could overhear.

"Four hunters, two sons of Ares, a daughter of Iris, and a daughter of Hermes died too Nico. I know your hurting right now but this goes beyond just you and the Gray Lady."

Looking up from where his gaze had fallen on the distant horizon Nico looked at Percy and realized there was a degree of desperation in his cousin's tired eyes.

Turning back to the water, he realized he had a choice. He had been drifting through life for the last few years until he met Kaie. Before her his time had been spent between killing monsters and getting drunk. Spending time with Kaie had reminded him what it felt like to have purpose.

He had forgotten that feeling but looking out over the sparkling water he silently swore to not let that happen again. Yes, he had lost the woman he had begun to love and he felt like a piece of him had been ripped out that could never be replaced, but others had died too. He knew Kaie would have been mad he had placed the value of her life above others even for a short time.

Looking up at his older cousin he asked the question he should have asked years ago when the camp had expanded and Percy had begun to shoulder the burdens Chiron carried. "What do you need me to do?"

Percy sat down on the sand and Nico followed suit. The two men sat side by side watching the horizon as the sun sunk lower and lower before Percy finally replied. "I've been offered immortality again."

Nico was surprised by how unsurprised he was at the announcement. He nodded once and Percy continued. "Apparently Mr. D has been lying to us all since the Second Titan War. His was simply waiting for his replacement to be ready before he left."

"You?" Percy nodded at Nico's one word question.

"God of Tides and Director of Camp Halfblood." His words came slowly as if he was measuring them each for their worth.

"Why are you hesitating?" Nico was curious what had changed in the past years to make Percy seriously consider the offer in it's second incarnation.

"I'm not. They've offered Annabeth immortality too. Goddess of Architecture. She was the main reason I didn't accept last time."

Nico nodded, understanding. If he had been offered an eternity with Kaie he would have taken it. "I think its a good idea. I sure as hades trust you with the camp more than Dionysus. Why are we out here if you already plan to accept?"

"Its a good view?" Percy's answer came halfheartedly. He sighed at Nico's glare. "I didn't want to do it before telling you. Talia, Annabeth, and I would all be immortal and Grover's a full time Lord of the Wild. And with the Gray Lady..." He stopped and glanced over at Nico.

Nico understood what he was saying. He would be essentially alone, aging while those he was closest too stayed where they were.

"Don't worry." Nico put on a grin he couldn't quite back up on his face. He knew what Percy needed to hear even if it wasn't truly what he felt. "I'll still have Clarisse and the others. We can compare scars and tell wildly exaggerated stories in the old folks home together. Scare the crap out of the other old bats in the process." Percy let out a laugh and Nico could see the relief in his face.

"You feel up to going to Olympus now?" Percy changed the subject. "Zeus was pretty adamant about you getting up their as soon as you were conscious."

Nico nodded and stood, brushing the sand from his pants. "Sure."

Percy stood and copied Nico's actions with significantly more luck. "Good. I'd rather not be blasted by lightning before I gain immortality. Let me go get the others." He began walking back to the heart of the camp.

"Does this mean your fine with being blasted by lightning once you are immortal? If so I think Thalia should be informed of this development!"

Nico's sarcasm cause Percy to turn halfway. "Put a damn shirt on Death Breath!" His words reaching Nico just before Percy disappeared over the dunes.

...

...

Nico stood in Olympus' main hall in a black t-shirt and a less sandy pair of dark jeans. He was barefoot because he had failed to find any shoes before Percy had shown up in his cabin to rush him along.

Clarisse, Chris, Connor, Travis, and Katie stood with Nico each sporting injuries from the battle. Nico was unsure why these demigods specifically had come but pushed the thought away, unconcerned. Of the group, Chris was the worse off from the battle, two gashes ran from the corner of his left eye to below his jaw where a harpy had clawed him. The other demigods had only minor injuries and had filled him in on what had happened during the battle on the drive in to New York City. Dionysus had been missing from camp since the battle ended so teleporting was out of the question and Nico was still to weak to shadow travel.

It was a strange feeling to stand there, watching as Percy and Annabeth accepted immortality in a ceremony much simpler than Nico would have assumed. A simple set of prayers to Gaia and drinking pure nectar was all it took for his friends to become the newest god and goddess. He assumed that if Gaia did not accept them they would have died excruciatingly but watching the pair move to sit with the other gods, hands held together Nico found himself feeling nothing but happiness for them. Ever since he had had his epiphany on the beach the ache in his chest had faded. It was still there but not to the crippling degree it had been.

"Nico de Angelo." Hearing Zeus speak his name brought Nico back to the present and he walked forward robotically till he stood alone in front of the gods.

"We have a problem. The deathgate has been closed but we still do not know who is responsible for it's creation." Realization rushed over Nico as he realized the truth in Zeus' words. Through everything that had happened in the past few weeks Kaie had never said who she thought was responsible. Yet another thing she had kept from him. Anger rose up for a moment before Nico brushed it away, focusing on Zeus instead.

"Did the Gray Lady ever say anything to you on the matter?" The King of the Gods' voice was cold but lacked the anger it usually had. Nico knew that without Kaie there was a strong chance they could not find the person responsible and another gate could theoretically be opened.

"Nothing." Nico kept his face straight as emotions rushed through him as he spoke.

Zeus opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by Athena interrupting. "I saw the Gray Lady speak as she died but heard nothing. You were closest to her both physically and emotionally. Did you hear anything?"

Nico felt the ghost of a small breeze blow past his body and the whisper in his ear. "Yes." The gods began murmuring among themselves for a moment as Athena regarded him calmly before Zeus' loud command restored silence. "What was it?" the Sky God prodded.

"Kallistrate. The beautiful army before all others." The words came from the back of the hall rather than Nico's open mouth. Almost as one the gods and demigods turned to look at the speaker.

A young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties walked towards them. Straight, raven black hair hung down to the small of her back, swaying slightly as she moved. She wore a silvery top that shimmered in the lights of the hall with black pants and soft black leather boots that were soundless on the marble floors. Pitch black eyes identical to his own caught Nico's gaze as the woman came level with where he stood.

"Anastasius?" Nico heard his father's shocked voice as it echoed in the silent hall.

The woman smiled softly as she came to a stop a few feet to the right and inclined her head slightly to the gods. "Father, it has been too long."

...

So yeah, that happened. I realize some of this seems random but I promise it will all make sense in the end.

Please review and let me know what you think!