A/N: Sorry this took so long guys! Dudes. Your reviews are so wicked awesome. Okay, school starts in like one week so I'm making the most of my last days of freedom. I'll try posting one or two more chapters this week. Keyword: TRY. But hey, if you guys keep reviewing, I won't have a choice!

Also, this chapter goes out to: iBubble and My-Toxic-Wings.

Tumblr, anyone? I'm pursuitofdorkyness. Okay, now...ENJOY!

P.S. GLEE FINALE IS THIS WEEK. OHMYGOSH. OHMYGOSH.

Percy

I looked around my cabin, sighing. I'd been on quests before. But never anything like this. When Max showed us her wings, I almost fainted. I didn't though. I still had my dignity, after all. Besides, being a demigod, I was used to bombs (figuratively and literally) being dropped on me.

"Going to miss you," Tyson sniffled.

I smiled at him. "Aww, come on, Tyson. You'll be fine." I hugged my brother and stepped back. Annabeth hugged him too.

"Take care," he said, waving at us as we left the cabin.

"You all packed?" Annabeth asked. I could see her Yankees cap tucked into her pocket. I had Riptide in the pocket of my bag.

"Yeah, I think so."

I smiled briefly at her as we made our way back towards Half-blood hill. It was around eleven in the evening. There were only a few campers awake. We passed by the forest and I saw Grover hugging Juniper.

I waved at him. We had to go. We had to leave before any of the other campers woke up. Chiron said that our quest wasn't going to be 'publicized'. We couldn't afford to make the other campers worry.

When we reached the hill, the Flock was waiting.

"God, what took you so long?" Max asked. She was standing at the bottom of the hill with her arms crossed.

I arched a brow. "That was like, five minutes."

"Whatever."

"So," Fang said, suddenly appearing at Max's side. What the heck? He wasn't there a second ago.

"You'll get used to it," Angel chimed in.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Gods, she was a freaky child. Her name was seriously misleading.

"That's what Max says," she replied.

"Stop doing that!" I said, waving my hands in the air. "It's freaky."

Everyone stared at me.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Anyway, I believe Fang was trying to say something. Fang?"

"Well," he said. "What's the plan?"

It took me a second to realize that all eyes were on me. "Umm..." I looked at Max. She was the leader, right?

"Don't look at me," she said, raising her hands in defense. "This is your turf. So...what's it gunna be, Sherlock?"

"Right," I said. "Uh...I don't exactly have a plan."

My face felt hot. For the first time in a long time, I felt dumb again. "Look, I know you must think that I'm important and all...because of whatever Jeb told you. But I'm not. I've got ADHD. I'm dyslexic. I could get us killed."

"Well, I can't say any better for myself," Max said. "I'm not really the planning type. I just...do, you know?"

Oh boy, did I know. ADHD, remember?

"Actually," Annabeth said. "I have something in mind."

I faced her and smiled. I should have known. A daughter of Athena always has a plan.

"So, let's hear it."

Max

We all watched Annabeth. She fidgeted with her hands and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She seemed nice... and smart. I just wasn't sure if she was tough enough.

"Well, there are three islands. And there are nine of us. If we go all together, it could take us months to dig out anything."

She paused, looking at each of us; waiting for someone to interrupt. When no one did, she continued.

"But if divide into groups of three, we can take one island each. And we could meet at a common spot after. It's still going to take some time, but it won't be as long. And besides, it wouldn't make sense for all of us to go together. We could ju—"

"Hold on!" I argued. "We're not splitting up." My tone was firm. And my decision was final. I was never splitting up my Flock again. "There is no way I'm separating my Flock. If you want, we can take one island and you three can take another. Then we can just meet up at the last one."

"That's not really sensible," Annabeth countered. "The whole point of bringing us together – your Flock, me, Percy and Grover – was because we need each other. If you could have done this on your own, Jeb wouldn't have come to the Olympians about this."

I clenched my jaw. So Annabeth was stubborn? Well, guess what? I was stubborn too.

I opened my mouth to argue, but Fang interrupted me. "How were you thinking of dividing us?"

I gaped at him. What the Fang? Since when did he talk?

He ignored me, his eyes focused on Annabeth.

"Well," she said, looking at each of us. "We need one of us in each group so I thought, Percy, Fang and Nudge in one group; Max, Angel and I in another; and then Iggy, Gazzy and Grover."

"Wow," Iggy said. "Congrats on memorizing all our names."

I rolled my eyes. Annabeth looked hopeful. I almost felt bad for her. "No," I said.

Annabeth looked at Percy for help. He shrugged. "We can't force them to do anything."

"I think it's a good idea."

Okay. Seriously. What is up with Fang?

"What?" I asked.

Fang shrugged. "It makes sense, Max."

"Who are you and what have you done with Fang?"

He gave me a heart-melting half-smile. I would have agreed right then, but I still had my dignity to uphold. "What if something bad happens to one of us? How will the others know?" I had to know. I couldn't stand the thought of one of my family getting hurt.

"Ahh," Annabeth smiled. "Fang, do you have a laptop?"

Okay, random question much?

"Uh...yeah, he does," I answered. "Why?"

"I have one too. I know it sounds too easy but...we could just...chat. Every night we could give each other updates."

"Umm, Annabeth," Grover said. "We'll be on possibly deserted islands. Don't you think that sounds a bit far-fetched?"

"Actually," Nudge said. "Our laptop gets internet access anywhere."

Grover blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, we stole it."

"Sounds solid," Fang said.

"Wait," I interrupted, realizing something. "What about Iggy's group? How are we supposed to know if anything happens to them?"

"Easy," Percy said. "See, Grover and I have this umm...connection. It's called an empathy link. We can read each other's thoughts and umm...feel emotions...and stuff."

Well, did you hear that? What's next? They can spew out Spidey powers using their hands? I wouldn't be surprised.

This is serious, Max.

I get that. But if you haven't realized by now, humor is my coping mechanism.

The Voice didn't respond and I shook my head. "How are we going to get there? We can fly. What about you guys?"

"I got this," Percy said. He whistled and we waited for something to happen.

...And then there was an awkward silence.

And then suddenly, three flying horses landed right in front of us. It was insane. But I'd seen weirder things. Specifically being a group of radioactively mutated fish-things.

Percy grinned at them. "Everyone, this is Blackjack...and his friends."

We all stared. It was pretty dang awesome, I'll admit. But then the truth dawned on us.

"Is this it, then?" Nudge asked. She bit her lip.

"I guess so."

"When will we see each other again?"

I frowned. "I don't know," I said, giving her an encouraging smile.

The rest of the Flock assembled in front of me and we formed a circle. "Okay, good luck guys. Try not to die."

We stacked fists. My heart was aching.

I felt like crying. The last time we'd been apart, I almost died. Fang pulled me away from the others.

"Be careful," he said, cupping my face.

I laughed. "Ditto."

He leaned in and kissed me. I felt dizzy. I wanted time to just freeze right then. I wanted to stay in my little bubble of happiness. How many fourteen-year-olds have to worry about saving the world, anyway? Life really is a jerk sometimes.

Gazzy cleared his throat. "If you two are done eating each other's faces off, we kind of have a mission."

My cheeks flushed and I let go of Fang's hand.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Percy giving Annabeth a hug. He ran his fingers through her hair before turning away. I knew there was something about them. When I reached her, she was already on her flying horse.

"Ready?" Annabeth asked.

I sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

I looked at Angel. "I'm okay," she said.

Then I looked at the rest of my Flock: Fang was talking to Percy, looking at the map they'd been given. Nudge was petting Percy's horse. Iggy and Gazzy were teaching Grover some sort of handshake. I smiled. For a second, I saw my Flock dead. In my mind. It was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. I needed some sort of security. A promise. And then inspiration struck.

I'm not a believer in God. I've only prayed once in my life. But this time, I asked him – God – to take care of my family; including my mom and Ella. Then I prayed for Percy, Annabeth and Grover. Then, surprising myself, I prayed for Jeb. I don't know why. I did it on impulse. He seemed like the kind of guy who needed guidance in his life.

Once we were all prepared, I took a deep breath. "Okay guys, up and away."

Jeb watched the group leave. He hadn't expected them to split up. But it wasn't like it mattered anyway. It wouldn't make a difference.

The assistant made a grunting sound and he nodded towards the door. Jeb stood up and followed him. The language barrier was a problem. Ancient Greek was not part of Jeb's forte.

He was led into a dark room. There was a chair in the center. Jeb felt shivers run up and down his spine. He knew who was in the seat. Or rather, what was in the seat. It wasn't human. Not anymore. The war had left him...damaged.

"Well?" His voice was raspy and soft.

Jeb cleared his throat. "Everything is going according to plan."

"Good."

When Jeb had left, He was alone. The pain was unbearable. He was practically mortal. Their defeat had led to his downfall. Rejoining Kronos had been a gamble. He had known that. But he'd never counted on them losing the battle. Now he was paying for it all. He was in hell. But he would have to endure. Because soon, he would come back to life. And he would never step down again.

A/N2: Hey y'all! Okay. It's kind of short and it's mostly a filler chapter. But HEY! That last part was intense, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight? Oooh! Ahh! Right. Now, see that little button down there? No, I'm not forcing you to review, but I'd REALLY appreciate it if you did. :)

Songs you ought to listen to: Drops of Jupiter, Hey Soul Sister (both by Train); Loose Lips (by Kimya Dawson).