Hazel sat on a chair next to Nico's bed. She held tightly onto his hand. He was breathing relatively normally but he was just so motionless that if she wasn't seeing the rise and fall of his chest she would've thought he was dead. She sighed rubbing her eyes. Will was on his way, she had initially debated against the thought of telling him but he was...a doctor? The reasoning in why Will should've come to the rescue was still blurred to her. But if he could help Nico in any way then it was worth a try.

She slumped down on the chair staring at the ceiling. What mess did they bury themselves into now? Her friends went on ahead to explore the mind of Artemis. After all, if she killed them they'd end up with Thanatos. And they were already in the Underworld so it'd be like nothing happened! Hazel scoffed at the idea.

She still had nightmares about the night she and her mother died. Death wasn't as simplistic as her friends thought of it. Standing in front of the judges who determined the weight of her life based on small details scared her. She realized how important and yet terrifying being given this second chance was. If it hadn't been for Hazel. Her mother would've wound up in the fields of punishment due to one misjudgment of character.

She shook her mind out of that memory and looked back at Nico. He looked paler. She was worried Thanatos had killed him. Condemned him or in the least doomed him to suffer the same insanity he had. She scoot a bit closer to him, holding his hand. She couldn't help but think of every bad thing that could be happening to Nico, logical or not. So far she could only have faith that he was okay. Everything would be alright.

She let her breathing fall into the rhythm of the tick tock the clock let echo in the room.

~o0o~

The half bloods walked through a forest. The trees stood tall and menacingly, not a single leaf or itch of greenery was around them. The branches were thick enough however to block out any source of light. They could hear the crunch of twigs and dead branches underneath their feet but at one point they began to wonder if they were actually stepping on dead wood and not something more anatomical.

Thalia kept her eyes peeled. She was used to wandering around places like this. She remembered getting lost in the Amazon forest once with her hunters and this was basically what the jungle looked like if it had been depraved of all its life and nature. But even the stillness of the woods was starting to get to her. Out the corner of her eyes she could see shadows moving along the trees, stalking them.

When she turned her head to look for them nothing was there. But as they continued walking ahead she could feel someone watching her back. It became such a strong feeling she notched an arrow to her bow and trailed in front of the group leading the way.

Finally they made it to a clearing. There were no trees and they could see the dark sky littered with stars but the moon wasn't there. They sat down in the middle of it for a quick stop and looked out at the forest surrounding them in different directions. Splitting up was so out of the option but how would they ever find Artemis in this sea of trees?

Thalia played with the arrow's head. She kept looking at the tree's branches hoping to see some kind of wildlife but everything they encountered so far was grey and dead. She didn't even know where to start otherwise she'd been able to track down the goddess with ease.

Piper let out a shaky breath. It was starting to get cold. She hugged her arms as the air around them steadily got icier and icier. "Thalia, do you recognize this place at all?" her breath came out as a fog.

Thalia looked around. Despite her analogy to the Amazon forest it actually didn't ring a bell. She shook her head. She didn't know where they were at all. She stood up and looked around. She spotted a mountain just behind them. That was some kind of landmark maybe if they went to it they'd get a better view of the forest.

"Let's head to that mountain. There's probably a cave up there and as hunters we prefer setting up in caves when we're on mountains. They can help shield you from avalanches and the wind..sometimes. Maybe Artemis is camping out up there and if not we'll have a bird's eye view of the woods."

They picked themselves up and began making their way to the mountain. But the closer and closer they got the more the trees around them began to shift and the feeling of being watched intensified. Soon they reached a part of the forest where the ground was just rock solid. Annabeth inspected it and she scratched the surface with her nail.

"This is igneous rock."

"And that is?" Percy asked.

She gave a frustrated sigh looking back at her friends,"There are two kinds of igneous rocks: extrusive and intrusive. Extrusive igneous rocks are created when pyroclastic materials cool above Earth's exterior."

Percy returned the frustrated sigh,"English please?"

She rolled her eyes,"That is English, Seaweed Brain. Igneous rock is volcanic rock."

Thalia looked up at the mountain,"Meaning that this is a volcano."

Annabeth stood up staring up at the volcano,"Yeah but which one?"

Thalia looked at the trees and she went over to study one. It had a few hanging leaves on its branches. Dried up maybe but they were still there. Thalia climbed up it hopping from the tree next to it to the one she wanted to climb up by using the tree's trunk. Finally, she landed in the crown and crawled over to the branch holding the leaves. She reached out for one and picked it off. It was flat and attached to it was a fruit. When she split open the fruit she dropped it. It was rotting and the smell reached her nostrils immediately after splitting it open making her gag. But she managed to see that it held seeds inside.

She slid down the tree's trunk like it was a fireman's pole and faced the group,"These are Broad-leaved trees. They're pretty common in British Columbia."

Frank shook his head,"I've been to that province. Mount Baker has snow that covers it entirely while this one just has it capped off on the top. Besides this one is actually a bit more cone shaped while Mount Baker is part of the Rocky Mountains, I think."

Thalia looked up, there were less branches here. She could see the sky was beginning to lighten up. She turned toward the volcano and the sky turned into a beautiful red and orange as the sun rose from behind it.

That meant they were facing east. It was a very nice sight actually. It looked like the sun was coming up from inside the mountain. Jason admired it a bit more when the realization of where they could be hit him like a pile of bricks. The sun rising up from behind the mountain almost looked like it was coming out of the mountain, the volcanic rock, the broad-leaved trees. They were in Japan inside the infamous Suicide Forest. They were in the 'Land of the Rising Sun.' But why would Artemis, the goddess of the moon, be on an island naming itself after the sun?

"This is Japan. We're looking at Mount Fuji," he said.

Thalia nodded,"That makes sense. She and Apollo would hang around here sometimes because it was their way for looking out for each other."

Percy scratched his head,"But wasn't Apollo infatuated with Japan because they named themselves after him?"

"Well yes. But by naming themselves after the sun they also have to take on the title the 'Land of the Rising Moon' this is where the twin archers always start their path when they travel around the world with the moon and sun."

Piper nodded,"That's great and all but how does this help us find Artemis?"

"We keep going up. There's always something at the summit,"Frank said.

And with that they hiked up the volcano.

~o0o~

Hazel ran through the darkened hallways in Hades' palace. She was slowly beginning to run out of breath but she kept her pace. Behind her lightbulbs would pop and crackle as a dark mass flew past them making the halls darker than black.

She cursed when she saw the end of the hallway up ahead with a door. She slammed right into it and fiddled with the doorknob her lungs burning and her mind frantic.

She cried out when she jiggled the door and it just wouldn't budge. Looking behind her she could see the darkness creeping closer and she could hear the infernal hiss of snakes accompanying it.

She could hear the beating of her heart in her ears she thought she was gonna have a heart attack. Finally the door opened and she fell inside the room. She immediately scrambled to her feet and slammed the door shut. She locked it and pushed a dresser in front of it. Whatever was on the other side hit it with a thump. She back away from the door and looked around the room. There was a window behind her and she rushed to it. She managed sliding it open but when she tried to squeeze through she realized she was too big for the window. She sucked in her belly she did her best to try to make herself as small as possible but she just couldn't fit through.

She pushed herself out of the tight space and landed back on the floor. The scraping of the dresser across the floor caught her attention. It was starting to make its way inside but the door was wide enough for something else to slither in.

Hazel's voice got caught in her throat. She stood up backing herself into a corner. She was trapped. There wasn't an opening anywhere else.

Finally the dresser flew across the room smashing into the wall and the door slammed open. The dark fog crept into the room and the sounds of hissing drowned out the beating of her own heart. She squeaked as she felt something slide past her ankle and by the time her legs were enveloped with the reptiles she realized she was crying.

Her knees wanted to buckle her whole body trembled. She wanted to run but her body wouldn't comply it stayed frozen in place. She looked up at the mass and she saw the two blue electric orbs that were Persephone's eyes. It enveloped her in an embrace and once again Hazel felt her life slowly being drained away while Persephone's haunting voice echoed in her ear.

Company. At long last.

Hazel let out a cry for help but all she heard was the familiar croak of a raven as a reply.

"The last night. Tonight."

The room began to shake and she saw one of the walls begin to crack. But what made her heart stop was the sound of a support beam giving in.

She finally let out a scream as the room caved in on her.

~0~

Hazel gasped for air as she sat up in the chair. She looked around the room. It was just the way it was before. Nico looked slightly better. He had more color to his skin now and the only thing heard in the room was the ticking of the clock.