Okay everybody, I gotta be honest, this is one of my favorite chapters. I'm not sure why, but I'm so proud of it, and had a lot of fun with it. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Now then, on with the twentieth chapter.

20. Sera Lets It Go

Harper

Still following along, huh?

Well I guess I can't blame you, cause things are picking up. I have a whirlwind of emotions right now, and It's pretty crazy.

So where do I even start?

I guess I could start with the giant one. Matt's back.

Yeah...that one definitely took me by surprise. Of all times he decided to show up, it was when I looked awful, all bloody and beaten.

Seriously though, I was over the moon that he showed up when he did, because had I laid there a few minutes longer, I probably would've died.

And I nearly died again when I gained consciousness, and saw him after more than a year.

Gods, he was so handsome. Even more so than when I dreamt about him (yes I've had dreams about him, shut up.) He had changed a lot in the past year. And although I'm not happy with his father for taking him away from me...I have to admit, the training seems to have paid off. Matt's over an inch taller for one, increasing the height difference between us even further. His muscles are larger and more defined, somehow looking even more perfect. They weren't bulgy and disgusting like those bodybuilders you see on TV, he was more like a genetically gifted high school weightlifter, and his new sleeveless chestplate thingy showed his tan biceps and triceps off like trophies.

Another thing was his confidence. I could literally see it in his eyes, the way he moved and talked. That little speech earlier proved to me that he was more comfortable in a leadership role now. And that was a good thing, I thought. Personally, that's not my style, but seeing Matt take the lead, made me happy for him.

Now past the tan skin, taller height, and smoking hot body he has, I do have one complaint. His hair.

It had grown longer, which I figured he couldn't help. I doubted he had scissors on Hercules's island. It was just past his ears, pretty thick, and medium length I'd say. Still light brown like chocolate.

Don't get me wrong, he looks good. So good that I'm a blushing mess over here at the fact that I've kissed this sculpture of a boy. But the longer hair, just doesn't suit him. I love the neat spiked up look that he had last year.

But I'm not complaining, I'm beyond happy he's back. Although I'm still a little confused on where we're at relationship wise, I'm so happy. We still have a lot to talk about, he and I, but there's time for that later.

Right now, we faced an army of things that wanted to kill us.

On our right, the armed butlers. On our left, the frost giants, and in our middle, a giant cyclops.

This was gonna be a piece of cake.

Before I could say something cool, Matt said something to me.

"Harper, Talon, take out the guards in suits." He ordered, then turned to his father and that eagle on his shoulder.

"Father, take out the hairy giants."

I was a little surprised he was telling his father what to do. I didn't like him, but him being the god and all...shouldn't he be the one in charge?

But Hercules didn't seem to care, he simply nodded, and hefted a large wooden club.

Finally Matt spoke to Malachi next to him, the two about the same height now.

"Malachi, you and I are gonna take Steropes out first. We aren't gonna give him a chance to use lightning and bring the whole place down on us. Our attack has to be coordinated, and kill him instantly. Got it?"

Surprisingly Malachi smirked, a hint of enjoyment on his face. Maybe being in Sera's old mansion was making him bloodthirsty. Can't say I blame him. He squeezed his hand and electricity crackled around his fingertips.

"I understand." He said.

And as if some invisible whistle just blew, we all jumped into action, quicker than the enemy could even react. To be honest, it was a massacre. I almost felt sorry for them.

Talon and I unloaded on the butlers. Yeah, I might as well call them butlers, with the way they're dressed. I darted around, easily faster than them, and slashed with my knives, cutting open their throats, not giving them an opportunity to shoot.

When they finally caught on, they shot at me. It was no use though, I dodged them all the same and threw the knives at the butlers, summoning them back to me right after.

I did this to maybe half of them, while Talon took care of the rest before I could claim them all. He pulled out his revolver and fired off full six round clips in a matter of seconds, skillfully reloading the bullets with his fingertips, letting them fall in the chamber. Every round hit true to the head, right in the center. Small black holes were left in half of the butlers, blood dripping out of them shortly after. I'd never tell him this, but Talon was crazy accurate with that gun.

Once we took out our side, I had the opportunity to see what was happening on the opposite end. Hercules and his eagle, which had grown to the size of a bear somehow (must be a magical bird) were effortlessly defeating the frost giants. The eagle had plenty of room to swoop around and slash the giants with his beak, creating gash wounds and causing the monsters to bleed out. Hercules on the other hand, took a more brutish approach. He swung his club left and right, taking off the limbs of the giants occasionally, and then finishing them off with a gory blow to the head. At one point, a giant actually landed a hit on him, but Hercules shrugged it off and tanked it, not budging. He responded with a punch of his own, which sent the giant crashing into the wall. Pretty impressive, not gonna lie, to see a god fight. No matter how I feel about him.

Now then, all that was left was Steropes, as Matt called him, the enormous cyclops that even I could tell was more powerful than your average one eyed freak. Steropes simply stood there and watched his comrades die, making no move whatsoever. He just held his club and growled, looking around at the carcasses beside him.

Matt and Malachi stood side by side and faced the beast, looking up at him with terrifying eyes. Heck, just seeing those two standing together was pretty scary. I mean the power those two possess...they could probably destroy the universe together if they wanted to, not kidding.

They waited for Steropes to make a move, and finally he did.

He must've fully realized his backup crew got demolished, and he roared in anger, throwing his head up towards the ceiling and letting out a deafening battle cry. When he had no voice left to produce, he glowered down at the two, and huffed breath.

I saw Matt and Malachi's hair blow back from it, which made me inwardly cringe. Imagine how disgusting that was, but they didn't waver. Instead, they looked even more determined.

They stood off for a few seconds more, the air was filled with tension. So much so that I thought it would break or something, like maybe a little explosion would happen.

Then at last, the battle was decided.

Steropes raised his beefy arm and roared, the giant club crackled with electricity and steadily grew more blue, signaling that he was about to summon a huge bolt.

Matt's eyes widened, "Malachi, now!"

Malachi knew what he meant and quickly thrust his hand at the cyclops. There was a flash of light, and I was able to see for a second or two, the shape of a zig zagged lightning bolt connecting with it's arm, the arm that held the club.

Like a knife to butter, or a shotgun shell to a pumpkin, it blew Steropes's arm off immediately, sending it crashing to the floor in a bloody puddle, the club clanged around until it stopped against the stone wall.

Steropes howled in pain, reverberating the entire room we stood in. I winced and nearly had to hold my ears, but the howling didn't last much longer. A split second after the arm was blown off, Matt jumped off the ground and headed straight for the cyclops' head. Before he got there, Steropes tried to swat him, but he was way too slow. Malachi already summoned another bolt and blew the other arm off. This time sending blood and gore flying everywhere, and nearly splattering me. But thankfully I avoided it.

Now free to do whatever, Matt reared his fist back. He soared until he reached directly above Steropes's face. The original cyclops looked up, and saw the last thing he would ever see on the face of the Earth.

Matt's fist began to turn blood red, a misty aura formed around his knuckles, then his hand, and stopped at his wrist. It solidified and no longer became misty, but instead a red outline of his fist, like an avatar or something. I knew what it was, it was the Red Aura he had.

He brought his fist down on the Cyclops' head, cratering it inside of it's stomach. It's neck caved in and it's body literally split in half, falling apart parallel to each other like toppled dominoes. Thankfully, the sight of the monster's insides was spared from me, because shortly after it flopped on the floor, it faded into golden dust, returning to Tartarus.

Matt landed on his feet swiftly, his fist still in a punching position. Him standing like that, his hair blocking his eyes, muscles popping out, chestplate on display, he looked like an ancient Greek warrior. It was hard to discern him from the greats, like well, his father.

Malachi walked over and the two gave each other fist bumps, celebrating their domination.

I heard Talon walk over to me, "Good thing those two are on our side, huh?" He muttered.

I dumbly nodded, not even realizing my mouth was half open. I couldn't help it, I was kind of in awe at both of them, more so Matt, because I've seen what Malachi's been capable of for the past year. He's gotten a little stronger too, defeating tough monsters that tried to attack Camp several times, but nothing as drastic as Matt's transformation. It was crazy actually, seeing the new power he had. I mean, I'm no expert, but the Original Cyclops' were ancient monsters, and very powerful. They were the guys who made Zeus's masterbolt, and these two killed one like it was nothing.

The thing that struck me the most in that sequence, was Matt's red aura. I had seen it before last year, when he got into a fit of rage, he would enter it, and get insanely strong. But it was scary though, because he would end up hurting himself in that form, sacrificing durability for power. Even the slightest cut could be devastating. I remembered when we were laying on the beach together, the night we started dating, we talked for so long about random things, and one of those things was how he got the scar on his jaw. I asked him and he told me one of the Chimera's claws grazed him, but because of the Red Aura's rules, he said it felt like he was gonna die.

He also told me that the Chimera was the reason his mother was in the mental hospital.

I didn't know that until that night. I remembered going in with him for support before we rode to Texas, but I never knew why his mother was there in the first place. Hearing that she got traumatized by a monster...disturbed me.

But she seemed very sweet the day we went inside, and she obviously cares about Matt.

Anyway, let's not stray too far from where we're at. Back to current stuff.

Hercules spread his hands out by his side and yelled up to the ceiling, "What now, Ice man?! Ready to face us yourself?!"

I expected no one to respond and Matt's dad to look like an idiot, but to my surprise, the intercom clicked on and a shocked voice was on the other end.

"Y-You bastards! How did you manage to defeat them? That was an Original Cyclops!" Reginald said shakily, with fear in his voice.

"You should've known we would win!" Matt said proudly, "You're not facing average opponents here!"

Reginald chuckled nervously, "No, it would seem I'm not, heh heh, but you haven't won ye-"

Malachi interrupted him with a blast of lightning, not hitting anything, but it still flashed, and thunder followed instantly after, shaking the whole room and nearly blowing out my eardrums.

The Demi Primordial looked enraged, "WHERE IS SERA?!" He shouted, "If you've done anything to her, I swear I'll make you beg for death!" He gritted his teeth and his eyes started to glow.

Reginald seemed to regain some confidence at Malachi losing his cool, which was weird, because if I was in his position, I'd be pissing myself. An angry Malachi Stallard was not someone to laugh at, period.

The Griffith Patriarch turned smug, "Oh, she's right through the door in front of you. All you have to do is enter...and you'll find her."

Something wasn't right about his tone, the way he said it, there was obviously a catch...

But that didn't matter to Malachi. His eyes glowed completely blue and so did his fingertips.

"Malachi, wait!" Matt grabbed his shoulder, and the Demi Primordial shoved him in the chest, causing Matt to skid back several feet. Malachi wasn't thinking straight, he was seeing all red and only Reginald's dead body.

He shot the burst of lightning at the door in front of us, and it blew off the hinges, shattering in ash on the ground. Malachi ran in first and we all followed him, greeted by a room even bigger than the last, but in a similar shape. The floor was wide, but as the room elevated, it shaped into a dome. The difference here was, there was a circular catwalk about twenty feet above us. A platform with railings wrapped all the way around the space, and standing in the center, facing us, was Reginald, Sera's four siblings standing next to him in two's, and...Sera herself.

Reginald had her on her knees, holding her head up by her long white hair. In his other hand, he held a two foot ice blade, sharp and slightly jagged at her neck.

"SERA!" Malachi yelled, and started towards Reginald, ready to kill him, but Reginald inched the knife closer and Malachi stopped in his tracks.

"Ah, Ah, Ah." Reginald clicked his tongue, "Any closer and she dies. I'm quicker than you think, boy."

Sera looked awful, condition wise. Her forehead was caked in dried blood on one side, and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"Everyone!" She cried, "Don't listen to him!"

He tightened his hold on her hair and seethed, "Shut up, bitch!"

Malachi's eyes widened in fury, "LET HER GO, NOW! DON'T HURT HER ANY FURTHER!"

I wanted to rip the guys head off myself. What kind of sick, twisted person does this to his own daughter? And calls her a bitch? These people had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. But him holding Sera hostage kept us all from unloading on him.

"Let's kill this asshole." Talon said.

Reginald heard him somehow, "Not one move! I'm fast enough to kill her before you get here! You may kill me, but she'll be dead too!"

We all looked at each other warily, unsure of what to do. I could tell by the look in Matt's eyes that he was thinking about running for it, using his speed to disarm Reginald in time. But I also saw the hesitation on his face, not sure if he wants to take the risk.

So I decided to take the lead for a minute, and...wing it.

I raised my hands in surrender, "We're not moving, but...we're not leaving here without her. So what's it gonna take to get her back?"

Reginald laughed, along with the siblings.

"Stupid child!" He said, "You actually think we're letting her go? Not by any means!" He sneered at Sera, "It was a mistake sending her to that Island, because she met that...thing and fell in love with it." By thing he meant Malachi, and gestured to him to prove it.

Malachi himself looked downright murderous, nearly just like himself when possessed by Ouranos. No wait, actually worse than that. That Malachi had nothing to protect, he just enjoyed fighting and killing, but this Malachi, well, the girl he loved was an inch away from death, and someone that wants to protect something, and would do anything to keep it safe...in my opinion, was the enemy you wanted the least.

Reginald continued, "Then eventually paired with you lot of demigods! But now that we have you all in one place..." He smiled sinisterly, "We can get rid of you, and have Sera back!"

Get rid of us? What, like kill us?

Talon snorted, "You're gonna kill us? Hate to break it to you buddy, but I can't physically die." He pointed to Malachi and Matt, "These two, there isn't a weapon you possess that can even scratch them." He pointed to Hercules, "That's a god, so unless you have Heavenly Diamond, you ain't doing any permanent damage." He then lastly pointed to me, "And that one right there'll fight tooth and nail before she lets you kill her. So it would save a lot of hassle if you just give us back Sera." Talon waved his hands and reared his head back like he was smooth talking at a mafia table. "I'll tell you what, you give her back to us, and you'll never see us again. I mean, come on, why do ya want her back anyway? Thought you guys hated her."

A pause, nothing but silence filled the air. The four siblings looked at their father expectantly, and Reginald himself just stared blankly at Talon.

Then he started to laugh.

Not the creepy chuckles he's done so far, but a full on belly laugh, like from the gut. It rung through the air for several seconds, almost a minute probably. By the time it was over, he was wiping the tears from his eyes and we were utterly confused.

He caught his breath, "Of course we hate her, you fool! She's a stupid, timid, spineless little thing that never listened to anything we said! But...she's not weak."

Malachi snarled, "Of course she's not weak. She's stronger than any of you combined!"

"Right you are!" Reginald said cheerfully.

Okay, that actually took us by surprise. Malachi was even shocked, because he meant not in strength, but in moral code and as a person altogether. But Reginald seemed to mean power.

Talon questioned this, "Wait a sec, are we talking about strength here?"

Reginald nodded, "Indeed. It is the Griffith's greatest secret, and failure. Seraphina Griffith."

Even Sera looked confused, she furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at her father.

"W-What are you t-talking about, Father?"

He rolled his eyes and mocked her high pitched voice, "W-W-W-What are y-y-you t-t-talking about F-F-Father, just speak, you stupid girl!" He cursed, "That right there, is why we hate her! She is a cold blooded killer by nature! Yet she acts so weak, so shy, when every one of her siblings turned out perfect. No emotion, willing to kill without remorse, will do anything I tell them. And then she comes out, stronger than all of them put together, and she's worried about unicorns and singing? That is why we hate her. She has the strength to conquer whatever she wants, and she has the personality of a rabbit! It's preposterous!"

I was stunned. He was actually saying that she was the strongest in the family? Sweet Sera? I mean, I knew she was skilled with her powers, but the strongest out of those siblings? Put together?

Sera was just as shocked as we were, "I-I'm the strongest?"

Reginald nodded with annoyance, "Yes. When you were born, we used a device to gauge your power and potential. It was off the charts, even more so than when I was a boy. You had the potential to do so much! You could've killed just about anybody we put a hit on, you could've killed any monster you wanted, you could've married any rich man, but no! No, your personality had to turn out the exact opposite of what we expected!"

This was insane. I had no idea this was the truth for all these years. Sera could've wiped out the entire family that tormented her, and she didn't even know it.

Her four siblings looked on, stunned themselves, even more than we were.

"Is this true, father?" Langston, the oldest asked.

Reginald nodded, "Of course! Her mother and I tried brainwashing her, teaching her the right direction, but no matter what we did, she remained the same! So...we decided to keep the secret of her power from her. We didn't kill her, in hope that one day she would come to her senses, and we didn't tell her, well, because we didn't want her to kill us."

"B-But I used to have so much trouble using my abilities!" Sera said, "I couldn't fight at all!"

"Because of your weak personality." Reginald scolded, "It blocks you from doing any real damage. This fear you have."

Matt looked like he had just realized something. "You know...whenever I read her aura, I always thought it was strangely large, but it was always deep inside of her, locked from use."

Reginald nodded to Sera, "Now you know the truth, and so does everybody else. But no matter, we plan on making you the perfect machine. Over the years, we've developed some ah, new techniques. Persuasion shouldn't be impossible now, even for you."

Fear was written all over her face, "W-What are you going to do?"

"What's necessary." He turned to us, "Now then, time to dispose of the trash. I want them all dead. We'll figure out a way for the more...durable ones, but for now, we should get rid of the least durable."

His eyes landed on me.

Matt caught on, and his skin started to turn red. He started towards Reginald, "If you so much as lay a finger on her, so help me I'll-"

But Reginald was ready, and pushed the ice blade against Sera's neck, drawing a little blood. "I wouldn't do that. This blade is far sharper than it looks. You might want to stay still."

Matt clenched his fists, he looked furious with himself, maybe that he couldn't find a way out of this situation. He blamed himself.

"Hey." I said to him, getting his attention, "It's gonna be okay, I got this."

He didn't look convinced, but I didn't give him a chance to protest.

I stepped forward, hands still up, "Look, Mr. Griffith. I'm sure there's some kind of deal we can get to-"

"No deal!" He shouted, "All of you are dead!"

Malachi looked like he'd had enough, "Just let me rush him. I can make it-"

Talon interrupted, holding him back, "Don't do anything rash, man."

I tried again, "Come on. Why do you need her so badly? What's wrong with the four children you have doing the work you want?"

Reginald chuckled, "Of course they get the job done. But that's all they do, is get the job done. I'm looking for extra! I want the entire world! I want more! And with the new Seraphina, I can make that possible!"

The four siblings had their masks off, so I could tell they didn't like that comment too much. They all looked at their father in a different light it seemed, for the first time questioning their loyalty to him...

I decided to use that to my advantage.

I faked a shocked look, "Mr. Griffith! Are you saying that you'd pick some...shy girl who's never listened to you, probably won't change at all, over your loyal children? The ones that have stuck by you for years? You'd call them adequate?"

That worked. Reginald looked at the four nervously when they all turned a one eighty to face him. Langston with his arms crossed, and the others with miffed expressions, demanding answers. My friends could tell what I was trying to do, and did well to hide their emotions.

"Adequate, Father?" Victoria said, "That's all we are to you?"

Reginald looked like he was backed into a corner, "Don't let the girl manipulate you! I didn't mean it like that, you know this! I...simply wanted more power, to uh, expand the operation! Yes, that's the truth."

But they still stared at him, not quite satisfied. I fought the smirk threatening to grow on my face. I had them right where I wanted them. If I could get the siblings to turn on their father...then we could get somewhere.

But Reginald turned on his charisma, "My children, you don't actually trust some random girl, who by the way is the enemy, over your own father, the man who raised you! Made you strong!"

For a split second, I actually thought they might pick me and turn on him, but after a single look back and forth...they went with their father.

Langston shook his head, "You're right, father." He pulled off the rifle from his back, and aimed it at me.

Reginald smiled, "Kill her."

"NO!" Sera screamed, fresh tears on her cheeks now, "DON'T, PLEASE!"

Talon pointed up at Langston, "Don't you fire that damn rifle."

Matt was freaking out, "Put the gun down! We can work something out!"

Everything was pandemonium. People going crazy and arguing on my behalf, Reginald barking things back at us, Sera crying and yelling for them to stop. It was all crazy. At one point it got to be so much that I zoned out, and my ears started ringing.

Finally, Langston had enough. I saw him close one of his eyes, and pull the trigger.

A loud BANG echoed through the room. The bullet came towards me. Everyone was quick enough that they could see it, including me. Matt and everybody else's eyes widened, and they started to move, but I just stood there like a deer in headlights, struggling on what to do.

For one, I could dodge. But if I did, they might see that as a sign of attack, and kill Sera. But if I let the bullet hit me, obviously it would kill me.

I had to dodge it. I just couldn't kill myself for that risk. We would figure out something. We wouldn't let them hurt Sera.

But just as I was about to dodge the bullet, I heard an ear piercing cry from above us.

"NOOOOOOO!" Sera shrieked, but it wasn't just a shriek. No, it was powerful, and sent a shockwave all around the room, literally forcing the bullet out of it's direction towards me. We all got pushed back by the force, our feet skidded on the floor.

What had she done?

We all looked up to where she was, Matt and the others stopped in odd positions from trying to save me. We all saw the same thing.

Sera's siblings for one, were blown back ten feet from where they once stood. Langston's rifle was completely frozen, and had shattered when it hit the floor.

Reginald tried stabbing Sera in the neck. but he now held a hilt with no blade. The ice had completely been crushed by Sera's neck.

Sera herself...was a sight to see. We were all stunned, looking at her. She had covered her skin in a thin layer of pure ice. It looked almost blue, and transparent. Like she was made completely of ice. The only thing that hadn't changed, was her clothes, and her white hair, which now appeared even more white, so much so that it was blinding.

Reginald looked at the former ice blade in horror, then at Sera.

"Don't hurt my friends." Sera growled, in a voice completely different from her own. It was darker, deeper, and more threatening. Like a demon had taken over her body. I just now noticed another detail. Her pupils had grown larger, and left little white in her eyes. Instead it was now covered in black and light blue, looking very strange on her face.

The siblings looked on in fright, completely still, wondering what she would do. Reginald on the other hand, was laughing like a maniac.

"This is it!" He said cheerfully, "This is the power I was talking about! You've finally tapped into it! You even have the voice of Khione herself! Oh, I'm so proud!"

But Sera didn't take the praise kindly. Instead, she glared at him and summoned an ice wall quicker than he could react. This Ice wall was far thicker than the ones she'd summoned before. It looked stronger too, much stronger.

She thrust her hand out and the ice wall slammed into Reginald, sending him against the railing. It broke instantly and he fell to the ground, hitting the floor along with the ice wall, which shattered against him.

The wind was knocked out of him. He upturned and coughed up blood desperately.

Sera had her eyes set on him, and jumped down from the second story, landing not thirty feet from him. She started to stalk forward, all of us watching on in awe, not offering a bit of help. Even Malachi was motionless. His eyes were wide, watching his girlfriend's transformation.

Reginald spat up more blood. He threw his head back and barked, "Don't just stand there, HELP ME!"

He was yelling at the four siblings. They were thunderstruck at Sera's power, and had been watching on like we were, their jaws to the floor. But when Reginald called them to action, they shook it off and leapt at her simultaneously, pointing each of their right palms at the walls behind them, they summoned huge ice spikes to form. When they did, they pulled their hands forward, and at the same time, the ice spikes from the wall, came at her with great speed from all sides.

But Sera didn't even seem fazed. She simply flicked her finger and a dome of glassy ice shot up from the ground immediately and enveloped her. The tips of the ice spikes were obliderated. Cracks started to form all the way down them until they reached the wall, and by that point, the ice had all fell to the floor in shards.

The siblings' eyes widened in shock, and horror. They were mid air, and right in Sera's target line. She stamped her foot on the ground, and four individual cylinders of ice broke through the floor and caught each sibling, forcing them up to the ceiling before they could escape.

At the same time, all four cylinders slammed against the ceiling, trapping each of the four Griffith's. It was a hard blow, but I doubted they were dead. They were unconscious though, because their bodies fell limp.

Sera broke her attention away from them and faced her father, sitting on the floor clutching his stomach. She walked towards him slowly, her eyes glaring at him. I was beyond shocked at what she had become.

Speaking of, what the hell even was this? Was it like Matt's Red Aura form? Where she's always had it but an extreme situation causes her to enter it? I had no idea, but one thing was for sure, the old Sera wasn't present.

I mean, she looked like a Greek Princess before, what with her flawless skin, beautiful face, curvy body, long, smooth white hair, and the way the she dressed. Well now she looked downright like a Greek goddess. Her hair was even brighter, the tips of it letting off little chips of snow ever few seconds. Her entire body seemed to radiate a chill, sending surges of cold air in our direction. Her skin had went back to normal, meaning that she wasn't transparent as an ice sculpture like before. It seemed she only did that to block Reginald's ice blade. Now she had her normal skin.

We were all speechless. The Sera in front of us was unrecognizable. She looked basically the same, but her expression...was nothing like the woman we knew. Usually sweet and innocent, was now angry and deadly.

Matt's jaw was hanging open, "Her aura...it's through the roof."

Malachi's eyes were as wide as saucers, "Sera..."

Talon looked at us like we were crazy, "What are you all doing?! We gotta help her!" He started to run towards her, but Hercules held up a hand, stopping him.

"Hang back. She'll handle it." Was all he said, low and calm.

I couldn't believe I was agreeing with Hercules, but he was correct. "He's right." I told Talon, "Let her finish it."

He looked back and forth, between us and Sera hesitantly, then finally gritted his teeth and backed up.

Sera now stood in front of her father, glaring down at him. The entire room was silent now, save for the surges of power coming from her, and the faint gusts of wind that radiated off her body. It was like she was emitting frost, that's how cold she was. Not sure if the others can, but I could feel it from here, the temperature had to be lower than even the blizzard outside.

While we were uneasy, Reginald was ecstatic.

He threw his hands in the air cheerfully, "YES! Finally, you've done it! You've tapped into your true power, Seraphina!" He had a grin from ear to ear, "You can come back now! You can conquer the world with us! We can finally be a true family!"

Sera didn't like that one bit. Her face contorted with anger, her eyes suddenly became a dangerous dark blue, like a deep part of the ocean's water.

"Family?" She asked, in that voice that was completely different from her own. Apparently it was the same voice as Khione, the snow goddess. "You are the exact opposite of what a family should be. Families are supposed to support each other, no matter what." Then her eyes widened and she grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him off the floor. "You tortured me!"

He choked and tried to pry her hand from his throat, but it was no use. Sera had gotten considerably stronger physically too. She was lifting her full grown father off the ground with one hand, easily, and he couldn't get her to even budge.

"I-It was...to make you strong." He managed to get out, gasping for air. The ice that came off her skin was starting to creep up his face, taking it over like a parasite. He winced from the pain.

"Strong?" Sera said, "No, it wasn't to make me strong. You, my mother, and my siblings are psychopaths. You enjoy killing and inflicting pain upon others, using your strength to do so. Strength should be used to protect people."

Reginald should've been begging for her to let him go, but instead he furrowed his eyebrows in anger. "That's a weak outlook!" He said.

She tightened her grip even further, to the point where he couldn't speak anymore. The frost on her arm thickened and seeped up to her hand. She pulled it back until it was beside her head, and the frost formed into an ice spear, growing and elongating in length until the sharp tip reached millimeters away from Reginald's nose.

Now he looked fearful. His eyes darted downward to the tip of the spear like piece of ice, knowing full well that it could cut the stone floor if Sera wanted it to.

Her cold, deadly eyes stared into his, "For your actions against me, and countless others...you deserve death!" She yelled, her voice echoing around the room, filled with power and authority. She gripped the ice spear in her palm, and it looked like she was going to stab it right in her father's face.

Reginald looked downright terrified, realizing that Sera wanted nothing to do with coming back to him, and that she was about to kill him. He closed his eyes and winced, preparing for the impact. We all watched on in slight uneasiness, but awe all the same.

A few seconds passed, and she kept the spear where it was, not moving it closer to his face. Her expression changed, and she let it become emotionless.

She let down her hand, and the ice spear dissipated. With the other hand, she threw her father to the floor on his rear.

Reginald opened his eyes and looked around his body, checking for wounds, then up at Sera in confusion. We all had the same expression. I was certain she was going to kill him.

Sera stepped back a little, and her look changed from anger to no emotion. "You're not worth it." She said, "You and the rest of my family are so pathetic, you don't even warrant my anger. Instead of killing you quickly, I'm going to make you suffer. Give you a hard life like you gave me. I'm going to destroy this mansion, and bury you under it. I know you and the other four can get out, but once you do, you'll be on the run, out in the open where all your enemies can find you."

Her father gulped, "I-I'm sure we can work something out? The Elixir, it's um...just beyond that wall over there." He pointed, "How about you don't destroy the mansion, and you take it?"

I wanted to laugh. Not a few minutes ago he had that smug look on his face, thinking he had complete control. Now look at him, trying to make a deal to avoid certain doom.

Sera didn't take her eyes off him, "Talon, could you get the Elixir, please?" She said it like the old Sera would, with nice manners, but with Khione's voice, it made the request seem like an order.

Talon nodded, "Sure thing." And took off to the other end of the room, at the wall Reginald talked about.

The patriarch looked hopeful, "So...you won't destroy the mansion, then?"

Sera put a finger to her chin, like she was thinking about it hard. "Perhaps. If you tell us a way to get to Scandinavia. I know you've been working with the Norse demigods and Ouranos."

Reginald nodded profusely, "We have. Er, there is one way I know of that doesn't involve mortal travel."

"And what is that."

"The Norse have a...ferryman, or something. I don't know its name or the specifics, but they told me if you travel to the coast of Maine, and throw an Obsidian Penningar in the water...he will come to you."

Sera processed it, then gestured with her head, "Give me this penningar item."

Reginald reached in his pocket and dug around. I had no idea what a penningar was, it sounded like made up bullshit to me, but to my surprise, he pulled out a black coin, and handed it to her.

Reginald eyed her with hope again, "Now that I gave it to you...you'll spare the mansion, right?"

Sera shook her head, "Oh no, I'm going to destroy it. But thanks for the information." She put the penningar in her dress and began to walk past him and towards us, but he grabbed her ankle.

"NO! Wait! Please don't destroy it!"

She kicked him square in the nose and caused him to let go. Blood immediately leaked out of it.

She looked down at him with disgust, "Goodbye, Father. I hope you and my siblings rot in the Fields of Punishment when the time comes." She then turned to us, "Let us leave this horrible place."

Reginald let go of his nose and looked helplessly at the four siblings, still unconscious and trapped in Sera's ice attack.

"Get down from there you worthless children! Help me! Kill her!" He was flailing like a madman, screaming and pointing at Sera with his finger.

Talon walked by with a large full jar of the Elixir, and kicked Reginald back on the ground.

"Shut the hell up." He growled, and joined us.

We all stood around in a near circle, and Sera closed her eyes, raising her arms up like she was asking for a hug. The ground shook and suddenly shifted. I looked down to see the stone floor change into white ice, molding into a full circle under all of us. Sera lifted her arms above her head, and we shot up towards the ceiling, the ice pillar acting as an elevator. Lifting us higher and higher, the sound of the rumbling almost covered Reginald's screams from below.

When we got thirty feet from the ceiling, Sera waved her hand, and a glassy, transparent wave of ice surrounded us in a dome shape. A couple of seconds later, we crashed into the ceiling, and to my surprise, we went right through, the stone and rock shattering like it was nothing. Then all we saw was black, and I knew we were passing through dirt, making our way to the surface.

Finally, after a minute or so, we burst from the ground, in front of the mansion just like we started.

Sera waved her hand again, and the ice dome disappeared, along with the hole in the ground. With all of that gone, I got a good look at the outside. It had changed. The blizzard was now gone, and all that was left was still snow. The gray storm clouds that hovered above were gone too, replaced with regular ones. To the left of us, I could see the faintest light, positioned at the ground. I knew that had to be the sun, just about to rise.

Damn, I thought. We've been here all night.

We all stood behind Sera as she gazed at the mansion coldly, maybe deciding whether she wanted to go through with it.

Malachi put a hand on her shoulder, which I wasn't sure was smart, considering she was on edge right now.

But Sera simply stood there. Malachi gently asked her, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She took a moment to respond, clearly a lot of thoughts going through her mind. But when she did, she said, "Yes. I have to do this. And once I do...I'll never come back."

Malachi looked at us, unsure of what to say to that. Hercules looked indifferent this entire time, Matt just shrugged speechlessly, and Talon looked disappointed. Probably at the fact that she didn't kill him down there.

Finally he looked at me, and I didn't hesitate. I nodded. If this was her way of getting rid of the past, then who were we to stop her. I admired it actually, because I'm not so sure I would've spared that asshole.

He nodded back, then backed away from Sera, taking his hand off her shoulder.

She lifted her hands in front of her, and all was still for a split second. Then the entire area shook, the wind started to pick up, a shockwave burst from her and hit us like a gust of wind. The mansion's foundation began to crumble, the top was shaking like a leaf, ice was creeping up all sides like trickling water, turning into jagged points and penetrating the stone walls. It was insane, watching that. Imagine witnessing a wrecking ball destroy a skyscraper, then multiply the coolness of that situation by ten, and you have this.

After several stabs in the heart of the manor, Sera shouted in Khione's voice, and squeezed her fists shut. The mansion instantly reacted, and every weak point came undone. Stone broke apart and fell like Jenga pieces, the protective gates bent and fell to the ground, seeping under the snow, any remaining windows were shattered. Every broken pieces sunk into the snow, and eventually, disappeared from sight. A four story tall mansion, as big as a castle, gone just like that, destroyed by a single girl.

The rumbling stopped, and everything was back to the way it was. We all stood there, our faces the same. Shook. Sera turned around and faced us, and for a second, I thought she was going to attack us. Her eyes were still cold and filled with hate, and her fists were still clenched.

But after a moment, that tension was broken. She unclenched her fists and gave us a lazy smile, for the first time since entering this form. It broke the mask of death she had been carrying for the last several minutes.

"It is done." She said, and the dark blue in her eyes faded, the frost on her skin melted, the blinding white in her hair dimmed, and the surges of energy dissipated. Her eyes closed and her knees buckled. Before she could fall face first in the snow, Malachi ran forward and caught her in his arms.

We all stepped closer to see if she was okay. I looked at Matt with worry, but he wasn't facing me, he was looking at Sera like he had seen a ghost, deep panic all over his face.

"Matt?" I asked, but he didn't hear me. I looked back at the pair and saw Malachi clutch her, "Sera?" He asked gently, "Sera are you okay?"

No response. Malachi pressed his lips to her forehead, and reared his head back with shock, "By the gods, her skin is colder than usual!"

Matt's face grew paler, "Malachi, I can't feel her aura..." He said, panic in his tone.

Malachi's face contorted, like he was going to cry. "I can't either!" He said, looking at us desperately "Someone heal her, please! Ambrosia? Anything?!"

"It must be an after effect of that form." Talon said grimly, "The pure temperature of it stuck with her. She's experiencing a coldness she's never felt before. Shit, this is not good."

Malachi hugged her tighter, "I need something! Does anyone have any ambrosia?!"

Everybody checked their pockets, only to come out empty. Even Hercules checked his, and he was the last, so we all looked at him expectantly.

He pulled his hand out and cursed, "I'm out."

"But you've had some this entire trip!" Matt said.

Hercules shook his head, "I used the last of it on Harper, son. I'm sorry, but I'm out."

I racked my brain for any ideas, any way to somehow get her back to normal.

Then something hit me.

I turned to Talon, "Talon, make some ambrosia! With that weird power creation thing!"

His expression told me that he didn't think it would work, but he was desperate too, just like the rest of us. I mean, this is one of his best friends we're talking about, along with Malachi. He was willing to try anything probably.

He nodded and held out his hand, "I'll try." He furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated.

A golden light flickered in his palm for a moment, but nothing came of it.

"Work, damn it!" He shouted, and his body tensed, he started to strain. I could see a vein popping out on his forehead.

"Fucking work!" He tried again, waving his hand around and thrusting it, but it didn't work. The golden light didn't come back.

I turned to Malachi, who now had a tear dripping down his cheek, shaking his head.

"Guys, her aura is seriously gone now." Matt said urgently.

On some act of instinct, I ran over to them and knelt down in front of Malachi. I'm not sure what came over me. Maybe the thought of losing someone I considered like a sister, or just the adrenaline in my veins at the moment, I have no idea.

"Set her down." I told him.

At first he looked at me, confused and zoned out. I had to repeat a little louder, "Set her down! On the snow, quickly!"

He shook his head and came out of his trance. He let her down gently so her back was resting on the snow.

I immediately put my ear to her chest, and listened for any sign of a heartbeat. To my horror, there was none.

"Oh gods, her heart stopped beating!" I said, taking my head off of her and looking at the others, trying to calm myself. I took a deep breath, "Okay, we need to restart it, and fast."

Malachi stumbled over his words, "Perhaps I could um, use lightning to start it back? W-Would that work?" His voice was shaking with worry. I had never seen him like this before.

It was a good proposition, very smart for Malachi, and I was about to say yes, when Hercules beat me to it.

"I hate to burst the bubble, but...with your level of power, kid...you might destroy the heart completely." He shook his head grimly, "I don't know. It seems like a big risk."

Malachi glared at him, "Nonsense! I would never do anything to hurt her!"

"Malachi." I said, gaining his attention, "No one is saying you would. It's just...well, Hercules is right. Your electricity is too strong, and there's a chance it could incinerate her heart entirely."

With me saying it, he took it better, and gritted his teeth. "Well, what do we do?"

I looked down at her, my insides turning unpleasantly at the thought of her dying. It would be because of me too. We had made her come here, to the last place she wanted to revisit, and now she might be gone for good. We had grown so close over the year. I...couldn't lose her, I just couldn't. It was breaking my heart just seeing her like this. Her hair was dimming more and more, her eyes were completely closed, no sign of life in them at all, not even a single twitch. Her lips were near blue and pale...

Her lips!

I turned to the others excitedly, "Guys, I think I know a way! We need to do mouth to mouth recessitation!"

Talon raised an eyebrow, "Recess a what now?"

I groaned, "We need to get air in her lungs, and we need to pump her chest for her."

Matt shook his finger happily, "Good thinking! That's way less of a risk than using electricity!"

I turned to Malachi and looked in his eyes seriously. "Malachi, I need you to put your lips to hers, and breath two long breaths of air into her. Then pull away, and I'm gonna pump her chest."

He nodded, "Now?"

"Yeah."

He leaned down and did what I said. Once he lifted his head up, I put my hands together the best I could remember from school when they showed us how to do this thing, and put them against her chest. I ignored the feeling of her, you know...boobs under my hands. This was a life or death situation, we could handle the awkwardness later of how I basically fondled Sera.

I pushed up and down, not too hard, a few times. When I did the amount necessary, I nodded at Malachi to go again. He did, and the process repeated.

We did this for a couple of minutes, the rest of the group onlooking with suspense. The pressure was building in my mind. If this didn't work, she'd be dead.

After several attempts, I began to fear the worst, and so did Malachi. His breathing into her became quicker and longer, even interrupting me and going ahead.

But finally, after a few more times, I saw some color come back to her lips and skin, and a twitch in her right eye.

I held a hand out to Malachi to stop him from going back in, "Wait a second."

We sat there and waited for any more signs. After a moment, her eyes shot open, and she breathed heavily, gasping for air.

We all simultaneously gasped. It was like a world sized anchor had been lifted off our chest. I smiled. She was okay.

Malachi practically leaped for joy. He scooped her up and hugged her tightly. "Sera! You are okay!"

"W-What happened?" She mumbled.

Malachi let her go, "We will tell you later. For now, we need to get you someplace warm."

"I can get you that." Hercules said, and turned to the eagle on his shoulder, whispering something in it's ear. Once he stopped whispering, the eagle seemed to understand and jumped off his shoulder, transforming mid air into a much larger version of itself. It laid on the ground and pulled it's body so it surrounded Sera. She snuggled into it, sighing at the new warmth.

Malachi looked at Hercules gratefully, "Thank you, sir."

He waved a dismissive hand and grunted, "Ah, no need to call me sir. Just tryin' to help."

Matt smiled at his father, then looked seriously at us, raising his voice. "Alright, let's stick around here for a few minutes until Sera's okay to travel. Talon, could you start a fire?"

Talon snorted, "I'll try, if it even works." He stuck out his hand and a golden light flashed, flickering like a lighter. Eventually, a bottle of lighter fluid, a box of matches, and a pile of wood morphed from his hand.

He looked surprised, and a little annoyed. "Oh Now it wants to work."

He set up the fire and lit it. Soon enough everybody sat around it. Matt and his father next to each other, talking about something I couldn't identify, Talon the nearest to it, staring at the flames, Malachi and Sera sat against the giant eagle, nestled into each other. And me, I was just glad the crazy stuff was over for a while. No chaos or hectic situations, just friends and a fire, outside of a sunken mansion.

But I still felt like I needed to get away for a minute. I got up from where I sat cross legged, nobody paid any attention except Matt. He looked at me with mild concern, to which I fought the urge to smirk at. The slightest move from me and he reacted. It kinda made my heart flutter a little, to be honest. But don't dare tell him I said that.

I shook my head, telling him that I was good. He nodded and relaxed, turning his attention back to the fire.

I walked about thirty feet away from the little camp, and just took in the silence, the sound of my own breathing. I missed it being this quiet. Things had been so unreal the last few days that I hardly had any time to rest. Same with the others, we were all worn out.

But despite all of the insanity, we accomplished a lot. Matt's back, and he brought his father, the god, we found out where we can hitch a ride to Scandinavia, we got the Elixir, and defeated the Griffith family. Well, that last part Sera did, not us.

The sky was navy blue behind me, hints of night still left in it, some of the stars were still visible even. But in front of me, the sun was rising, giving off a orange-red glow, bouncing off the few clouds that were in the sky. It looked like a painting. Especially with the calmness, and the snow, it brought some peace to my mind, I'm not gonna lie. I can see why Matt likes this kind of stuff.

"Quite a sight, huh?" A gruff, deep voice said next to me.

I turned and had to look up. Speaking of Matt, his father was directly next to me, looking at the sunrise himself.

The guy was huge, I'm talking Strongman huge. You know those big guys that pull eighteen wheelers and lift cars in competitions? Well, Hercules made those guys look like sissies. Heck, he made Matt look like a sissy. But to be fair, he was a god, and his father.

That got me thinking though, is that what Matt's gonna look like in twenty years? Fifteen years? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind that. There was certainly a resemblance. Hercules' face was ruggedly handsome and tan, a trimmed beard ran down his jaw, chin and lip, he had the same hairstyle as Matt right now, only a little shorter, and not as messy. He wore a sleeveless chestplate just like Matt, and army fatigue pants for some reason. His waist was covered up by a kilt of brown fur. Probably the hide of a monster he'd killed.

I had to tilt my head nearly all the way up to look at him. The guy was seven feet tall, if not more.

"Sure."

We stood in silence for a second, a little awkward, since I've given him the cold shoulder since I met him a couple of hours ago.

"Good job back there by the way." He said, "Thinking quick in a tough situation is a great quality."

I shrugged, "Pure instinct really."

I saw him shake his head in my peripheral, "Instinct or not, you did good. You're a good warrior. It takes a lot of skill to do what you did in the mansion, moving quick like that, using those knives..."

"Training and getting my ass kicked." I said, "That's the key."

He chuckled, "Experience is the best teacher." He cleared his throat, "Listen Harper, I ain't complementing you to win points or anything. I meant what I said, you're a powerful demigoddess."

I sighed, and turned to face him. "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, and...I apologize. I just...I guess I blamed you for Matt leaving, when in reality...he made the decision himself. But I'm not mad at him either, I've moved on from that."

He raised a knowing eyebrow, "Then why do you look confused?"

Wow, he was good at reading people. Then again, he's a god, like I keep forgetting.

"I just...I don't know where Matt and I are at, relationship wise. I mean, I still like him a lot, and...I want to be with him. But things are so complicated, and it's been a year..."

"I don't pretend to know anything about relationships." He said, looking sideways at the sun, "But I can tell you one thing, that kid is crazy about you."

I knit my eyebrows, silently asking him to elaborate.

He groaned a little, "All he talked about on my Island was Harper this and Harper that, oh and did you know Harper did this and this? Yeah, it got annoying."

I smiled, "Really?"

He nodded, "All the damn time. And just now, the way he looked at you...cmon, a blind guy could see it."

I looked at the ground, unsure.

"Look, one thing about my son is that if you talk to him, I mean really talk, everything will work out. I mean, for a while, he didn't exactly like me too much, which I deserved. But once I talked to him, and we got to know each other better, things worked out. And...I do feel bad about everything that happened. His mother...Olympus, I loved her, but the damn laws, and my duty on that stupid Island kept me from her and him. But now, I'm trying to make up for it, by coming on this quest." He gave a mischievous smirk, "I'm breaking a hundred rules just by being here with you kids, but you think I care? Hell no."

I chuckled. I was really starting to like Hercules. The fact that he sounded genuine when he talked about Matt's mom, and how he said he didn't care about the stupid ancient rules...shed him in a new light for me.

I held out my hand, "Well, I'm glad you're here. Starting now, no more cold shoulder."

He smiled, and wrapped his beefy hand around my own, covering it up completely. "I'd like that." We shook.

"What's going on over here?" A new voice said, walking up. I turned and saw that it was Matt.

He gave a hopeful smile, "Wait a sec...you guys are shaking hands, aren't you? You guys cool now?"

Hercules and I looked at each other, then back at Matt.

"Your girlfriend approves of me." Hercules said.

I laughed, our hands fell apart, "Yeah, he's alright."

Matt grinned, "Thank the gods. I thought I would have to play messenger the whole quest."

Hercules nodded at the campfire, "How's the girl?"

Matt glanced back, "Oh, she's way better now. I think she's ready to hit the road, er, sky, I meant sky."

"Sky?" I asked.

Hercules patted me on the back, nearly breaking my spine. "Yep, sky. We're gonna ride on Kyros to Maine."

"Wait, we're gonna ride your giant eagle? How's he gonna fit all of us? And how will he fly that far?"

Hercules and Matt laughed like I had just told the funniest joke in the world. They were wiping tears by the time it was over.

I was confused. "What's so funny?"

Matt smiled at me, still heaving laughs. "Oh Harper, there's so much I wanna show you."

Turns out, Kyros can fit all of us.

Yep, Matt filled me in on how great this bird was. Apparently Zeus created him a thousand years ago to be Hercules's pet when he was made a god. Kyros can grow to the size of two elephants combined, yeah, not kidding about that, because that's the size he was now. We all occupied a giant saddle that was on his back, and he didn't mind the weight, he flew just as quick as he would without any of us.

At first I was a little terrified of the speed and height, but after a few minutes, I calmed down and realized this was more peaceful than anything.

We had some small talk for a while, then eventually most people went to sleep. When that happened, Matt came over to where I was leaning on the saddle, right behind Kyros's head.

"Um, I just wanted to say...you did really good back there." He said, a nervous smile on his face, "I would've never thought of mouth to mouth."

I smiled at him. His hair was flowing with the wind, flapping wildly behind him and some of it in his face. Whenever it happened he would blow it away with annoyance. It was cute.

"Nah, wasn't anything special." I replied, straightening my braid. I was getting annoyed with the wind myself to be honest. "Just wanted to save Sera, that's all."

He nodded, then lowered his voice, "Hey, what was that back there anyway? She hasn't talked about it much, or really at all for that matter."

"No idea. It was...crazy, seeing her like that. I mean, it was so unlike Sera, and she was so much stronger."

Matt glanced back at her, where her and Malachi were sleeping, cuddled up together.

"I'm not kidding when I say this, Harper." He said a little grimly, "Reginald was right, her aura was beyond his and the other siblings combined. It was five times her usual power."

I leaned in a little, "How does she compare to you?"

He pursed his lips, "Not close to my current self. But last year on our first quest, if I faced her...she'd give me some serious trouble, and I was capable of destroying the Cursed Island at the time."

My eyes widened, "That strong?"

He nodded.

I exhaled, leaning back some in disbelief. Sweet Sera, never liked to fight, was that strong in that form. Strong enough to destroy Islands, and maybe more.

Matt continued, "Whenever I felt her aura, it was always...powerful. Very powerful, but blocked by a layer of fear and timidity. Well...I think tonight, that form wiped away the fear for a few minutes, and unlocked her true potential."

"But where does the form come from?" I asked, "I mean, why now?"

He looked as clueless as I did, shrugging, "I don't know. If I had to guess what triggered it, was seeing you almost get shot. Maybe the fear overloaded and she just...entered it. Kind of like with my Red Aura, the trigger is anger. Maybe her trigger is fear."

It was a good theory, but it still didn't make complete sense.

"She was so...cold in that form." I said, "I mean, I know you probably couldn't feel it, but I did. And let me tell you, it was way colder than the blizzard outside. It was like she went Absolute Zero or something."

Matt raised an eyebrow, "Absolute Zero?"

I deadpanned at him, "Matt, come on. I haven't even been to school for years, and I'm the one that knows what Absolute Zero is?"

"I haven't been in a year! Cut me some slack!"

I facepalmed. "Absolute Zero is the lowest temperature possible. It's like negative four hundred and sixty Fahrenheit. Scientists say it's impossible to reach or something, but I'd say Sera reached it tonight."

Matt nodded, then quipped, "Hey, Absolute Zero's a pretty cool name for that form."

I rolled my eyes, "Gods, don't tell me you're actually gonna call it that?"

He smirked, "Totally. It's too cool not to use."

I lightly punched him on the shoulder, "What about your Red Aura? Isn't there a better name for that?"

He thought about it for a second. I fought the urge to snicker at his face right now. The way it was contorted, I could practically see the gears turning.

Finally, he shrugged, "Rage Form? Uh...Berserker Form?"

I laughed, "You're hopeless, Shark Boy."

He laughed too, and our eyes met. Calling him that nickname made my chest giddy. It was like we had never been apart.

The smiles faded from our faces. Our eyes were having a war with each other, our bodies started to tilt closer and closer. I was about to close my eyes...

When a loud snore broke through the air.

We almost shot away from each other. Matt sheepishly turned away from me and scratched his neck, while I angrily searched for the source of the interruption.

I found it. A dumbass named Talon.

He was laying on his back, facing the blue sky. Every time he breathed out, a snore would escape his nose, like a pig in the woods or something. Ill never know how the others stayed asleep.

I scowled at him. Oh I would get him later...

I looked back at Matt, a little hopeful. I tried to suggest with my eyes that we get back to business, but he wasn't even looking at me. His ears were red and he was looking everywhere but me.

Yep, the mood was ruined.

"Matt..." I tried, but didn't know the words to say.

"Uh, I think I should get some sleep before we reach Maine." He said quickly. "Gotta be at full strength when we get on that boat, right?"

I tried not to slump. I answered half heartedly, "Yeah, you're right."

He looked like he wanted to hug me, or do something, because his body started towards me, but his mind must've told him no, because he hesitated and backed away.

"Well...goodnight." He said.

I gave a pathetic, dejected little wave. "Goodnight."

He retreated to the other side of the saddle, next to the snoring Talon. Before he laid down, he rolled Talon over on his side, effectively stopping the snoring. Matt sighed with relief and laid down, his back facing me.

I frowned, disappointed that we didn't kiss, that we didn't talk about things. This had went from uplifting to downright awkward within a few minutes.

I tried not to let it get to me. Instead of pouting, I leaned my head over the saddle towards Kyros's head. I laid my crossed arms on the edge of the saddle, and my head on my arms, just staring at the passing land below with boredom.

I had no idea what was about to come next. I mean, what would we find at Camp Asgard, really? Would it be a trap? Would we have different ideas on how to defeat Ouranos?

Thinking of that, I wondered how Percy and Annabeth would handle the situation. They should be here, they were the leaders of Camp Half Blood now.

One thought led to another, and of course Chiron entered my mind. The image of the centaur happy and inspiring, teaching an archery class and giving a speech...to bloody and beaten, dead on the ground.

I missed him. I missed Percy, his experience and witty remarks, I missed Annabeth, her intelligence and support. And of course, I missed Aiden. I missed him the most. I hope he's okay.

As I shifted my body and leaned my back against the saddle, I vowed to see them again, to make it back alive, and to rebuild Camp back to the way it was.

Yeah, that's a good plan. Not bad for a simple Daughter of Nemesis.

With the day warm and the wind cool, we flew on to Maine, hoping that some Norse Ferryman would take us to Scandinavia. Just another day in the office for our crew.

I inhaled as much air as I could, then let it all out. A slow pace of breathing followed, and I drifted off into the realm of dreams.

(000)

Hope you all enjoyed that chapter, because I sure had fun writing it!

As always, don't forget to leave a review!

Until Next Time.