Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare were sprawled out, huffing and puffing in a large, white cavern. The air was wet around them, almost hard to breathe, which made it worse for them after having run away from Kronos in his new body—Luke.

"I don't… understand…" Annabeth was still crying. "What… happened?"

Percy was tired of explaining what he had seen: Ethan Nakamura pledging his service, Luke sitting bolt upright from a position of death, Kronos speaking through him and wielding the dangerous scythe made from Luke's old sword. If everything wasn't so doomed and end-of-the-world, he would have laughed when Rachel Elizabeth Dare threw her plastic hairbrush at the titan. At least it had caused enough of a distraction for them to get away.

No… Percy figured Annabeth understood perfectly. She was a child of Athena after all. It was her heart that didn't understand. And seeing her like that broke Percy's. She needs to stop. He's not worth defending. He's evil. Nothing more. He's the vessel of Kronos himself! But Annabeth wouldn't hear it, and anytime they talked about Luke, they always ended up in an argument.

So the four of them just sat, breathing heavily, hoping that the titan could not follow them back through the Labyrinth.

Percy was the first to try to stand. He shined his flashlight around the place. The room looked like a natural cave, but the stone was white like marble.

That's why the red spot stood out so obviously. At first, he thought it was blood, but then his flashlight beam clarified it. He gulped. "No… please…" he murmured.

Annabeth looked, following the light beam. Her sobs got caught in her throat as she realized the same thing Percy did.

Rachel couldn't figure out what was so disheartening about a red Rasta cap, but she didn't dare to ask.

Percy walked up to it and picked it up. After everything… all of this… from Daedalus in the workshop to facing Kronos himself… he at least held out hope that his brother and Grover were still alive. But that was looking less likely now.

Nico stood. "We have to get back to the camp," he said.

Annabeth got up, shaking her head. "No, wait… We have to find them…"

"There isn't any time!"

"We have to!"

Nico silenced. There was something about the desperate, tear-stained face of Annabeth that caught even him off-guard.

"They could be dust…" Percy mumbled.

"Percy, do you really think that?" Annabeth was beside him now. She pointed at the ground. The mushy wet dirt made it more than possible to track anything. There were two sets of footprints: one large, and one like small hooves.

"We have to follow them!" Percy perked up. "It looks recent!"

Rachel shrugged, "Alright, I guess I get a break from leading the way."

.

I open my eyes slowly. Tyson's big teary eye is above me, but to my surprise, Percy and Annabeth are there, too.

"Grover!" Percy cries, clearly relieved.

"Thank the gods!" Annabeth drops down and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You alright?"

"How did you—?" I can't finish my sentence. I feel dizzy again.

"When we found your cap, we feared the worst," Percy holds out my cap. I slowly sit up and take it. Not only are Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson there, but Nico di Angelo and a red-headed girl are watching, too.

"What…"

"Tyson told us you took out the Minotaur! …and a giant snake!" Percy says. "Way to go, buddy!"

I barely remember any of that. But I had felt so powerful… "Pan!" I leap to my feet. "Pan is here! He's here!" I turn circles and get myself dizzy again.

"I think you want to go that way," the redhead points.

"Huh?"

Percy steadies me, "G, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She's a clear-sighted mortal."

"She's been helping us find our way through the Labyrinth," Annabeth clarified.

"And it seems she can help us find our way to Pan."

"Lead the way, Grover," Annabeth urges me, pushing me in the direction the mortal pointed.

I gulp. Will I really see Pan? Finally, after all these years… Was I going to be the one to find him? My nervousness turns quickly to excitement, and I sprint ahead.

Soon, I come upon a chamber unlike any other part of this underground maze. A breeze, faint as a whisper, ruffles my hair. I lead my friends up dirt and clay stairs. We are no longer inside the Labyrinth. We are out of the underground. And there, before me, is an assortment of animals, each an extinct species. And at their center…

"Lord Pan!" I whisper, dropping to my knee.

My friends catch up behind me and take a breath, staring in wonder at the Wild god.

"Your search is over," the god speaks. "I have waited to meet a satyr worthy of hearing what I must say, worthy of gaining what I must impart, worthy of knowing what must be done. It appears I've chosen the right satyr."

I bow my head and close my eyes. "Tell me, Lord Pan… what is your wish?"

He answers, "Two thousand years ago, the call was made that I was dead. And yet for two thousand years, I was sought. It was my time, but I have been unable to leave this world behind me, because my followers, my satyrs, would not allow it. Grover Underwood, you must echo the call of years ago. I am fading now, and it is the job of the ones who still walk the earth to take up my spirit… the spirit of the Wild. Remake the Wild, children, for you cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do things for you." I look at him, and I see that he is beginning to fade. He looks each of us in the eye. "I give you that spirit. Take it… use it… Make the Wild thrive again…"

I can see a fog of his energy emanating from him, entering each of us as we watch the god fade. Then his gaze lingers on me. I listen to the last of his words.

"It is up to you now… Grover Underwood, my dear chosen satyr… my chosen heir… spread the news… and remake the Wild…"

He's gone.

I guess it wasn't exactly what I was expecting to happen when I found Pan. I don't really know what I thought would happen. Maybe I lead him by the hand out of this cavern and the Wild grows lush around us? I present him to the Council and their jaws drop? My entire purpose in life was finding him, and I suppose I never wondered what I'd do after I did.

But I don't have to. Pan has told me my last mission. I have a piece of him in me. All of us here do. I have a job to do. Pan may have faded, but the Wild lives on. It's my job to make sure of that.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "You alright, G?" Percy asks.

I turn to him. I feel like a new satyr. "Let's go! We've got a job to do!"

He smiles. "Yeah. We gotta get back to camp." Then, his emotions sour. There's so many running through him, they're hard to read.

He and Annabeth start through the next tunnel, back underground, Nico and Tyson close behind. I stay back to look at the last dwelling place of Pan one last time. All of the extinct species have fully faded with him, leaving the chamber completely empty.

The red-headed mortal stayed behind, too. She looks like she wants to say something. I can feel guilt and regret in her… anger and frustration. She can't meet my eyes.

"I'm sorry about Pan…" she whispers.

I try to meet her gaze.

"The Wild's damaged because of people like my dad… He's a land developer… It isn't fair that my family should be so wealthy when nature itself is dying…"

I faintly smile. "It's not your fault, you know. And it isn't your dad's fault either." She looks up at me, her face sullen. "Pan was dead long ago, and not because of the act of one man or even one god." I shrug. "I guess I always believed that Pan would be the last one of all of them to fade, because the spirit of the Wild is in everyone and everything."

She frowns and looks away.

"But that's just it. The Wild is still alive. It may be damaged, but it's still thriving. It is in everyone and everything. And Pan just put a piece of himself in each of us—including you, Rachel Dare. If you were truly an enemy of the Wild, do you think he would have done that?"

She looks me in the eyes again. I can sense her emotions becoming more positive.

"Come on, you've got a path to find."

She smiles and gives me a hug. "Thanks, Wild Child."

.

They had to leave Rachel behind before going to camp. The goodbye was awkward for Percy, Grover could sense it. He could also sense the unease from Annabeth. Looking between the two of them as they rode Blackjack and his crew, he was afraid to say anything. A lot had happened that day… and for the outside world, who knew how long it had really been?

But Kronos's army had Ariadne's string. They had Kronos himself. And when the questers came back to camp, they saw how much more they had—hundreds of monsters pouring out of Zeus's fist.

The questers flew right into the battle. Annabeth headed for the middle to call out strategy to the others with the rest of Athena's children as she fought with her dagger. Tyson started throwing anything he could get his hands on, which sometimes included some of the Hephaestus cabin's Greek fire. Nico raised actual skeletons to block the monsters from advancing further into the camp.

But Camp Half-Blood was losing.

More and more monsters swarmed them. Demigods and satyrs were being knocked to the side with barely any effort by giants, and just when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, Kampe herself flew out of the tunnel.

Tyson roared. "Get her! Get her! Do not be afraid of her!" he shouted.

But they were afraid. It was up to Percy and Annabeth to fight her on their own, and they didn't stand a chance. That was, until a dog the size of Kampe leapt out of Zeus's Fist. It was Mrs. O'Leary, with Daedalus and Briares right behind her!

The campers cheered. Morale was boosted, and they began to gain some ground.

That was, until fire broke out among the trees. Grover yelped as he noticed it coming close to a particular tree. "Juniper!" he shouted.

Percy was by his side in an instant, and the fire was quenched a moment later.

"Thank you, Percy!"

Percy winked. "Literally no problem, G." Not for a son of the sea god.

Grover smiled.

.

I think we're winning. I think we're actually winning! Kronos's army is being beaten back by our reinforcements from the Labyrinth.

Briares is throwing rocks with every one of his hundred hands. Tyson is laughing and cheering at the sight of it. Looks like his hero has redeemed himself a bit in his eyes.

Daedalus is making progress through the enemy with his sword, eventually coming beside Annabeth. They fight side-by-side for awhile, and Daedalus gives her his bag. She looks inside, her face a mix of delight and confusion. Then he says something, and she frowns, her emotions sudden in their shift. Then she nods. I think another hero has redeemed himself, but I can't quite read the situation enough.

"Fight them back into the Labyrinth!" Daedalus shouts. He wants them to retreat, not to be defeated. Child of Athena that he is, he probably has a plan.

That's when I hear Percy's cry.

I look up toward him and see him desperately trying to fight through a swarm of enemies to get to… "Chiron!" I gasp.

The old centaur is on the ground. I don't know what happened, but I don't want anything else to happen to him! The monsters are closing in… Percy can't get to him. I take a deep breath… and I shout.

I shout with all the power of Pan. I shout with a great and horrifying bellow. It's like the cacophony of a thousand trumpets playing out of tune. If Percy thought my pipe playing was bad, this sound puts it to shame. It's not a bleat or a scream. It's not a call for courage… but a call for fear. It's Panic, and it causes every enemy monster and demigod to run in terror back into the Labyrinth.

The quiet settles around us, and Percy and Annabeth stare at me. I blush and shrug. "I… don't know where that came from…"

"I do!" Juniper comes up from behind me and gives me a huge hug.

"Chiron!" I remind them.

Percy, Annabeth, Juniper, and I run up to the old teacher.

"Chiron…"

"Are you alright?" Percy asks, kneeling down to him.

"You need help!" Annabeth says, looking around for a member of the Apollo cabin.

"No," Chiron grunts. "There are others who need more immediate help than I do." He looks at me. "And besides, I would rather learn how you just did that."

I blush again. "Are you sure you're alright?" I ask him.

He smiles at me. "Thanks to you, it would seem, Grover."

.

There were a lot of losses on this quest. Luke had fused with Kronos somehow. Ethan Nakumura betrayed the camp, among other demigods. A god faded. Heroes had fallen in battle, including one of Dionysus's twin sons. And Daedalus, to make up for his choice to help Luke, had finally died—daring to face the judgement of Minos and Hades—so that the Labyrinth would crumble with the monsters inside. The quest seemed more a failure than a success.

Percy put an arm around Annabeth as they stared at the fire. Still, every quest member had survived, as well as Nico and Rachel. Annabeth had even received a laptop from Daedalus, his surviving work. She stood with the computer and whispered a goodnight to Percy, heading off to her cabin.

Before she reached the door, however, she ran into Juniper. "Um…" the tree girl started, "I'm sorry… for how I acted earlier… I was… worried about Grover."

Annabeth smiled at the girl, "I know. I was, too. Between his empathy link with Percy and his quest for Pan, I thought he would be dead in there… But… I guess I wasn't giving him enough credit."

"Thanks for looking out for him… You know, when I can't… and when Percy can't… and I guess now Tyson…"

Annabeth grinned again, "Grover is one of my best friends, Juniper. And I would sooner die than let anything happen to him… or you, for that matter." She crossed her arms over her laptop as she held it at her chest. "He wouldn't let me hear the end of it if anything happened to you on my watch, Juniper. He really likes you."

Juniper turned her deep shade of green and pushed her red hair behind her ear. "Oh… well…"

"How about this, Juniper… I'll promise to keep watching out for him as I always did, and we become friends instead of frenemies. Deal?"

Juniper smiled. To Annabeth's surprise, the dryad gave her a hug. "I love that I can call Grover's friends my friends too!"

"Of course you can, Juniper." Annabeth peeled her off. "Now… if you don't mind… I've got some research to do." She lifted the laptop. "See you around, Juniper!"

"Bye, Annabeth!" A pause, then another hug, causing Annabeth to almost drop the machine. "Thanks for helping Grover get back safely!"

She giggled as she watched the dryad skip back to her tree. When she turned again to approach her cabin, she found another, less welcome, visitor. "Queen Hera…" she mumbled.

Annabeth never liked Hera, and now, it was worse than ever. She spoke so dismissively about the losses they endured that Annabeth snapped. She said she didn't care that Hera guided Percy's arrow on the ranch, or that she led Percy safely to Calypso, or that she opened the path to get to Kronos and Luke… she didn't ask for Hera's help, and she didn't want it. "So next time," Annabeth growled, not looking the goddess in the eye, "thanks, but no thanks."

Hera left, deeply insulted. Annabeth wondered whether she had fallen to an emotional reaction, whether what she just did was wise… But she couldn't think about it now. She had to remember… her quest was a success.

Well, except for the fulfillment of that final line of the prophecy she was given:

And lose a love to worse than death.

Tears started in her eyes again. "Oh, Luke…" she whimpered. She entered her cabin, pushed the laptop aside, and curled up on her bed, crying herself to sleep.

.

At Percy's birthday party, I can't help but think of the Great Prophecy. The time is coming, if it really does refer to Percy. He's turning sixteen in a year, and I'm sure all Hades will break loose. But I'm determined to enjoy the party right now. I can't think about the Great Prophecy.

I can't even think of how the Council completely ignored the results of my quest. I'm lucky Mr. D was on my side. Otherwise, who knows where I'd be right now? I guess I never gave Mr. D that much credit. Chiron, I knew, would be on my side. But I guess our god in the absence of Pan is a good supporter, too. Unfortunately, the tied vote between believing me or banishing me actually disbanded the council altogether. Maybe it's for the best.

But like I said, I'm enjoying the party. I've never been to a birthday party before. And it's nice to meet Mr. Blowfish—excuse me, Blofis. I'm sitting with Tyson, who the poor man is still getting a little used to. Even Nico is here, eating his second piece of birthday cake. I'm pretty sure he came in here looking serious and talking about a way to defeat Kronos. But even he couldn't deny himself some fun at the party. Both Annabeth and Rachel are here, and I wonder if I should keep the two of them away from each other. They seem to take care of that themselves, though.

The last to arrive and the first to leave is Poseidon himself. Ms. Jackson certainly is a bit flustered upon seeing Percy's father, but she keeps her cool as she introduces him to Mr. Blofis, who also seems a bit overwhelmed. I mean, who wouldn't feel that way, comparing themselves to a literal god? Poseidon takes Percy to another room for some father-son talk that I'm sure has something to do with the fate of the world, then leaves a few minutes later, not wanting to overstay his welcome with the mortals.

Finally, Annabeth and I get to sit with Percy, who is holding a sand dollar his dad just gave him. "Any more progress on that laptop?" he asks Annabeth.

Annabeth shrugs, "Nothing of note."

"And what about you, Grover? How's the Council?"

Right, I didn't tell him yet. "Long story short… disbanded."

"What? Really? What does that mean for you?"

"It means I do what Pan told me to do. I spread the word and I spread the Wild. We all do. It's up to us now. We can't keep waiting for a god to fix everything."

"Still… It was incredible to see him," Annabeth says.

"Yeah…" I reply wistfully.

Nico passes us by for another scoop of ice cream. Percy smiles and shakes his head.

"So… when were you planning on telling us that he was Hades's son?" Annabeth says, a bit of an accusation in her voice.

Percy's mouth straightens out of its smile. "I… wasn't."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because too much drama has circled the Big Three. And Grover… your reaction when you found out. Not exactly what I want to do to my best friend. I thought everyone was better off not knowing. And Nico was better off if no one knew. The prophecy is making everyone go crazy when it comes to us! It's going to be me, though. Not Nico. I'm ready."

So much for enjoying the party. We are silent for a long time.

"Percy!" Ms. Jackson calls from the kitchen. "Are you ready to open your gift?"

Percy gives us a half smile and rises.

Annabeth and I look at each other and sigh as he leaves. The Great Prophecy always felt like something so elusive, so distant, but it's coming in a year's time. Are we really ready?