Above the Most Broken Clouds

Above the Most Broken Clouds is the sequel to Under a Very Black Sky and On the Dying Horizon, and is the third installment of the Within the Suffering Aether Trilogy.

Chapter One
When I think back to that time, the only word that really comes to mind is pain. That is the only way I can really describe what it was like, being trapped in the wilds, being hunted by the condemned ones, the monsters, and the purple-eyed living that worked with them. They controlled the animals of the forest, I had no chance to hunt for anything. Every day was spent running away from something, fighting back the jaws of death that so eagerly snapped at me, wanting to consume what little life I had left in me. I escaped the cabin by diving out a window after the doors of the house gave way and the condemned flooded in. I locked myself inside the bathroom, kicked the door open and climbed out, leaving some greek fire charges behind. They blew up when the bathroom door gave way, sending me flying who knows how far and turning the cabin to a pile of ash.

After that I just ran, trying to kill my way past anything that moved. Hours turned to days. Days turned into weeks. Pretty soon I lost track of time completely, hiding in caves and in hollowed out trees in the area. I lost the cowl of darkness after two weeks, using it to blind a condemned and push it into a bear cave. That proved to be a really terrible mistake. When the winter came, I had nothing warm to wear. Winter was the hardest part. I stayed warm mostly through killing condemned and stealing whatever jacket looked warmest and burning the bodies. Every day for...Hades knows how long, I just moved, killed, and burned the bodies for warmth.

But that was the easy part. Food was the most scarce thing in the winter. On the rare chance I could snag a rabbit or a squirrel, it would only last me so long, considering most animals were in hibernation. And when the spring came, all I could do for the most part was try to avoid the bears and the wolves, the latter of which hunted me incessantly for days on end before, during a chase, I fell off a cliff and into the newly melted river. I think I was closest to death that day. I don't know how long I was thrown through the rapids and repeatedly dashed against the stones, or how far the river carried me, but it was when I ran out of air that my vision went black and the next thing I remember is being dragged through the forests by the ones with the purple eyes.

In my starved, dehydrated, exhausted state, trying to fight them off was the hardest fight of my life. All my usual strength had left me, and I did everything smacking them with stones to stabbing them with my weapons to the best of my ability. The two of them were enhanced by Chaos, making it doubly hard. It wasn't until I physically tore out one of their jugulars with my teeth that I gained the upper hand. For the life of me, I'm never going to get that moment out of my memory. That awful, copper taste, the cry of shock from his companion, the gurgle he made in a vain attempt to breathe, and the stains his blood left on my face and teeth, before I began fighting off and eventually cutting the head off the other. They had friends, who chased me for no less than two days with no rest, it seems the soldiers of Chaos don't need sleep. I wound up taking cover inside a thin log that most people wouldn't have been able to fit in. I did it though. I'd lost a lot of weight from starvation and loss of water weight, but even then I had needed to dislocate one of my shoulders to fit inside.

I stayed in that log, surviving off of a stolen bottle of water, for...I lost track of the days after five. Then, when the sounds of the searchers vanished, I squeezed out and started looking for food and water. All there was was a small puddle of rainwater and a single berry bush. I cut the bush from the ground and started walking with it, filling the stolen water bottle in the puddle and taking it with me as well. I don't know how many moons it was that I made it just off of berries and water, but both were few and far between, and I sometimes went days without.

Eventually I became too weak to carry my crossbow, and had to leave it behind, burying it under a rock. I'll find you again someday. I think as I keep walking. A couple weeks after that, I had to turn my sword back into its necklace form, my arms not strong enough to carry even that. In spite of this, I kept moving, and it wasn't until the summer passed that anything worthy of note happened. I had long since lost track of where the hell I was, but then, I found a road and followed it for a few hours, eventually coming upon a sign.

"Welcome to..." I hesitated, not sure how to pronounce the next word. "Ee-oh-wah." I shrugged and kept moving, eventually coming upon a long, seemingly endless field. I kept walking, a walk that turned into a stumble, eventually. If I wasn't mildly delirious and dying, I probably would have appreciated the scenic sunrises and sunsets as I stumbled through the fields. Then, as I hobbled along, trying desperately to stay awake, I saw something. People, fighting what looked like a Chaos-Hyperborean. A group of demigods, maybe?

I stumbled over as they succeeded in bringing the monster down with a volley of crossbow shots. Then, they turned and saw me, aiming their weapons for a long moment. I think one of them said something, but before I could reply, my vision blackened and I collapsed, unconscious.

I woke up in a soft bed, my body aching in places I didn't know it could ache, with a large tray of food sitting in front of me. I tore into it and wolfed the meal down in ten minutes tops. I looked around, not recognizing the relatively ordinariness of the room. It was a relatively basic bedroom, overall, with my knife and boots sitting next to the door, and a change of clothes sitting on the foot of the bed. I slowly, quietly, made my way over, changed into the new clothes and started walking. You wouldn't believe how strangely satisfying it is having a new long sleeved shirt that wasn't stolen from a dead person.

I slipped my boots back on and picked up my dagger. I slipped into the house and listened. There were people talking down a flight of stairs, and I realized I was on the second floor of a building. I slipped over to the corner by the stairway and listened. "You think she's the one?"

"Without a doubt. They've been looking for her for a while."

"Should we take her?" After I heard the second voice say that I looked over and saw a window that led outside, left open just enough for me to slip through. I quietly made my way over and climbed out. They must be looking to hand me over to purple-eyes. I think and squeeze through the open window and climbing down to the ground. Navigating the city wasn't easy, but I eventually just picked a direction and started going that way, not really knowing where I was headed. The neighborhood of whatever city I was in was quiet, and I stuck to mostly back lanes and side streets.

Then, as I stepped out onto a more main road, I froze, looking across the street and recognizing something. Pale blonde hair down to her shoulders, my height, rather slender, the only difference was that she had those piercing purple eyes, and she seemed to be scanning the city for something.

Something grabbed me and pulled me back into the back lane. Whoever it was was a lot stronger than me, and had me in a quick, perfectly executed headlock. "Shhh, shhh, shhh." A young woman's voice says. I ignore her and start trying to slam elbows into her ribs. She doesn't even flinch, but I hear her sigh sadly, and I realize I must have been weaker than I thought. "Zoe, please stop." She says. I freeze and she lets me go. I turn and look at her and my eyes widened.

"Aren't you...aren't you Zack's girl?" I ask.

"Ex." Ava replies. "They're looking for you, you didn't need to run away from the safe house, thought Nat was going to lose her mind completely."

"So that's what that place was."

"Yeah, c'mon, we'll head back there and we can take you back to camp."

"Wait." I say. "If you know who I am why'd I hear people debating who I am?" I ask. She sighs.

"Well they didn't know you and frankly, you look like shit." Ava says.

"Course." I mutter. "Well...I could walk home."

"Yeah, no you couldn't, come on." Ava says and points back in the direction I came. I half-nod, half-shrug, and start walking with her back to the safe house. About halfway back I realize just what a mistake I made by eating that meal as quickly as I did. It ends up on the side of someone's fence as Ava watches looking both annoyed and disgusted. Once I've finished vomiting I look over at her and wipe my mouth.

"Can we stop for food?" I ask, and I start laughing uncontrollably. All the hell and chaos I've been through the past several months, it all just comes pouring out in, strangely, a laugh. I laugh so hard that Ava has to actually grab my arm and pull me back to the safe house, where we find that other questy girl Natalie inside with the people who ran the house in the first place.

"Thanks gods, you found her." Natalie says.

"Yeah, but we're gonna need to leave soon." Ava says. "The leader's in town, probably looking for Zoe." Natalie's eyes widen and she nods.

"You all should evacuate the safe house." Natalie says to one of the other demigods. "Find a different shelter, they may come looking for you if they know you found her."

"We'll start packing." One of them says and they start rushing about the house, collecting supplies.

"Keep the shirt, Zoe." One of the girls tells me. "It'll fit you soon." I cock my head to the side, confused. I'd thought that I had been left a shirt that was several sizes too big just because it was what they had to spare. I watch the girl for a moment, trying to gauge her size, and I see she's about the same as what I thought I was. Hades below, I must have lost a lot of weight out there... I think.

"Zoe, we'll grab you some food and head out, will you be alright for the drive?" Natalie asks as Ava heads into the garage, starting their car up.

"How long of a drive is it?" I ask.

"It'll be about seventeen hours." Natalie says.

"Well, I did just fine in the woods for the last...what's the date?"

"October sixteenth, two-thousand fifteen. You've been missing for fourteen months." She says, and I feel the color drain from my face for a moment. I had never expected it to be that long.

"Well...If I made it that long wandering the nowhere, I think I can make it a couple days in a car with you ladies." I say, but I'm pretty sure my face betrayed how I really felt. What had I missed? What had happened? What had happened with my friends? How were they doing? Were they still alive? Had they forgotten me completely? And who was this leader Ava spoke of, the one that made Natalie look so worried?

"Alright." Natalie says, but I could tell she saw right through me. "Head into the car, I'll grab you breakfast, please eat it slowly this time."

"Yup, will do." I say and head over to the car and climb in the back seat. Ava's sitting in the driver's seat, staring out her window. "You driving the whole way?" I ask.

"Nah, Nat'll take over halfway there." She replies.

"So why're you two out here?" I ask. "Don't you guys live up at Camp or something?"

"Not all of us." She sighs. "Not anymore." My heart drops and immediately worry if someone has died.

"What happened?"

"School happened." Ava says with a shrug. I blink twice and raise an eyebrow. "I moved away for college."

"...What's a college?"

"An institution that sucks the soul from you as well as your entire financial security in order to give you a better understanding of something you either hate and can do or love and cannot."

"Umm." I truly had no idea what to say. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't be, I wanted to do it."

"So if you're...institutionalized...why're you here?"

"Reading week. They let us free for a short while." Ava replies with a shrug. "Was visiting with everyone and Zack told me about everything that's going on. We got word you'd been found so I said I could help by shadowing me and Nat here to come get you."

"Well, thanks." I say. It occurs to me that I've never really talked to this one very much before. She's kinda funny. I think and smirk slightly. I like her. "So what did everyone from your crew end up doing?"

"Me, Nat, and Kyra are all going to school." Ava says. "Michael moved away, we're not sure where he ran off to, really." She sighs sadly and closes her eyes for a moment. "And Zack is still at Camp, helping coordinate the efforts against the chaos people your story described."

"How are things going with that?" I ask. "People are actively trying to fight them?"

"Yeah, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Honestly it might be easier if Zack explains everything once you've recovered a bit."

"Hey I can hear it now."

"Yeah but if I tell you now you're gonna try to join the fight the second we arrive." Ava says, looking back at me. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"...Point." I mutter. Natalie climbs in the back seat with me, holding a bag of food.

"For the love of Zeus, please, slowly." She says. "This isn't exactly our car."

"Yes, dear." I joke, taking a form of breakfast sandwich and slowly munching on it as Ava starts the car and drives off. After we've left the city's limits, I turn to Nat. "So, will you tell me what's going on?"

"Depends on what you want to know." Natalie says after a long moment.

"What happened to my friends?"

"They're all ok." Natalie tells me. "They were all really shaken after you vanished, but for the most part they're alright. They kinda went their own ways in some senses."

"Alright for the most part?"

"Some of them took you going missing harder than the others." Nat says after a moment. "I don't really want to speak for them, but they're all alive."

"Ok, thank you." I nod. I decide to give them a while before I ask my next question, and participate in the road trip small talk for almost four hours before I spring it on them. "So, why did I see my universe's Stella walking around that city?" Silence reigns in the car for a good three minutes.

"What do you mean?" Natalie asks after a long moment.

"Just before Ava grabbed me, I saw her. Purple eyes and everything, not something this universe's Stella has. Why is she here? She should be dead." Ava noticeably deflates a bit in the driver's seat. "You hoped I wouldn't have noticed."

"Yeah." Ava shakes her head and keeps her eyes focused on the road.

"Why?"

"We were worried if you saw her you'd run to her. You almost did."

"I wanted to know what was going on." I say, getting a bit defensive. "Maybe you should explain it to me now so I don't go running to her again." There is a measure of silence again.

"You remember what Robin said, people like them were coming through, living and dead, agents of Chaos?" Natalie starts off, looking at her shoes.

"Stella's one of them and she's looking for me?" I guess.

"We think she's the leader. The head of Chaos' army, the one the agents answer to." Nat says, unable to make eye contact all of a sudden.

"Ok." I say and look out the window for a moment. "Thanks for telling me." Ava looks behind her at Nat, and they share a look of what I guess was surprise. Probably at how even my voice was. I was honestly really surprised and how...calm I was. It was as if I wasn't even surprised, wasn't even hurt by what I had just learned. I just accepted it and moved on. Stella was dead. She'd been dead for a long time. Nothing chaos could do would convince me otherwise.

"Are you ok?" Nat asks after a few minutes.

"Yeah." I say, looking back. "I'm good. She died a while ago. Years ago. A reanimated corpse is something I'm used to." I shrug. That and...well...you found someone else here, didn't you, Zoe? I ask myself. My gut does a somersault as I realize I'm going to see everyone again soon. Scott, Maya, Caden, my half sister Ziva, Carly...Kylie...

I shake my head, but can't shake the stupid grin from my face. A couple hours pass, mostly filled with a bit of small talk here and there and Nat making sure I didn't pass out or something. When we stop so Ava and Nat can switch between driving and not driving, I notice something in the rear view mirror. "Hey, what's that coming up behind us?" I ask, pointing.

"Zeus above." Nat says, looking in the mirror and taking off. Ava takes out a couple of throwing knives and opens up the sun roof. "Chaos-Nemean Lion." My eyes widen and I look out the back window, seeing the purple eyed monster charging us from behind, a massive gash in its throat.

"Hades below what the hell?" I mutter as Ava pokes her head out, knife in hand. She waits to throw it, then, as it draws within a hundred meters of us, she lets it fly. It strikes the beast square in the face and, to my alarm, it explodes. The monster stops running after us and starts thrashing its head around, confused and completely discombobulated. Ava comes back into the car.

"Gonna have to do it, Nat."

"You sure Zoe can take it?"

"Stop playing the pronoun game and explain!" I say, looking between the two of them.

"I'm gonna need a nap when this is over." Ava grumbles. Then, everything was dark, and we were moving so fast I felt the urge to throw up rising again. Then, it was all over, and light returned, and we were still moving way too fast, right through the gates of Camp Half-Blood. Nat slams on the breaks and Ava soars from the back seat into the front, landing on Nat's lap and causing the horn to go off. Ava scrambles off of Nat and falls out the door as Nat opens it and steps out. She comes around and opens the door for me, holding a hand out and helping me out.

"Welcome home." She says. I can't help but let that big dumb grin back on my face.

Chapter Two
I'm whisked off to the Apollo Cabin, which has a medical center in it for some reason. I'm taken inside and put on a bed fairly quickly. Soft bed...so weird... I think to myself. A few children of Apollo that I don't recognize approach me, looking concerned, and one crouches next to my head. "Hey, Zoe." He says. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm alive." I say, not really sure how to answer.

"Well that's good." He says, laughing a really fake laugh. "We're going to put you under for a little while so we can treat you, ok?"

"Put me under? What, the lake?" I ask, unable to keep the joke inside for some reason. I start laughing at my own joke, so I guess I was in pretty bad shape at the time.

"It'll be a bit like having a nap, ok?" He says as the other one starts preparing a bag full of some kind of liquid. "You're safe here, I promise."

"Ok..." I say. All of a sudden, the exhaustion really hits me. Everything becomes so sore, my entire body aches in places I didn't know existed. Then, they stick a needle in my arm and I fall asleep. It is a glorious, dreamless sleep, and easily the most restful I've had in a long, long time.

I awaken to the sound of shouting.

"I don't give a damn about what you think, I want to see her!" Someone is screaming outside the cabin. My eyes flutter open and I look around. "Get the hell out of my way!"

"She's still asleep, let her rest, for the gods' sake!" Someone yells back.

"No I'm not!" I shout, feeling a twinge of familiarity in that voice. There is silence outside.

"Out of my way, choir boy." The voice says, angrily.

"Please just let her in, man..." A second voice says. There's silence again, followed by the door being thrown open, and a raven haired girl my age comes sprinting in. I sit up a bit, and realize I feel a bit heavier.

"Zoe." Ziva says, locking eyes with me and she rushes to my bedside. She flings an arm around me, and I realize with a jolt she doesn't have a prosthetic where I had cut her arm off beforehand. "You're ok." She says, pulling away a bit, her eyes shining and a grin crossing her face.

"Hey, sis." I say, grinning as well. "Sorry I'm late." We both burst out laughing and she hugs me again, this time I return it, my arms still weak, but they were strong enough for me to hold onto her for a moment. "So why am I still on this bed?"

"Zoe, do you have any idea the shape you were in?" Ziva asks, pulling away again.

"Not really, no."

"When you left you were walking around at like, a hundred thirty pounds or so, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"When they brought you here you were eighty-five." Ziva says, and my eyes widen.

"Well...that isn't good."

"No, it isn't. That's why they put you under, so they could IV you and start treating other ailments." She sits down on the bed next to me and grips my hand. "They have you back up to a hundred pounds right now, but you'll have to start eating again soon. Slowly, Nat told me."

"Slowly, yeah." I agree. "How long was I out?"

"About thirteen hours. I only found out an hour ago." Ziva tells me. "They're trying to get you to bounce back slowly, ease you into it."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Caden, Scott, and Maya are all off on assignment." She says. "Kylie...Kylie doesn't come to camp full time anymore. She decided she wanted to finish high school, so she's going to a school in New York now."

"Ok." I immediately start thinking about them. Caden Scott and Maya all off on a mission must mean they're all ok. They must have all recovered from the mission I went on with them, at least. And Kylie... ''Oh gods. She must have been terrible, thinking I was gone.'' I think. She must have left here to avoid thinking of me...oh gods Kylie, I'm sorry... Then, an even scarier thought comes to mind, considering who Ziva hasn't mentioned. "Carly?" Ziva winces, and my heart and stomach plummet. "Please, tell me she's ok."

"We haven't seen Carly in a long time." Ziva says. "We all thought you were dead, except her. Carly never gave up hope in you surviving. She became...almost obsessed with it. I've never seen her like that. She kept leaving for weeks at a time, trying to find you." She lets out a long, tired sigh. "I tried to calm her down one day. She just...lost it. Started crying like crazy for a long time, hiding in your old cabin. Eventually she just stood up and said 'She isn't dead. I won't, I can't believe it' and she ran off. We haven't seen her since. It's been two months."

"I see." I say, and my eyes start welling up. Oh Hades...Carly, I'm so sorry... Ziva leans in and wipes a tear from my cheek.

"We'll get her back, don't worry." Ziva says, giving me a small smile.

"Yeah...we will. I made it home, so can she." I say. I hear the door to the cabin open and I realize they may want Ziva to leave. I wait until the same Apollo kid shows up, and I give him probably the most threatening look I've ever given someone. "She stays." He opens his mouth to speak, but I wasn't having it. "No. Shut up. She stays, it would help me."

"...Alright." he says after a moment and produces a bag of food.

"I'll help her, go treat the others." Ziva says. He looks like he's about to argue, then shrugs and leaves.

"Others?" I ask as Ziva, quite skillfully, given she only has one arm now, prepares a sandwich for me. I grab it from her and start eating, suddenly feeling somewhat ravenous.

"Summer was...interesting. There was a lot of crazy shit happening that I don't quite understand, pretty similar to what happened with you, actually, just on a much bigger scale. Chaos' army took the opportunity to use it as a distraction while their power grew. Ever since that crisis was ended a bunch of us have been leading the charge against Chaos. Since The Questers aren't exactly a thing anymore, our group has been taking command, I guess. Zack is still around and helping out, as is Kyra, but it's mostly been us, since we were closest to you and learned more from you. It's all been on a volunteer basis, so mostly the older campers have been working with us to go cross-country to take on Chaos monsters wherever they appear."

"Are the portals still open?"

"Yeah. We've been unable to get anywhere near them, they're too heavily guarded."

"Once I've recovered, I can help."

"I know you can." Ziva pats my leg. "You don't have to convince me, convince Chiron and Dionysus."

"Oh I will." I say, moodily tearing a chunk from my sandwich. "So...Ziva, I'm sorry about-" I gesture to the stump just below her right elbow. "-this."

"Don't be." She says, giving me a small smile. "If you hadn't cut it off then that Drakon would have gobbled me up like I was a piece of popcorn chicken."

"I don't know what that is..."

"Tiny chunks of chicken people eat." Ziva laughs. "But yeah, don't feel bad, and don't be sorry. You saved my life, so thank you."

"Why don't you have a prosthetic or something put on? Wouldn't it make a lot of things easier?"

"Yeah, probably." Ziva stares into space for a moment, looking like she's trying to figure out what exactly she wants to say. "But at the same time, taking a prosthetic would just mean that I took the easy way out, y'know? You struggled through a lot worse in your life, and I guess a part of me wanted to honor you by taking the struggle to learn how to use my left hand." She holds her left hand up and shrugs. "I don't really know, honestly. I just rejected the idea when it was offered to me. Maybe it's the hubris, which you seemed to not get, lucky you. We got more drachmas out of it, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"Zeus decided to pay us in compensation for the job, losing you, and the arm." Ziva explains.

"How much did you get?" I ask, bemused.

"Twenty-thousand drachmas." She says.

"Hades." I say and whistle. "What'd you spend it on?"

"Renovation on the cabin, we added a basement." She says. "And the rest has been used trying to make fighting Chaos a bit easier."

"Nice." I say. "So, uh..." I start, looking up at the IV bag hooked up to my arm. "When do they pull this thing out of me?"

"When the medics basically clear you." She says. "Not sure when that'll be, not really my area of expertise."

"Fun." I finish the sandwich off and move on to eating some kind of jiggly green substance that is labeled Jell-O. Ziva keeps me company for the next couple of hours, answering questions and keeping me entertained with stories of how she learned to use her left hand for everything.

"That was around the time that-" She is interrupted mid story by the sound of a car pulling into Camp. She stands up and looks out the door. "I'll be right back, Zoe." She says and runs off. I shift myself so I can see out the window, sitting up as straight as possible. I see Ziva running over to a very familiar looking van, and I can't help but feel my heart shoot upwards as the van comes to a stop. The side door opens, and out steps that familiar redhead Maya Arslan. She's got a cut above her left eye that's trailing blood down her face, and her sleeveless shirt shows her arms are covered in scratches and bruises, with a bite mark of some kind on her right shoulder. That aside, she looks the same as ever, still as intense as ever.

Out of the passenger seat hops Scott Sigurdson, whose arm is in a sling and is limping slightly. He looks different. Not necessarily physically, but he seems less tense, less like he's a coiled snake waiting to lash out and bite someone. He seems genuinely relaxed, strangely enough. Almost as though he's been freed of some burden that had been weighing him down since we last saw one another. Maybe he's been able to kick the habits. I think hopefully.

And then Caden Grimes steps around the car from the drivers seat. He looks fine physically, but if someone took a burden from Scott, it looks like they dropped it on Caden's shoulders instead. He looks exhausted, sad, and hurt in ways that don't really show on the surface. Ziva runs up to him and they embrace in a way that I can only describe as being intimate, and I felt like I should look away for a moment until she pulled back from him. She hugs the other two and the group shares a brief exchange of words. Maya's jaw drops and Scott stiffens. A look of an entire bag of emotions flashes across Caden's face as Ziva, I"m guessing, explains that I'm alive.

Then they started running towards the cabin I was in.

I sit back down and wait, listening for the door to open. It does and they storm in. Caden's the first one in the door and the first one to see me. I sit up again and prepare for the swarm of hugs that soon approach. He's at my side in a second and has me locked in a tight, but very gentle, warm embrace. He doesn't say anything. He doesn't need to. I can feel the tension I saw leaving him, and I know already what was wrong. I sent him back with the others when I charged after Robin. He thought he could have saved me if he came with. "You give good hugs." I whisper to him, and he lets out a quiet laugh. He pulls back and we lock eyes for a brief moment, and I just nod at him, trying to convey the fact that he doesn't need to feel that way. He nods and sits down on a chair next to my bed, trying to keep his eyes from welling up.

Then Maya was upon me and she almost tackles me down onto the bed, she hugged me so hard. "You're alive." She says, pulling back after a moment. She has a huge grin across her face, the level of joy she was showing overpowered the fact that the cut above her eye was covering the left side of her face.

"Yeah, yeah I am." I say, smiling back at her, and she puts her forehead on my shoulder for a moment and I feel her shake briefly. I put a hand on her back, squarely between her shoulder blades and rub back and forth. "I'm back, hun." I whisper to her. She pulls back, crying visibly now, but still smiling, as Scott approaches. Never really one for hugs, he just crouches down next to me and takes my hand in both of his, giving me a small smile. From him, that alone spoke far more than any embrace could. I squeeze his hands and nod. "You look good, big guy." I say, and he shakes his head, trying to hide the amusement I know is there. Ziva comes in and stands behind Caden, putting her hand on his shoulder and watching us reunite. We're all really quiet for a long moment, me just staring at each of them in turn, absorbing every little detail about their faces, posture, the sounds of their voices, everything. I never want to forget that ever again.

"This feels way too much like the end of lord of the rings." Maya says eventually. "Let's get this girl some real food instead the hospital crap they gave her. Everyone laughs but me.

"What's Lord of the Rings?" I ask, and they laugh again. They stayed with me for the rest of the day, until night fell and the Son of Apollo threatened to remove them by force if necessary. "I'll be ok, guys." I say and they file out one by one. Lights go out, but I stay awake, stay sitting up. I look over at the window and see that they're standing outside the cabin, still talking to one another. I look around and see that there's a pile of clothes left for me whenever I've recovered sitting at corner foot of my bed. I look up at the IV bag. Eh, I'll be fine. I think to myself and quiet slip it out of my arm and make sure any alarm is off. What are you at right now...one-ten, feels like. I think in regards to my weight.

I change out of the medical patient garb and slip into the clothes left behind for me. New boots, lovely, I'll have to break these in soon. I think to myself and I slip on the blue tank top and leather jacket on the ground. I slink over to the window and open it slightly. By the time I'm there, Ziva and Scott have left, leaving Maya and Caden talking. "Should we let Kylie know?" Maya asks.

"We probably should." Caden says. "You know how hard she took it when Zoe vanished."

"That's why I'm worried. Kylie left camp because she didn't want this life...I'm scared knowing about Zoe will bring her back into things."

"Kylie ain't a kid anymore, Maya." Caden says. "She has the right to know, and if she makes the decision to come back, that's her's to make. We'll have her back if she does, too."

"Yeah, you're right. Of course you're right." Maya says, shaking her head. "Who should tell her?"

"I'm fine, I can drive out in the morning." Caden says. "I'll let her know. Where does she live, again?"

"St. Urban, Central Park West. You'll know where to look." Maya says. "I'm gonna get to bed now, I'll see you sometime tomorrow." They both head off to their respective cabins, and once they're out of sight, I climb out the window, knowing where I'm headed. The first thing I do is head over to the van they all use. Caden normally keeps a spare set of keys within the rims of the front wheel. I look and, sure enough, find the keys. I climb in and start driving. Nighttime departures must have been pretty commonplace, because nobody came running to see why one of the vehicles was vanishing.

I drove out into the city and within a couple hours I had located the building Caden had been talking about. I find a parking space and pull into it and hop out. Colder than I remember here. I think to myself. I look around for any sign of Kylie's whereabouts, and pretty soon, a sign is staring me dead in the face. Seriously, a literal sign. It's a small sign outside a small bar, saying "featuring vocal performance by Kylie Taylor" on it. Found you I think and start walking for it. I slip up to the door and find a couple large men standing outside it. ''Right. Boomers. Or whatever the hell they're called.'' I think. I remember hearing Caden say something about controlling the mist, the mystical energy field that binds everything together or something. Some demigods can manipulate it, and from what I've heard, most can learn how.

"I'm an adult." I say waving my hand through the air.

"You are an adult." They say in unison and let me walk past. Holy crap, that worked. I think as I enter the bar and immediately hear that beautiful voice I'd been missing for so long. The further I get in, the louder it becomes, and then I see the stage. Kylie's sitting on a stool on stage, guitar in her lap, singing a song I don't recognize. I find a table in the back and sit there, watching her and listening. She's wearing one of those plaid shirts she's always got on, green and black, her hair is the same length, her eyes are still big, brown, and warm and loving. She seems more confident, and not in that she's performing publicly when she was afraid of singing in front of me beforehand. Her posture is more open, she sits taller, everything about her is screaming this is who I am, accept it or go to hell and it is amazing to see.

"Thank you." She says, grinning, as the audience applauds as she finishes her song. "So, this next one is dedicated to someone I lost last year. We never really agreed on musical tastes but this is one song by a band she likes that I did enjoy. So, here we go." And from the first chord she hits my eyes start watering. She's playing a song called Snuff by a band Zack turned me on to. She never liked them, but the fact she was playing a song by them for me had me blinking away tears the entire time.

"So if you love me, let me go. And run away before I know. My heart is just too dark to care. I can't destroy what isn't there. Deliver me into my fate - If I'm alone I cannot hate I don't deserve to have you... My smile was taken long ago If I can change I hope I never know"

She sings, eyes closed, and I can see half the audience is wiping their eyes as well. I lean back and put a hand over my mouth. Every emotion in the book was coming over me. Pride for her being able to overcome that shy nature of her's to belt out something so beautiful for the world to hear. Joy for seeing her again. Sadness at the fact my absence hurt her as much as it did. Fear for what talking to her again would be like.

"So break yourself against my stones And spit your pity in my soul You never needed any help You sold me out to save yourself And I won't listen to your shame You ran away - you're all the same Angels lie to keep control... Ooh, my love was punished long ago If you still care, don't ever let me know If you still care, don't ever let me know..."

She wraps the song to applause once again, and after thanking the audience, starts packing her things and she heads out. I try to catch her on the way out but I'm swept away from her by a sudden tide of new people looking to drink. I push through the crowd and get onto the street. I see her disappear into the apartment building I'm parked near and I run across the street, nearly being run over twice, but I didn't really care. I run in the door and see her in an elevator. I run to the front desk and ask where Kylie Taylor's residence is. They write it down for me.

"Do you want me to call her room to let her know?" The woman asks.

"No thanks." I say and hurry up a staircase to the third floor, and to the room the woman specified. I find the room and press my ear to the door. I can hear her humming to herself inside, humming a tune that feels somewhat familiar. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, pulling back from the door for a brief moment. Then, I knock twice.

"Coming!" She calls and my heart starts racing. The door opens and there she is. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops, tears starting to form in her eyes. For a moment we just stare at one another before I give her a small smile.

"Hi." I say after a moment, slowly stepping forward.

"How?" she asks, her voice shaking.

"I made it." I say. "Was stuck in the forest for a while. Had to walk."

"Zoe..." She whispers and takes my hands in her's resting her forehead against mine, her eyes closing. Mine close instinctively as well, and we stand there against one another for a long moment. She's shaking and her hands feel stronger than before. She smells different, like she wears a fancier perfume now. My eyes open at the same time hers do. "You're ok..." She whispers.

"Yeah..." I reply. Staring into those big brown, welcoming, warm eyes reinvigorated a desire, a need, to do something that I hadn't had the chance to do before. Slowly I leaned in, and she closed her eyes and leaned closer herself, and for the first time, I finally kissed her. For a few seconds, it's fairly standard, but then, it began to feel like I could feel her heart hammering against my own, both our chests pounding like crazy. Her arms wrap around my waist and my own wrap around her shoulders. She pulls me further in and closes the door to her apartment with her foot. She leads me further in and I follow blindly, eyes still closed, just absorbing everything about her. She pulls out of the kiss for a brief moment, and I see we're outside a bedroom. I look at her and see that same burning desire that I feel, and we both understand, very non verbally, what was to come. We kiss once more, and with that newfound strength of hers, she picks me up off my feet and carries me inside.

A couple hours later, I was lying on my front on her bed, staring over at her. She was staring up at the ceiling, twirling her hair around one finger. "Have you ever...?" I start to ask, but she shakes her head. "What'd you think?" She gives me a huge grin, and I laugh. "Guess that answers that."

"I just can't believe you're alive." She says.

"So hard to believe, is it?" I ask, leaning over. "Well, you're right, this is all just a dream, a very, very good dream." She laughs again, but that was when I saw it, something hesitating behind those eyes of hers. That welcoming, inviting trait to them wasn't there anymore, replaced by a measure of guilt and fear. "What's wrong?" I ask, pushing myself up onto my elbows.

"Nothing." She says, looking away, but I can tell she's lying. "Kylie, what's bothering you? You can trust me. I mean...you trusted me with this already." She closes her eyes and I glance just past her, and everything clicks. It's a picture of Kylie, held in the arms of a beautiful, tall, blonde woman, with Kylie staring up at her and the woman staring down into her eyes. I look around the room and everything falls into place. Such a high end apartment, the fancy smelling perfume, Kylie living alone, what high school student can afford that.

The answer? Not one. Someone else must have been paying for it, and since Skylar Taylor died before I met her daughters, it only makes sense that Kylie was living with this woman in the picture. "Oh." I say and sit up. "I get it now." I roll off the bed and get dressed quickly.

"Zoe..." She says, sitting up.

"Why didn't you say something?" I ask quietly. I'm amazed no tears came to my eyes. Everything hurt, but on the surface, I was deadpan, like a stone.

"I...I couldn't..." She says, blinking rapidly.

"How'd it happen?"

"I was going to school...got invited to a party...host's older sister and I met and hit it off...that was seven months ago..."

"How long did it take to move on?"

"...Six." She says tearfully.

"Are you happy?" I ask, pulling the jacket on. "With her?"

"...Yes." She says after a long, excruciating moment.

"Ok. In that case...good luck. I'm happy for you." I walk for the door of the bedroom. "I'm sorry, Ky..." I say and I leave the apartment. I walk down to the lobby, I walk across the street, I walk into the van and I sit down in the driver's seat and I start driving. I drive back to camp and pull in in the dead of night. I park the van and I get out and walk over to the fountain and sit down on the rim of it, and I just stare into space, ignoring the world around me.

Gods...why didn't you see that coming a mile away... I think to myself. You were gone well over a year...you should have expected all of them to move on, frankly... The feeling in my heart was something like my chest was trying to close in on itself, trying to crush that organ that pumps my blood. The dull ache was nothing compared to the pain of my own thoughts, trashing on myself and the entire world. Hades that woman looks evil...what I'd give to...no, no you wouldn't. That'd just hurt Ky and...no matter what she makes you feel now, you don't want her to hurt.

This is why you wanted to avoid falling for someone, isn't it? I ask myself. ''This feeling right here. This is why you avoided it like like hell. Why'd you do it? And...why did you do that with her? This got so much harder because you...dammit...'' I look over at the van and an idea comes to mind.

''You could just leave. Leave all this hurt behind, go find those portals and close them. There are so many people in this world, so many people you could disappear into. They'd never find you, you could live free of this pain for as long as you wanted. You could do whatever you pleased, free of the hurt falling for people has caused you. You could be free, Zoe.'' I stood up, still staring at the van. ''They moved on before, they could do it again. Just do it, Z-''

"Zoe?" A familiar voice says behind me. I freeze, and it feels like the entire world does too. I know that voice. It is the voice of someone I love. I slowly turn around and see her. Carly Taylor is standing twenty feet from me, slowly inching closer, her eyes wide and shining, her mouth open just slightly. She's still slightly taller than me, her hair is dyed a little darker, and she's wearing a white sweater as opposed to the blacks and plaids she wore last time I saw her. She looks more fit, like she's been training more, and she looks like she's just lost a massive weight off of her. Like she'd been holding the sky and was recently relieved of it. The thing that strikes me the most is her eyes. She has the same eyes as Kylie, but after what I had just gone through, there was one key difference. Where Kylie's had been regretful and fearful and pained, Carly's were now the welcoming ones, the ones that had nothing but love and care pouring from them.

"Carly..." I say, and we immediately run to one another. The second we embrace, that was when the tears started pouring from my eyes, and I knew that they were coming from her's as well. She was stronger than before, and she smelled different. She smelled like a campfire and chocolate, honestly. There was a key difference in the way she and I embraced and the way the others hugged me. While Maya may have been tighter and Caden more gentle and Ziva more intense and Kylie more...well, you know, with Carly, there was no way that either of us were going to let the other go at any time in the foreseeable future.

"Zozo...my Zozo..." She whispers. "My Zozo's back..."

"Yeah...I'm back." I reply. "I'm back...and I'm here to stay, remember?" I think back to that time in that sparring cage Zack had set up, where I screamed those words at people who didn't want me around. As I stood there, holding Carly like I never wanted to let go, which I didn't, at that, I realized how important those words are now.

"Good." She says, burying her head in my shoulder. "I knew. I knew you were alive. I never gave up on you, Zozo."

"I know." I say, putting a hand on the back of her head and stroking her hair. "Thank you."

And we stood there, clutching one another and swaying back and forth until well after the sun came up and Ziva saw us, running over to scold me about abandoning my IV.

Chapter Three
"Zoe...is there any particular reason you just got up and walked away while Chuck was talking to you?" Maya asks. That morning I had been yelled at rather extensively by that son of Apollo, who I found out was named Chuck, for abandoning treatment and the medical center completely, not to mention the camp itself. Around five minutes in I just stood up and walked out to rejoin the others down at the beach.

"Um. Yes. I thought he was going to bore me to death and my survival instincts kicked in." I say, earning a laugh from Caden and Carly as Scott smacks himself on the forehead.

"He wasn't wrong, who knows what could have happened?" Ziva says. "That was dangerous as hell." I just give her a look at that. "Then again I guess danger never really mattered with you."

"There you go, you're learning, young one."

"We're the same age, technically." She protests.

"March versus December, Ziva." Caden points out.

"Yeah, yeah, screw all you adults." Ziva mutters, flipping the lot of us off.

"Oh right, I'm an adult again." I say, realizing I missed my new world birthday. I'd been an adult in the previous world, but since falling through the portal initially sent my body back a few years, I had to go through the wonderful prospect of being a teenager again. "Does this mean I'm allowed in bars without using the mist to do it?"

"Not in this country." Carly says. "A Canadian Camp would be so much better for us. One day I am taking you people up there."

"Be nice to see what Canada looks like without having nuclear deserts and cannibals abound." I remark.

"Guess I'll have to show you, then." Carly says with a smile. While I was being re-examined and chewed out by the medical staff, apparently Carly had a great deal of apologizing to do for disappearing on everyone by choice to go and look for me. They'd all taken her back in immediately.

"Where did you run off to last night anyway?" Caden asks.

"Uhm..." I really wanted to get out of that conversation as quickly as I possibly could.

"Eh, whatever." He says, picking up on my discomfort fairly quickly. "You're back, that's the important part."

"Yeah." I nod. "And I'm going nowhere." I meet Carly's eyes for a moment, and we both come to the realization that I'm probably going to tell her what happened later today when we were alone. I was terrified of that, considering it was her sister that it was with, but at the same time, this was Carly and if I couldn't trust her, I couldn't trust anyone. Sure enough, after hanging around the beach a little longer, she made an excuse for us to escape away from the others and we head off to the cabin that had once been built for me. We step in the doorway and I'm immediately struck by how much of a mess the place is.

There's four desks across the living room, all covered in maps and notebooks, and there's a poster board on the wall with notices and pictures of things, all linked together with red yarn. "Messy."

"Yeah, we used it as a base for tracking down the portals for a while." Carly says. "I used the map in the bedroom to mark the places I looked for you." We walk into the bedroom and I see a large map of the country with huge chunks of Colorado and the surrounding states blacked off. "I was in Utah when I got the call that you'd been found. Wound up taking a taxi."

"Fast taxi."

"Well it was technically the Chariot of Damnation." She says. "I'll explain that later. What happened? You're weighed down, I can tell." I move and sit down on the bed and she plops down next to me. I stare at the floor for a moment before starting.

"When the others went off to bed last night, I overheard Caden and Maya talking about Kylie. I heard one of them mention where she was living, so I snuck out and stole the van." Carly tenses up beside me, and I guess she knows where this is headed. "Found her singing in a bar. She dedicated a song to me, Carly. Gods." I shake my head and she puts an arm around me. "Wound up following her back up to her apartment. Knocked on her door, she answered. It was really quiet and there were some tears from her. Then...we kissed and wound up in her bedroom, and..." I trail off and wipe my eyes. "Later that night I realized whose apartment it was. So I left and came back here. I was thinking about leaving all this behind when you showed up, Carly..."

"Why didn't you?" She asks quietly.

"Didn't want to the moment I saw you. Realized there's more for me here than just her." She pulls me in closer and I rest my head on her shoulder.

"Are you ok? This can't have been easy for you." She asks.

"I'm...surprised you're worried about me. I mean...I'm just the girl who nailed your little sister..."

"You're a hell of a lot more than that to me, Zoe." She says. "And it sounds like she's the bitch in this story, anyway."

"I mean...I get her moving on. And I get her agreeing to be with me when I showed up." I start. "I was dead, I get that. And me showing up like that, the emotional waves must have overpowered the moved on thing. But...why didn't she say something about that blonde woman?"

"Victoria." Carly says. "Met her once. Not the biggest fan. Made it clear if she makes a move on Ky before Ky's eighteen I will end her."

"Well, I got there first, I guess."

"If it had to be someone I'm glad it wasn't someone I hate." Carly says with a small laugh. "Seriously, though, are you alright?"

"I dunno." I think about that. "Ever since this morning I haven't felt pained by it or anything...just, I just want to avoid the subject if it comes up, you know?"

"Yeah, I feel you." She says. "I'm really sorry this happened, Zoe. She really shouldn't have done that."

"Are you ok, Carly?" I ask. "Before I vanished you would have been a lot more...protective of her."

"About two months after you disappeared we had a fight. She wanted me to stop going out and looking for you. I didn't think you were gone, she did. It got pretty heated. It's part of the reason she's going back to school, I think."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever. You're back, I'm happy. If she wants to come back and apologize to you, then I'll be ok."

"Same." I say after a moment. "Hurt like hell, but I don't think I can hate her."

"You amaze me."

"Why?"

"Everything that's happened to you, everything you've been through, and you just don't hate anybody. You're amazing."

"Well there's that Cal kid. Never want to see him again."

"Ok that I can understand, considering what happened in your world, but still. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, yeah I do." I say, smiling up at her. "Thanks." There's a knock on the door and we spring apart. She hops up and heads for the door, and I follow her. It's Scott, and he's looking somewhat excited, which means something big must have happened.

"Zack thinks he figured something out. Wants everyone to meet down in the old Questers HQ." He says.

"Let's go." Carly says and we run down, through camp and to the opposite side, coming up on the old cabin the Questers used. We enter and find Caden, Maya, and Ziva waiting inside, sitting around a table. Ava is sitting on the table itself and Nat is leaned against the counter. The girl I know as Kyra is standing next to her, arms crossed and sporting a black eye. Zack is standing by the wall, looking at a map of the country, an asian girl I've never met leaning on his shoulder.

"Hey." I say, and Zack crosses the room in three steps and has me trapped in a really powerful hug. "I'm getting a lot of hugs these days." I mutter as I hug him back.

"To be expected." He laughs, releasing me. "Told them you'd make it."

"So what's going on?" I ask.

"Well, I've noticed a pattern in the portals." He says, now talking to everyone. "When Zoe closed the portal, that triggered the activity in all of the others to start increasing, bit by bit, and we were able to find out the locations of all of them."

"How many?"

"Seven." He answers and points out the locations. One in California, one in Alaska, one in Texas, one in Florida, one in Washington, one in Virginia, and one in Maine." He says.

"Zack, eight appeared." Kyra says.

"Only seven active ones." He says. "The eighth, which is in Nebraska, is dead. A purple ring with no way through. Except one eighth of it is lighted, you can see through one part, air scouts said."

"So you close each of the other portals, which opens the megaportal?" Caden asks.

"That's the idea. Then you close the big one and then we win." Zack says.

"One problem. We've been unable to even get close enough to have a hope at closing them off until now." Maya says.

"Might have something to do with the fact that we're not as experienced fighting what comes out of those things. We don't know how to take them head on, and we haven't got the numbers to do it."

"So you really need my help, is what you're saying." I say, and everyone looks at me. "Ok, I'm in."

"Just like that?" Ziva asks, surprised. "You only just came back from closing only one portal."

"Now we know what to expect in terms of resistance." I say. "We get more people, more equipment, and we'll be alright. Move from portal to portal, one at a time, close them off. Split into groups if we have enough people."

"Personally I'd like to avoid the one in Alaska." Kyra says. "We don't have a good track record with portals up there."

"We'll just need to get enough people so we don't need to send you up there." I say with a shrug.

"I've some ideas for people who could help." Zack says. "Only take those who volunteer. We can't ask just anyone to face this down."

"Yeah." I nod in agreement. "We can go recruit and start to build a small strike force to take the portals out." Everyone looks at one another and nobody finds too many objections.

"What about the two of us?" Nat says, point at herself and Ava.

"I think...overall, we'll be alright." Zack says slowly. "You two have your own lives now, don't let us stop you from having them."

"Don't hesitate to Iris us if it goes to hell too badly." Ava says.

"Yeah, education is only less important if we can save your lives." Nat grins.

"Speaking of which we should pack up now." Ava reminds her and Nat nods. "We'll come say bye in a few." And they head out.

"We need more arrows for this." Kyra sighs. "Yes, Annie, I have made almost a hundred and fifty. We'll need more." And she slips outside.

"Caden, you think you all could look for more people around Camp?" Zack asks.

"Yeah, we'll start asking around." Caden nods. "I think I might know a few people." He, Ziva, Scott, and Maya take off.

"So you two." I say, pointing from Zack to the asian girl. "You guys...uh...what's that line from that movie you made me watch, Carly?"

"Fondue." Carly says with a loud laugh.

"Do you fondue?" I ask, causing the girl to go red and hide her face behind her hands.

"Yes, often." Zack says, and she smacks his arm, but I can see her trying not to smirk.

"I'm Zoe, miss." I say, mock curtsying.

"Annie." She replies.

"Well, Annie. If you hurt my brother here I will make sure they never find your body. Cheerio, wear your rubbers." I say, grin, and head out the door.

"You're mean, Zoe!" Zack calls after me as Carly rushes to catch up with me, hiding her face in her elbow.

"Yes I am." I shout back, raising a hand over my head and waving backwards.

"So, Zozo." Carly says. "We should get you outfitted if you're gonna make a return to the fighting life."

"I'm just surprised you're gonna let me."

"No one lets you do anything, remember." She says. "You wouldn't listen."

"Maybe I'd listen to you." I say with a wink.

"No you wouldn't."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Well, c'mon, there's some stuff I wanted to show you back at your cabin." She leads me back to my cabin and takes me over to the bed, pulling out a pair of drawers and placing their contents on the bed. The first is a set of leather-denim looking pants and leather boots to match them. Next, she drops a set of half-finger black gloves next to the pants. I see they have slight padding to protect my hands from breaking when I punch people. The last thing she pulls out I recognize immediately as the cowl of darkness.

"You found it." I say. It looks different. It looks looser and the hood is larger, with a strange, kinda cool flowery design down the arms. All black, obviously. Still, the feeling it radiates when you see it, it unmistakable. "Looks different."

"It was originally refashioned for me." She admits. "But in all honesty, I always felt weird wearing it, so I thought I'd save it for you."

"All black everything, you know me so well." I say, pulling the gloves on.

"Well, where would I be without my badass, borderline gothic sidekick."

"You watch your mouth." I say, playfully shoving her. "I may need to gain back some of the muscle mass I had before to fit in them, though."

"Made Hephaestus do it. It'll morph to fit the wearer, all of it." Carly says. "I thought of everything."

"Did you ever. Still, might be good to get that strength back, mostly so everyone stops crushing me every time I get hugged." I change into the new stuff and, praise the flying spaghetti monster, the pants are flexible enough for me to kick someone taller than me in the neck. Good.

"I also found this out in the woods." She says and pulls out the crossbow Scott gave me.

"How'd you find that? I buried it." I ask, taking it from her.

"I looked really, really hard." She replies. "This is part of why I knew you were out there."

"I thought it would just be our psychic connection."

"Well, this helped, then." Carly laughs. "Come on, if you're hell bent on helping the fight out, we should get you back in shape. Let's put food in you and then let's see if you can still dance with the rest of us."

"No need to sound so doubtful, hun."

"I wouldn't dare." She laughs again and heads for the door. We head over to the arena and find the others training, and I get my katana out, and swing it around for a little while.

"Hey sis, want to welcome me back to the katana world?" I ask. Ziva grins and whips her katana out.

"Please go easy on her, Ziva." Maya says. "She's still only mostly alive."

"Now you have me competitive." I say and raise the sword above my head. She holds her own out and I can see immediately how her style of fighting has changed. She has to be faster and more savage in order to compensate for the missing hand. She waits for everyone to be off to the side and charges. She briefly flicks her sword upwards from the ground, but, as I'm in the process of blocking, she turns her wrist and the blade is suddenly slashing at my shoulder horizontally. In fact, she did it so quickly I had no chance to block it. I feel the sword slash my lightly across the arm, but it gives me an opening to step in and press the blade of my sword against her chest ever so slightly, not enough for her to actually be cut or even for it to cut the fabric of her shirt, but definitely enough for her to notice.

"Ok, if you weren't wearing that then your arm'd be off, so I win." She says.

"That was barely a nick, sis."

"No, that was full on."

"I think I'd have felt it if it was a full blow."

"She's right, Zoe." Caden says. "Hephaestus modified the cowl to work as armor, too."

"In that case, I still win, Ziva." I grin. "Not my fault you haven't got armor on."

"Oh hahaha." She says and steps back. I look over at the others and see Zack approaching from behind them.

"Yo." I say to him, waving. "Sup? That's how kids talk right?"

"You're doing fine." He laughs as he slips past the others. "So, Annie and I are headed up to Olympus to see if we can get some recruits up there, maybe get some help offers from The Heroes Organization. You guys care to join us?"

"I'm in." I say.

"If she's going I am." Carly chimes in. "Don't worry, I won't make it awkward for Annie."

"Rest of us should stay to work on getting people to join here." Caden says, getting nods from the others.

"Alright, that's settled, when are we leaving?" I ask.

"Now." Zack says.

"Let's go, then, lead the way." I say and pretty soon we're crammed in a truck and on the road.

"I figured you might want to see a certain daughter of Apollo up there, which is why I asked if you wanted to come."

"Oh gods, Rachel." I say, jaw falling open. "She doesn't know I'm alive." My heart lifts in excitement for seeing her again, though I'm dead certain the hug that awaits is going to hurt me.

Chapter Four
I will say this without blinking: Zack is the best at convincing the doorman to Olympus to let us go up for free. He literally just poked his head over that newspaper the guy is always reading and the guy let us go right on up. After the elevator has taken us up Zack and Annie walk us to just outside the Heroes HQ. "You guys go on without me. I want to just...walk about." I say. "I'll find my way back, no worries."

"Ok, don't get lost." Zack says.

"I will come find you if you do." Carly says, mockingly stern.

"Oh, I know you would." I say and head off into the city, just looking around, taking a trip down memory lane. I come across a bench and park myself on it, staring around at the city of Olympus. It really hits me right then just how much the fact I'm alive is something amazing all on its own. Everything I survived just to come to this world, all the monsters I faced, all the people I killed, all to make it here. And then surviving the monsters coming for me again quite recently, not many people from my world could have done that. Surely like...five from this one might have, and maybe around thirty from mine, but the fact that it was me, it really made me wonder if someone was looking out for me after all.

That's stupid. I think to myself. ''There were no gods to watch over you there and the ones here don't care about any of their children. All of that was you. Maybe you really are that special.'' I smirk to myself and shake my head. When my head stops moving, I see someone that makes my heart leap. There she was, Rachel Hughes, the first friend I made from this world, out walking down a sidewalk, holding a bag of food. She drops it and I see her mouth a curse that I bet she'd be embarrassed if someone had heard her use. I get up and walk over to her and bend down to help her pick up the contents of the bag.

"Thanks." She says, and it occurs to me that she may not recognize me, what with all the weight I've lost.

"No problem." I say, and as she doesn't seem to remember my voice, either, I keep going. "So how's the heroing?"

"Uh...it's fine." She says, picking up another thing and putting it in the bag.

"They sent me back up here to see if I'm still sane." I say, and she stops, tilting her head to one side. She looks up at me and after a long moment she straightens up, her eyes widening and starting to well up.

"Z-Zoe?" She asks and once I start to nod, she has her arms wrapped around my shoulders and has me pulled into a tight hug. This one doesn't hurt as much, thanks to the armor-hoodie. I wrap my arms around her waist and briefly pick her up, swinging her around in a circle, a small smile crossing my face. "Where the hell have you been?" She says.

"Traffic." I say.

"Traffic." Rachel says, shaking her head and making a noise that is like half a laugh and half a groan.

"Well, you know." I grin as she pulls back. "New York has some traffic jams."

"Yeah...yeah they do." She laughs, wiping her eyes. "Really though...where have you been?"

"Got stuck in a cabin. Blew up said cabin. Left my story a ways away from blown up cabin. Ran a lot. Hid a lot. Got stuck inside a log for a few days. Walked to ee-oh-wa. Was found."

"Ee-oh-wa?" She asks. "Oh, Iowa."

"Words are hard." I grumble.

"Are you alright? It must have been hell going through all that." She asks, concern starting to show on her face.

"I'm doing ok. They IVed me to get a lot of the hydration back a couple days ago." I say with a shrug. "I can still kill most people I meet, so I'm all good."

"What're you doing here on Olympus?" She asks. "Why aren't you in a hospital or something?"

"We're here looking to recruit people for the whole mission to close the portals." I say. "Zack thought we might be able to get some form of help from your crew."

"You'll probably be able to get help from a few of us. I'll help, if you want me, but not for the entire mission." Rachel says.

"Hey, you have a life. An actual functioning somewhat life." I say. "The fact you'd be willing to help at all is amazing."

"I'm just happy you understand, thank you." She smiles. "The others may be willing to offer some help, but I doubt any full time. Except Annie. She'd be all in. She is, I think."

"So. You still with...uh...tall blonde and terrifying?" I ask, curious.

"Oh, uh, yeah." She says, laughing. I can see in the way she smiles that she's happy with this world's Lucian, and my heart lifts a bit for her. Maybe Zack hates him too much. I think.

"Guessing that means he's satisfactory when no one is around." I say. "My universe's Lucian could take some pointers."

"Oh shut up." She laughs again, going really red, really fast. "What about you and Kylie? That go anywhere since you got back?" My faces falls immediately and I shake my head.

"Well...I did see her." I start. "We, uh, had a very...intimate night when I saw her again and...I found out she's with someone after the act." I say, feeling the sudden urge to run and hide, so I'd never have to live with the feeling again. That concerned look comes across her face again, then she steps in and hugs me once more, this time a lot softer and more gentle, but fifty times as caring.

"I'm sorry." She whispers.

"Well it isn't your fault, hun." I say, hugging her back. "Listen, since we're here, I never got to say this before, but I wanted to say thank you."

"What for?"

"You were my first friend when I got here, Rach. Even before I really started to think of Carly as one, you just showed me the first real friend-things. And you know, you're really important to me, Rach. I have kind of a sister-love-thing for you, and if anyone ever hurts you let me know and I will curb stomp them. If you're ever alone and don't want to be I will fly here by dragon to hang out for a few hours. I will hold your flashcards for when you're studying to do something to change the world and I will definitely being your hide-in-room-with-ice-cream-and-wine buddy. You're important to me, is all, you know?" I say and, just kinda acting on instinct, I stand up on the balls of my feet and plant a quick kiss on her forehead before resetting and smiling at her.

Rachel doesn't say much, but I see the tears start forming and brace my ribs for another assault on their health. Sure enough, she has me trapped in another hug, burying her face in my shoulder. I hug back, smiling and enjoying the embrace. "Love you too, Rach." I say quietly. Once we separate she wipes her eyes, looking incredibly flustered. She looks like she's about to say something when she instead raises a hand and waves. I look over my shoulder and see a young man out jogging, coming towards us. "Who's he?"

"Matt Parker, one of my friends." She says.

"Well...he isn't icky." I say.

"Neither of the Parkers are icky." She replies.

"This one wasn't an alcoholic hobo from my world, so he has the benefit of not bringing up bad memories."

"Well that's good." Rachel says. "Did you know him in your world at all?"

"Nope. Just Mal."

"Ha. Just don't call Malcolm 'Mal' because he hates that." She says as this one known as Matt reaches us. He stops and I immediately get the impression he's a very friendly fellow, and it occurs to me that he probably doesn't know who I am.

"Hey." He says.

"Hi." I say and for the first time in a while, I feel relatively awkward, just talking to someone. It's a very strange sensation.

"Zoe, this is Matt. Matt, this is Zoe."

"Nice to meet you." He says, extending a hand.

"You too." I say, shaking it, while wondering if I'm doing this handshaking thing right. "Yes, I am the problematic Zoe."

"Good to know. That's fine, most of us are problematic." He says.

"So, er, uh...what do you do?" I ask, kicking myself for the stutter.

"Uh. With THO." He says, and I have to quickly play the acronym game in my head to figure out he means The Heroes Organization. "I do forensic-y stuff."

"I...truly don't know what that means." Well I look stupid.

"Like...uh, with evidence and stuff. With crimes. That's basically about it." He says.

"I mostly, er, try not to die." I say and wonder where my ability to speak properly went.

"Well, I think you're doing an awesome job so far." He says.

"I sure hope so." I say, trying to give a smile of some form. "Just came up here with a pseudo twin, guy named Zack, to try and get people to help with a mission thing. Doubt you'd know him."

"I know him. What's the mission?"

"Oh you know. Just the apocalypse is coming through a bunch of portals we need to close. The usual."

"Oh. So no big deal then."

"Well when it's all your fault you feel slightly different about it." I say with a shrug.

"I imagine Chaos must feel pretty differently, considering it's all his fault, not yours." He says, taking me by surprise.

"Oh, uh, well, thanks." I say, smiling and instinctively scratching the back of my head.

"Course, it's true." He says with a shrug. "Your boyfriend is in desperate need of more staples or paper clips, Rachel. Nice to meet you, Zoe." He says and takes off.

"Well that was nerve wracking." I say once he's out of earshot.

"Why?"

"Never felt so nervous around a pretty person before."

"I get it. Pretty people rule the world." She laughs.

"Shut up, this is new for me." I say and feel myself going slightly red.

"Lucky you. He's in a relationship though, but I could totally see you two otherwise."

"Well. Shit."

"Don't worry, there are many fish in the sea." She says. I wait a solid half minute before speaking again.

"What...what does fish population have to do with this?"

"It's a saying. Means there are more possible suitors out there than just one."

"Think they'll get bored of just two people?"

"Probably not."

"Oh well. He'd be good for only one thing, anyway. She'd be good for six." I say, mostly joking.

"Did not need that image." she grumbles, getting a laugh out of me.

"Who is he with, anyway?" I ask, curious.

"Stella."

"Hot."

"Yeah, they're the hottest couple on Olympus right now."

"No need to sell yourself short there, hun."

"Nah, Stella's way more attractive than me." She says with a shrug. "It's not that big of a deal, it's just true."

"Only out here. I bet up here-" I say and flick her on the forehead. "You have way more beauty than she could ever dream of."

"...Stop saying nice things."

"No."

"Shut up."

"Love you too." I say, just getting a smile from her. "Well, since your home is where my people are at, shall we return there?"

"We shall. It is that way." She says and points, and we start walking back. When we come upon the building in question, we find Carly sitting on the front step, looking bored out of her skull.

"Don't worry, love. We'll head home soon." I say leaning down and messing up her hair.

"One day when this is over we are coming back here so we can check out the Olympus night life I hear so much about."

"Just ask Rach, I'm sure she knows all about it." I joke, winking at Rachel.

"It's usually really crazy, really fun, and you never remember any of it." Rachel says.

"Judging from the rumor mill about ya'll at camp, that sounds accurate." Carly says.

"Just what do these rumors say?" Rachel asks.

"There was one about Arcanna sneaking in cocaine for everyone. That aside it's the usual who is having a kid and who isn't kinda stuff." Carly shrugs.

"That is so not true and...I'd hope no one is having a kid."

"Well, who knows with that Malcanna duo." I joke.

"Oh my gods." Rachel says, rolling her eyes. It was at that moment that an Iris Message showed up, showing us Caden's face.

"Hey guys." He says. "Uh, so, kinda awkward thing happened. One of the people who want to help is Kylie." I feel like a liver kick slammed into me and my heart starts aching a bit again. "Oh. Hi Rachel." He says.

"Hi."

"We should head back soon." Carly says slowly. I knew she could sense my discomfort, but at that moment I just didn't care to cover it up anymore.

"Yeah." I eventually get out. "I'll see you later, Rach." It occurs to me that I definitely sound incredibly depressed, but at that moment, I just didn't care.

"See you, Zoe." Rachel says, giving me a reassuring smile.

"Bye, hun." I say and Carly and I start heading to the exit of the city to wait for Zack and Annie.

"You ok?" She asks once we reach the door.

"Not really." I admit. She takes my hands and gives them both a squeeze.

"Don't worry. It'll be ok." Carly says. And for a moment, I believed her.

When the truck pulled to a stop in Camp, I felt my stomach churn. I'd acted up until that point that I could move on from what happened between me and Kylie, but if I was being honest with myself, it was still a very fresh wound, one that hadn't had a lot of time to heal, and one that was festering. I stepped out of the van and looked around, expecting to see her pretty much anywhere I looked, but she was nowhere to be seen. Even when Caden, Ziva, Maya, and Scott began approaching, she just wasn't here. "We got about seven more people to join up." I hear Caden telling Zack as I look around, searching for any signs of Kylie.

"How many does that put us at?"

"Ten."

"Well, it's progress. What about Kylie, you said she was signing on or something?" I tune into their conversation and listen in.

"Sort of. We're gonna need to head out to New York to pick up her and some others who live there tomorrow." I breathe out a sigh of relief at that and feel my body relax a bit. ''Thank Hades. I have a day to prepare for that.''

"C'mon, let's grab lunch." Carly says and leads me off to the dining hall. I wind up throwing back at least two entrees worth of chicken and salad, to the heavy amusement of the others, who all joined us. After we ate we all retreated to my cabin, and I started learning how to help everyone in the weird, office setting of the workplace they had set up. Maya's job of trying to organize Pegasi scouting runs was the easiest for me, so I wound up helping her with that the most. I did also come up with good ideas for transport convoys to travel the general areas of the portals, except for the Alaskan one, that one I knew nothing about.

Time flew surprisingly quickly, and pretty soon it was eleven at night. None of them had any intention of heading back to their cabins, and they gradually found places to fall asleep here in the cabin. Scott fell asleep in his chair first, and was very soon impossible to stir. Maya and Ziva had a very brief tussle for the spare mattress, which Maya won and placed said mattress in the middle of the kitchen, where she fell asleep. Carly crashed not long after and headed off to my bedroom and slumped onto the bed, pretty much comatose at the flip of a switch.

I stayed awake for a while longer with Caden and Ziva, and after a little while, around twelve-thirty, I realized they were waiting for me to crash as well. I smirked to myself as I got out of my chair. "Behave, you two." I whisper as to not wake anyone else up, and slipped off to my room and tucked in beside Carly. As I drifted off, I wondered if this was how Zack felt, crashing in a private cabin with all his best friends around him.

''I was in a forest. All of the trees were burnt. Blackened corpses of once great oaks were everywhere. There wasn't a leaf in sight. A full, bright moon was the only source of light as I looked around, surrounded by the destruction around me. I walked through the dead trees, looking for any sign of life. As I rounded a tree, I was greeted by a less than pleasant sight. A table, placed in the middle of the woods, and a decapitated head resting on it. As I drew near, curious, I found that it was the head, the face, of someone I knew.''

''Lucian's dead eyes were staring up at me, his mouth hanging open slightly. I closed my eyes for a long moment, sighing. When I opened them, the eyes were purple. I recoiled, and then the mouth started moving. "Why'd you do it, Zoe? Why'd you kill me?" He repeats the phrase, over and over again. I sprint away, but the voice still feels like it's right in front of me. I turn a corner and come to a halt, horrified by what I see now.''

''"Why'd you do it, Zoe? Why'd you kill me?" Says the corpse of Damian Mace, purple eyes staring me down. My knife is still in his chest, blood dripping from the wound to the ground below. I turn around and start running again. The path leads me to more old faces. Althea, Zenon, Vincent, the farmers.''

''"Why'd you do it, Zoe? Why'd you kill us?" They ask in unison, and I run away again, straight into another figure from my past.''

''"Why'd you do it, Zoe? Why'd you kill me?" Asks Michael Johnson. His head is in half, up the middle, but the halves of his mouth still move freely. I can see the insides of his head, his brain, his skull, the two halves of his tongue writhing like snakes with every repetition of that horrifying phrase. I sprinted as far from him as I could, but as with all the others, the voice followed me. Then, as I jump through an empty riverbed, I see someone, lying on their back, staring at the sky. Terrified, but transfixed, I moved over to investigate.''

''Why'd you do it, Zoe? Why'd you kill me?" Robin Gerhardt says. There's a hole in their throat where I stabbed them. This time, they have purple eyes. I screamed now, the voices in my head becoming too much, and I ran and I hid inside a hollowed out tree, putting my hands over my ears, trying to block out the voices. They keep saying that awful phrase in my head, the volume increasing and increasing.''

"Why'd you do it Zoe? Why'd you kill me?"

"Why'd you do it Zoe? Why'd you kill me?"

"Why'd you do it Zoe? Why'd you kill me?"

"Why'd you do it Zoe? Why'd you kill me?"

"Why'd you do it Zoe? Why'd you kill me?"

''Then, the voices stopped, replaced by something even more chilling. A single voice, female, gentle, kind, caring, saying something different completely. I looked up and saw the one saying it, shoulder length blonde hair, piercing purple eyes, and a hole in her chest, one I could see straight through.''

''"Why'd you do it, Zoe?" Stella asks me. "Why'd you leave me?"''

I shot awake and punched the wall, panting and in a cold sweat. The bedroom door opens and Maya walks in, looking worried. "You ok?" She asks, sitting beside me on the bed. I look around and see that the sun has risen, and most of the others must have already woken up.

"Bad dream." I say, shaking my head and wiping the sleep from my eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" She asks.

"...Not really." I say after a moment. "Thank you, though."

"We've got you, Zoe. Don't worry." She says, reaching out and gripping my shoulder. "All of us. We've got you. You'll be ok." I look up at her and see the same care and worry that all the others have when they look at me when I'm like this. This time, I see something else, something I realized they've all had for quite a while. There's love in those eyes.

And you know what? This time, I really did believe it, in spite of what my dream showed me.

Chapter Five
"So why did we get stuck on watch duty?" I ask Maya, leaning back in the passenger seat of the second van. For this little recruitment job we'd been given a second and third vehicle to transport any potential recruits back to camp. Pulling into the first location, Maya and I had been informed that it was our job to hang around with the vehicles outside in order to stand guard. It was completely and irretrievably boring.

"Bet we intimidate people." She says, eating a piece of chinese food she had walked to pick up about a half hour into watch. "You kinda have that 'imma merc you if you annoy me' vibe and I just make a really good bad cop." Maya pauses a moment. "That's a thing where good interroq-"

"I know." I interrupt her.

"Right. Sorry." She eats a few more bites of food and we stare out the windows for a while in silence. Dear gods how long does this take? I think to myself. Can't we just conscript people or something?

"Ask me something." I say after a while.

"Like?"

"I don't care, something to pass the time."

"Ok, uh...favorite food since coming here?"

"Probably...chicken." I say and grab some from her chinese box. "Next."

"Any piercings?" She asks, and I hold my hair up so she can see my ears. I run my hands along my face, which has none, and raise an eyebrow at her.

"There are more places you can get them, Zoe."

"Either way, no. Don't really see the point to them." I say with a shrug. "You?" She lifts her shirt to show one in her belly button.

"Ziva has her ears, Carly has her ears and three others."

"And...?"

"Dunno, she doesn't tell." Maya says, going back to her food. "Do you have any tattoos?"

"Zero, repeat the statement of not seeing the point." I say.

"I'm planning on a sleeve when this is done. None of the others do, either." Maya says, and then straightens up. I look out the windshield and, finally, see the others leave the apartment building we're parked outside of with two new faces, people I didn't know. They load into the vans in front of us and the walkie-talkie we're using to communicate blares to life.

"One stop down, three to go." Caden says, and I can tell he was frustrated by how long that took as well.

"Lead the way." Maya says and Caden and the first van take off, followed by Scott and Carly's and then ours. The next meetup goes a hell of a lot quicker, only fifteen minutes, but they come out empty handed. "Wonderful." Maya says. "That's gonna piss a couple people off."

"Carly might stab something." I agree, nodding.

"Next one is Kylie's stop, Zoe." Maya warns me as we start driving. "Might be a good thing we got the boring job." I don't reply, instead thinking for a long moment as to her words. ''She signs on and she's working with you in some way, Zoe. No way around that at all.'' I think to myself. For a brief moment, all I could think about was that strawberry-esque taste on her lips and the gentle way she'd tug at my hair...

Snap out of it, Zoe. I think and physically smack myself across the face, earning a quizzical look from Maya, which I ignore. ''No room for that shit now. Time to stop the world from ending, deal with her later. If she's gonna make this a thing, that's on her.'' And with that, I began steeling myself for the moment we met, and I made a decision. I was going to go in and meet her and whoever she was with. I didn't care if the others thought it was a bad idea. Let's just get this out of the way now, shall we?

Instead of pulling up to an apartment building like the last two times, we end up parking in a mall parking lot. "Sorry, I'm heading in." I say and jump out of the van before Maya can say anything. "Think you can handle watch alone?"

"...There's no point in arguing with you, is there?"

"Probably not."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Maya sighs. "Caden and Ziva are keeping watch over the new guys, so I'll be fine out here."

"Cool." I say and slam the door shut. I run over to Carly and Scott as they head for the entrance of the mall. "Yo." I say as I reach them.

"You sure you want to be here?" Carly asks, stopping and looking at me with worry.

"I got this." I say. Scott makes a face as he looks away that tells me he's doubtful, but I don't really care.

"Ok." Carly says and we walk on in. Carly leads us to the food court, where I finally see her, sitting with three other demigods around a table. She locks eyes with me for a moment and things seem to freeze around me. I can see a hundred different emotions play across her face, guilt, regret, sadness, pain, anger, and self loathing. I know how she's feeling before I even sit down across from her and look her in the eyes up close. I don't need to talk to her to know what's going on in her mind. It's all very visible on her face and in her eyes.

Carly and Scott sit down and start talking to the other demigods, explaining the mission to them. Kylie knows everything already, she has no need for the debriefing. She just stares at me, desperately seeking the chance to articulate what I already know. I hear the other demigods agree to join and they get up. Carly waits a moment as Scott walks off with them before she too stands up. "We'll wait, don't worry." She says, quite gently, and I feel like she's talking to us both. I realize this is the only real fight she wouldn't have my back in. She may agree with me, but this is still her little sister. I nod and thank her and she heads off.

"Zoe..."

"I know." I say immediately.

"I know you know but I still have to say it." Kylie says. "You don't deserve any of this, Zoe. You don't deserve having your world bleed through to here. You don't deserve having the horrible thought of Stella being the leader of Chaos' army. You don't deserve what I did to you. You don't deserve having what I gave you taken so...so...stupidly. You didn't deserve what happened that night, Zoe, and I am so, so sorry for it. I know that doesn't mean anything anymore, but-"

"Kylie." I say, silencing her. "I know. I really do know. If I'm being honest here, all I want is to move on from this completely and just focus on what is to come." She nods slowly, as though understanding. "How're you getting away from Victoria to do this?"

"...She's, uh...she's under the impression I have a small gig tour lined up in the south." Kylie says, pinching the bridge of her nose. "She's mortal, and I don't want her to be afraid for me, and-"

"Do you love her?" I ask, a little more harshly than I may have intended. She flinches for a moment and stares into my eyes for a long time, and I see the tears start to form. There was a time such a sight would have leveled me completely, but now, I just accepted it and moved along. She takes an excruciatingly long time to answer.

"...Yes." She gets out.

"Then before we leave, contact her. Tell her the truth. She deserves that much every bit as much as I did." She flinches again. "Am I wrong?"

"No." She whispers.

"Ok." I say and get up. "I forgive you for it, Ky. I really do. I'll survive. I always do. Don't do what I did when I got here. Don't let that guilt eat you up. You may not be my favorite person around right now, but you don't deserve that."

And with that, I started walking back to the van. She catches up not long after and we return to the van. The next stop is just outside one of the many subway stations of New York and once we're all parked, our walkie talkie buzzes to life.

"Ok, so, for some reason the next guy wants to meet on the subway itself. So what we're gonna do is have Zoe, Carly, and Maya take the recruits back to Camp and we'll bring this guy back if we can." Ziva says, sounding exasperated. Scott hops out of his and Carly's van and the recruits in Caden and Ziva's take his place. I watch Caden, Scott, and Ziva head into the subway underground and sigh as Maya starts driving away. As she is, I see something that makes my heart plummet. I'm not sure, but it looks very familiar. It looks like Stella's haircut and Stella's face walking down after them into the station. I don't hesitate, and throw my door open, taking my seat belt off.

"Go back now." I say and jump out and run down into the station after her. I run down the steps and see Caden, Ziva, and Scott on one train car, and I see my fears confirmed. Stella walks onto the car behind them and she turns and looks straight at me. She's wearing some of those stupid giant sunglasses white girls wear in this world. She tilts them down so I can see her eyes. They're that horrifying, piercing violet all of Chaos' minions have. I sprint for the nearest train car and get on maybe two seconds before the doors close and the train starts moving.

"Excuse me, excuse me, sorry." I say and start making my way to the end of the car. I force the door open and jump across to force the door to the next car open. I step inside and freeze. Eight people, all black clad and staring at me with blazing purple eyes, all staring straight at me and wielding daggers. One look around tells me there is no room to use my katana. I draw my dagger and they charge. They run at me, not realizing that the limited space within the train car makes for a decent bottleneck. One swing his blade, slashing at my neck, and I duck and spin, stabbing him in the stomach while catching his blade arm with my free hand. I twist around him, hyper-extending his shoulder and pulling down on his arm from right behind him, dislocating his shoulder completely. He cries out in pain, but I offer no quarter as I slash him across the jugular before turning to face his charging comrades.

I switch into a reverse grip and punch the next attacker in the nose with the pommel of the hilt, breaking his nose completely. I pull back, switch back to the normal grip and stab him under his chin. I can see the blade in his open mouth as he freezes in pain, shock, and terror. I punch one of his companions in the face and as this new one stumbles back I add a head kick in behind it, knocking him to the ground. I rip the blade out of the first's chin and spin around him, stabbing him in the rear base of his skull. I pull the knife out and jump down on the one I kicked, stabbing him three times in the face. I get up and spin around, slamming my heel into the jaw of the fourth attacker as I jump forward to stab the fifth in the chest.

I wrench the blade from five's chest, turn to my left and stab four in the stomach as he collapses onto the seats. I let go, throw a backfist up into the chin of five, reach down, stab twice more into four's abdomen, and rip the blade out and stab it into the neck of five. I roll forward and under six's slash at my head and cut out his left hamstring. As he falls to his knees and stab him another six times as I go up his torso and add a seventh stab to his neck. I wrench the blade out and catch seven's arm as his blade descends towards my face and I dislocate his wrist, making him drop his weapon. I catch his knife and slash three times up and down his torso, dance around behind him and slash once with each blade across his back.

I turn and see eight standing in front of the door. He looks hesitant, and I capitalize. I roll forward, coming up just in front of him. He stabs at me, but I catch his blade with one of my knives and deflect it away. One stab to his ear and he collapses. I force the door open and find that the next car is empty. I sprint across it and find the next door is jammed shut. I look in the window and see Stella is surrounded by Caden, Ziva, and Scott. Scott is fine for weapons, but Caden is stuck just using his cane and Ziva is limited by the confined space with her katana.

And that didn't even matter.

Stella raises a hand, which is surrounded by a small cloud of purple energy, and Ziva is thrown twenty feet to other end of the car and she stops in midair, her sword flying to the ground. She is swung about and her head hits the wall and she collapses to the ground, limp. I start trying to force the door open as Stella raises her other hand and causes Caden to hit himself twice in the face with his own cane before moving with blinding speed and kicking him in the stomach. He goes flying down the car and lands on Ziva. She grabs Scott by the neck and he jumps up, wrapping his legs around her arm, trying to get a flying armbar.

She just swings her arm up and smacks his skull against the ceiling before throwing him to the side. Then the door opens and I burst in. I throw the knife a stole from my attackers at her, and she flicks her wrist quite calmly, causing it to embed itself in the window. Without hesitation I run at her, slashing at her ribs with my dagger. She twists away and I spin to plant a kick on the back of her head. She reaches back, catches my ankle and spins, throwing me bodily into one of the poles that people hold onto on trains. She jumps down at me and mounts me, looking down with a look of contempt. A year ago that look would have stung like nothing else. Now, it just gives me more reason to fight.

I rip my necklace off and turn it into the katana, the blade extending and stabbing through her chest. There's no resistance save her shirt, the blade exiting her back. She sighs and rips her outer shirt off completely, revealing a hole in her chest, one that runs all through her torso. It's the same hole from my dream. She punches me in the face once and I pass out on impact.

I wake up in a cell. My head is spinning, but I'm ok. The first thing I realize is that they took the cowl of darkness from me, so as I'm lying on the floor of a cell with a tank top being my only upper warmth, I'm freezing. I sit up and see Stella watching me. I shoot up to my feet and look behind her. Scott is waking up as well in a cell across from mine. "Nice to see you again." Stella says, rather coldly.

"Can't say the same." I say, staring across at her.

"Not surprised. Doesn't matter. Soon Chaos will have decided what I am to do with you and then I don't need to worry myself with you anymore."

"Keep telling yourself that. You know this cage can't hold me."

"He can." Stella says, pointing to the exit. Must mean there's a guard out there. I think. Stella smiles and walks up to my cell door. She lifts a hand and pulls me forward until I'm pressed against the bars of the door. She steps in again so we're maybe an inch away from each other. "I wasn't lying." She says. "It is somewhat pleasant seeing you again." And she plants a long kiss on my mouth, one I do not return. She pulls back and smiles again. "Now you know what death tastes like. Though I suppose you could just take your alternates ex instead." and she walks out, closing the door behind her. I look over at Scott the second the door is closed.

"You ok?" I ask.

"I'll live. Bit sore, but I'll live." He says, nodding at me. "You have any idea how to get out of here?" I look around my cell and notice two things. One, a piece of pipe is severely frozen. There's also an area in the brick wall that looks weakened. I walk over to the pipe and start pulling, planting one of my feet on the wall. Sure enough, the section of pipe comes off freely. I take the pipe over to the weakened section of wall and jam the pipe in, using it as leverage, I prey a couple of the bricks out. I see another room on the other side, and start prying more and more bricks away until the hole is big enough for me to fit through. A stray piece of broken rock scratches my shoulder, but I ignore it and move through.

I find, to my delight, a loop of keys on the other side. I grab them and step back through into my cell, and start trying each of the keys out. One eventually works, and I rush over and free Scott. "Do you know where they took Ziva and Caden?"

"No idea." He says. "But there's a guard on the other side of that door. We're gonna have to fight him to get out."

"I think between the two of us we got this." I say. He nods and we head over to the door. No point in being stealthy, I throw it open and we jump inside. The guard rises from a table. He's a little taller than me, but not exactly a tall man. He throws his hood off and my eyes widen. Attached to his neck is Lucian's head, sewn on and very much alive. My stomach churns as the thought of them decapitating someone to put Lucian's head on it comes to mind. I realize this is gonna be tougher than I thought, and I move around to his other side so Scott and I can attack from both sides. Lucian smiles and waves at us both to attack.

Scott and I fall into fighting stances and wait for a long moment. I throw a head kick and Lucian ducks under it. As he comes up Scott throws his own head kick, which Lucian deflects off his forearm. I throw a punch at his head, which he ducks, following through on his own momentum to swipe his heel through the air in a spin towards Scott's head, who also ducks. My second punch is caught and Lucian pulls me in, spins me around and throws me into Scott, who was moving in to grab Lucian but stumbles as we slam into each other. Scott pivots around me and throws a front kick at Lucian's floating rib, an attack that Lucian blocks with both hands and starts backing up as I start throwing roundhouses for his rib cage. We chase after him and I continue my assault on his ribs, throwing both my shins at him, trying to slow him down.

He kicks Scott in the stomach and causes him to stumble back, and he spins around with another wheel kick attempt at my head, which I duck under and push kick him back towards Scott myself. Scott throws a head kick which is blocked by Lucian's elbow, and we press forward once again. I throw a punch which Lucian blocks with his forearm and spins towards me, slamming his elbow around in into my shoulder joint before sending the back of his fist into my nose. Scott tries to throw a jumping punch at Lucian, but he is able to catch his arm and throw him over his shoulder. I jump forward trying to kick him in the face, but he catches my leg and kicks out my other one. I drop and he kicks me in the ribs as Scott jumps over me, landing a kick of his own to Lucian's chest and pressing forward himself.

Scott throws two roundhouses as I get to my feet and spins to wheel kick Lucian's legs, tripping him. Scott slams a knee down into Lucian's ribs and rolls for a knee bar, trying to break the knee joint completely. Lucian sees this and rolls away as I throw a punch at his head, which is ducked. Lucian elbows me in the chest, grabs my shoulder and swings his leg around to trip me to the floor. Scott throws a jumping kick to Lucian's face, which Lucian steps back in time to avoid and spins into a crouch, elbowing out Scott's base knee, causing him to fall to a kneel. Lucian knees Scott straight in the forehead and spins to kick me in the ribs.

I catch his kick and throw him to the ground behind me. I rush forward and try to stomp his knee in, but he spins in time to avoid it and tries the same trip Scott used on him. I see this coming and lift my foot up just in time to not be hit at all. Lucian keeps the spin going and lands a wheel kick to my armpit. As I fall back, winded, Scott jumps on Lucian's back, trying to go for a choke. Lucian flips forward, dumping Scott on his head, and I run back to attack him. I land a kick to the thigh that momentarily brings Lucian to his knees. As I move to follow up on my momentary success, he throws his good leg out and kicks me away. He's on his feet in seconds and throws two of the same flying knee at my head. I'm able to block both with my forearms, but the impact still stuns me.

Scott wraps his arms around Lucian's shoulders and pins his arms to his sides. Lucian wriggles enough to get enough space to shoot some elbows into his ribs, so Scott throws him to the side and we both start trying to attack him with kicks to the head. Even from his knees Lucian is able to block all of them with his arms. He catches one of Scott's kicks and elbows him in the ankle, knocking him off balance and causing him to stumble. As he does so I dive in and try to tackle him to the ground. He catches me and throws me over his head before jumping up to try and do some sort of flying stomp to my skull. Scott moves over in time to grab the back of Lucian's left foot and pull him back out of the air.

Lucian face plants into the floor and Scott pulls him by the leg away from me, giving me a moment to recover. Lucian gets up to one foot and forces himself onto his knee, bringing Scott down with him, and he bursts up, spinning around and throwing a botched wheel kick attempt that Scott ducks under. Scott lifts as Lucian is still spinning and dumps him down on his back. Lucian springs up and launches a pair of flying knees which Scott deflects with his arms, moving back enough to avoid most of the impact. Lucian jumps back, throws a kick to Scott's head at half power, then throws that same spinning trip and send Scott flying to the ground. That was when I rejoined the fray and caught a kick that was going down to Scott's head and throwing Lucian to the side, Scott throwing a kick from the ground into Lucian's stomach for good measure.

Lucian jumps up and tries to kick Scott again, but Scott catches it and trips him to the ground. Lucian immediately throws a stomping kick upwards and catches Scott on the side of the face, but my partner eats it like a champion and I kick Lucian hard in the ribs like I'm kicking a soccer ball to the moon. Lucian cries out in pain and shoots a second up kick, this one sending Scott to the ground. Lucian spins on the ground like a top and rolls, taking my legs out from under me as he rolls over my knees and up my back, ending with an elbow to the back of my head that knocks my forehead against the floor. He gets up in time to eat a spinning push kick from Scott that makes him trip over me. My vision clearing, I wrap and arm around his neck and Scott grabs hold of his legs, stopping him from moving.

Lucian slips the arm I'm pinning with my torso around and elbows me in the back of the head twice, making me lose my grip and he pushes off of me and springs to his feet. Scott grabs him and lands four right hooks to his jaw. Lucian blocks the fifth and lands his own right hook, which completely wobbles Scott. Lucian adds three more which send Scott to the ground, and as he's winding up for another, I grab his arm to stop up, having gotten to my feet. I pull him back and he throws a right hook at me, which I duck and throw a wheel kick of my own to his face. He ducks it and puts his shoulders in my groin. When he stands up I'm launched through the air and I land on a table somewhere in the room, breaking it in half.

Scott rises and attacks again, throwing a roundhouse with his right leg and following it with a right cross. Lucian backs out of the way of the kick and catches Scott's arm, throwing him over his head and slamming him against a light in the ceiling. Scott falls to the floor at Lucian's feet, motionless. Lucian walks over to me and picks me up, wrapping an arm around my neck. I soon realize he wants to strangle me to death, not break my neck, which gives me more time to work an escape. No escape comes. I can't find any holes in his choke that I can exploit to counter it, and it isn't long before my vision starts to tunnel.

Then, Lucian screams in pain as he releases me and I tumble to the floor. I look up and see Scott has taken a broken piece of lighting tube from the ceiling and stabbed Lucian in the neck with it. Lucian, to my horror, elbows Scott twice in the ribs, shouting with each strike and kicks him away. I jump at him, but he kicks my leg out and I face plant to the floor. He grabs my head and bashes it against the floor twice, only stopping when Scott kicks him in the head and knocks him away. Scott tries to hit him with a spinning back fist, which Lucian ducks under and grabs Scott's neck from in front of him, bending him backwards and going to elbow him in the chest.

I spring up, purely running on adrenaline now, and stop the elbow from landing. Lucian releases Scott long enough to kick me back before pressing Scott against the wall with punches and knees. For a moment it seems like Scott will collapse under the onslaught, but then, Scott blocks a hook and punches Lucian in the face, hard, knocking him back. Lucian throws another punch, and Scott catches his wrist with his right hand and pulls his arm back, slamming his elbow into the inside of Lucian's, hyper-extending the arm. Lucian twists away but Scott catches his other arm and does the same to Lucian's other arm.

Scott throws eighteen punches to Lucian's stomach, chain punching, like a machine gun, and adds a knee to the attack. He grabs Lucian and spins him around so his back to him and throws a knee into Lucian's spine. I roll over and throw that same, recurring, spinning trip, taking Lucian's legs out from under him and I pin him to the ground with my legs. Scott grabs the piece of tubing and slashes out the stitches holding Lucian's head to his shoulders. As he throws Lucian's head away, we fall back to the ground next to one another, panting, dazed, hurt, exhausted, aching, and bloodied, I felt a strange gush of affection for the son of Hermes next to me.

"We have to find the others." He says after a long moment. I get to my fight and we walk into the next room, where we find our weapons and supplies on a table. I pull the cowl on, thankful to have it's protective fabrics covering my already beaten down body. I put my katana on my back and knife in my boot, picking up my crossbow and loading a bolt. Scott fits his gunboots and gauntlets on and we head out the next door. We step outside and see something that shocks us both. A portal in a winter land, surrounded by a fortress of dead buildings, all taken from my world, an encampment surrounding the fortress.

"Welcome to Alaska." He mutters.

"Get the head." I say. "There's a good chance we'll need it to close that portal."

"You think we can do it while we're here?"

"Do we have a choice? Grab the head and bag it. Let's go find the others."

Chapter Six
Sneaking across the encampment took a long time and multiple close calls, but we were able to make it to the other side of the camp, where the other cell block was. "Think there will be another guard like Lucian?" I ask as we watch the guards patrol around the building.

"Hope not." Scott grunts. "On my signal run for the door when the guards aren't near it?"

"May as well." I say and wait for him to call it. Once the guards have rounded the corner to the other end of the building, he taps me on the shoulder and starts sprinting. I chase after him and he opens the door, which is, for some reason, unlocked, and we run inside. A lone guard is in the first room, and Scott sprints at him, crouches at the last minute and picks him up by the waste before using him to smash the door open and charge into face a large group of guards within. I run in and am greeted immediately by a punch from one of the guards. I block and spin in closer to him, my crossbow flying to the floor, slamming my elbow into his adam's apple, and I kick one of his legs out from beneath him while adding a punch to the groin.

Another guard tries to tackle me, but I catch him with a flying knee to the orbital bone and when I land, I add a second knee to his nose and throw him to floor. I see Scott block two hooks from an attacker and kick him in the knee, a right cross following to the man's face, dropping the man to one knee. Scott doesn't hesitate and kicks him in the head, moving on to another attacker. He blocks two kicks, punches the man in the chest, grabs him by the shoulder with his left hand and drills a hard punch to his ear. He lifts the man up by the throat and slams him down on the floor, slashing down with the heel of his foot, an axe kick, and hits the downed man in the face.

An attacker charges me, throwing a kick at my head. I duck under it, grabbing his leg, and spin him, throwing him headlong into the cement wall, he falls to the ground, his face a bloody mess, and I turn to face my next opponent. As he charges me I pull my dagger out, now ready to fight in earnest, and I duck under his punch, slashing him across the gut and chest twice as I dance around him to stab a second attacker coming my way. I wrench the knife from the second's throat and stab the first in the kidney before knocking their heads together to put them on the floor.

I see a guard has jumped on Scott's back as another is trying to tackle him to the ground. Scott is drilling elbows to the back of the takedown attempt, but can't do much about the choke. I throw my knife at the choke guy and hit in just behind his head. He goes limp and falls, and Scott lifts the guy trying to take him down, grabbing him by the head, turns him so they're back to back, his head resting on Scott's shoulder, and drops down, breaking the man's neck over his shoulder. I see the last one coming for him and finally actually use my crossbow, picking it up off the floor, and putting an arrow in his neck.

Scott runs over to the door at the far end of the room and thrusts it open. "Ziva's here!" He calls and I run over, grabbing the arrow from the man's neck as I approach him. "You still have that key ring?"

"Yeah." I say and throw it to him. He disappears into the room and I aim at the entrance with my crossbow, aiming to take out anyone who approaches. When he returns, supporting a really beaten up looking Ziva, I stand up, putting my crossbow on my back. "I'll take her, you're the better fighter, you babysit." He nods and passes her to me. "Hey, sis, we're gonna get you out of here, ok?"

"Cade...fortress..." She says quietly. Whatever happened to her has left her incredibly discombobulated. "We'll get you out and I'll come back for him, don't worry. I promise." I say. Scott nods and draws the wrist blades of his gauntlets out. We head for the door and Scott raises a finger, stopping us. He slips outside and I hear two soft shunks of metal meeting flesh, and he returns. Before I follow him out of the building I spot her sword on a table, and grab it. "Mine." She mutters.

"I'll let you have it when we're there." I tell her and follow Scott through the camp, stopping occasionally to let him kill some guards. We get to the edge of camp and I pass her to Scott. "I'm stealthier, I'll sneak in and sneak Caden out. I'll find you, don't worry." I say. He nods. If I'm captured, I can't tell them where he and Ziva are if I don't know. Sneaking through the camp to the fortress was relatively easy, considering all the guards had been drawn to the two prison blocks. I run to the fortress wall and start climbing up the side. I hop over the top and hide behind a pair of crates.

"What do you mean they escaped?" I hear Stella shouting at someone. I poke my head over and see her holding a guard in the air, floating him nearly ten feet up, hear hand surrounded by those purple wisps again. "Find them and bring me that head." She orders other surrounding guards as she swipes a hand through the air, sending the guard flying into a spike on the wall.

Lucian's head must be the key to closing the portal. I think. ''Son of a...left it with Scott and Ziva. Whatever. Save Caden, acquire head, disregard Stella.'' I think.

"And just get rid of that prisoner you still have." She shouts at a different guard. I lock my eyes on him and follow from above, jumping from roof to catwalk to wall, everything, staying above and following like a hawk stalking its prey. I see the guard enter a small building and I climb down quickly and follow him in. I run inside and immediately see Caden, chained to the wall, and a guard approaching him, wielding a knife. I run forward and dive into the guard sword first, impaling him and sending us both careening into the floor. I rip my sword out and walk over to Caden's cell. Praying the key ring works, I reach for it. Hades damn it all I left that too. I think to myself. I look around and see little options, with no keys around.

Eventually I just say screw it and pick the lock apart with my dagger and sword, using the katana to strike Caden's chains from him. He picks himself up and grips my forearm. "Ziva-?"

"We got her." I say, nodding. "When we get back you two need to get on your shit." He's about to respond when I hear a magnified voice from outside.

"Come out with your hands up or we will storm the building." I look outside the window and see a large group of guards, all holding swords or axes. ''No guns. Thank god.''

"Can you fight?" I ask Caden.

"If I have to." He replies, cracking his neck and walking over to a table where his cane lies. No shield, sadly. I put the table in front of the door, hoping it'll slow them down, and I pull out my crossbow and aim at the door.

"How many arrows you got?" He asks, extending the cane into it's spear form and taking it with both hands.

"Seven. One's a bomb arrow."

"Hold onto the bomb. If we need to I have an idea." He says. I nod and set up in the opposing corner to the door, in case they have archers when it opens. I hear the guards start counting down, and I let out a long breath, taking air back in only when the countdown hits zero and the door bangs open. I pull the trigger and immediately drop a guard, who slumps forward onto the table. I quickly load another arrow as they kick the table over, and I'm able to fire it off so it kills another as they charge into the building.

Caden swings the head of his spear back and forth, keeping them at bay long enough for me to draw my katana. They eventually try to swarm him, and he stabs forward, impaling a guard completely, as I jump into the fray and swing my sword twice, decapitating one guard and slashing the throat of another. Caden throws a punch into one's face as he wrenches his spear away, spinning it around himself and over our heads, giving us some distance as they back up to avoid the blade. I take the handle of my blade in both hands and stand close to Caden as he brings his spear back, the head pointed at the ground behind us, primed to be swung out again.

Someone charges and I block his sword strike and slash quickly, from his shoulder to his waist, putting him down. The next charger is on Caden's side, and Caden brings the spearhead around in a wide arc and slams it, slashing like a sword, into the man's neck. It doesn't go all the way through, but it lets him swing it back to slash a second attacker across the throat, killing two in one sequence. I try to get a good count of how many are around us, the crowd seems endless and they keep attacking, forcing me or Caden to take them out, making me lose track.

"That wall." Caden whispers as he stabs out, killing one, but making me have to jump and swing over his head to kill an attacker to his right. "Leads right outside the fortress. Arrow. I'll cover you." I nod and back up, hoping he can handle it, and I switch from my sword to my crossbow and load the bomb arrow. Caden starts moving a lot faster, swinging the spear over his head and slamming the head into the heads of the enemy guards and taking them out one by one. I take aim as he stabs out, impaling one in the stomach, and shoves it further through, stabbing a guard behind him. He disarms an axe wielder and uses it to cover himself as he rips the spear back to him. I pull the trigger and a greek fire explosion knocks me against the wall opposite the one I shot, and sends Caden and his opponents flying as well.

When the world stops spinning and my hearing comes back, I see Caden punch a guard in the eye and bash his face with the butt end of the handle of his spear. I look over and see the hole in the wall leads straight out and into the forest, a clear path straight through the camp. I get to my feet and shout at Caden. He looks at me as though he's hearing me from a mile away. I point at the hole and he nods. We run through it, hearing improving as we move. Not a lot of resistance meets us as we sprint into the forest, eventually coming upon a not-quite frozen over stream and jumping over it. Caden stops and I grind to a halt teen feet ahead of him and turn around.

He's thrown his spear to the ground and is lifting both his hands up. A dozen or so guards are chasing us, and I realize they have been the whole time. He pushes his hands out and the stream explodes into a wave of water that knocks the guards off their feet, and judging from the immediate shivering and moans of pain, I can tell the cold water in Alaskan weather is far from what they want. Caden turns, grabbing his spear, and we run off together, out of the eyesight of our pursuers.

Finding Scott and Ziva would have been a cakewalk, but soon the wind picked up, and it very rapidly became a blizzard, as though something was trying to hinder us. ''Stella or Chaos. Probably trying to freeze us overnight.'' I think. Eventually Caden ends up putting an arm around me so we can share warmth. After what feels like hours, I hear a voice in the wind. "Ziva..." Caden says, and I know he heard it too. We look around for any sign of an encampment, but none appears for the longest time, and neither of us dare cry out for her, lest we draw the enemy upon her location.

Then, we see it. The faint orange glow of a fire. We move towards it like people possessed, and when we come upon it, we see it is a cave. We slip inside and are immediately greeted by Scott's wrist blades at our throats. When he sees it is us, he lowers them. Caden and Scott embrace for a moment, and Caden dashes past him and he and Ziva collide like long lost lovers from a Shakespeare play. Yeah, I know that reference. Scott puts a cover of plants over the cave entrance and we crash around the small fire they have set up.

"We heard the explosion." Ziva says. "We thought you'd been caught."

"We were." Caden says. "Blew a whole in the fortress to escape."

"You weren't followed?" Scott asks.

"No. Stopped any pursuers from coming this way." I say. "We'll be ok for the night. In the morning, who knows?"

"What do you think is going on with the others right now?" Ziva asks. "Zoe just got back and is captured, as well as us...they have no idea where we were taken."

"Then we fight our way back to them. Steal transport or something. We have all the intel we need on this location to plan a proper assault on it now. We go back, plan the take this portal out, do so, and let Chaos know we're coming." Scott says, amazingly long winded for a change. I nod in agreement, as do Ziva and Caden after a moment. Eventually, everyone drifts off to sleep but me. There's no sleep any time in my foreseeable future. Once they're been asleep for a couple of hours, I take my crossbow off my back and gently set it down. Only one arrow and that would make for a waste of time. I grab the bag with Lucian's head in it and slip over to the cave entrance.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ziva asks. I curse and turn around. All of them are awake and looking at me.

"Our best chance of closing that portal is now." I say. "None of you are in any shape to fight in there if it goes South."

"Neither are you." Caden says. "You're worse than any of us."

"I'm used to it."

"Zoe, you don't need to be." Scott says, getting up and walking over to me. "You don't need to be used to doing this alone and powering through this on your own. We've got your back. Always will. We're going in there with you if you want to close that thing now, and you don't have a choice there."

"Guys..." I say, but it hits me that he's right. This isn't a one person job. I'm going to need help, especially with Stella in there. I don't want any of these people walking into the fire with me, but...if I'm going to need help, they're the best I could ask for. "Alright. C'mon." We brave the snowstorm, huddling together, and make our way back to the forest outside of the encampment, hiding in a bush and examining the fortress and surrounding buildings and tents.

"You were pulled into the fortress, do you know where the portal is?" Ziva asks Caden. He nods.

"See the tallest tower?" He says, pointing. "It's in there at the very bottom."

"What's the best way in?"

"I think the best possible idea would be to have you two scale the tower and enter from above. There isn't a roof on it so you could climb right in. There's a bunch of catwalks, but if you fall to the bottom then you run the risk of falling into your old world." Caden says. "Neither Me nor Ziva is great at climbing, so we could handle distracting guards away from you, sabotaging things fro out of sight and never letting them find us. They'll think they're under attack from the outside and will chase us, letting you guys climb over and drop the head in the portal."

"Could we drop it in from the top of the tower?" Scott asks.

"Wouldn't be smart. The portal, from what I've heard, is only two meters wide. That tower is twenty. You'll need to get closer to have a good shot."

"Ok." I Say. "Draw them away from that building, that's where me and Scott start. We'll meet in the cave when this is over. Scott, when that portal explodes, we'll need to run, and run fast."

"Gotcha." He says and Ziva and Caden slink away. We wait for alarms, guard movements, anything. Our signal turns out to be screaming coming from the forest.

"That's our sign." I say and start running. Scott follows me in through the encampment and scales the wall surrounding the tower from my right. We're unhindered by any guards, all distracted by the increasing sounds of screaming. I can only assume that Caden had turned into a water monster or something. Scott and I make our way to the tower wall and start climbing up, grabbing at window sills, loose stones, ledges, anything. Eventually, no real handholds can be found anymore.

"Here." He says, stabbing his wrist blades into the side of the wall. He gestures with his head, and, understanding, I climb on his back like a monkey. He climbs up surprisingly effortlessly. Maybe I'm still scrawny. I think to myself. ''Nah, if I was I wouldn't be able to defeat people with my fists and feet. I'm good now.'' We make it to the top of the tower and I climb down from his back, looking down at the portal below. There's a staircase leading down to the nearest catwalk, and no guards below.

"Staircase is obvious. I'll take it and draw attention of anyone around. You climb down and drop the head in before climbing back up, ok?"

"Got it." He says, and I grip is arm before he starts to leave.

"Hey, thanks, Scott." I say. "You were right." He smiles, and starts to climb on down. I run to the stairs, hand on the handle of my sword and quietly start slipping down. I see him start climbing down at the opposite end. I move slowly and quietly, praying no one appears to look for me. Then, I hear sound, footsteps on metal, and I instinctively pull my hood up and turn invisible. I look down below and see, to my horror, that Stella is on one of the catwalks. I curse in my head and realize that, just like last time, the cowl probably won't do much to help me. It is dark, and I am wearing all black, so hopefully it will work.

Then, she turned around and froze. She tilted her head to one side, staring straight in my general direction. Those piercing purple eyes of her's to this day give me chills to think about. With them staring into me it felt like my very soul was being stripped from my body and played with like a doll. She stares at me for what feels like an eternity, and I sat there, silent, still, praying to whatever god would listen that she not come over to me. My heart is pounding so fast and so hard I swear she could hear it. She takes a couple of steps, squinting. She's so close I could throw my sword right at her now. I'm almost tempted, but the movements required to do so would take to long and she would kill me in a second.

Clang.

Stella freezes. My heart stops. Scott has jumped onto the catwalk behind her, holding the bagged head out over the railing, directly over portal. She turns around and stares at him. "Sigurdson. So you're the one they sent to close this portal. I assume that your friends are out there distracting my men?" Scott doesn't say anything. "And now for some reason you think this stalemate will fix anything. You've seen what I can do. What makes you think I can't just catch the head of my dear brother from midair?"

"Cause if you do I can do this." He says and punches the air beside him, firing a bullet into the wall. He pulls his fist back to ready a punch at her.

"And what makes you think that if you just drop the head in the portal I will simply let you go?" She asks.

"Probably not." Scott admits. "But would you let me go either way?"

"Probably not." Stella agrees. I slowly reach down and pull the dagger out of my boot. "However, of course, I can use both hands." She lifts one hand up and takes control of the head, ripping it from Scott's grasp and causing it to float away from him. He opens fire on her, but with her other hand, she deflects the bullets in every direction, one ricocheting three feet from my head. I throw the dagger as hard as I can and watch it sink itself into her shoulder. She screams out in pain, and for a moment, the protective instincts and the pain I felt whenever she was hurt come back. I see Lucian's head drop twenty feet before she catches it again.

Scott runs at her, throwing bullet punches, all of which she blocks, and I start running down the stairs to help him. As I make it down onto the catwalk Stella grabs him and lifts him into the air with her strange new powers. As she begins the act of throwing him, I make it behind her and grab her arm, pulling it farther than she intended so Scott falls away from the portal. As she turns to try and punch me, I see that he collides with the floating head and takes it with him.

She lands a hard elbow to my ribs, which completely knocks the breath out of me. She grabs the back of my head and forces me to stare down at the portal. I hear the screaming voices from the last portal once again, except this time, they all are screaming one word.

ZOE!

My name rings through my head a hundred times, each being said by someone different. "Look at it, Zoe, see our home?" She whispers in my ear. I do indeed see it, but I also see Scott, on the floor next to the portal. One of his legs in broken clean in half and I see that the bones appear to have broken the skin. He's clutching the bagged head of Lucian against his chest, and, to my shock, he's moving. He's actually crawling towards the portal. "You think lord Chaos would reward me even more if I threw you in instead of giving you to him?"

"I think...I think you'd miss." I say. She immediately looks down and sees Scott, now only a foot away from the portal. She shouts out and holds her hand down at him, holding the head and trying to pull it away from him. I shoot an elbow of my own up and slam it into her nose. She releases me completely and I reach up, grab her by the hair, and slam her face onto the safety railing. I look down at Scott, eyes wide. He looks up and sees me, and I see him nod, and with a horrifying lurch in my stomach I realize what is about to happen.

"How's this you cu-" He shouts up at Stella and swings the head into the portal. The first thing I see is the purple fire of the exploding portal engulf everything below me, and myself and Stella are sent flying up. I fly a hundred feet away from her, soaring through the sky. Eventually I right myself and see that I'm headed straight for the ground, and it dawns on me that I am about to die.

Then, a set of arms catches me and pulls me in close to whoever it may be. I grab them start panting. I feel my pants start to get wet and realize we're riding a wave. Caden. I think as we touch the ground. We land on the snowy ground and he immediately jumps into the sky on another wave as Ziva grabs my shoulder. "You closed it." She says, staring at me intensely. That's when it began to hit me, and I started staring at the ground, absorbing it.

"Call Caden back." I say quietly.

"Why?" Ziva asks, and I look up at her and I realize that there are tears in my eyes. Normally I'd fight them off, but now, this time, I let them fall. A second explosion rings out, and I see the tower collapse completely.

"He was at the bottom." I say. Ziva freezes for a moment and releases me. Her hand jumps to her mouth and she takes a couple steps away. Then she raises a hand and waves, and I realize the blizzard is gone. I look up and see the sun is rising. I stare at it for a long time. I hear Caden return and I hear him learn about Scott. He's quiet, and I know he's taking it hard. All I can think about, however, is how much this whole thing hurts. To have escaped a life where a friend died every week, to have taken this new world as your home, and to have that old life come back and take one of the friends you had made. It put a dull, aching pain in my chest that didn't leave for a long time.

Eventually, I see what looks like wings flapping on the horizon. As they draw closer, I see that they're a trio pegasi. I watch them appear, and the first person to jump off the horses when they land next to us is Carly. She runs up to me and quickly has me in an embrace. It doesn't last very long, but I can feel the warmth of it even without a long duration. "We have to go." She says and points at the wreckage of the fortress. It's still ablaze with purple flames. However, I can see monsters and the condemned rising from the ground around it, and I nod.

I jump on Carly's Pegasus and see Ziva jump on one that is being driven by Maya. The other is riderless, and Caden takes it, his face a statue. "Carly..." I say as I wrap my arms around her waist. "Scott, he...he didn't make it." She's quiet for a moment, then nods. "I'm sorry."

"We'll mourn when we get back." She says and takes off. Within ten minutes of flying away, I felt my head droop to her shoulder and I fell asleep.

I woke up in my own bed in my cabin. I sit up and felt like my arms were going to fall off. I groan and forget about trying to move and fall back on my bed. My head hits the back of the bed frame quite painfully, and I shout out a curse. I hear someone get up in the living room and come over. The door opens and Carly walks in. "Hey." She says, sitting down next to me. "How're you feeling?"

"Uh..." I take a moment to try and articulate the words properly. "It's a mix between I feel like a wet dog moved into my mouth and had puppies and I feel like I was a drakon's chew toy."

"Vivid." She says, smiling.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Not great." She says, her smile disappearing. "It's been rough. We got you back here yesterday. More than one member of the Hermes cabin is signing on now, but that's no real comfort, is it?"

"Do you know how it happened?" I ask.

"Just that the tower blew up and collapsed."

"He'd been thrown down the tower by Stella. His leg was broken in half, sticking out of his skin and everything. He had the head and was right there. Stella was going to fight me soon, and he must have known there was no way I'd win. He threw the head in and caused the explosion."

"Head?" She asks.

"My Lucian." I say. "I think the key to every portal will be someone I knew."

"I'm so sorry, Zozo." she says quietly, gripping my hand.

"Don't be. Let's just try to make sure we don't lose anyone else." I say. She nods and leans down, planting a kiss on my forehead. In that moment I really felt all the worry and fear that she must have had when I'd been captured, as well as all of the emotions she must have had when I had been missing. I squeeze her hand and raise my other arm up, signalling for a hug. She kicks her boots off to the corner and comes down on top of me, slipping her arms around under my back. After a moment she shifts so she's beside me and she curls up, resting her head on my shoulder. We lie there in silence for a long moment.

"Netflix and chill?" She asks.

"What?"

"Nevermind, I'll explain when you're older." She says. "Seriously though, want to throw a movie on? You aren't leaving this bed for a while, I refuse to allow it."

"Sure. Something about you forcing me to stay in bed is kinda amusing." I say with a small laugh.

"Shut up." She says and presses a button on the side of the bed, which causes a large, what I used to think was called a tell-a-vision, to come from the ceiling. She turns it on and starts flipping through this 'netflix' for movie choices. I knew then that I would be torn apart if any of my other friends were to die. I knew that if I lost Carly, it would kill me.

Chapter Seven
"Please, just stop vanishing?"

"Yes, Rachel, I promise I will stop vanishing." I say, smirking.

"Ok, thank you. I have to go. Be safe."

"Will do, you too." I say and the Iris Message disappears. I'm sitting on the bench near the fountain and surveying the camp. Most of the fall campers are doing their campy things, but those who are with us are down by the beach, training with Maya. Most of them, anyway. Caden, Ziva, and I are all fairly banged up and need more time to recover and make sure we're able to walk properly again. It'd been three days since we'd gotten back from Alaska, and while we were one step closer to closing all of those portals and stopping Chaos, I couldn't help but feel like we were still a million years from this all being over.

Someone sits down next to me. I glance over and see Caden, gazing at his cane thoughtfully. "Never thought I'd have to actually use it as a cane." He says. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm alive." I say, and he nods, understanding.

"You look like hell, and I'm not talking about the bruises." He says.

"What do you mean?"

"Up here." He says, tapping himself on the temple. "You're not in great shape up here, are you?"

"No." I say, shaking my head.

"What's going on?" He says.

"I feel like...I feel hopeless." I say. "I know a portal's been closed, but...Scott died doing it. I don't want to lose anyone else doing this, man...It doesn't seem worth it, you know?"

"I know." He says, nodding.

"And it's all I can think about, closing these portals and trying to minimize the costs of it. If I'm awake it's all that's on my mind, and it's making being awake kinda suck, and-"

"Hey." Caden interrupts me. "I know what it's like. I know how you feel. Scott dying...it's awful. He was one of my best friends, Zoe, I know. He knew what he was signing up for, as does everyone who is helping us. And listen, having this be all you can think about, it won't help us get any closer to closing the portals. It might even be detrimental."

"And what do you suggest I do, then?" I ask.

"Just find something that takes your mind off everything." He says. "Carly likes movies, Kylie does music, Ziva reads. I like to color, believe it or not."

"Color?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, those adult coloring books are awesome." He says. "The point is, you need to find something you're into. Shut your brain off for a bit. It'll help. You can come back to working on these portal things fresh minded and you'll do a better job." He gets up, leaning on his cane.

"I'll think of something." I say, leaning back on the bench and resting my chin on one of my fists.

"It'll help." He says and hobbles off to...color, I guess. I sit there for a long period of time, trying to figure out what exactly it is I like doing. Mostly what I've done is either try to stay alive or just hang around and do whatever everyone else was doing. What do I like to do? I ask myself, and find that overall, I'm stumped. I've never really had time to develop a hobby or anything along the lines of one. All I could really think of were some of the more basic instincts that come with being alive and the stuff I did when I hung out with the others, none of which I really wanted to do on my own or anything.

Then, I saw someone walk by and had an idea. It was a son of Demeter, tall and rather lanky, but still relatively handsome. I rose, exaggerating my limp, and promptly pretended to fall over. He hears me and comes over, saying something easily forgettable and helping me to my feet. "Are you alright?" He asks eventually.

"My, uh...injuries." I say. "Have to walk back to my cabin. Could you...oh forget it."

"I can help you there, if you want." He says, looking at me with concern.

"Oh, thank you." He says and I take his arm. He takes me to my cabin and I eventually ask his name. "Xavier." He tells me.

"Zoe." I reply as he takes me inside.

I'm told it's a bad idea to recall this in this format, so I'll simply put it this way: Around an hour later, I didn't feel any better. I remember the names of each person I tried it with. First it was Xavier. Then it was John. Then it was Hope. Then it was Joey. Then it was James. Then it was Blake. And then it was Thelma, when I realized it wasn't helping at all. Then it was Danika and then it was Ryan and Connor. Then it was Oliver and Declan and Sage and Marcus and Julia. I won't specify which day was which, or how many happened in certain days.

I was sitting on that bench again, feeling empty as ever. Strangely enough this time, it was Ziva who sat down next to me. She was really quiet, and looked as though she was torn on whether or not she should even have sat down in the first place. "What's up?" I ask.

"You're not ok, are you?" She says.

"What do you mean?"

"You've gone back to that cabin alone with someone at least once a day, Zoe. Sometimes more than once and with more than one person." She says. "Hell, I haven't seen you in three days. Caden hasn't in six, Kylie since you got back, and Maya hasn't seen you in four. Honestly, though, the thing that makes me the most worried is that Carly hasn't seen you in five."

"No, I saw her on Tuesday." I object.

"It's Sunday, Zoe." Ziva says after a moment. I stare at her, stunned. No, it can't be. I think. There's no way you would let yourself get that caught up in it that you'd... And then it hits me. Holy hell did it hit me. It scared me, how deep I went so fast, how horrible it must have been for these people I'd become friends with. I covered my mouth with my hand briefly.

"No. I'm not ok." I finally say.

"Listen, I know what it feels like, the hopelessness. Looking for some way out from it. I get it, Zoe. I do, believe me. You just found a way that...maybe isn't the best way, you know?"

"I hate it when everyone is right." I say and put my face in my hands.

"Don't worry, they all get it." She says. "Some more than others, but they get it, and we'll help you find something else and get over it."

"Some more than others?" I ask, my head snapping over to stare at her so fast I was worried I'd get whiplash. If I'd really hurt any of them it would kill me. She hesitates, scaring me even more. "Ziva, please."

"Carly took it kinda hard." She says. "She misses you like crazy and is scared you'd just keep distancing yourself. She's been down that road too."

"Where is she now?" I ask, a little more intense than I'd meant.

"She's uh, in the Zeus Cabin. Alone right now." She says, and I quickly hug her.

"Thank you, Ziva."

"What for?"

"Kicking my ass when I needed it."

"This wasn't an ass kicking, Zoe..."

"You get my point, thank you, Sis." I say and run off to the Zeus cabin. ''Dear Hades I hurt Carly. I hurt Carly. What the hell is wrong with me? How could you ever hurt her, Zoe? How?'' I think as I run up the steps. I rush in the door and see her lying on her bed, eyes closed, headphones in. I walk over and sit down next to her, taking one of her headphones out. Her eyes open and she looks up at me.

"Hey." She says, sounding hesitant. That hesitancy scared me more than any monster ever could.

"Hey." I say and shift around so I'm on my knees leaning over the edge of the bed, resting my chin on my hands so we're face to face. "Listen. I've been a bitch lately."

"No." She says immediately.

"Yes, I have. I actually lost track of what day it was and how long it had been since I saw you. You, Carly. You're the single most important person on Earth to me and I forgot how long it had been since I saw or talked to you. I don't care how far down the hole I was, that's a bitch thing to do, hun." I tell her.

"Listen." She says, sitting up patting the spot beside her on the bed. I sit down beside her and she puts an arm around my shoulders. "I was there, too. When Kylie and I got that house in New York, man, it was someone new every day for months. I almost lost my sister to that, Zozo. If I was hurt it's because I hated seeing something like that happen to someone like you, Zozo."

"How'd you get through that?" I ask. "When you stopped?"

"Well..." She blushes, a sight that I can't help but smile at. She's really cute when she does that. "I just kinda thought that I'd save it for someone I loved, because then it'll just be better, the act itself." She bursts out laughing and I grin at her.

"I think that's a logic I can get behind." I say as her laughing fit subsides.

"You just have to think that person, whoever you decide it is, is worth it, feel me?"

"Yeah. I feel you." I glance at the floor for a moment. "I might need your help with it."

"Always." She says.

"Do me a favor?" I ask.

"What?"

"Please don't lie to me again. I hurt you, I know I did." I say, and she gets really quiet for a moment, before eventually nodding. I pull her hand off my shoulders so I could clasp mine around it. "I won't do that again, I promise."

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it, Zozo." She says quietly. "But, know that no matter what you do that hurts me, I'll be there for you no matter what."

"Well, that's a promise I can keep." I say, and I rest my head on her shoulder, thanking whatever god or goddess has my back that I met her.

''A ruined fortress set ablaze, purple flames dancing upwards in a seemingly never ending attempt to lick the sky. A couple of stones shifted, and eventually were thrown aside by what lay within. She stepped out, her bones reforming together and her skin repairing, save the hole in her chest. Stella walked to the stream, her body gradually repairing itself. She grunted in pain as the ligaments in her knee tied themselves back together. She reached the stream and stared down at her reflection. She was the same as before, perfect in so many ways, save one. There was a hole, clean through her head, where her eye should have been. She could see the sky's reflection through it.''

I shot awake, panting, and looked around. I wound up crashing on the couch after a night of working on planning the attack on another portal, and see Caden's the only other one awake. A pang of sadness shoots through me, as I had grown fond of the idea of all of us working on this together. With Scott gone such an idea could never live to see the light of day. He's staring down at a magic box known as an ipad, and I can't help but wonder what he's looking into. He glances up at me, smiles, then looks back down at the ipad. Then, he walks over and sits down next to me.

"You like stories, right?" He asks.

"Yeah." I say. It was true, though with everything the way it had been I'd not really had time to delve into them. I was a horribly slow reader so I could never get into reading. I liked listening to stories, but there was never someone willing to tell them to me. He pulls out a set of headphones and plugs them into the ipad. Giving me a look as though to ask for permission, he puts the headphones in my ear.

"It's called an audiobook. I think you'll like it." He says and presses a button on it. I heard a voice come from the headphones, telling me that I as about to hear a story known as "A Game of Thrones" and I leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. After a moment I closed my eyes and listened, just letting the voice take me into this strange fictional world I'd never heard of before. When I finally opened my eyes, everyone else was awake and sitting around the room, including Zack, Annie, and Kyra, looking like they were waiting for something. I pressed pause and sat up quickly.

"Were you, uh, waiting for me?" I ask awkwardly.

"Nah. Kylie." Carly says. "You looked so peaceful we figured we'd let you relax."

"Well, I'm up now." I say and move over to sit down beside her. "So what's the meeting for?"

"We've got a bunch of new information that's come to light, so we want to discuss the findings." Maya says. "If Ky ever shows up, anyway."

"It's been an hour, someone can fill her in." Kyra says. Nobody disagreed, so Annie pulls up a weird tablet thing and glances at whatever is on it.

"So, our current numbers have been calculated. Including us, there are thirty four demigods in camp that are actively with us full time for the long run. We also have the full help of the Des Moines safe house as well as the safe house in Seattle. That puts our full numbers at fifty seven demigods. We were hoping for more, but hey, what can you do?" She says.

"Luckily I may have a way to boost that number a bit." Maya says. "My mom contacted me this morning."

"Really?" Ziva asks as Zack's eyebrows go up in surprise.

"Stunning, I know. She actually offered to convince Ares to lend us some of his Olympus demigod followers." Maya says.

"That'd be a big help. They're better trained than most camp Ares kids." Kyra says. "Most of them." She adds as Zack gives her a wounded look.

"She isn't willing to do it for free, though." Maya says. "She needs some of our help on a classified mission within the confines of Olympus."

"Gold digger." Zack mutters, earning a swat on the arm from Annie.

"Who'd she ask for?" Caden asks.

"Zoe, myself, and Caden." Maya says. "So we'll have to trek on up to Olympus sometime soon to investigate this."

"In other news." Ziva speaks up. "The Texas portal is completely dead. No guards, no monsters, nothing."

"Sounds a lot like a trap." I say immediately.

"Probably, but it's worth investigating either way. We should get a team ready for that." She replies.

"Speaking of portals." Caden says. "The Washington portal is silent. All the scouts in the area are sending back nothing. No demigod has been heard from in the area. The worst part is that the radius of silence is getting bigger around the portal. Whatever is guarding this thing is making sure no word gets back. We'll need to look into this for sure, a powerful force will have to be sent for it."

"Ok...what else?" I ask.

"Only other thing I can think of is adding another Quester to the mix." Zack says, getting silence all around. "I don't exactly agree with why Michael up and vanished, but I think I know where he is. If we could get him on board it could boost our rep a bit more and make more people willing to join. I'd say the two of us and Zoe fly out to look into it." He gestures to himself and Annie.

"You're just looking to get away with Annie, aren't you." Carly says, winking at him.

"Hahahaha shut up." He says as Annie rolls her eyes.

"That's all we've got for now, but it definitely gives us a lot to do." Ziva says. "I'd say looking into either the quiet portal or the Aphrodite thing first. We'd need the Olympian Ares reinforcements against whatever is guarding that other portal."

"Now where the hell is Kylie?" Carly mutters and everyone begins to disperse. I follow Carly outside and she scans the camp, looking concerned. "She's not one for being late or missing things like this..." I scan about the camp as well, looking for any sign. After a moment, I see something, a flash of color that could easily be mistaken for a leaf in the trees. To my eyes, however, I saw Kylie's hair in the woods.

"There." I say, point, and run. Carly follows behind me and we sprint into the trees. It doesn't take us long to come upon Kylie, crouched down, a confused look on her face. She looks up and sees us, holding a hand up for us to stop. We do so and she points to the ground. My stomach lurches as I look down and see a slowly closing purple portal. Instinctively my hand jumps to Carly's, but I quickly pull away and crouch down myself to look. Kylie puts a finger to her lips and shakes her head. Once it closes, she lets out a long sigh. "What as that?" I ask.

"Sorry I missed the meeting, council, thing." She says. "I was on my way when I saw a set of purple eyes in the trees." My eyes widen and Carly pales. "I had my bow so when he ran away and chased him. Chased him for a long damn time, too. He just jumped through this thing and I didn't want to jump in it."

"Don't blame you." Carly says and walks over to hug her. "Next time come and get us, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah." Kylie says, hugging her elder sister back. I was really glad Carly dyed her hair darker, it made it easier to tell which of them was which.

"Ky, you're bleeding." Carly says.

"He threw a rock, I'm fine."

"No you're not, c'mon." Carly tells her and starts dragging her off. Immediately I can see they're headed the wrong way, so I follow behind them, curious. They eventually come to a stop and I hide behind a tree. "So how'd it go, talking to Vic?" Carly asks.

"It went...amazingly well." Kylie says. "She pretty much accepted everything. I had to show her my old bow, the one that turned into a bracelet, but when she saw that she pretty much agreed with me. Apparently she's a student of Percy Jackson's stepdad, learned from him in high school. She said it explained a lot."

"I'm glad." Carly says.

"Really?" Kylie says, sounding surprised. "Considering you don't like her-"

"It's not that I don't like her, Ky." Carly says. "You know, you're sixteen and she's twenty-four."

"We're Canadian." Kylie says dryly. "Neither of us are citizens here, and it's legal up there."

"You know what I mean." Carly sighs. "I'm mostly biased because of the whole thing that happened with you and Zoe..."

"Yeah, I fucked up, I know." Kylie snaps, surprising me. "I get it, you think I'm not beating the shit out of myself every day for that?"

"You didn't let me finish." Carly says. "Even if Vic never finds out about it, you don't just need to make it up to Zoe. You need to make it up to her as well."

"I know." Kylie says. "Trust me, I'm very aware."

"Listen, as long as you actually do love her, I'll roll with it. Just, y'know, be responsible, ok?"

"I will, I will." Kylie says. "What about you? I'm seeing everything you're doing to try and drop hints, you know."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do." Kylie says, a sense of teasing entering her voice. At that moment, I slipped off, feeling like I was eavesdropping. I walked back into camp and sat down on the bench I often frequented. I debate in my head what would be a good thing to pursue next. While it's tempting to attack a seemingly defenseless portal, I can't bring myself to go for one of those so soon after the death of Scott. ''Ok then. To Olympus we will go.'' I think and I go and find Maya in my cabin, staring at a cup of soup, looking contemplative.

"Hey, when can you be ready to go meet your mom?"

"I'm ready now." She says. "Go wait by the camp gates, I'll grab Caden." She says. I nod and I get up and walk off to stand by the gates, all my weapons and armor on. After a while, Maya and Caden return, followed by Ziva and Carly. Ziva hugs Maya and Caden as Carly hugs me goodbye.

"Don't disappear on me this time, ok?" She whispers in my ear.

"No promises."

"Oh, I hate you sometimes."

"No you don't."

"No, I don't." She sighs and pulls back to hug the others goodbye as Ziva hugs me.

"We'll be back soon, don't have too many adventures without us." Maya says as we jump in the van and drive off.

"So what's your mom like?" I ask her.

"See me? Picture someone the precise opposite." Maya says. "She's disloyal, vain, bitchy, swats down any of don't like her publicly, the list goes on and on. Gentle with those she likes, though. Also cares way too much about clothes." She pauses, sighs, and goes on. "I'm her least favorite child, though I've probably told you that. An aromantic daughter of Aphrodite is probably the most horrifying thing to her. I'm basically, and I've probably said this before, the redheaded stepchild of the family. And not in the fact that I dye my hair red, like the ginger no one wants around."

"I'm looking forward to meeting her."

"No you're not." She says, all humor gone from her voice, and I see that having her mother figure hate her really does hurt Maya, something I hadn't noticed before in the time I've known her. She'd ran away from a severely alcoholic father, leaving her with nearly no parental figure. As I realized this a gush of affection welled up in me and I just wanted to hug her. However she was driving so I couldn't do that without running the risk of killing us all.

"What about you, Caden? You ever meet your Dad?" I ask after a moment.

"Nope." He says with a shrug. "He cares about me enough to claim me, nothing more. Everyone knows Percy's his favorite."

"Ah." I say. Sorry I asked. I think guiltily as we pull up to the Empire State Building. After the usual tipping of the guardsman we ride the elevator up in silence, Maya looking significantly more grumpy the closer we get to the top. When the door opens Maya leads us to Aphrodite's temple, and I immediately feel horrified by everything we see inside. Couples lounging about, occasionally praying to Aphrodite, who I see nowhere. "Welcome to hell, Zoe." I mutter to myself as Caden and I follow Maya. Caden is staring firmly at his shoes, refusing to look at anyone. I can't say I blame him. We passed a room with the door wide open that had a couple inside, shall we say, consummating their relationship.

We eventually come to a large chamber, filled with closets, mirrors, little makeup desks, and I feel the incredible urge to vomit. A lone woman is sitting within, lounging on love seat in the middle of the room. "Ah, Maya, welcome to my home." She says and rises, walking up to us. She's slightly taller than me, athletically built and with brown, no, blonde, no, red, no-

"Why is your hair changing color?" I ask aloud, unable to contain myself.

"Changes to match everyone's ideal beauty, darling." She says in a soft, gentle voice. She's wearing a black tank top and combat pants and boots. Her eyes are...changing colors as well, gods dammit. "You must be Zoe."

"Yeah." I say. Caden is now boring a hole in the floor with his gaze. I even felt slightly nervous in her presence. However, as I looked her in her changing eyes, I realized I was something else. Angry. Being in the presence of the one who controls everyone's love lives really, really pissed me off. Where the hell had she been while mine went straight through the ground and into Tartarus itself?

"So you're here about my offer?" She asks. Maya glances at me and I guess me newfound anger must have shown, because she decided to do all the talking.

"Yes. We help you, you get us Ares' followers." Maya says. "What do you want done?"

"Well, as it happens, I think one of Chaos' followers happens to be on Olympus, believe it or not." My eyebrows go up.

"And you can't find this individual yourself?" Maya asks. "Or Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, any of the other gods?"

"Well, as it happens, Chaos seems to be able to mask his followers. They're learning to hide their eyes now."

Shit. I think to myself. "So, what I have planned is I'm going to throw a giant party for everyone on Olympus to attend if they wish. Something so...political will surely attract the attention of Chaos' minion. You will all attend this...ball, it'll be a ball, and will find this snake in the grass and get rid of such a ne'er-do-well."

"We can do that." Maya says. Aphrodite hands her a small plastic card.

"This'll pay for your attire. I need you looking fancy. Here's one for you too, sweetie." She says and throws one at Caden, who catches it despite having stared a hole to China in the floor. Maya leads us out of the temple and I can't help feeling confused at everything.

"What's a ball?" I ask.

"A terrible fancy dance." Maya says, sighing. She pulls out a magic box (Ok, I know they're called phones, magic box is just a lot more fun to say, frankly) and pulls up a picture of women attending a ball. They're all wearing ball dresses and gowns and I see immediately what Maya wants to do

"No." I say, every bit as sternly as I meant to.

"Not much choice, Zoe." She says.

"No. No. No. No." I say, shaking my head to punctuate the point. "You are not putting me in one of those." And I could tell she believed me.

"Well, I know someone who might be able to crack you." She says. "Caden we'll meet up at that small hotel at the edge of the city."

"See you in several hours." He says and walks off.

"C'mon." Maya says, grabbing my arm and leading me off. "This'll pay for whatever we need, so if we need reinforcements then we can pay for them too."

"I know how to walk without you holding my hand." I grumble as she drags me across Olympus to, to my surprise, Rachel's job's headquarters.

"Wait here." She orders and slips inside. I wait out on the front step and stare into the distance, muttering curses the entire time. After a little while, Maya returns with Rachel herself.

"Hey Zoe." She says and her eyes widen slightly as she sees my demeanor. "You ok?"

"She's grouchy." Maya says. "So, listen. Rachel, I need a favor." Maya says, looking kinda awkward. It occurs to me that they've maybe talked once in the past.

"Yeah?" Rachel asks, seeming slightly hesitant.

So, I'm a very strange daughter of Aphrodite. I don't know where any of the fancy clothes stores are. Aphrodite doesn't feel like letting us into her private storage, and I don't have the patience to deal with this one," Maya gestures to me "So can you take us dress shopping?" I feel a shiver at the very term.

"Oh. Sure! There's plenty of places on Olympus. Of course, it's kind of expensive, so...it might be better to go down to the city. Still pricey there too though. Whatever you'd prefer." Rachel says, losing the hesitancy immediately. "What for, though?"

"Awesome. And basically there's a snake in Aphrodite's court, so to speak. She wants us to go in undercover and draw them out at a ball-thing she's hosting. If you wanted to help that'd be welcome." Maya says, almost looking pleading for some reason.

"Oh. I'd be happy to help, if you want me. And since it's an event she's hosting, well...did she give you any money for the dresses?"

"Luckily, she did." Maya says, nodding.

"You are not putting me in one of those...things." I say darkly. Maya gives Rachel a look that is entirely a plea for help.

"She'll kick you out if you don't wear a good enough dress. Hell, she won't even let you in." Rachel says, coming to Maya's aid.

"Maya, I hate your mom."

"You're not alone, Zoe." Maya sighs.

"Since she gave you money, we'll just stay on Olympus. That'll make you fit in more, anyway." Rachel says and starts ushering us into the city. After a while I overhear Maya start talking to her.

"Thank you." Maya says. "I know her well enough to know that I have no hope of succeeding at this. Hell, Carly wouldn't want to try this. And my only other reinforcements would be Caden."

"Well, boys can't do anything like this. Usually. So I'm happy to help." Rachel says. We reach one of these dress stores and as we enter, it occurs to me that I would much rather be in Aphrodite's temple. At least there there was some form of entertainment. This place felt like I was walking straight into Tartarus itself.

"I'm in hell." I say aloud. "I have legitimately walking into hell."

"Oh calm down, this won't be that bad." Maya says. "You don't need to look like you're witnessing the murder of children, Zoe."

"Don't worry, you'll look extra hot when we get you one." Rachel chimes in. "What do you definitely not want?"

"If you put me in pink I will slaughter an orphanage." I say and Maya mouths something to Rachel.

"We'll go with black." Rachel says, nodding slightly. "Come on." She drags me off to a corner of the store with all black dresses as Maya heads off to get her own thing. I really do feel bad about this in hindsight, but we were in that corner for no fewer than six and a half hours, with me refusing to even try anything she suggested on. I watched her go from chipper to ready to kill in that period, make no mistake. Around the hour mark Maya found us and started trying to help Rachel, to no avail. At one point, as Rachel was looking for another option I could hear her muttering to herself. "I am going to strangle her and scream but I will find the one. I have helped stop the end of the world I refuse to be defeated by this..."

At that moment, I felt a pang of guilt shoot through me for be difficult. Maya had given up a long time ago and was sitting off to the side, face in her hands. And honestly, I just wanted to go eat and sleep. I got up from the chair I'd been stubbornly sitting on, refusing to budge. "Whatever. Just pick one." I say. Maya's head shoots up, eyes wide and red, to my surprise. Rachel freezes and stares at me.

"Thank you." She says after a moment, grabbed one that she liked from before, hands it to me and ushers me off to the dressing room. I take one look at it and call out to them.

"How do I put this on?"

"I got her." Maya says, comes in and helps me put the thing on. It was at that very moment that I decided when we attended this thing that I was going to wear pants under the dress, and no one was going to stop me. Once it's on I step out, show Rachel, who is curled in a ball on the chair I had previously occupied and is staring into space. Another pang of guilt shot through me. ''Hades below, I'm sorry, Rach. I'll name my kid after you or something, I promise.'' She nods Maya takes me back into the change room, helps me get out of the thing, and steps outside. Once I change back into my original attire I step outside and Maya points to the door. "Wait outside." She orders and I nod.

"C'mon, my mom gave us enough to pay for whoever we needed, let's get you something nice." Maya says to Rachel.

"Ok." Rachel says and rises, almost like a condemned, and they head off to elsewhere in the store as I go and sit on the curb outside. That was around the time where it occurred to me that I really had no idea what a ball was. After a little while Caden comes around, looking tired. I realized that it was late evening by this point.

"Maya told me to pick you up and take you back to that hotel thing we're staying in." He says.

"What's a ball?" I ask.

"An older form of formal dance party."

"And you're taking me to one?"

"From how annoyed Maya sounded I'm starting to question that myself." He says.

"Good point." I agree. "How long did it take you to buy your whatever-you-are-wearing?"

"Forty-five minutes." He says and I promptly punch him on the arm. "Hey you have only yourself to blame."

"I'm just warming you up for how badly Maya's gonna beat you up." I grumble as I start following him through the streets. As we walk an idea hits me. "So, I'm the target of Chaos and they're sending me in undercover to find one of his spies? What makes you think the spy won't recognize me on sight?"

"It's a masquerade, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Mask-a-what now?"

"Masquerade. Everyone's wearing masks. And not the typical masquerade ball, like, bit of that and bit of like, day of the dead style thing, for some reason."

"...Do I get a say in what kind of mask?"

"Nope. Maya is picking one out for you herself." He says, smirking. "You probably could have had a choice but then you made them shop for you for eight hours."

"...Dammit."

"What type of mask would you hope for?"

"You know that metal band Zack likes, with the masks, something like that."

"Then you're probably getting like a porcelain doll mask." He says with a shrug. "With glitter."

"I hate me." I say, getting a laugh out of him. "What mask did you get?"

"Full face Venetian style of thing. They will only see my eyes."

"What, no masked makeout sessions with some pretty stranger?"

"Yeah, a strong no, there." He replies.

"How come? I mean if you're so adamant that you and Ziva aren't a thing?"

"If you must know," He sighs. "it's because when I was reckless enough to attempt casual things the girl I was hooking up with basically started trying to do some things without me saying yes. In fact I said no. Repeatedly."

"Ah." I say, quieting down immediately.

"That's why I was pretending I was somewhere, anywhere else in Aphrodite's temple."

"I get it." I say, patting him on the shoulder. "Sorry."

"No need, you didn't know. In fact you and Ziva are the only ones who do."

"I'll keep quiet, I promise." I say as we walk in the door to this lower-quality hotel. He leads me up to the hallway where our rooms are situated.

"You and Maya are in this one, I'm right across the hall." He says. "Keep an eye out for assassins, and that isn't a joke."

"I know." I say and head into the room designated mine and Maya's. I immediately kick my boots off and throw my jacket onto a chair somewhere in the room before I jump onto one of the two beds and stare up at the ceiling. After a little while Maya comes in, hangs the dresses up in the bathroom and throws a small package at me. I catch and open it, and find, to my bemusement, a black porcelain doll mask, with weird sparkling jewel-things around the eyes, made to cover my enter face, save my eyes. "So when is this hell going down?" I ask.

"Two days." Maya says. "I am getting charged with teaching you how to behave like a lady to blend in, at least. I get up off the bed and walk into the bathroom, putting the mask on and tying my hair back for it to work. Once it's on I stare at myself for a long time while I wait for Maya to come look. "Thoughts?" She asks.

"This is horrifying. I love it."

"God dammit you are impossible." Maya grumbles and leaves the bathroom. I couldn't help giggling at the mask I was wearing as I looked at it in the mirror.

Chapter Eight
I made a point of waking up first so I could slip into that billowy, oddly glittery piece of crap that they had picked out for me. I put it on in the bathroom so I could keep my combat boots and pants on, slipping my dagger into my boot to be safe and putting on the necklace that my katana turns into around my neck. I struggled through tying that thing onto my back and went and sat in the chair in the room while I waited for Maya to wake up. Eventually I got bored and slipped the mask on. After a certain point I walked over and stood over her and waited. When her eyes fluttered open and she saw me, she flipped out and jumped onto my bed, crossing the meter gap between the two like a flying bird. I returned to my seat, trying to contain the impending giggle fit I knew was coming.

When Rachel arrived a little later, she looked me over with a look that blended satisfaction and utter confusion. She's wearing a blue, more form fitting dress with weird blue flower things all down her right arm, with partially see through fabric in the leg area. She looked incredible, and for a very brief moment I felt a twinge of envy for her boyfriend. I got over that really quickly as she quickly began fussing over my hair and making it look decent around my mask. After a few minutes Maya disappears into the bathroom and changes into a seriously tight short black dress with sparkles around her neck, leaving her shoulders out and about. I kinda envied her, considering mine was strapless and it felt like parts of me were going to fall out.

"So, Rachel." Maya says. "We're gonna head to the thing at that weird hall that Aphrodite has set up a little earlier, try and scout the place out a bit more incognito." Maya sits down on her bed and puts on the most confusing pair of shoes that I have ever seen. It's some kind of leather boot that is form fitting up to just past her knees and the heel is propped up three inches by some kind of...weird metal prop. "So that means you're my date tonight."

"Sounds fun. But really, aren't we both Zoe's?"

"Nah, she's Caden's."

"Lucky Caden." Rachel says, and I could swear I detected a bit of a sarcasm in her voice.

"We'll see you there. You'll know us, our masks aren't as...concealing as yours." Maya says.

"Have fun." I say and they leave the hotel room. After a few minutes there's a knock on the door, I peek through the eye hole and see Caden outside. I open the door for him and my eyebrows go up. He's wearing a white tuxedo suit. I was honestly impressed.

"Go on. Say it." He says. "I look ridiculous."

"Not the words I'd use." I say, smiling behind my mask. "If you weren't dating my sister I'd be all over you right now."

"Thanks." he says and slips by me. I close the door and he starts talking. "Ok, so when we get there, you only need to be in the public eye for a little while. Once you've been seen enough and the crowd becomes large enough, you can slip away to the kitchens, where you'll find a chest with your armor in it. Use the cowl to go invisible and slip around unnoticed, maybe find the spy more easily."

"The spy will be able to see me." I say.

"Then that makes them so much easier to find." He says. "Any questions?"

"What the hell was Maya wearing on her feet and what is Rachel gonna do when she finds out I've ditched the dress entirely halfway through?"

"Heels, don't ask." Caden says. "And I prefer to not think about it. Maybe change back before the night is done?"

"Good idea."

"Where'd your combat pants end up, though?"

"Wearing them."

"Somehow I'm not surprised."

"So what do I do at this...event?"

"Dance with me once, then whoever asks you, fake sick and slip away." He says with a shrug.

"Sounds fun. When are we going?"

"Ten minutes." He says and slips his mask on and begins fiddling with his cane. Makes sense to have it. A portable spear is always a good idea. When the time comes, he takes my arm and leads me out of the hotel and down to this weird, giant banquet hall or something. There are bouncers that I think are some form of cyclops outside that let us in when Caden flashes that card Aphrodite gave him.

"Oh the vanity." I mutter as we enter the hall. Why so many people dress in such unpractical attires is so strange to me. ''Why can't we all just wear the suits the guys have? Those are much cooler.'' I think to myself. "Certainly feels like an Aphrodite event, doesn't it?" I say as Caden and I get swept up in a crowd of no less than two hundred couples.

"Oh indeed. Shame I can't enjoy it."

"And what's in your way?" I ask as we wind up getting pulled into one of those weird crowd dances. I just follow whatever he does because I have no idea what I'm doing. ''Undercover my ass. I bet I stand out like a diamond in a toilet with moves like this.''

"Well, no offense, hun, but I'd need a certain someone here for me to enjoy anything hosted by Aphrodite."

"So you admit it."

"Guess so."

"Just hurry up on that, sir." I say. "The will they won't they crap is so old at this point."

"Well, we're not the only two giving those vibes." He says, twirling me around, taking me by surprise.

"Oh?"

"What, you don't see it?" He asks, and I can tell there's a grin on his face behind his mask. "Nevermind then, it'll be more fun to see you figure it out on your own."

"Asshole."

"You're welcome." He replies as the song ends, praise the flying spaghetti monster. "Spread out, see if you can see anything out of the ordinary. He is swept away from me by a pair of girls dressed in a way I can only describe as being close to hookers. I take a couple steps back and someone takes my hand. I look over and see someone wearing a black suit similar to Caden's, just reversed, and a mask that covers half of their face completely, not even an eye hole.

"May I have this dance?" They ask. I nod and they pull me in. The moment I feel their hand on my hip I know who they are immediately.

"How is the fight?"

"How's your eye?" I ask. "Don't bother pretending, Stella."

"Oh, you remember me?" She asks, feigning offense.

"How could I forget? It's not like you didn't have a role in the death of one of my friends." I say coldly.

"I can't say I feel too terrible about that, considering that explosion put a hole through my head." She says. "I've only so much room left for holes through me, you know."

"The sooner you're cheese, the better."

"Oh come now, Zoe. Does time not heal all wounds? We make a mistake while dancing, and then the sequence ends and we begin again, knowing our mistake and able to fix it."

"Death isn't something fixable. Why are you here?" I say.

"Oh, I heard my spy was in danger, so I figured I'd provide some backup." She says. "One two three four one two three four..." She starts counting the beats of the song and looking up with her one eye. I follow her gaze, and I count them out as well. Four people wearing masks similar to her's, all staring down at me from the upper levels of the hall, balconies, with murderous intent. "It'll be quick, I'll allow you that." Stella says. "When the music ends, your time ends, and mine begins. I'll find someone beautiful once my body has regenerated, and we'll live in peace together. From what I hear that one girl of yours is into older women, and I'm only two years younger than her current belle..."

"Shut up." I snarl.

"Oh you seem to forget, I'm in charge here. My presence, me holding you in my arms, is all that is keeping you alive." As the dance turns us to face one of her assassins I see him collapse. Then another. Then the next, and then the last is gone, and not a soul is noticing.

"Well, unless you blow your cover now and want to face all the gods, my darling." I say, as cold as I possibly can. "I would recommend leaving." I knew none of us had a chance at defeating her in open combat here, so her departure would be wisest. Stella looks around at the newfound lack of assassins, and as the song ends, she steps back, bowing to me. She takes my hand and kisses it once.

"Until next time, baby girl." She says and walks off, sending a pang of painful memories through my mind. I push them aside and head for the kitchen, wondering who my mystery savior was. I just overplayed me being sick and they let me right inside, and I found the chest immediately. I changed quite rapidly, throwing the dress at one of the kitchen staff and slipping back into the ballroom, now invisible. I explored for a while, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Sadly, the closest thing that came to out of the ordinary was Maya playing romantic with Rachel to get oglers away from the both of them.

"Having fun?" A voice says behind me and I jump up, getting my dagger from my boot in about a second. "Calm the hell down." The voice says and puts a hand on my shoulder, I look and see that Arcanna Phan is staring me dead in the face, as though she can see me.

"How?"

"Hades is my dad, it comes with being his kid." She says. "Why'd you let her go?"

"Tactics." I say, knowing immediately what she means. "None of us here could take her. No use winning if we're all dead."

"Right." She says. "I've seen no trace of the spy. Took out those assassins, though."

"Well done, guess I owe you one." I say.

"Looks that way."

"Don't worry, I'll pay that back in full by saving your life when all the portals are closed." I say.

"One question before we split up to find that spy." Arcanna says. "Cat fur really good for boots?"

"I'm wearing cats around my feet now, so yes." I say. She tilts her head to the side and I slip away once again, searching for that elusive one. I make my way over to where Maya and Rachel are and I wait for them to be left alone by the army of people hitting on them, and I slip up in between them and lean in to whisper in Rachel's ear. "Hello, beautiful." She jumps and swears, drawing a few glances, and she looks around, confused. "On your right, honey." I say as Maya puts a hand over her heart.

"Don't do that, Zoe, oh my gods." She says, looking straight past me.

"So how have you been doing?" I ask, draping my invisible arms around both their shoulders.

"Peachy." Rachel grumbles.

"Either of you see something fishy?" I ask.

"One. Guy in a blue suit was the only one to not hit on us." Maya says.

"Yeah, it was really inconsiderate." Rachel says.

"Stay faithful, Rach." I say, taking my arms off of them and look around. "I'll take it as nothing that might be a spy?"

"Nope." Rachel says.

"Your friend Arcanna is here." I say.

"Yeah, I think most of my group came. Could she see you?"

"Indeed she could." I say. "That reminds me. My Stella was here."

"Gods, what happened?"

"We danced. Chatted. She left." I say with a shrug.

"Did she say or try anything in particular?" Rachel asks.

"Had some assassins here to kill me. Arcanna took care of that." I say, lowering my voice as someone walks by.

"Go Canna." Rachel says, reaching over and I'm guessing trying to pat my back or arm or something, but she ends up just grabbing my bosom and quickly moving away when she realizes, resetting on my shoulder.

"Pictured that under entirely different circumstances." I say.

"So where'd you put your dress?" Rachel asks. Maya lets out a long, defeated sounding sigh.

"The kitchen." I say.

"Where in the kitchen?"

"I gave it to one of the staff." I say, but I see Maya is still looking kind of tense.

"...And which member of the staff did you give it to?" Rachel asks, and I can feel her growing frustration in my own heart at this point.

"I had to hurry and be my stealthy self, I wasn't paying attention to names." I say. Maya has tensed up as well, now.

"So you just...don't know where it is. The very expensive dress it took eight hours to pick out." She says, and I can sense a bomb about to go off right beside me.

"I just told you it was in the kitchen."

"No, you gave it to someone in the kitchen. How do you know where they put it?" Rachel asks.

"Are you saying the staff here is terrible?" I ask and notice Maya is tensing up even more now.

"No, I'm saying the staff here is sometimes shady and you don't know what they did with it." Rachel says.

"I promise if they stole it you can torture me however you like." I sigh.

"Will do."

"Guys." Maya interrupts. "See that reflection in the vent?" She gestures with her head and I look over at it. I see that yes indeed, there is a small reflection inside the air vent.

"Yeah." Rachel says, and I start looking around. I scan the room quickly, and just on the balcony opposite our own, I see a small, jittering red dot on the shoulder of this universe's Stella. She's here with Matt.

"See your friend and her hot lover?" I ask, pointing at them and realizing I'm still invisible.

"Uh..." She looks around for a while. "Yeah, why?"

"See the red dot on Stella's shoulder?" I ask.

"...Fuck."

"Don't do anything, for the love of Hades, stay here." I say.

"Okay." She says, looking panicked either way.

"I got this, don't worry. Just stay here and look pretty and alluring."

"Trying to." She grumbles.

"You do it without trying, don't worry." Maya says as I start to slip away.

"This is why we're pretend lesbians together." Rachel says, and I don't hear Maya's reply as I make my way out of earshot. I make my way around to the other side, but I don't see any entrances into the ventilation system. I stare up at the vent the sniper must be behind, and I get an idea.

This thing has invisibility capabilities...why wouldn't it have other Hades oriented powers? I think. I stare up at it and just think about this shadow traveling sensation as hard as I can. Then, it happens, and in about two seconds I'm stuck in the cramped vent, behind the sniper, staring back at them. I slowly crawl up to them, readying my newfound ability and I grab their ankle and use it, taking them to Aphrodite's temple. As we land in the temple, the gunshot rings out and puts a giant hole in the wall. I pull my hood back and tackle them, knocking them out with an elbow to the back of the head. I roll them over and look to see who it was.

"One of my own children." Aphrodite's voice says. "I'm rather disappointed." I look up and see her standing over us, glaring down at the young man I caught. "You should get back to the party, I'll announce the new support for you at the dinner there. And put that dress back on, I paid for it for a reason."

"Yes ma'am." I say and shadow travel all the way back to the kitchen, landing with a thud on my feet. I look around and see the staff are holding my dress still, looking utterly bewildered. "I'll take this back now." I say, change in the bathroom and put the cowl in the chest. I slip my mask back on and reenter the party, again finding my way up to Rachel and Maya, approaching from behind them again.

"My pretties." I say as I sneak up beside Rachel, putting her in the middle of me and Maya. They both jump again, Maya stumbling in the heels she has on.

"What happened?" Rachel immediately asks.

"Found the spy. Turns out I can shadow travel in the cowl." I say with a shrug.

"Wow, can you raise the dead, too?" Rachel asks, sounding slightly sarcastic.

"Not that I know of."

"Yo." Maya says. "They're clearing the dance floor and setting tables up. I think they're gonna feed us."

"Ok, ok, so uh, Stella's fine then? For now? Why were they trying to shoot her?" Rachel asks as people start walking down to the newly placed tables.

"Aphrodite will probably tell you when she's done with him." I mutter.

"You're still stuck with me, Rach, so let's find our table." Maya says.

"Let's do. Zoe, are you maybe sitting by us?"

"I gotta find Caden. He's still my date."

"Probably smart. Okay, we'll see you about, then. Thank you for saving Stella."

"No need to thank me." I say, putting on a weirdly awkward curtsy.

"Ah, but I wanted to." She says, bowing slightly.

"Ok, Rachel." Maya says. "It is your job to make sure that I do not get pulled into an anonymous, masked one night stand, got it?" I laugh and head off to find Caden.

"Can do." I hear Rachel laugh. I get swept into the crowd and eventually find Caden at a table at the opposite end of the hall from where Rachel and Maya end up.

"You missed the party." I say. "Captured the spy. Was gonna shoot the local Stella."

"Everything interesting happens away from me." He says wistfully. "I just spent the whole time trying to avoid Aphrodite's daughters."

"Oh boo hoo, you had an army of hot girls hitting on you." I tease him, shoving him slightly as we sit down. After a while of food being supplied and varying drinks being served to everyone, Aphrodite appears out of nowhere, standing on a stage that rises up from the floor.

"Hello everyone." She says. "I trust you've enjoyed the evening." Silence reigns. She's talking quite nicely, and is her usual lovely appearing self, save one issue. Her eyes are glowing pink, so we know she's furious. "You can all take your masks off, I don't care anymore." Nobody moves. "So take them off." Let me tell you, I took that mask off in a hurry, as did everyone in the establishment. "So, turns out that in this hall tonight, there was a spy for Chaos, who as you know is trying to end the world, and he was going to kill someone just because his boss didn't like having an alternate version of herself around." She waits, and I honestly never felt more terrified of a god than I did right then and there.

"Therefore, since there happens to be a force being built up to fight these invaders, I will be lending the strength of my followers and the followers of Ares to their cause. And I strongly recommend everyone any who can be of use head to Camp Half-Blood and join them as well."

"Well that'll net us some help." Caden says. I look back up at the stage and see the goddess is gone. "Looks like the party's over." He says, looking around. People are leaving all over. Caden waves at Maya and Rachel, and they come over to us. "You guys head back to the hotel, I'll grab the chest with Zoe's stuff." He says.

"Uh, I'm going home." Rachel says.

"We'll walk you there, then." Maya replies and Caden heads off to the kitchen as we start to leave.

"So that was intense." Rachel says.

"Mom got mad." Maya agrees, nodding as we start to leave. Eventually, Maya grabs Rachel's hand and slows her down slightly. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure." Rachel says.

"Hey Zoe, turn around." Maya says. I do so and as I'm turning, a bright flash of camera light hits me.

"Ow." I say. "Why?" I ask as Maya starts sending it.

"Who is that to?" Rachel asks as the reply comes in.

"Kylie says holy shit, Ziva says you go, and Carly sent a face with heart eyes." Maya says.

"Yeah, you look hot." Rachel says.

"But I always do." I joke. "Why does this piece of shit make people suddenly pay attention?"

"People are stupid." Rachel says. I couldn't bring myself to disagree with her.

"Carly says you look uncomfortable and to save you." Maya laughs. "Kylie says to keep it on til she gets to see it in person, and Ziva says...idgaf. Literally I-D-G-A-F."

"You can keep it and wear it later." Rachel says, and I laugh out loud.

"I was gonna trade it for squirrels." I say, not kidding in the slightest.

"Or you could just like...take the squirrels for free. Not many trade in squirrel around here."

"She's keeping it. She has no say in the matter. She is keeping it." Maya says.

"Yeah you're keeping it, Zoe." Rachel orders. "You might need it again."

"Blargh." I say, earning a confused look from her.

"We'll see you around, Rachel. We're headed home in the morning." Maya says.

"Goodnight, travel safe. It's been fun. Thank you for helping, Zoe." Rachel says.

"Thank you for putting up with me." I reply and hug her goodbye.

"Where's mine?" Maya asks, and Rachel goes from her to me.

"Thank you for being my girlfriend for the night, Maya."

"Oh, you're welcome." Maya says, and she heads back inside and Maya and I take off to the hotel. I changed faster than I ever had and tossed the dress on the floor before flopping down on the bed, suddenly feeling as exhausted as Ava had looked when she shadow traveled an entire car beforehand. As I drifted off to sleep, I felt a strange surge of hope. Our small army was expanding, we had two gods supporting us with their followers, and we would surely be able to tackle anything that were to come for us next. I felt hopeful, and it was a really strange sensation.

Surely that meant I had some hell coming my way.

Chapter Nine
"You guys think that something will be waiting at that portal?" Caden says. We'd transported ourselves to the Texas portal and were about five hundred meters from it. It was placed in an open plain, and there had been no resistance to stop us from getting closer at all. It was completely clear of any kind of monster, condemned, or one of Chaos' living minions.

"Knowing our luck, I guarantee it." I mutter as I take the binoculars from Zack and look through them. I look at the portal. It is very much alive, but it is utterly unguarded. I look around at our team that has assembled to tackle this portal. Myself, Caden, Zack, Carly, and Ziva. We also had a dozen demigods entrenched about a hundred meters behind us, just in case. We had left Maya in charge of things back at the camp, considering her mother was the reason we were getting such a huge influx of recruits in the last week. "We should move forward, carefully. Look out for anyone who might be needed to throw in there." I say and draw my sword, starting the move upwards. Caden slips around in front of me, shield up. Zack's to my right and Carly to my left, with Ziva taking up the rear guard.

The approach was silent, no words were exchanged, nobody opposed us, there was nothing to stop us from marching up to the portal and staring at it from a meter away. We disperse around it, looking at it, perplexed. "Something's off." I say. "I should be hearing whispers. Screams. Something. It's just silence right now." In its own way, that was even scarier.

Oh yes, there should be, Zoe. A woman's voice says in my head, and judging by the looks of surprise on everyone's faces, they all hear it as well. ''But now it's just me. That's all you have to do to close this one. Defeat me.''

"Sounds something we're all capable of." Zack mutters, holding up his sword.

We shall see. The woman's voice says. Silence reigns. Then, we hear something, a strange scuttling noise, seeming to come as through it were from all around us.

"Something's coming." Ziva says, holding her katana up as Caden aims his spear over his shield, like a spartan. "And it's alone. Just one thing coming." We gather together, forming a circle and facing outwards, looking for anything that might come for us.

"If it's alone, it must be powerful." Carly says. "Will we be able to take this?"

"We've got to try." I say. She nods, getting her daggers ready as I take my katana in both hands and look around for the source of whatever is coming. The scuttling becomes louder, louder, increasingly louder, it's right upon us, it's practically inside our minds all at once, and then, it was quiet.

Then, in a burst of purple flames, a monster unlike any I'd ever seen emerged from the portal. We dive in every direction as it springs through the air and lands where we'd been standing. The bottom half is the body of a spider, with a woman's torso. The legs were massive, nearly five meters long each, and a mane of blonde hair billowed out and over the woman's back, a strange fur covering most of her torso, leaving her shoulders and head bare. Her face had scars, scars in the shape of a bear trap.

"Hey, Zoe, time for dinner." Althea Holli says, and she lunges at me. One of her legs stabs down at me, and I swing my sword up at it, trying to cut it off completely. I'm able to bat her leg away, but from the resounding clang the blade makes, I get a feeling that her legs are staying firmly on her body. I get up and we swarm her, slashing and hacking like crazy, but no matter where we try to strike, a leg is in the way, blocking. Althea jumps into the air and lands, hard, sending a shockwave through the ground and knocking all of us back but Zack. Zack presses on alone, seemingly doing well, when one of the legs catches his wrist and swings him around over Althea's head before throwing him into the portal back to my world.

My eyes widen and Carly, jaw agape, calls down a thunderbolt on Althea's head. Caden jumps past her, jabbing with his spear, but a leg swipes through the air and catches him in the side of the head, knocking him away. Althea grabs him and the charging Ziva, and hurls them both in after Zack.

"No!" Carly shouts and we both attack her but I get kicked in the stomach and knocked away. I look up and see Carly, somehow, fighting the attacks of Althea's spider legs. "Hurry!" Carly shouts as a leg grazes her arm. I'm on my feet and charging Althea in less than a second. It's not enough, and soon, Carly was thrown in after having her head slammed against the ground.

I freeze, and the world seems to stop. There's a lurching feeling in my stomach, followed by the feeling of my heart breaking into a thousand pieces in my chest. Althea turns to me, and pretty soon, I'm feeling something else. Blind rage. I sprint at Althea, but her legs catch me, she holds me up and over the portal, leaving me kicking above the hole in the world that leads to my old home, and Althea blows me a kiss before dropping me in as well.

"Zoe! Zoe! C'mon, dammit, please wake up!" I hear someone saying. I feel a pair of gentle but strong arms holding me, and I open my eyes to see who it is. Carly's staring down at me, tears streaking her face, a cut over her right eye. "You're ok, thanks gods." She says and hugs me very briefly, and I sensed her panic. When she let go, I saw the sky and realized where I was. I jumped to my feet and looked around in horror. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, next to the broken tower of Olympus. The sky was orange, save the black clouds of smoke that filled nearly the entire horizon.

"Oh Hades." I say. The first feeling is shock, then horror, then anger. I look around and see who we have here still. Behind us, Caden is trying to kick a door down to a mostly standing convenience store, Ziva trying to break in a window. In front of us, Zack is fighting off a horde of giant, dead, spiders, all of them missing huge chunks of flesh.

"Help them get inside, I'll help Zack." Carly says, drawing her knives. I briefly see her jump on top of one spider while stabbing it in the head as Zack swings his sword around, bisecting another before I turn and move Caden out of the way. I pick the lock quickly and we slip inside. Zack is the last one in and I slam the door shut, locking it.

"Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods." Ziva says, slipping into the corner and curling into a ball. "This is the end. This is the end."

"Well...shit." Zack says, looking out the window, seeing the spiders scuttle around, patiently waiting for us to emerge. "I...don't see a way out of this one." Hearing Zack say that was terrifying, every bit as terrifying as the prospect of being trapped in my old world. I feel a hand grip my shoulder and I look over to see Carly.

"You...lived here?" She asks, her voice shaking, even though she knows the answer already.

"Believe it or not...it wasn't as terrible before." I say. There are still tears running down her face, and I reach over and wipe one away. Seeing her so afraid, so hopeless, so...doomed, hurt more than any wound I'd ever received before. It hurt, seeing her hurt. It hurt seeing Zack see no way out, when he was always the one to just carve a path through the problem. It hurt seeing Ziva curled in the corner, whispering to herself that we were all going to die.

"Guys." Caden's voice says. I look over at him and see something different from the rest of us. He's still got hope in his eyes. "Things haven't changed. Only thing different is the playing field. Althea said we beat her, we close this. She didn't try to kill us for a reason up in our world. She was trying to give herself home field advantage. We find her, we kill her, we go home."

"We got destroyed before." Ziva says. "What makes you think we have any hope now?"

"We're all still here, and we're some of the best fighters that Camp has to offer. Maybe some of the best ever. We will make it home. I'm not going to let something that looks like a ghostbusters deleted scene be the death of me." Caden says, and I noted that it was nice of him to use a reference I understood. He crouches down in front of her and gently lifts her chin up. "We've all been through a lot. Let's not make it all lead up to this." After a moment, she nods.

Touching, now isn't it? Althea's voice rings through our heads, causing Ziva to scream briefly and Carly's hand to immediately jump to mine. I see Zack grip the window pane so tightly his knuckles turn white. ''While the boy is right, you've no hope of defeating me, but I invite you to try. Come and get me. I wield the power of the condemned, and I know everything about your lives now. I know you better than any parent or lover could ever dream to. I am everything you fear now, as is my army.'' She pauses before continuing. Though maybe I should be afraid, if I am truly faced with Camp Half-Blood's best warriors. And she laughs, disdainful, taunting, infuriating.

Salutations, Carly. Althea goes on, and Carly grips my hand even tighter. ''It is Carly, right? For a moment, I mistook you for your mother.''

"Not...another word, monster." Carly whispers, another tear running down her face. Althea says nothing. We're all quiet. I felt invasive, like I'd just stared into the deepest of Carly's fears, her most vulnerable and private self.

"Hello." A voice says, and we all turn around, weapons up. Out of the back of the store is stepping a small, frail old man. I was stunned. An elder was unheard of in this world. "You needn't use your weapons, I mean you no harm."

"How can we be sure?" I ask.

"Take a look at me." He says and sits down on a small stool, and I see him holding a small box. "Come here, child." he says, gesturing to me. I step forward and Carly tries to hold me back for a moment. I give her a small, reassuring nod, and I walk up the old man.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Just a wanderer." He says. "Shame the roads aren't worth wandering anymore. Ever since you left, the skies aren't beautiful anymore, the clouds are black, and everything is being sucked to the west."

"What's in the west?" I ask, looking at the window. I can't help but notice that there is indeed a pattern in the clouds. They all seem to be moving to the west, towards a swirling, dark mass of clouds, with strange purple lightning flashing in the midst.

"Since you've come back for a visit, I've a gift for you." The old man says, opening the box. Two small orbs, one a bright, almost glowing silver, the other a deep blue. Both are quite small, maybe an inch in diameter at most. "When the time is right, you'll know what to do with them." He says and stands up. "The beast you seek is a couple blocks that way." He points. "You'll just have to get there intact."

"A few spiders isn't going to stop us." I say.

"Spiders?" Zack asks.

"Yeah." I say. "You know, the monsters outside?"

"Ah, that." The old man says. "What you will all fight is different to each of your perceptions. Her armies will match your fears."

"You see spiders?" Zack asks again. "Shit, I wish I was seeing spiders." He looked out the window and paled slightly, and I decided it was best to not ask. I turned to face the old man, but he was gone.

"Let's go. Let's crush that bug." I say. Caden holds a hand out to Ziva, who after a moment's hesitation, takes it, and the go to their feet. Zack positions himself by the door, left hand on the handle and his right wielding his sword, ready to slash out at the first enemy he would see. I slip in behind him, and Ziva behind me. Carly and Caden bring up the rear, and we all look at one another. I give Zack a nod, and he throws the door open, slashing a spider in half, swinging upwards. He spins in a circle and slashes down, tearing through three more, as I move to his flank and start hacking into the spiders one by one. Ziva flanks his other side, doing the same as me, and Carly and Caden move and wipe out any that get behind us.

As the street was cleared, Althea's voice rang about our minds once again. ''How must it feel, Zackary, to know how undesired you have been? You mean nothing to your father, Richard only wanted you six feet under, and even your darling Ava turned you away. How long before Annie leaves you to be alone, to die alone, with no one to care about you? I'm sure they would all mourn you, they would all care, but only after you were gone. Go ahead, Zack. Make them care. Show them why they need to. You've come so close before, do it now, end it.'' We all stare at Zack, and I felt a gush of protective instinct well up in me for him, wanting him to know that at the very least, I would care about him. He turns to me, stony faced, but there is murder in his eyes.

"That is going to grow tiresome very, very quickly." He says quietly.

"Agreed, let's shut her up." Caden says.

''Ah the unknown son of the sea god. The warrior no one will remember. History won't remember you like this, Caden. They'll know who Zoe was, that's certain.'' I gesture for us to start walking, and we keep moving, but Althea does not relent on him. ''They'd remember you for something drastic, shocking, world changing. Like if Zoe were to not come back, and they needed a hero to rally behind.''

"Are you trying to tempt me to turn traitor?" Caden asks, sounding more disgusted than anything. "I'm actually offended you think that would work." I can't help but crack a smile as we move down the ruined streets. "I mean seriously...I get more tempting shit from Maya..." I hear him muttering. A large crack in the ground needs to be jumped, and Zack, Ziva and Caden bound over pretty easily. I jump over and Caden catches my hand as I hit the end of the crack instead. He pulls me up, giving me a nod. I turn around and catch Carly, helping her up. She's still got some tear streaks on her face, so I quickly wipe them away, giving her a small smile.

"We'll be ok." I whisper to her. "I promise." She starts to smile at me, but Althea turns her venomous monologues to me instead.

How many times have you said those words to someone who would die a week later, Zoe? I'm immediately struck by the awful truth of that. ''Rachel, Lucian, Kat, even poor, broken Robin. All of them dead because of you. It is a trait you brought with you into your new home. How easily you seem to move on from getting Scott Sigurdson killed.'' I stopped walking mid step, and I knew in my heart that Althea was right. If I hadn't pulled Scott into my mission, he'd be alive. ''And now you're going to get all of these ones killed, as well. Leaving poor Maya and Kylie alone to face my master's wrath. You've doomed them as well.''

"Keep on talking, cannibal." I say. "I'm coming to kill you again." Althea laughed. She knew just as well as I that she'd done her job and had hurt me with her words.

''All of them believe you weak, Ziva. Look around, they think you're volatile, something that is simply holding them back. None of them think you're going to be any help at all. They think you're the weak link. And they're right.'' Althea says.

"They say that when you embark on a journey of revenge you should first dig two graves, monster." Ziva says, her voice still shaky, but much more level than it had been. "They underestimate me, and I'm gonna make you pay."

Althea laughed, and as we turned the corner, we saw her. Standing there in all her spider glory, a vertically inclined purple portal behind her. "They you are." She calls. "Come get me, I won't be running this time."

"Aim for the spot where the scales part." Ziva says.

"If you're seeing scales then we're seeing different things." Carly mutters. "I was gonna suggest cutting off the tentacles..."

"Look for the weakness on whatever you see and hit that." Caden says. "Got a feeling it'll work either way."

"Let's kill her. Again." I say, left my sword up, and we charge. I don't know if the battle itself was an illusion, but what I saw was Caden block a strike from one of her legs with his shield and stab up at her torso. It struck home where her stomach should have been, but the strange fur that covered her stopped the spear in it's tracks. Ziva rolls under Caden's arm and underneath Althea and she slashes up once, drawing Althea's blood for the first time.

Althea grabs her by the ankle and holds her up, dangling upside down. Ziva swings out with her sword but is incapable of reaching anything. One of Althea's other legs swings to punch and probably impale her, but, as the leg reaches her, Zack's sword appears thrown by him, and catches the strike on the flat end, cushioning the blow. Althea shouts out in frustration and tries to punch Ziva again, but this time Caden is in the way, his shield catching the strike while receiving a large dent. He grabs Ziva's hand and pulls her down, dragging Althea's arm. Carly appears, wielding Zack's thrown sword, and she slams the blade on one of the joints in Althea's leg.

Althea screams in pain as the part of the limb snaps off. I seize the opportunity and roll under her, slashing at her soft underbelly with my katana. I land four slashes, all drawing blood, before she grabs me and pulls me away, tossing me aside. My sword goes flying out of my hands and I lose sight of it. When I land, I look up and see Althea is holding it. I'm about to draw my dagger when she kicks Zack and Ziva away and slashes in a downward arc towards Caden and Carly. It is deflected off of Caden's shield, but Carly freezes up as the blade seems to move past her.

Then she drops, a deep, bloody gash down her chest. I scream something wordless, and Caden immediately pushes Althea back with a newfound vigor. Why couldn't he have fought like that before? I sprint to her and see she's not moving or breathing.

"Zoe, take her, go!" Ziva screams. "Portal's right there, just go!" I couldn't even bring myself to disagree. I picked Carly up and ran for the portal. I turned around once, just in time to see Althea lunge at us, and Zack jump in the way, bone sword flashing in every other direction, trying to pierce her skin.

We land on the other side of the portal, back in...my world. This world is my world now. Without a second's hesitation I shadow traveled back to camp, landing right in the Apollo cabin. "Someone help!" I screamed, my voice cracking. Within seconds they've taken her from me and pushed me out the door. I stared at the closed door for a long time.

"Zoe!" someone shouted. I think it might have been Kylie. Someone touched my arm, which was covered in Carly's blood. I looked down at my hands, scarlet as well. In that moment, I prayed to every god I could think of. Please...please...I can't lose her...kill me if you have to, but let her live... and I sunk to my knees, crying now, a pain in my heart that I hadn't felt as agonizing since when I realized I'd first been put into this world and I knew that I'd lost Stella forever.

Someone eventually grabs me and takes me back to my cabin. I really had no clue who it was. Once I'm there they try to stir me from my emotional meltdown, but it was no use. They helped me change shirts, since the cowl was covered in blood, and wash my hands of Carly's blood as well. I'm eventually put in one of the chairs in the living room and I sit there for gods know how long. After a long period of ignoring whoever it was that had helped me, I hear them say something. "Zoe, the others, they're back."

Oh gods...I left them fighting Althea... I think and I shoot to my feet and look to see that I've been ignoring Maya this whole time. "Where are they?" I ask.

"Courtyard, c'mon." She says and we run out of the cabin and practically sprint back to the courtyard. We see the reinforcements that had not been at all used first, and I briefly greet them before pushing past and finding Ziva, Caden, and Zack, all in one piece. Zack is being supported by Caden, and I see that he's bleeding from both of his legs. Ziva is has bruises all over, and Caden has a gash on his forehead that is bleeding all down his face. "Are you okay?" Maya asks as we reach them. Zack stares at her, then turns his gaze down to his legs.

"I have been stabbed in both of my legs. What kind of dumbass question is that?" He asks, earning a small smile from Maya, who takes him from Caden as a medic starts treating Caden's face.

"What happened?" I ask Ziva.

"We got her." She says, taking a deep breath. "After you escaped she went berserk. But we knew how to kill her, and we started targeting her joints, took her legs off one by one. It wasn't easy..." She glances at Zack, who is now being pulled away from Maya by both a medic and Annie, who looks both worried and murderous. "...But we got her. Once her legs were off, Caden distracted the arms I got on her back and cut her throat. The portal started closing, and we had to physically throw Zack through. I was the last one out." She pauses. "Is Carly ok?"

"I..." I tear up again, but quickly try to blink the tears away. "I don't know. She's still in the Apollo Cabin." Ziva closes her eyes and nods. "Where's Kylie?" She asks.

"Kylie's helping treat Carly." Maya says. "She disappeared into the cabin to help a couple hours ago." Everyone is really quiet. After a few moments we head back to my cabin, where we sit and wait. Zack and Annie join us too, with her forcing him to stay on our couch and not move, lest he damage his legs any more. After a while, Caden puts the necklace that is my sword on the table, taking it from his pocket. I guessed he must have grabbed it for me on the way back. Looking at it, I felt repulsed by it. I'd never been one for sentimentality with my tools, but now, staring at that blade, knowing what it had done, I didn't want anything to do with it.

"I don't want it." I say. "Go melt it down, give it to someone else, I don't care."

"Zoe-" Ziva says, but I shake my head vigorously, interrupting her.

"No. I won't use the sword that put Carly where she is now. I won't." Everyone is silent for a long moment, and Caden puts the necklace back in his pocket. What he did with it, I didn't care, so I didn't learn it. I've no idea what became of that blade after that moment. We sat around and waited for a long, long time. Eventually, night fell, and Zack and Annie returned to the old Questers headquarters, where they were spending their nights. Caden and Ziva fell asleep not long after, Ziva lying across the couch and Caden sitting on the floor, leaned up against the front of the couch by her waist. Maya stays awake much longer than they do, and it isn't until around midnight that she decides to sleep as well.

"I'm gonna crash now, Zoe. You should try to, at least." She says gently. I nod, knowing full well I had no hope in the world of falling asleep that night. She reclines back in one of the chairs and falls asleep moments later, leaving me awake and alone with my fears.

Oh gods...Althea was right. I think to myself. ''I've gotten everyone I care about killed and now it's Carly. Carly's next. If she dies, it's on you. It's your fault. Hades below, why did you bring her into this, Zoe. She doesn't deserve this fate...''

And I cried again, quietly, so I didn't wake anyone up. I cried for everyone of my friends that had died because of me. I cried for the betrayals my friends suffered as they turned on each other and struck one another down, because of me. I cried for bringing that suffering with me into my new friends' lives and for the death of Scott. But mostly, I cried because the most important person in the world to me was about to join that death toll.

The door quietly creaks open. I look up immediately, wiping my eyes. Kylie walks in, takes her shoes off, and rubs her eyes. "Ky?" I whisper so she can hear me. She looks over, sees me, and quietly walks over, crouching in front of me. "Is she-?"

"She's alive." Kylie says quietly, but in a way that makes it sound like something is still very, very wrong. "We...we had to induce a coma. She's put under right now. I don't know when she'll wake up."

"Ok..." I say slowly. "But she'll make it?"

"We hope so." She says. "Zoe...I'm so sorry."

"...Why?" I asked her. "Ky, she's your sister, why are you saying that to me?"

"She may be my sister, Zoe, but she's your other half." She says and hugs me. I was stunned into silence, but I knew she was right. After a moment I hugged her back, forgetting everything she'd done that had hurt me in the past, and I just appreciated her heart for a moment, the way she put aside the pain she must have been feeling to try and comfort me, it made me realize that she was a truly special person, and that I, despite everything, was very glad she was in my life.

Kylie was the one to convince me that I needed to go to bed, and after I agreed I went into my bedroom and crashed on the bed. For a long moment, I stared at my ceiling, worrying, and then, I turned over to my front, and slumber took me and I drifted off in seconds.

"We're two portals down, and we've got a more substantial force backing us now." Ziva says. "Should we wait a little longer to try and take out the portal in Washington, or are we ready to take that thing down now?"

"We're still recovering from the Texas portal." Zack says. "I don't think it's in anyone's best interest to charge that thing right away."

"Normally I'd agree but that radius of complete silence? It's still getting bigger." Maya chimes in. "We can't send anybody in on recon for fear of them dying. Only chance we have before it gets any more powerful is to go in force and try to destroy it."

"If we risk all of our forces on one attack we run the risk of losing everything we've worked for." Caden says.

"We run that risk every time we attack any of the portals." Maya points out.

"We're not ready." I say, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. "I don't care about our numbers, or the fact the silence is growing. Look around at us. Do you see people who are ready to jump into battle again, do you? No, you don't. When you feel ready, let me know." And I stood up and left. It had been a week since Carly had been put under, and she'd shown no signs of waking up whatsoever.

"Hey, Zoe." Kylie's voice says behind me. I turn and see her approaching, bow slung over her shoulders and a quiver on her back. "We're running low on leather at the forge, the Hephaestus cabin asked me if I could go do some hunting for them. I could use a partner."

"Sure." I say. "Just give me a second to grab my crossbow." I say and quickly run back to the cabin, grab it, and return to her in the courtyard, where she is waiting by the van.

"I, er, still don't exactly have my license. You look old enough, can you drive?" She asks sheepishly.

"Yeah, no problem." I say and hop into the driver's seat. We're on the road pretty quickly. After around ten minutes, Kylie's phone starts ringing.

"Hello?" She says answering it. "Are you ok? What happened? You're at home? Ok, thank gods. I'm coming home, see you soon." Kylie hangs up.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Zoe, I...Victoria was in a car crash earlier today. She's playing it off as nothing but it sounds like she's not in the greatest shape."

"I got you." I say and pull a quick u-turn and start heading back to New York.

"You're...alright with taking me there?" Kylie asks, sounding surprised.

"Depends, are you gonna make it awkward?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "Listen, I've moved on. I still like you, Ky. If someone you care for that much needs you, I'll give you a hand."

"...Thanks, Zoe." She says, giving me a small smile. After a few minutes, I speak again.

"So how'd you two meet?"

"Oh, uh, we met backstage at a coffee shop I was singing in. She was playing guitar for a different act and she asked me if I was interested in doing a small set with her since her sister couldn't make a different date. I said sure, we met up a couple times for practice, and it just sort of...snowballed from there."

"What's she like?"

"She's, uh...twenty-four, moved here from England when she was fifteen. Her dad's a pretty wealthy businessman, that's how she can afford that apartment. You wouldn't really know it just by meeting her, though. She's going to college for literary studies, really really into creative writing. Wants to be an author. Likes theater, likes to act. Played Clarinet in high school, too."

"I don't know what half of that meant, but she sounds lovely."

"I know we seem really...ok, I know it looks bad." Kylie says. "But when we started dating she told me that she was not going to touch me until I was eighteen."

"How'd you take that?" I ask.

"If it makes her comfortable I'm fine with it. It isn't like we don't hug or kiss or stuff, just, you know, privately. We're keeping the adult playtime for later, y'know?"

"You do your thing." I say with a shrug. "I'm generally confused by the age laws. If you survived to be a teenager in my world you were an adult, honestly."

"Well, we're both technically legal in our countries of origin." Kylie says, half to herself. "She's just more into abiding the law here, I guess."

"Would you be fine with it?"

"I would be, yes." Kylie says. "But at the same time, I'm more concerned with us just being happy, so if that keeps her happy, then fine." She shrugs. As we pull into traffic, a traffic jam forces us to be in the car an hour longer than I thought we would be. When we're finally able to park, I walk her into the apartment building, and we hear someone in the lobby say something that unsettles Kylie.

"Car crash a couple blocks down. Drunk driver hit miss Eldridge from upstairs, four car pile up, two others dead." Kylie freezes up for a moment and then runs for the elevator. I instinctively follow her and end up in the elevator with her.

"Oh, Vic, why didn't you tell me?" Kylie mutters under her breath. "Zoe, you don't have to follow me up, I can take a cab home, if you want."

"Nah." I say with a shrug. "I'm curious about her."

"Alright..." Kylie says and slips out the door of the elevator the moment it opens and runs down the hall. I follow and she takes a key out and starts opening a different door from last time. "She moved apartments recently." Kylie explains hurriedly as she opens the door and heads inside. I take a few steps in and see her locked in an embrace with a taller, stunningly beautiful blonde woman. I remember thinking she looked evil in the picture I saw of her, and I couldn't have been more wrong. Seeing the warmth she radiated when she held Kylie, the happiness she felt, the way her eyes lit up when she saw her, I didn't see a bad person. In fact, I saw someone who I knew made Kylie happy. And I warmed up to her almost immediately. Kylie leaned back for a brief moment before stretching up to briefly kiss her, and I felt a pang of sadness go through me. It wasn't envy, or anything of the sort, I just felt lonely.

I wanted what they had.

Victoria sees me and jumps a bit. "Uh...Kylie, who's this?" She asks. She has the remnant of a british accent and has a very kind sounding voice. She also seems nervous about someone seeing them.

"This is Zoe."

"Oh, this is Zoe." Victoria asks. "Um, hi, Zoe. I'm Vic."

"Hello." I say, nodding to her. "Nice to meet you." I really had no idea how much Kylie had told her about me, but I didn't really mind either way. "I'm cool with this, no worries."

"Oh, thank you." She says, looking incredibly relieved. I could see that to separate Vic from Kylie would be devastating for her, and I knew that I liked this woman. A pang of guilt shot through me for the night I spent with Kylie, but I pushed those aside, as it really hadn't been my fault. Kylie's phone buzzes and she glances at it. Her eyes widen for a moment.

"Zoe." She says, looking up at me. "Go back to camp."

"But you need a ride..."

"Carly woke up." My eyes widen and my heart starts racing.

"What was wrong with her?" Vic asks.

"Monster fight gone wrong." Kylie says. "But yeah, they're pretty surprised, she's already trying to fight off my cabin mates. Walking and everything, somehow."

"Ok, I'm going back." I say and head for the door.

"Zoe!" Kylie calls and I look back at her. She looks as though there is some detail that she is utterly desperate to tell me, like if she doesn't then she'll not have led a fulfilling life. "Her first words once she woke up were 'where's Zozo?'" I stared at Kylie and felt my eyes grow hot, my heart melting in my chest. I nodded once to her, the most I could get as a thank you without crying more in earnest, and I ran back to the van and jumped in.

I probably ran at least nine red lights and stop signs, but it saved me about a half hour of time in my drive back to camp. It was a two hour trip that took two hours too long, but I didn't care. I raced in the gates, pulled into a parking spot and jumped out, completely forgetting to turn the car off or even to put it in park. I looked around, praying I'd see someone who might know where she was, and I spotted Caden and Ziva talking by the Apollo Cabin, and I rushed up to them. "Guys, where is she?"

"Did you just leave Kylie in the woods, or-" Ziva asks.

"She's in the city, where's Carly?" I ask.

"Your cabin, Zoe." Caden says. He gives me a small smile and I thank him before rushing to my cabin. If the door had been locked, I swear I would have kicked it in. I threw the door open and saw her standing in the living room, flipping through a book that had been lying around. She turns and smiles at me, and I cross the room in three steps and have her wrapped in a hug tighter than any that had been given to me when I returned from disappearing.

"Oof, hey there, Zozo." She says, and I feel my eyes start to well up again.

"Carly...I-I'm so sorry..." I choke out.

"For what?" She asks, leaning back so she can look at me.

"If it weren't for me, this wouldn't have happened to you, and Kylie wouldn't have almost lost a sister, and none of you would be in this war and-" I'm cut off as she gently brushes the tears from my eyes and face, the same way I'd done for her while we we briefly in my world. She smiles at me, and I can feel my heart hammering against my chest so hard I think she could probably hear it. "I don't want...I can't lose you, Carly...I can't."

"You won't." She says, wiping the last tear from my eye. As I looked up into those big brown eyes of hers, eyes that held that loving, welcoming, warm gaze that Kylie once looked at me with, I stopped caring about pretty much anything else, and I leaned up and kissed her once. It was fast, and I pulled back relatively quickly. She has a really surprised look on her face, no, she looked stunned. She was impossible to read in that moment, a complete mystery to me. My heart sank a thousand feet and landed in my stomach, and it felt like I'd been thrown upside down over a cliff.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly. She blinks a couple of times, her shock turning to confusion.

"For what, Zozo?" She asks, a grin breaking out over her face. My heart shoots back up into my chest and starts hammering away again, and I lean in and kiss her again. After a moment, she pulls me in closer, putting her arms around my shoulders, and I slip mine around her waist in response, pulling the embrace in even tighter. I swear, I thought my heart was going to explode. It was pounding away, bouncing off the inside my chest like a paddle-ball. For a brief moment, I wondered if I could feel her heart doing the same, hammering way in her chest every bit as hard as mine was.

I forgot that question really quickly.

Chapter Ten
My first time really using a cellular phone was one of the weirder experiences of my life. The droning tone sound that indicated it was ringing, despite sounding nothing remotely like a ring. Then, I heard a clicking sound, and then Rachel's voice said "Hello?" In my ear.

"Hey Rachel, it's Zoe." I started calmly, but pretty soon my excitement got the best of me. "I caught a fish!"

"...Like a...really nice fish?" She asks, sounding confused. "Like a salmon, trout, or...?"

"Remember, a lot of fish in the sea...you said that..." I said, trying to give her a hint.

"Oh. Oh. Oh my gods, that's great, Zoe! Who? When? How?"

"Last night. Carly, my best friend and I just kinda...fell into it. I almost lost her and we just kinda went fuck it." I say, grinning while standing on my porch. I was almost bouncing up and down, I was so excited.

"That's great! I mean, not that you almost lost Carly, I'm sorry for that, but I'm really happy for you, Zoe."

"Thanks!" I said, and then I really was bouncing up and down. "So, uh, you're the first to know."

"Oh. Really?" She asks, sounding surprised and, if I dared say it, touched.

"Yeah. She asked me who I wanted to tell first and you were who I thought of."

"Well...thank you. For thinking of me. It means a lot." She says.

"I'm sending you a phone hug right now."

"Phone hug received and returned." She says, laughing slightly.

"Well, I should go. We've got a busy day ahead of us and I don't want to keep you too long. Just wanted to make sure you knew."

"Okay, thank you again. Good luck with Carly. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah, definitely." I reply.

"Okay, later."

"Bye." I say and the call ends. I feel Carly's arms wrap around my waist from behind me, and normally I would have jumped in surprise, but now, now I just felt at ease. "Morning."

"You could have waited for me, you know." She says.

"You looked so peaceful I didn't feel like disturbing you."

"Wouldn't have been disturbing if it was you."

"Flatterer." I say, lean back and kiss her once. "You can tell the others, I've got to meet up with Zack at the forge. We're gonna find me a new weapon."

"You didn't have to give it up for me, you know."

"I know. Wanted to." I say. "Besides. New weapons are fun."

"That they are." She laughs. "C'mon, I'll walk you there." She takes my hand and we walk to the forge, not really talking, just enjoying being there with one another until we reached the forge. "Ok, I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Yeah you will." I tell her and kiss her once again. As she steps back I feel a sudden yearning for the contact again, like my heart is screaming DON'T GO! at her. She smiles at me and heads off to the Apollo cabin as I turn to enter the forge. I find Zack inside holding his sword out as a son of Hephaestus smashes a hammer against it. The hammer breaks in half at the handle and Zack gives him and unimpressed look. The boy sighs and heads off, leaving Zack to turn to me.

"Morning." He says. "I know that look."

"How do you know this look?" I ask.

"Because I've worn it." He says with a grin. "You and Carly?"

"How'd you know?"

"Because I've been there. Girl has a taste for the Johnson genes." He says, earning a jab to the ribs from me, even though I laugh. "So what're you looking for. New sword, machete, axe, what?"

"Just...whatever feels right." I say.

"Sounds good." He says. "Though I hear shopping for you is a pain in the ass."

"Oh shut up." I say and start scanning through the weapon racks. After only fifteen minutes, I come across a weapon that is a katana blade and guard, but with a two and a half foot blade and a three foot handle. The second it's in my hands I know this is the one. "This one. I want this one."

"Sounds like Maya was exaggerating, shopping for you is easy as hell." Zack says with a laugh. "Also, listen, I've found Michael." I looked over at him, eyeing him carefully, not sure how this was about to go.

"Go on."

"He's in Maryland. Actually, like, hiding in a public high school."

"Hiding?"

"Well he didn't tell any of us. I had to call in more than a few favors to actually pinpoint what school, but we know where he is and...honestly, he needs to come home." Zack says. It occurs to me, given what Althea said about Zack being afraid of people leaving him, that Michael running off into exile might have hurt him a fair bit more than he lets on.

"Why'd he run?" I ask.

"I've...not a damn clue." Zack says, deflating slightly.

"Well...don't force him in." I say after a moment. "If he wants to stay out there, let him. But I'll go with you to see if he's willing. Tomorrow. We're not leaving immediately." He nods, though I can see he looks a bit agitated. "Who is all gonna go?"

"I was thinking you, me, and Annie, but if you want to bring Carly, I promise I won't make it awkward."

"Hahaha." I say, jabbing him in the ribs again. "I'll see if she's not needed around here." I tell him, though internally all I wanted was for her to come with me. I left and found Carly in the arena, talking to a couple of recruits. As I approach from behind her the recruits head off and I take the opportunity to hug her from behind. "Hey, can you hold this for me?" I say, holding my left hand up. She laughs and wraps her own around it.

"Maya actually cheered when I told her." She says, looking back at me. "How'd shopping go?"

"Pretty good." I say. "Listen, Zack found Michael, wants to leave tomorrow. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Dammit. Ziva and I are headed to Olympus to try and talk our parents into offering support."

"Sorry. Good luck." I say, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"Also...Kylie gets back in about an hour. So how do we explain this one?" Carly asks.

"That...is a very good question." I say, pulling my head back and looking at the sky for answers. None seem to be there. About an hour later, when Kylie arrived, I ultimately just said screw it and told her up front.

"Yeah, I figured." She says with a shrug.

"You're not remotely surprised?" I ask. "I...I honestly didn't even know if she'd be...into this." I say, gesturing to myself.

"Well, she had been hiding it, a lot better than I did, so that doesn't surprise me either." Kylie says. "Dear old mom must be so proud." She says and flips off the ground. "I'm happy for both of you, well done." She says, hugs me briefly, and heads off without another word.

Well that was easier than anyone expected. I thought to myself and returned to helping Carly tell everyone and their mother that we were a thing. It was generally a mostly relaxed day aside from that, which ultimately ended the same way most relaxed days did. Group planning sessions in my cabin with us all sleeping in varying parts of the building. Carly and I had taken the couch, and she put her head briefly on my lap for a break and wound up dozing off. I fell asleep in a seated position there, and woke up the next morning completely unmoved. Maya was still asleep in my bed and Caden and Ziva were whispering to each other in the kitchen. I remember that I have to go and meet Zack and Annie to leave and I grab a pillow and put it under Carly's head as I get up.

"I'll be home soon, I promise." I say, gently kiss her and slip out.

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it, Zoe." Carly's words run through my memory, but I push those thoughts away as quickly as they came.

"Hey, Zoe!" I hear as I start down the path back to camp. I turn around and see Ziva running up to me.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Listen, I didn't tell Zack or Caden this, but I thought I should ask you." She says as she reaches me. "When the portal was closing I looked back through it. I saw...something. Something big, right at the source of where the clouds were being pulled to."

"What was it?"

"I'm not sure, but...it looked like eyes." Ziva says. "Red, glowing eyes. Huge, in the middle of the clouds."

"Wonderful..." I mutter. "That's probably what we'll have to deal with for the last portal. I don't know of anything like that in particular, but that's my best guess."

"Great." She says, shaking her head. "Althea was bad enough...I don't want to know what we're fighting next. I have to know, it's gonna happen, but yeah."

"We'll be ready, Ziva. We will." I say, hug her goodbye, and I run down to the courtyard to meet Zack and Annie. "Where's the ride?"

"You're the ride." Annie says.

"Ah. The cowl. Right." I say, rolling my eyes. "You all just want me sleepy everywhere I go, don't you?"

"Yes." Zack says, without even blinking or changing his expression.

"Well, where to?"

"Maryland."

"Specific. You get to navigate once we're there." I tell him and grab their hands. I shadow travel us to this Maryland place, going off an image from a textbook I once flipped through while bored. Once we land there, I follow Zack as he grabs us a taxi, and once we're all sitting inside, I drift off to sleep, exhausted from the early morning shadow traveling.

''A tower. A tower with a portal atop it. Stella's standing atop it, staring out at the world. Her eye is healed, as is the hole in her chest. She holds something up, it looks like a helmet. It is, a fully head and face helmet, the front of it painted like a skull. She drops it off the side of the tower, a small smile on her face. She turns and looks at the portal, walking over to it. She stares down through it, right into a monstrous red eye. There's a rumble, and I realize that it is coming from whatever the eye belongs to. "Shhhhhh...it's all going to be fine." She whispers. "This is going to be your new home."''

I jolt awake as the car comes to a stop. "You ok?" Annie asks me.

"I'll be alright. Just...just a dream." I say. She isn't fooled, I can tell, but doesn't pursue it. We get out of the cab and I see that we're outside a high school. "Is this is place of nightmares everyone keeps telling me about?" I ask.

"Yes." Zack says, nodding. "We can't go inside, but keep an eye out for him coming outside or something similar."

"You two lovebirds stay here, I'll wait indoors." I say and flip the cowl up over my head, turning invisible, and I walk straight through the doors. I climb around the metal detectors and I find a comfortable looking corner and I wait there. What was that monster she was looking at? I ask myself. ''If that's what Maya saw, then...I don't even know what that could possibly be. And that helmet...the skull face...there's no mistaking it at all. That was Zack's. But how? He's here with us, every other dream...vision, has been of the present unless it was just a nightmare. Maybe...maybe I'm seeing the future?'' I push the thoughts aside as a bell rings and after a few minutes, I see Michael amid the throng of students scrambling to leave their mundane existences. He's still a lot thinner than my old world's version of him, but it's unmistakable that this is the Michael Johnson we're here to find.

I follow him out of the building, taking my cowl off as I do. I see Zack and Annie notice me, and they see Michael not long after. They run over to in front of him, and he freezes up as they come into his eyesight. Zack walks straight up to him and pulls him into a brotherly embrace. It's almost comical, seeing Zack basically crush someone who is five inches taller. That must be how everyone feels when they see me hug most people. "Hey man." Zack says, and I can see a bit of that vulnerability I saw before, how badly he wants his friend back. "How've you been?"

"Uh...okay...uh...what're you doing here?" Michael asked.

"Looking for you." Zack says. "We miss you, Michael, and...the way things are going right now we need you back."

"No you really don't." Michael sighs.

"Yeah, we do." Annie says. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Did you ever need me?" Michael says. "Not really. I just got in the way. My first action as a group member was being the one who needed rescuing. You don't need that holding you back anymore."

"We always needed you, man." Zack says. "Why do you think we came after you in the first place?"

''Hades. This is the guy people tell me was on the same team as Zack and Kyra?'' I think to myself. I hated to say it, but I was almost inclined to agree with Michael in this instance.

"I couldn't do anything this summer, what makes you think I'll be useful now?"

"We need all the help we can get." Annie says. "We only have minimal Olympus support and not very many demigods, for that matter."

"I can't help..." Michael says, and right then, I saw he was hiding something more.

"What else is your problem?" I ask. He jumps and turns, seeing me for the first time. His eyes widen, and I recall our only real interaction was me punching him in the face. "Spit it out, if you're really turning us down we probably won't see you again."

"I...uh..."

"I really don't have all day." I sigh. It occurs to me, that given how everyone seems to feel about him, I'm probably the first one to speak so bluntly to him.

"I, uh...I've been...trying to deal with..." He turns to Zack and Annie and takes a deep breath. "I've been trying to come to terms with the fact that I'm bi." Zack looks slightly surprised, while Annie looks like it was something she'd known for a very long time.

"That it?" I ask, and he turns back to me. "That's really why you're out here hiding?" He says nothing. "A year ago, me and my team went and closed the first portal. One of us was a closet homosexual and another was a closet bisexual. Both of them were raised by a very traditional mother and one of them was abused for it. They still got their guns up and fought when they were needed. They didn't hide. They didn't run. Also, one of my friends died very recently. If we had more people on our side at that time, a rescue could have happened a lot faster, and he'd be alive." Michael is silent, and it looks like Zack is about to come to his defense. Annie puts a hand on his arm and shakes her head slightly, a grim expression on her face.

"And in case you forgot, you were on a team that was regarded as legendary among the demigods of Camp Half-Blood. You think your presence wouldn't be of help? Ok, let me break down what I've heard about you that could be useful. You're the moral compass, which even I admit sometimes is needed, and you tend to see the good in others that they may overlook in themselves. You're a son of Athena, my half brother. You can see solutions to problems others don't, because your mother is the goddess of battle strategy." I take a moment, but the surprising wave of frustration coming up in me doesn't want me to stop, so I keep the assault going.

"You're also reportedly really good with a staff, one that you on occasion will split in half to give enemies a new fighting style to worry about. Being able to fight two ways is a talent. Also, you use psychological warfare by talking mid-battle. In addition, you are experienced in using the environment to your advantage and you have a fucking battle-owl." Michael flinches.

"But all that is worthless if you don't have the guts to use it." I say and look at Zack and Annie. "I'll be on that bench over there, come get me when you're ready to come home." I walked off to a bench by the sidewalk, sat down, and I waited. ''You gotta be kidding me. The guy so many people won't shut up about, the guy we came all this way to grab, is a coward.''

I thought about my dream, and the possibility of me seeing the future. Doesn't make a lot of sense. I think to myself. ''There's no way to tell what a future is or is not going to be. Too many variables. Still...how the hell would she have and hold onto Zack's helmet in the first place?'' There's a tapping on my shoulder and I look back and see Annie. "We're gonna head home now, you're our ride."

"Alright." I say and get to my feet. I look over and see Zack and Michael approaching. "He coming with us?"

"Yes." Michael says.

"Alright then." I grab Annie and Zack's hands, and Michael grabs Annie's other hand. "Prove me wrong, kid." I say and we shadow travel back to Camp. When we land at camp, we were immediately greeted by a yelp. As I let go of Zack and Annie, I see Kyra sprint for us and she practically jumps on Michael, giving him a hug that looked more powerful than any I'd received since getting back.

"He's gonna be annoyed for a while." Annie says quietly in my hear. "Zack."

"He'll get over it." I sigh. "Would Michael have come back otherwise?"

"...No, I don't think so." Annie says.

"Exactly." I say. "Have fun with the reunions." I slip off to my cabin and head inside. Carly's sitting alone in the living room, her feet up on the coffee table and she's looking at a map. "I'm home."

"Hey." She says, putting the map down. "Good timing, I wanted to talk to you." I kick my boots off and am at her side in seconds.

"What's up?" I ask.

"It occurred to me while you were gone that I know your entire life story, mostly through having listened to your interrogation, and you only barely know anything about me." Carly says. "And that seems really wrong."

"I don't really care, honestly."

"I know you don't, but I do." She says. "So, you get to hear my life story. The others have agreed to share theirs if you want to hear them, as well."

"Alright." I say. "Share away."

"Well...I was born in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada to a very traditional mother who was basically ashamed of having hooked up with Zeus to make me. She knew full well who he was, but that didn't stop her from going with the more...extreme Christian methods of raising me. From what I remember, it got worse after Kylie was born. We both were treated less than well by our mom. When I was seven and Kylie was five, we started attending Camp. Summers quickly became our favorite time of the year. I figured out I was bi when I was about ten. I knew that I couldn't share that with my mom, I had a hunch what would happen. Kylie figured out she was gay about a year after that, but let it slip." Carly stops for a moment, shaking her head. I reach out and grab her hand, squeezing it.

"You don't have to-"

"Yeah, I do." She sighs. "Mom never let me see what happened to Kylie the night she found out. Kylie doesn't talk much about it, either. She had a black eye and bruises all up and down her arms and torso the next day, that's all I know. So began our time of hiding that side of ourselves, waiting for the day we could make a break for it. Then when I was twelve, I met a kid at school. His name was Zack. We were both angry, we both wanted to get back at some rather abusive guardians, so we started dating, hooking up at the tender age of twelve. Grade six."

"You ok?" I ask.

"Yeah. Helps, getting most of this out." She says, nodding. "Two years ago, she died of cancer and we started coming here. I've never said it but I don't miss her, and I never will. The rest, well...you know all of that already."

"Yeah..." I say. As I looked at her, seeing these memories hurt her so much, I realized she wasn't all that different from Michael, and it hits me that maybe I was a bit too hard on him. "There anything I can do?"

"Keep being you, Zozo." She says. "Just keep being you."

"Surely there's something extra I can do." I say, leaning in and kissing her once.

"Well...I suppose the sight of you in a french maid costume might help things out..." She says before giving me a kiss of her own.

"I don't know what that is but it sounds hot." I say.

"It is, don't worry." She laughs, shaking her head. "Also...don't ask Kylie about what happened, please? She won't want to talk about that."

"That's information reserved for Victoria." I say, nodding. "I get it."

"Thanks." She says, relaxing a little more.

"Come." I say, holding my arms out. "You need cuddles, stat."

"Oh you know me so very well now, don't you?" Carly says. I lean back so my head is resting on the arm of the couch and she slips in beside me, wrapping an arm about my stomach and resting her head on my shoulder. "Oof...I don't want to leave this spot. Ever. We're staying here forever, I decree it."

"Oh I wish we could, hun." I say, kissing her on the top of the head. "I wish we could." We stayed there until the next morning, with me falling asleep from shadow travel exhaustion not long after that. When I woke up, I saw Ziva sitting on the chair across from us, typing something on a laptop with her one hand while drinking from a straw that was no less then a meter long, sourced from a massive mug on the floor next to her chair.

"Comfy?" She asks quietly, smirking.

"Very." I whisper.

"Want to hear my story, sis?" She asks.

"Since you're offering, I guess." I say, and she closes the laptop.

"Was dropped off here as a baby. Nobody had a clue who my father was, just that his last name was Eriksson. Was raised in the big house for a while, then in the Hermes Cabin. When I was eight I was claimed and started living in the Athena cabin. I learned how to fight and met Caden when I was twelve. We've been close ever since, met the others later on, then I met you."

"That's it?" I ask.

"Pretty much. Not everybody has the most interesting life story out there. My life was pretty basic til I met you, Zoe."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be." She smiles, reopening the laptop. "If there is one thing from these years and in this life that I do not regret, it is that I met you, Zoe."

"Thanks, sis." I say. I get an idea and I slip away from Carly and head out to the fountain. After a few tries, I successfully get an iris message going to Rachel. Eventually her face appears. "Hey, bad time?" I ask.

"No, what's up?" She asks.

"So...it was pointed out to me that everyone knows my life in and out. Like, completely. I only barely know anything about anyone. I only just heard Carly's full story yesterday. So basically what is your story?"

"Oh, uh..." She looks surprised. "I don't know..." At that moment I guessed there was something not great in her past, and I knew that she needed to let some of it out. I also knew that if there was a way for me to comfort her over it I would.

"I mean, my life was sort of...interrogated out of me." I point out gently.

"...Fine. Okay, so...what do you want to know?" She asks.

"Whatever you're okay with yelling." I say.

"Okay, well, I'm originally from New Orleans but my family moved to Denver after my dad died–well, mortal dad, I guess. Growing up I had my mom and my older sister and my aunt, but they all didn't really get along. Basically my sister–her name's Skylar–was upset about our dad dying, who I don't really remember because I was too young, and she was all bitter about us leaving New Orleans and therefore her leaving all of her friends. So as she got older she started really resenting my mom...especially after my mom got together with this other guy, who happened to have a lot of money. Then my aunt, who my mom never really got along with in the first place anyway, got pregnant out of marriage and my mom basically shunned her because my mom's obsessed with having a perfect, normal little family or whatever." Rachel says, me not interrupting her at all.

"You ok?" I ask as she pauses.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Anyway, my aunt moved away later on to go live near my uncle, and after that Skylar got really pissed at my mom. It didn't help that Skylar's a demigod too and all the weird shit happening with her being a demigod was starting to happen and my mom wasn't handling that well–she didn't know Apollo was...you know, Apollo. And so Skylar just left without much of a word. Like, okay, whatever. That's fine."

"No it isn't." I say. I can tell there is a lot of anger and pain in Rachel, too, something I hadn't noticed before. "She should never have just left you." She doesn't really say anything, but I see a flicker of a sardonic smile flash across her face for a brief moment.

"So, yeah, I was eleven when that happened. Next few years weren't very good...I didn't get along with my mom or the guy she got together with, who she ended up marrying. And you would think that living with someone with a ton of money would be nice, but it kind of sucked with everything that had happened and was going on... I got really depressed with Skylar not being there, plus I lost a really good friend of mine when I was thirteen. Basically just really shitty preteen years. Also around the time I was thirteen, my demigoddess started showing more and turns out I got the prophecy-gene from Apollo, and because I was so stressed out and untrained I couldn't really control it and I ended up having some really bad visions...eventually I got diagnosed as schizo, but obviously I'm not, and anyway they were about to ship me off to the mental institute so I ran away." I didn't say anything, but I could feel a pain in my chest starting to grow. "So running away led me to meet with some demigods from the demigod safe house in Denver–you know Matt and Malcolm Parker, right?" I nod. "They lived there–and so they explained everything and I lived there for over a year and got my powers under control and started to train. And living there was amazing; they're just some of the best people, you know? They were some of the best friends you could ask for. I even started dating one of them...His name was Owen, one of the funniest people ever. He was kind of weird, too–he was kind of crazy about photography...He died, though, few weeks after we got together–him and this other girl, Lisa, who was probably the nicest person I've ever met. And..that wasn't totally crushing on a romantic level–it's not like we had been dating long–but he was my friend, you know? They both were. I almost got killed, too–they shot me in the back...I was almost paralyzed, I actually was for a few weeks..." She gets really quiet. Depressingly so.

"I wish I'd asked you in person." I say sadly.

"It's okay, really, don't worry. Anyway, obviously I'm all healed up now. After that happened I decided to do what I had been thinking about doing for a while and train to become a real healer. I went to camp for a month to learn the basics and then headed up here to Olympus to go to school here. That's kind of how The Heroes Organization got started, I was doing some field training on a quest with Stella and it grew from there. And since THO was started, lots of stuff has happened of course. I reconnected with my aunt and her little daughter and I see them all the time. I reconnected with my aunt and her little daughter and I see them all the time. I haven't seen my mom much...she's happy, of course, she even has her own normal kids now. I just don't think she was ever able handle things that weren't normal to her, you know? Turns out my aunt was able to see through the Mist when she was younger, that's why they never really got along. Pretty sure my cousin can see through the Mist, too–I think it might be genetic. I've seen Skylar once, but I don't foresee myself seeing her again any time soon. I've learned a lot about healing, I want to go to mortal med school soon...I got another boyfriend a couple years ago, but he can fuck himself, so. Now I'm with Lucian and I'm really happy with him. I'm really happy with THO. Sure, it's had its ups and downs, but...I think everything happens for a reason, you know? I don't think I'd change anything."

"I still wish I'd asked in person. That way I could hug you, give you wine, ice cream, wine flavored ice cream, help you punch things, you know." I pause for a moment as she laughs. "I'm really glad you're happy now, Rachel, I'm glad you found that. You deserve it more than a lot of people I know."

"Thank you, Zoe. You deserve it too, you know." She says with a small smile.

"Thank you for trusting me with this story, hun."

"'Course, Zoe. I mean, you kind of deserve it, considering I know yours."

"In all seriousness though, apparently wine flavored ice cream does exist now." I say. It was a really exciting fact, considering those were two of my favorite consumables since my arrival here.

"Every flavor of ice cream exists now. Like, bacon flavor exists."

"Okay that sounds awful." I say.

"Probably. Meat and ice cream shouldn't be mixed."

"There's an innuendo to be made there." I say with a wink.

"Shut up."

"Love you too."

"Well, I'll let you go, don't want to keep you too long."

"Alright, see you, Zoe." Rachel says.

"Bye. I think I'm learning to white girl properly." I say with a wave as the message vanishes.

"You know whenever I find you on this bench bad things tend to happen." I turn and see Caden approaching, using his cane for a change.

"Nothing bad today, man. Just hearing the stories of everyone, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. Care to hear mine?" He asks as he comes up in front of me.

"Sure." I say and pat the bench beside me. He sits down and rests the cane on his lap.

"It's not a really exciting story. Was abandoned here, a lot like Ziva. Was always unclaimed until after the Battle of Manhattan, when I was claimed by Poseidon. Always found it funny how close I was to being the hero everyone looked to to save the world."

"Are you jealous?" I ask.

"...Not really, but at the same time, I kinda hated the shadow. Everyone always expected me to be as good his my half-brothers, but at the same time I was never really what people cared about. At least deeply, there were the shallow ones who just wanted me around for name value, but that was it. Only one to actually care about me was Ziva. We became friends and started training together a lot. I wanted to get better because I knew...shit, I can't remember how many friends when the Titan War ended. We bonded, grew up, met the others, formed a team, met you."

"I envy the simple lives, Caden, so no need to feel like you're missing out on being interesting." I say.

"I can't say I really desired the life of a legend, but I kinda wanted to be remembered for more than just being Percy Jackson's half-brother."

"I get that." I say.

"Besides, I've got a feeling our story will be one people will be telling every bit as long as his, anyway." He says, smiles slightly, and heads off. Well...guess it's just Maya now. I think to myself and start looking for her. I find her in the arena, in the least surprising turn of events ever, where she's throwing her shield around like a frisbee.

"Hey Zoe." She says as her shield becomes firmly embedded in the wall off one of her throws. "Sleep well?" She asks, winking at me.

"Oh absolutely, best ever." I say. "You?"

"Nah, sleep is for the weak." She says, grabbing her shield and trying to wrench it from the wall. She fails, so I reach in and help her pull it out. "You been hearing the stories?"

"Yeah." I say. "It's been...interesting."

"Would you care to hear my tale?" She asks.

"Only if you want to tell it." I say. "I don't want to force it out of you."

"Nah, I don't really care if people know it that much." Maya says with a shrug. "I wasn't like the others, who all knew they were demigods pretty much from birth. I only found out when I was fourteen, about four years ago. Before that I was raised by my dad, a US military soldier. He trained me in some of the stuff he learned from his time in the army from when I was six, mostly so I could beat up boys who hurt me. Life was pretty normal until I turned fourteen, and he started to have a pretty severe drinking problem. I mean severe. It got really bad, to the point where he'd make me steal more drinks for him from time to time. I had enough and I ran away. That's when the monsters started attacking me."

"What'd you do?"

"I fought back with a kitchen knife and a hammer." Maya says. "Killed no fewer than three monsters before Chiron found me. He was in the area at the time and took notice. He helped me fight back some other monsters and offered me a place here. I accepted, and here I came. He explained everything, and four days later I was claimed by Aphrodite." She shakes her head. "Immediately, I was different. It didn't take them very long for them to realize that I'm aromantic, and they rejected me pretty wholly then and there. I started getting along with the Ares cabin and the Athena Cabin instead. Didn't make it any easier when the people who were supposed to be my brothers and sisters couldn't care less about me."

"Assholes, all of them." I say, getting a small smile from her.

"Anyway, I met Caden a little while later and he introduced me to the others, we started hanging out and I just wanted to be as good as they were, so I trained with the Ares cabin pretty often, and then with the others once I could hold my own. Then I met you." She shrugs. "It's been an interesting ride."

"Sounds like it." I say. "Let's be sure it doesn't end anytime soon."

"I'll drink to that sometime soon." She says. "Hell, now if you want."

"I'll pass, I've got some more people to talk to." I say. "I'll see you around."

"Bye." She says and I start walking over to The Questers' headquarters. I walk up to the door and knock twice. After a couple moments, the door opens and I see Zack standing in front of me. He shifts himself so he's standing in the middle of the doorway, leaning on one side with one arm, blocking me from getting in.

"Hey." He says.

"Hey." I say. "Is Michael in?"

"Yup." He says, not budging an inch.

"Well...let him know I just wanted to say sorry. I might have been a bit hard on him." I say.

"Might?" Zack says, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean. Point is, I get it now. We've all got our shit to deal with in whatever way we need to." I say, and Zack relaxes a little bit. "And I'd prefer it if the two of us maybe don't hate one another, either. So uh..." I awkwardly hold a hand out for him to shake, and instead, after a moment of hesitation, he gives me a hug instead.

"I'd prefer that too." He says. "I'll pass the message along, don't think he'll want to see you just yet."

"Thanks man." I say, hugging him back. "I'll see you in a bit, I think we'll be planning the next strike soon."

"Sounds good." He says and I start to head back to my cabin. About halfway back, someone pats me on the shoulder." I look back and see Kylie's caught up with me.

"Hey, I heard you were hearing the stories, so I thought I'd come find you, and-"

"You don't need to, Kylie." I interrupt her. "I know."

"Oh, uh..." She hangs her head slightly. "Yeah, uh, so...that's me." She says. "I guess Carly told you everything?"

"No, just enough for me to fill in the blanks." I say, putting an arm around her shoulder. "C'mon, Carly and I still have some of Dionysus' wine stashed in the attic. Let's get you tanked."

"Uh...are you sure?" Kylie asks.

"Yeah, why not. Drunk Kylie should be fun." I say and take her into my cabin, chuckling at the idea of what a drunk Kylie would be like.

Chapter Eleven
I wake up with my head on Carly's shoulder, bouncing slightly as we hit a bump in the road. We're in the back of the van being driven by Caden. "How far are we?" I ask, sitting up.

"About two hours from the campsite." He says. Two days prior Zack, Annie, Kyra, and Michael had gone off to set up the campsite in advance for our impending assault on the Washington portal. We were the first wave coming to the camp, after our arrival the reinforcements pledged to us by Ares and Aphrodite would arrive. We would have a total of two hundred fighting for us. That didn't make me feel any less nervous, though. I was sitting in the right seat, Carly in the middle, and Kylie on the other side of her. In the passenger seat was Ziva. Maya was transporting some of the other Campers in a different van, and so on. We had six vans driving the camp squads, with the Olympus forces arriving by their own means.

Carly stirs awake. "Morning, Zozo." She says, seeing me.

"It's two in the afternoon." I tell her.

"Also we're here too, honey." Ziva says, looking back at us.

"Sorry, priorities." Carly says, grinning at her and earning an eye roll from Ziva.

"So Ziva, how'd you re-learn to fight?" I ask. "You never told me."

"Once I learned to use my left hand I made my sword shorter and made the handle smaller. Instead of needing both hands to swing with full power and speed I can do it with one hand just as well. After figuring out how to modify the style it was a pretty easy fix." Ziva says with a shrug.

"From what I've seen you look as good as you always have." I tell her.

"Well thank you, sis. I'm still the best katana wielder here." She says with a smirk, looking back at me.

"I don't think that new blade of her's really counts as a katana, though." Caden says. "I mean, what katana has a three foot handle?"

"Naginata?" Ziva asks.

"Nah, it isn't quite a naginata." Caden says. "Blade's too long and the handle's too short."

"How about a katana with a long handle?" I ask.

"That could work." Caden says, shrugging.

"Does it really matter what it's called as long as the pointy end can still take out the baddies?" Kylie asks. I hadn't noticed her wake up.

"Well...it adds character." Ziva says. Kylie rolls her eyes, getting a chuckle from Carly. The playful banter went on for the rest of the ride until we reached the camp. It took some off road driving to get to the forest where we were supposed to meet the others, but once we hit the treeline we only needed to park the cars just inside the forest and walk for five minutes before we found the encampment. We found Kyra first, setting up a barricade around a group of twenty large tents that they had set up. She showed us into the little camp and we found Annie and Michael working on pitching yet another tent. Zack was nowhere to be seen.

"Welcome to the party." Annie says. "We're gonna need more tents soon, I'm thinking. Definitely more barricades."

"I can make some barricades." Caden says, and he and Ziva go to start building one, her insisting that she'll be useful when it comes to building something.

"Hey Kylie, want to help me whittle arrows? We're gonna need quite a few for what we're going up against." Kyra says.

"Sure." Kylie says and heads over to her, looking pleased somebody wanted her help.

"What are we up against?" I ask Annie.

"This." Zack's voice says from above us. I look up and see him standing on a tree branch, holding a feather. He drops it down in between us and it stabs into the ground like a dagger. Carly bends down and picks it up, paling. She holds it out to me and I touch it. It's metallic.

"What is it?"

"It's a stymphalian bird feather." Annie says. "That's why we're in the trees. You're gonna want to camo your van."

"On it." Carly says and gestures with her head for me to join her. We head back to the vans and start covering them with foliage.

"What's a stymphalian bird?" I ask.

"Angry murderous birds that shoot metal feathers at you." She says. "Really nasty creatures, this is not going to be fun, remotely."

"We'll make it." I say. "The fact we at least know what we're going up against this time will make this a hundred times easier."

"Hope so." She says. I'm about to say something when we hear another couple vans pulling up. We wait for them to arrive and once they're parked near ours, start instructing people to cover their cars up with plants and dirt.

"Why the panic?" Maya asks us as she gets out of her own van.

"Stymphalian birds." Carly says.

"Ah." Maya replies, wincing. "Got it. Understood. We're gonna need arrows, you know anyone good with poison?"

"Give me a bit to look for something and I'll see what I can do." I say.

"We'll be here." Carly says. "Don't wander too far."

"Far from you? Never." I say with a wink as I reach into the van and grab my crossbow before heading out into the forest, long-handled-katana across my back. I head out and start scanning around the forest surrounding the camp, looking for something I could use as poison. Eventually, I find a rotted out tree that is slightly hollowed out. I look inside and see, to my surprise, deathcaps growing in it. I start cutting them out with my dagger and putting them in a small bag I had on me. I remembered something my father once said, something about using deathcaps and arrows to make a poison cloud explode out whenever the arrow struck its target.

I stopped for a long moment. It had been a long, long time since I had thought about my father. If I closed my eyes, I could still see, very vividly, the day he died. Gunned down by a rival survivor group after having been captured, alongside half our team. By the end of that day, I was the only one left. I made my first kill that day, carving one of the enemy apart with a chainsaw. If I thought about it hard enough I could still feel the flesh give way, the bones crack and fall apart, the sinew tearing. I could hear the wet sound flesh makes when it is cut up, the roar of the chainsaw as it came to life, and the sputter as it shorted out eleven inches down into the man's torso from his left shoulder.

I blinked and pushed the memory aside. "Zoe?" I look over and see Kylie approaching, bow across her back. "You looked upset for a moment."

"Was just...remembering my dad." I say, shrugging. "Whatever, I'll be ok."

"You sure?" She asks, walking closer.

"Yeah, I'll make it." I say. "Besides, I've got a new family now."

"Yeah, I guess you do." She says, gripping my shoulder for a moment. "We're all here for you, Zoe. You've had our backs a lot, we'll always have yours."

"Thanks Ky." I say, giving her a small smile.

"Now let's find more of those mushrooms, I know a deathcap when I see one." She says with a grin. "And for the love of Zeus let's keep them separate from the edible ones that are out here."

"Good idea." I say, shaking my head as I strap the bag of mushrooms over my shoulder and follow her, crossbow in hand, just in case something jumps out at us. Last time we were in a forest alone together we were attacked by a couple of Chaos' minions, so it made sense to worry a bit, especially so close to a portal. After a couple hours we return to camp and I start working on making the arrows that will explode in a cloud of poisonous gas. I worked well into the night, well after most of the camp had gone to bed. Long after the sun set, I sat awake with Carly, by the embers of a fire, still making poison arrows for whenever we would fight the birds.

"How're you holding up?" I ask her eventually.

"I'm ok. Nervous, is all." She says.

"We got this, we'll be ok." I say, taking a break from making arrows to put my head on her shoulder and take her hand.

"Yeah, we will." She says, giving my hand a squeeze and snuggling closer. "Hey...looks like someone's getting up." She points, and I see Caden stepping out of a tent and standing off in the shadows off to the side, where he starts waiting, apparently unaware of our presence.

"Think we should...?"

"Nah." She says. "Let's just wait and see."

"Alright." I say and we wait. After a few minutes we spot Ziva, walking from the other side of the camp, and she heads over to him. "Now should we?"

"We move, they'll spot us, feel awkward, and not do what we all think they should. At the very least decide whether or not they're gonna."

"You sure you don't just want to watch?"

"...Fine, I'm curious." Carly sighs.

"Come on sweetie, let's go to our tent and give those two some proper privacy." I tell her. We slip around the other tents, putting all the arrows we made in a specific set of quivers, and start heading over to a tent we'd set up just for us. As we head through the camp and pass Maya's tent, we hear her whispering to someone.

"Rachel." Carly whispers to me. "She's keeping her updated on our status."

"Makes sense." I say, nodding. Next to Maya's tent is Kylie's, and we hear something that sounds like typing coming from her tent. "She messaging Vic?"

"Yeah." Carly nods. "They're pretty...they're scared."

"We all are."

"Vic in particular. She only just learned of this world, and...and the fact Kylie might die out here."

"Yeah." I say, nodding. I'd been trying to not think about it, but there was a very real chance that some of us weren't coming home after this portal. We'd gotten extremely lucky that Carly had survived Althea's attack before, and Scott had already been killed. Normally, I'd tell her we'd all be coming home, but at that moment, it felt like both of us knew that it would be a dumb thing to say. I unzip our tent and hold the flap open for her, and she steps inside, leaving her boots just outside the tent, and lies down on her back in the tent. I take my boots off and step in, effectively falling forward to lie down next to her.

I shift over and cuddle into her side, resting my head on her shoulder. "I don't want to leave this tent." I murmur sadly as she kisses the top of my head.

"Me neither." She whispers. We didn't need to say anything more, we both knew that it wasn't an option.

I woke up to screaming. Shrill, terrified, high pitched screams of fear from girls. Lower, guttural screams of pain and anger from the guys, and everything in between. I shoot up and Carly does the same, one of her knives already in hand. I grab my sword-staff and jump out of the tent and into my combat boots. I look around and see a giant bird swooping down towards my head. It's wingspan looks to be about seven feet, and its body is thick and muscly, sporting gaping, bloody holes in various places, where it looks as though chunks of flesh have been torn out.

I slash through the air once, straight into the bird's head, slashing it in half completely. It explodes into golden dust as Carly rolls out of the tent, daggers in both of hands. "Where are they?!" Someone screams. I look around and see that there isn't a bird in sight. People are getting out of their tents all over, weapons up. The sound of arrows striking metal rings out, followed by an explosion of gold dust thirty feet away.

"Watch my back." I say to Carly, and we start slipping over to the source of the most recent explosion, and we find Caden, a trio of feathers embedded in his shield and a trace of gold dust on the head of his spear.

"Where's Ziva?" Carly asks.

"No idea." He says, turning so his back is to us. Understanding, Carly and I switch to face away from him and each other, all of us standing back to back. There's a scream from nearby, and we see a bird swoop in and pick up a female camper, lifting her into the air and up into the trees, out of sight. Her screams continue before being abruptly cut off. Then, a leg and a hand fall down to the ground below and into the middle of the camp. A trio of metal feathers shoots into sight and into the chest of a male camper. He stares down at the wounds before dropping to his knees and off to the side, a look of shock and horror forever etched on his face.

"Caden, shield." Carly says, ducking. Caden turns and puts his shield in front of her, and three feathers slam into his shield and Carly throws one of her daggers as he pulls his shield back in front of him. An explosion of gold dust signals she's hit her mark. She darts out, retrieves her knife and returns to us. More screaming. More and more voices join the chorus of agony and suffering.

"Hey!" A familiar voice says. I look over and I see Zack standing back to back with Annie, Michael and Kyra to each of their sides. "Start moving to the vans!"

"You know where the portal is?" Caden calls back, and Zack nods. "Ok, let's get over-"

"Kylie!" Carly screams, a new terror in her eyes. "Kylie where are you!?" There's no response for a long moment.

"Carly!" Kylie's voices cries out from the other side of the camp. In the shadows of the night, I can't tell where she is exactly. Carly breaks off from the rest of us and sprints after Kylie's voice.

"Good thing that's the way the vans are." Caden mutters and we start running after her, Zack's team on our tail. We arrive at Kylie's tent and see, just as she turns to see us approaching, one of the Stymphalian birds coming up behind her. It grabs her shoulders and starts flying up into the treeline with her as she screams in horror. Kyra fires an arrow, which misses the bird by centimeters. Then, out from one of the trees springs someone I recognize to be Ziva, and she tackles the bird from above. The monster caves beneath the weight of the two girls and starts to descend. Zive stabs it with an arrowhead and it quickly dissolves into a puff of golden dust.

They land and Kylie cries out in pain. Carly sprints over to her and Ziva helps her pick Kylie up. She's bleeding badly from both of her shoulders, and it looks like her ankle is broken. Caden opens the back of one of the vans and they jump in, laying Kylie down on the floor. Caden jumps in the driver's seat as Zack and his team jump in a different van. "Maya!" I shout, looking around for any sign of her. I feel a breeze move past my shoulder and I hear a thunk, very similar to arrows striking a shield, right next o my head. I look back in the van and see Maya's shield, four metal feathers embedded in it. I look back and see Maya running straight at me, a panicked look on her face.

I jump back in the van and she dives for the van as well. She cries out in pain as she lands, and I see that two feathers have embedded themselves in the back of her shoulder. She sits up, reaches back, and rips them out. "Fuuuuck!" She screams as she rips the second out. I look at Ziva and see that she is bleeding all over her arms, cuts received from grabbing hold of the metallic bird feathers earlier.

"Zoe, here!" Carly says and hands me my crossbow, which was sitting behind her. "Get in shotgun, I'll take care of them." I nod and jump up into the passenger seat as Caden starts driving after Zack's van.

"Keep us and them covered if you can." Caden says. "Maya, shield!" Maya gives us her shield and he puts it in between him in his window. After a minute, a feather embeds itself in the shield. I load an arrow into my crossbow as I see a bird land on top of the other van.

"Pull up beside them!" I say and Caden does so. Once we're parallel to their van, I take aim at the bird and put an arrow in its neck, causing it to explode in a shower of gold dust. I start loading a second arrow in as a bird flies down in front of the windshield and lands on the hood of the car. Immediately, the bird starts pecking at the windshield, trying to break through to get to us. I take aim, waiting for a large enough hole to form, when a bolt hits it in the neck and it explodes. I look over and see Annie reloading a crossbow, leaning across the driving Zack and her crossbow hanging out the driver side window.

"Zoe!" I hear Carly shout from behind us. I look back and see Carly and Maya holding Caden's shield against the back door of the van. "Birds are trying to rip the door off!"

"Ziva, switch!" I yell and throw her my crossbow. She catches it, chewing on something that I guess is ambrosia and I jump into the back of the van. She takes her spot beside Caden and starts taking aim, rather well, despite only having one hand to fire with. I pick up her katana, which, being smaller than my sword-staff, was easier to use in the confines of the van. The screeching of metal can be heard as one of the doors at the back of the van is ripped off wholly. Maya steps back slightly, leaving the shield at an angle and letting the birds land inside ever so slightly. It also left me room to stab out at them. I do so, catching one in the head. I pull back, wait for a moment, and stab again, taking out another one.

I hear Ziva take a shot and another gold burst sounds out from the other van. For a moment, it seems like we'll be ok, when the bird vanish, all without a trace, leaving the only sounds audible to be Ziva reloading the crossbow, the engines and the sounds of the vans moving across the fields, and Kylie's cries of pain. "Where'd they go?" I ask.

"No idea." Caden calls back. I go back and look out of Ziva's window out at the other van, and see Zack and Annie throw a confused look at us. Ziva shrugs.

"You guys holding up back there?" Ziva asks me. I look back at Kylie, and see her holding her broken ankle, still bleeding, though not as badly, from her shoulders.

"Take a guess." I say and she nods, understanding.

"Oh shit!" I hear Zack shout, and I look over at their van. One of their front tires is gone. The van seems to wobble, and I see the back tire explode as well. Their van turns to one side and teeters into a fall, rolling over twice and stopping.

"We gotta go get them." I say. Caden nods and starts to turn around. As we start driving towards them, we see a trio of much larger birds in the sky. Then, one of our back tires pops, a feather the size of my arm embedded in the wheel. Then, the tire in front of it meets the same fate, and we're tipping over and rolling as well. Caden goes flying out the window at some point, Maya's shield coming with him. I see Ziva get hit in the face by an airbag as I'm thrown against the ceiling of the van. I lose sight of everyone else, and as the van rolls again, I'm slammed against the floor and my vision goes black.

My eyes open, and I see Ziva, hiding down in the area you put your feet, between the dash and the chair. She stabs up at something, but returns to hiding. I look up and see that it's a bird, trying too get at her from the passenger side window. I see my crossbow on the seat itself, and I quickly grab it. There's an arrow already loaded, so I take aim and shoot the bird in the eye. It explodes and I look down at Ziva, nodding at her. She nods back and points behind me, I look to see if there's anything there, and, seeing only the unconscious form of Carly, I mouth Carly at her and move over to see if she's ok. I check her pulse and look her over for injuries or wounds. Upon seeing none, and feeling her pulse is still quite strong, I let out a small sigh of relief, not wanting to be too loud. "Hey baby girl..." I whisper, hugging her close for a moment. Ziva climbs in the back after me, picking her katana up. "Did you see what happened to any of the others?"

"Caden was thrown out...uh...Maya and Kylie fell out the back of the van. Didn't see about the other group."

"Ok..." I say, trying to think of some solution to this entire situation. My thoughts are interrupted as I hear a set of battle cries outside.

"I'll watch her, go." Ziva says. I nod, grab my staff and jump outside. I look around and I see Zack and Caden standing back to back, goading as many birds as they can towards them. Caden's using Maya's shield as opposed to his own, and Zack isn't using one at all. I look around and see Michael carrying Maya inside their van, and I see she's bleeding from her leg. I see from their van Kyra and Annie are firing arrows and crossbow bolts to help Zack and Caden. I see Michael hop back out of the van and he sees me. He points to a rock, where I see Kylie leaned up against.

I nod and we run over to her. She's conscious, barely. She looks up at me, dazed, almost as though she's been drugged. "Let's get her into one of the vans." I say. He nods and picks her up, and we start running back to the van with Ziva and Carly in it. When we're within twenty feet, a pair of birds block our path, trying to get in at them.

"Go I got this!" I hear Ziva shout as her sword slashes out at one of the birds, clipping its wing. We start moving to the other van, when Michael lets out a shout of surprise. I turn and see a bird has grabbed his arm and is pulling him away from Kylie. I jump at it and slash the bird in half, but he's already dropped her to the ground. Another bird swoops down at me, and another at Michael. I fight it off, but by the time I have, two more birds have grabbed Kylie's arms, cutting into them with their talons. They lift her into the air and drop her on top of the other van.

One of them soars down, lands next to her, and pecks at her already ruined arm. Eventually, the bird soars away, her arm in its mouth. The birds swarm. Kylie is lifted up into the air, and two birds fight over her, tearing her broken leg off. She's thrown to the ground again and I run over to the swarming birds of prey around her, all of them pecking at her, trying to get in on the feast that has suddenly been presented to them. I jump in and start slashing and hacking away, trying my hardest to kill them all. I lose track of time and of how many birds I've taken down, but after what feels like an eternity, none are left.

I look down at Kylie. Half of her hair has been torn out. Her jugular vein is opened up from a hole the size of my fist in one side of her neck, and I can see the blood pooling and bubbling in the wound. The skin on one side of her face has been ripped off, as well as one of her eyes. The other eye is staring straight up at the sky, vacant, empty, no life to be seen in its gaze. Her shirt is in tatters and her chest cavity is exposed for the world to see. One of her lungs is missing, and a chunk has been torn out of her heart. Her stomach is left intact, strangely, and aside from the blood, it still looks relatively unharmed, exposed to the air as though she was wearing a crop top. Below that, one of her legs has been ripped off at the waist socket, and I see it on the ground thirty feet away. The other is broken, the bone sticking out of the skin completely. The grass around her is soaked red, and her blood is being slowly absorbed by the ground she lies on.

I'm paralyzed, standing there, staring at the body of a girl I used to love, staring into her open eye which cannot see me back, staring down at the once beautiful face that has been torn apart by the monsters. "Zoe, we have to go!" I hear someone shout in my ear. I look beside me and see Zack standing there, grabbing my shoulder.

"Go." I say. "Get the others back. Take...take her home."

"Zoe, we're not leaving you."

"I'll be back home soon, this portal will be closed when I get back." I say. I look over my shoulder and see the portal, the purple fire that signals its rim glowing even during the day. "Go." I order with such intensity that he listens, releasing my shoulder. I start running towards the portal, gripping my staff tightly. After a few moments, I hear footsteps beside me. I look over and see Caden, clutching his spear, shield forsaken entirely.

"Let's kill him." He says. I look forward and see a young man pacing around the portal, and I nod. I wasn't exactly welcoming of the help, but I wasn't planning on turning it away.

"Hey, Zoe." I hear the man say, and recognize him as Vincent, one of Althea's farmhands. As we draw near I see that there's a large chunk of his throat missing, and remember having to feed him to one of my teammates who had become a condemned. I come to a stop and Caden comes to a halt beside me. Vincent is wielding a sword as tall as I was. "Congrats making it this far."

"Okay let's kill." I say and charge, sword staff flashing through the air towards his head. He dodges swings his sword around in an arc above his head. In my anger, I'd charged to quickly, and I feel the flat side of the sword slam into the back of my skull. I collapse, dazed, and he kicks me once in the ribs, with incredible strength, and sends me flying away. I try to get back to my feet to rejoin the fray, but something stops me, my body just won't respond. It's like he has some sort of psychic power that is keeping me from attacking.

"You're outmatched, son of poseidon. Back down." Vincent says.

"I don't think so." Caden snarls, and Vincent attacks him. Caden rolls away and starts twirling his spear in a couple dozen arcs a second, it seems, keeping Vincent confused as to where the spearhead is. What followed, from the perspective of whoever is hearing this story, would be considered the most underwhelming fight in the history of stories. Vincent swung his great sword around and down at Caden, who sidestepped, pinned the blade down with his spearhead, and slammed the handle of the spear into Vincent's jaw. Caden followed up by spinning around and slashing with the spearhead into the back of Vincent's head, similarly to what Vincent did to me, but this time, the blade end is what strikes, and it becomes embedded in Vincent's skull. The spear explodes, and Caden jumps back in shock as Vincent's body tumbles into the portal.

The portal explodes, sending the both of us flying. He lands next to me and rolls to his feet, helping me up. "The others found a surviving son of Hades. Let's get back to camp." He says as the dead start to rise around us. I nod, take his hand, and shadow travel us back to Camp.

The next few days were awful for all of us. Maya had needed to rehab her left knee and shoulder. Her shoulder wounds had severely damaged the muscle and bone, and the tendons in her knee had been partially cut. Aside from the mostly healed cuts all down her arms, Ziva had a concussion. Caden was alright, miraculously, save a few bumps and bruises. I had a couple scrapes and a sore back, but there wasn't anything wrong with me overall. Carly also had a concussion, but was otherwise alright. Physically, at least.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her that Kylie had been killed by the birds. Zack did it. She'd been in the medical center recovering when she heard the news. Watching her find out had me crying as much as I did when we got back and the realization hit me. Carly had been the one to light the shroud ablaze. Carly didn't leave our room in my cabin for a couple of days. I distracted myself by trying to help Caden organize agreements with Olympus for more supplies and weapons, but every now and then, I'd hear her crying in our room and I would go in and sit with her, holding her, knowing there was nothing I could do, knowing that I'd failed to protect her sister, her baby sister.

She was so young. That's what hit me the most. I met Kylie when she was fifteen years old. She was fifteen when she killed for the first time. She was fifteen when she thought she had lost me. She was fifteen when she had watched Carly get stabbed by Robin. And she was only sixteen years old when she died, ripped from this world because of me. Every time I would close my eyes, there was a chance I'd see her face. Every time there was a bit of quiet, I ran the risk of hearing her voice singing in my head.

It had been a week when Carly first left our room, finding me listening to an audio book on the couch at night. She plopped down next to me and I took my headphones out. "Hey." She says. "You wanna fuck?"

"Uh...er..." I stammered, surprised. "Ah...where is this coming from?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, sweetie, it does." I say, putting my tablet on the coffee table. "What I'm seeing right now is you just trying to bury how're you feeling with...something else. Isn't that what we said we wouldn't do?"

"...Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighs.

"Besides." I say, reaching out and taking her hand. "Our first time should be...I dunno, in a better time."

"Ok...yeah, right." She says, nodding, and I see her tear up again. I pull her head down into my shoulder and let her cry as she needs to. After a moment, she pulls back.

"Someone needs to tell Victoria..." Carly says.

"I'll handle that." I tell her. "You stay here, rest your head up, I'll be back soon." I tell her. She nods and lets me head outside. I borrow her phone and enter her contacts, eventually finding Victoria in the list. I take a deep breath and press the call button. After a few rings, she answers.

"Hello?"

"Hey Victoria...this is Zoe."

"Zoe, hi." She says. "Uh, what's up?"

"Listen we uh...we had a mission lately, all of us went out on it. It went pretty badly."

"Is Kylie alright?" Victoria asks, with such worry in her voice, such honest fear, that it breaks my heart in half all over again. It tells me that Victoria really did love Kylie, truly and wholly, and that she, just like Carly and I, had lost someone she loved. "What about you? Carly?" Her saying that shattered my heart even more. Someone who took the time to care for Carly and I, the former of which never liked her, and me, someone she didn't know, didn't deserve what I was about to tell her.

"Carly took a hit to the head, but she'll be alright. I'm ok, a few scrapes. Kylie..." I stop, choking on the words for a moment. "Kylie didn't make it..." There is silence on the other end of the phone line for a long, excruciating moment. Then, I hear that Victoria is crying on the other end, no, she's sobbing. I wait for a long, long time, her never hanging up. Eventually, I hear her pick the phone up again.

"How...how did she die?" Vic says, her voice still shaking.

"We were attacked by monsters called Stymphalian Birds. They took our vans out and she was torn apart by them." I say, closing my eyes.

"Have...have you buried her?"

"We had the typical funeral that we have here, cremation in a shroud. We...we have the ashes in my cabin here, but...I can bring them out to you if you want."

"Zoe...if you would be willing, I would owe you." She says quietly.

"No you wouldn't." I say. "I'll be over in a few hours, unless you want me to drop by tomorrow."

"No, no...today is fine. Thank you for telling me, Zoe."

"I'm sorry, Vic." I say, and she hangs up. I walk into the cabin, find the vase with Kylie's ashes and pick it up.

"Taking them to Vic?" Carly asks. I nod. "Yeah...she'll need them more than I do." I nod again, understanding what she means. Carly has me and the others to hold her up. Victoria...I don't know who she has. I head out and take Zack's motorcycle out to Victoria's apartment. Walking up the stairs to find her was like carrying a two ton ball and chain up with me. When I found her room I knocked, and she answered after a moment. She opened the door and stared at the vase for a long moment. Her makeup was streaked from crying and her eyes were red. She reached out and I handed her the vase.

"Thank you, Zoe..." She whispered after a long moment.

"It's ok." I say, shaking my head. "You don't have to thank me."

"Yeah...I do." She says. "How...how is Carly holding up?"

"...Not well." I say after a moment. "She's taking it really hard."

"Yeah, well, tell her if she ever needs to get away she can have a key to this apartment." Victoria says.

"How come?"

"I lost a little brother when I was fourteen. I know what it's like to lose a little sibling." She looks down at the vase and I see a couple of tears fall down onto it. "I didn't deserve someone like you." She whispers.

"Vic...just from what I've seen of you...you're the one who truly did." I say. She starts to cry openly and hugs me, something I return. "If you need to talk call Carly and ask for me, ok?"

"Yeah...thank you again." She says, and we pull back and she heads into her apartment. I head back down and hop on Zack's motorcycle, taking off to return to camp. When I pulled in, I walked past the area we had had the funeral. Twenty six demigods killed by the Stymphalian Birds. Twenty six shrouds to be burned. Twenty three vases of ashes to be given to their families. I shake my head and return to my cabin where, to my surprise, I find everyone sitting or standing around.

"Hey." Maya says, leaning on a crutch. "We thought...Caden suggested we throw back some of that tequila Kylie liked."

"I'm in." I say and look around to see who is here. Carly, Caden, Maya, Ziva, Zack, Annie, Kyra, even Michael. All of them are holding tiny shot glasses full of the stuff, and I can tell just by the look on his face Michael took some convincing. I take a glass myself and Caden fills it for me. After a moment, everyone stands up and we form a circle, none of us say anything, unsure of what should be said. Eventually Ziva raises her glass.

"Well...to Kylie. Let's make sure Chaos pays for it, and that she didn't die for nothing."

"To Kylie." Everyone says and we throw the tequila back. It feels like my throat is set ablaze, burning as the liquid passes through me. Everyone makes a variety of faces, and Zack and his team slowly filter out. Ziva heads out soon after, followed by Maya. Caden hangs around a while to help us sort the cabin out a bit before crashing on our couch. We knew he wasn't big on staying in the Poseidon cabin. Carly and I eventually headed off to bed and lay down beside one another. Instead of cuddling over like she normally does, Carly simply entwines our hands.

"Don't you leave me, Zozo." She whispers.

"Never."

Chapter Twelve
I wake up and sit up, stretching. Carly's already awake, I can tell, as she isn't lying next to me. I head over to the bathroom and shower quickly before getting dressed and heading into the kitchen to look for food. "Happy December." Carly calls from the living room.

"It the first today?" I call back.

"Yeah, and it looks like they decided to let snow in."

"Wonderful." I say, somewhat sarcastically. Last few winters I experienced were on the streets of New York, the Colorado wilderness, and all the horrible winters of my world.

"Don't worry, it's not a lot. Just enough to make everything look pretty." Carly says, coming into the kitchen.

"That include me?"

"Well you always look pretty, so I don't think it matters." She says. I pull open the fridge, grab a bag of these strange potatoes the size of the bottom half of my thumb.

"What are these called again?" I ask.

"Tater tots." She replies.

"...That's weird." I say after a moment as I turn to face her. Her black hair is starting to fade back to it's original brown color. "Dye's coming out." I say.

"Yeah...I think I'm gonna let it." She says. "Since you're, you know, alive, I uh, thought I'd let it go back for..." She doesn't have to finish the sentence for me to know she's doing it as a way of honoring Kylie. Four days have passed since the night I gave her ashes to Victoria. Carly'd slowly been adjusting to it, but she was still shaken, I knew it. Hell, we all were. The one who deserved life the most had been ripped from it in the most brutal of ways. "Anyway, listen, Christmas is coming up."

"So it is, can you explain that to me?"

"Every year it's this thing to celebrate the spirit of giving, so you get gifts for people." Carly explains. "And sometimes we decorate, but I've got a feeling you aren't really feeling that."

"Nah."

"Thought so." She laughs. "And I wanted to know whether or not you wanted to do Christmas this year, get presents for the others and such."

"...Do I get presents too?" I ask, earning another laugh from her.

"Yes, yes you do."

"Then sure why not?" I say.

"Cool. We'll have to go and pick up gifts for them. None of us are in any shape to go and fight the portals, so we may as well make the most of the time off, I guess." Carly says. I realize she's also probably trying to talk herself into believing that. I know she wants nothing more than to go out and murder the monsters that spawned from Chaos. "Though we will have one decoration hanging around for certain."

"And that is?"

"Mistletoe. It'll be fun having that around."

"Why?"

"If you get stuck under it you gotta kiss." Carly says.

"That sounds freaking awesome, can we just have some of that stuff hanging around over us at all times?"

"Well, we need to breathe and eat, Zozo."

"Nah." I say.

"Good point." She shakes her head and kisses me briefly before helping me start making breakfast.

"Question." I ask as we start eating breakfast when it's finished cooking. "What do I do if I get stuck under the mistletoe with someone who isn't you?"

"Hmmm..." She says. "Make it a quick one, and remember I'm the best when it comes to that."

"You really are." I agree. "But what if I don't want to kiss them?"

"Then you're stuck under there." She says. "Quite literally. The enchanted mistletoe of Olympus and camp means you can't move til someone kisses you."

"Great. I'm gonna tie myself to you til all this is over."

"Worse things have happened." She says. The door knocks, and she heads over and answers it. "Hi?"

"Hey, move." Maya's voice says and Carly takes a couple steps back. Maya and Caden walk in, holding, of all the possible things, a freaking tree. They walk into our living room and plop it down by the window. "Thought you guys needed something to spice the place up." Maya says. "We're ready!" She calls, and Ziva walks in, holding a long wire with weird little colored light bulbs all over it. She gives the wire to Caden, who starts wrapping it around the tree.

"Uh, isn't that hazardous?" I ask. Electricity around a tree never seems to go well, at least that I was aware of.

"It's a plastic tree, Zozo." Carly says quickly.

"Plastic...tree?" I ask, utterly dumbfounded by the concept, as Caden finishes his work and plugs the wire into the wall. Immediately, the lights start glowing blue, green, red, yellow, and a whole array of colors. "Why do we have a plastic tree?"

"It's a thing people do this time of year." Ziva says. "It brightens the place up a little bit."

"Literally." I mutter.

"Ah...fuck." I hear Carly say. I turn around and see that she and Maya appear to be rooted to the floor. They're both staring at the ceiling, at a small plant hanging above them. "This, Zozo, is mistletoe."

"When did we put that up?" I ask.

"It appears randomly, one minute it'll be there the next it isn't." Ziva explains as Caden laughs at their predicament.

"Well, lay it on her." I say, grinning at Carly, who goes red.

"Oh for Zeus' sake." Maya says, grabs her face, kisses her once and walks out the front door. Carly covers her face as I walk over and hug her, laughing.

"Is that how you look when I kiss you?" I ask. "If so then gods damn girl, I am a lucky lady." Then, it feels like my feet are stuck to the floor.

"Now you two are stuck there." Caden says.

"In that case you should leave because we're gonna make out for a while." I say, shooing him and Ziva out the door before turning and prying Carly's hands off her very red face. "C'mere you." I say and start kissing her.

We stop when we both start laughing at the forty-five second mark.

I wound up going to the armory later that day. While I did enjoy the katana-staff I'd been using, I wanted something for a backup, just in case. The elongated handle ran the risk of being broken apart in battle, so if I were to have an extra sword on me it'd be pretty useful. I eventually come across a Stygian Iron and Tempered Steel hand and a half sword that is pretty appropriate to my size. I take it and find the hilt for it, putting it on my belt and beginning to walk out.

On my way out I bump into Zack, who has a confused look on his face. "I can see the one gear turning in your head, what's up?" I ask.

"Trying to think of a Christmas present for Annie...and an anniversary gift." He says. "Why do the two have to be so close?"

"Your anniversary is coming up?" I say.

"Yeah, our one year." He says with a nod.

"How'd that happen, anyway? Tell me the story."

"Well, uh, last new years, we, The Questers, went on up to Olympus for the New Years party that The Heroes Organization always throws. Usual kinda thing happens, Ava got drunk and passed out on the laundry machine, Nat kicked everyone's ass at beer pong, Kyra threw up, and around eleven thirty, I bumped into Annie and we started talking a bit. Now, I don't know how this happened, but there's a tradition that at midnight of new years you kiss somebody and-"

"Why does everything at this time of year involve kissing people?" I ask.

"...That is an extremely good question. One I honestly do not know the answer to."

"I mean...I'm not complaining, but still."

"Anyway, I made a joke that we should kiss at midnight, and she kinda brushed it off. We kept talking though, and when the countdown started happening, she got this look in her eye, and-"

"Did you guys fornicate under the command of the king?" I ask.

"...How is it that you haven't seen Star Wars but you know a historical reference that literally no one else knows?" Zack says, shaking his head. "And no, we did not."

"Lame."

"Anyway, when midnight hit she just kinda grabbed me, we started kissing, and...just didn't stop. Fell asleep on the couch together. I took her out for breakfast this morning, luckily neither of us were hungover. And we just kept meeting up and pretty soon we were together." Zack shrugs. "It isn't that interesting of a story."

"Nah, I'll tell Maya, Carly, Ziva, and Ky-" I stop short and close my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zoe." Zack says after a moment, giving me a hug.

"Thanks bro." I say. "And it's interesting to us ladies, anyway. We'll make up stories about the following couple of days to bounce between us and find out which is right."

"Why do I ever tell women anything?" Zack sighs.

"You're a gentleman, that's why." I say. "Good luck finding presents. I guess I should do that too." I say and head off. I borrowed his motorcycle again and I went into the city to start shopping around for gifts for my team. Carly was the easiest, I just got her a giant fancy looking wine bottle. For Ziva I picked up a book I'd heard her and Caden talking about that she didn't have. I saw a weird looking hoodie-suit jacket combo that screamed Caden at me, so I picked that up too. It was around that point I was really glad that Maya stole her mother's fancy shopping credit card.

Maya on the other hand took an ungodly amount of time to shop for. I had to force myself into a store full of fancy, strange, high heeled shoes and boots to look for something or other. Eventually I come across a boot set that would go halfway up her calves and had shoes that I swear to Hades were basically six inches tall, with a platform where her toes would go. "How the hell does she walk in these things?" I ask myself as I fight the unstoppable wave of self hatred for buying them.

I returned to Camp and found Carly in our cabin. "Can you help me wrap stuff?" I ask.

"You went shopping already?" She asks, staring at me.

"Yeah, I dunno how to wrap."

"Sure, let's do it." She says and we go into the bedroom, where she starts going through the presents I got everybody. "Yup, Maya will love these." Carly muses as she looks at the boot set. "What's in this bag?"

"Yours, don't open it." I order, and she pushes it under the bed quickly. She reaches into the next bag and finds Caden's gift.

"Hell, I want to wear this thing." She mutters as she reaches Ziva's. She stares at the book for a long time before bursting into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"What?" I ask. "Is it a bad gift?"

"No, it is amazing." She says, wiping her eyes. "But Zoe...the Kama Sutra?" She starts laughing again, and I realize I haven't seen her look so...vibrant since Kylie was killed. It warms my heart and I can't help but smile.

"Well I heard her and Caden talking about it..."

"Kinky. That is gonna be awesome." She says, calming herself down. "Did you get anything for Rachel?"

"Shit. I'll have to run downtown tomorrow." I say.

"We can go together, I still need to shop." Carly says. "But for tonight, we're having group movie night, Christmas movies."

"People make movies about Christmas?"

"Hell yeah they do." Carly says. "We're gonna vote on it, Love Actually, Home Alone, or Die Hard."

"I've heard of none of them." I point out quickly.

"Just go by title." She says. "Besides, we're just voting on which one we're gonna watch today. This is gonna happen again, honey."

Caden and Maya got outvoted when I decided to agree with Carly and Ziva. We wound up watching Love Actually, which was a surprisingly heartwarming film, though I did think the guy with the signs was a bit of a stalker. "Zoe, are you crying?" Ziva asks.

"No. Shut up." I say simply, hiding my face behind a blanket. What? It's an emotional movie.

"Zoe, you are absolutely the cutest person I will ever have the good fortune to know." Maya says, her laugh ringing out and echoing off the walls and ceiling of the cabin. After a few minutes I come out from under the blanket and Carly puts her arm around my shoulder, beaming at me. "Yo, Ziva, Caden, pose around them." Maya says, taking her phone out and turning her back to us. Ziva hops on the back of the coach and strikes this strange model pose where she's lying on her side and leaning up on her elbow. She puts the stump of her right arm on my shoulder affectionately, as Caden sits next to me. "Look at the phone, Zoe." Maya says as she runs back and sits down on Caden's lap, as he rests his head on her shoulder from behind her.

"Smile." Ziva says, and I do, confused. Carly instead leans in and kisses me on the cheek, and Ziva puts her left arm out to run her fingers through Caden's hair. The phone flashes a bright white light and I feel like I've been blinded, but the effect soon fades. Maya jumps up and runs over to her phone, and she shows us all the picture. I smile at the sight of me and Carly, and can't help but laugh a little at Ziva. If Maya wasn't aromantic I'd suggest she and Caden hook up, because they look cute together.

"I'm sending this to Rachel. Captioned: Squad Xmas Yo." Maya says and sends the picture to Rachel. Ziva gets up and heads to the kitchen.

"Hey slut! You didn't tell me you have eggnog!" She shouts.

"Sorry whore!" Carly replies with a laugh. I tilt my head to one side, confused as to why they're insulting each other. "It's with love, no worries." Carly says, gently stroking my hair with a smile.

"Rachel sent a pic back." Maya says. "Looks like the Heroes took a picture too. 'Squad Xmas Yo 2.0.'" She shows us all, and for a brief moment, I understood the charm of Christmas time, why people like it so much.

Then Ziva realized the eggnog was spiked, and we had a whole different thing to understand. Drunk Ziva's slur.

I wound up picking up a rather expensive instrument known as a ukulele for Rachel. She probably already had one, so I got her the most expensive one I could find. It was around three hundred ninety dollars. I didn't really care, honestly, since Aphrodite was paying for it. When I got back, Zack told me that I didn't need to get him anything. Apparently he's not the biggest fan of the Christmas season and he didn't want me to feel overwhelmed by it being my first. After a while of asking why, I agreed to not worry about it.

Christmas Eve rolled around really quickly, and, after copious amounts of multicolored lights being put up all around the cabin, we wound up inviting all of Zack's crew over for the evening. The curse of the enchanted mistletoe struck many, many times, leading to a whole variety of strange combinations of people. Between the weirdness that was Caden and Kyra getting stuck under some of the stuff, and Zack displaying some extraordinary flexibility in avoiding Maya's attempts to free him until Annie stopped laughing to do it herself, it was a mightily amusing night.

We wound up wrapping the night up with a viewing of Die Hard, as Zack, Maya, and Caden were not to be denied their action movie thrills. Around halfway through, I realized that I'd stopped reacting to scenes of violence in films. After that, I couldn't stop grinning. A couple years prior, that would have scared me into hiding in the closet. Now? I was fine. I was fine.

At the end of the night, Kyra, Michael, Zack and Annie all left. Maya, who was entirely full of eggnog and rum, wound up falling asleep on the kitchen counter. Ziva fell asleep with her head in Caden's lap, and he simply sat there, looking awkward as all hell. "Cuddles?" Carly asks me, trying to not laugh at him.

"Definitely." I say, and, to my surprise, she promptly picks me up and carries me bodily into the bedroom. I felt weirdly light, as though I was like a fairy or a feather. I almost felt joyously dainty to a degree. She placed me down on the bed and jumped in next to me, and I immediately snuggled closer. Fifteen seconds later she was asleep, and I rested my head on her chest, enjoying the feeling of her breathing in and out as she slept. I lay like that for a few minutes, then I heard voices out in the living room. I perked an ear up and listened. In the quiet, it was easy to hear what they were saying.

"You ever gonna tell them about her?" Ziva's voice said.

"I don't know." Caden's voice replies. "Do they need to know?"

"They might be able to help, hun."

"Yeah...it feels like something I should handle myself, is all."

"Maybe, but that's got you nowhere. You need help, more than just what I can give you?" Ziva says. "Caden, what's left of us, we're a family in our own way. At this point we're the closest to family any of us really have. They'll help you."

"Ok. After Christmas I'll tell them."

"About us too?"

"Does that have to come up?"

"They won't stop asking questions about it, so yes."

"Fine..." He grumbles.

I decided to tune them out and went to sleep, but I couldn't help wondering what on Earth they'd been talking about.

"Call nine one one!" I hear Maya's voice scream as someone jumps on me. I wake up and look up at her, bewildered at the sudden removal from my slumber. "Complete emergency! Satyrs and goblins have stormed the house and they are eating the couch and all our sugar pops!" I look up and find Maya has jumped on the bed and on top of me, and I could not comprehend as to why.

"...Tell them the milk has gone bad?" I suggest.

"Oh no no no, zoekins, you are gonna have the traditional Christmas morning for your first time, and there is naught you can do to stop me from forcing that upon you. Get up!"

"...Why?"

"Because that is how it is done in this world, sweetie." She says, and I realize she's wearing what I can only describe as an abortion of a sweater. Thick, woolen, brightly colored green, and a complete eyesore. I reach across the bed to wake Carly up, so that she might save me, but she isn't there. "Oh she isn't gonna save you, she's with the others in the living room, waiting on you." I glance at the clock beside the bed.

"Maya...I love you and all...but it is six in the morning."

"Welcome to our world."

"Can I go back to mine now?"

"Nope. Up we get, sweetums." Maya says and practically hauls me out of bed and into the living room. Caden and Maya are sitting next to one another, her head drooping onto his shoulder, and I can only assume Maya woke her up early as well. Caden looks like he's trying to avoid blinking for fear of falling asleep again. Carly is sitting on the recliner, wearing one of those weird red and white hats. There are several piles of untouched wrapped presents, and I feel a sudden curiosity as to find out what is within them.

"Ok fuck your emotions." Ziva says, sitting up as Carly holds her arms out and I sit in her lap. "Let's just open these things."

"Agreed." Caden grumbles. Maya shoves all the piles over to their respective people, and I couldn't help but notice I had the biggest pile. I decided to not make much of a big deal over it, but couldn't help but feel like everyone went all out because it was my first Christmas.

"Sweet Zeus almighty, Zoe, you are the bestest." Maya says, taking those weird heeled boots I got her out of their box. "I need these on me immediately. I will learn to fight and run in them if I must."

"Well, I'm wearing this forever." Caden says, putting on the jacket-hoodie thing I got him. "Thanks, Zo."

"This is probably gonna be gone by new years, isn't it?" Carly says, holding her wine bottle up. "Oh you know me so well. Thanks, Zozo." She says, leaning in to kiss me. As we pull apart from it, I hear Maya wolf whistle and Caden bursts out laughing. I look over at Ziva and see her staring at the book I got her, jaw agape, rapidly turning red. Carly starts giggling and covers her mouth quickly to hide it.

"Ummmm...thanks, Zoe." Ziva says, starting to laugh herself.

"Do you not like it?" I ask, worried.

"...No, I do-" This gets a massive guffaw out of Maya. "-just not what I was expecting from you. Do you know what this book is?"

"...Not really." I say. Carly leans in and whispers it in my ear, and then I start going red. "Oh."

"Well, uh...when I get time I'll be sure to use it." She says, hiding her face with her one hand and causing Maya to pretend to howl at the moon. I wound up getting a large set of things I can only describe as...toys...from Maya, which makes both me and Carly want to run and hide. Caden got me a large amount of audiobooks for my tablet, which excited me immensely to get into. Ziva gave me a hand made stone figurine of me, holding a crossbow and a couple swords across my back. It was made similarly to the statues of the heroes that are celebrated in legend in this world. I teared up a little bit at her gift, and hugged her powerfully for it. Carly gave me a pair of tickets to one of the music bands Zack got me into, which had me excited as all hell.

Rachel got me, and this one might have been my favorite, a giant plushie of a fish. No one else understood why, but I was a hundred percent in love with it and immediately started cuddling it in front of everyone. "This is...George. He lives here now." I decree.

Ziva's present for Carly was probably the most emotional gift of the day. She had combed through their old house in New York and their home in Canada, as well as both of their Camp Cabins, and had made a photo album of Carly and Kylie's lives, omitting the mother both of them had hated. Carly teared up and the two shared a long embrace over it as I took a peek, teared up myself, and jumped in for the hug as well. Soon we all did, and after that, Christmas breakfast needed to be organized.

"What do you think Christmas is like over at the Questers' HQ?" Maya asks at one point in the morning.

"After presents and an appropriate amount of time, Zack and Annie are gonna kick the others out and have wild, wild, triple-ex-mas on the kitchen counter." Ziva replies, deadpanning it completely.

"What do you think that's like?" Caden asks. "Those two. They always seem so well behaved in public, what are they like behind closed doors?"

"Well. Give the poor lad a woman who actually, you know, wants to be doing such things with him, and you probably get the kinkiest, most primal animalistic stuff on the face of the freaking earth." Maya says.

"Probably get out the chains and whips." Carly chimes in.

"What's wrong with that?" Ziva asks, earning wide eyed looks from myself and Carly, as Caden smacks himself in the face. Maya throws a fist in the air.

"I knew it!" Maya exclaims, grinning. "I knew you were into the freaky shit!"

"Oh Hades why did I say that?" Ziva says quickly, hiding her face under a pillow on the couch.

"That's horrifying." Carly says. "Tell us more."

"No. Shut up." Ziva quickly shoots back as Maya cackles triumphantly.

"Do you think Ava gave Annie advice on that? I mean, since she and Zack, prior to her figuring out she was aro ace, you know." Maya asks after a few minutes.

"That...is an excellent question." Caden says. "Ask her when she and Natalie come out in a couple days."

"Oh? They're coming here to visit?" Carly asks.

"Yeah, in a couple days and until just after New Years."

"Speaking of which." Maya says. "We're all invited up to that New Years romp that The Heroes Organization always has. We're going, ya'll have no say."

"That base of there's is gonna be ruined by the end of it, they do realize that, no?" Caden points out.

"Just because we're going?" I ask. "Absolutely."

"Ah well, that's in the future. For now, let's get tanked and make cookies." Ziva says. None of us can really say no to that.

On December twenty-seventh, I was in my first snowball fight. Me, Carly, Maya, Caden, Ziva, versus Zack, Michael, Kyra, Annie, Natalie, and Ava, the latter two of which had come out to visit. In short, it was a brutal war of attrition that saw both sides be pelted, and I mean pelted, with hunks of snow the size of my fist. If there is one thing I learned, it is that the ex girlfriends of Zack Johnson are the ultimate enemies on the battlefield, despite having no bad blood between them. They just always seemed to bump into one another the most, and did the most damage to one another. Ava had a black eye by the end of it and Carly had a bruise the size of an apple on her neck from a well thrown snowball by Ava.

Zack and I went to town on one another, and we hit one another no less than twenty times each. Ziva and Natalie wound up being one anothers nemesis', and Ziva ripped her apart. It was slightly saddening, honestly. Maya taunted Michael a bit too much, and paid for it. The kid is much craftier than I thought he would be, and she definitively lose their encounters each time. Caden had to take on both Kyra and Annie, and they were easily the most entertaining to watch. While they did outnumber him, he displayed a surprising amount of good reflexes and throwing skill to be a match for them, very easily. I couldn't help but wonder what might happen if he wound up going against Ava or Zack.

''I see...a wall. A giant wall, surrounding a city. I can't tell which city, just that it is one. The wall is white, almost as if it's made of snow. No, not quite. There's a certain hardness to it, a certain gleam under the sunlight, and I can tell the wall is made of ice. For a moment, it seems almost peaceful, and then I hear a shout from not far to my left. I look and I see a warrior, slightly taller than I am, clad in basic armor and wearing a helmet, the front of it with a skull pattern scratched into its surface. He's sprinting towards the wall, followed by a pair of others I can't really make out in detail. I look at where they're running, towards the wall of ice. And then I hear, no, I feel a rumble, coming closer, getting louder, approaching us. Then, the top of the wall turns black, as hundreds upon hundreds of condemned pour over it, their whispers audible even from the great distance I am at.''

I jolt awake, looking around frantically. I'm in my bedroom, sitting on my bed, safe. I look down beside me and I see Carly lying there, peaceful, undisturbed by my sudden awakening. I rub my eyes and glance at the clock, four in the morning. Typical. I try to fall back asleep, but it just doesn't come. After a few minutes of deliberation, I sit up and sneak off to the kitchen for a glass of water. As I slip out, I notice Caden is lying awake on the couch, staring out the window. I remember hearing him and Ziva talking, hearing Ziva say something about a...her. He still hasn't told me or Carly about it. I pause for a moment and ponder whether or not I should ask him. Maya's passed out in the bathroom with Ziva, so I can only assume they're both not listening.

"Can't sleep?" He whispers, looking over at me.

"Yeah." I reply, filling a water glass. "You?"

"Same." He says, then sighs and sits up. "Can we talk?"

"You wanna tell me now?" I blurt out without thinking. Shit. I think to myself as his eyebrows shoot up. "I uh, heard you and Ziva talking about it. I wake up a lot."

"Ah. Well, yeah." He sighs. "Ok, I lied to you when I told you my life story." He says. "I wasn't abandoned here alone. I had a sister, same mortal parent, different godly parent. She was a daughter of Hephaestus, six years older than me. She was more like the mother I never had growing up. Even when she hit her teens and started dating, she was always watching out for me. Eventually, however, she was pregnant at eighteen, and had to move away with her boyfriend to get jobs, and eventually, raise the baby."

"What happened to her?" I ask gently.

"Stunningly, it all went really well. They had a nice apartment, the boyfriend's dad owned a business and gave them both jobs, things were going spectacularly well. Then, everything went to hell." He stops for a moment. "Boyfriend, right as the battle of New York starts, sides with the Titans, takes out a couple campers before going down. After the battle, she gets under scrutiny from a couple of the Olympian Gods. Eventually, the send down one of their...private dogs to come see her."

"Private dogs?" I ask.

"You really think The Heroes Organization is all they have?" He snorts. "They have so many underground task forces and operatives, all with the sole purpose of doing the shit we won't, basically." He shakes his head before continuing. "After that things get complicated. But the main thing I hear when people talk about it in hushed tones is that a private assassin for Olympus people only like to call Stone killed my sister's children, raped her, and killed her too."

"Oh." I say quietly. I stand there in the silence for a long moment before I walk over and hug him. "I'm sorry, Caden."

"Don't be, not your fault." He says, hugging me back.

"If you get anything concrete or a lead of any kind, I will help you, ok? I promise." I say. He nods a thank you and lies down. Knowing he's going back to sleep, I return to my room. As I step in, Carly stirs awake. She looks up at me, holding her arms out.

"Come. Warmth." She says groggily, and I so readily join her, and she falls back asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, I'm awoken by an iris message from Rachel. Glancing at my clock, and seeing it's three in the afternoon, I can't say I'm surprised she thought I'd be awake. "Hi Zoe-Oh shit you're asleep I'm sorry."

"No worries." I laugh. "Now you get to see me in my natural state. How're you?" I yawn slightly.

"I'm good! Thank you so much for the ukulele. Oh my gods. Just, thank you."

"You're welcome." I say with a grin. "Thank you so much for George. George is amazing and I love him."

"George? Oh, the fish! You're welcome, I thought you might like him. Figured you may as well have a literal fish along with your metaphorical one."

"Don't tell Carly, but he may have been my favorite gift of all those I got." I say, put my finger to my lips and wink.

"Aw, thanks. No worries, I won't tell. How was your first Christmas?"

"Not bad for the most part. I can't really remember most of it, honestly." I admit.

"Which means you probably had a great time."

"Guess so. Yours?"

"Good! Visited family, very fun."

"Nice. Listen, when we next meet, your ribs are gonna hurt from hugs. George has earned you much love."

"Same to you. That ukulele earned you a lot of love."

Odst grievous "Like, your boyfriend is gonna go 'fuck I'm doin it wrong' type of love."

"If you do that, I'll be impressed." She says with a small grin.

"Speaking of significant others, mine is absent bed, meaning I must find her." I say, reaching across to see if Carly is next to me. She wasn't, clearly.

"Good luck with that."

"I'll talk to you soon?"

"Yeah! You're coming to our New Years party, right?"

"Of course. My whole squad is." I say, nodding.

"Awesome. It's gonna be great." Rachel says. We exchange our goodbyes and I run off to see where Carly's at.

On December thirtieth, I iris messaged Rachel, curious about what was to come at this New Years Party we had been invited to. "Hi Rach." I say as her face appears, grinning at her.

"Hi Zoe! How are you?" She asks.

"I'm good. Just have a few...questions about the party tomorrow."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well, I've heard stories about this bash you guys throw, and I was just wondering what it usually entails."

"Well, it's different every year, kind of depends on who we invite...It's not like, crazy, but you probably won't remember a good amount of it if you like to drink. It's really fun. We stay up until midnight and at midnight and on the tv they broadcast this big party down in the city—you can see it from Olympus, actually—and we watch it until it's almost midnight and then we go outside and watch and listen to this thing from Olympus and there's this huge ball that they use to start off the new year. Then of course there's this tradition where you kiss someone at midnight. After that we go back inside and slowly disperse...We just, you know, have fun."

"So the story of the jackass and the honeycomb is fake?" I ask.

"Yes it is."

"Thank gods for that." I say, shaking my head. "So what're the ground rules for this thing?"

"Don't be an overly obnoxious drunk. Don't have sex in one of our rooms or there will be hell to pay. Don't damage anything. Don't piss Arcanna off. And if you end up talking to Cal, just roll with it; he's nice but also kind of weird."

"Think I'll be avoiding Cal anyway..." I mutter.

"Why–oh, right. Understandable. He's not that weird here, though, don't worry."

"I'd hope so, otherwise I'd be concerned about you living with him. Also, what qualifies as sex for that one rule?"

"Just don't use any of our rooms for sexual things. Actually, just avoid our bedrooms all together, no one wants anyone looking through their stuff. Just...if any of you have to get away somewhere, there are other places."

"I was kidding, sweetie." I say.

"Maybe, but things have happened before."

"Who did you invite that time? Who was it? I must know."

"Oh just various people have shown up before, that's all."

"Is there a pool?"

"...Yes."

"Throw something in to decontaminate it in the morning." I say.

"You assume the door will be unlocked." Rachel points out.

"Be safe about it. We have a son of Poseidon in our group." I remind her.

"We try to be as safe as possible, but hey, it is Olympus."

"And he could totally pay off Annie to steal a key for him." I muse.

"I would hope Annie wouldn't betray her people." Rachel says, feigning overdramatic horror.

"What makes you think she's still yours?" I ask. "Zack can be very convincing in private, from what I hear."

"No. Don't even talk about that. Annie is too innocent."

"They've been together a year tomorrow and she's dating Zack." I say.

"I don't care. She's innocent to me."

"Hide your keys to the kitchen is all I can say." I say, shrugging.

"Yeah yeah, shut up."

"Let's be real here, any woman who has ever met Zack is no longer innocent." It's true, you know that.

"Yes I know. I've met him. I've talked to him. Sometimes I regret our conversations."

"Anyway, we'll try not to leave any bad stains or kill anyone." I tell her.

"We appreciate." She says, laughing slightly and shaking her head.

"But for the love of Hades clean out the pool in the morning. And Any handcuffs you find are to be returned to Ziva."

"We always do." Rachel sighs. "And yeah, we don't want to keep those handcuffs."

"If you find one pair, be worried. Many, she was pranking you."

"Good to know."

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to it. Prepare for love hugs." I warn her, smiling.

"You too, Zoe. It's gonna be a great party, I can feel it."

"Should be fun. Sorry for anything drunk me says or does." I say sheepishly

"Sorry for anything drunk one of us does." She says, earning a small laugh from me.

"Depending on what it is maybe I'll thank you for it." I say with a wink.

"I'm sure whatever it is will be very memorable for you." She says, and I put on an over dramatic gasp. "Oh Rachel."

"Yeah, you're the innocent one."

"I choose not to participate in your...un-innocence."

"Lame."

"How though? You're dating Lucian."

"Well, yeah. I'm mature about it though, unlike some people."

"I'm sure." I say, winking again. "I'll see you tomorrow, love."

"See you, hun." Rachel says, and the call ends.

"So when are we leaving?" I ask Caden. He's sitting in one of the recliners, looking bored.

"Whenever the other three are ready." He says. Maya, Ziva, and Carly all disappeared into the bedroom to figure out what they were going to wear, I guess. It didn't make a lot of sense to me, frankly, and I was just wearing what I usually wear.

"It's been like, an hour." I say.

"Yeah, that's the sad part." He says with a nod. "Maybe they want us to be the last ones there."

"Why would they want that?"

"Gets rid of the awkward waiting for people to show up phase. Fashionably late I guess." He shrugs.

"Weird."

"Yup." He says, and we wait around a while longer. "What do you think will happen with the other people? Any predictions?"

"Nat's gonna kill at beer pong because she's sober the whole time." I say.

"She might be busy taking care of Ava, to be fair."

"Also true. Zack and Annie are gonna sneak off to be alone, no question."

"I'd keep a closer eye on you and Carly." He says with a wink.

"Hey now, we behave." I say, feigning offense.

"Sure you do."

"Seriously, we've not done anything of the sort yet."

"Ah, well, you do your thing." He says, shrugging again.

"What about you? I can't imagine that pool is gonna be sanitary by the end of the night."

"They have a pool?"

"Oh yeah." I smirk. "You and Ziva gonna sneak off for a private swim?"

"Shut up." He says and I laugh out loud. The bedroom door opens and I see Maya come out, wearing the same shoes I got her for Christmas and one of the rather tight dresses she's fond of. Ziva's got on sleeveless button up top, knee socks, running shoes, and a flowing skirt that goes down to her knees. And Carly, lord bless her soul, has on a hoodie and a black pair of pants that-

Hades below. I think as she turns around. She needs to wear those pants all the damn time. I get up and walk over to her, snaking my hand around hers. "How come I've never been made aware of these pants, honey?"

"Maybe I was saving them for a special occasion." She giggles as I tickle her side.

"Seriously, what are these magical things?"

"They're called yoga pants, Zozo." She laughs, giving me a brief kiss.

"When this is all over we need to make Zoe do yoga." Ziva says as we head out the door, link hands, and I shadow travel us up to Olympus. As we start walking to The Heroes Organization's headquarters, I notice that Maya is carrying a large bag over her shoulder that makes glass clinks as she walks.

"Our supplies." She says with a wink as she notices me looking at it. I can only assume supplies is the code word for drinks, so I just nod and move on. As we walk up to the front door I hear music that I cannot say I found particularly pleasing to the ear, but was tolerable. We knock on the door and to my surprise, it's Zack who answers.

"Welcome everyone." He says. "I've been considering going back on my no drinking policy."

"Why?" Caden asks.

"Well, I had the brilliant idea to suggest cards against humanity charades, where you act out cards from the game. Well, Arcanna is currently attempting to act out 'Firing a rifle into the air while balls deep in a squealing hog' so you can imagine the imagery that is being displayed at the moment." He says. "C'mon in, maybe you can stop the madness."

"Probably only gonna make it worse." Caden says, and Zack nods, agreeing, as we enter. We're taken into the living area, where it looks like Arcanna is going to strangle Michael for not knowing what she's trying to act out. Stella and Matt are off to the side, killing themselves laughing. For a moment, I take note of the fact that I didn't feel a single pang of sadness or pain shoot through me, and that makes me just start grinning like an idiot, something inexplicable to the others. So I simply grab Carly's hand and hold on tight. She gives me a look of pleasant surprise, then glances at Stella, and she seems to understand. She smiles back and I kiss her before reaching into Maya's bag and grabbing a bottle of something I see is called Bailey's.

We head to a table off to the side where we see Annie trying to convince Ava to drink something, and we sit down just as the daughter of Hades relents and does a shot of what looks like tequila. I look around and see that Natalie is fending off Malcolm and Lucian in a beer pong game, and notice she's drinking a clear liquid instead of beer. "Trade secret, not really alcohol." Ava whispers to us. "She's pretending it's vodka to keep their egos in check."

"Smart." Carly says, smirking. "Oh Hades, Maya's already into the absinthe."

"Not good?" Annie asks.

"She might get a bit touchy feely for a little while, but will eventually just start crying." Carly sighs. "What about your brigades?"

"Well...I wasn't going to drink...but..." Ava says and pours herself another shot with a look of disappointment on her face. "Kyra's in the bathroom for the second time in an hour, Zack is being responsible for a change, Michael is...getting yelled at by Arcanna for not guessing that card sooner, and I am...here."

"Nat's kicking Lucian and Malcolm's asses, Arcanna's right there, Stella and Matt are right there, Rachel's grabbing something to replace charades, Kat's with her, uhhhh...where's Cal?" Annie says. No one seems to know. "Alright then. That's...odd. Er."

"Ok, avoid the closets everyone." I mutter as I start pouring a glass of the bailey's stuff. Carly makes me put ice cubes in it, and I had to say, despite the fact it was basically alcoholic cream, I really enjoyed it. Carly breaks out the wine and Annie sits and watches us, occasionally sipping something I don't really care to identify. After a moment or two, Rachel and Kat return, empty handed of physical games, so Rachel speaks up over the music.

"Yo! Truth or Dare or Seven Minutes, what are we doing first?" She asks everyone as Kyra stumbles out from the bathroom. I promptly ignore the question, walk up and bear hug her. After a few minutes, and by group demand, Caden and Kyra get shoved and locked into a closet.

"So what's the point of this?" I ask Ziva.

"They do whatever for seven minutes and we judge them based on the looks on their faces when they come out." She says, throwing back a shot of something red that smells suspiciously like raspberries.

"Is that jealousy I see, sis?" I ask, grinning at her.

"No, no it is not." She says, looking at me with an annoyed look.

"You two...what's the news there?"

"What do you mean?" She asks, looking confused.

"You two ever gonna hook up, or what?"

"Oh. Uh. Er." She stammers for a few moments before ultimately grabbing a beer instead. "We uh...we'll see how tonight goes."

"Be safe, sis." I say with a wink. And with that, we plunged further on into the alcohol infused world of New Years' Eve. It was around eleven that night that anything really disturbed the celebrations. Shouts from outside can be heard, almost combative in a way. I notice Zack and Matt glance at one another, and simultaneously they stand up and head for the front door. Curious, I start stumbling after them, feeling like the world is spinning, and I swear the floor was moving beneath me.

"Oi, off the front lawn." I hear Zack say as I stumble up behind them. I peer around his shoulder and see, on the front lawn, is the largest man I have ever seen. Seven feet tall and built like a brick shithouse. His arms were, I am dead serious, the same size as me. All of me.

"And what's a dwarf like you gonna do to stop me?" The man says, his voice rumbling deeply as he speaks.

"You'd be surprised." Zack growls.

"Seriously Gunnar, fuck off." Matt says.

"Only since you asked so nicely, princess." The man known as Gunnar says and he starts walking away, each step seeming to thud audibly, as though he were made of stone.

Stone.

''Hades below, that must be him...the guy Caden talked about. Gods damn he's the biggest man I've ever seen.''

"Zoe, what're you doing out here?" Zack asks.

"...Watching."

"C'mon, back in with you." He says and helps me in the door.

"Zack, what would you have done if he tried to start something?" Matt asks him.

"Punch him in the groin repeatedly." Zack deadpans as we return to the main room. I see Maya leaning against a closet, having changed into sweats and a hoodie, something I'm willing to bet Carly brought for her.

"It's ok, Ava, it's all gonna be ok..." Maya says, sounding significantly more sober than she was an hour ago. As I pass the closet I can hear crying coming from within. I decide, even in my drunken state, to leave that situation as soon as possible. Someone grabs my arm and I turn to see Ziva pulling me aside, my feet floundering about below me as we move into the kitchen.

"Sup?"

"Listen, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure?"

"I need the key to the pool, problem is, it's in Lucian's pocket."

"Oh I got this." I say, looking and seeing him and Rachel, kissing in the hallway. I know immediately what must be done as I exaggerate my stumble and hobble on over until I eventually crash into them, picking Lucian's pocket as I do. "I saw you eat her face, it was ammmmaaaaaaaaazzzzziiiiiinnnnggg..." I say, wobbling from side to side.

"Ok, sounds like someone's had enough." Rachel says and starts guiding me over to one of the couches. Ziva comes over as Rachel lies me down.

"I can take care of her, Rachel." Ziva says, getting a thanks from Rachel as she heads back down the hall. I hand her the key with a wink. "Thanks sis." She whispers and slips away. Not long after, Carly comes over and picks me up off the couch.

"Come on, fireworks are soon." She says and I grab her hand quickly.

"Does this mean we get to make out soon?"

"Yes, yes it does." She says with a laugh. Soon the vast majority of the group is outside staring at the sky, waiting for fireworks. "Where're Caden and Ziva?" She asks and I shrug, trying not to giggle.

"I'm more worried about wherever the hell Cal is." I hear Zack grumble off to the side.

"Thought you'd be worried about where Ava ran off to." Annie replies.

"I know where she is, passed out in the closet with Maya taking care of her." Malcolm comments. Then, abruptly, people start counting down from ten, and I glance over at Carly and see her not doing the same, simply smiling at me, her eyes dancing with the various lights of the Olympus. The moment the countdown ends, she pulls me into her and into what I still describe as the best kiss of my life.

Percy Jackson ain't the only one who can do a shitty job of describing a kiss, sorry.

When we get bored of being outdoors and head back inside, long after everyone else has, we find things have calmed down significantly. Matt and Stella have vanished, as have Rachel and Lucian. Maya's sitting in the closet with Ava's head in her lap to the side, in case the daughter of Hades throws up. Maya's playing with her hair with one hand and drinking tequila out of the bottle with the other. Cal is still missing, as are Caden and Ziva, though I've a feeling I know where they are, honestly.

"Where'd Zack and Annie go?" Carly asks.

"Laundry room. Dunno why." Malcolm says as he and Arcanna disappear off to her room. Pretty soon, we're left alone with Maya and Ava.

"I think I know why." I whisper to Maya, getting a laugh.

"Behave guys, I'll stand guard." She says, finishing the bottle and reaching for another one.

"Everybody's off for funzies." I say as Carly pulls me into the kitchen to grab food. "The rubby rubby good times."

"Hades." Carly says, laughing and shaking her head.

"Want to as well?" I ask, and she freezes. "If not it's cool, just thought I'd check.

"No...I'd love to, but-"

"Buuuut?" I ask giving her puppy eyes as a joke.

"Well, you're very rather drunk, and..."

"Eh, I can still make choices just fine. Listen, I can say physiologically without flubbing it."

"That's...actually a really good point." She says. "Well...uh...sure, why not? Just give me a second." She says and grabs a bottle of that red raspberry thing and pours two shot glasses of it. I grab one and we throw them back. "Ok, let's find a spare room." She says, positively vibrating with a strange energy, almost nervous, almost excited, somewhere between the two. It doesn't take us long to find a spare room that isn't occupied, and I lock it behind us.

"Listen, Carly, you look kinda...freaked out, honestly." I say. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just, well, er..." She blushes and covers her face. "Never, uh, ah, been with a...girl before. Like this."

"Well then." I say, grabbing her hands and pulling them to either side so we're looking dead into each others' eyes. "If you don't want to, then don't worry about it."

"No, I do want this, Zozo."

"You better call me that during." I say with a wink and she starts laughing. "Well, since you've not practiced, I'll just have to show you."

"Ok." She says, nodding, and I kiss her again, not overtly aggressive, quite gently in fact, letting her dictate the pace and intensity, and letting her feel her way into the moment. Just to see, I pull back slightly, and she leans forward, refusing to break the contact as she entwines the fingers of her left hand through my hair. We bypass just lips at that point and end up into mutual open-mouth contact that ends after a good thirty seconds so we can stop to breathe. While she breaks, I move down to her neck and shoulder as I lightly push her down onto the bed, following her down as I go.

I can also write one a hell of a lot better than Percy Jackson.

I stir awake and find Carly sitting up and pulling a shirt on. "Morning." I say.

"Not so loud, please..." She says quietly.

"Sorry love." I say, getting up and getting dressed. She does the same, just much, much slower. It, rather strangely, smells like someone is cooking something. "I'm gonna head down to see what's going on, see you in a few?"

"Yeah." She says, rubbing her temples. I slip into the hallway, chuckling at the fact that I don't get hangovers. I head down into the main living area and kitchen. I find Matt cooking what looks like pancakes on the stove, as Zack stands on the counter, trying to pry one off the ceiling. Maya is sitting at the table, her forehead resting on it, as Ava holds a bag of frozen peas to the back of her head. Natalie is sitting across from her, looking like she got the least sleep out of all of us. She looks over at me and glares.

"What's her problem?" I ask Kyra, who is throwing up into a bucket.

"She heard you. All night long." Kyra deadpans as another bout of vomit comes up.

"So did Stella. She didn't sleep the entire night at all." Matt says, glaring at me. I don't know why, but I felt powerful all of a sudden, proud of myself, even, and I smirked. His glare intensifies. "You wouldn't be laughing if your girlfriend was sick all night..."

"Ok it wasn't just us, was it?" I ask the room.

"Nope." Maya groans. "Zack is very much to blame as well." Zack looks at her, pretending to feel betrayed, as he sends the pancake flying to the garbage can below. After a few minutes of banter between them, Ziva walks in, and I can't help but fist pump at the sight of her. Her hair's soaked and she's wearing Caden's shirt. She walks up to Matt and taps him on the shoulder.

"Where's the pool cleaner?" She asks, and I cover my mouth to avoid laughing out loud. Matt stares at her, sighs, and heads in the general direction of the pool. "I may only have one arm but I can clean a pool just fine, thank you very much..." She mutters as Rachel stumbles in from the hallway, holding her head. She looks around at everyone, pauses on Zack, who is wiping the remains of a pancake from the ceiling, and then at Ziva, who waves. She shakes her head and goes to sit at the table to wait for food. Gradually everyone files in, Carly coming in next to last, wearing sunglasses and holding a bag of ice to her head. I slip up beside her and hug her from behind, eventually settling into a seated position with her in my lap.

After a while longer, Stella comes in. She shoots Carly and I a nasty look and I see her muttering something under her breath. Carly tenses up and I realize she's annoyed. "Ok calm down you weren't the only one kept awake. What makes you so special?" Carly snaps at her. "And don't pull the princess card, I'm a Zeus kid too."

"Leave her alone." Matt says, but it is too late.

"No, please, tell me about how I'm supposed to be the one pulling the princess card when you're the one who felt so entitled to keep everyone else awake in our base." Stella says angrily.

"Here we go." Zack mutters audibly.

"Not the point, point is even that guy-" Carly points at Matt. "-is complaining strictly about you being kept awake. Why the hell are you more important than anyone else?" As she says it, I notice everyone in The Heroes Organization tenses up a bit, paying more attention to the conversation.

"Okay, last night happened, but it's over now. Just...let it go." Rachel says, sounding like she doesn't want to deal with the situation at all. I can't help but notice that Maya has fallen asleep on the table.

"Sure, I'm fine with that." Carly says, though I can sense she's still very irked with Stella.

"Oh, are you now?" Stella snaps, looking like Carly set her off.

"Fight?" Zack asks Michael.

"Fight." Michael says, nodding serenely.

"Leave?"

"Leave." The two head out the front door and go hang out on the front lawn instead. Carly doesn't respond to her and simply leans back into me, all the while not taking her eyes off Stella from behind her sunglasses, tilting her head down slightly as she stares at her half sister. Stella looks like she's about to say something, but Matt leans in and whispers into her ear. She scowls at us and heads out of the room, Matt not far behind her. There's a definite awkward silence for a moment or two, before Lucian, looking exasperated, speaks up.

"She's pregnant." He says.

"Well fuck." Carly sighs. "Now I feel bad."

"You didn't know, it's fine." Rachel says quietly to Carly. As she does so I can see there's something there that's bothering Rachel very badly, and I make a note to talk to her about it. Ziva rolls her eyes in a way that screams dumbass as Caden nudges her on the shoulder.

"Least we went away from the bedrooms, eh?"

"Shut up." She says, swatting his arm. After a long period of everyone scattering about to do their own thing, mid afternoon I found Rachel alone.

"Hey, can we talk?" I ask gently.

"Sure."

"Anywhere private?" I ask.

"My room." Rachel says and we go on up. When I've closed the door I reveal I've snuck some wine in with her. "What's up?"

"First, emotions need wine." I say, pouring a pair of glasses.

"Emotions?"

"Just have some."

"Okay." She says, taking her glass.

"Sorry about Carly earlier, hungover her can be a bit...bitchy." I say.

"It's fine, it's not a big deal."

"Anyway, during that little scene I noticed you looked a bit...troubled."

"I was fine." Rachel said.

"Two sips for lying." I say gently.

"You're hilarious." Rachel says, rolling her eyes.

"C'mon, I can see when people aren't okay." I say.

"I'm fine, seriously, just tired from last night."

"Two more sips for lies." I say.

"Zoe, I'm fine, really. Is this all we came here for? Now, c'mon, did you like the party and the whole New Years thing?" Rachel asks, taking a large swig of the wine.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun." I say, taking a sip myself.

"That's good, I'm glad you enjoyed it with it being your first and everything."

"Was a night of firsts, no?" I say.

"Well, yeah, with the New Year and everything there's all kinds of firsts."

"Like Ziva and Caden. Me and Carly. Firsts for both." I say.

"Woah, wow, really? Good night for that too. Congrats. Even though Ziva and Caden somehow got into the locked pool. Whatever, it's clean." Rachel says.

"Matt might have cleaned it." I admit. "Carly's first with someone of...my persuasion." The whole time we've been talking thus far, she's been taking sips of wine the whole time, in between sentences.

"Aw, very special. Whose room did you use?"

"One of the spares. We wouldn't steal one of yours', gods no."

"Thank you."

"She's doing laundry for the sheets and everything." I add.

"That's nice, thank you to Carly."

"I'll tell her. More drink?" I ask, pouring more wine for her.

"Uh, sure, thanks."

"What'd you spend your night on?" I ask her.

"Oh, spend a lot of it just talking to everyone, you know? I love when we're all together, that doesn't really happen very often." Rachel says.

"Oh I mean after all that." I say with a wink. She rolls her eyes, but laughs a bit.

"What do you think?"

"I'll drink to that." I say with a giggle as I throw some wine back.

"I mean, yeah, it's New Years after a party, sooo."

"I'm amazed there was no sharing."

"You never know. I mean, those Questers are a little close." Rachel says, very seriously, but obviously joking.

"I was thinking more like Maya would sneak in to watch."

"Oh, I uh, hope not." She says, continuing to drink.

"You never know, she can be stealthy." I say, winking again.

"Even drunk?"

"You bet."

"Impressive, but scary."

"Think Matt and Stella still go at it while pregnant?" I ask.

"Don't know. Don't want to know."

"Why not?"

"Visual images...gross..."

"There something else there?" I ask.

"No."

"She says with a sad face on."

"Why would I be sad?" She asks.

"Good question." I say, playing with her cheeks randomly.

"Stoooooop." Rachel says, pushing my hands away. "I'm not sad."

"Well, you seem it, and I'm worried about you."

"It's okay, Zoe, really. It's just...everything with Stella's been a little stressful, you know? That's all." She says, but I can see her defenses are wearing down. I reach out and gently stroke her hair.

"Two shots for lying, hun."

"Zoe, I'm fine, besides, I doubt I should drink more..."

"You've only had like half a glass." I say, despite the fact she's finished three.

"But I drank a lot last night."

"Eh, you're fine." I say.

"Maybe..." She says, and I proceed to banter her into another glass and a half. After a period of silent drinking on our parts, I ask a question again.

"So when'd the condom break for them?" I ask bluntly.

"Oh, um, beginning, middle of november?"

"How'd they take it?"

"Stella wasn't very happy. I think she was kind of on the fence about having kids before, so...plus, she's only eighteen, so that doesn't help. Matt...Well I know Matt's gotta be terrified but he won't talk about it, he's just trying to help Stella all of the time, but I think he's kind of excited too. I think she's warmed up to it a little too."

"How'd you take it?" I ask gently.

"...Well, I feel bad for them, they're both so young." Rachel says, looking taken aback by the question.

"There's gotta be a level of...I dunno, responsibility, or something? Like you gotta help them and shit."

"Well, of course. Stella's my best friend and I'm close to Matt and I'm the healer anyway, so, yeah. Sure. I want to help."

"Oooh, you're an angel, Rach." I say, smiling.

"Thanks, Zoe." She says, laughing slightly, but I can see that inner sadness has come back.

"Your sad face is back." I point out.

"It's ok." She says, and I just hug her, not knowing what else to do for her. I was hugely curious, I won't lie, and I'm an asshole, but now I just wanted to know so I could help her. Rachel's silent.

"If there's something knowing all of you has taught me, it's that you don't always need to be the strong one who hides everything, Rach."

"...Couple years ago, I found out something's wrong with my body that, um..makes it very unlikely for me to ever have kids." Rachel says quietly after a moment. I'm silent, and everything clicks into place. I hug her closer and she starts crying into my shoulder. I keep the hug going, not knowing what to say, hoping I can convey everything I'm feeling for her through the physical contact. After a long while, I speak up again.

"Want to know another lesson I've learned?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah?" She says, really quietly, barely audible despite the fact our heads were pressed against each other.

"Where I'm from, where I was at when I was living on the streets, back before the portals, I was hopeless. It was a pit with no way out. Meeting Carly, Zack, the others...you, it all taught me there's hope in everything. Hold onto that." I say quietly.

"...Thank you, Zoe."

"And you know what else? You can ultimately just say fuck the world I'm a beautiful badass with a heart of gold because you are Hades damn it. You have so much to give this world as you are." Rachel starts crying again and hugs me tighter than ever. Instinctively I lift her up and swing her around. It must have been a funny sight, given I'm five foot three. Or tiny.

"Thank you, Zoe." She says again. I pull back and wipe away the tears from her eyes and cheeks, smiling at her.

"Want to spy on the new couple?" I ask, referencing Ziva and Caden, still very much under the influence of rapidly imbibed wine.

"That could be funny."

"Let's do it."

"Awesome." She says, and we run off to do just that.

The next morning was when we all agreed to head back down to camp. None of us said it, but we all knew that the moment we stepped off Olympus we would be going straight back into the war zone. I rose earlier than the others, and I went and found one of Olympus' edges, near the elevator down. There was a safety railing set up, so I start leaning on it, looking out at the clouds, wondering what's to come and smiling at the memories of what the interlude in our war had given me. I don't know how long I stood there, staring at the clouds, but eventually, I heard footsteps coming up behind me. I looked back briefly and saw pretty much everyone, all of The Questers, all of The Heroes Organization, even Cal, who I'd not seen yet. And my crew was closest to me, standing in front of the small army behind me. I nodded at them and looked back over the clouds.

I don't know how I felt. It wasn't scared, it wasn't nervous, it wasn't excitement, it wasn't anticipation. It was like acceptance to a degree. There was a strange pit in my stomach, but it was one I could bear, because I had to. That was all there was for me to really do now. Carly slips up next to me and rests her head on my shoulder. "Looks like the break is over, eh?" She says, wrapping her hand around mine.

"Least we got to throw one hell of a party." I say, resting my head on top of hers. "Probably the last one."

"Aw, that doesn't sound like my girl." She says, leaning back to stand up. "I know you Zozo. You'll find a way to win, to survive. We all will. And I'll be there with you the whole way." She wraps an arm around my shoulders. "One way or another, best times of my life have been with you. It's been a good ride." She leans in and kisses me on the cheek before she slips away, and I hear the others dispersing. I'm pretty sure they all knew I didn't really want to say goodbyes at all.

"The best, in a way." I say, a small smile flickering across my face as I lean back to stand up. I stare at the clouds for another moment or two, and then I walk to the elevator to go rejoin the fight.

To go end that war.

Chapter Thirteen
"Oh, lovely Maine." Ziva says, looking out the window of our van. The two of us had headed up to Maine to scout out the portal that was within the state's borders. "Also known as the land of 'why did we come here there's nothing to see' among other things."

"It can't be that bad." I say, glancing at her from the driver's seat as we zoom down the highway. "Anything's better than, you know, deserts and monsters and cannibals."

"I'll give you that." She says. She found a way to modify the right sleeve of her jacket so that it would only be as long as what was left of her arm. She had a backpack full of supplies sitting in her lap and her hair was tied back into a ponytail. She had a scarf around her neck and was prepared to lift it to cover her face at a moment's notice, in case we saw Stella or someone who might be looking for us. "So, it's been three days since New Years, I gotta know how the night went for you."

"I'm pretty sure you know." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Details, specifics, sis." Ziva says.

"We, uh, drank a lot. Then everyone dispersed. I bluntly suggested it, we did a final shot, slipped off to one of the spare bedrooms, I taught her the how to."

"Romantic." She says with a laugh.

"It was lovely, believe it or not."

"Oh I don't doubt it. She learn fast?"

"Did she fucking ever." I say, winking at her before returning my eyes to the road. "What about you? How'd your swim go?"

"I'm still sore." She deadpans, causing me to break out laughing. "Seriously, take a son of Poseidon and put him in water and they have the stamina to go on forever."

"Hot."

"You've no idea. Not to mention certain, ah...fireworks were in sync with literal fireworks at midnight."

"Hades below how did that happen?"

"I dunno but we should have started doing that a long time ago." Ziva says wistfully.

"Oh now you fucking listen to us." I grumble. "So would you say that the two of you would consider yourselves...partners?"

"Sure hope so." She says. "I know I do."

"Finally." I say. "We're getting close, about two kilometers out."

"Any idea why we haven't seen any traffic in four hours?" Ziva asks, looking out the window.

"No clue. We'll be careful going forward. If something made it that way we'll have to get out pretty quickly."

"Agreed. No point taking unnecessary risks."

"Strategic stupidity, I call it." I say, causing her to smirk. "By the way, there's something I thought I should let you know."

"Hmm?"

"Well, I forgot about this given the hangovers and emotions at the time, but during the party, someone was messing around on their front lawn."

"Yeah?" She asks. "Happens all the time."

"This guy was a giant, and not literally. He was colossal, seven feet tall and his arms were the size of me. All of me." She freezes for a moment and looks over. "The way he walked, the thudding of his footsteps, it was like he was made of-"

"Stone." She finishes the sentence for me. "He was there?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Shit." She sighs. "It's a good thing I picked that night to finally pull the trigger. If Caden found out he'd have gone to find him."

"Yeah, that's what I was worried about, looking back and all."

"Thanks for letting me know, sis." She says. "Listen, if he trusted you with his secret, an I trust you with one of mine?"

"Yeah, of course." I say, looking over at her.

"Ok." She says, taking a deep breath. "So-" She's interrupted as something slams into the back of our van and sends us spiraling into the ditch. We come to a stop and I look back to see a pair of puncture holes in the sides of the van. "You ok?" She asks, looking dazed.

"Yeah, I think-" An arrow smashes through my window and through her window, leaving both in a shattered mess on the ground below. "-we're under attack. Get the supplies, I'll cover you." I say, grabbing my crossbow from the backseat and throwing my door open. I jump out and take aim, an arrow already loaded. I see, to my shock, that a zombified Minotaur is standing on the other side of the road, a chain leash around it's neck. At the other end of the leash is a woman, around my age, strikingly familiar, and a bullet hole in her forehead.

"Hey Zoe." My world's Rachel says. "Been a while, huh?"

"Yeah, sure has." I sigh and fire an arrow at her. ''This is not my Rachel. This is not my friend.'' I think to myself as the Minotaur holds a hand out and blocks the arrow from hitting her. She lets go of the leash and smiles.

"Go get her." She says, and the Minotaur charges again. I jump away from the van, hoping to draw it away from Ziva. It dashes past me, one of it's horns embedding itself in the engine of the van, and I hear Ziva scream inside. I load another arrow quickly and fire it into the back of the Minotaur. It doesn't even flinch. It just tries to pull it's horn from the van's engine. I see Ziva jump into the back of the van as the minotaur slams a fist down on the front seat area, crushing it.

Shit. I think and load one of the greek fire arrows I made before leaving camp. I take aim and shoot it in the back of his shoulder with the explosive. That one worked. It screams out in pain as the green flames engulf its back. It rips it's horn out and turns to me, eyes blazing with a different kind of fire. The fire of anger. I see Ziva climb out onto the remaining roof of the van, katana in hand. She runs towards the Minotaur and jumps off, stabbing her blade downwards and into the hamstring of the monster. I load another arrow and fire at it's forehead. The missile hits its mark but doesn't make a difference.

It kicks its leg and Ziva is launched seven meters away, landing and rolling to her feet, holding her sword out in front of her, waiting for it to come for her. Unfortunately, it looks at her, enraged by the strike to its limb. "I need it looking this way!" I shout at her, but it doesn't matter, the beast charges her, in a blood rage. She rolls to the side as it runs at her, slashing out once with her blade, cutting its Achilles tendon. "Ziva the flesh wounds won't matter, we gotta destroy it completely!" I scream at her.

"Then I'll make you a hole!" She shouts back at me. It charges her once again, and she falls into a crouch, blade sheathed at her hip, in a position to slash once more. One slash was all it took. The blade leaped from its sheath with a positive ring in the air, slashing the monster across it's stomach and spilling the contents onto the ground. She had positioned herself to slip in between its legs, allowing it to run past her as she laid waste to it with a single, perfectly timed strike. I allowed myself a moment to marvel at the timing before I loaded another greek fire arrow. I aim, but see that the gash in its gut is too fine a wound to make a decent target for. If I was as good a shot as Kyra, Rachel, or even as good as Kylie was, I could do it, but I didn't have a chance.

"Make it bigger!" I say as I run backwards a bit to get some distance between me and them. She nods, a strange smile crossing her face. I see it. She's enjoying the rush of battle, relishing in the satisfaction of knowing her efforts are having effect. It rushes her again, and she slashes once more, creating a second slash, at a forty-five degree angle up from the first slash. She waits once more, and it inevitably charges once more. her grin widens, and her next cut is as true as ever. Soon, a large chunk of flesh, in the shape of a triangle drops from the beast, and there's a clear, large target straight into the belly of the beast.

I aim a second Greek fire arrow and fire, straight into the Minotaur's stomach, right into the hole Ziva's carved in its gut. The moment it impacts the behemoth, a green, fiery explosion fills the air, sending Ziva flying forward towards me. I run to where it looks like she's going and catch her. She jumps down from my arms and holds her sword out, point at Rachel, who starts giggling. "Nicely done, kids." She says. "Let's see what you can do with this." She holds both her arms up and from the Earth below, a small army of condemned appears, joined by varying monsters, all dead and falling apart to some degree. "Kill." She orders, and the small army starts moving towards us.

"Run." We both say and we turn and start running to the other side of the road and up a hill and into the forest.

"How much were you able to grab?" I ask her as I turn to fire a Greek fire arrow down at the base of the treeline.

"Couple boxes of ambrosia, two bottles of nectar, two Greek fire jars, and a couple pistols with bronze bullets." She says, jumping over a fallen tree in front of me. I hop over it as well and start loading another arrow. "No transport, no time to call for help, you have any ideas?"

"Short of shadow traveling, not really." I say.

"You think that if we get to her portal, Rachel will show herself?"

"Probably, yeah." I say. "Why?"

"If we're stranded already, we may as well bring the portal down while we're here. Let's try to lose them for now, I've got an idea." She says and pulls one of the pistols out from her backpack. She's sheathed her sword and points up at a set of rocks further up the hill. "Take cover there, and we-"

"Hold high ground and keep them back as much as possible, got it." I nod and we start sprinting up the hill towards the rock collective. I get there first and immediately take cover behind one of the rocks. I put my swords off to the side and load another fire arrow into my crossbow. Ziva jumps over me and lands behind me. She crouches down to my left.

"Rain fire on them for now, I'll take care of any that get too close." She says and I nod. I take aim and launch the flaming bolt down at the bottom of the hill, watching several dozen condemned become engulfed in green flames, as well as burning down what looks like a hellhound. I hear Zoe's pistol ring out four times, and I see four condemned drop. I start loading my crossbow again, and realize that I've only got two more fire arrows left.

"Only two fire arrows left!" I say as I load one. She swears and fires twice more.

"Ok, hit the grounds near us, stop them from getting close." She says. "I've got an idea." I nod and fire the first one down to thirty meters in front of us, and the second at twenty, putting up two effective walls of flame to slow the monster army down. "Take your hoodie off, I need it."

"Alright then." I say, putting the crossbow down on the rock in front of me and tearing the cowl of darkness off and throwing it to her. She puts her backpack down and slips it on quickly.

"Get all your stuff, we're about to shadow travel."

"Where to?" I ask, wrapping the sword belt with my second sword around my waist.

"The portal, I know the coordinates."

"Does it work like that?" I ask, slipping my sword staff across my back again.

"Let's find out." She replies, raising her pistol and emptying it into the oncoming throng of condemned. I sigh and walk over, wrapping an arm around her and holding up my crossbow with the other, firing a basic arrow at a charging zombified hellhound. A split second later, the world goes dark. When the world returns, we're in a small, and I mean small town.

"Where are we?" I ask as she pulls her backpack off and starts removing the cowl.

"Town known as Blaine, Maine."

"Who thought of that?" I ask as she tosses the cowl back to me, something I must admit I was grateful for, only having a tank top for protection really unsettled me. I quickly slip it back on and look around.

"Shit, monsters in town, that building is open, go." She says, pointing. I don't even question it, I just run for it. We slip in an open door and enter the building, which is so quiet I can only assume it is abandoned. "We wait here til nightfall, move for the portal under cover of darkness." She says, pushing a bookcase over to block the doorway. Once she's done so, we run up two flights of stairs and find a small office to hide in. We use the curtains to block the window and push the desk in front of the door. I peek through the blinds and see a three headed dog moving about the streets below.

"Great. That'll be fun to deal with. Zombie Cerberus."

"Wonderful." She sighs, sitting down in the office chair and pinching the bridge of her nose. Her sword has been discarded to the floor and the pistol to the desk. "Guess I should tell you now then."

"Yeah, you had something to say." I nod.

"Yeah...part of why I wanted to do this scouting run in particular was because it's in Maine. You know I was abandoned at camp, right?"

"Yeah." I say, nodding.

"Well, I've been looking for my dad for a couple years now. I found him. While we were on Olympus I talked mom into letting me know. He lives in Augusta, and...I was hoping once we were done I could go see if I could meet him. Just...I was to know why I was left there. I want to know why I wasn't wanted."

"Alrighty, we'll do that before heading home, no worries." I say without even thinking about it. If she thought there was hope of her closing off a chapter in her life like that, I wanted to help her do it.

"Zoe, we may not make it out of this."

"Shut up sis, we'll be fine." I say, sitting down. "We're gonna close that portal, go meet your dad, and then we're gonna go home hailed as heroes and badasses for closing this bitch. Then you're gonna go back to your, if I may say, really hot boyfriend and fuck his brains out in celebration, got it?"

"Uhm..." She says, going red and covering her face slightly. "Yeah, yeah we are. Thanks, sis."

"Don't mention it. Do you have any food?" I ask.

"Yeah, an MRE."

"A what?"

"Made Ready to Eat." She says. "They suck, but it's something." She says, pulling a bag out of her backpack. She was right, it tasted like crap. Still, it was better than nothing. We eat in silence and when we finish the meal, she puts the bags back in her backpack. "We can reuse them." She says. "You try to get a nap in, I'll keep watch."

"You sure?" I ask.

"Yeah, don't worry. I got this." She says, nodding, and I lie down, using my pack as a pillow. I didn't get any sleep in, and my mind just wandered, thinking about everyone back home, what we were gonna do when night came, how we were gonna deal with the other Rachel, and eventually to the next few portals. I glanced over at Ziva, who was peering out the window carefully, and it hit me how many times she'd come close to death that day. The exact number, who knew? That was what scared me the most. Then I thought about every time one of the others had been close to death over the past few months. Then I thought about Scott and Kylie, how both of them had been so close to death that it had reach out and taken them.

And as I looked at my half sister, so vigilantly standing watch for monsters, I started crying quietly. She eventually looked over and saw me, and she quickly came over and crouched down beside me. "Hey...what's wrong?" She asked gently.

"...You shouldn't be here." I say. "You almost got killed today more times today than I can count. Same as everyone else. Kylie and Scott are dead because...all because of me. I think it's just hitting me now..."

"Sis, listen to me." She says, pulling me up into a hug. No matter her lack of an arm, Ziva pulled me up faster than anyone could have in that moment. "We all knew the risks when we signed up. Hell, it's no different than anything else a demigod goes through. We know, and we're ready for it, no matter what." There's a long period of silence. "Zack has a saying," She whispers. "No demigod dies in their own bed."

"What do you mean?"

"We're all either gonna die in battle or wounded from battle." She says. "We all know that to be true, and we're ready. Besides, you're our family, Zoe. And if Chaos wants to threaten our family, we're all going down swinging." She pulls back and gives me a small smile. "We'll make it home, ok?"

"Yeah...ok." I say, nodding. "I don't think I can sleep..."

"Alright, game of would you rather?"

"Sure."

Night fell. We loaded all of our non weapons into our backpacks and Ziva put her katana at her waist, holding her pistol in her hand. I put the staff and the sword across my back and loaded my crossbow with a standard arrow. It was all I had left. The quiver of arrows dangled at my right hip, and my own pack was covering the sheathes of the blades behind me. I peered out the window to look for the zombified Cerberus. No sign. However, I did see something that struck me as curious. "Snow." I say, and it wasn't the typical, January in Maine snow. No, it was sourced, and it was coming from the ground, pouring like a fountain out of the street, around two blocks away from us.

"Must be coming from the portal itself." Ziva mutters. "The castle in Alaska was from the other world too, it must be the other side bleeding through to this one."

"All the more reason to shut this thing down." I say. "Let's get to the roof and make our way via the rooftops."

"What if we can't jump from building to building?"

"I've got some rope arrows." I say. "We'll be fine."

"Point taken." She says, and we make our way up to the roof. It was only two floors, the building we were standing on, but it gave us an idea of what we'd be dealing with. Not only were there several dozen condemned roaming the streets, but there was Cerberus to deal with, and he was parked right smack dab where we were going, right by the portal. We see the shape of a young woman walking in the purple glow of the portal, which is plainly visible to us from our vantage point, even from this distance. "Gotta be her."

"Yeah, must be." I reply, nodding. "Ok, we'll get closer to them and park ourselves on that building." I say, pointing to another two floor building.

"Why not the one next to it? It's a floor taller." Ziva asks, pointing with her pistol.

"They'll expect that and-"

"-be watching it closer." She finishes my sentence, picking up on my strategy in a nutshell. "Smart." I fire one of my rope arrows all the way to two buildings away, and we climb across to the next building, wordless now, both of us trying to think of our next step once we make it to the building I pointed out. We walk to the end of the roof and resume our climb down to the next roof. We repeat this until we reach the roof I had pointed out earlier. We slink over to the edge of the roof and crouch down, looking down at the portal. Purple flames ring the circle, and at the other end, I see a winter world, the winds of which are pouring through, howling up into our side, snow flying everywhere, luckily it gave us a modicum of cover to talk and move about.

"I don't have a clue how to get the monster away from the portal." I say. "Throwing Rachel in is the key, but Cerberus is gonna be the problem."

"We split up." Ziva says. "You use your crossbow to distract fluffy away from the portal, and I'll head down to take care of Rachel."

"Ziva, you'd be going down there with condemned everywhere. And what if she calls Cerberus back to her?"

"We'll improvise. We're smart, we can figure it out. But either way, splitting up is all we've got going for us." She sighs. "If things go bad, find my dad, tell him about me, ok?"

"Yeah, absolutely." I say, slightly disgruntled, knowing that she's right and that splitting up is our only shot.

"Also, let Caden know I'm sorry I didn't make it home."

"Only if you do the same with Carly if I bite the dust here." I say, and she nods. "I'm gonna take cover in the building and fire down at Cerberus from inside, he'll have to come get me and spend some time looking."

"How will you get his long term attention?"

"He'll be pissy about losing an eye." I say and peer over the side of the roof. No way in from the roof, so I knew that I was going to have to climb down the side of the building to the window. No fire escape too, incredibly. "We'll have to climb."

"No problem." She says. "This'll be nothing compared to the climbing wall at camp."

"Fair point. Hug for luck." I say and hug my sister quickly. We nod and start climbing down the side of the building. Once we're hanging against the window sill of the one I want to climb in, I turn to her. "Once I'm in, you'll have five minutes til I take my shot at Cerberus, that should be enough."

"Plenty of time." She says. We wait until another howling gust of wind comes through the portal, and I smash the window in by shooting an arrow through it. I climb in and she starts climbing down. I run through the building and find my way to a corner office with a window. I open the window just slightly enough to aim an arrow through it. Then I start counting down from three hundred, hoping Ziva doesn't run into any trouble on her way to wherever she's going.

I take in the visage of the three headed dog, flesh falling from various parts of his body, revealing the rotting muscle and sinew below. Sometimes you can see a bone or two, and I regret having run out of fire arrows. burning some bones or even just landing an explosive that far into the beast would cause some serious damage. Rachel is pacing back and forth, that eerie, ominous smile still etched across her face. It was almost as though it was a permanent feature. I sat there, waiting, counting down, leveling the sights of my crossbow at the monster. Two ninety eight...two ninety nine...three hundred I squeeze the trigger and let the arrow fly. It soars through the air and straight into the eye of the left head of Cerberus.

The monster roars out and starts thrashing around in confusion and pain. "Well what are you waiting for, mutt?" Rachel screeches, and I can still see that awful grin on her face. "Go find her!" The monster runs straight into the three story building and knocks a wall down. It starts searching the intact parts, and I see Ziva sprint out from the alley between the building I'm in and the now partially ruined one, and straight at Rachel. Ziva starts firing her pistol at Rachel, who, to my amazement, moves deftly out of the way of each shot. As she draws closer, I see Ziva throw her empty handgun at Rachel, who ducks under it and straight into a jumping knee from Ziva, who tumbles over her and rolls to her feet, drawing her katana.

I see one of Cerberus' heads in the building across from mine, through the other window in the corner office I'm situated in. I quickly take aim and fire, hitting it in the nostril. I load another arrow quickly as it yelps out in agony, shaking its head around angrily. As it pulls its head away, I fire again, and this time, the arrow enters the ear of the behemoth, straight down the hole and into the head. The head cries out, shudders, and droops, eyes open and blank. I take the time to glance down at Ziva and see she's swinging her sword frantically at Rachel, who, quite literally, seems to be dancing around her as the condemned slowly, almost a step a minute, seem to converge in a circle around them.

I look back in time to see one of Cerberus' jaws closing on the wall in front of me. I spring back, breaking my crossbow down as much as I could and strapping it to the arrow quiver. I draw the bladed staff as the middle head of Cerberus rears back and lunges for me, jaws wide open. I do the first thing that comes to mind and shove the staff forward, planting the butt end on the tongue of the monster and the blade up, so that when the jaw closes, the blade stabs through the top of the head and straight through the brain. The weapon is wrenched from my grip as the body drags the two dead heads away, and I have a moment to glance at Ziva while I draw my sword.

She's not doing well. Rachel is just too quick and the horde of condemned has her trapped, stuck between the portal and the horde. I run at Cerberus and jump onto the dead middle head. I run up the neck and onto the body. I stab down, giving myself something to hold onto as the third head, the one I shot in the eye, thrashes around wildly, trying to get me. Slowly, I climb up, stabbing into its back as I go, unto I reach the head. I hold on to one of its ears and stab down into its eye. It shudders and collapses. Not having any time to worry, I climb atop the body and sheathe my sword. I load an arrow into my crossbow and take aim. The horde is converging on Ziva and Rachel is dancing around as gleeful as ever.

I fire my arrow as Rachel twirls around, and it hits her in the shoulder. She stops and I hear her cry out. Ziva capitalizes on it immediately, slashes her across the stomach, and kicks her into the portal. It explodes and sends her, and all the condemned around her, flying. She's thrown down the street and I see her land in their midst, surrounded by the condemned as more begin to rise from the streets below. I draw my sword and run to her, cutting down as many condemned as I could. I reach her and find that she's on her feet, looking dazed, but still swinging her katana and taking down as many condemned as she can. I reach her and she puts her hand-less arm around my neck, and I feel just how weakened that explosion must have made her. "Church is open, I think..." She mutters, and I nod. I start supporting her as we run for the church, cutting down as many condemned as we can along the way.

It takes a little bit, but we get to the church and I throw the doors open. We slip inside and I bar them quickly. Ziva stumbles further in and sits down in the front pew. I run over to her and close my eyes, exhaling slowly. I reopen them and hear something moving somewhere in the church, not from anywhere in particular, but all around me instead. "C'mon." I whisper to Ziva and pick her up. I drag her over to a confessional and hide her inside, as well as my crossbow and my backpack. I also leave my sword sheathe with her. I keep my sword in my right hand and take a couple steps away. I look up at the cross and see the man known as Jesus hanging from it. In my world, and having grown up at Camp, I never once learned about him or the beliefs that surrounded him.

"Hey JC." I say. "If you're gonna protect somebody, now's the time." I turn to face the door and see that I was right. People, living people, all walking in from other rooms of the church, all filling the area. All of them had purple eyes. "Anything I can do for you fine gentlemen?" I ask, twirling the sword slightly in my hand. None of them say a thing. "Guess not. Before we get started, anyone want to leave?" A series of weapons ranging from knives to hammers to a wooden board come out. "Alright then." I say and run at them.

I duck under a hammer swing and stab forward into the gut of a man in front of me. I turn and slash the throat of the hammer wielder. Turning back around I parry a machete strike and slash downward, falling to a knee, and into the back of my attacker's leg, taking it clean off. I stand up and stab another attacker in the chest. One of them wraps his arms around me and pulls me away. I throw my head back and break his nose before slamming my elbows down on his arms, freeing me. I grab his head, turn it to the side, and drop to one knee, breaking it over my shoulder. I throw him to the side and jump up and onto a church pew, using it to propel myself up so I can wrap my legs around the head of another attacker. Grabbing his hammer I lean as he starts to turn around. We collapse to the ground and, on the way down I swing the hammer into the jaw of yet another opponent, after which he drops.

I twist my legs and break the neck of the man I jumped on and I roll to my feet, swinging the hammer up and into the chin of a man lunging at me. Something hits my back and breaks, and I turn to see the man brandishing a now broken wooden board. He swings it at me again and I step forward, catching his arm and pinning to my side as I force the sharp end of the hammer into his neck, stabbing it into him. I grab the broken wood and stab its splinted end into the face of an attacker behind me. I roll away and wrap my legs around the leg of another of Chaos' minions, twisting around to drag him to the floor. I elbow him in the face, grab his knife and stab him four times in the chest before rising, catching a fist being thrown at my head, and I stab this next attacker in the eye.

I wrench the knife out and throw it at another attack before kicking a pew over as another tries to jump on it. He falls forward and I run over and stomp on his neck. I jump over the pew in front of me, run to the aisle in the center of the church and rip my sword from the corpse that was one the man I killed. I stab someone attacking me and spin around, slashing the blade out his side and raining blood along the stained glass windows. I cut down another, his blood splattering along the altar, and I jump forward and stab into the chest of the final enemy. I grab his machete and, fueled by the angry heat of battle and the adrenaline one feels when their life is on the line, I slash him across the stomach, rip my sword out of his chest, and swing the two blades at his neck, tacking his head off and spilling blood onto the cross hanging at the center of the back wall.

I walk over to the confessional and open the curtain up. Ziva still looks really dazed, but I can tell she's doing better. "Hey sis." I say. "We're clear now. We should shadow travel to where your dad is at."

"Augusta...right. Can I wear the hoodie? I can get us there faster." She says, slowly rising to her feet.

"Sure." I say and step back, taking it off as she steps out of the confessional. I toss it to her and she slips it on as I grab my pack and put it on, strapping my sword to my back. I sigh at the loss of the staff, but move on. I still have a sword, knife, and crossbow, so I can't really complain too much. She straps everything onto her and I take her hand, glancing up at the blood covered face of Jesus up on the cross. Thanks for nothing... I think to myself as Ziva cues the shadow travel. The typical dark rush of wind and speed happens and we land in the small city. I quickly take my hoodie back and slip it on as we look around.

"I know where to go, follow me." She says and leads me off to the nearest apartment building. We climb up the fire escape and around six floors up we stop and she sits down.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, look." She points across the back alley and I see that she's staring into the window of one of the apartments. A woman who looks to be in her early thirties is sitting in between two boys, roughly thirteen in age who look identical to one another. A man who looks to be in his late thirties walks into view and sits down next to one of the boys, smiling, and turns on the television. A movie is playing, a truck that looks like someone turned an eighteen wheeler into a vehicle from hell is driving through a desert, chased by men on motorcycles.

"That him?" I ask.

"Yeah...two kids and wife. Didn't know that." She says. I sit down next to her and look at her intently. She's expressionless, impossible to read, even for me. "They look...safe. Happy. A real family..." She's quiet for a painstakingly long moment. "We should go, c'mon." She says after a moment, moving like she means to rise.

"Don't you want to say hello?" I ask, grabbing her shoulder.

"Doesn't matter what I want, really." She says. "He's got a life, a family now. I'd just mess all that up for them."

"You don't look angry with him or them, would it really be so terrible for him to know you're interested in knowing who he is at the very least? Maybe you guys can be a family someday."

"Maybe..." She says. "How'd you know I wasn't angry?"

"Lucky guess. What are you?"

"I don't know. In a way, a weird, strange way, I'm happy for him. He learned how to be a father." She says, and I smile at her. She nods and take her pack off, leaving her sword with me.

"How'll you explain the arm?" I ask.

"Car accident." She says and starts climbing down the fire escape. "Wait for me here?"

"Yeah, sure." I say and lean my head back against the brick wall, and eventually my eyes droop shut and I doze off. Eventually, I feel a hand tap my shoulder and I wake up. Ziva's standing over me and it's morning now.

"C'mon, let's go home." She says.

"How'd it go?"

"Pretty well, actually...we talked privately for a while, explained everything to each other...he didn't trust himself to raise me so he left me where someone could. I met his wife and his sons, all great people, watched the movie with them...it felt normal for a change."

"What movie?"

"Mad Max, Caden made me watch it when it came out. Was one of the things that helped me get used to this." She holds her stump up. "One of the main characters has one arm and she's a badass, so it motivated me."

"Will you see them again?"

"When this is all over...maybe. I hope so." She says, smiling slightly. "For now...let's just go home. I need a nap."

"Alright." I say, standing up. I take her hand and we travel back to camp, and I can't help wondering how the hell I'm going to explain all the bruises to Carly when she sees them.

Chapter Fourteen
The next two days were primarily spent being taken care of by Carly, who was trying to keep looking mad at me for taking down a portal with just Ziva for backup. They'd made a plan for the next couple of missions but weren't going to tell me anything until I'd healed all my bruises, cuts, and other wounds away completely. Since I could only eat so much ambrosia a day it was going to take a little while. All I knew was that they were preparing something big. On the third day, it was quiet in our cabin, with me lying on the couch eating skittles and listening to an audiobook while Carly was in the shower.

She eventually gets out and I pause the book mid chapter as she comes into the room, her damp hair tied back into a ponytail and just wearing sweats and a hoodie. "Hey beautiful." I say as she comes into eyesight.

"Hey, hun." She says, smiling. "Skittles? Can I have one?" She asks and I get an idea. I hold one up and pop it in my mouth, holding it between my teeth to show her.

"Come get it." I say with a wink as I set the skittle bag down on the floor. She hesitates a moment, then pounces on me.

Later that day, Zack came over to visit, and Carly left him and I alone in the living room to talk. "So, took down a portal on your own, huh?" He asks. "Color me impressed."

"Eh, just another day at the office." I say. "What brings you over?"

"Thought you might appreciate hearing what the plan is without a giant official meeting and shit." He says, and I nod in agreement. "Well, you and Ziva proved it can be done with minimal forces, so what we're going to do is take down a couple of portals in rapid succession by splitting the our main numbers a little bit more."

"What do you mean?"

"You guys take one, we'll take another immediately after, or something like that. We'll set up some bodycams or helmet cameras for each other to watch and review in case something goes wrong for your group or mine."

"Makes sense, I guess." I say. "But what about the big portal that hasn't opened up yet?"

"Last portal before that one will be a low level strike team, three people at the highest. Everyone else waits to see what comes out of that thing." He says. I nod as I remember some of the dreams I've had, and I remember the vision of Stella holding Zack's helmet atop a tower, talking to the eye of some monster on the other end of that portal. Whatever that thing was, it was big and it was powerful. Monstrously so. I push that aside and we talk the strategy of what we're going to do next, and we end up deciding that his team taking down a portal first would be the best course of action, as it would give me and Ziva some more time to recover and get ready.

"So you guys will take California?" I ask.

"Yeah. Then your crew moves on Florida, and we regroup to get ready for Virginia and Nebraska." He says.

"When will you guys start your attack on it?"

"Tomorrow, most likely. We got a couple of toys from Hephaestus up on Olympus."

"Do tell?"

"A tank and a gunship." He says, a wide grin forming on his face. "I feel like they're gonna be pretty useful in the coming days." The smile is almost unsettling, almost as though he truly is excited for and looks forward to the battles coming, like it's one of the few times he'll get to truly live. "We'll set up some screens in here for operation control. You guys will have maps of the area all set up to give us possible information during the strike. If we're lucky, the Hephaestus guys will even have a camera drone for one of you to pilot, so you can watch things happen in real time."

"Nice. We should probably start moving furniture around then."

"Yup." He says, and Carly rejoins us to help. Annie and Caden drop by to help as well. After the setup is done Michael comes it to set the camera links up on the tv screen as well as a couple of computers. Pretty soon we've got a full operations center in my living room. Shame, I kind of liked having the space. Michael and Caden head off, and I walk Zack and Annie to the door and let them out. As I'm closing the door, Zack puts an arm around her shoulders and I hear him say "Looking forward to seeing you in combat gear again."

"Oh shut up, it's not that flattering."

"Doesn't need to be." He says and she shakes her head. "Oh, there's a smirk, I win." he says, grinning as he leans in and kisses her on the cheek. I close the door and turn to Carly.

"Ok, they're my favorite couple." I say. "Aside from us, of course."

"Damn straight." She says and we keep going around organizing the living room to work as a decent control center. I had a gut feeling it was going to stay that way for a while. We also had to make a quick run to the city to make sure the fridge and cabinets had all the food and drinks we'd need. There was a good chance that once operations commenced then my cabin was going to be a hub of activity for a while. After we got home and we finished everything up, we crashed on one of the couches in pajamas, wiped and very unprepared for the next day.

"Y'know..." I said as I curled up into Carly's side, snuggling as close as possible. "I think we might be close to the home stretch."

"What do you mean?" She asks, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me even closer. That comforting feeling of another person, a whole other person, willing to let you that close, feeling their breaths and the warmth of their skin on your own, the trust and affection and-

I stopped my train of thought there. I was afraid, for a single, impossible, horrifying moment, I was afraid. I knew exactly the word I was going to use, but I was horrified of using it. The last time I truly used it, the woman it had been meant for was now my enemy. The thought of the same thing happening again-

No, it wouldn't. It was one thing, where Stella was being controlled by Chaos. This was completely different. This was Carly and if I couldn't use it for her, I could never use it for anyone ever again.

"Hey, Carly." I say, looking up at those big beautiful brown eyes of hers. "I love you." This was the first time one of us had really said it, clear of mind and not in the throes of passion, the first time that one of us had said it and truly, honest to all the gods, titans and giants, meant it with all of our hearts. I felt her tense up slightly as she looked down at me, eyes wide and watering, a smile lighting her face up from ear to ear.

"I love you too." She says, and I can feel the same truth radiating out of her. Maybe not from her voice, but from her eyes more than anything. The look in them was a joy unlike anyone had ever looked at me with, and I knew that if I lost her, I would live alone forever, for nobody in any form of Earth could look at me like that with as much honesty and love in their eyes. I'd never really given much thought to the concept of a soul mate, something Kyra had talked about once to Annie, but in that moment I was a believer, and I knew I'd found mine. A smile crosses my face and I lean up halfway to her face, letting her come down the rest of the way. She leans down and kisses me, and I swear I could feel the burning fires of a thousand suns in the two of us, and we could have brought the world to its end right then and there and I would never have paid it a second of attention.

And the beautiful thing was I knew in my heart she felt the exact same way.

"All comms are receiving, guys." Ziva says into her microphone. We have four monitors set up playing the feeds from each of The Questers' helmet cameras, and Caden is flying a drone alongside their gunship, providing a fifth point of view. It was a really awesome donation to our cause, it was completely shrouded in mist so no mortal could see it. Didn't have too many offensive capabilities, but it could definitely sneak people into the portal locations as needed. They were down flying above California, ready to head for the portal, which was situated on a mist covered yacht off the coast.

"Still mad at you for picking Cali, Kyra." Zack's voice says.

"Suck it up, you can swim a little ways to the boat." She replies, her eyes rolling visibly. She'd been rather opposed to having to wear helmets, but it was all we could think of with the cameras.

"Is Zack afraid of the water?" I ask Carly, covering my mic.

"Nah, aquatic life. Hates it." She whispers back, covering her own. I lock my eyes onto Zack's helmet camera and watch as the gunship comes to a stop, hovering in midair. The side doors open and Zack peers over it.

"This is gonna suck." Michael mutters. I glance at his camera and see that he's keeping his eyes on Zack's helmet, a single piece helmet with the pattern of a skull scratched into the face. The helmet I keep seeing in my dreams.

"It's only twenty feet, don't belly flop and you'll be ok." Annie says, cracking her neck.

"Yeah, only..." Michael murmurs as Ziva clears her throat to relay the mission objectives to them.

"Ok, once you're on the boat, make your way to to back of it. Michael will start sabotaging the engine while Zack and Annie move to find whoever needs to be thrown into the portal. Zoe will identify to us and I'll relay it to you." Ziva says. "Kyra, you're protecting Michael while he sabotages, then the two of you are on standby to see if the lovebirds need help at all. Once that portal is closed, jump ship, swim out a ways in a group and the gunship will come get you. Any questions?"

"Shall we begin?" Zack asks.

"If you insist." Ziva replies, and Zack steps off the gunship. There's a small splash, and Annie hops out after him. Kyra pushes Michael off and follows him down as well. We watch from their points of view, as well as our drone, as they swim over to the boat. Annie and Zack slip up beside a ladder, where a guard is standing. They glance at one another, nod, and Zack climbs up and slides in between the guard's legs. The guard goes to draw his sword, but Zack's already throwing a kick up into the man's neck, muffling his voice at all. Zack brings his leg down and wraps it around the right knee of the guard as Annie pulls herself on board. The guard, dropping to a knee, is at perfect length for Annie to snake an arm around his throat and very quickly choke him out. Zack slowly places the guard in the ocean and watches as his armor drags him to the depths.

"We're on board." Annie whispers into her comms.

"Us too." Kyra whispers and I change my eyesight to her screen, where I see that she's wiping monster dust off of herself as Michael starts taking a screwdriver to the metal plate that covers the internal engines. We're lucky the boat isn't moving, having a portable portal would be both horrifying for us and a pain in the ass to close. "I'll say if any humans show up and need to be identified."

"Thanks Kyra, Zoe, focus on Zack or Annie's cameras now." Ziva says, and I turn my head to Annie's in time to see her use one of her electro-sticks (something Carly had charged for her before they had departed) to stun a guard and bring him to his knees. She grabs the back of his hair and pulls his head back so I can see his face.

"No one I know." I say into my mic, and she stuns the side of his head and places him gently on the ground. I switch to Zack's screen and see him coming up on another guard, patrolling the side of the yacht. He kicks in the back of the man's knee and brings his own knee up to hit the man in the temple, knocking him out. He catches him and shows his face to the camera. "Nope, keep looking." I say, and they move on. I'm distracted for a brief moment as Kyra gasps and she and Michael duck behind the engine, hanging off the edge of the boat. I don't see what the problem is until Michael peers over the edge to look.

"Shit. Guys, get back to Michael and Kyra, target is there." I say as I stare at the haunting, sewn together face of my Michael Johnson.

"Get this thing moving." My Michael says as he looks around. "We've been boarded."

"Yes sir!" Someone shouts off camera. From Kyra's perspective, I see him pull a pistol from his pocket and fire at the sky.

"Fuck." Caden whispers. "Guys, the drone is down." Michael tosses the pistol off the side of the boat, and the other guards disperse. He pulls a machete off a sheathe on his calf, and I take a moment to marvel at the fact his lower leg is that long at all. Even at six one, the Michael of The Questers has to look up to see him in the eye.

"Come get me, kids." He says, turns, and looks straight at Kyra's camera.

"We're made." Kyra mutters. "We're gonna have to fight him."

"We're almost there, be careful." Annie says and I glance at her screen to see that she's struck a guard in the face with her elephant goad, caution thrown to winds at this point. I look back at Michael's camera and see that he and Kyra are climbing up to face my Michael. Kyra raises her bow and fires an arrow at him which he strikes out of the air with his blade. He slowly starts walking over to them, and Michael raises his staff and holds it in between his alternate and Kyra.

"Ooohhh, my other me." My Michael says, smiling. "I've heard you're the cowardly one. Funny, given how I turned out. I was the brave one, and my version of your friend Zack was the coward. She was so afraid of me for doing what I had to. Kicked me out of the group for it. All because I took out a traitor. Funny how she's changed. Even more of a coward, now she's more like you." This whole time, Michael hasn't moved, he's staring him down, his camera almost frozen. "I came back last time, and here I am again. There's nowhere she can run from m-" He's interrupted as Michael swings out with his staff, catching him across the jaw.

My Michael stumbles to the side, giving Kyra time to load another arrow and send it into his side. He doesn't even seem to feel it, as he swings out at them, missing her by less than an inch. I watch from Michael's screen as he kicks Kyra in the stomach, knocking her back, and raises his Machete to block an attack from Michael. He spins and slams the pommel of his machete into the back of Michael's helmet. Michael stumbles and when he looks back up, my Michael is swinging a machete right at his head in a sideways swing, and Michael's camera feed dies.

A quick glance to Kyra's screen tells me everything I need to know, and that Michael's ok, thank the gods. The swing took out his camera but the helmet deflected the blow overall. He's still dazed as all hell though, and my Michael brings a knee up into his face before kicking him to the edge of the boat. Kyra's firing arrows, each one hitting him but none of them seeming to stop him. He reaches her, grabs her by the throat with his free hand, and lifts her up. I can only assume she's grabbed an arrow from her quiver, because she jams one into his ear. It doesn't phase him even remotely. "See, I'm gonna take this pretty little bird and she's gonna be my camera." He says, walking across the deck, hold Kyra up so we see his face like what Maya calls a selfie.

"And..." He goes on, holding her head out so we see him kick Michael's staff away before he pins his chest to the deck with his boot. "She's gonna make sure you see exactly what I do to this abomination of what could have been me." He holds the Machete out and puts the tip of it at Michael's throat. Then, he holds Kyra up so we see his distorted, sewn together face. He opens his mouth wide, and I see the sewing goes inside his mouth pretty far back. A brief memory of just how it felt shoving his face into that power saw runs through me, but I shake it off quickly. "I'm gonna do exactly that to him, with this machete here. A lot slower, a lot more painful. Shame you didn't come out here to protect him."

Then, he drops her, and as she looks up at him, coughing, I see that Zack's arrived and has run him through the side and out the other with his sword. Still, this barely phases Michael, and he swings his machete at Zack's head. Zack ducks under the strike, but Michael grabs him by the shoulder and throws him to the side. From Zack's point of view I see Annie jump out of nowhere and hit Michael across the face, which again, barely phases him. Zack rolls to his feet and raises his fists in lieu of a weapon. "Any ideas, guys?" He asks as Annie rolls over to him. Michael has wriggled free from the evil version, and joins them, with Kyra not far behind.

"He'll still need eyes to see, take them out in the meantime." Ziva says. She covers her mic for a second. "Guys, think of something, quickly." She says, and I start wracking my brains for every portal we've closed so far. Most of them we haven't killed the person, just pushed them in...

Then I had an idea. I remembered the fight with Lucian, when Scott and I had to pin him to the floor so we could sever the sewn on head. If they severed the sewing, maybe that would work? I shook my head after a moment as Zack ducks under a machete swing. Michael swings his staff in a twirling motion, knocking the machete to the side and delivering a strike to the head of his evil self. Kyra puts an arrow in his eye, but he doesn't slow down and kicks Annie in the chest as she attacks, knocking her off her feet. "Ziva, how did you guys kill Althea?" I ask quickly, forgetting to cover my mix at all.

"Crushed her head under a falling building, why?" She asks. My eyes widen as it hits me.

"Guys, split his head down the middle, it's how I killed him in my world." I say quickly. "It worked on Lucian and Althea, trust me."

"Mother dick." Zack grumbles. "Well, if someone could get my sword out of him, that'd be lovely..."

"This is why more people need to bring bladed weapons." Kyra complains.

"Says the one holding a bow and arrow..." Annie grumbles, landing a kick to the evil Michael's leg and dancing away before he could retaliate.

"Ideas, anyone?" Zack sighs.

"We'll break his legs." Kyra suggests, and everyone seems to agree with it. Zack rolls forward first ducking under a machete attack and slamming an elbow into evil Michael's knee. When that doesn't work, he wraps a leg around it and makes it give way, twisting his hips and rolling over. He grabs the handle of his sword and rips it out. Annie takes the other leg while Zack uses his free hand to grab the machete-less hand. Michael finally bats the machete away completely and helps Annie subdue the other arm. Zack tosses his sword to Kyra, who catches it, spins, and slams the blade down on evil Michael's forehead. He goes limp and the others roll away. Michael stares at it, eyes wide and rapidly paling. Zack takes his sword from Kyra and rips it out of evil Michael's head. Blood sprays everywhere and Kyra throws up.

"Son of a dick..." Zack mutters, wiping the blood off of his sword on the shirt of evil Michael. "Guys, I'll cover you, carry the body there and jump ship, I'll go last."

"Hell no." Annie says.

"I'm not gonna pull a Beckendorf, don't worry." He says, causing Caden to flinch slightly and Maya to pinch the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. "End of the day, I can swim fastest, so I can outrun the swimming dead better than if you guys didn't have a head start. Let's go."

"Hate it when you're right..." Annie grumbles as she helps Kyra drag the body across the deck behind Zack, as he starts marching down the side of the boat, sword flashing every which way and ripping through all the monsters and men that came for them. They eventually made their way to the top of the yacht, where the portal lay.

"Ok, get going." He says as another squad of guards came from below deck towards them. "I can handle them, no worries. I'll follow soon." After a moment of hesitation, Michael and Kyra go and jump off the side of the boat. Annie doesn't budge.

"At least let me help you with them?" She asks.

"Can't say no to that, can I?" He says, and they turn to the squad of guards. Zack springs forward first, stabbing through one and impaling a second behind him. Annie opens with a jumping spin kick to the face of a charging guard. When she drops to the ground she spins up to her feet, stabbing out with an electric stick with one hand and her elephant goad in the other, stabbing one in the leg with the goad and stunning another into throwing up. She rises and kicks the stabbed one in the face as Zack spins from his human-kebab and slashes downward at the shoulder of another guard, cleaving him from shoulder to hip, blood spraying everywhere, including covering the skull mask he wears. The two systematically take out the squad, Zack much more lethally, but both every bit as effective. She turns to him and they just share a brief look before she nods and jumps off the side of the boat.

The visage of Zack, skull mask on his head and smeared with blood, illuminated with the purple light of the portal, to this day that is the only nightmare one of my friends has ever given me.

He throws the body into the portal after giving Annie some time to swim away, and the explosion sends him flying into the ocean. He doesn't resurface for a moment, but since I could see from his perspective, I knew he was swimming up. They make it to the gunship, which starts flying them back. Zack keeps his helmet on, which, even though it had just been submerged in water, had the faint traces of blood on it, I could see from Michael's camera. Zack looks at Kyra, who has removed her helmet, and the look on her face had me scared for her. She was pale, distant, looked ill, and was shaking, very visibly.