A / N: Hi all! This is the last chapter of the book, so I hope you enjoy! I am going to post an Author's Note later to talk more about what's going on. Just know that I will do a third book.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of its amazing characters.

15

The large lamp in the infirmary was throwing a circle of golden light across the ceiling. I gazed up at it, trying to distract myself. Dad was sleeping soundly in the bed bedside me, his face looking as worn and tired as ever. I had tucked the sheets in closer the way he liked it, and pulled the covers up to his chin so that he wouldn't get cold. All Dad's features seemed softer as he slept, including the hard set of his jaw that we both shared.

I just couldn't decide if I should wake him up. I bit my lip, torn. I had met Will Solace from the Apollo cabin on the way out, Apollo's top healer. He had said that Nagrata had hurt Dad with magic, and that it would take a while to expel the taint of Nagrata's dark magic. It was best for Dad to get some rest. I sighed. Should I wake him? No, I shouldn't. But I would.

I shook Dad lightly on the shoulder, not wanting to be too rough. He must have been close to consciousness, however, as he woke instantly, looking at me through hazy eyes. I smiled.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"I could ask you the same thing. You look terrible," he replied with a weak chuckle.

I sighed. Dad was always way too perceptive. "Leo and I broke up. Well, I broke up with him."

"Do you think it was the right thing to do?"

It was not the answer I was expecting.

"Yes," I said finally. "I think it was."

"Then it was only a matter of time."

Dad looked extremely tired, but I guessed it was just the heavy use of mortal pain killers. I sighed. It was horrible seeing him like this, all bruised and battered.

"Are you worried? About Nagrata?" I asked. Out of all of us, Dad was the one that really knew the full extent of Nagrata's powers. He alone had the right to be truly afraid.

Dad sighed. "Well, the morphine's kicking in, so I'm not really worried about anything at the moment."

He rested his head back on his pillow, exhaling a puff of air as he gave in to the pain killers. I brushed some of his messy dark hair out of his face, watching all his features soften again as he lapsed into sleep.

"Goodnight," I whispered, brushing my cheeks over his forehead.

I relaxed back down into the arm chair I was sitting in, hearing the creak of the door before actually seeing Will Solace's golden head.

"Is he asleep?" Will asked, his blue eyes calm like the sky above.

I nodded, before getting up from the chair. I gave Will a quick smile before exiting the room, not wanting to seem rude. I didn't know whether visiting Dad had given me the solace I had been hoping for, but at least I got to see for myself that he was alright, rather than hearing it second hand from someone else.

I met holly and Audrey patiently waiting for me outside the infirmary door, and I was glad they didn't ask any questions. We began walking across the yard, Holly and I slowing our pace to match Audrey's snail-like walk.

"You've got freckles," said Audrey out of the blue.

"Audrey!" I said incredulously. Was there ever a time when Audrey wasn't studying someone physical appearance?

"Fine, but they are really cute! I thought you would have the face of a vampire forever!"

I snorted. I wasn't a vampire … Admittedly, I was the palest person with an Italian heritage you would ever meet, but I wasn't that pale. And yes, I had noticed the splattering of freckles I had earned from my time in the sun, but no, I had not gushed over them as Audrey did.

I rolled my eyes, glancing at Holly for support. Holly just shrugged, smiling. "She right. They are cute. Not to many or too little. Just the right amount."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Audrey accused, gesturing to her face, which coincidently had barely a square of skin where there were no freckles.

"Nothing," Holly corrected hastily.

I laughed. "You guys are impossible."

"Impossible is my middle name," said Audrey smugly.

"I thought your middle name was Willow," said Holly pointedly.

"You swore you wouldn't tell!"

"Don't worry, I already knew," I assured a distressed Audrey.

Audrey bit her lip and mumbled something about the camp fire starting soon. We followed her to the fire, which was already six feet high and bubble gum pink. Holly winked at me. "We're leading the sing along."

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

I rubbed my eyes. "What the-"

Through my blurry vision I saw Audrey on top of my bunk banging my head with a pillow.

"Finally! You're harder to wake than sleeping beauty," Audrey exclaimed, giving me a quick hug.

I sat up, massaging my head indignantly. The blue coverlets on my bed were rumpled and squished into the corner, courtesy of Audrey, who was sitting cross legged across from me.

"Why'd you wake me up?" I asked groggily, my defiance somehow lost in the yawn that followed.

"I woke up early and I was lonely," said Audrey, looking up at me with her puppy dog brown eyes.

I moaned, flopping back down into my irresistibly comfortable bed.

"Holly and I have been thinking …" Audrey began.

My face went white. If Holly and Audrey had been putting their Aphrodite instincts together, you never knew what could happen.

"Since you've decided to start over – you know, training to fight, tough chick, new you sort of thing – we have decided to give you a make-over."

It wasn't my finest moment. I screamed. Audrey slammed her hand over me mouth, not wanting me to wake up the other campers.

"Maia, Maia, it's not that bad," soothed Audrey hurriedly.

"It is! It is! You can't!" I shrieked.

Audrey called Holly for assistance. With many bribes and promises, the two girls calmed me down, and I agreed to let them make me over. Holly promised that she wouldn't make look girly, and it would be all about my preferences. They sat me down in the bathroom in front of the mirror and began with my hair. My lip was trembling. I was terrified. Forget monsters, this was worse.

I watched silently as they decided to keep my hair long, and I sighed with relief. I felt a cool, trickling sensation as Audrey put some sort of liquid in my hair to make it all soft. Holly held me down as a precaution and her grip was so strong they might as well have put me in hand cuffs.

The make-over took place, and soon my hair was done. Audrey's hair liquid had returned my hair to its natural state. My hair was had billions of ripples and the inky black colour stood out against my face. Holly exclaimed with delight. They had never seen my hair's natural ripples; I had always kept them concealed somehow. Once the two girls were satisfied, they moved on to the clothes.

"What's are your favourite colours?" asked Holly.

"Red, green and brown," I answered promptly.

Audrey made a disgusted face. "Brown? Why brown?"

I shrugged. "It's the colour of the earth, and when everything else changes, the earth will stay the same."

Audrey was silent after that.

Holly stuck true to her word; there was nothing girlie that I didn't like in the new wardrobe they prepared for me. When they tried to dress me I had to remind them that I had training with Chiron today, and I needed exercise appropriate clothing. Holly then decided on a red t-shirt and pale denim shorts. Simple. Practical.

"It needs something more," Audrey complained.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Holly stared pointedly at me, reminding me of my promise not to make a fuss. I watched as Audrey dug through my beg, completely invading personal property, only to pull out the necklace that Aphrodite had put me in back on Nagrata's boat.

"It's so pretty! It even matches your eyes!" Audrey gushed.

It was pretty. I sighed, not even bothering to scold Audrey for rummaging through my bag.

"Hand it here," Holly suddenly snapped, her hand snatching the necklace for Audrey.

Holly studied it, and after a moment, her eyes grew wide.

"Do you know what this is?" she said breathlessly.

"Um, yeah. It's a necklace," I replied, not understanding what the big deal was.

"No, it's a sensor. It will pulse when monsters are near," Holly told me.

I wanted to say that she was just joking, but I could tell she was serious. It just showed how much Holly knew about the mythical world to be able to figure it out. I nodded slowly. "I didn't think Aphrodite would be that thoughtful."

"Maybe she bought it off eBay," said Audrey innocently.

Holly laughed. "Monster detecting, butt kicking necklace seeks new home."

Even I grinned. "In great condition, worn a total of once."

Holly giggled. "Well-loved, with real sapphires."

"Start bidding price -" I held my fingers up in the infinity sign.

"How could we bid a higher price?" asked Audrey thoughtfully.

"I hate to quote books, but some infinities are bigger than other infinities."

We were all laughing now, and then Audrey let out a loud wheeze which set us all off again. I finally managed to stop laughing, and I put the necklace on. I looked in the mirror curiously. The make-over hadn't done too much. I looked more or less just like myself, just cleaner, and a lot, lot more beautiful. My black hair was in a simple low ponytail, and my eyes looked brighter, somehow. More hopeful. I put on a pair of comfortable running shoes and left the cabin for the Big House. Chiron had said 8 o'clock, and I didn't want to be late.

The Big House looked down menacingly at me. Me, the girl everyone pitied. The girl which might as well have a bed with her name on it in the infirmary. Not anymore. I was going to be that girl no longer. I pushed open the wooden door right as my watch ticked over to 8:00. Chiron was in wheel chair form, his hand folded in his lap. He smiled when he saw me and gestured to the chair next to him.

I shut the door quietly and sat down on the chair.

"So where do we start?" I said, a little too eagerly, leaning forward on my chair.

Chiron chuckled. "Patience, Maia. We will not be fighting today."

I was disappointed, but I also felt slightly smug. Had Audrey and Holly known that I wouldn't be training today, they surely would have dressed me in something more extravagant.

"Step one," began Chiron. "We must address your weaknesses. One weakness in particular."

My stomach dropped. He couldn't possibly mean Leo?

"Sorry?" I stammered.

Chiron sighed. "Your fatal flaw, Maia. That weakness."

"Oh."

I had to keep myself from sighing in relief aloud. It was silly. How could Chiron possibly know what I had admitted to Leo that night on the roof?

"Maia, think. What has led you into danger in the past?" Chiron pressed.

"Um, bad luck?"

Chiron sighed, and I immediately felt guilty. I knew this was vital. There was no way to escape my flaw if I didn't admit what it was. And I had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"Curiosity," I said finally. "I got myself into trouble because I was curious."

Chiron roared with laughter. "You, Maia, are probably the first person to ever have that problem."

I smiled hesitantly not sure what was so funny.

"You simply need to repress your thirst for knowledge, Maia," said Chiron, still chuckling.

I waited for him to stop laughing. Fatal flaws weren't funny. They were … fatal. Chiron finally stopped laughing, and began to give me a speech. It was the sort of lecture you would get at a demigod collage. I learnt more about the not-so-ancient Greek world than I had in any of my classes. We talked about monsters, weapons, and anything that might help me survive for longer. Chiron kept on getting lost in thought, rubbing the stubble on his chin. I was going to ask him what he was thinking about, but I had to, what was the phrase? Yes, I had to repress my curiosity.

I left the Big House feeling extremely satisfied with myself. I had missed breakfast and lava wall climbing, but I didn't mind. It was free break now, and I saw some campers huddling in groups, chatting happily. I noticed a boy and a smaller girl sitting side-by-side on a log, staring out at Thalia's pine. I remembered their names to be Luke and Annabeth. I heard they had been the ones that came to camp with Thalia, before she was turned into a tree. Luke had a comforting arm around Annabeth, and she was looking up at him hopefully.

I smiled, but then the smile faltered. A loud scream pierced the still air. All the campers froze in place, their eyes wide with shock. A second scream sounded from behind the cabins. I looked around. Why was no one doing anything? I drew my sword from its hilt and raced to the sound of the screams.

I skidded to a halt behind Demeter's cabin, only to see that it was one of the cabin's residents that was screaming. Katie Gardner was trapped under the paw of a giant Rottweiler. A hellhound. My eyes evaluated the situation. This hellhound was nowhere near as friendly as Rusty. A loud growl sounded from next to me. Speak of the devil.

Rusty pounced on the Rottweiler, throwing it off Katie. I hurried to her side and dragged her away from the fight, letting her lean on me for support. Katie stumbled and pressed her back to the cabin wall, her eyes wide with fear. I heard her whisper something that sounded suspiciously like "Travis".

We both watched in horror as the two hellhounds charged at each other. The large canine bodies collided with a crack like thunder, and the two dogs began rolling around on the ground, snapping each other with a mixture of teeth and claws. It was a balanced fight. Sometimes Rusty was in the upper hand, pinning the Rottweiler down, but just as quickly the tables would turn, and the Rottweiler would be on top. I flinched as Rusty let out a high yelp of pain.

There was an audience now. Almost everyone had gathered to watch, wide eyed. I saw Jack glaring at the Rottweiler furiously, and I remembered the bond between Jack and Rusty. A dog was a man's best friend. Others weren't sure what was going on; they had never officially met Rusty, and they couldn't figure out why the two dogs would be fighting. Katie had silent tears rolling down her cheeks, and I held out my hand and pulled her closer to me. Murmuring some words of encouragement, I let her rest her head on my shoulder. I watched as if in a coma, Katie's strangled sobs echoing through the morning air. Soon enough, Travis Stoll came rushing forward, taking Katie out of my arms and asking her ferociously if she was okay.

Suddenly there was another a high yelp as the Rottweiler gained strength, pinning down Rusty with extended bloody claws. Rusty struggled under the other hellhounds grip without hope, his big browns eyes looking defiant and terrified at the same time. I slowly moved away from the campers, drawing my sword and approaching the bigger dog, suddenly grateful that I was in fighting clothes. The Rottweiler looked up, its lips peeled showing pointed teeth, with a slightly foaming mouth. It growled, a deep rumbling sound that shook the ground, not taking its paw off Rusty's throat. I had to remind myself that this dog wasn't like Rusty, and that it would happily rip apart my body like a chew toy.

Even so, the dog's eyes widened in fear as I plunged down my sword. The monster burst into dust, freeing Rusty and turning his russet and coal coat white with powder. I sunk to my knees next to Rusty's giant muzzle.

"Hey, it'll be okay," I soothed, while stroking his furry forehead.

If I closed my eyes I could almost imagine that he was the German Shepard dog on my Uncle's farm, lying down after a long day of herding livestock. Just a normal dog.

"We're going to need one giant ambulance," I muttered to myself.

I heard Jack come up behind me even before he asked what he could do to help.

"Get the best healers from the Apollo cabin, but tell them I'm not sure that ambrosia and nectar will work on monsters," I told him, my voice breaking slightly. Rusty whined, sensing my distress.

Monsters. The word didn't really describe Rusty at all, he was just stuck with the name because he was a hellhound. I knew all about being judged because of your birth. Jack hurried off, the light silvery glow of Artemis' cabin (Artemis being the goddess of the moon) illuminating his worried face like a beacon.

Dreadful minutes passed before Jack came back with virtually the whole of the Apollo cabin. The other campers buzzed excitedly at the scene of the battle, their faces alight with gossip. I looked away, disgusted. Will Solace and a golden hair girl leant down beside Rusty's head, holding a jar of mint green paste carefully in their hands.

"What's in it?" I asked quietly, gesturing to the paste.

Will looked up from Rusty to look at me. "Some leaves a tree nymph gave me and some extract from Audrey's little bottle."

I looked over at Audrey and she shrugged, the little green bottle dangling from her hand. I gave her a grateful smile. I knew what this meant, now that she had revealed its existence. Everyone would be wanting some. I moved away from Rusty, not wanting to get in the way, and moved to stand next to Holly and Audrey.

"What do you think this means? All the monster attacks on camp?" I asked them quietly, not wanting to attract attention.

"It can only mean one thing," replied Holly grimly. "Thalia's pine tree is failing. The borders of camp are gone."

A / N: Please review, and tell me what you think of the story as a whole. Feel free to ask any questions, and I am open to suggestions for the next book!