2

Finally, he had managed it all, but now, he realized how foolishly he had acted. If his friends hadn't found him when they did, then he would never have gotten away from Tartarus. In fact, if it weren't for Annabeth's intervention, she probably would have died along with him during their fight.

Annabeth…The son of Hecate! How dare he have such an influence over her? She was just a little girl who had no idea of the evil she was involved in. If only they had met earlier or if he hadn't been cursed in the first place, he could have saved both of them so much pain. Now, however, he didn't know if there was any way to undo the curse without killing her. If he were to die, his death would be permanent and the cycle of life would repeat itself. What's worse was that his own life would begin over again. All because of one stupid prophecy. There was absolutely no way to fix what had been done.

As he paced outside his tent, he continued to brood over the past few weeks, trying to figure out how to make it right. Unfortunately, it seemed like every solution ended in failure. Every plan, every trick, every sacrifice seemed completely pointless. The only thing he knew that he could accomplish was destroying the prophecy. He couldn't save anyone, but at least he could destroy something. His eyes wandered to a golden arrow resting against the trunk of the tree next to his tent. Without hesitating, he snatched it up and began to run toward the edge of camp towards Mount Olympus. The sun was setting, which meant he had just missed sunset. After all, he needed to finish his preparations before going into Tartarus.

He stopped short when he reached a clearing filled with flowers of all sorts. He stood in front of the beautiful scene for several moments before continuing on to the giant oak tree he had come to recognize. At its base, there was a small wooden door with a large bronze ring hanging above it. Once he had entered, the door vanished and reappeared behind him. He walked inside and found himself in the same spot he had left. As he turned around and took in the room, he noticed that there was someone else present.

She sat near the back, with her head in her hands. Her long brown hair trailed down to her waist, cascading over a green dress. He recognized her from the prophecy, despite having not seen her face since meeting her. The prophecy told him she would be the one who killed him in order to save the people, and as far as he knew, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge had not interfered yet. For this alone, he wanted to kill her on the spot. But if anything, this was the last person he wished to see at this moment.

"You can't kill me!" she exclaimed, finally looking up. Her voice shook slightly and tears fell from her eyes. "I'm a god! I have magic powers! I know who you are and I won't let you kill me." She stood up slowly and stared straight ahead at nothing in particular.

Somewhere in the background, he could hear laughter and cheering. This brought a sense of satisfaction to him. Finally, someone else was watching what he was doing.

"Well, that seems rather unnecessary," he replied casually.

"What?" she asked confused.

"That part where we kill each other? I don't intend on ending it here. You may think I am an idiot, but I am not that simple. I don't want to die. And I doubt I'll be able to stop if we start fighting. So, my guess is that you will be the one to end our agreement and I will simply take another form in Tartarus. Is that fair?"

Her eyes grew wide. It was clear to him that this revelation surprised her. Despite his confidence, he could tell that she was scared; terrified.

"Nico…" she whispered, her voice breaking.

"Call me Kronos," he commanded. When her eyes widened further at the name, he chuckled. "Is that a problem, princess?"

She shook her head frantically and backed away, causing the chair to topple. The table beside her toppled and hit the floor. Before she could attempt to flee once more, he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her to him. He looked deep into her eyes, forcing her to look right back at him.

"Why is it that I am stuck with an idiotic goddess who doesn't even remember me? I thought she would be better than this," he muttered under his breath. "I should have known better than to expect anything different from you."

As much as he tried to ignore it, he felt her heart beating faster and quicker as he held her closer to him.

"Let me go!" she yelled, struggling to break free.

"No! You are mine, dammit!" he growled.

Suddenly, the door opened and Annabeth came bursting through it. Her red curls were flowing out behind her and her blue eyes flashed dangerously as she locked gazes with him.

"Leave the kid alone, asshole," she snarled as she approached them threateningly.

"I would, except she is my prisoner," he replied casually.

"Well, don't worry. We're getting her back," Percy said. "But before we leave, I'm guessing I'll find some answers from one of you two." His gaze shifted between them.

"Fine," the brunette growled reluctantly.

Percy nodded in satisfaction. "Okay then. Let's go get your sister."

Nico sighed as he followed Percy back to the Big House. He hated dealing with humans. Most gods had been banished from Olympus, but they hadn't forgotten about them. They had tried many times to contact him, but he had always been able to avoid them. Now, however, he had given them the perfect opportunity. The Greek Campers had decided to host an annual campfire sing off, celebrating the end of summer vacation, and they had invited him to attend. As soon as he saw her there in front of him, all hope of surviving was dashed to pieces.

He knew the chances of her remembering him were low. She didn't even remember his name anymore, but at least he would be able to explain the situation, hopefully in a somewhat believable manner. Maybe if he could explain it, she would understand. That is, if she actually wanted to talk to him. Even if she did forgive him, it didn't mean he deserved it. It wasn't worth it. He had made everything worse in the end. All it would do was hurt her even more.

However, there wasn't much he could do about the situation now. Since he had failed to kill her yet again, it was unlikely that he would have another chance at that, unless it was some strange chance that she happened to meet someone else while wandering around the woods. Either way, things seemed to be falling apart at a rapid pace. He just wished that he could help them all somehow, but as usual, he didn't know how. With everyone in this mess, there wasn't anyone else that could give him even a tiny bit of advice that might help them escape their current fate.

Chapter 2

The sound of thunder boomed loudly in the distance as Percy sprinted across the field. His black leather shoes flew over the grass underneath his feet as he ran with all his might. He had left Jason behind and his brother had assured him that they would stay together. He trusted the son of Poseidon too, but that wasn't the point. They didn't know if any of the Greeks really believed that Zeus had granted Annabeth's wish to marry Ares. After all, how could they possibly know? Sure, Percy had seen Hades's reaction after the battle, but that was because the Titan lord had assumed that Hera had given birth to Annabeth. If anyone had to believe them, it was Hades. Besides, Percy still wasn't convinced that Hera was responsible for anything. No matter how many times the woman denied anything, it was easy enough to assume she had lied and that it had been Annabeth, not the actual child of Zeus who was carrying the baby. After all, that would have been too convenient otherwise. So, he was certain that Hades hadn't heard that Zeus gave his permission to allow them to marry.

Thunder roared once more in the sky as Percy neared the trees at the bottom of the hill leading up to the cabin where he and his friends would meet with their parents later that evening. The weather was getting colder as well. Usually, it never snowed in winter, only drizzled occasionally and occasionally froze. The last time it rained, though, they had lost half of their supplies and had to hunt for food themselves. In the days since then, the snowfall was coming down faster and thicker every single day. They wouldn't make it to Camp Half-Blood in time for camp dinner. Percy didn't know what their father was planning to do, but if they weren't allowed to eat until noon