Hey, guys, I'm actually writing this the same day as I did last chapter, but I'm doing it on a bus, so there's no internet, meaning I'll have to post it tomorrow if I finish it. Who knows? I might, if I'm lucky. Now, I'll quit jabberin' and start cracking.

Thanks to ZoeisZbest and AstridEH for following!

Thanks to Fluffya123 and Sora Nakagawa for fav'ing!

Thanks to rachaeldaughterofhestia for reviewing!

The Loss of a Hero: Chapter Fourteen

Percy POV

I waited on the beach, still a bit perplexed from the girl earlier. None of what she said made much sense, but if she willing to help, that was good. I'd seen Chiron gather everyone about half an hour ago, so I figured that people would be coming here pretty soon. I wondered who would come. I needed people with power, so I hoped that only a few "strong" people would come, people like Clarisse or the Hephaestus kids. Anyone from the Hecate cabin was welcome, along with anyone else who had some form of non-physical power.

Why? Because, everyone knows that you can't fight power with physical strength. You gotta fight power with power. I thought about who would come, and how they could help. Of course, I'd already prepared in case anyone how knew me came. I figured out a neat trick. I willed my form to change, and it did. I now had hair that on one side was ice-white, the other jet-black, and it was longer and straighter. My eyes were silver. I was dressed in a black leather jacket, paired with black jeans and a white t-shirt. I was about five inches taller, and my muscles stood out a lot more. My face looked different, too. Nobody could possibly recognize me.

I was still invisible, while I was waiting. I didn't know how anyone would react to someone who looked… powerful and scary like I did. I chuckled.

Soon a few people started up toward the beach where I waited. I saw the girl from earlier, now wearing a blue t-shirt and faded jean shorts, leading the way. Following her was a little boy, about twelve, with curly blonde hair and storm-grey eyes, followed closely by Annabeth. Crud, I didn't want her here… She might get hurt. Following them was … of course. Clarisse, whom I guessed was here for the potential fight. After her was a tall girl with violet eyes that… sort of pulled you in. She had nut-brown hair and … was that an assault rifle?! No, a sword. No, wait, just a walking stick… I think. And bringing up the rear was a little girl, no older than seven. Her hair was black as night, and she held the hand of a teddy bear, which was walking alongside her. I shook my head. Either I was hallucinating, or those last two were Hecate children.

They stepped onto the beach, and looked around. "Where is the person?" the blonde boy asked.

"I don't know, Will," Annabeth replied. "Keep an eye out."

I grinned. I would have some fun with this. I took Riptide, which I had changed into a huge, silver blade, similar to the one that Cloud had in my old Final Fantasy VII game, and slashed through the air, allowing it to reappear first. Everyone gasped and backed up. I stepped forward, reappearing slowly. "Call me Jake," I said in a serious voice. "I'm possibly the only person who's survived an encounter with Nico di Angelo as he is now. I'm a son of Poseidon, 27 years old. And you all are possibly the only hope that Nico has of surviving." I put my sword on a catch on the back of my jacket. "So, introductions? Quickly, if you don't mind, a friend of mine is currently holding Nico off. She's blessed by Thanatos, so if she dies, she'll come back, but I'd rather it not get to that."

"I'm Chloe. We met earlier. But you-"

I cut her off, scared that she'd reveal what I really looked like. "Chloe, nice to meet you. Good to have you here. And you?" I pointed to the blonde boy.

"Will. I'm a son of Athena!"

"My name is Annabeth, daughter of Athena."

"Clarisse, Daughter of Ares, and your worst nightmare."

"Call me Raven, daughter of Hecate."

The little girl shied away, hiding behind Raven's legs. She peeked out, and said "My name is Zoe, but Raven calls me Bluebird!"

I smiled, and knelt down in front of them. "It's very nice to meet you." I smiled. Zoe giggled and hugged me. "This is Mr. Bears," she said, raising the teddy bear's arm. The teddy bear bowed. I looked at a few seconds, then muttered "Right, not eating any more of those mushrooms…" as I stood up.

Raven chuckled. "Bluebird is my sister, also a daughter of Hecate. Mr. Bears was a present from our mom. He's… well, you'll see."

"Will Zoe be safe? You do know what we're going up against, right?" I crossed my arms.

"Mr. Bears will protect me!" Zoe said. Raven nodded.

"Zoe and Mr. Bears can take care of themselves."

I shrugged. "If you say so." I turned to the rest of the group. "You understand that you might not all come back, right?" They nodded. "The thing is, we are Nico's only chance. He's consumed by rage and darkness, but I feel that it's not just that. Something else is inducing his destructive trance. We need to separate Nico from the outside source, subduing him enough that the link can be severed. Understand?"

Everyone nodded again. "Good. Now, I'm going to have to shadow-travel us all there, okay?"

Annabeth crossed her arms. "If you're a son of Poseidon, how can you shadow-travel?"

I looked at her. "Long story, including a close call with death." One that I didn't survive. "Ready to go?"

We all stood in a circle and joined hands. On my left was Raven. Her hands were icy cold, but almost… vibrating with power. On my right was Annabeth. Her hands were warm and soft. I had to resist the urge to gently squeeze her hand.

I reached into the shadows, picturing where I'd last seen Sierra. In a rush of darkness, we were off.

End of Chapter 14

Hello, all! We now have the dream team ready to go fight for justice and get their friend back! Lol. Sorry that the chapter was a bit short, but that's about all I could do for this one. Tryin to stretch it woulda made it look bad.

Anyway, a quick note - To the guest that reviewed reynico or annico, I'm very sorry, but as I posted in the rules on my page, Nico is one of the people that I've put off-limits for pairings. Read the rules and make another suggestion, if you wish!

Keep posting your pairing votes, either by poll or by review!

Read and review!

~Ben