Jason sat in silence with the others as the darkness began to fade into an early morning glow. Percy sat talking with Frank. Jason studied the new guy. Percy seemed so laid-back. More than he could ever be. He shook his head. What would his father think? Going off with a group of possibly insane fighters.

"Hey." Jason looked up to see Piper, the hand-maiden who wanted nothing to do with this quest but was here anyway. "You think we're really the people from the prophecy?" She sat next to him.

He huffed. "I don't really know. But if Cardin's in danger, I have to fight."

She nodded. She looked at her fingers, fumbling with her yellow dress. "I wasn't born in Cardin, you know. I met someone. He took me all the way to Astar. I probably would've never gone on this quest if it was not for him. Wouldn't of met the king or Reyna or Frank, or you." She shook her head. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Jason looked back down. The conversations around him had gone to whispers of the prophecy. "What happened to him? Your friend, I mean." Her face turned dark.

"We- we had a falling out," she said shakily. Jason immediately felt bad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up," he apologized.

Piper looked at him. "It's okay. I like this you, you know. Not that snooty prince, but this. A friend, a leader." She looked back towards Astar. "I've heard some of the conversations you've had with your father. So, I'm sorry too." Jason closed his eyes. His father had never been the best person. Most of the conversations they had were about him being weak. Of course, he'd learned how to please him, eventually, but he still lived with the fact that his father hated him.

"Jason. Piper. We are ready," Reyna said, the others standing up to leave. Jason nodded, standing. He put out a hand for Piper. She grabbed on, and Jason pulled her up. They were on their way.

"Percy," Reyna broke the silence that had fallen. "You have magic, don't you? And Annabeth, as well." Percy froze, mid-stride, and almost fell if it wasn't for Frank's quick reflex to grab the boy.

"It's alright, Percy. I've got magic. Along with Frank and- Reyna, do you have magic?" Piper asked, genuinely curious.

Reyna nodded. "Learned magic. Not as strong as yours or Frank's. Lending magic." Jason nodded, no idea what that was.

Annabeth shook her head. "I'm mortal. However, Percy is a water elf." Annabeth moved Percy's shaggy hair away from his ears, revealing slightly webbed tipped ears. Percy blushed at the contact but said nothing otherwise.

"Magic users? You'll have a high price."

Jason immediately had his sword out, along with the others, Frank ready to shift at a moments notice.

The voice laughed. "Boys? Get them."

Lunging out of the bushes surrounding the six were seven well-armored men. Most had swords, but the last, and largest had a spiked hammer. Piper gulped. Jason didn't really blame her. She was a servant, not a trained warrior. Then, Jason realized what she was doing.

"Stop," she said, shaking. The men's stance faltered for a moment, then went back into full gear. One of the men ran up to her, trying to get a good hit, when Percy appeared in front of him, holding the sword. Jason's glance caught the largest man, the bulky figure smirking. He lifted up his hammer and swung it down, Jason rolling on pure instinct from the years of training he had. Jason raised his golden blade and tried to hit a weak point on his armor, around his waist. However, he was knocked back with a punch to the stomach, sending him into a tree.

Pain exploded in his chest, his breathing getting slightly worse every second. Then Jason realized why. The man's glove had several small spikes on the knuckle, perfect for when you wanted to hurt your enemy. Bad. He looked at his chest, blood leaking from several points.

Jason cursed. He could see Reyna and a bear, possibly Frank, fighting off one of the lackeys. Three men were already down, Annabeth taking all weapons off them. The two left were being taken care of by Piper and Percy, Piper making one tired with her voice, and Percy knocking the other man out with a sword hilt to his helmet. Percy smirked, then noticed Jason. His happy face became one of fear.

Until Jason could figure out what he meant, his cloak was picked up, dragging his body up off the ground, his eyes meeting the hammer man. "I don't like it when people try to hit me," he growled, spit flying from his mouth.

"Good. 'Cause then you definitely won't like this," a man said. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble, cracks forming in the surface. Quickly, the cracks opened into large pits with an ethereal glow. One, then two, then 20 hands clawed their way to the surface, and soon, ten skeletal beings stood in the forest. In the middle of it, was a boy, no older than 13, with shaggy black hair and dark eyes leaned over a black sword that was dug in the ground. Black clothing donned the boy, a brown leather pelt covering his arms. "Attack!" He yelled.

At once, the skeletons moved forward and pulled the hammer man off of Jason. Jason fell to the ground with a wince, his chest flaring with pain from the sudden jolt. The skeletons, crawling over and fighting the very shocked man, had him in an unconscious state quickly.

"You may leave," the boy stated, pulling his sword from the ground. And like that, the skeletons were gone. Percy walked over to the boy, studying him closely. Then his eyes widened.

"Nico?"

The boy nodded. "Nice to see you, Percy. Been a while." He glanced at the rest of the group. "You should come with me."

Jason had Nico show them to his small camp until he let him explain. The fire glowed brightly of the cave walls, a few pelts covering the ground. Frank looked a bit antsy near the flame, but Jason didn't say anything.

Piper sat next to him, with the rest of the group off to his left.

"I met Percy a few years ago," Nico started. "I was looking for my half-sister, Hazel. She was supposed to help me find my... older sister. But I couldn't find her. It was like she disappeared. Percy helped me track down my sister instead. I... left shortly after that." Percy shifted. Obviously, the story had more to it than what Nico was saying. "I was heading to Mirar to see if and of the seers there could help."

Reyna nodded. "Yes. I see." She stuck her hand out. "Welcome to the quest." Nico blinked.

"What?"

Frank laughed. "She does that to people." Reyna explained the circumstances to Nico and he gave a small nod.

"We'll see. I don't have a good history with quests." Jason noticed Nico give a quick glance to Percy, then he continued. "Jason, how's your chest?" Jason was confused for a second, then remember that he had gotten hit. The pain had dulled, somewhat, now just a small throbbing. Nico grabbed something from his pocket. "Made by a friend of mine. Will."

"Nico, stop," Percy said. "Jason's human. He can't drink that stuff. It'll kill him." Nico looked confused, then nodded.

"Alright."

"Wait," Jason said. "You have a drink that only heals magic beings? And could kill humans?"

"Well, yeah," Percy said, the he smiled. " It's called Ambrosia." He paused for a moment, then added: "Things different now, castle boy?" Jason ignored him. Nico stood, tossing Jason some bandages then speaking.

"Go to sleep. Jason, Piper, want to take first watch?"

"I'm sorry about today," Piper mumbled, well after everyone was asleep.

Jason's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? You were great." Jason remembered the way Piper had made one attack sleep with nothing but asking him to.

"But I could've stopped the entire battle. If I wasn't so sca-" she stopped talking, afraid to reveal anymore. She noticed Jason staring at her. "I'm fine, Grace. Don't look at me like that." Jason noticed the way she put no power into her voice, simply hoping he'd look away. He sighed. This was gonna be a long quest.

This chapter has been edited for our reading entertainment. (:

I have been really motivated to write ever since rereading The Titans Curse the other day. I was reading and then almost cried because Nico was this adorable happy kid and... *sob*. Apparently that's motivation for me.

Also, if you need anything to be cleared up, just ask. I'll be sure to get back to you. And, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated.