I spent the next month running errands for Hades. Get groceries, pick up my dry cleaning, go dispose of some people for me. You know, the usual stuff.

To clarify, the people Hades sent me out to kill are some of the worst monsters on the planet. Sometimes, if he deems them as particularly evil, I get to go hunting with the Furies. They still hated me for what happened on Half-Blood Hill all those years ago, and I still resented them for trying to kill Thalia. Despite that, we had a grudging respect between each other. It was more of an I-won't-kill-you-if-you-don't-kill-me kinda relationship.

Whenever I wasn't running errands or stuck in the throne room helping out with paperwork, I was in the Fields of Asphodel, talking to Hazel. We quickly connected, speaking to each other like we'd been lifelong friends instead of only meeting a few weeks ago.

I tried to catch Hazel up on the world to the best of my ability without revealing much about myself or the fact that I was a Greek speaking to a Roman. I even made sure to speak about the gods in their Roman aspect, hoping that Hades wasn't close enough for him to become schizophrenic.

She had been absolutely thrilled when I told her that civil rights passed forty years ago, giving colored people the same rights as whites. She'd also been relieved to find out that the world was still under control of the gods, Gaea having failed to raise Alcyoneus after Hazel had collapsed the glacier that was supposed to be the giant's home.

Then came the question I'd been dreading: "How can you see me?"

"Probably because of my parentage." Not a lie, but not the truth either.

"Who's your godly parent, then?" Hazel asked innocently, playing with her curls while she spoke.

"I don't know. They haven't made themselves known to me."

"Then we may be sisters," Hazel said hopefully. "I don't know of any other gods whose children can hold Stygian iron other than Pluto. And you also have control over the dead. I mean, you're talking to me."

"Gods, I'd love that," I said, returning the smile Hazel was giving me. Then I frowned, feigning ignorance about what I was going to ask. "Wait, you said I have control over the dead. Does that mean you don't?"

Hazel bit her lip, turning to stare at the ground. At her feet, a bright red ruby popped up, still shining despite the little light. "Don't touch it!" she yelped, picking up the ruby and tucking it into the pocket of her nightgown.

I wasn't going to touch it anyways, but the way she seemed so afraid of the ruby made me wonder just what Marie had done to her. Hazel scooted back from me, like she was expecting me to scream or hit her.

"It's okay, Hazel," I reassured her. "I'm not one to judge, especially when I have freaky powers of my own."

Hazel tilted her head sideways, confused about my reaction. I was right, she'd been expecting some sort of backlash from me, once again making me wonder how people treated her while she was alive.

"What kind of powers?"

I glanced towards the palace then overhead, making sure I wasn't going to be caught. I don't know if Hades was aware of my visits with the soul of his dead Roman daughter.

Once I was sure I was in the clear, I opened my hand, letting a small flame dance across my palm. Then, with the little water in the air, I extinguished the fire before letting the water swirl around the two of us, making sure that not a drop landed on Hazel.

I then glanced at a poplar tree and had an idea. I picked up a fallen branch, earning a weird look from Hazel. "Patience," I told her, tightening my grip on the white branch. Sure enough, little dark red flowers began to bloom – pomegranate flowers.

"Wow," Hazel breathed, her fingers passing through the flowers when she tried to touch them. "I didn't think Proserpina's seeds reached this far into Asphodel."

"Neither did I." I then forced the flowers to wilt and die, not wanting to leave behind any evidence.

Next, I made little sparks jump in my hand, which understandably made Hazel a little jumpy. Even during World War Two, I figured Jupiter must've still had it out for Pluto's kids, whether they were directly involved or not.

As my final demonstration, I showed Hazel my control over the shadows, forcing them to cloak me. Hazel gasped next to me. I let the shadows go, revealing myself once again. I decided not to show her my powers I'd gotten from Hera, Juno, whatever, as a lot of people didn't enjoy having someone else look into their memories.

"How has Jupiter not killed you yet?" Hazel asked, her eyes wide.

"Pledged my undying fidelity to Olympus," I said. "Jupiter and I aren't on the best terms right now, but I don't mind spending time with Pluto."

"You've met the Olympians?"

"I live with them," I corrected her. "Jupiter wanted to kill me, saying that I was too powerful to be let loose. However, Minerva convinced him otherwise, and the council voted to keep me around as Olympus' final defense. They took over my training, and for the past five years, I've spent every week with an Olympian."

"Even my father?"

"Yes. I'm here right now, because I disobeyed Apollo. The council figured the Underworld was a punishment, but Pluto and I are friends, which they don't know."

Hazel snorted, laughing into her hand. "Forgive me, but I can't picture my father being friends with a demigod."

"Trust me, I don't understand it either. But I help him out with all the paperwork and run his errands, so I figure that helps too."

Suddenly, all the nerves in my body were telling me to hide. I brought a finger to my lips, signaling Hazel to be quiet as I hid myself in the shadows, staying perfectly still. Moments later, the three Furies flew overhead, a new soul dangling from Megaera's talons as they headed for the Fields of Punishment. I waited for a three count before letting the shadows dissolve, sighing in relief.

"That was a close one," I said, shaking my head to rid my mind of that soul's screaming.

"Are you even allowed to visit me?" Hazel asked, looking extremely guilty all of a sudden. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"I don't think anyone knows about our reunions, and I intend to keep it that way." Even from here, I could hear the lash of the Furies' whips, the tortured screams from Punishment permeating the still air. "I need to go before I'm caught."

Hazel nodded in agreement. "Stay safe, Andy. I'll see you whenever you drop by again."

"We'll meet again, Hazel, I assure you."

I didn't give her time to ask for me to explain before disappearing in my own shadow, vanishing to my room in Hades' palace.

When I finally was allowed out of the Underworld, I was sent back to Olympus to face the council. Apparently during my absence, Apollo and Athena had teamed up against the rest of the gods to give me a chance at a normal life.

They weren't going to strip me of my powers or anything like that, but they wanted me down in the mortal world to fend for myself now. Honestly, I didn't care either way as I loved both Olympus and the mortal world. Plus, nothing in the mortal world scared me anymore, while the godly world still had stuff that made me want to go cry and die in a hole.

"And what will she be doing?" Zeus demanded, unconvinced of his children's plan, even though now many of the gods had started to back them.

"Going to college like any other nineteen-year-old," Athena spoke simply, though it was clear in her tone that she used an enormous amount of self-control to omit the "duh" from her statement.

"Where?"

"Wherever she wishes," Apollo added. "Name the school, kid, and we'll get you in."

"And why exactly would I agree to this?" Zeus was scowling at Apollo and Athena, the recently reclaimed Master Bolt glowing as a result of its master's agitation. "Wasn't the whole purpose of training Andromeda to keep her here on Olympus?"

"She was to be our last line of defense," Artemis reminded her father, actually standing with her brother for once.

"Aw, thanks for the support little sis!"

Apollo yelped when a silver arrow landed millimeters from his head.

"How many times must I remind you, I helped birth you!" Artemis hissed, releasing another arrow at Apollo, which struck opposite the initial arrow, leaving Apollo's head stuck between two silver arrows.

"Not this again," Hermes grumbled, not even looking up from his phone as his thumbs moved rapidly across the screen, most likely responding to some work-related email.

"Back to the topic at hand," Athena interrupted, bringing the attention back to her. "Andromeda has proven herself loyal to Olympus multiple times, Father. She's brought many of our children to their camps as well as serve us without ever questioning orders. I believe she's earned the right to live in the mortal world with other children her age."

"She doesn't need friends," Zeus snapped. "All they'll be are distractions that will prevent Andromeda of doing her duty."

"Wasn't she friends with your daughter?" Poseidon asked, frowning at his brother. "Hades, the girl has made friends with many of our children at camp. My son, Annabeth, Grover, Cleo, Travis, Connor…Need I go on?"

Zeus grit his teeth, visibly annoyed at Poseidon calling his bluff. "Didn't your son end up being the reason Andromeda nearly died?" Zeus then turned to glare at Athena. "That goes for your daughter too, Athena. Wasn't she the one who initially threw Andromeda in the way of Ares's sword?"

"I said I was sorry!" Ares exclaimed, huffing indignantly.

"It's okay, sweetheart, she wasn't blaming you in the first place," Aphrodite cooed.

"My daughter acted unwisely," Athena conceded, "but she only had good intentions, as I'm sure Andromeda understands."

I nodded, but no one seemed to notice.

"That doesn't change the fact that she nearly died," Hephaestus argued. "You can't fix people like machines, Athena, trust me. It's a miracle Apollo got to her in time."

I sighed and took a seat by Hestia, who was watching her family fight with a sad look on her face.

"She was smart enough to ask Ares to throw her in the water," Demeter said between bites of her cereal. No one asked where the goddess had gotten a bowl of Lucky Charms, nor did they really care.

"Exactly," Athena agreed. "Andromeda was strong enough to maintain consciousness after a severe injury from a symbol of power and then aid Ares in helping to heal herself."

"Don't you think this constitutes some freedom?" Apollo kept pushing. "We've worked Andromeda like a dog for the past five years, practically trying to turn her into some mindless security guard, a messenger girl. Yet she's persevered through every obstacle we've ever thrown at her."

"Freedom?" Zeus growled, standing up from his throne. "That girl has had nothing but freedom! We allow her to come and go as she wishes-"

"As long as she checks in first," Hermes coughed, causing Apollo to smile.

"-to carry out orders unsupervised-"

"Yeah, right."

"-and to speak to us like equals."

"Not."

Zeus glared daggers at Hermes, who didn't even flinch, not bothering to look up from his phone. Apollo snickered quietly in his throne, yelping again as Artemis shot another arrow at her brother.

"Hermes speaks the truth," Poseidon said, agreeing with his nephew. "Andromeda lives under the impression that we give her independence, yet every second that she is not in your direct line of sight, you demand that Iris shows you what she is doing!"

"And with good reason! What do you make of the time Iris can't show me an image, hmm? What am I supposed to believe she's doing then?"

Thank you, Iris, I prayed mentally, hoping that the static was strongest whenever I was meddling around with the future. Maybe the Fates had instructed the rainbow goddess to keep my meetings secret, and that meant I'd have to thank them too, if that were the case. Or maybe it was Salina, whom I haven't heard from in two years. I wouldn't put it past her.

"Using the bathroom? Sleeping?" Apollo offered with a shrug. "There are many reasons Iris keeps things hidden."

"Are you all so blind?" Zeus yelled, his body beginning to glow with rage. I averted my eyes, not wanting to disintegrate today. "She's clearly been conspiring with her father to bring about our doom!"

Then a resounding slap echoed around the room, bringing everyone to silence. Risking disintegration, I glanced up at the gods, seeing Zeus clutching his cheek while Hera scowled at him, her normally kind eyes alight in anger.

"How dare you accuse Andromeda of such treachery," Hera seethed, her voice level yet still hard enough to cut through bedrock. "She has sworn an oath on the River Styx – multiple, actually – that she would never betray us. If she had ever broken her oaths, we would've known immediately. The fact that Andromeda is standing in this very room at the moment is proof enough that she hasn't betrayed us."

Go, Lady Hera, I rooted internally, glad that someone was finally putting the Drama King in his place. Gods, he was so paranoid at times, it made my head spin. How could you live with the constant fear of being usurped all the time? It's not like anyone else wanted to be King of the Gods for the time being.

"Now that the issue is settled," Hera continued, shooting her husband a scathing glare, making him sink into his throne in defeat. "Let's vote like the civilized beings we are. All in favor of granting Andromeda permission to live in the mortal world?"

Only Zeus abstained, pouting like a petulant child who had been refused the last cookie from the cookie jar.

"Motion carried. Andromeda, speak with Apollo and Athena about where you will be attending school in the upcoming month."

"I will, Lady Hera."

"Make sure the council is informed of your decision."

"I will."

"You better show up if we summon you," Zeus threatened, receiving glares from all the gods minus Dionysus, who had fallen asleep as soon as the voting was over.

Ignoring Zeus' anger, I said in a calm voice, "That's my duty, Lord Zeus."

"The council is dismissed."

After a lot of deliberation between Apollo and Athena, and very minimal input from me, I found out I was going to be enrolled at Columbia University, here in New York. Yeah, I know, I find out I'm getting sent away to college, and it turns out Apollo got me accepted into an Ivy League by merely batting his eyes.

And Mist.

Lots and lots of Mist.

I was now enrolled as a biochemistry student who minored in scientific research and ancient histories. Not exactly sure why they'd thought biochemistry would be the best major for me, but who was I to argue when I was going to an Ivy League for free.

Back home, I'd been planning to go to the community college that was a twenty minute walk from the orphanage. Even then, I thought about going into teaching or journalism, never giving a field in math or science a second thought. I was good at math and science, but I wasn't a fan, especially after suffering through the endless nightmare that is calculus.

Trust me, curves are all nice and pretty until you're forced to find the area of a sphere with no other information than the derivative of the curve and a radius.

But according to Athena, she'd already taught me the majority of what I needed to know to be successful in my classes, so I wasn't too freaked out. Plus, I pretty much have biology under my belt thanks to Apollo, who made me start from the basics after learning that I had never taken a biology class in my life.

Apparently the fall semester started in two days, so I packed all my belongings into two large duffel bags and my bag and shadow-traveled to the campus. Yes, I was going to experience the joys of dorm room living. Maybe I should've asked Percy for some pointers before bringing myself here.

Oh, well, too late now.

The school year was surprisingly quiet in terms of monster attacks, which I thought was pretty odd. I mean, I'm not exactly the weakest in terms of demigod scent if Grover's statement was anything to go by. I hadn't been wearing any of my charms, either, like the ones I gave Percy and Leo, so it's not like I was trying to mask my scent.

At least the lack of attacks made it much easier to pass off as a normal student versus a soldier waiting for the dreaded call that meant it was time to go back to work. I even made a few mortal friends, who were all crazy smart as well as complete party animals.

Let's just say there's a reason I don't ever want to get drunk.

When the year finally ended, I decided to travel around New York, wanting to familiarize myself with the state I'd been living in the past six years now. I went up to Niagara Falls and stayed there for a few days, loving the sound of the roaring water as it went over the side, mist spraying all the visitors on the bridge even if there was no wind.

I even visited the state house in Albany, narrowly avoiding some serious trouble after I accidentally tripped the governor of New York down the steps of the building. Before anyone could figure out what happened and blame me, I'd mist-traveled so quickly out of the place it was a miracle a part of me hadn't been left behind.

Now it was finally summer, and seeing that the gods (cough, not Zeus, cough) were still okay with the fact that I was roaming the mortal world freely, I wanted to stay at Camp Half-Blood for the summer. Maybe this time I wouldn't miss six weeks after being stabbed, but who knows when you're a demigod.

When I arrived at camp after taking a Greyhound into the nearest bus stop by camp, I watched as the Gray Sister's taxi service dropped Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson at the foot of Half-Blood Hill. That meant…oh, no.

Running rampant inside the borders of Camp Half-Blood were two Colchis bulls, nasty metal creatures that blew fire and radiated enough heat to give anyone who touched their hides second and third degree burns. Even from here, I could see their ruby eyes glowing with hatred, going after three Ares campers who were trying to take the beast down.

Luckily for me, I was fireproof, so I didn't have to worry about the fire the bulls spewed. I summoned Epithymia, running over to the recently arrived trio.

"What the heck is going on?" I asked, readjusting the grip on my sword's shield. "Why didn't Chiron contact me?"

Annabeth looked up. Her blonde hair was a rat's nest, matted with soot and dirt. She had a cut mark on her chin and another on her arm, but she didn't seem too bothered by them.

"Colchis bulls," Annabeth said, gesturing up the hill as an Ares kid's helmet caught fire. "I wish I had my Medea's SPF 50,000. And I had a jar at home, too."

"Border patrol, to me!" a gruff voice I recognized as Clarisse's shouted.

"Since when have we had a border patrol?" Percy asked, the four of us beginning to charge uphill. He uncapped Riptide, the bronze sword shimmering to its full length in his hand.

"We haven't," I answered.

"We've got to help Clarisse," Annabeth said, which we both agreed even though we weren't exactly buddies with the daughter of Ares.

"What about him?" I asked, motioning to Tyson.

"We need him."

"What?" Percy asked. "Annabeth, he's a mortal. Maybe he got lucky with those dodgeballs but…"

"Not the time, guys," I reminded them.

The four of us ran forward, but when Tyson tried to cross the boundary line, he couldn't. Percy didn't realize this, of course, charging forward to help Clarisse, even though we both knew she would be upset about the intervention.

Annabeth shot Tyson a distasteful glare before joining Percy. I decided I was going to wait for Annabeth to be the one to let Tyson into camp.

Percy and Clarisse tag teamed one bull, while Annabeth and I ran over to the four other Ares campers who were visibly shaking in their armor. Seeing that I had the longer weapon and was fireproof, I ran forward, dragging Epithymia's blade across the bull's flank as it charged past me.

Even after the bull had ran past, deciding to continue terrorizing the other Ares campers, I could still feel the residual heat, my face feeling as flushed as the time I'd accidentally fallen asleep inside the sun chariot without any air conditioning.

"Spread out!" Annabeth told the other campers, watching as the bull we were fighting take a U-turn, its head low and horns pointed directly at us. "Distract the bulls!"

"What do you think we've been doing?!" one of the campers shouted, grunting as they leaped out of the way of the charging bull.

I forced myself to stand still for a three count, earning a, "Move, Andy!" from Annabeth, waiting for the bull to attack. When it realized I wasn't running away in fear, the bull opened its mouth, a nozzle taking the place of where its tongue should've been. The bull's hide began to light up orange, glowing like lava under the Earth's surface.

"Andromeda, get out of the way!" Annabeth shouted again, her footsteps approaching me quickly.

"Stay back!" I shouted at Annabeth, never breaking eye contact with the bull.

Then the bull's entire body shook before lunging forward, white hot fire spewing from the nozzle that Hephaestus had installed. From outside the wall of fire, I could hear Annabeth screaming my name. I guess she forgot about my pyrokinesis.

I brandished my sword, forcing it to take the brunt of the flames as a way to control my energy. I pictured the flames wrapping around behind me into thick ropes before screaming, feeling the tug in my gut that let me know something was happening.

The fire rushed back at the bull, running over its metal hide. Then I heard the war cry of, "BAD COW!" and knew I needed to move before I'd get my skulled smashed in accidentally. I held the fire for a second more before running to the side, Tyson showing up and slamming his fists onto either side of the bull's snout.

The bull's snout crumpled inward, looking like a sock that was inside out. Tyson continued applying pressure, causing for fire to come out of the bull's ears. He hit the bull again, and this time the entire face caved in, giving the resemblance of a piece of aluminum foil that had been crumpled up and straightened up multiple times.

"Down!" Tyson shouted, pushing the bull backwards. For good measure, I slashed at the back leg.

The bull then keeled over, landing on its back. It moved its legs in the air like a cockroach that was stuck on its back, steam pouring from its misshapen head and neck. Clarisse had taken care of the other bull with a spear to the leg. Now it was limping in slow circles, moving around a fixed point like it was stuck on a record player.

Percy was down by a tree, Annabeth squatting down to hand him her canteen of nectar. He sprained his ankle during the fight, I remembered from the books. Clarisse then walked over to the duo, screaming curses at Percy for getting in her way.

I turned to Tyson and held out a hand. "I'm Andy," I said.

Tyson stared at my hand, unsure of what to make of it. I brought my hand back down. "I'm Tyson," he said happily, flashing me his crooked yellow teeth that were caked with peanut butter. I looked up higher, his one brown eye bright with joy. "I saved Percy!"

"Yeah, you did," I laughed, sheathing my sword.

We walked over to Percy, who was propped up against a pine tree. I bent down, telling him to show me his ankle while I pulled out the gauze and splint I carried with me at all times.

"You didn't die," Percy told Tyson bluntly.

Tyson glance downward, guilty from having disobeyed Percy. Then they had the whole revelation about Tyson being a Cyclops, causing Percy's mouth to open and close like a gaping fish.

"A mistake," I heard Annabeth say. Tyson was on the verge of tears.

"Hey," I snapped, looking up from Percy's ankle. "Don't blame the kid for who his parents are."

Annabeth ignored me.

I rolled my eyes and helped Percy to his feet, handing him off to Annabeth to support him back to camp. He'd only sprained his ankle, thank the gods, and after a shower, he'd be fine.

Clarisse came back and turned to me. "We need your help to get the wounded back to the infirmary." She looked behind me and glared at Tyson. "We need to tell Tantalus about him."

"Who's Tantalus?" Percy asked.

"The activities director," Clarisse said impatiently, wiping a hand across her forehead, leaving behind a streak of soot.

"Chiron is the activities director," Percy argued. "And where's Argus? He's head of security. He should be here."

Clarisse scowled, glaring at the sight of the fire still raging on the hillside. "Argus got fired. You three have been gone too long. Things are changing."

"But Chiron…He's trained kids to fight monsters for over three thousand years. He can't just be gone. What happened?"

"That happened." She pointed at Thalia and Luke's pine tree.

I paled, starting to walk over to the tree. Its pine needles were all an ugly shade of yellow, barely hanging onto the branches. Surrounding the base of the tree like a depressing wall were a ton of dead pine needles, indicating just how sickly the tree really was. Three feet from the bottom of the tree was a hole the size of a .45 round. It was oozing a nasty green fluid, dripping down the bark and onto the scorched grass beneath it.

I placed a hand on the tree and shivered, feeling the agony that Luke and Thalia were in from the poison. One of the downsides of Demeter's powers, you feel everything in nature.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling the guilt I'd tried to bury over the past few years come back at full force. "I'm so sorry."

I pulled away from the tree, gritting my teeth in anger.

Kyle was going to pay for hurting my friends and for endangering my home. This I vow.