Awww! Nobody is reviewing? Oh, what's the point?

Another chapter. *grumbles*

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It was the night I dreaded.

The night of the prom. I dreaded to think of what those Titans' surprise for us were. It was clear that whatever it was, it would definitely not be good.

I checked my watch. 7:30. "Come one girls! We're already late!" I called out. Every minute of waiting was like a second of torture in the Greeks' fields of punishment for me. Zia and Sadie had gone shopping along with Annabeth yesterday, but they refused to show us what they had brought. Sadie told me that it was a surprise, but I think that she just doesn't want to show it because it's too ugly.

[Stop hitting!]

Finally, just as I was contemplating whether to just stab myself with my sword to escape the waiting or not, I heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Zia walked down slowly, and mouth dropped in awe. She was like a goddess, no she was even more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. She wore a royal blue halter-style, floor length gown that made her amber eyes pop. Her hair was shining, neatly combed, and looked in its natural way. She wore Stiletto heels that matched her dress. She wore no make-up, except for the kohl that lined her eyes. All in all, she was a knockout.

I gulped. Immediately, I felt self-conscious of what I was wearing: a traditional black tuxedo, with a gold necktie. Compared to her, I looked pretty pathetic.

"Zia - you're, you're a knockout." I blurted out. Behind me, Nico groaned.

"Thank you carter." Zia said, batting her eyelashes.

Behind her, Sadie made her entrance. She was wearing an ankle-length blood-red bridesmaid-style dress that complimented her body (blech) and red Stilettos. A clutch was in her hand. Her caramel-colored hair was up in a ponytail, and she didn't put in any streaks this time. She wore make-up, which somehow made her look older, for some reason.

My opinion? Meh.

[(Slap!)]

[Ow…]

Nico, on the other hand, was just a push apart from kneeling in front of her and worshipping her like a goddess. I rolled my eyes at his reaction. Like anybody would ever worship my freak of a sister.

[DO I HAVE TO SLAP YOU AGAIN, CARTER?]

[Just try.]

[…]

[…]

[(SLAP!)]

We headed to Goode in style. Hades had given Nico a black limousine for Sadie and him to ride on, while my dad got Zia and me a white one. Percy and Annabeth arrived just after we did, in Percy's new Hummer, nonetheless. If I didn't know better, I would say our dads were competing for the best gift.

The prom was already starting. Hundreds of kids were packed into the gym, where most guys tried to impress the girls, but half of them got blown off before they could even start. Zia linked her arms to mine, which calmed me down a little. I smiled at her, and she beamed back at me.

Two hours. For two hours, we did nothing but dance, talk, and drink punch. Not that I'm complaining or anything, since it's actually nice to spend time with Zia and all, but this was getting too boring, even for my taste. After one final song, Zia and I sat down on one of the tables placed around the room.

She leaned forward. "So Carter, tell me."

"Tell you what?" I asked coolly.

"Why you've been nervous all this time. Is there somebody here that I shouldn't know about, and would result in a brutal fight if we ever meet?" she batted her eyelashes and smiled sweetly.

If I had been drinking the punch, I would have already choked to death. Fortunately, I wasn't. "No! It's just because-" I looked around once, to make sure that everything was still going normally. Percy and Annabeth were dancing. Nico was fighting with some guy, while Sadie alternated her looks between the two. Far off, I saw Ariston at the corner of the bleachers, reading a book. "Nothing. I guess I just worry too much." I told her. Luckily for me, Diana arrived, decked in a long strapless gown with heels and a clutch bag in her hand, so I was saved from more personal questions, if you know what I mean.

"Hey Carter." She greeted. I greeted her back.

Her eyes strayed off to Zia. "So, is this her? Zia?" I nodded.

Diana smiled at her. "Carter's lucky."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Yes I am."

"So, who'd you bring?" I asked.

"Some kid from my class. And he's" – she turned around, and finally pointed to the guy fighting with Nico – "right there. Hold on. I'll try to see what's wrong with them." She walked away, heading for Nico and the guy, who were already getting in each other's faces.

"Carter, could you get me some punch?" Zia asked. "I'm parched."

"Sure." I made my way over to the food table, where I casually refilled our empty cups. As I was heading back, I noticed a guy was on my seat, having a small chat with Zia. He had salt and pepper hair, black eyes, and a French accent. He wore a red vest, with a long-sleeved jacket underneath. Zia chuckled, and the guy cracked a smile.

Normally, I wouldn't get jealous like that, since I trust Zia enough to not cheat on me, but that wasn't what made my blood boil. Even from my point of view, I noticed the guy's eyes roam her body, like he was checking her out. Scratch that. He was checking her out. Normally, I wouldn't mind it. So what? It's not like he would try anything on her or anything like that, especially when she could kick his butt in a heartbeat. I calmly walked over them, behind Zia, and handed her the punch. "Thanks."

"No prob. So who's your new friend?" I smiled at the guy, though I was glaring at him with my eyes.

"Oh, just somebody who loves to make a girl smile." The guy replied. He was still checking her out, but after the fifth time, right when I looked in his eyes, I saw a twinkle of malice in them. Anger started to build inside me. It was one thing to check someone out, but to actually look at them maliciously is another matter. I was now ready to rip the guy's limbs off, but fortunately, I kept my composure.

"Hey dude," I said as calmly as I could. "We need to talk. Excuse us Zia."

"Sure man." He gestured over to the doors.

We walked casually, eyeing each other threateningly. When I was sure Zia couldn't see us, I grabbed him by the collar and threatened him, saying, "Look, buddy. Until now I could tolerate your flirting with her, but don't you dare look at her with those eyes of yours ever again, got that?"

He smirked. This guy must really be stupid. "Or what?"

Is this idiot really challenging me?

I released him, then went back to Zia. "Let's go" I said, standing up.

She was speechless. "But, Carter, the dance-"

"Is finished, at least for us. Let's go."

As we turned to leave, the guy grabbed her left arm. "Wait a minute, miss. Please stay. Leave him." Zia looked at me pleadingly. I can see that the guy was hurting her.

That was the last straw. This idiot wants trouble? Normally though, I try to avoid fights, but he was asking for it. Well, now he's got it. I balled my fists, walked up to him coolly, and snapped my fist in his jaw in an uppercut. I followed with a jab to the stomach, and ended with a haymaker to the cheek. That sent him flying. The entire student body was staring at us now, and one of the chaperones, who probably saw the whole thing, strided over.

"You. Get out now, before I decide on punishment." The chaperone said. He had a French accent, with a hawkish face, and eyes like Horus – one brown, one blue.

"Now please, get back to the dance." He said stiffly. I saw his eyes travel over to where Percy and Annabeth were slow-dancing to the song "Dream Awake". It was actually a pretty good song, so I grabbed Zia's hand and led her to the dance floor. As we passed him, I remembered my manners.

"Oh, by the way, thank you-" I started to say, but I didn't know his name. In fact, I never even saw him before, but the students were all acting like they knew him their whole lives. Strange…

"Mr. Thorn." He supplied.

"Thank you Mr. Thorn." I said. He sneered, and I think I saw him glare in Percy's direction. Clearly, he detests them. What did they do to him?

S
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Diana, thankfully, got between the two guys before they could start beating each other up. I dragged Nico as far away as possible from the guy, but seriously, Nico was strong. I had to resort to threatening to blast him to sleep just to make him shut up and sit down.

"Stop being jealous." I said. Nico grumbled something that I didn't quite catch. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I read it.

Hey Sadie. How ya doing? When are you coming home?

I sighed. It was from Liz, one of my mates from England. They had been bugging me ever since Carter gave me the phone to go back to England for a vacation, and I had been answering ever since that I had to put some more important things first, like finding out who was the stupid son of Kronos.

Nico stared at my phone like ha had never seen one before. "What?" I demanded. It was rather annoying, having him staring at me like I was going to get us both killed. He leaned over to me. "Um, Sadie, having a phone out, especially outside of Camp, is a very, very bad idea. You know that, right?"

I smirked. "Yeah, but what could happen? Seriously Nico, magicians are patrolling the grounds as we speak."

"We can't have phones. Monsters will be able to track the signal like a flare, and we'll be dead." Nico pointed out. "I'm pretty sure that same rule applies to you."

I rolled my eyes. "Didn't you hear me Nico? Magicians are patrolling the grounds outside. If there are any signs of monsters or demons, I'm pretty sure they can handle it."

"Yeah, They would protect you and Carter. Me, not likely." He argued.

"Well, Percy and the Annabeth are both here, so you'll be fine."

"Great. Now I feel so very well protected." He rolled his eyes.

"Stop whining. You sound like a kid."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. Come on, let's go dancing."

As it turns out, Nico was horrible with slow-dancing. He kept stepping on my toes, which I tried not to be too angry about, considering that I just had my toes manicured yesterday for this moment. His movements were sloppy and stiff, which was unbelievable since I've seen him break-dance, and he was one of the better ones I've seen.

"Can we please go now?" he pleaded, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

I cracked a smile. "Not until you dance properly."

"Oh come on!" he sighed exasperatedly. "I feel like I'm gonna die any minute now."

I rolled my eyes at his antics. "Oh, just shut up and dance. It's not even that hard." I placed his hand properly on my waist, and grabbed his shoulder like I was going to judo-throw him. I led him through most of the song, which is kind of awkward since it's the boy that should be leading, not the girl. Anyway, Nico didn't seem to mind, or he just didn't know.

Beside us, two of the chaperones, a Middle-Eastern woman and a hawk-faced man, were dancing to the beat. The woman s wore dark tinted glasses, which was weird since the place was quite dark already. A veil covered her hair, which made her seem more dangerous and unpleasant. She leaned her head over the man, who had different-colored eyes, one brown, and one blue. She had a nametag that said: Ms. M.

I wonder what the M meant?

I spotted Thalia, wearing a black gown and fishnets, going with a few other hunters to who-knows where. Iris and Drea were also among the crowd, though I didn't know where, exactly. See, Carter had insisted that back-up should be present within the prom itself, if somehow the monsters were to ever sneak past and/or kill the magicians outside. I doubted that that would ever happen, since they were some of the best the House of Life had to offer, but Chiron didn't much have a choice, especially after Carter used the whole I'm-the-Pharaoh-and-you-will-obey-my-command card on him. A girl, no more than twelve years old, approached us. She was wearing an elegant strapless silver dress, and a bow was at her side, but none of the mortals seemed to notice. Nico froze up when he saw her, and from the looks of him, I'd say that he was having half a mind to draw his sword and duel this girl right here. Instead, he bowed deeply to the girl.

"Ah, Bianca's little brother. It is…a pleasure to see you again." I doubt that what the girl was about to say was more pleasant than a pleasure.

"As do I, Lady Artemis." Nico said through gritted teeth. My first thought was, This is Artemis? Then, I thought back to when Bast had appeared as a normal housecat. I bowed deeply following Nico's example.

"Rise, you two. Now, can either of you please tell me why I and my hunters had to be taken out of our hunt, just to dance and have boys flirt with us at this party?"

"We don't know, my lady." Nico answered.

Artemis sighed. "I can sense that you don't like me very well, son of Hades."

"I-"

"Is it because of your sister's death?" Artemis asked coldly. I gritted my teeth. How did she know? Nico took my hand in his. He pursed his lips, which he always did when thinking of an answer. I had always thought that on him, it looked quite cute.

"No, my lady." Nico answered again, but this time, the hand that he was using to hold mine was shaking.

"Just as you say. And who might this be?" she asked.

Artemis glanced one more time at him, before turning her attention to me. "Sadie Kane, is it?" She asked. I was about to answer, when I saw Nico flinch from the corner of my eye, fire burning in his eyes.

"Yes." I smiled sweetly, trying to give the impression that I was just a sweet little girl.

"Host of Isis, restorer of the path of the gods, slayer of Apophis…" she counted of my titles. "Very impressive. We could use a girl like you."

"Actually, She's already taken." Nico retorted. He seemed annoyed for some reason. Artemis' eyes flashed at him in anger. "Do not interrupt me, boy." She turned back to me.

"Well, Sadie Kane? Do you want to join?"

"Join what?" I asked, although I already had a gut feeling what she was talking about.

"The Huntresses, of course." Artemis said. "Think about it, Sadie. Immortality. The chance to live forever. Don't you want that?"

I thought for a moment. "Can Nico join?"

Artemis laughed. She must've thought I was joking. "Of course not, silly girl. No boy may join my hunt and live another day."

I smiled as sweetly as I could. "Then no. Sorry."

"You would trade immortality for a boy?" Artemis' nose flared in anger.

"Yes."

"Another one lost." Artemis let out a sigh, disappointment showing in her voice.. "Very well then. Off you two go." Beside me, Nico beamed in relief and happiness. "I thought you were gonna join." He whispered to my ear.

"Do you want me to? I mean, I could always reconsider…" I teased.

His eyes widened, and he glanced at Artemis once. "No I don't!"

"Are you sure? Because now that I think of it, Immortality is rather pleasant…" I teased further.

Nico pouted, which made my head go fuzzy. It was just so bloody cute! "Sadie, please don't."

I pinched his cheek, which he repayed with an annoyed look. "Of course I won't." I could swear that as she left, Artemis muttered, "Stupid boys. Always taking the good girls." I couldn't help but smile.

Finally, just when I thought that things were calming down, the wall just had to explode. Chucks of the wall were blasted inwards, and crushed a few unlucky mortals who were trying to get away. Blood splattered all over the ground. I saw an intestine fly right in front of us, and I vomited at the sight. An eye flew into the air, splattering into the ground a few feet away. A few limbs were scattered, their owners now dead under a pile of concrete.

A man in Greek armor stepped out of the smoke. Amidst the chaos, he was easily seen, with his golden armor and the hammer he was wielding. Nico ripped out his skull ring from his finger, tossed it in the air, and just as it came down, it elongated into a stygian iron sword about three feet long. Percy uncapped Riptide, Annabeth drew her dagger that was hidden underneath her gown, and Thalia and the other hunters pulled back their bowstrings, arrows already notched. I reached into the duat, but my panic was ruining my concentration. I fumbled for my staff, which I felt was slipping away from my grasp inside the duat, but at the last second, I caught hold of it and pulled it out. Carter flicked his hands, like Bast usually did when summoning her knives, and the crook and flail, the symbols of the pharaoh, appeared in his hands. The game of capture the flag replayed in my mind, where Carter summoned a twenty-foot avatar made of flesh and bone. But I doubted that that was going to be enough to stop the golden-armored man. He radiated power unlike any Greek or Egyptian god, and his eyes were trained on one person in particular.

Monsters poured into the gym from behind him; a collection of Cyclopes, hellhounds, dracaenas, and behind them was…

"Uncle Vinnie!" then I realized my mistake. "I mean, Setne!" Setne glared at me, like he was saying, you're going to pay for that.

Setne gazed at me with hatred in his dead eyes. "Hello again, Sadie Kane. I see you've survived the wrath of Apophis." His lips twitched into a smile, which I found was very creepy. He raised the book of Thoth. "Now prepare to die."

There. Over 3000 words. Review, PLEASE?