"Silena!" Aricia screamed in joy. Tears were streaming down her face as she slammed in to Silena Beauregard's open arms.

She was there, she was real. Soft and warm against her as Aricia squeezed tightly and didn't want to ever let go. "Oh Silena! Thank the gods!"

"Baby sister." Silena whispered and held Aricia close. "Little calf, why are you here? You're not dead, please say you are not dead." She held Aricia out at arm's length and looked at her.

Both of them were crying, their lovely faces stained by tears of grief and joy. Silena looked wonderful, like the day Aricia had met her in the Big House years ago. Silena was appraising her and broke in to a sad smile.

"No, you're not dead. Thank Olympus." She cried out and pulled Aricia in again. "Why are you here?"

"I am on a quest. Olympus has closed itself up, and my mother has been captured."

"I know that, but why were you sent to Hades?" Silena asked and rocked Aricia against her as if she were a small child. "Why you? Why do they send you to do such things?"

"I volunteered; I needed a quest to help me readjust to camp." Aricia replied. "I wanted to be a hero again. To do something to help my mother."

"You wanted to die." Silena whispered. "Didn't you?"

"Yes." Aricia admitted and squeezed her eyes shut. "I did, I wanted to die and be with you again."

"Aricia!" Rahl said in shock.

The daughter of Hera had forgotten that he was there, that anyone was there besides her and Silena. She wanted to forsake this quest as Artemis had told her to. She wanted to spend the rest of forever in this place with her sister.

"No, no little one it isn't your time yet." Silena kissed her forehead and gently pushed her back. "Listen to me, and you're quest will be complete; The giants are rising; Gaia herself is about to reawaken. It is in her hands that your mother's fate rests unless Piper, Leo and Jason can free her. Gaia is raising the worst villains of the most famous myths."

Silena grabbed Aricia by her shoulders and shook her. "You need to leave and warn the camp! You can't stay here." She let go and stepped back.

"No! No I don't want to leave you again!" Aricia begged and lunged at Silena. She grabbed her waist and held on tightly. "Don't leave me again!"

"Aricia!" Clarisse stepped forward and tried to pry Aricia away from Silena. "Let her go! It's not your time!"

Aricia whirled around and struck Clarisse as hard as she could across her face. The daughter of Ares stumbled back in shock. Britani's mouth nearly dropped to the ground, as did Rahl's. Aricia stepped away from Silena for a moment and pointed an accusing finger at Clarisse.

"Shut up! Shut up! You stupid daughter of a bully! It's your fault she is dead! It's your fault she is dead! It's your fault!" She screamed like a madwoman. "If you had swallowed your damn stupid pride and led your cabin my sister would be alive! You put her here! It's your fault!"

Tears spilled down her face. She had been bottling those feelings for months. Aricia truly didn't blame Clarisse, but now all she wanted to do was scream her head off. Right now, she did blame Clarisse for the drakon killing Silena.

Clarisse stood up and drove Aricia right in to the ground. She reeled back and punched Aricia in the chest. Aricia screamed in pain but tried with all her might to force Clarisse off of her. Clarisse pinned her down easily, her strength still surpassing the daughter of Hera's.

"Stop it!" Silena cried out in horror. "Clarisse don't hurt her! Aricia don't blame her!"

Clarisse looked up at Silena and burst in to tears. "It's true…..it is my fault!" She let go of Aricia and stood up. "It's my fault. If I had fought in the first place….you wouldn't have….the drakon wouldn't have….you'd be alive!"

"Clarisse no!" Silena ran up and hugged Clarisse. "No, no, no it wasn't your fault! It was mine! It was fate!"

"It was me, just admit it." Clarisse wailed.

"I made my choices. I paid for them with death." Silena said softly.

Aricia stood up, her nose bleeding and her chest still in severe pain. "I'm sorry Clarisse, I didn't mean it." She apologized. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't blame you." Silena repeated.

"Nor do I." Aricia said softly.

Clarisse sobbed and held on to Silena for a moment longer. "Thank you. Thank you!" She let go and stepped back.

Silena smiled and looked at Britani and nodded in approval. "Thank you Britani, you're one of the good ones, one of those helping our cabin. You never had to join this quest, but you did."

"I did it to prove something." Britani said. "To prove Aricia and you weren't the only ones who could be heroes."

Silena nodded and looked at Rahl. Her face scrunched up for a moment before she said, "I should hate you for dating my little sister, but as long as you treat her right…."

"I swear on Styx I will." Rahl promised.

"You better." Silena looked at Aricia again and fresh tears sprang in to her blue eyes. "Go back to camp, and tell Chiron of the giants and of the dead they are raising." She stepped back on to the other side of the golden gates.

"Charlie is waiting.' Aricia said sadly.

"I'll be waiting for you Calf." Silena said and brushed the tears from her eyes.

"You need to hurry, you've already stayed too long." Nico said nervously. "My father will think you are cheating your fates."

The gates closed, and Silena was gone. Aricia felt Rahl's arms around her waist and she turned in to his chest and sobbed like a small child. Clarisse was trying not to cry as well, but she also had a smile on her face. Her soul, tormented by guilt over Silena's fate was finally at rest.

"Did you get the answers you were looking for?" Nico asked.

Aricia turned away from Rahl and nodded. "Yes, thank you Nico." She looked up at Rahl and felt her lip quiver. "Rahl, I'm sorry. I…I…" She bit her lip and sniffed. "You're my reason to live now. I was so consumed by my grief over Silena; I was blind to what else I love in this life.

"The time has come for you all to return." Nico said firmly. "Before Hades finds out, and he will know soon."

"Good idea, let's get out of here." Britani begged. "Pleeeeeease."

"We need to run. Now!" Clarisse looked over Rahl's shoulder and pointed. "Hellhound!"

Nice whirled around, his face panicked. "Hold! Stop!" He tried to command the massive charging beast, but it refused to obey its young master. "Run!" He commanded the other four demigods. "Run!"

"We can fight it!" Clarisse said and clutched her spear tightly. "It's one against five."

Aricia nodded and looked at Rahl and Britani. "You two go, we'll fight it."

"No way, I'm not leaving you." Rahl said firmly and notched his bow.

The hellhound took a bounding leap and slammed in to Aricia with the strength of a truck. She stabbed at it furiously, trying to find a weak spot in its giant body. She felt the giant teeth clamp on to her neck and bite through flesh.

"No!" Rahl screamed and shot an arrow. It stuck in the hellhound's leg, enough surprise or pain or both to make it yelp and turn around to charge at them.

Clarisse rushed forward and drove her spear home, right through the beast's sternum. The beast went stiff and dropped to the ground at her feet. Clarisse retracted her spear with a sickening sound as the spear brought meat and blood with it.

"Aricia!" Britani rushed forward and pulled more ambrosia and nectar from her bag. "Oh gods, oh no…."

Clarisse, Rahl and Nico rushed over to the fallen demigod. Clarisse saw the wound and gagged. Aricia however smiled, and even managed to laugh through her pain. "You…killed a hellhound!" She choked out and held on to the flesh between her neck and shoulder. Her hands were already stained with blood. "They'll write stories for you just for that."

"Shhh, don't talk." Rahl said miserably and touched her face. "Oh gods Ari, this isn't good."

"I'll…. I will be fine." Aricia said and tried to sit up.

Suddenly all of them were surrounded by a thick mist that began to engulf them. "What's going on?" Aricia asked.

"There's some kind of mist…" Clarisse said with a confused tone.

"Aricia!"

"Mother?" Aricia turned, though it was painful for her and tried to keep her vision from going black. "Is it you?"

"Honey, my poor child!"

They were on Olympus, transported there by some god or another. Hera held Aricia in her arms and wept. "No…no not you." She wailed.

"Can't you…" Rahl began to ask.

"No, I cannot undo this." Hera wept miserably. "This is far beyond my power. The bite of a hellhound is poison, even to gods."

"You're free…" Aricia whispered with a small smile. "You're okay." She hissed at the pain rushing through her and shuddered. "I…need to return to camp and warn them!"

"Hera?"

Aricia felt her heart leap in to her throat as she heard the voice of Zeus. She felt the floor tremble under his footsteps and winced as his massive shadow eclipsed her in its wake. "Father…" She murmured. "You get your wish at last."

Zeus knelt down and stared in shock. "Aricia…what have you done."

"I just…wanted to help." Aricia's breathing was slowly.

"Heal her!" Hera begged her husband. "Please, she is your child! She is…"

Zeus looked at her and gave her a look that demanded silence. He looked at Aricia and touched her wound lightly. "Hellhound." He murmured. "The poison of its bite is already deep in her blood." He gently moved Aricia's head and settled it in to a more comfortable position. "I'm sorry my daughter." He said softly. "Know that this was not by my hand, or by my wish."

Hera began to sob harder. "There is no hope?"

Zeus looked at her softly and touched her face. "She needs to fight the poison alone. It is her own strength she must rely on now, her own will."

"Listen to me Aricia, you need to hold on." Hera ordered. "You can't die on me, not now that we are together once more." She pressed her face close to her daughter's and whispered, "Do you know what kept me going during my capture? You, it was the thought of you. I refused to be destroyed and leave you. I need you Aricia, I need you to live."

Zeus summoned Apollo and ordered him to take Aricia to a bed. He followed and watched as his son gently laid the girl on a mattress and check to see if there was anything he could do for her wound. The Lord of the Sky went to his daughter's bedside. "Be strong Aricia." He said as he stared down at her. "You can't die, Hera will never recover from it."

"I…will be out of your way." Aricia managed to say. Her voice was growing weaker and her breathing more strained.

"You have never been in my way." Zeus admitted. "You risk your life for Olympus, you sacrifice glory and honor and position for Olympus and ask for only your life in return. I see you now Aricia, I see who you are." He touched her arm. "You are mine child, and I am proud to call you such."

Aricia smiled but screamed in pain as her body convulsed from the venom coursing through her. "Where is my mother?"

"I'm here Aricia." Hera took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Oh no! It's true!" Aphrodite's voice came in to the room. "Aricia…"

"Aphrodite…I saw…I saw Silena." Aricia said weakly. "She is happy…"

"Shhh, sleep my dove." Hera gently commanded. "Sleep and fight this sickness."

"I'm going to die." Aricia whimpered. "Aren't I?"

"No! I won't let you." Hera said firmly and held tight to her daughter's hand. "You are not going to leave; you are not going to die!"

"I'll try." Aricia promised and let out a long breath. "I won't die on you, Mother."

"You better not." Hera kissed her cheek. "I need you baby, so many people need you."

Aricia closed her eyes, and prayed that it was not going to be for the final time.