Chapter 3

In the morning, Percy woke me up. Thank the gods Nico had left before he got up. Anyway, brother was asking me about Annabeth's dress and what color tie he should wear and all that. I didn't give him any hints to her dress, but I did pick out a tie. The light blue was a good, classic, matching choice. His suit was white unlike most of the others. Frank planned to wear black with a purple shirt and black bowtie. Octavian was even going to wear a black suit with a white shirt and green tie. I wondered who his date was. When I asked him, I regretted it.

"IdonthaveonebutIreallyreallyreallywantRacheltogowithmehelpmeplease!" he said, getting on his knees for emphasis.

"What?" everyone asked, peeking heads out of their bunks. The poor guy turned beat red and stammered, "I don't have a date, but I really want to go with Rachel,"

I felt kinda bad for the jerk, and helped him come up with a plan to ask her at breakfast. We spent all morning on it, even getting some help from Percy. As we were walking to breakfast, Octavian shook his head and asked, "And you're sure she isn't going with anyone else?"

"Dude," Percy said, "the poor girl is sworn to living a life of solitude unless Apollo says otherwise. I think she's single."

He sighed and straightened his shoulders. "I'm Roman, I'm the son of Apollo, and I don't back down!" he said to boost his confidence. He sauntered over to where Rachel was walking from the Big House and gave her the teddy bear. Around its neck was a string with a note on it asking if she would go with him. "You waited a little late, but yes, I'd be happy to go with you." she said. Octavian visibly relaxed after that, waving goodbye and coming back to our table.

After breakfast, Piper drug our little group of girls to the Big House to get ready. She straightened Annabeth's hair before teasing it to where it angled up before falling down along her back. Wise girl's makeup went on next. White eyeliner and grey eye shadow went on with brown mascara since black was too dark for the blond. Hazel's hair was done differently with two small braids going back into old-fashioned corkscrew curls. They were pinned back with a gold eagle. She had purple eye shadow and scarlet lipstick. Piper's hair was somehow managed into two huge curls on either side. The one on the left was slightly higher than the one on the right. Her eye-shadow was dusty rose and her eyeliner was brown as was her mascara. Calypso had on red-brow eye shadow that matched her hair which was crimped. The eyeliner and mascara was dark brown also. My makeup was simple like the others. The eye shadow matched my eyes and dress perfectly along with the black eyeliner and mascara. Scarlet lips perfected the look. My hair was left in its natural wavy state, but my bangs were pulled into a braid across the top of my head like Anna's hair for Elsa's coronation. Yes, I love Frozen; deal with it.

We looked H-O-T hot. Like, Aphrodite-would-be-proud hot. No one even noticed that we had skipped lunch. We put on our dresses yet, following Chiron's directions. I was getting hungry. Speaking of hunger, the ram's horn was blown and we left out for the pavilion and dinner. Little did we know that we wouldn't be eating there. All of us girls were holding hands, which made it very easy on Nico to transport us to Paris.

When the shadows cleared, we were outside a restaurant on the River Seine. The place had some fancy name that I didn't bother to try to pronounce with a long line of people waiting to get in. I was still holding Annabeth's hand when we saw the guys. Nico was with Percy, trying to tell the guy that they made reservations a week ago. The other guys were standing off a little ways and waved us over. Octavian and Rachel were there too, having been there for a while. Rachel looked beautiful in her mermaid style emerald green gown. She wore gold earrings and a necklace that matched her dress very well.

Frank was in his suit, and Jason in his. The son of Jupiter was wearing a white suit with a gold tie. Leo even dressed up, slicking his hair back and wearing a black suit with red shirt and gold tie.

Finally, my brother and boyfriend got so mad that they began to curse the man in Greek, but Percy began to curse him in fish also, making dolphin and whale noises. That made the host crack up before telling them to get at the back of the line. Nico and Perc stomped over to us. Percy smiled when he saw Annabeth and lifted her up by her waist, bringing her down to kiss her before pushing her back up.

Nico had a different reaction. He stood a few feet away with his mouth wide open. He was looking at me with eyes the size of plates. Other than his expression, Nico looked very smooth. His hair was still messy, but the suit and tie combated that. With a black suit and white tie, he looked very hot. Finally, he picked his jaw up off of the ground and walked over to me, taking my hand and kissing it before saying, "Ti amero per sempre, mi cara."

I still didn't know what that meant, but obviously Annabeth knew Italian. She put a hand on her chest and said, "Aw! That's so sweet, Nico!"

"Why were you guys cursing that poor guy?" I asked after a while.

"Well, a couple of weeks ago," Percy said, "us guys made a reservation at this fancy-smanshy restaurant. And that guy was telling us that it was for next Saturday evening, not now." Percy and Nico ranted for a while until Piper just said that she could convince the guy to let us in.

Our charmspeaking friend walked up there and spoke to the guy in French, convincing him into swapping our times around. She waved us over, saying that we were in.

The food came in five courses, going from salads to soups to appetizers to dinner to desert. Now I know why the French food is so tiny: because there so many courses. Nico and I held hands under the table while everyone spoke. When the desert menu was passed around, Leo ordered banana's foster, a dish with bananas in a brandy sauce that was lit on fire. When the waiter came out with it, Leo lit it for him and scared the daylights out of the poor guy by eating it as it was on fire. I felt bad for the man up until Piper told him that Leo was a professional fire-eater. Nico and I decided to split a slice of turtle cheesecake, my favorite.

Finally, the meal was finished and we were all comfortably full. We still had an hour before the dance, so we took a stroll along the river. Everyone held hands, even Octavian and Rachel. She seemed comfortable about it but the Roman was fire engine red. We reached a bridge after a while, one with a chain link fence and locks all around it.

"What's that for?" Leo asked when we got on the bridge. He pointed to the locks and I answered, "The locks? It's a metaphor. You have this person that you can't live without, someone that you are so madly in love with that you never want to be apart from them. So you take a padlock, put it on the fence and throw the key in the river. It's hard to find a spot now days."

So, with the symbolism explained, we ran down to the hardware store and bought six padlocks. Each of the couples found a spot, wrote their parent's symbols on it, and put the lock in place. The helmet of Hades and Poseidon's trident was on ours.

Nico and I found a place on the middle of the bridge. Once again, Nico whispered, "Ti amero per sempre, mi cara. Finche morte ci porta, io rimarro tra le tu braccia," to me. "Are you going to tell me what that means?" I asked with a grin.

"It means, 'I will love you forever, my darling. And until Death takes us, I will remain in your arms," he whispered in my ear. I smiled at the words, words filled with emotion and promises that no teenagers should be making. I repeated the words back to him before knocking the key out of his hand and into the river, kissing him hard. My hands tangled in his hair while his rested on my hips, pulling me against him. I felt him gasp when I bit his lip and I pulled away.

"You're such a tease," he said, pushing a stray hair out of my face. I laughed and bit my lip again. Nico kissed me again, this time just a small peck. He pulled away and held my hand, walking me towards the others who were waiting. Piper had her phone out videoing us as usual. It was time for the dance. Nico shadow traveled us back to CHB. It was nearing dark and everyone was making their way to the clearing.

The Hephaestus kids had outdone themselves, making a stone path with all the names of the demigods that had ever lived. I don't know how they did it, but they managed. I saw Persus, Odysseus, Hercules, Luke, Percy, and so many other heroes along with our own. Mine was written between Percy's and Nico's, making me grin seeing as how that was where I was meant to be. Along the way was arches wrapped with Christmas lights. We finally got to the clearing where the party was in full swing. Some Apollo kids were DJ-ing while others were taking pictures. Chiron and Mr. D were on border patrol, so we didn't have any chaperones other than the gods who I'm sure were watching us. Nico and I had our picture made before hitting the dance floor. Leo and I had to teach everyone in our group Gangam style, wop, wobble, and cat-daddy. I think I drank some wine, but its kinda fuzzy. I do remember Nico and I slow dancing a lot and Jason dancing Piper in the air. Annabeth and Percy were constantly kissing after the first drink, and Leo was still trying to teach Calypso to dance. I saw Travis and Reyna dancing together a few times. I thought they were super cute together and gave the Hermes kid a thumbs up.

Soon, it was time for the last slow dance I grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him out with me.

_Nico POV_

I wasn't supposed to be here, dancing with a girl under the stars. I wasn't supposed to kiss her, and I sure wasn't supposed to feel like this. But it felt so right. She was so much like Percy, but without his faults. Gods, I loved her. More than she would ever know.

I knew Maria had something planned for us after the dance, but it didn't know just what it was. She had drank a little wine, making her giggly and lighthearted. I didn't trust this version of her, but she caught my attention when she told me she wanted to go home. "Where's home?" I asked, picking her up bridal style. She giggled and told me where to go. I wasn't used to shadow traveling on someone else's directions, but if it made mi amour happy, I would do it.

So, I took us to her little cabin in Arkansas. I had never been here before. The cabin was small and the decorations homey. All the plants looked like they needed a good watering. Maria must've thought so too. She summoned water from the lake and gave each one a healthy drink. She pushed me out for a little while, saying that she had to change. I took the time to go back to Cabin 13 and get changed myself. I usually slept in my boxers and a t-shirt, but with Maria, I decided to go with some shorts too.

I came back to find her curled up on her bed reading The Fault in our Stars for probably the thousandth time. I sat her in my lap, but she didn't seem to notice. She continued to read. After a while, I began to read over her shoulder. Man, Augustus had some moves. Soon, we reached the saddest part, and I was in disbelief.

"Maria, what does he mean by 'I lit up like a Christmas tree'?" I asked. She was sobbing silently without a word. We kept reading until the very end. It was two a.m. when we finished, and I held her as she cried. Finally she stopped sobbing.

"Hey," I said, tilting her face up, "Maybe forever will be our always,"

She sniffled and asked, "Forever?"

"Forever," I replied before kissing her goodnight and falling asleep.

I woke up a few hours later to the Minotaur crashing through the door. He was reformed and ticked off. I jumped out of the bed and reached for my sword…..which I left at camp! Thankfully, Maria had Tsunami on the bedside table. She swung it in a wide arch before charging the beast. It would've been a perfect action picture…if she hadn't of been in her Hello Kitty pajamas.

The beast swung his head down low, giving her the opening to jump on his head. She did, driving the sword through its open mouth and out the back of his skull. Before turning to dust, the Minotaur swung his head, throwing Maria right on top of his horn. She gasped as it plunged into her side. The beast turned to dust and my darling fell to the floor.

"MARIA!" I yelled, running to her side. She held a hand over her fatal wound, trying to stop the blood from gushing out. I fell to my knees beside her, watching the blood flow out onto the floor. I picked her up gently as possible and shadow traveled to Camp Half-Blood. I didn't bother to take her to Chiron because moving her might make it worse. I just started to scream for help.

Percy came out first and yelled for someone to get Amy. Maria's breathing was getting shallower and more unstable. Percy held her hand, sitting on her other side, still screaming for a healer. I looked in Maria's eyes and watched as she looked from me to Percy. She hadn't said a word the whole time. Maria looked at Percy and said, "I'm so sorry. Take care of Annabeth…and Tyson,"

Then she turned those beautiful eyes to me. A single tear slipped out of her left eye. She gasped and laid a hand on my cheek. "I love you, Nico. And I'm sorry I couldn't give you forever," she said. I couldn't say anything back, still crushed under the weight of her words. Percy was still screaming for help, tears rolling down his face.

Finally, someone heard and brought Amy out. Chiron raced up with Mr. D. Calypso, Annabeth, and the rest of our group came out. But by then it was too late. Maria smiled one last time, holding her hand on my face until her eyes glassed over. Her hand fell from my cheek. Piper put a hand over her mouth, trying to smother her sobs. Annabeth fell down beside Percy, trying to hug him. Percy had his knees pulled up to his chest, pushing her away again and again until he finally broke down, openly sobbing {Percy: I had just lost my sister, my only family other than Tyson. I lost a friend, a companion, and the only demigod I was related to. It was like watching Annabeth die. I had an empty hole in my heart, one that couldn't ever be filled.} Hazel had her head pressed against Frank's chest, but you could see her shoulder's shaking.

And me? I'd like to say that I did cry, but I didn't. I just kept on looking at her, waiting for her to blink and smile and say that she was just messing with us. Waiting for her to rub my cheek again. Waiting for her to bite her lip. Waiting for her to make a book reference that I didn't understand. Waiting for her to kiss me. Waiting.

After a few seconds, I realized that she wasn't going to do any of those things. I shook her shoulders gently. I pressed my head to her chest like she had done to me so many times. But I didn't find the rhythm she did. The silence was deafening.

I was later told that I sat there, not making a sound. But on the inside, I was screaming. I was screaming her name over and over again. I was trying to remember everything she had ever said to me. I was trying to remember how her hair shined in the sun. How her teeth contrasted her tan skin. How she always chewed on her lip. How she smiled at me. And I did. They said that I didn't move, not when Chiron took her away, not when it started to rain, not when they tried to get me to eat. I just stared at the ground where she once laid.

I recall Hazel wrapping a blanket around me after it rained. I remember Percy coming to talk to me, asking what happened and cursing me when I wouldn't respond. I remember Jason sitting beside me without a word.

I remember Leo coming to me, sitting down and saying, "Silence doesn't cover the brokenness, but humor does. That's the best way to hide a broken heart. We're all broken, to some extent, but its up to us to fix it, not anyone else. And I'm sorry that I called you creepy. You're a really great guy, and I'm proud to say that you're my friend."

I remember Piper bringing me things that should've caught my attention, trying to charmspeak me without success; I wasn't listening to her. I remember a few of the Aphrodite girls sobbing and checking on a camera they set up when Maria and I first arrived. I remember Poseidon himself coming over to me and saying, "She really loved you, you know,"

I didn't bother to move, not sleeping, not eating, and barely breathing for twenty-four hours. I had no reason to.

The person who broke me from my trance was dead. Bianca's spirit came to me, bending down so she could look at my face. "Nico," she whispered. I finally looked away from the ground and up into the ghost face of my sister. It was in the middle of the night, the full moon shining brightly.

"Nico, you have to get up." she said, pulling at my hands. I jerked them away, not wanting to be comforted. "Nico, what would Maria say is she saw you like this?"

I glared at her, saying, "Don't act like you knew her," My voice sounded like gravel from the silence and lack of water.

"I didn't know her, but you did. And you know she wouldn't want you to sit here like this," Bianca said. "She would want you to live, not starve yourself. You need to talk to the others. They're suffering, too. Not like you are," she added quickly, "but they are hurting also. Percy lost his only sister. He knows how it felt when you lost me now."

And then I remembered the pain. The pain when Percy told me that Bianca had died. The pain of loosing my only sister, the only attachment I had to my past. I nodded to her spirit, making her smile. Bianca kissed my cheek in goodbye before fading,

I tried to get up, but my legs gave away from under me. I finally got up, walking to Cabin 3. Percy answered when I knocked, surprised in seeing that I had gotten up. His eyes were swollen; he had been crying. "Can I come in?" I asked. Percy nodded and opened the door wider. I saw that his bed was untouched, but her's was unmade. "I've been sleeping in it," Percy confessed.

"I would've done the same thing,"

"I'm sorry, man,"

"Me too. It's all my fault," I said before breaking down for the first time. Percy and I sat on her bed, clutching at her sheets and crying until we fell asleep.

I ate like I hadn't in days the next morning, which was true. Percy said that they were going to have her funeral in two days. I had two, two days to get her back. I told Percy my plan. My idiotic, half-thought plan. And he thought it was great. "I'll come with you," he said. "No, man," I replied, "I've gotta do this alone." We argued for a while, but I won out. "My dad hates you, and that won't make him any happier. Plus, you've gotta stay here and convince Amy to heal her." That ended our argument.

"Nico, I've never seen you look this broken," Percy told me as I began to walk out, "I mean, even after Tartarus and the bronze jar, you didn't take it this bad. And I can't help but asking why." I sighed and said, "Because I can forget about Tartarus, but I can't forget about her," before closing the door.

I had one thing on my mind: Hazel. I found her at the arena, talking to Piper. After thanking her for the breakfast, I told them my hairbrained plan. "I think it's a good idea, but don't get your hopes up. You know how Dad is," I kissed her goodbye and walked into the shadows, into the Underworld. The darkness felt like home. I stayed here a lot before Maria. I walked past the EZ death line and patted Cerebus's heads. I didn't pay attention to the rest of hell, because I had a goal.

Dad was in his palace as usual, this time looking longingly at Persephone's throne. It was still another month before she would come back. I walked right in without even knocking. "Nico," Hades greeted. He was wearing that robe that had suffering souls on it. I didn't even shudder when I looked in his eyes and asked, "Where is she?"

He sighed, and said, "You're going to have to be a little more specific." Then I did the stupid thing of grabbing him by the robes and pulling him down to face me. "Where. Is. Maria?" I asked deliberately. He uncurled my fingers with a raised eyebrow. "Poseidon's girl? She's waiting for judgment." he said as if it was obvious.

"I'm taking her back," I told him. Hades shrugged as if he didn't care. "Go ahead, Hercules took his girlfriend too"

"There's always a catch," I said, glaring at my father again. "Well, there is one small thing," Dad said, slicking back his hair again. "What?" I spat at him.

"I need you to do away with some nasty spirits. Just the thing that Zeus would be up my butt about,"

"That's it? Slay a few ghosts and I get Maria?"

"Now a few, I mean around a hundred. They're constantly ruining the line and Cerebus can't control them all. I need you to run your sword through them and send them to the back. Once you do that, you can get Maria. No catches, no tricks. Because I know Bianca put you up to this."

I felt like it was an ok deal, so I accepted. If Bianca did whisper in his ear, I wasn't going to get double-crossed. Hades stuck out his hand, which I shook. I then grab my sword off my hip and walk out to see Cerebus. "Show them to me, buddy," I whispered into his sixth ear. He struck the hound dog "point" pose at a band of ghosts wearing neon green shirts. That was all I needed. I ran towards them, my sword trailing behind me. I ran my sword through the first three before the rest of them realized what was happening. Then all hell broke loose.

They attacked me, swing their knives and arms at me, sometimes hitting me, sometimes missing. I caught a few cuts on my face, but my sword vaporized them all. After about half way through, I had to swap arms. The left one was getting tired and my right was still fresh. I asked the god of war for strength and felt my energy boost back up. There was a slight red glow around me, and I faintly wondered if it was the blessing of Ares. I didn't take time to think about it, cutting and slicing through the dead. Finally, the last green dude was standing in front of me. They couldn't talk, thank the gods, because if they could, I wouldn't have been able to do this. I ran the sword through the last ghost, trying to turn away as I saw the horror erupt on its face. Cerebus wagged his tails and barked at me, signaling that that was all of the noisy spirits. I petted him again before turning my eyes up to the palace.

I kicked the doors open again, this time annoying Dad. "Well, well, you finished?" he asked, picking the seeds out of a pomegranate. "Yes, now its time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain." I spat back. Gods, his indifference was making me mad. Didn't he care about my sanity and to a lesser extent, my happiness?

Hades snapped his fingers and Maria's spirit appeared. She looked asleep, but then again, so did most of the dead. I picked her up and turned to walk out. "Nico, wait," Dad said. I sighed and turned back around, asking him, "What do you want now?"

"I just wanted to say that…it's just that….I'm proud of you, ok?" he stammered, taking me completely by surprise. "What?"

"I said that I'm proud of you. Because of you, my children aren't looked down on any more. Your heroism shows that not all of my kids are evil or nuts. So, thanks," he said before turning back to his pomegranate. I stood there like an idiot, staring at him. I couldn't believe what he just said. It went from "I'd prefer Bianca" to "I'm proud of you."

He looked back at me with those black eyes and said, "Well? Don't you have a girl to save?" before grinning at me. I smiled back before running out of the palace and shadow traveling to CHB.

The infirmary was empty, minus Percy who sat with Maria's body, holding her pale hand. She was wearing blue jean shorts and a CHB shirt, just as usual. He saw me holding the spirit and dropped it. "Gods, Nico, you look like the dead!" I smiled at the irony. But I had a job to do.

"Is her body healed?" I asked Percy.

"Yep, I poured on the nectar and ambrosia. Amy said that its back to normal. So how do we do this?"

I really didn't know, so I went for just laying her spirit back in her body and praying to everyone in Olympus for this to work. Percy and I held our breath….and she took hers.

_Maria POV_

I drew in a shuttering gap for air. What happened? Why was I in the infirmary? Why were Nico and Percy crying and holding each other? And then the memories hit me. The Minotaur…the horn…..the dying…and then Nico, slicing through the ghosts and the red glow around him. The blessing of Ares on someone other than his children? It's unheard of.

I reached out a hand and put it on Nico's knee, smiling when he looked at me. Percy was still sobbing into Nico's shoulder. "Percy, you aren't allowed to snuggle with my boyfriend," I said, Then I was suffocated and smooshed between the two people I loved most in the world. My brother's salty smell clashed with Nico's dark smell, but it made me feel safe.

"So, what's been going on? And why was Nico glowing red in the Underworld?" I asked once I could breathe again. Apparently, after my episode, Nico became a mute until Bianca (well, her spirit) saved him. I was really touched when Percy told me about when Nico said that the reason this killed him more than Tartarus was that he could "forget Tartarus," but he couldn't forget me.

I was suffocated again and again by the rest of the seven along with Calypso, the Stolls, Reyna, Rachel, and even a small hug from Octavian. Piper was crying again and Annabeth was still trying to keep from choking Percy for not telling her sooner. As to why Nico was glowing red in the Underworld, we all speculate that it was the blessing of Ares. But why would he give it to Nico? Piper had the answer.

"It's obvious!" she had said, "Mom is his girlfriend. Mom ships you two so much that she convinced Ares to give Nico his blessing in fighting for you. Come on, Annabeth, you couldn't have thought about that?" Annabeth muttered something about not being good with love, making Percy disagree and the whole room to choose sides.

Eventually, we left the infirmary, effectively interrupting dinner and scaring Grover enough to make him jump into Juniper's arms. Piper had rushed me through dinner, saying that she had to look at "the film" with me.

She had shortened the recording down to when Nico held me as I died and the whole ten minutes of that. I lost my composure when I saw Percy crying and pushing Annabeth away. I must've meant a lot to him for him to not want her. Nico was in shock, obviously, but everyone else was bawling. Chiron moved my body, and Nico just sat there, staying until you could see Bianca's spirit talking to him. Then he and Percy were filmed sitting on my bed and crying. Gods, I didn't know how much I meant to them.

I kissed Percy on the cheek when we left the cabin, tears still streaming down my face. "I love you, Perc," I said with a smile. He hugged me back, smiling when Annabeth joined in. Nico was nowhere to be found, but I had my guesses on where the boy was. Cabin 13 was black as night and very, very unique. Gemstones were pressed into the obsidian walls, making the place twinkle like the night sky. Gold and silver and other precious metals made the beds while the black and purple sheets shimmered like shadows.

Nico sat beside the bed I presumed was his. He was burning a few plates of food from dinner into the altar, whispering thanks to Ares, Aphrodite, and Hades. When he was done, he didn't bother to turn around, just backpedaling until he sat on his bed. I came up behind him, putting my arms around his waist. It was soaked. "Nico? Why are you wet?" I asked. He didn't make any noise, just sitting there. "Nico?"

I began to get worried and walked around to the other side. It wasn't water that was staining his shirt. It was blood. "Oh, my gods, Nico you're hurt."

"I didn't notice till now," he said, gasping in pain. The blessing must've worn off and Nico was in pain. I started to help him walk to the infirmary, one of his arms over my shoulders. Thank the gods that Hazel walked in right as Nico began to collapse. "NICO!" she screamed, putting the other arm on hers.

We practically had to drag him there. He was moaning in pain with each step. Thank you Zeus for having a son. Jason used the wind to pick him up and take him there when he found us. Nico was still pouring blood from gods know where. I was still in shock. I was going into the infirmary with Jason, but Amy stopped me. "You just got back from the dead, girl. You don't need to see this."

I sat outside on the ground. Percy came later, asking me what happened. "They won't let me in," I replied, still staring at the wooden doors. Annabeth sat with me, rubbing my back and saying that everything will be alright. I was starting to believe her when I heard Nico scream.

The sound was way worse than anything I had ever heard. The boy I loved, screaming in pain. I bit my lip hard enough to completely rip through the soft flesh and let the blood pour out. An ugly sob racked through my body and burst through my mouth. Annabeth clutched my body, pressing me into her own. I didn't want her comfort, I wanted Nico's. I pushed away, just like Percy did.

I collapsed onto the deck and pressed my face into the wood. Another scream ripped through the air, and my own nearly joined it. I knew the pain that came with dying, and it wasn't anything like he was going through. It was torture, something way worse than dying. Gods it was killing me. I pressed my hands over my ears and sobbed loudly, trying to drown out the sound of the pain.

Annabeth sat beside me, not saying a word, not touching me, just sitting. Finally, Jason came out, kicking my side and tripping over me, face planting in the dirt. He swore loudly in Latin. "Gods, I'm sorry, Maria!" he said, still rubbing the dirt off of his face. I didn't look up completely, glancing at the boy before hiding my face in my hand.

"Do you want to know how he's doing?" Jason asked, putting an arm around me. I nodded and looked up, tears still pouring down my face.

"Well, apparently, the spirit's blades were poisoned, so he's in a lot of pain. Amy doesn't know if he's gonna make it. But Nico's pulled through a lot worse than this," he said, not making me feel any better. I looked up in his blue eyes, and searched for any signs of lying. His eyes showed truth. And that killed me.

"Can I see him?" I asked in a wavering voice. Jason inhaled through his teeth before saying that he was unconscious right now. "That's probably a good thing," I joked, "I don't thing I could see him awake right now," The laugh turned into a retching sob. I finally was able to pick myself up with the help of Annabeth. Jason opened the doors, and we walked to the end of the hall.

Nico was on his back on a cot, enflamed skin stretching across his chest and in various areas across his upper body. I fell to my knees, looking at my Nico. He was in so much pain, even in his sleep. It killed me, but at least he wasn't screaming. I covered my mouth to keep from screaming at him to wake up. Jason and Annabeth left me alone after a few minutes. I was holding his hand, tracing the words "I love you" onto the top of his hand over and over and over again.

I heard him moan in his sleep and jolted up, searching for any sign of him waking, Those eyelids began to flutter and his dark eyes opened, still bleary and full of pain. "Nico," I breathed. He showed no sign of recognition, his eyes flicking around. Then the pain hit him again and he began to groan and moan in his delirious state. I began to cry again. "Nico, Nico you can let go," I told him, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Just let go. I'll be okay. Let go, Nico." I cried with the words still spilling from the most selfless place in my soul.

I didn't know if the words registered in his subconscious mind, but something in him gave up. Nico looked at me one last time with clear eyes, smiling a crooked smile that made something inside of me crack. And then the fight and fire in those eyes of his faded and he closed them. I sat there for a minute, and I didn't cry; numbness soon overtook me. I wouldn't cry, knowing that he sacrificed himself for me. I wouldn't cry, I would honor him by going on, moving on without morning just like he would want me to.

I don't know how long it was before Jason and Annabeth came in. I do remember Annabeth patting my back and telling me that we had to go. She was right, I did have to go. I went to the Poseidon cabin and packed my smallest bag, still numb and unfeeling. I didn't know where I was going, but I did know that I had to get out of there.

Grabbing the wristlet with infinite space, I tossed in my clothes, a winter coat for when it got cold, the watch Tyson made for me, one of Percy's shirts, and twenty drachmas from the fountain. My bow and arrows were in the corner closest to my bed. I grabbed those and slung them over my back. I also wrote Percy a note, saying that I was alright, but that I had to leave for a while. I told him that I was armed, but I was leaving Tsunami. A separate note went to Tyson, telling him that I loved him and that I would miss him while I was on vacation. I walked out of Cabin 3, a place I had begun to call home.

In the armory, Piper was there, gently prodding me with questions. I ignored her, grabbing a silver sword and matching shield along with the knife that went with the two. I slipped the sword and knife in my bag, grabbing a white sword sheath and slipping the silver weapon in. I walked to the Big House, searching for Rachel. She was in there, painting her toes a rainbow of colors.

"Hey, Rachel," I greeted. She looked up and smiled, glancing at my bags and raising an eyebrow. "I'm leaving for a while, going back to my cabin in Arkansas. I can't stay here with all these memories,"

Rachel turned back to me, her eyes growing wider and wider. "Nico?" she asked hesitantly. I shook my head and bit my lip. "Oh, Marie," she tried, using the nickname she came up for me. I shook my head again, willing the tears back.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright. I want to find the Hunt and join up," I told her. Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but she dropped her nail polish and her eyes glowed green. The voice she spoke with was not her own.

"The forbidden act has come to rise,

The single soul shall unite the Five,

And with the final breath she takes,

Comes a choice at hand only she can make.

The lonely huntress, the fallen soul,

The unfinished one, her, and the raked of coals,

Shall become the children of the Five,

And become the champions, for the time is nigh."

And then she blinked and it was over. I scribbled down what she said and showed it to her. She began to pace, muttering about the five. I made myself another copy and walked out, running into Chiron. "And where are you going?" Chiron asked. I fibbed and said to find him.

He followed me into the Big House where Rachel was alternating between cleaning her mess and muttering about stupid Oracles and bad timing. "We have to call a meeting," Chiron said, telling a few roaming satyrs to gather the counselors. In a few minutes, Katie Gardener, the Stolls, Clarisse, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Percy, Will Solace, Leo, Pollux, Butch, Clovis, Bruce (the boy of Nike's set of twins), Cathy (Daughter of Nemesis, Layla (daughter of Hebe), and Lou Elle (Daughter of Hecate) walked into the Big House.

Chiron called the meeting to order, and I began to get very uncomfortable. Everyone was looking at me like I was a wounded dog. I stood tall and kept an indifferent look on my face. I sat beside Rachel who was still fuming over her pedicure being ruined. Chiron silenced the campers with a stomp of his foot. Percy looked at me, trying to get my attention. I ignored him and waited for something to happen. Rachel took a deep breath, still ticked.

"Ok, so, I just spouted a new prophecy in front of Maria," she said, causing all kinds of uproar, Percy yelling the loudest. "SILENCE!" Chiron yelled. Everyone complied. Rachel recited the prophecy again, this time not being possessed by the Oracle.

"What does this mean to you?" Chiron asked. Cathy stood first and said that we needed to figure out what the Five was first. Annabeth answered the question by saying, "It's obvious. That's the rivers of Tartarus."

That threw the whole thing into chaos again. Then I began to tune them out. They were talking about my fate, the fate of all of us. And no one even spoke about Nico. I narrowed my eyes and looked around the table. Then I got an idea. I got up and walked right out of there, no one even noticing that I had. I heard Clarisse yelling at Will and Lou Elle yelling at Clovis who had probably fallen asleep again.

With all of my gear, I walked straight out of the camp and to Half-Blood hill. I didn't care where I went, as long as it was away from here. Peleus was there, snoozing under Thalia's pine and guarding the Golden Fleece. I patted his head as I went by, crossing the border.

Not once looking back