"I love your imperfections,

I love your everything

Your broken heart

Your broken wings"

-Saints and Angels by Sara Evans (youtube it!)

(continues from last part) Before we knew it, we had gotten to the Plan B meeting place, Auntie Em's, after a couple dares to lie (that was the Ethan's eye thing, he hasn't shown me what's under there. I'm not sure I want to know,) several Super Soakers filled with tar, three Justin Bieber posters (please make the connection) and one obsessive JB fangirl.

It was the day of the battle. Silena (forced into this as much as I was) had just given us the report of where we would be going (I and some monsters from 67th Squadron were to go and break through the Demeter kids' barrier in the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel. Gosh, if the 8 –no, wait, seven without me- are to build the best force they can, I- I can't do it. I'm not strong enough.

Ethan gave me a bone-crushing hug, promising he would come find me as soon as they got through the Williamsburg. I nodded, secretly ripping a slip of thread off his shirt before he put his armor on. Sometimes being geokinetic (controlling earth and earthly forces) is really useful.

"Lia," he sighed into the top of my head. "Don't get yourself killed or anything." I laughed.

"Same to you, Commando-Boy!" I smiled, kissing his cheek (somewhere in those six days you missed we started dating).

"67th Squadron!" I heard Ana Cruz, daughter of Nike and Captain of the 67th Squadron, bellow over the din of the monsters as I readjusted my deep amberish-orange camo shirt; standard issue Kronos' Army garb. A specified group of dracaenae, empousai, a hellhound, and assorted telkhines and other monstosities walked over, giving a kneel and standing at attention. "Move out!" Ana led them out and we were able to find the tunnel with the help of a map I stole from a stopped car. Hey, don't judge, I'm no New Yorker, and neither is Captain Ana.

I took a long, forlorned look at that tunnel. Poison ivy, stinging nettles, rosebushes (hey they're PRICKLY). The works. I sent through the teeniest gap in the bottom corner of the tunnel a small bluebell, my signature flower. Using our patent pending plant communication, I told then that I had been captured and was forced to do this unravelling thing. I took a few steps back, put my hands out palms forward, closed my eyes and set to work. Katie sent me a chrysanthemum flower, saying they would try to loosen a little bit (last time someone had overworked themselves at geokinesis they had imploded) as they went along, but I was too focused to reply.

It was complete hell.

Imagine taking a bath in extra-strong toxic waste with large open wounds and swallowing some. Multiply that times a thousand, and that's only the pain I had in my left pinky-tip. The vines protested, but I tore them down before you could sneeze. The wrenching in my gut was enough to make my knees go weak, but I had to stand, had to be strong. This was very Rome, no showing weakness. (A/N: she doesn't know about the Roman camp!) I fingered the bit of Ethan's shirt in my pocket, taking strength from knowing Ethan loved me, and I loved him, and knowing Ethan would fall apart if I were to die, as I him.

I was THIS CLOSE to collapsing. I could hear footsteps coming up behind me, sprinting furiously.

And suddenly I was falling...

Ahem, I said, I was falling...

AHEM! I SAID I WAS FALLING!

Except, I wasn't Someone had grabbed me under the armpits.

"Shh, come on Lia, shh, don't die don't die don't die..." It was Ethan. MY Ethan. He grabbed my legs (not like that stupid, but to like CARRY ME) and carried me like I'd seen him do once with a four-year-old unclaimed demigod. I leaned my head on his shoulder as he gave a a small cup of nectar. The sweet taste woke me up a tiny bit, and I could feel the pavlova (a Christmas dessert made of mereigne) flavored liquid working its way through my body.

"That's all I can give you for now, okay, Lia, baby?" he whispered in my ear. "I'm really truly sorry about what I have to do next." Ethan mumbled to me guiltily. I nodded softly, anticipating what was to come. We had rehearsed this quite a bit, assuming it would be needed.

"Filthy weakling!" Ethan spat at me with spite. His eyes –EYE. EYE!- apologized deeply as he threw me to the ground. I whimpered pathetically from the pain that shot through me.

"Alright!" Ethan yelled, kicking me as he paced by. I felt something small land in my hand: a small baggie of ambrosia. Lieutenant Nakamura (what the other soldiers called him) was a strong figure to them, who showed no weakness.

"We have made some progress today. We have felled several of the enemy's warriors. Captain Hiroshima, Squadron Thirty-Eight, aproximately how many did your squadron lose?" Ethan was pacing back and forth, occasionally spitting or kicking me.

Miki Hiroshima, daughter of Iris, mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that, Captain Hiroshima!" Ethan taunted.

"E-Eight, Lieutenant Nakamura!" Miki yelled embarrassedly.

"Captain Calder, Squadron Nine, how about you?"

"We lost," Aiden Calder, son of Athena, quickly scanned his squadron, "three monsters. Alissa is badly hurt, and is currently being treated by a medic."

"And Captain Karin?" Ethan yelled to Netta Karin, my best friend here in the army, and a daughter of Hecate.

"Squadron Thirteen has lost one monster." Netta –CAPTAIN KARIN- replied.

"Not bad, Thirteen, not bad," smiled Ethan approvingly.

"Now, who knows how many of the enemy they killed or severely injured today?" Everyone paused. I saw a couple of people counting on their fingers. One kid in a ratty Army shirt, raised his hand hesitatingly.

"Soldier Gabriel Prosper, Squadron Thirteen, and I killed three enemy demigods." He said quietly. Ethan gave an approving nod.

"And this was in about an hour of fighting, was it, Prosper?" Ethan asked. Gabriel nodded eagerly. "Right." Ethan barked out. "Who can top the measly number Prosper has set as the baseline?" Ethan paced by me, kicking me hard in the back as he did so.

Annie Tempest, one of the original ten soldiers, stood forward through the crowd.

"Captain Annie Tempest, Beta Squadron," Annie barked at the crowd. Annie was a daughter of Aphrodite, but you shouldn't let her looks deceive you. She's Beta Squadron Captain for a reason, you know. "I killed seven. Three my siblings." Ethan let out a low whistle.

"That's what I'm talking about people!" He laughed, high-fiving Annie. "Alright, let's go raid that ice-cream bar we saw on the way back to Auntie Em's!" He got plenty of cheers, and Annie gave me a small smile as she led the entire demigod army off to an ice-cream parlor.

"Lia?" Ethan crouched at my side worriedly. "I'm so sorry, so so SO sorry, you know?" he sniffled.

"I-it's ok-ay," I whispered, my voice cracking halfway through. We made our way back to Aunty Em's, and stood in line to mourn the thirteen demigods we lost. We're making their shrouds later tonight.

We walked solemnly past Yua Chin, daughter of Hestia; Tabitha Brigh, daughter of Erebus, Claire Beauchemin, a very pretty Quebecois and daughter of Boreas (technically making her a Boread); Bethany Trix, daughter of Eris; Sam Thiebault, half-brother of Claire and son of Boreas; Alex Keeper, son of Hermes; Rikuto Takashi, son of Apollo; Jeremy Braxton, son of Techne; Marianna Leotine, daughter of Mnemosyne; Akemi Sato, daughter of Aphrodite; Willy Indigo, son of Eros; Isaac Franke, son of Nyx; and Deanna Rose, daughter of Persophone.