Clearly not 3 weeks, i know. sorry about that. school has started for me so again, i apologise, but updates will probably, if there are any, be months as a time and quite erratic. but, i can promise you that you will see Nico in this chapter:). WARNING: OOC AHEAD. ok i'm going to do some review replies...

wolf house: done:)

one-of-those-girls13:srry i made u die. but the hard task has been completed:)

wolfgirl1221: i hope u didn't destroy anything important lol, but here's the update

marisol r: aww thanks so much! i definitely will try!

Bella: ur welcome:) srry, i hope this one doesnt, although i dont think it will

Obsessivebookdiva: eheheh, umm you'll get to see him and don't worry, he'll turn back to normal eventually...or not

DerangedOtakuFangirl: srry for the wait! here it is!~

Disclaimer: they're not mine.

AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHAPTER 8:)

The Earth's Possession

Chapter 8: Walk of the Living Dead

PERCY

Percy woke up in a cold sweat. What just happened? he thought. Then his dream came rushing back to him. Nico. He stood up abruptly and because of that, Annabeth fell over and conked her head on the stable floor.

"Oww! Percy, why'd you-," she cut off abruptly when she saw the look in his eyes. His sea green eyes were stormy, the way they were when he was worried. She paused before asking,

"What happened to Nico?" Percy turned around to meet her gaze and whispered so quietly that Annabeth almost couldn't hear him.

"Gaea has taken over his body."

ANNABETH

Annabeth was in shock. Gaea wasn't supposed to be that strong yet! However, here she was possessing Nico di Angelo, the only one that could help them on their quest. The Fates really didn't like them. She and Percy went upstairs, seeing as how it was already morning, to break the news to everyone. When they entered the dining room, everyone looked up from their meals.

"About time you guys showed up," Leo joked. He laughed for a little until he noticed Annabeth and Percy's expressions. Stormy eyes along with pursed lips didn't make for an expression you want to joke around with. Jason cautiously rose from the table.

"Did something happen?" he asked slowly. Percy looked at him then looked over at Hazel, the look in his eyes offering his sympathy.

"Gaea's taken over Nico's body. It turns out that Gaea needs Nico to help her open the Doors of Death easier," Annabeth explained. No one really felt like eating after that. Hazel stood up and walked out of the room. Frank stood up to chase after her when Percy grabbed his arm.

"Not now, dude. She needs some time to herself." Frank nodded in response. Annabeth grabbed a bagel with cream cheese and sat down. The atmosphere at the table was tense but that was to be expected after news like that. Suddenly, a shriek came from the upper deck.

"That was Hazel!" Frank cried before speeding out the door like Cerberus was on his tail. Everyone else followed suit.

HAZEL

Hazel shrieked as loudly as possible. She had perfectly good reason to, if you asked her. A massive army of zombies was climbing up an iced ladder, prepared to launch as attack on the crew members. Even though she was the daughter of Pluto, corpses creeped her out like nothing she'd ever seen. Not even monsters were THAT terrifying. She controlled the riches domain of her father, not death. That was Nico's specialty. So now, when she needed her brother to fend off these corpses, he wasn't there. While she was lost in her train of thought, a zombie made a jab towards her. Hazel couldn't react in time but managed to move away to the side so that the sword merely scraped her side.

She turned around to see the rest of the gang standing behind her, in shock. Hazel unconsciously growled a little bit.

"Attack!" she screamed, slightly hysterical. Percy seemed to snap out of it the fastest as he uncapped Riptide and started hacking through the enemy ranks. Jason and Annabeth were next to draw their weapons. Leo stepped in with his flaming hands and Frank managed to transform into an elephant. Piper unsheathed Katoptris and stabbed a zombie. Finally, after hacking through all of the zombies, the demigods slumped in exhaustion. Hazel looked over to Leo who grinned like a madman.

"Well that was fun guys. Wanna do it again?" he asked. Hazel and Piper just groaned at that. However, Leo got his wish. The zombies reorganised themselves in a matter of seconds and were once again ready to fight. Except this time, it seemed like there were even more zombies than before. Everybody groaned but picked up their weapons and got into their fighting stances.

JASON

Jason charged another zombie. But it was totally useless. Zombies that were defeated just stood back up and more just kept climbing up the ladder. It was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. The ladder. Suddenly it clicked in Jason's mind.

"Leo! Burn the ladder!" he screamed to Leo as he hacked through another zombie.

"What? I can't hear you!" Leo screamed back. Jason growled in frustration. It wasn't Leo's fault that he couldn't hear him, but Jason was just sick of this day and this quest. Storm clouds formed over the once clear sky. A small bolt of lightning struck a platoon of zombies.

"BURN THE ACCURSED LADDER, LEO!" he exploded as another bolt struck the left flank. Everyone was surprised by Jason's outburst but went back to fighting as Leo summoned a couple of fireballs to burn the ladder with.

"Note to self: don't piss off Jason," Leo muttered as he melted off another rung. Soon, the ladder was completely melted. But the problem was that the zombies were still reforming. Jason grit his teeth. Just then, Hazel spoke up.

"Guys, I think we should try burning the bodies and severing the heads of the zombies. I think that might keep them from reforming," she suggested. Piper visibly shuddered at the morbidity of the suggestion. Jason sent her a comforting look.

"Do you really think that will work?" he asked Hazel. She shrugged.

"Nico once told me that his sister killed skeletons when she stabbed them. Once the blade touched those skeletons, they burst into flames apparently. I don't know if it will work for zombies but it's worth a try. Since we don't have a child of Hades here with the aspect of death, the best we can do is sever the heads and burn the bodies," she replied. Leo's hands burst into flames.

"Alright! Let's burn some undead butt!" he shouted.

"That won't be necessary," a voice said. Jason whipped around.

"Who's there?!" he demanded. Frank nervously changed back to an elephant and drew a spatha. (A/N from where, I don't know but his bow disintegrated and I wanted him in human form for this) Everyone drew back into a bunch with their backs to one another as the zombies burst into black flames and the shadows in front of them took form. Black armor surged up from the deck. A Stygian iron sword lay in its sheath at the person's side. A skull shaped helmet with a black face guard planted itself on the figure's head as sharp forest green eyes opened. The face guard was lifted up and the seven demigods realised that they were standing face-to-face with none other than Nico di Angelo.

to be continued in chapter 9

yes i know i'm sorry. you can kill me, but if u do, i can't write chapter 9! for those of you screaming at the "to be continued" i will try my very best to update before Christmas break and if not, during it. if i can't well, you can scream at my school. thanks for reading and pls review:)