In all honesty, this chapter wasn't going to exist, but DragonWriter357 mentioned it in a review and well, the idea grew on me rather quickly. So I send a special thanks to her. So, without any further delay, here you go. Hope you enjoy it.

A Small Reunion

Percy-POV

Percy grunted as he was slammed backwards by a wall of shadows. Stumbling, he only just managed to block Athena's blow with Riptide, but the force of it sent him falling backwards. Knowing if he fell to the ground he'd be done for, Percy used his momentum from falling to tuck into a backwards roll and was able to come to his feet quickly. Athena was again right in front of him, but this time he struck out at her, Riptide clashing against her sword and glancing off of it. He used the momentum from her block to spin around and smash his sword into her shield, using the wind to help him gain momentum. The blow dented Athena's shield and caused it to smash against the goddess's side. She yelped in pain and Percy took the split second to move the earth beneath her feet while simultaneously blasting her with a gust of wind, sending her flying back.

He didn't have any time to celebrate though as he turned just in time to see Hades beside him, his stygian iron sword already in motion towards Percy. Realizing there was no time to block the blow, Percy just threw his weight at Hades, driving his shoulder into the lord of the dead's stomach. He heard Hades grunt in surprise, and the god's blow stopped in midair as he stumbled back a few steps holding on to his stomach. Percy didn't give him a chance to recover though, attacking relentlessly with Riptide. Hades managed to block the first strike, knocking the sword in the opposite direction, but Percy had expected that. Without stopping, he reversed his strike, using the momentum from Hades block to speed his attack with little effort on his part. Again Hades was able to block, but Percy used it as a distraction and let his left elbow slide in through Hades' guard, smashing the god's nose. He heard a sickening crunch and golden ichor spilled down Hades' face.

Before Percy could incapacitate the god, his mind screamed at him that he was in danger, so Percy expertly spun Riptide in a circle behind his back. He felt his own blade crash against another, and he quickly flexed his wrist, deflecting the blow away from him. Looking at the recovering Hades and knowing that either Athena or Rhea, possibly both, were behind him Percy made a daring move. He jumped at Hades, forcing the ground beneath him to push him with a great deal of force. Percy's knee smashed into Hades' already broken nose, but this time with so much force that Percy felt the god go limp from unconsciousness. Percy allowed his free hand to take Hades' sword, and then Percy pushed off of Hades falling body, manipulating the wind to give him more momentum and turn him around. He saw both Athena and Rhea there, and he allowed himself a slight smile at the look of shock on both of their faces as he brought both swords down at them.

Nico-POV

It had been a week since Hades had dismissed Nico from his palace when Athena had unexpectedly visited. Nico had been back several times, but his father was never in his palace, or if he was he was always sure to have everyone away from him. Alecto had always found him and told him his father wished not to be bothered. Nico found it strange, his father normally shared everything with him. Even during the war with Gaea, Nico was one of the few that knew about both camps, he was also one of the few who knew where both Percy and Jason had been. He didn't like being kept in the dark now.

That was why he was in the underworld now, heading to his father's palace. He had decided that he was going to see Hades today, one way or another. He stopped suddenly when he recognized a sound, the clashing of metal on metal. He was already inside the palace grounds, so he knew there shouldn't be anything here other than Persephone, his father, the furies, or servants. There was definitely no reason for fighting to be going on. Worried, Nico began running towards the sounds. He could here them clearly now, and it sounded like there was a war going on. When the source of the sounds finally came into his view, Nico stopped in his tracks, shocked at what he saw.

Athena and another woman, some deity Nico was sure he'd seen on Olympus before but couldn't recognize, were locked in a battle against a hooded figure. Both Athena and the other woman wore armor and were armed with a sword and shield. The hooded figure only had a celestial bronze sword, but the speed and ferocity he was fighting with showed he was perfectly capable of defending himself, regardless of the fact that he was unarmored. What shocked Nico the most was that the man was beating the two deities. He kicked one away from him before spinning to face Athena. Before he could strike at her though, a wall of shadows slammed into the man, causing him to fall back. That was the first moment Nico was aware that his father, dressed in his battle armor and wielding his sword, was present in the fight. Hades seemed to be recovering, he had several cuts, but he looked fine other than that. But Nico was still bothered by the fact that Hades had wounds. Anyone who could take on three deities at once, and wound someone as powerful as Hades was someone that was a very dangerous opponent. He turned to look back at the hooded figure that was now fighting Athena one on one. The figure somehow turned a fall into a controlled roll and was now pushing Athena back. Nico could see Hades running towards the two, but before he could get there the hooded figure lashed out with enough force to dent Athena's shield and cause her arm to buckle, causing the shield to smash into her side. The goddess yelped in pain, and what happened next, Nico didn't understand. The hooded figure slid his foot against the ground and the earth beneath Athena seemed to move, causing Athena's legs to come out from under her. But then, the hooded man (Nico was pretty sure it was a man) then threw his hand forward and a gust of air threw Athena across the courtyard.

Nico felt sweat gathering on his forehead at the sight of the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy getting tossed through the air with what seemed like such little effort. But as he turned back to the hooded man, he felt a smile grace his lips. His father was already delivering an overhand strike that the man wouldn't be able to block against, there wasn't enough time for him to. But Nico's smile left almost as soon as it was there as he watched the man strike Hades in the stomach with his shoulder, causing Hades enough pain that the overhand strike was lost and instead Hades was stumbling backwards. Before his father could recover, the man was striking at Hades. The god was able to deflect the first blow, but the man merely reversed the strike, losing no momentum and coming at Hades other side. Again, Hades managed to block, this time the man allowed one of his arms to come up through an opening and even from the distance he was at, Nico heard the audible crunch of the god's nose breaking.

Nico's breath caught as he watched the man draw his sword back, preparing to take his father out of the fight for good when Athena and the other woman appeared right behind the man, Athena already thrusting at him with her sword. Nico couldn't comprehend how the man managed to know the attack was coming, but the man simply reversed his grip on his sword and spun it behind his back, catching Athena's blow and flicking his wrist to throw it away from him and causing the goddess to lose her balance for a moment.

The next few seconds went by so fast that Nico barely had time to register what happened. Hades, Athena, and the other woman had the hooded man surrounded, but then the ground seemed to throw the man towards Hades so fast that the god couldn't react. The man's knee made contact with Hades' face and Nico saw his father's body go limp. Without missing a beat and before Hades could hit the ground, the man pulled Hades stygian iron sword into his own hand, pushed off against Hades body and spun in midair to face Athena and the other woman. The fight after was quick. The man was fighting with the air and the ground, keeping the women off balance while pressing them both with his two swords. The other woman was the first to go down, receiving a nasty blow to her head from the hilt of one of the swords. Athena on her own was doomed, Nico knew, but his feet were rooted in place from the shock of what he was seeing. In a moment, Athena was knocked back and away from the man, but instead of moving in to attack the man raised his swords and lightning arced from them both, sending two bolts of electricity that took Athena in the chest, blowing up and sending Athena sliding across the ground unconscious.

Nico no longer knew what to think. Three deities, one he didn't know much about, one being a war goddess, and the other Hades, one of the big three and Nico's own father, lay defeated at this man's feet. The man who had manipulated the ground beneath him, the air around him, and yet was able to attack with lighting as well, Nico didn't understand. But for the first time, Nico also noticed that them man wasn't as invincible as he seemed. Nico saw how the man's body was heaving, showing that he was out of breath, his swords were hanging loosely in his hands. Nico realized this was his only chance to save the deities from this man.

Nico pulled his own sword free and summoned up six undead soldiers from the ground beneath the man. The man was instantly surrounded and he seemed confused. Then Nico charged and willed the soldiers to do the same.

Percy-POV

Having just finished his battle against Hades, Rhea, and Athena, Percy was exhausted. It had taken every bit of talent and power he had to beat the three of them and Percy wasn't naïve enough to ignore the fact that they hadn't been trying to kill him and that if they had it could've made a difference. But the moment the undead rose around him, Percy was confused. As the first one struck out, Percy dodged out of the way but he immediately had to raise Riptide up to block. He struck out with Hades sword and the undead crumpled into nothing as the sword cleaved it in half. Percy, now back in battle mode was about to destroy his new enemies when he felt a living presence behind him. He managed to destroy another undead with Riptide while he used Hades sword to block whatever blow the being behind him had tried to throw. He saw the black tip of another stygian iron sword slide past him as he deflected it away from his back. Then his mind allowed everything to click into place. The undead, in the underworld, and a stygian iron sword, the person was Nico.

Percy sighed with regret as he realized this was a problem no one had expected. As carefully as he could, Percy stepped down and backwards till he felt his shoulders hit Nico's lower stomach, then he used the Earth to propel himself up causing Nico to go flying backwards. Percy turned and used the air to cushion his cousin's fall before he turned and destroyed the remaining four undead. He turned back towards Nico and found himself under attack again.

Percy may have been tired from his earlier training battle, but he was used to fighting gods now. Nico was strong and one of the most powerful demigods alive, Percy knew that, but even still Nico wasn't much of a threat to him. He blocked Nico's blows with relative ease. His problem was that he didn't want to hurt Nico, but he didn't want to reveal himself either. After a few minutes, Nico was so exhausted from his constant attacking that when Percy blocked another blow, Nico actually stumbled and nearly fell. But Nico got back up and prepared to strike again.

Realizing that he wasn't going to stop, Percy sighed, making a decision. He dropped Hades sword and used both hands on Riptide, swinging and catching Nico's strike and spinning the blade out of the boy's hands, sending the sword flying away from him. Before Nico could make a move Percy pulled his hood down and said, "Nico, stop."

Nico-POV

Nico's brain refused to work for a moment. Percy Jackson, the man who had been supposed dead for three years stood right in front of him very much alive. Actually, he seemed better than he used to be considering the unconscious deities that lay on the ground behind him.

Finally after a small period of silence, Nico asked, "You're alive?"

Percy, despite looking grim and tired, managed to laugh. "Yeah, I'm alive, or at least what passes for living for me these days." Nico watched as Percy recapped Riptide and returned the sword to his pocket. Percy then turned and surveyed the fallen deities surrounding him. "They should be getting back up in a few moments. I'm sure they can explain better than-"

Nico interrupted Percy by punching him in the jaw. Unfortunately for Nico, the only person it caused any amount of pain was him. He held his wrist gingerly, feeling it throb.

"Athena and Rhea decided it was best for me to bathe in Styx again, I have the curse of Achilles once more." Percy explained. Nico just stared at him, trying to show his anger through a look since he couldn't hurt Percy. "I know, you're angry. I know you have questions. I can explain eve-"

"You left, Annabeth." Nico spat. Immediately, Nico regretted it because Percy's face morphed into one of complete and utter sadness. Percy simply looked away, unable to even look at Nico. Still curious, Nico continued in a much calmer tone, "You left all us, Percy, all your friends. We burned your shroud. No one knew what to do…why?"

Percy was quiet for a moment before he replied, "It was the only way to keep everyone I care about safe, and it was supposedly the best shot we had at winning." Nico's face went to one of confusion, but still looking away from him, Percy didn't notice and continued, "Rhea told me I would be the first target they sought to eliminate, and that they'd use Annabeth or any of my other friends to get to me…so I made a decision. With Rhea's help, I was able to fake my own death, well enough that even Thantanos and your father were unaware of any difference." Percy finally turned to look back at Nico, "I promise you, Nico, I didn't want to leave. Not when everything looked like it was going to be all right. But there was no way I was going to let anything happen to the people I care about most…That's why I left."

Nico stared into Percy's eyes for a moment longer, realizing that Percy was telling the truth. But that made Nico get even more unsettled because there was something that Percy was hiding from and preparing to fight. "You said something was going to target you…what exactly was it, Perce?"

"Titans, monsters, and primordial gods." Hades said, catching Nico by surprise as the boy quickly turned to face his father. "And only Chaos knows what else they'll throw at us."

Nico looked from his father back to Percy. Both held serious looks on their faces telling Nico that the threat was very serious. Before Nico could say anything though, Percy said, "Seeing as you know about all of this, I suppose we could use your help." Hades nodded in agreement and Nico turned back to Percy. "C'mon, lets try and wake up Rhea and Athena, they'll help explain everything to you."

Annabeth-POV

"You agreed to marry him…and then a few hours later you gave the ring back to him?" Piper asked, trying to clarify. It had been a week since Annabeth had accepted Chance's proposal and also gave the ring back to him in the same night.

Annabeth nodded, sheepishly. "He said he understood. But Piper he wants to just wait till I'm ready, then he wants to try again."

Piper seemed to think for a moment. She finally said, "Well that's sweet of him, and it shows he really does love you, Annabeth." Annabeth was about to speak up when Piper cut her off and continued, "But I know this isn't about whether or not he really loves you. You know he does. The problem is you don't love him…or at least you can't bring yourself to love him."

"I can't let go of Percy." Annabeth said, shocking Piper. Annabeth understood why, Percy's name had always been taboo with all of their friends anymore; even Percy's family had a hard time saying it. But Annabeth had grown tired of trying to bury his name. She missed him, and she missed hearing his name.

Piper sat in stunned silence for a moment longer, but finally she said, "Percy…Annabeth, Percy's dead. He would want you to move on. He wouldn't want you to be alone for-"

"Jason would want you to move on too, but if it had been him would you be able to just move on?"

"Annabeth it's been three years."

"And I'm not ready to move on yet, Pipes. I wanted to talk to you about it because I knew you would get it. Percy and I-"

"I do understand, Annabeth." Piper interrupted, suddenly seeming very interested in her shoes. "And in all honesty, as much as I like Chance, he's no Percy. We all know that. Percy and I were never really close, but he and Jason were, and really everyone I know was either close to him, or had more respect for him than they did for the gods most the time. The only reason I support you being with Chance as much as I do is because I want to see you happy, you're my best friend, Annabeth. But if you're not ready, then I support you in your decision in not marrying Chance."

Annabeth looked at Piper, trying her best to show how thankful she was for her friend's acceptance.

"Who else did you tell about getting married?" Piper asked. "Hopefully you don't have a whole lot of people to explain to."

"You were the only one I told, actually. I was going to tell my dad the next morning, but by then I didn't have any news to tell…" Annabeth replied.

"What about your mom? I figured you would have at least told her, prayed or something." Piper said confused.

Annabeth let out a dry laugh. "I barely talk to my mom anymore…she's always gone, doing something. I've tried talking to her, but in all honesty ever since Chance and I started dating she became even more distant from me."

"I'm sorry…I didn't know you guys had been having problems." Piper said.

"We haven't, really. My mom still cares, she checks up on me regularly, but its just not in person per say. Like I said, she's always gone. The majority of the time, even the Olympians aren't sure where she is." Annabeth said, dismissing Piper's apology.

Suddenly, Piper's phone lit up, showing Jason's name with several emoji's trailing behind it. Annabeth couldn't help but to laugh as Piper hurriedly pulled the phone away from Annabeth's eyes and answered. After a few moments and some quick words, Piper hung up her call. She began to get up and then said, "C'mon, Jason said Thalia stopped by and that they decided to try and get everyone together to eat."

Annabeth looked guiltily at the ground. "They'll ask about Chance…"

"Tell him to come, its not like you guys can't just be friends for now. He said himself he's alright with that." Annabeth allowed herself a small laugh at Piper's solution, but she began to send Chance a message inviting him anyway. She didn't want to be rude to him after all. He was still one of her best friends.

Also, as a side note, I love hearing from readers. Maybe I need to do a better job on something or explain something better, or maybe you just would like something to be included in it. No matter what it is, I encourage you all to let me know. After all, I'm just writing this for fun and for practice, I'd love to make it as enjoyable as possible for you all.