Hey, everyone! Just two weeks, then I'm off to college! *sob sob* Which means that I'll probably be only able to update once a week, so expect for me to at least update this story everyday, up until College. Well, enjoy! (And review. I love reading your feedbacks :D)

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Right. Let Carter tell you how a huge immortal being was out to kill him all that boring stuff, while yours truly tells you about more exciting stuff.

[Stop glaring Carter. You know you're a boring storyteller.]

Anyway, it was a beautiful Saturday morning. Chiron has invited us to go to camp Half-Blood for capture the flag, for he insists that "Even though your worries have passed, you still need to train for unexpected problems along the way." I couldn't grasp why we needed to train. I mean, I could speak Ha-di and my worries are practically done. Carter, on the other hand, could just order Amos or any other magician around instead of fighting himself because he's the Pharaoh. So again, why do we need to go?

Well the answer was that Carter had immediately sent a "yes" after he read it. Bloody typical of him. He wouldn't even let me get a day of rest. Sitting in a chair and trying to listen to whoever is speaking in front of you for an entire week is seriously taxing work.

This time though, there were some girls wearing silver parka's that I had never seen before loitering around the camp. They always moved in packs, with that girl, Thalia, in front of them like a leader of some sort. I noticed that most of them would never leave the archery range, and that most of the boys would stay away from them like a plague, bar a few of Apollo's and Aphrodite's kids. The Apollo kids would hit on the girls, and the girls would either flip them off, or knock them out. The Aphrodite boys would just give them flowers or something, before the girls would throw the flowers in their faces, spit on them, and rudely kick them away from their path.

I was sitting on Nico's cabin's porch, watching in amusement as an Apollo kid ran past us, his bum skewered by a silver arrow, while those girls chased him around the camp.

I nudged Nico, who was busy playing with his Nintendo DS. "Who are those girls?" I asked, pointing to the girls. Nico's happy and lovesick look immediately changed to one of pure hatred and anger.

"The Hunters of Artemis. Look out, they might try to recruit you." He went back to playing Mario Kart.

"Recruit me…" I mused. "What's in it for me if I join?"

Nico paused his game. "Immortality, the chance to be a maiden forever, blah, blah, blah, but you have to swear off love." He turned his head and looked at me straight in the eye. "Forever."

"Oh, well never mind then." Nico nodded once, before going back to playing his DS. Still, it wasn't bad being immortal, except for the whole "swearing off love forever" thing. I glanced at Nico, who was concentrating on his game, though I could see in his eyes the pain he was trying to hide. What exactly happened between him and those hunters?

That night, I decided to go to Annabeth for answers, again. I still remembered the last time I went to the Athena Cabin, where I asked her about Cade. It wasn't a happy memory; more so when just after I went out, I got kidnapped, tortured, then brainwashed. I shivered as I recounted them. Why did my life have to be so bloody difficult?

I knocked on the door politely. A small girl, probably about nine, opened the door. Her gray eyes were staring intently at me, and I saw that Percy was right. Her eyes darted all around me, like she was analyzing how best to take me down if a fight comes. "May I help you?"

"Yes. Is Annabeth in there?" she nodded, and opened the door wider. I came in, and saw Annabeth putting on…

[No Carter, I did not see Annabeth putting on clothes! Now shush, I'm trying to tell a story here!]

…her bronze armor. It astounded me on how many straps and pieces there were. Thank the gods that Egyptian battle garbs are way easier to put on, considering that they were only made of toughened silk. "Hey Annabeth." I called out. She turned around, her armor still half-on.

"Oh. Hey Sadie. Do you need something?" She grabbed another piece, and attached it to her armor.

"Actually, I just wanted to ask something." I sat down on her bed.

"Sure. Fire away. Can you hand me that please?" She pointed to a piece near me. I handed it to her. She smiled at me gratefully.

"I wanted to know what's with Nico and the hunters." I blurted out.

Annabeth's face looked grim. She finished putting the last piece of her armor on, and finally sheathed her celestial bronze knife to its scabbard on her hip. "It's a touchy subject, Sadie. We rarely ever speak about it, but I guess for you, I can make an exception." She sat down beside me. Her other siblings had already left for Capture-the-Flag, leaving the two of us alone, along with a very creepy silence. I was never used to silence. In the 21st Nome, there was always the faint explosion when a spell fails or the calming sound of Amos' saxophone whenever he would visit. Oftentimes, there was the chatter of fifty people being heard all around the house, so you can guess that this eerie silence unnerved me a bit.

"Sadie. Don't ever tell Nico I told you this." Annabeth warned.

"Why?" she bit her lower lip, like she was having second thoughts about telling me. I rolled me eyes. "Fine." I grumbled.

"It was back when we first met Nico. He had a sister, Bianca. She was practically the only family he had left, but when Lady Artemis gave her a chance to join the hunt, she took it without a second thought. Nico hated her for that, and even hated her more so after she died while trying to protect Percy on their quest." Annabeth explained. "Although she died a hero, Nico took her death hard. He blamed Percy, and ran away. We almost spent a year just trying to find the kid, just let him know that his sister's death was not Percy's fault. Even so, he never forgave the hunters for taking away his only family, bar Thalia, since they were practically cousins."

"Wow. Isn't Nico's life dramatic or what?" I quipped. Annabeth laughed a little.

"Yeah, it is. Now come on. Everybody's probably waiting for us."

When we arrived at the woods, more than a hundred pairs of eyes were staring at us. Carter was wearing ancient Greek armor, which suited him quite nicely.

[Yes, that was a complement Carter. Now shut it, before I take it back.]

In his hands were the crook and flail. Beside him was Zia, on her linen clothing, holding her staff in her hand. A protective circle was already blazing around her feet. Julius had his khopesh at the ready, eyeing the hunters with distaste. Felix had a mob of penguins at his feet. Alyssa held her wand, while Jaz gripped her staff tightly. Walt, on the other hand, was wearing armor that I've never seen before, and it made him look hot. But the person that took all of my attention was Nico. He was wearing a skull-shaped helmet, wielding his sword, and like Julian, he was eyeing the hunters. See, we had decided to bring our trainees over to camp, with Chiron's permission of course, so they can practice their magic in real time.

"This time, since the hunters are here, it's us and the Greeks against them." Carter informed me as soon as Annabeth and I arrived.

"Isn't that kind of unfair?" I asked. There were more demigods than hunters, and now with the addition of our trainees, the fight seemed very one-sided.

"Don't worry. Percy told me they've never won against the hunters." Carter said.

"Perfect." I grumbled. "We just came here to get our arses kicked and served to us on a silver platter, then." I held out my hand and whispered, Heqat. My staff appeared in my hand, the carving of the head of a kite (The bird) at one end glowing with power.

"Don't count us out yet, sis. Obviously, they've never fought Egyptians before." Carter reassured me. "Besides, I have a few new tricks up my sleeve." He winked at me. I started to wonder what those tricks were, exactly, but the horn rang, signaling the start of the game. Jaz, Walt, Alyssa, and the other trainees went with the offensive team, which included Nico, Annabeth, and Clarisse. I still wondered why they haven't won yet, even though those three alone on offense could mean victory. Percy stayed by the creek, where he was probably most powerful, and keeping a lookout for any hunters.

"Sadie, guard the flag!" carter ordered. I rolled my eyes. As if we didn't know that.

"Julius, you go in with the offense." Carter told him. Julius smiled widely, and summoned his combat avatar, diving straight towards the boundary. Carter, on the other hand, stayed behind with me.

"Aren't you going with them?" I asked, confused. Carter was a combat magician; he would rather hack and slash like Horus, instead of staying behind and performing spells, like me or Isis.

Farther away into the woods, I saw a huge spire of earth come out of the ground. The top was poking through the trees, making it easier for me to see. Probably Alyssa's work.

To our right, a chorus of war cries were heard, and the whishing sound as arrows flew. A group of maybe twelve hunters came towards us, while a silhouette of a battle behind them raged on. Percy immediately took down three of them, but the other two pulled out their knives and did a fine job keeping the son of Poseidon busy. One of them slashed at Percy's legs, but he wasn't wounded, thanks to his invincibility. He didn't even flinch. The creek suddenly grabbed the hunter, and tossed her high into the air. As she came back down, she impacted the water with a FLOOSH! That probably broke every bone in her entire body. Percy smirked at the other hunter. She stepped out of the creek, and drew out her bow. She launched four arrows in succession so vast that her hands seemed to be a blur. The creek rose, and formed a solid wall of water around Percy. He dashed forward, and broke the hunter's bow in two with Riptide. Before the hunter could even pull out her knives, Percy hilt-slammed her in the temple, and she crumpled like a sack of potatoes. Percy ran towards the rest of the fight.

The rest of them circled us. Carter eyed them with an impassive expression; he always had that now during fights.

Three of the hunters charged in with their knives. The remaining four kept their distance, their bows pointed for our hearts. I prepared myself, and yelled out, "Ha-wi!"

The three attacking suddenly flew backwards, knocked down by an invisible force. The remaining four shared conspiratory glances, and launched a volley of arrows directly for me. As the arrows hurtled towards me, I silently cursed myself for not making a protective circle sooner. I closed my eyes, turned my head away, and put my hands in front of my face, bracing myself for the pain.

It never came. I slowly turned my head, and opened my eyes. Carter was in front of me, standing casually, the crook pointed towards the arrows. The hieroglyph for "Stop" burned in front of us. The arrows were suspended in mid-air, like time itself stopped. The hunters' mouths dropped open at the sight. While the hunters were er…distracted, Carter took the moment to attack.

"Harendotes, u-ha pwa!" Carter chanted. He raised the crook and flail, and crossed them together. I understood what he said. "Horus, the avenger of his father, arise and attack!"

A shriek pierced the air. From the ground, a figure erupted, almost twenty feet tall. It was like Carter's avatar, with the falcon head, khopesh, and everything, only this time in flesh in blood. It revived bad memories of when carter became that when we were in the duat.

Carter grinned at me. "Told you."

He pointed his flail towards the hunters, and the flesh avatar shrieked, a mortifying sound that reminded me of Carter's pet griffin, Freak. It grabbed a hunter and tossed it right into a tree. A dyrad, probably the inhabitant of the tree, came out, swearing curse words in ancient Greek. How did I know? Well, if you had a boyfriend like Nico, you'll probably learn more curse words that Greek.

The avatar shrieked again, and the dryad was scared right back into its tree. The remaining three hunters shot arrows at the avatar, which only seemed to annoy it. It swatted another hunter with the back of its hand, which must be like hitting you with a wrecking ball, coming from a twenty-foot tall birdman.

[It's a birdman Carter. You got any complaints? No? Good.]

She slammed right into Zeus' fist. I checked in on her to see if she was still breathing, and thank Isis she was.

"Carter, control that thing! We can maim, not kill!" I repeated what Chiron announced. Carter nodded, and the birdman (*snicker*) kicked the last hunter in the chest, and she was sent sprawling straight for the creek.

Carter lowered the crook, and the birdman bowed deeply, before bursting into flames. I shielded my eyes away from the bright light. When the light died, there was no evidence that a giant bird-headed warrior was stomping on these grounds, except for the big hole on the ground.

"Since when can you do that?" I demanded. Carter and I had been training for nearly a year with each other, and he had never even hinted that he can do that.

"I have my secrets. Plus, being the almighty Pharaoh helps either." He gloated. I smacked him playfully in the arm. "Oh stop boasting. But thanks for the save."

Just then I saw Nico heading straight for the boundary line, the hunters' flag in his hands. He was flanked by a mob of penguins (Which I was really surprised about), and a very large jackal. Julian, still in his avatar, was taking on the hunters, and providing a distraction. The jackal leaped on a few hunters who were too close to the creek. One of them fainted, probably from the sight of the dog that was as large as Mrs. O'Leary attacking her friends. Nico went past the creek, and the Silver Flag changed to a Pure Black one with the symbol of Hades, the Helm of Darkness. Nico raised the flag, and the horn sounded. Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse headed for us. "Who won?"

Nico waved the flag in his hands. They stared at it in disbelief. "We…actually…won…" Percy said, staring at the flag.

Clarisse repeated what he said, only more boastfully. "We won! Take that, hunters!"

The ones who heard her erupted in cheers. The girl that I checked on earlier started to come to. "What happened?" then she saw the flag in Nico's hand. "No!"

The rest of the hunters that were still conscious groaned in embarrassment. Chiron trotted over to Nico, grasped the flag, and raised it for all to see. "The campers have won for the first time in fifty-six years." He said, with a slight tone of pride in his voice. "Good game everyone, Capture the Flag is over. Now, let's all better get some rest." The jackal came forward, and I watched in amazement as it transformed into Walt. Julian released his avatar and said, "That. Was. Awesome!" Even little Felix danced around, saying how his penguins did awesome. "Did you see them? They were all like, Hi-ya! And the hunters were all like, Aahh!"

I ruffled his hair. "Okay, enough of that. Don't let the hunters hear you, they might take you penguins." I teased him. Felix pouted. "No! Not my penguins!"

The next day, I was awoken rather rudely from my sleep by two over-excited girls. I woke with a start, which happened to be because they dumped ice water all over me, again. I had a feeling Zia advised them what to do. As the two figures became clearer in my eyes, I scowled. I was actually wrong, for Zia didn't advise them, it was actually Zia herself. Annabeth was beside her, clothed like she was ready to go out.

"Come on, sleepyhead." Annabeth said.

"Wakey wakey." Zia agreed.

"You could've just nudged me, you know." I grumbled.

Zia shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but it wouldn't be as much fun. Now get dressed. We have to leave in thirty minutes."

I smacked my lips groggily. "Why? Where are we going?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's the prom tomorrow, remember? We need to get dresses, and Aphrodite herself is coming with us."

"Just let me get changed." I said. They both nodded, and left. I closed my door, hating every second of my life.

Meanwhile…

"Hyperion, are our forces ready?" Atlas asked.

"The strike force is prepared. Most of them are waiting for vengeance upon Jackson, and I made sure to remove any protective enchantments around the school." Hyperion answered.

"Good. Now let me introduce you to our newest ally." Atlas led Hyperion to one of the chambers, where a spirit, clutching a scroll in his hands, waited patiently for them.

Hyperion smiled in recognition. "Ah, Khaemwaset. Good to see you."

The spirit bowed. "As do I, my lord. But please, call me Setne."

"Very well Setne. Rise." The spirit stood proudly.

"Setne will lead our strike force tomorrow. He said he had unfinished business with the Pharaoh." Atlas explained.

Hyperion nodded in understanding. "Just as long as you leave the boy alive long enough for me to cut his head."

Setne smiled. "With pleasure, my lord."

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