Hey, everybody. Thanks so much for all the support. I want you all to know that I'm very, very sorry for the long lapse in updates. I'm still ahead in my writing, and I know the last time I said that it took me forever to update. Still, we're still progressing, and soon enough, a chapter or two maybe, we will get to the good stuff.

A big thanks to my ANONYMOUS REVIEWER for giving me my first review in a long time. :)

Enjoy.

When we get to the cabin, I stop dead in my tracks.

Nico grins at me. "Well," he asks, "what do you think?"

On the front porch of the cabin stand two torches, the tinted flames of which cast green light onto a single pale skull over the doorframe. Beams of moonlight reflect off the solid black obsidian walls eerily. A chilling air emanates from the cabin, causing my teeth to chatter and the hair on my arms to rise in response to the thrill of fear coursing through me.

I quickly assure Nico that the cabin is way beyond cool- and truth be told, it is. But, in spite of the coolness, it seems kind of lonely, too, empty almost. It's nothing like the happy Hermes cabin, always full of people to trip and pick-pocket you and to keep you up at night with friendly chatter.

Nico leads me up the steps, apparently happy to be home, or maybe just glad to have access to a bed. He lets me pass him through the threshold, and I only glimpse four pinpricks of green light in an uncomfortably small room before Nico shuts the door with a click behind me. Immediately, shadows pour from the walls, swirling about the room and hovering at the edges of light cast by the few candles.

The darkness rushes to greet me, wrapping its greedy arms about me. My chest constricts. I gasp for clean air but only darkness pours in, choking me. I cannot escape. It is all around me, covering my mouth, nose, and eyes. I am deprived of my senses and disoriented, unable to even see the little candles, unable to see any light anywhere.

"Hope, Hope!" I can hear Nico calling. Suddenly, a cold hand touches my arm. I slap it away, reaching for my non-existent sword in the same motion. My hand hits only empty space, and I realize that I am weaponless- but not defenseless. My hands ball into fists, just in case.

"Don't touch me!" I yell.

Nico's voice, sharp and surly, responds, "Fine!"

I try to calm myself. It does no good to get worked up. I need a solution. "Is there a window in this place?" I am surprised to hear myself rasp.

Nico sounds surprised, too. "Of course," he says and follows it with a crisp snap of his fingers I can hear across the room.

The darkness lifts, drawn out like a vacuum through newly materialized windows into an exchange with the clear, humid night air. I breathe in, glad for relief despite the stickiness.

At that moment, I lift my hands from my face, to find that I not only have been covering my eyes, but I have also wedged myself into a corner and am on the ground, shaking.

"I, I need some air," I gasp before running out the door.

I rush out past the porch, around the back of the cabin to press my back against the wall. I relish in the free air, the open space, the lack of darkness in general.

I hear the young grass crunch and again reach for a weapon that is not there.

"Woa!" Nico holds up his hands in surrender and keeps walking towards me, "it's just me."

He comes up and leans against the wall beside me. I cringe away from the closeness. He does not seem to notice but looks around at our surroundings, not meeting my eyes.

"So," he drags the word out as one dreading to ask an unpleasant question,"scared of the dark or claustrophobic?"

I breathe in deeply. "Claustrophobic."

He only nods. "Odd trait for a child of Hades," he remarks evenly, " I spend most of my time underground in very small spaces."

"Yeah," I mumble, "really odd."

No frickin' kidding! The children of Hermes thrive in the agora, the marketplace. We live for the openness of crowds and their noise and the freedom to create general ruckus. Small spaces? Dark places? As a general rule, we try to avoid them, and if they're sprung on us suddenly, they feel like traps, a feeling none of us can seem to handle.

Nico is still watching me with kindness and concern. "You know," he says, "Thalia is afraid of heights."

I smile. "No kidding?"

He returns the smile, finally looking at me. "No kidding. But she'd kill me if she found out I told you that."

I promise, "My lips are sealed."

I take one last look at the sky, which looks like an overturned, navy blue, ceramic cereal bowl dotted with little specks. A new constellation glitters there: a huntress with a bow, taking large strides across the sky. Whatever her story is, it is probably tragic; most are. I turn my head away then walk with Nico back to the front of the cabin.

Nico holds the door open for me, just like the last time. I step in cautiously, taking in my surroundings. It is actually not so dark in here anymore, for while the walls and the furniture are black, long, rectangular windows stretch from end to end across each side wall. It is night outside, so the windows do not provide a lot of light, but they are open, allowing a warm breeze to flow within the room. Four monstrosities take up each corner of the room. Two foot thick mattresses are covered with humongous plush black satin covers and a black body pillow each the size of Nico.

I can tell which bed belongs to Nico because it is the one pushed into the darkest spot in the room, where not even the light of the stars coming through the windows make any difference.

Beside each bed is a little black wooden dresser where alights a single candle, giving off a flickering, sickly, pale-green light matched by the candelabra chandelier of bone hanging over the center of the room, where aisles of a two-foot width separating the beds cross.

It's a nice cabin that does not provide for much other than sleeping. If the place were not so dismal, it might be cozy.

Nico is hovering at my elbow apprehensively. He seems to really want to settle down for the night, but he keeps shifting his weight. He frowns, looking plain uncomfortable.

I fix him in place with my eyes, and he stops shifting his weight but starts playing with his hands. I venture a guess. "The windows make you nervous, don't they?"

He sighs. "Kind of. It's just… I come here to get away, you know?" Poor kid, feeling exposed by a window. I guess it's not easy, being the son of one of the least-liked gods. I know I don't like our daddy dearest.

I nod. "Yeah, yeah I know." I think for a moment. "Hey, if you can just leave a window over my bed, would that be better?"

He mulls this over for a bit. "Yeah," he says slowly, "yeah," he is getting a little happier now, "I think that would work." He raises his fingers to snap but stops and looks at me. "Um, which bed?" he asks.

"Oh," I say, "that one." I point to the bed on the same wall as Nico's but nearer to the door. He looks at it briefly then gives the same crisp snap I heard earlier. Abruptly, paneling snaps down over all the window space except one little square above my chosen bed, through which I can see the slender gleam of tonight's crescent moon.

The tension evaporates from Nico's face. He flashes me one sleepy grin and all but jumps into his bed in the far corner.

"G 'Night, Hope," He mumbles into his pillow.

I sit down on my own bed, soft and luxurious. "Good night, Nico." I say softly.

But I don't go to sleep.

I consider for a moment, then quietly stand up off my bed, taking care to not cause the mattress to creak, creep over to the door, and slip out without making a sound.

Once again, I relish in the night air. Not particularly worried about being seen, I briskly set off across the campgrounds. It's just hit curfew, so all the campers are in bed, and the harpies won't come out for at least another hour. Still, the unusual happens, so I keep a watchful eye out.

I make it all the way to the Big House without a hitch. I stand in front of the porch and jokingly announce, "I'm here!"

Chiron, who is already standing on the porch, horse tail in curlers and all, smiles and agrees with me, "Yes, you are."

I grin and rush up the steps to embrace the old horse.

He lets go of me gently. "It's good to have you back, Pandora." He smiles for a moment more before his face melts into seriousness. "Now, tell me what you want to know, my child."

I tell him simply, "Start from the beginning."

And he does, moving chronologically from the time Luke stole the Lightning Bolt to his redemption (which makes it a little harder for me to hate him, considering that he did save Annabeth) and defeat, covering what I already knew, like his poisoning Thalia, his hosting Kronos, and his having been defeated, and what I had not known, like the Battle of the Labyrinth, the explosion of the Princess Andromeda, and the Final Battle at Mount Olympus.

When he finishes, I venture, "But now there's something more." Chiron considers me. I insist, "I know about Jackson and the Romans, but this goes deeper than just another camp of demigods," I look at him closely. "What going on, Chiron?"

When he sighs, I automatically go on guard. Chiron is a normally very calm character, never gets burs in his tail or anything, so when something upsets him, it's a pretty big something. "Pandora, my dear, do you remember what happened after the original Titan War?"

I screw up my face as I try to remember. I know the answer, or, at least, I can feel the answer inside me. The knowledge is ingrained like an ancestral memory. It's a part of me, like ADHD or dyslexia. Sure enough, the answer to Chiron's question floats into my mind.

"Gaea," I say, awed, "and her sons. Dear gods, Chiron!" I shake myself, trying to wake up from what must be a nightmare. "You just came out of a war, we don't need another one!"

"Do you not think that we all have the same conclusion? Gaea is causing a rebirth of many monsters and villains, all of whom return much too quickly. The gods have gone silent, hoping to stop the stirring, but even some godlings have taken her side." Chiron shakes his head at me sadly. "You know, that that's the always problem with immortal families. They have-"

"Immortal problems," I finish for him.

He chuckles. "Too right."

I sit in the nearest wicker chair, stunned. Chiron bends down to look at my face. He's actually pretty limber for a millennia-old centaur.

"Pandora? Are you alright?"

I laugh a little ghost of a laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed a minute to… process things," I say, swallowing hard.

He still looks concerned, though. "Why don't you head on to bed?" he suggests.

"Yeah," I stand then pause, turning for another look at the centaur. "Chiron, can I ask you something?"

He nods seriously.

"My mother," I start nervously, "is she…?" I leave the question hanging. Chiron shakes his head at me somberly. Tears prick at my eyes. "When?" The word escapes my lips.

"Not long after you died."He rests a hand on my shoulder, hesitating, "She got a little reckless after that. She was found by the Door of Orpheus." He continues gently. "She loved you."

"Yeah," I sniffle, "I know. Um, I think I'll go now." I make for the steps, but Chiron stops me.

"Before you go," he trots over to the corner of the porch and picks something up, "take this," he says and throws a black backpack to me.

I catch the canvas with a muffled thwump. "Thanks, Chiron," I say, moving down the steps, waving with one hand at him.

Behind me, I hear him whisper, "Anytime," but I'm around the corner and out of sight before I stop against the wall of the Big House.

I kneel quickly, deciding, as cold-hearted as this sounds, that I can mourn once I get back to the cabin. I rip the zipper open on the bag Hades gave me for this crazy quest, then slow down. I know better than to dive into something Hades packed without due caution. I peer in carefully and smile, as much as I can at the moment, because, for once, Hades did well. One by one, I begin pulling out the supplies: a standard Ziploc baggie of ambrosia, a canteen of nectar, and even a bag of toiletries for me(Guess I won't have to steal those after all), but when I come to the next item, I stop dead. With a shaky hand, I draw out my camp necklace. I cannot believe Hades put in it there. Gently, I caress the four beads, reliving fond memories of those years. With slightly steadier hands now, I fasten the necklace around my ankle under my jeans because I want at least one memento to tie me to my past, even if I cannot let it be seen. The rest of the bag is filled with golden drachmas- and I know exactly what for.

Hurriedly, I shove everything back into the pack. I shoulder it, then head off in search of a rainbow. I don't get very far before I realize you need light for a rainbow- and it's the dead of night. I curse in Greek because now there's only one thing I can do: go into the Big House.

I round the corner again and breathe easy. Chiron's already left the porch. I go up the stairs and slip in through the screen door without making a sound. I tip-toe past the rec room, the sitting room, and Mr.D's empty bedroom(See, gods don't actually sleep, but Dionysus likes to make himself pass out to "forget the wretchedness of this awful camp," or so he says), which is right next to the kitchen for obvious reasons.

I creep into the next room, which is the kitchen. Careful to make sure I can still hear the silence, I unhook the water-sprayer beside the faucet and angle the shower so that the kitchen's industrial lighting makes a mini-rainbow in the sink. I reach my other hand into the backpack and fish out a drachma.

"O, goddess," I intone quietly, "please accept my offering." I toss the coin, and it vanishes in the multi-colored spray. "Show me Luke Castellan." An image fills in the screen of a young man asleep on the floor of a cave.

"Luke," I hiss, "Luke!" His blue eyes pop open.

"Wha'?" He yawns, only half-awake and still trying to shake off sleep, " Who's there?" Through the Iris-message, I can see him reach for his sword.

He stops. "Oh. Pandora."

"Luke," I say, trying to keep my voice down, "where are you?"

He settles cross-legged down onto the ground. "Hades sent me to track the progress of some new army, didn't say anything else, so, right now, near as I can figure, I'm in California, and I'm not sure why."

A shaky laugh slips through my teeth. "Didn't he do the same thing to me?"

Instead of smiling or laughing like I expected him to, he frowns. "Very nearly. But, where are you?"

"Camp Half-Blood." I smile grimly, "I get to watch the kid. Luke, there's a whole lot of crap coming up soon- and I think I know which army you're hunting."

Luke sits up straight. "Tell me," he demands, his eyes glimmering with expectation.

"Well, for starters, there's an entire encampment of Roman demigods."

Luke shakes his head. "But that doesn't make any sense. Why would we-"

I cut him off. "Dude, I never said we were fighting Romans, but they fit into this somehow. Apparently one of our heroes is there. I think I'm right when I say you remember the Jackson kid?" Multiple emotions flicker across his face, but he nods. "Anyway, like I said, they're not the big problem here. Luke," I fix him with a stare as best I can through the water, "Gaea's rising against the gods. It's her army, her children and their friends that you have to find, and then we have to fight them without the help of the gods."

After a while, he finally says, "Well, that's not good."

"I know," I say, " And I get the feeling that things are going to heat up real soon."

He looks at me seriously. "Fine, but we need to stay in contact. Iris-message me when you can, and I'll do the same."

I agree, "Alright." The message cuts off, and I'm left with the sprayer making little pinging noises as water droplets fall into the metal sink. I gently reattach the sprayer to its holder and sneak back out through the white-washed halls of the Big House.

The depth of the night hides me. I become a wraith floating through a silent, empty camp, and looking around, I know that if we somehow fail, if Gaea takes us, then the camp may very well be like this forever.

Footsteps and voices coming from the North break the absolute silence. I hide behind the nearest cabin, which just happens to be Hephaestus. I send up a quick prayer that I won't set off any trip wires or explosives.

Footfalls sound on the porch steps.

"Annabeth," the speaker borders on agitated, "I told you, she's perfectly fine. We'll be off in the morning without a hitch. Now, can you please let me sleep, or in the morning, you'll have to sail without your lead mechanic- or just drag me onto the ship with my bed. Whichever. I'm not really picky."

Annabeth sighs. "I know, Leo, I know. It's just… that new girl made me nervous. I think I know her from somewhere, and I can't place it. I don't like that. It's not normal."

Leo is more gentle now. "Look, you've been stressing a lot. We all have. I'm starting to forget stuff, too."

"Maybe you're right."

I can hear the smile in Leo's voice. "I know I am. Now, you go to bed and let me sleep!"

A door's opening and closing follow a series of little beeping noises, and I can hear Leo no more. I wait to see Annabeth descend the steps and cross the expanse of the courtyard to the Athena cabin. Once she has gone inside, I leave my hiding spot. It's not that far to the Hades cabin, only about three cabins down.

I only give a little thought to the conversation I overhead. I knew that people would probably have a couple of suspicions, but I hurts a little that Annabeth distrusts me. Of course, I would distrust me, too.

I halt beside the Hades cabin, a little stymied as to how to get in without rousing my cabinmate. Suddenly, an idea strikes, and I sneak around to the side of the cabin. I cozy right up to the window and snap; the window springs open silently. I put my hands on the windowsill and heave, sliding myself over until my entire body is resting on top of my bed. I sit myself upright and snap to close the window. With a glance over at Nico, who is still sleeping, I pull the backpack off my shoulders.

Setting down the bag on the floor, I release the shakiness that has infected me since I learned of my mother's death. My heart seems to grow heavy as my head seems to float. Silent tears course down my face, and silent sobs shake my shoulders. I bend over the edge of the bed, holding myself together.

Mom. It hurts to think of her standing forever in the horribly yellow Fields of Asphodel, but at least it's not Punishment. Did I pass her last night? Did she see me, maybe even try to touch me? I don't know. Worse than that she's gone is that it's my fault. I know exactly what she was thinking, and I want to shake her, scream at her, ask her how she could be so foolish- but my mother was not a foolish woman. Chiron's words echo in my mind, 'She was found at the Door of Orpheus.' My mother was trying to reach me again.

I lie down against my pillow, desperate for the peace of a restful sleep.

Much better than the last ending, eh? I hope you enjoyed it, perhaps enough to show a little appreciation with a review?

I'll see you when I see you. I'm not sure when I can afford to post again, but keep a watchful eye out.

Until next we meet, happy reading!

I KNOW YOU WANT TO!

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