Okay, Hellooooo. I hope you like this chapter and I'll post the next one sooner, I hope. Sorry if you feel this one is a little shorter.

PERCY:

There was a lot of shouting.

And there was a lot of blood, of course.

Oh, and there were a lot of gryphons too.

Nico lay in Percy's arms, dying.

Nico had laughed and kissed him before going limp. Percy had felt like he was floating, as if his spirit was leaving his body, the feeling one got while going on a loop on a rollercoaster. Was that another one of Death's tricks?

But none of registered, really.

Percy had squeezed his eyes shut.

He stood with Bianca Di Angelo in Cloudcroft.

"You risked your life to save me and my brother. That was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good guy", she told him. He felt the compliment warm him to his bones, just like the way it had on that precise day. This was the upside of being a demigod. People believed in you and what you did, it inspired you.

Then the scene changed.

He found himself standing in Hephaestus' junkyard with Bianca Di Angelo standing beside him. Her long dark hair was done in a pretty braid and she had a silver circlet around her head. Her skin shone like the moonlight. That probably had to do something with joining an eternal girls club.

But her eyes were serious. They were dark and contemplating and clouded with worried. Also, determined.

"Give this to Nico, if something happens", she told Percy, pressing the Hades figurine in his palm. Her eyes seemed to be pleading him to take care of her little brother as if she knew her doom was here and had accepted it.

He jerked his eyes open. He was still frozen on the ground. He could hear Jason shouting and fighting.

But he only wondered what Bianca Di Angelo would say.

How could they have forgotten to bring some ambrosia?

Anger welled inside him and he got up.

Enough was enough. Too much had been lost in this war.

He slashed through gryphons with such ease, the remaining ones backed off.

He could hear Annabeth shouting from the ship.

He noticed that the flock of gryphons flying over the ship, were moving towards land as the ship started to move into the open ocean.

"PERCY! JASON!", Annabeth screamed on top of her lungs. "COME ABOARD"

Percy looked at Nico's body lying on bloodied sand and he saw almost thirty gryphons trying to get close to the ship without going into the open ocean.

They couldn't make it to the ship with Nico in this frail condition. Even if Percy or Jason could've easily carried him, they didn't know what moving him may do to him. Also, gryphons were known to completely finish the ones they had attacked. And Nico wasn't in the prophecy so there was no chance Gaia would keep him alive.

Also, he didn't know if the others could make it out of here alive since Annabeth and Frank were the only ones fighting. Leo shot through the ballistae but the gryphons dodged easily.

He realized there was only one thing they could do. They would have to let their friends escape.

He heard Gaia's voice laugh, "The things you would do for love, Percy Jackson", she said mockingly.

He looked at Jason and saw a familiar look in his eyes. He nodded to Percy and they both charged at the gryphons together creating a whirlpool with sea water and horridly strong winds.

They were a beautiful and terrifying sight, Percy was later told. They looked like gods inside a hurricane destroying monsters like Charybdis destroyed everything that came near it.

"ANNABETH, GO", Percy roared through the storm. He wished the world would find a better storm to fall to and ignore them.

He could see Annabeth standing in the dock slashing the last gryphon as the ship travelled into the open ocean at alarming speed and the gryphons attacked Percy and Jason instead.

He could see her cheeks glistening with tears, but her eyes were serene. He knew that she knew that this had been the only way, just like they had left Bob and Damasen in Tartarus.

He felt a pang in his chest at that memory and also at the fact that she hadn't tried harder to save him and Jason. He knew he would've done everything he could to save any of the seven if they would've been stuck in his situation.

But he had been told that his fatal flaw was his loyalty.

By Annabeth's own mother.

But she's not her mother, he told himself but he felt queasy at the thought.

He and Jason fought with such ferocity that the rest of the gryphons flew away.

Once the gryphons were dead and gone, they rushed to Nico.

Jason ripped Nico's shirt off and inspected him.

He was still as pale as ever but his left abdomen was starting to look better. It still looked bluish but the wounds had been sealed.

Percy took the flask of nectar and put some into Nico's mouth. His skin felt so cold he might have been dead.

"He's not", said Jason, as if reading Percy's mind. "Dead, I mean. His heart still beats, but faintly"

Percy kept his palm on Nico's chest. The faint beating of his heart could be felt through his hard chest.

He walked to the ocean and created a faint spray and dropped a drachma into the water spray.

"O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering and show me Annabeth Chase", he said softly and the mist shimmered.

Annabeth sat on the deck in her vest nursing her wounded shoulder while Frank took care of Hazel and Piper took a bite of ambrosia. Leo was nowhere to be seen.

"Annabeth", he said trying to keep the urgency out of his voice and she turned to look at him.

"Oh, gods, Percy, you're alive", she said worriedly, "We tried to get you but the magnitude of the storm you and Jason created was so strong that it blew the Argo off course"

"It's okay", Percy replied bluntly, "Is everyone okay there?"

"Piper got knocked out, Hazel fainted and Frank did a hell of a job", she told him, "But Leo is very happy about all the celestial bronze and he talks about destroying Gaia like coach Hedge."

"Nico is hurt", he added shiftily and Annabeth chewed on her lip.

"Leo has to fix the ship too. But tell me, where do we rendezvous?", she asked, pausing only to resume, "How about Pirgos? It isn't too far from here and by the time we reach there, I hope Nico will have healed and Leo will have fixed the ship"

Percy nodded, "I love you"

Annabeth looked at him as if he had hit his head, her eyes glistening, "I l-"

The connection was cut off and she never got to reply to his words.

He turned his back on the setting sun, as the moon came up.

He walked back into the forest where Jason had set up camp with whatever they had had.

Nico's duffel bag contained a few dry fruits and a few t shirts. A bottle of nectar. An mp3 player. A bundle of cash. A pouch of drachmas.

Jason was talking to some wood nymphs who were smiling at him flirtyly and making constipated faces which Percy guessed was their way of impressing the son of Zeus

A low fire was burning and Percy sat down beside Jason and told him about his talk with Annabeth. He was glad to know that everyone was okay.

The nymphs were singing softly and at their voices Nico seemed to stir.

Percy quickly went and kneeled beside him and pulled the rubber band out of his hair, letting Nico's hair loose.

Nico opened his dark eyes and for a moment tried to focus them.

Then he realized who he was looking at and groaned and turned and hid his face in the grass.

Jason laughed, relieved and Percy backed off surprised.

Jason knelt over Nico and helped him sit up. But he still looked very weak, ready to collapse. He could barely keep his eyes open.

Percy got the flask of nectar and was about to pour some into Nico's mouth but he groaned again turning towards Jason.

Exasperated, Percy handed the flask to Jason and lay down on the opposite side of the fire. He didn't understand why Nico had to hate him.

And that's when it all FINALLY registered and everything came crashing.

If he was about to die, what would he have done?

Probably something he had wanted to do for a long time.

So, Nico didn't hate him. But actually quite the opposite. Di Angelo had feelings for him.

Scared of the actions he might've taken in the past or might have to take in the future, Percy urged sleep to take him.

And it did, plunging him into the world of Poseidon and Pelops.

NICO:

He could hear faint singing in the background. His eyes wouldn't open too much but he could see Jason kneeling beside him.

"Open your mouth, you need nectar", Jason ordered.

"Are you trying to kill me?", Nico croaked, "That's too much nectar for one day"

"You're strong enough", Jason argued, "you'll be fine"

He opened his mouth and poured some nectar into it but the warmth Nico felt inside him had a little to do with the nectar and more to do with the compliment.

"This is the worst way things could've ended", Nico complained, "Why am I alive?"

He peeked at Percy who had turned his back toward them and probably fallen asleep.

Jason smacked Nico upside the head. "Dude, shut up. This is going to be fun."

"Fun? ", Nico nearly choked, "I nearly died. I kissed Percy!", he hissed, his eyes flashing.

He could see the humour in Jason's eyes but he kept the smile off his face. "What I meant was that the sons of the big three will get some quality time to spend together"

Nico growled. "I don't think this is the time for some 'quality time'"

"Oh, but I think this is exactly what we need", Jason grinned.

"Have I ever told you I hate you, Grace?", Nico sighed.

"No, and you will never get the chance too", Jason smirked, "Now lie down and sleep. We have a lot ahead of us"

Nico did lie down but didn't sleep. He tried but he couldn't. Embarrassment kept him awake. He would have to face Percy soon enough but he didn't know what he would say. How would he justify his actions? Hey, Percy, sorry, dude, I thought I was dying and that's why kissed you. No hard feelings, huh?

How could he have been so stupid? If he was going to die, he should've let his secret die with him. But now, he wasn't dead but the secret was out. And now he didn't know what to do.

He turned to face Jason who was staring into the fire, deep in thought.

"Thank you", he said to him softly. He didn't know why but it seemed like the right thing to say.

Jason just smiled and nodded.

Nico turned again and fell into a, thank the gods, dreamless sleep.