The road home was considerably bumpier, than when they traveled to Ogygia.

At first it had been smooth sailing. (Hermione was still sitting stiff as a board), but then out of the blue, they were attacked by two storm spirits. Hermione had forgotten about the protective enchantments.

The spirits came charging at them out of nowhere. One of them landed right in front of Leo.

Leo, who was normally easy-going and happy, obviously took great offence. He scowled at the spirit, who grinned in return.

"Dylan" Leo growled

"Little Leo!" The spirit said cheerfully. "I see you're not as dead as I'd heard you were."

"I died, now I'm better, as you see."

"Hey, Dylan! S'up" Percy smirked from his seat, and gave Dylan a mock salute. "How've you been since your last trip to the ocean?"

The wind spirit sneered at Percy "You little-"

The other wind spirit had moved behind them, and was now floating next to Festus, his hand crackling with electricity, stretched out threateningly towards the dragon.

"Bronze is a metal, it can be used as a conductor, can't it?"

Hermione was fighting back a smirk, and instead decided to try out her acting.

She painted her face in a horrified look, which wasn't that hard, considering their altitude, and exclaimed "Please don't! What do you want?"

Leo turned around, looking like he was about to give her a lecture on the conductivity of celestial bronze. She gave him a hard stare, hoping he would take the hint.

"Um, yeah! What do you want?"

"What we want, is the location of Camp Jupiter." Dylan snarled. "It has been hidden, so not even the gods can find it!"

Now, Hermione couldn't help but smirk. She was very proud of her handiwork, and proud of Reyna, who was a great secret keeper.

"Now, what would you want with information like that?" She asked.

"We are back working for Zeus! As we should be!" The unnamed storm spirit yelled, and grabbed Festus with his sparking hand.

Nothing happened. Both spirits' eyes widened comically.

"NOOO!" Dylan screamed.

Hermione grabbed her hairpin and twisted it into her beloved sword. She forgot all about her fear of heights, as she and Nico slashed and stabbed at the storm spirit, that had been sorely disappointed. He still tried to blast them with bouts of electricity.

Percy was trying to take down Dylan, as Leo protected Festus. Leo was the one who had the last laugh though.

Dylan was floating right in front of them, and had summoned a tornado, which he stood in the middle of. He was about to charge at them, when Leo sent a huge ball of fire towards him.

All the oxygen Dylan had stored inside him, exploded in a huge inferno. Unfortunately, Festus went straight through that inferno.

Leo went unscathed, because – Leo. Percy managed to raise a shield of water, but it wasn't enough to cover Nico and Hermione, who were caught by surprise. Hermione tried to duck, but lost her balance. For a split second, she thought she was going to fall to her death, but her left foot was caught in the stirrup, Leo had installed.

White hot pain shot up through her leg, as she felt her knee twisting out of its joint. She heard Nico calling out in pain, as he was hit by the wave of fire, but she couldn't see him.

She felt someone grabbing at her injured leg, and her vision started to darken around the edges. The pain was overwhelming. That, and the panic of hanging upside down miles up in the air, really didn't help her fear of heights.

She felt herself being pulled up, and she finally passed out due to the pain.

…

Will was in the living room, when he heard the crash of Festus landing hard. He heard a cry for help in the distance, and sprinted outside, where saw Leo supporting Nico, who looked badly burned, and Percy struggling to carry Hermione, who had passed out. Her left leg was hanging in an unnatural angle.

Crap.

He ran over to Percy, and helped him support Hermione, so they were carrying her between them. As soon as he touched her, he felt her pain. Her leg was damaged badly. Several ligaments were torn, and fractures to the tibia. He needed to get the leg stabilized quickly, before the swelling took over. Either that, or have his father help him. Unfortunately, no one had seen either Apollo or Rachel for a while.

Awkward.

He and Percy carried Hermione into the room in the guest wing, she and Nico had occupied. They laid her on the bed, and Leo followed, depositing Nico on a chair.

Nico had minor burns on his arms and face, and Will tossed him a piece of ambrosia.

"Thanks man."

"No prob. Can you help me here?" He gestured to the leg, and Nico drew his knife, cutting up her pant leg.

The two of them set to work in silence, but with a smooth efficiency, that can only come with working together for years. Nico made bandages ready, and Will set the leg in place, pushing a bit of healing magic, to help with the fracture.

When they were done, they both sat down in chairs, Will panting slightly from the exertion of the healing.

"You need a shower," he told Nico. "You stink like barbecue."

Nico complied, leaving Will in the chair, to think. He had felt something weird, when he tried to assess her injuries. Her left arm wasn't quite normal. It was like a cut, but not like any cut, he had ever seen or felt before. He stood up to examine it, and was just about to push up her sleeve, but was interrupted when she woke up.

When she woke up, it wasn't slowly. It was with a gasping breath, and sitting up so fast, she accidentally head-butted him.

"Ow! What was that for?" He exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry." She apologized.

Will chuckled through his nosebleed.

"Don't worry about it. I stabilized your leg, and wrapped it up as best as I could. I couldn't save your pants though. Had to cut them to get to the injury" He said sheepishly and gestured to her leg, where her pants were torn, almost to her hip.

She smirked, and waved her hand over her leg and said "Reparo"

Will watched wide eyed, as he saw the fabric of her pants, weaving itself together.

"Um… Anyway. My dad's here, and we should probably get to the meeting."

Hermione grabbed his hand, and looked at him, worry evident in her eyes.

"It can wait a moment. How are you feeling?" She asked gently.

Will plopped down on the bed next to her.

"It's been hard. He's still locked up, but I haven't really been home. Just for extra clothes and scrubs and stuff"

"That's understandable. Can't you just stay here?" She asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. I might. Annabeth says she plans on adding another wing anyway."

She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

Nico cleared his throat from the doorway, where he stood, watching them with an amused smirk, his hair still damp from his shower.

"Morning Princess. Let's get to the meeting. The others are in the dining room."

She and Will stood up slowly, and when Nico went to help her, she pushed both boys out of the way, refusing their help.

She walked along, with a heavy limp, Nico walking right behind her, ready to catch her stubborn ass.

"You know, you look cute, when you walk like a pirate" He said with a dry smirk.

"Oh, shove it, Di Angelo." She growled.

Will looked between them, melancholically. It had been easier seeing them interact, when he had someone of his own. He wondered if this was what Nico felt, when he had just gotten together with Joseph. It was strange though, because he didn't feel so much as a third wheel as he had expected. So much for small favors.

When they entered the dining room, Will noticed Apollo nodding to himself, as if he had been right about something.

Hermione sat down in front of Apollo, looking at him calculatingly. Will sat down on her left side, and Nico on her right.

"Did they fill you in?" She asked.

Apollo lifted his eyebrows at her boldness. "You're powerful" He remarked.

Hermione leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her defensively, arching her own eyebrows, waiting for a proper answer.

"Yes, Rachel gave me uh – a general idea."

Will was cringing internally at the pink hue that spread on his father's cheeks.

Hermione looked equally unimpressed. "So, you understand, what we're trying to do?"

"I understand the what, and the why. I'm having a bit of a problem with the where, the when and the how." Apollo grumbled.

Hermione sighed. "Well, we want to make Zeus mortal, just as he did to you. Not necessarily as a punishment, but at least to give him some perspective."

"But then how do you plan on doing this?"

"Not just us. You too, we need you."

"Me?" Apollo's eyes bugged out. Apparently, Rachel had neglected to tell him that part.

"No. No way. This is crazy, I can't do that, I'm not powerful enough"

"I know" Hermione said gently, and put her hand on Apollo's "That's why we're doing it together"

Apollo's eyes narrowed again, when he felt the power coursing in Hermione's veins.

"But then, hypothetically, if we make him mortal, what about Olympus? Is this because you want your father on the throne?" He accused. "Don't think I can't feel the power of Poseidon. There's something else, but that is definitely Poseidon!"

"No. We don't want Poseidon on the throne. It belongs to Zeus, but at the moment he is too paranoid to rule properly. We do need a stand in though." Nico interrupted.

"And who did you have in mind? Who would want the throne, only to have to give it back again?" Apollo countered.

"You." Will bit his lip, looking at his dad.

Apollo turned his head to look at his son.

"Me?" He asked bewildered.

"Yes, you. You wouldn't want that responsibility in the long run" Percy added, smirking. The other demigods around the table nodded determinately.

Apollo sighed. "Alright. I'll do it. Tell me the plan."

…

After filling Apollo in, they were all exhausted.

"I need a cup of tea" Hermione mused out loud, making Leo smirk.

"You're so British, Milkshake"

She stood up, and Will wanted to ask her to bring the tray of snacks he had prepared earlier. He grabbed her left arm, to get her attention, but was hit with a sudden pain, that shot down his own arm.

He felt like acid was running through his veins, entering through his hand, that was grabbing Hermione's left underarm. He tried letting go, but found that he couldn't.

He cried out, and looked around at concerned faces, of his father and the other demigods. Especially Hermione looked terrified. His muscles started cramping, starting from his arm, moving down his entire body.

"WILL!" He heard Hermione screaming. He felt hands lowering him from the chair to the floor, but it seemed so far away, as if it wasn't his body. The only thing he felt was pain, the only thing he saw, was the terrified eyes of Hermione.

"WILL!" She screamed again, but it seemed further and further away. He felt his body go limp and heavy, as he slowly slid into unconsciousness.