A/N Hey, guys, how's it going? I won't be able to post quite as often now, but I'll do my best.

Also, quick note – I've taken a look at the poll on Nico's survival, and well.. yeah. I was a bit surprised when I saw it, but, well..

Anyway, that poll is closed now. Now the poll is open for pairings. (see note at end)

Enjoy~

The Loss of a Hero: Chapter Eleven

Annabeth POV

Soon after the nymph had appeared in the dark explosion, Kairi shuddered, then collapsed. I rushed over to her. "Hey, what's wrong?" I put a hand on her forehead, her skin was cold and clammy. I pulled her up and laid her sitting up on a column, and ran towards the cabins. I ran up to the Apollo cabin and banged on the door. "Medic!" I shouted. The door opened, and out rushed Will Solace.

"What? What happened?" he asked. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the dining pavilion. On the way there, he caught sight of the giant pillar of darkness far off in the distance, and stopped dead, gaping at it.

"Come on!" I said, grabbing him again and pulling him along. Once he caught sight of Kairi, however, he broke free of my grip and rushed to her side.

"What happened to her? How long ago?" He took her pulse while putting a hand on her forehead. He frowned. "Come on, give me a hand with moving her."

I helped him pick Kairi up and we carried her slowly to the Apollo cabin. Lee pushed the door open with his foot, then we brought her inside. We laid her on his bunk, then he dashed off through a door, returning quickly with a tablet computer. He tapped it a few times, and a red light shone on Kairi for a few seconds. "What's that?" I asked.

"Computerised doctor. The Hephaestus cabin made it for us a year or two ago. It scans people and lists a bunch of different things. Heart rate, weight, blood type, all sorts of data, and it helps to diagnose anything that could possibly be wrong with someone." He checked the screen, and he frowned again. "What in the world…?" He scratched his head in confusion.

"What? What's wrong?"

He stared at the screen a few seconds before replying. "Well, to start off, the computer says that she has no heartbeat, temperature, blood pressure, blood type, weight, nothing. It can't get a read on her DNA, either. All it knows is height and hair color." He sighed in frustration. "It's like she doesn't exist," he said.

I was quiet. I knew that Kairi was a Shadow Person, as she'd told us. But I figured that she probably wouldn't want that information shared without her permission. "Er… Kairi is special. I didn't mention it because I didn't know it would make any difference."

"Special how?" Will asked.

"Um… It's not my place to say."

"Annabeth, she's in no state to tell anyone. If there's something you're withholding from me, it might kill her."

I started panicking. To save my friend, would I have to reveal a secret not just of her, but of her entire people?

"Is there anything you can do for now to help her?" I asked.

Will sighed. "Well, I can try a few things, but I can't say how well they'll work."

I looked at Kairi, lying on the bed looking so fragile and weak. She trembled in her sleep. "Let's do that and hope she wakes up soon."

The door banged open, and Will and I got thrown aside.

Sierra POV

I was on top of a mountain on the west coast when I felt it. A violent tug at my soul, draining my inner shadow. My life. I gasped in pain, falling to my knees. My vision began to dim. My mind raced wildly, panicking. I didn't want to die.

It was happening so quickly. I was sure that I had only a few precious moments before I was consumed, lost forever in the void. Fear motivated me to do something I never would have done. In desperation, I called out to the gods. The first name that crossed my mind crossed my tongue an instant later. "Thanatos, I give myself to you, save me, please!"

I waited in pain, but nothing happened. I fell slowly on my side, on the edge of losing consciousness. I guessed that I had ten seconds left. I started counting down, closing my eyes as I waited for the end. Nine. Eight. I'm sorry, Pence. Seven. Six. I hope people remember me. Five. Four. I hope Percy remembers me. Three. Two. This is it. One. Goodbye.

I felt myself being lifted up, and the force draining my life eased and faded. I shakily looked up into the golden eyes of a handsome man with dark skin, frowning down on me.

Then I slipped over the edge and blacked out.

Eve POV

Tears ran down my face as I thought of Nico. The pillar of darkness still shot from the ground, far in the distance. I had hoped that his anger would finally cool down. But all the monsters he faced, all of them that he sent to Tartarus, they didn't still his rage. No, it seemed that it had only fueled it, filling him with darkness. I could have done something, I thought. If I'd tried a little harder, maybe he would have stopped before we ever found that monster.

I flinched when a hand rested gently on my back. I turned, and saw a woman. She was tall and lithe, like a gymnast. Her long, honey-blonde hair ran down her back, ending just above the hem of her shirt. Her sapphire-blue eyes looked into mine with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was young. It was hard for me to tell sometimes, with humans, but I figured she was no more than twenty-five years old.

I shook my head miserably. "My f-friend, h-he lost control. The black p-pillar over there… that's him." I sobbed. I'd only known Nico a short time, but I liked him. Though he was dark and scary most of the time, he was kind. He protected me, making sure that all the danger was focused on him. Though, I hadn't figured out whose sake it was for.

The woman sat down beside me and put an arm around me. "I'm sorry. That's hard," she said. She paused a few seconds, staring out over the fields. The wind picked up, moving over the grounds in a whispery hiss. "But, I feel that Nico's storm will end soon, for better or worse." I looked over at her, then froze, startled. For a split second I thought her eyes had turned green, but when she turned her head and faced me, they were her regular, brilliant blue. I must have been imagining it. Something seemed off, though…

My eyes widened, and my sobs stopped abruptly. "W-wait, how did you know…?" I hesitated, but I was sure I hadn't mentioned Nico's name. Had I?

She frowned. "Oops. Didn't mean to say that." She sighed. "My father died when I was five. My mom and I lived alone for a while. Then, when I was fifteen, Apollo came into our lives. He stayed only a year, leaving soon after… well, after the baby was born." She winced. "But, before he left, on my sixteenth birthday, he gave me this." She pulled out a necklace – a golden sun. "Ever since then, I've had a gift for healing. But, also, sometimes I say things and they turn out to be right, even though I couldn't possibly know part of it, like how I knew Nico's name."

"Oh." I wasn't sure what to say. The green in her eyes, and the sudden change in wind, that must have been a bit of the power of the Oracle. I wasn't sure whether or not to think it a good thing.

"Anyway… I came here because I was looking for... an old friend of mine. Her name's Kairi. Dark hair, blue eyes, really pale. Seen anyone like that?"

I frowned. "I actually just got here…" I thought about it a moment. "Um… someone collapsed just a few minutes before you got here, she might've been her, I'm not sure."

Her eyes widened. "What? Where'd she go? Where'd they take her?" Her eyes glowed faintly green for a few seconds, then she got up and started running. I was a bit confused but I got up and ran after her. She ran up to a building, a cabin of sorts, and flung the door open. She pushed a boy and the girl that had caught me earlier aside, then stared in shock at the girl on the bed, the one that had collapsed earlier. "No… No, Kairi, wake up!" She shook Kairi's shoulder. "Kairi, please! It's me! I finally found you!" A few tears started slipping down her cheeks. "It's me, Rosa."

End of Chapter 11

I was super happy when I checked my email and it said that I had like ten or twelve notifications from Fanfiction ^-^ so, now I have some more shoutouts!

Thank you to Amphitrite82 for Fav'ing!

Jana Grace, thanks for Fav'ing my Valentine's Love story!

THEwait4something, thank you for following my story!

my fandom is better than yours, quintuple thank you! You followed and fav'ed both me and my story, and left a review! Thank you very much! ^-^

The guest under the name, "lol", thank you for reviewing! I appreciate the ideas for the pairing – Percy and an OC, and then Annabeth with an OC.

I'll start keeping a record of the pairing votes on my profile, so go ahead and keep adding to it! I personally favor Percabeth, but it's all up to you guys! I'll write whatever wins, no matter what, so vote for whatever you want! I'll be taking votes both from reviews and from the poll that's open now.

To make things easier, I'll write a few guidelines for the pairings on my profile as well.

Read and review!

~Ben