Plapper: Well guys… here's the next chapter and I must say. This was hard to write… it really really was. So much happening…. Well let me know what you think?

"What do you want?"

The woman in front of me pouted. She was standing in the middle of the cavern, her blue dress flowing from her body in rippling waves. The walls were glowing in a soft blue light that seemed to run down like water, giving the room a cold, but beautiful shine.

"Now now, that's no way to great an old friend?", El Naddha purred. I remained silent, flicking my wrists and holding on to Marv and Arg (yes I'd nicknamed my blades. Sue me). She frowned down at them and then looked back up at me.

"I take it you're in a bad mood honey?" Honey? Really? I got the urge to punch this Barbie doll until she couldn't remember who she was anymore. Then I realized that she already had issues on that matter anyways. Rats.

"Listen. I'm here because I need to find Atlantis, if you get in my way, I will kill you. Got that?" My voice was icy cold and I meant every word, which surprised me. I'd never killed anyone before, not even a monster and here I was threatening to do exactly that. She just chuckled.

"Now why would I want to get in your way, honey? No no, that's not my intention at all. You are powerful honey, more powerful than you know. Those little tricks you call powers are nothing compared to your full potential. You Honey can shake the world. But! There are things to be said, prices to be paid, choices to be made. Will you pay the price, honey?"

The light on the walls began to flicker and fade until I was no longer looking at dirty walls, but at shifting images. Images of a wedding, a fountain, beautiful towers. Images of Atlantis. I saw the royal wedding, I saw people laughing, dancing and singing and I saw lightning come from the skies. I saw the city burn I saw, nothing. The images were gone as abruptly as they had come.

I turned to face El Naddha.

"Show me more! Show me what happened!"

She shook her head, her beautiful locks moving like river currants.

"Ah no my dear, not yet. I spoke of a choice to be made, now didn't?"

I wanted to tell her to shove her choice where the sun didn't shine, and to show me the rest, but before I could open my mouth the images were flickering again.

This time they showed the cavern I'd been in only minutes ago. Nico was up against the wall and he was surrounded by creatures with the bodies of lions and the heads of falcons.

"What are those?", I exclaimed as I watched them screech at Nico who covered his ears, blood trickling through his fingers.

"Hieracosphinx, honey. Nasty little buggers, but good guards of secrets, I must say."

There were at least ten of them and although Nico had his sword in his hands he didn't seem to be able to wear them off. Why wasn't he using his powers?

"Ah you see… he can't. The dead here don't belong to the same God and so they don't follow his son. His powers are quite useless in this real."

Fear crept up in my chest as I watched them pounce at him. He was holding them off, but just barely. There were just too many of them!"

I started to run towards the tunnel but it shut right in front of me.

"Is that the choice you want to make honey? You can't have both my dear. You can learn the secrets in this cave, but they were sealed. The seal can only be broken by sacrificing something you love. Are you willing to give up your hearts desire for that boy? The boy who never supported you? The boy who discouraged you in your quest? The boy who doesn't understand how much this means to you, the yearning in your chest? The boy who betrayed you?"

I spun around, ready to attack, but she just stood there calmly, pointing at the wall and I turned.

I saw Nico and Chrion, speaking, and although I couldn't hear their voices, their facial expressions were clear. Nico looked grim, his dark eyes full of worry and determination and Chiron had a similar expression. He put his hand on Nico's shoulder, saying something with such intensity and Nico finally nodded. He turned and walked towards my cabin where he was about to knock on my door when it flew open to reveal me standing there. It was the night I had left.

I felt pain and anger inside of me, trying to claw its way out of me, but I couldn't let it. Not yet. I needed to stay rational about this and not let my emotions cloud me judgement.

"So Nico has to die for me to receive the Answers I'm looking for here?"

She nodded, her eyes sparkling. She was enjoying this, immensely, I could tell.

I considered my options. I was angry at Nico, I felt betrayed, but I didn't want him to die. I still loved him, despite it all and living without him was a horrific thought and yet… The call of the Silver City was ringing inside my heart, trying to overshadow my love for Nico.

I wish I could say that the decision was easy, and that I was noble and cast my quest away without a second though to save the one I loved, but I can't. I'm not that noble, and I'm not that selfless. I'd never wanted anything more in my life than to find that city, but was it worth the cost. The answer was yes.

But I wouldn't pay it. The tunnel behind me opened up and I started running as fast as my legs could carry me, fear for Nico intensifying with every step I took. The tunnel seemed longer this time around and I felt tears roll down my face as I thought back to the images of Nico being outnumbered by the Hieracosphinx. What if I was too late?

Finally I entered the huge cavern. Nico was lying on the ground on the other side, and there was no sign of the monsters anywhere. I rushed over to his side and turned him over so I could see his face. There was blood running from his ears and his eyes and a long bloody cash on his chest where one of the monsters must have scratched him. He was unconscious and barely breathing.

I felt anger course through me as I regarded his wounds.

"You're gonna be ok", I sobbed as I clutched him to my chest and shadow travelled out of there and right into our hotel room.

Turns out, someone had booked it in the meantime.

I don't know what the elderly couple thought when a teenage girl, clutching a bleeding boy, appeared in their apartment, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out. As fast as I could I travelled out and into a neighbouring hotel that was a lot shabbier, but at least empty. I'd have to go back and get our things, but first I had to make sure Nico would be ok.

He was too heavy for me to lift onto the bed and I was too exhausted to travel again just then, so I moved some pillows to the floor and tried to make it comfortable for him there. His eyes and ears had stopped bleeding, but his chest was an entirely different matter.

I looked at the wound and nearly gagged. So much blood! I looked again and realized that it looked worse than it really was. I must have made the right decision just in time.

A wave of guilt ran through me as I realized that if I'd only made my choice sooner, he wouldn't be in this state at all.

"I'm sorry Nico, I'm so sorry" I mumbled as I cleaned the blood from his face. There, now he didn't look as scary anymore. He'd have to eat some ambrosia once he woke up, but till then all I could to was stop the bleeding.

I cut off what was left of his shirt. The wound wasn't too deep, and the bleeding was beginning to stop. He'd been lucky. More guilt.

I gently wiped off the wound with his shirt. I'd need to disinfect it… My eyes wandered to the mini bar and I had an idea. I'd only seen this in movies and it had always hurt like hell, but it was better than nothing right? I grabbed a couple of the little bottles and brought them over to Nico.

He woke up screaming bloody murder as I dabbled the alcohol into his wounds.

"Shut up! We don't need hotel security coming.", I snapped at him and he looked at me with an angry and surprised expression.

"What happened?", he asked, flinching as I cleaned out the rest of his wound. I didn't answer and just shoved some ambrosia into his open mouth.

"Pfanks." He mumbled and reached for my hand. I pulled it away. Now that he no longer seemed to be dying I was royally pissed.

I bandaged him up with the sheets, a little rougher than necessary , and slunk against the bed post, my arms folded over my chest.

"How did we get out of there?"

"Shadow travel."

"I was so worried about you Kyra. Suddenly the walls started moving towards you and when I tried to follow these gryphon thingies attacked me, but they didn't look like normal gryphons… They had falcon heads…"

I didn't say anything and he looked at me, finally realizing that I was pissed.

"What happened to you?"

"I met someone."

"And"

"And she told me some stuff. About you, and Chiron. Anything you want to come clean about?"

My voice was frosty again, but I could feel it crack. I was angry and at the same time… sad. I was supposed to be able to trust Nico!

"I don't know what…"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!", I bellowed and the lights in the room faded until we were sitting in the dark. Outside the sun was still shining, but in here it was dark as night. I took a deep breath to calm myself and the shadows faded away, leaving Nico looking at me in surprise. His face changed and suddenly he looked very tired.

A part of me wanted to reach over and stroke his face, make the pain on it go away, heal his wounds and forgive him for everything, but I'd just given up my chance at Atlantis for him. I deserved some honesty.

"When you told me about your plan to go find the Silver City… I was worried. So I told Chiron. I told him that you were going to go find it and that I didn't think I could stop you, so he told me to go along, to keep you safe. "

To keep me safe and to keep me from finding it.

"The city Chiron had spoken off Kyra, it's not a good place! If Atlantis is indeed the Silver City then it needs to stay hidden… It's a bad place! And you need to stay away from it. For your own sake."

I felt frozen, unable to move, his words swirling in my head. The entire situation felt surreal, fake, as if I was stuck in a dream and about to wake up. I couldn't believe it. He'd never been on my side, not once.

I could see the pain in Nico's eyes, his hand reaching out to me, but not daring to touch me. I could tell that he was sorry and that he thought he was doing the right thing, but I didn't care. I'd given up everything for someone who didn't believe in me, someone who betrayed me.

"I love you Kyra."

I snapped.

"You love me?", my voice was deadly calm and my green eyes stormy and wild. How could he dare to say he loved me after admitting that what he'd done?

"You don't love me Nico. You don't even know me. I should have left you to die in that cavern."

Those were my last words before I shadow travelled away, catching one last glimpse of the hurt expression on his face.