Percy

Percy went crazy.

He must have. It was the only possible explanation.

One moment, he was lying down in the deck with Annabeth, gazing up at the stars, and remembering Bob's desire to see them again.

The next moment, he had been thrown away from Annabeth, with the Argo II stopping abruptly.

- Why did we stop? - Percy asked, feeling a little dizzy, but standing up.

- I don't k... - Annabeth spoke, but fell silent as she looked up, now appearing terrified. The stars were gone. Everything outside of the ship as well. It was as if the Argo II was in a cave, completely engulfed by the dark. Or worse...

No, it couldn't be...

Percy dared to look up and felt like he was going to faint. In front of the ship, with spread out black wings, with a midnight black dress, skin as if made of the essence of Chaos, emanating darkness, was the Night herself.

- There you two are! - said Nyx, grinning - You don't know how eager I've been to see you again!

Percy couldn't move. He couldn't think of what to do. It was as if he and Annabeth had never escaped from Tartarus.

- FIRE! - he heard a scream in the distance, and a hail of Greek Fire flew towards Nyx, causing a giant green explosion as the projectiles crashed into Mother Night. Nyx was caught by surprise and ended up falling, out of sight. That was the cue for Percy and Annabeth to pull themselves together. The two of them just exchanged a terrified look, knowing that the Greek Fire wouldn't stop such a being.

- Percy! Annabeth! - shouted Jason Grace, running up to them along with the rest of the group. The son of Jupiter, Hazel, Frank, and Piper looked like they had just woken up, but Leo looked more awake than ever.

- What was that?! - asked the son of Hephaestus, as confused as everyone else.

- That was... - Percy said, his voice hoarse. - That was Nyx. The night. I don't think Greek Fire is going to stop her. - he added, coughing once to speak more clearly.

- How wise of you. Maybe I should introduce myself, Percy. - a voice whispered, as if it had been blown by the wind.

Before anyone could react, the shadows solidified around Leo, and in the blink of an eye Nyx was human-sized, holding Valdez by the neck, and pointing a dagger that appeared to be made out of Stygian Iron at him.

- Very ingenious, your Greek Fire weapons. - Nyx admitted. - But you couldn't expect that to actually work on me, could ya?

Nobody knew what to do. Everyone there was completely helpless, not daring to making a move. That's when something unexpected happened. Nyx just let go of Leo, who fell to the ground, and the dagger disappeared. She looked at the six demigods who were still standing, and smiled, this time a more friendly smile.

- So, how about we get to know each other?

...

The seven demigods were sitting at a table that Nyx had conjured up out of thin air. Nyx herself was sitting at the head of the table, as if she were the hostess. Jason, Hazel and Frank were on the left side, and Annabeth, Leo and Piper on the other. Percy was facing Nyx in the opposite side of the table.

- What? Has a cat eaten all of your tongues?! - said Night.

Piper was the first to find the right words to form a sentence.

- Uh... We're... We're just very confused by your presence here, Lady Nyx.

Confused might not be the right word, perhaps "terrified" would suit it more. Percy and Annabeth could pass as residents of the Underworld, just by how pale they were right now. Leo looked uncomfortable, while Jason, Hazel and Frank looked confused indeed, but fearful as well.

- Well, maybe I do owe you all an explanation. - With a snap, Nyx conjured up sandwiches and lemonade for the demigods. None of them dared to eat or drink, but Leo eyed up his sandwich. - I don't know if your... friends here - she glanced in the direction of Percy and Annabeth, who were now sweating. - If they told you about me. While they were on their little tour of Tartarus towards the Doors of Death, they had to pass through my house, the Mansion of Night.

Nyx paused for a moment, looking around the table.

- And they ended up tricking me, saying that they really were on a tour of the Pit, and that I wasn't on the program that they had been given.

Leo couldn't hold back a laugh, but he also turned pale when Percy and Annabeth glared at him.

- As I was saying, they stopped close to the Mansion of Night, and I was - she paused again, trying to contain her anger - very annoyed. They managed to escape, tricking my children to fight with one another. - the demigods all looked with respect to the couple who went to hell and back. - I spoke with Tartarus afterwards. I believe you two have met him, haven't you? - she asked Percy and Annabeth, who now had a green tinge to their faces. Percy felt like his insides were melting from fear.

Nyx sighed, but seemed to understand.

- OK! Okay, you can stop with the scene. - She snapped her fingers again, and for a few seconds, her form went completely dark. When she could be seen again, everyone was breathless. Nyx now no longer had her wings, and was wearing a black dress with cut sleeves. Her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her skin was now very pale, contrasting with her clothing and hair. Only her eyes gave away that this was no normal person. Her irises were a shade of purple with black particles, constantly swirling. Her beauty was enough to rival Aphrodite.

- Is this enough to trust me that I won't kill you? And by the way... - she seemed to focus for a bit, and the ship began to move in the direction it was going before. Nyx smiled and continued talking.

- As I was saying, I spoke to Tartarus, and he ended up kicking me out of the pit after I threw the truth in his face, stating that without the Doors of Death, Gaea had already lost. Courtesy of your two heroes here. - Once again she pointed to Percy and Annabeth. Again, all of the demigods looked at the two respectfully. The daughter of Athena seemed to pull herself together now.

- And what do you wish of us now, Lady Nyx? If you wanted to destroy us, I imagine you would have done so without warning.

Nyx nodded, still smiling.

- You don't have to be the daughter of wisdom to come to that conclusion. No, what I want is to... help you.

Everyone was in shock. This was too much for Percy, who once again felt dizzy.

- Oh, come on. - Night said, rolling her eyes, and moved her hand towards Percy, and at the same instant he felt rejuvenated. Even more confused, he looked into Mother Night's eyes, which were as intriguing as Piper's kaleidoscope ones.

- How can you help us, Lady Nyx? And why would you do that after wanting to kill us? - Percy finally said, more comfortable without his melting insides, but still trying to be careful not to be consumed by endless darkness.

She smiled maniacally.

- Simple! Very simple, Percy. You see, Tartarus sent me back so that Gaea could take care of me when she woke up. He is tired of my presence in the pit but can't destroy me himself, he is too soft for it. Here, however... Gaea could easily beat me by day. So I don't want Gaea to wake up. And... I'm very interested to know the demigods who escaped the pit and their gang of demigods.

Everyone seemed a bit more relieved, but Hazel still seemed worried.

- But what about the laws of interference? Those saying that gods cannot help demigods in quests? - Asked the daughter of Pluto.

Night just rolled her eyes.

- Please, that only applies to third generation gods and titans. I'm a Primordial, I was there when those dumb laws were written.

- But what about the Fates? - asked Frank.

- "But what about the Fates?" - repeated Mother Night, mockingly. - My daughters are not a concern. If Thoon was summoned by Gaea, they are on our side.

- Who is Th... - Leo began to speak, but Nyx interrupted him by raising her hand.

- Later. At the moment we have to discuss your... no, our next move. Where were you going before we met?

Jason straightened his posture.

- Ithaca. Odysseus' Palace. We are in need of information and we heard that the palace is now full of spirits that support Gaea, so they must know what her plans are. It's the best option for us to know what to do next.

Nyx stood up without warning, startling everyone.

- To Ithaca, we go then! I will make sure the trip is safe for you. And I do think you will need some time to process everything. I'll be back soon! - With that, Nyx disappeared, taking the darkness with her. Slowly, the stars returned, and at the table, the seven of them were still in a state of shock.

- What the fuck was that? - exclaimed Jason. He wasn't one to swear often, which demonstrated how bizarre all of this was.

- I don't know! - replied Piper, her eyes changing colors furiously.

- I think we should rest. - Annabeth suggested. - And... try to process the information, as she said. Tomorrow we shall discuss this.

Everyone nodded silently and hurried to their rooms, leaving their sandwiches and lemonade on the table. Only one had been bitten.

...

Once again, Percy and Annabeth were lying down. This time, in the bed that was located in Percy's cabin on the ship. Percy barely stayed there, so it was significantly neater than any place Percy usually slept, like Poseidon's cabin or his room in New York. Memories started to pop up in Percy's head. He remembered the camp. His mother and his stepfather. It was good to be back where he belonged, but his time in Tartarus seemed to haunt him even after he left that place. What could Nyx possibly want? Surely there was a catch. Nothing was for free, specially in this world filled with monsters and gods.

- Do you trust her?

Percy was startled and looked at his girlfriend. Usually he asked the questions. Annabeth usually knew the answers. Now it was her asking, but Percy didn't exactly had an actual answer to it.

- I... I don't know. Trust is a strong word. But her story seemed believable enough.

Annabeth nodded, but he could see the worries in her grey eyes.

- We have no way of knowing. But we may have to attack fire with fire. One primordial against the other. She did sound afraid when she spoke of Gaea. And after what we've been through, I'm accepting any help we can get.

Percy repeated Annabeth's gesture, and hugged her tightly.

- No matter what happens, we're not going to be separated anymore, Wise Girl. I love you. No dark goddess will take you away from me. - Percy said, kissing Annabeth softly. She reciprocated, and the two of them were soon lost on one another.

Hidden in the shadows, a figure scratched its head, completely fascinated by the couple.

- This should be fun... - said Mother Night to herself.