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Thanks to FallenOneAka X or Mr. X for following and fav'ing, and reviewing!

For the guest that reviewed on Feb 27, thank you very much! I'm glad you love the story. Please keep reading!

The Loss of a Hero: Chapter Twelve

Percy POV

I stared in horror as I saw what had become of my friend. Darkness had completely overtaken him. His skin had turned jet black, along with his eyes. I could only recognize him due to his aviator jacket, and his Stygian Iron sword. I felt a ripple of fear. There was nothing that could stand against him, nothing that could subdue him. No god, no demigod. I doubted that even a legion of Titans would last more than a few seconds before they were shredded.

I looked around. The land was wasted and broken. I was surprised that I had been able to pull water from the grass. I turned back to look at Nico. I wondered how long he had been consumed with rage, and what set him off to be like this. I considered revealing myself to him, but considering the state he was in, I had no idea what would happen. I figured he already felt my presence, but he was occupied with his adversary. I needed to get out of there, quick.

I moved my water platform away from the pillar of darkness as quickly as I could. I was about to shadow travel, but I felt a chill down my spine. I stopped. If I tried to shadow-travel away from here, I might be shredded into bits of dark essence. I cursed. No shortcuts for me. I figured that I'd shadow-traveled here safely because I'd been moving toward it. Losing myself even briefly in the plane between realms would shoot me into a jetstream of darkness, going the wrong way. I'd be torn apart.

As soon as I got near the ground, I jumped, landing in a run. My movements were slightly slowed, as if a wind was blowing against me. Once again, I was grateful for the LifeStone. If I hadn't been wearing it, I would have been consumed within seconds of arriving here. The consuming forces of the dark storm only slowed my escape. I ran and I ran, not really sure where I was going.

Annabeth POV

I'd left Rosa and Kairi in the Apollo cabin, I needed some time alone. So much was happening all at once. I sighed. I couldn't see any plan that could resolve this. We needed a miracle.

I took a walk, wandering down to the beach. I knew what would happen, but I went anyway. It had only been a few weeks, and the memories came back easily. But in that short time, the pain had lessened, being replaced by wistful sadness. I kicked off my shoes and took my socks off, digging into the sand with my toes. I closed my eyes, breathing in the salty air and feeling the sun on my face. It was nice.

I sat down in the sand, laying back against the large rock that Percy and I had so many times before. In the past few weeks, I'd come down here occasionally. It was where I felt closest to him. I sighed. Percy, I thought, If you're out there, if you can hear me, please help us. We need something to make this right.

As I expected, nothing happened. Just like all the other times, nothing happened. I sighed again.

Suddenly I was aware that it was cold and dark. Had I fallen asleep? I opened my eyes. It was as if a cloud had dropped directly onto where I was sitting. I couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction. The sun had been blocked out, and it was cold. Tendrils of white mist curled around me, and then I realized. This wasn't mist. This was The Mist. "Hecate?" I called into the white darkness.

"Um, not quite." The Mist began to clear, and soon it was warm and sunny again. A girl stood in front of me, wearing a strapless black dress that rippled and shone like ink. She looked a few years younger than me, it was hard to tell. Curly brown hair framed her blue eyes nicely. She looked a bit out of place in the dress, though.

The girl seemed to realize this, and looked down in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. "Ah, not again!" She snapped her fingers, and Mist appeared and wrapped around her. It disappeared, and the girl now wore jean shorts and a lavender t-shirt that suited her much better.

"Sorry about that, that happens a lot when using the Mist to travel around. Bit of an unreliable way to go, but hey, it's quick!" The girl smiled. She put out a hand. "Name's Chloe, you?"

I got up, a bit perplexed, and shook her hand. "I'm Annabeth."

"Nice to meet you, Annabeth!" Chloe said. "Um, so, I heard someone asking for something to be made right, and it seemed really important for some reason. Was that you?"

I was silent for a moment. "…You heard me? How?"

Chloe shrugged. "My mom's Nemesis. I'm a bit in tune to things when it comes to balance. 'Making something right' thoughts usually pop up in my head like an annoying advert."

I was confused. "Your mom's Nemesis, but you can use the Mist?"

"Well, yeah, my mom's Nemesis, but my dad's mom was Hecate. It's super weird, I know."

"So you've got a bit of each, then?"

Chloe nodded. "Yup! Sometimes it's a bit odd, but, hey. I just go along best as I can. All the time I can…hear, I guess, all the imbalances around me. For example, there's someone winning a poker game due to some aces up their sleeve, a smaller boy losing a wrestling match with a bigger girl, and… oh. Someone dying because they're losing a fight against a more powerful force draining them. It's all coming from… somewhere about that direction." She waved her hand toward the camp.

"Oh. The poker players are probably Conner Stoll, son of Hermes, and some poor camper. The bigger, girl wrestler is Clarisse, daughter of Ares. And the one dying… that's a friend of mine. We don't really know… Hang on, did you say something was draining her?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Can you track it to the source? We need to figure out some way to stop it or she'll die."

Chloe frowned. "I can try. Can you take me to her?"

A little bit of the worry I was carrying melted away. "Follow me," I said. I started running back to camp, Chloe hot on my heels. I was a little wary, of course. A powerfully mixed demigod just happens to pop up and help? A bit suspicious. However, there really wasn't anything else that had any hope.

Chloe stopped briefly as we came through the trees and emerged out onto the main area of the camp. Cabins all lined up neatly, looking as though new, the big farmhouse and its wraparound porch, the strawberry fields, it must have been a bit overwhelming. "Come on," I urged her, and she snapped out of her daze, following me as I ran towards the Apollo Cabin.

I pushed the door open. Kairi looked worse than when I'd left her. She was deathly pale, and… slightly transparent. Rosa sat nearby looking dejected, her eyes red from earlier crying. Will stood nearby looking hopeless, and a bit frustrated. Not being able to help someone who's dying makes people feel a bit useless.

Chloe gently pushed past me, resting her hands a few inches above Kairi's body. She turned to look at me. "This is gonna be weird, okay? Don't freak."

I nodded. Chloe nodded back, then turned to face Kairi. She took a deep breath, then muttered quietly.

I felt a wave of icy cold shoot through me, and the room was engulfed in a blast of negative power. I looked around and almost yelped. Everything was in black and white. My instincts screamed Danger!

Chloe hovered a few inched off the ground, and Kairi floated about a foot above her bed. Chloe spoke in a flat voice devoid of emotion. "The scales of equality are tipped. This is not as it should be. Let there be balance."

I shivered. A cold wind whipped through the room, scattering papers and sending them flying into the air. The color came back into Kairi, then spread to the rest of the room. One last rush of wind left the room, like a sigh of relief. Slowly, Kairi and Chloe came to rest on solid ground again.

Kairi looked much better. A bit of color had come back into her skin, and she wasn't transparent anymore. She smiled in her sleep, turned over, and was still.

The room warmed back up in seconds. I turned to Chloe, who looked back at me warily. "You're not totally creeped, are you?" she asked.

"Um… No. Should I be?" The show of power was a little unnerving, to be honest, but I didn't tell her that. And I was glad I didn't – she smiled and sighed. "Thank goodness. Most people run screaming for the hills whenever I do that."

"Well, we're a bit tougher than most people." I glanced at Rosa and Will, both of whom had gone pale in fright. "Just a little bit." I turned back to Chloe. "So, is Kairi okay now?"

She nodded. "She'll be out for a while, which is understandable, as most of her soul was sucked out of her. She should wake up…" Chloe glanced at the sky outside, which was just beginning to darken. "…In the morning sometime. Until then, let her rest."

I looked at Will. "Got that?" I asked, and he nodded, still a bit pale.

I turned back to Chloe. "Thank you, so much. I don't know how to repay you."

She shrugged. "Ah, I don't really need anything, except…" she stumbled, and I suddenly noticed how fatigued she'd gotten, "…Maybe a place to sleep." She yawned, and started to fall. I caught her. "Thanks," she mumbled.

I helped her to her feet. "Here, come on. You can bunk with me." She nodded sleepily. I helped her walk to Percy's cabin, where I now slept every night. It was peaceful. The fountain in the corner gurgled quietly, and the air smelled of the sea. I breathed it in and sighed.

I led Chloe over to one of the unused bunks. She flopped down and stopped moving. For a few moments, I was scared. Was she alright? A few second later, snores sounded through the pillow she'd face-planted on. I chuckled. It reminded me of how Percy used to-

I stopped as sadness trickled into my heart. Now wasn't the time to think about the bad stuff. I could save that for a day when there wasn't so much panic going on. I sighed, and walked over to Percy's old bed, which I now used. I climbed in, kicking off my shoes. Curling up, I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

End of Chapter 12

Hey, guys! Sorry I took a few days more to update than I thought, I was waiting for one of the contest winners to reply. (Plus, I've had a rather stressful week)

Give a warm welcome to Daughter-of-Athena-2358! She chose to be put into the story, and Chloe was born! The other two winners have not yet replied. ArcusIgnium and 77WiseGirl77, you have until Monday, March 9th to PM me about your winnings. If either of you don't reply before then, I will draw another name. So reply quickly!

Remember, the pairings are still open, and will be for a while. So post your votes! How long I'll keep it open, I don't know. I'm sort of making up the story as I go along. Apologies if anything I do is either out of order or strangely timed!

Read and review!

~Ben