29

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"Shit, shit, shit, shit," I hissed under my breath.

"Fucking shit-"

Nico tripped over his feet as I dragged him through an empty corridor. Behind us, an inhumane groaning echoed and bounced off the marble surfaces. The sound sent chills and cold sweat down my spine.

This was a total shitshow.

There were so many things that went wrong, so many that were unforeseen developments, so many things that I didn't account for, things I didn't expect.

I shoved Nico into a crevice in the wall and crammed myself in with him. Clamping a hand over his mouth, I made the motion to stay quiet. I was pretty sure we could hear each other's heartbeats hammering wildly from running. Peeking behind a wall, I held my breath as I kept watch.

Luke appeared in the hallway, his chest heaving as if he had trouble breathing. He was clutching his head, letting loose a pained whimper, and then he looked up. His eyes were unfocused and shattered. His teeth grinded against each other, making an unbearably unpleasant, distorted, clacking sound. There were blood smears over his face and clothes from the torn skin on his knuckles that had scraped against the floor. He kept scratching his scalp, leaving red marks on his skin, and throwing himself against the wall like a creature in agony. Luke literally looked like he had walked out of a mental asylum, unfit to host a Titan.

I should get him out of here. Kronos won't treat him well if he stays around.

"Stay here until I come back for you," I whispered to Nico.

"Wait-"

I ran out of the hole in the wall, yelling, "Luke!"

Luke's crazed eyes widened like a feral animal and he gave chase. We didn't cross paths with anyone in the marble halls since the monsters always stayed below underground while the demigods resided on the other side of the palace. With Luke at my heels, I ran outside, the cold mountainous air hitting my face once I passed the tall entrance and reached the dirt ground. The misty air frosted my breath and chilled the sweat on my brow.

Turning around with open palms, I tried a placating tone to check his sanity. "Luke, do you hear me?"

My voice only aggravated him. Luke grabbed stones and hurled them at me. I dodged some, but a few hit my shoulder and legs.

"You-you, what did you do to me?" Luke howled. His voice carried in high altitude, leaving a slight trail in the wind. He seemed to swing between momentary clarity of consciousness and a deranged, uncontrollable craze every second.

"I cursed you," I said numbly. "I'm really sorry."

With an agonized wail, Luke threw another rock and this time, I didn't avoid it. It clipped me on the forehead.

It didn't hurt, but I would've preferred that it did.

"I'm sorry," I said again, hating myself for only saying those words. It would never be enough to apologize for this.

Luke suddenly looked behind me.

"Annabeth?" He sounded breathless.

I turned around.

Annabeth, Percy, and Rachel stood at the dirt path. Behind those three, Ethan Nakamaur watched with a wide eye.

Percy POV

Percy was desperately trying to make sense of it all.

Ethan had told them that Jade seemed to have her own plans up her sleeve, but it was very unclear what she was thinking. After fleeing the arena, Rachel led them directly to the front entrance of Daedalus' workshop at the heart of the maze. Their joy in the accomplishment lasted only a minute upon meeting the person inside; discovering Quintus as the long-lost inventor wasn't exactly pleasant. It was even more unpleasant to hear Quintus speak of Luke and Jade's visit to take Ariadne's string, which explained why Luke wasn't too mad about Percy killing Antaeus. Quintus also showed the extent of Jade's betrayal; he revealed that Jade had suspected his identity from the very beginning, before they even began the quest.

Even though they weren't happy about Quintus playing both sides, they still tried to persuade Quintus to help camp, but he refused. He'd made an important deal with Luke, something more important to him than Camp Half-Blood, than Olympus.

Luke, back at the arena, had been relaxed, confident, and put together. As they crouched below the incline of the dirt path in front of the Titan Palace, Percy stared at the scene in front of them.

Luke seemed like a different person right now. He looked like one of those homeless people who'd lost a few marbles from living in the harsh conditions on the street. Luke had that same deranged expression with eyes full of paranoia, hurt, and fear.

Jade was there too, but her back was turned with her arms spread out. She gestured as if to calm Luke down.

Annabeth stepped forward, but Percy held her back. He didn't know what was going on right now between Jade and Luke, however it was clear that they were having a serious disagreement. Luke was even throwing rocks at Jade and she let one hit her head.

Besides him, Rachel gasped. "Something's wrong with that guy-"

"What? What's wrong with Luke?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know how to describe it, but something's hurting him and he's in a lot of pain," Rachel answered grimly.

"Annabeth, wait-"

Annabeth took off. With a sound of frustration, Percy followed her with Ethan and Rachel trailing behind at a distance. They got closer within earshot until Luke caught sight of Annabeth. The son of Hermes stepped towards them, but Jade blocked his path.

"What's going on?!" Annabeth shouted.

Turning, Jade didn't answer, her eyebrows in a deep furrow as she looked between them and Luke.

"Help me," Luke begged. He was hunched over and with a close look, Percy could see that something was seriously wrong with the guy. There were small streaks of blood stains all over him, on his clothes, his hands, his face. It was deeply unsettling to see Luke like this because something was just fundamentally wrong with him.

He asked what everyone was thinking. "What happened to you?"

"You shouldn't be here," Jade said stiffly. "It's none of your business."

"What's going on?!" Annabeth demanded. "What happened?!"

The stony expression on Jade's face didn't twitch. "He's under a curse," she said icily. "He's no longer fit to serve Kronos, so I'm kicking him out of the palace."

Rachel let out a small sound of realization. "It's a curse of madness. You did this to him," she pointed at Jade.

Annabeth and Percy mechanically turned to Jade.

There was no way she could do something like this to Luke. There was no way.

"Jade, tell me that's not true," Annabeth's voice shook.

Jade turned her head to the side and let out a long sigh. Seizing the chance to escape, Luke tried to get around her, but Jade grabbed his arm and twisted, judo flipping him over a shoulder. The son of Hermes hit the floor hard, wheezing at the impact, and struggled to get up, but Jade stepped on Luke's chest, pinning him to the ground. Annabeth lunged, but Percy hauled her away, digging into his heels.

"The redhead is right," Jade declared. "I cursed Luke with the Madness of Hera, the same one that plagued Heracles. He's not sane anymore, he's basically a feral human now."

Everyone fell silent at Jade's admission and next to Percy, Annabeth started trembling. From anger or shock, he wasn't sure, but Jade's callous words caused fury to roll over Percy like stormy waves. He wanted to charge in himself and grab Jade by the collar of her shirt. Nothing she was doing made any sense. Why was she acting like this? Luke wasn't exactly Percy's favorite person, but it was so appalling how Jade was treating him. Luke was still on the dirt ground, faint gasping sounds escaping him. Percy was just so angry, he couldn't think of what to say other than wanting to scream at her.

"You guys should leave before the monsters smell you," she said, flicking her hand as if shooing pesky flies.

"What're you going to do with Luke?" Annabeth managed to ask.

Jade shrugged. "Well, I got to get him out of here-"

"To where?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Jade let out a low hum. Then a cruel smile spread across her mouth.

"I think I'll have Luke pay Daedalus a visit in the Labyrinth. I'm sure it'd be a nasty surprise for the old inventor to realize that Luke can't hold his end of their bargain anymore."

Percy's head spun at the answer. Jade was going to send Luke into the Labyrinth in his current state? Percy automatically thought of Chris Rodriguez who was strapped to the benches underneath the Big House and deranged from the maze's torture. Jade knew what happened to people who wandered the Labyrinth alone and she was going to subject Luke to that? There was no way he'd survive.

"No! Give him to us!" Annabeth objected. "We can take care of him!"

She sounded like she was about to cry.

Jade leaned forward. The action caused her combat boot to press into Luke's chest, eliciting a groan.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm using him to send a message to Daedalus. Now go, before I call monsters here."

"Jade, why are you doing this?" Annabeth choked out. "I don't understand, I thought you cared about camp, about us."

Jade slowly blinked once. The bitter wind blew strands of hair over her dark eyes.

"I do care," she said.

Then she started singing.

"Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more-"

"Cover your ears!" Percy ordered Ethan and Rachel. They immediately clapped their hands over their ears, as did Annabeth.

"-No more, no more, no more

Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more."

But as Percy looked on, he realized that she wasn't trying to make them fall asleep. Instead, she was singing to Luke, who she helped get up to his feet and walked him to the trail down the mountain. The trail that led to the entrance of the Labyrinth.

Annabeth and Percy traded horrified realizations.

Jade was hypnotizing Luke into going into the Labyrinth.

"Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more,

No more, no more, no more

Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more."

Percy felt like he was in the middle of a nightmare. He'd never felt so torn. He couldn't risk falling prey to Jade's song, however he couldn't help Luke without using his hands. He could only watch Luke's crazed eyes glaze over as the hypnotism took hold and let Jade lead him by the hand to the Labyrinth like an obedient dog.

"Old woman, old woman, don't treat me so mean-"

Percy blocked Jade's path, shouting, "JADE, STOP-"

"You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen-"

Jade barely gave him a cursory glance and pushed him out of the way, causing Percy to stumble. As they got closer to the Labyrinth, Annabeth stepped into Luke's vision, trying to yell over Jade's singing. When Luke gave no reaction to Annabeth's pleas, she took her hands off her ears and tried to stop Jade.

"Jade-"

Annabeth must've accidentally made direct eye contact because she swayed on her feet, unsteady from the hypnotic gaze.

"I guess if you said so, I'll have to pack my things and go."

With just one line, Annabeth dropped to her knees. Jade easily slipped out of her grasp, continuing to walk with Luke.

"Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more,

No more, no more, no more

Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more."

With the song finished, Jade let go of his hand and Luke entered the maze on his own. The dark hole swallowed up the son of Hermes.

"Luke!" Annabeth yelled, weakly getting up. Rachel went over to help her, but Percy stayed put, reaching out a hand to Jade.

"Jade, please," Percy begged. "Come with us. You can fix this."

It was a last ditch effort. One more chance. His secret hope that Jade would peel off the traitor mask and claim that it was all one big crazy plan.

She gave him a shallow smile before snapping her fingers once. The Mist warped, swirling a blood red haze of smoke, and it shot through the air towards the black palace.

Ethan cursed aloud. "She's calling for backup. We need to go now-"

The son of Nemesis was the one who dragged Percy away from Jade and into the Labyrinth. Rachel slung one of Annabeth's arms over a shoulder as the latter was only half-conscious. Ethan kept them together as they delved into the tunnel, and though Percy didn't fight Ethan's grip, he kept his eyes on Jade.

She stood there with the Titan palace looming behind her, shrouded in heavy Mist.

He would remember this.

I locked the door in my room.

What do I do-

Kronos' Army was outside looking for intruders and Luke. Monsters and demigods alike were swarming down the mountainside. Soon enough, they'll come across no clues and find my call for help suspicious. I was pretty sure a few monsters caught Nico's smell as I took him to my private quarter. I could only imagine how intoxicating the scent of the son of Hades appealed to monsters.

"What's going on, Jade?" His voice sounded so small.

Nico wrung his hands together with his head bowed in front of me. I strode past him and slid down with my back against the wall. The kid followed my footsteps and sat down in front of me.

What do I do-

I stared at the opposite wall for some time.

"Jade? I-I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble-"

It's not his fault. It's not his fault.

At my silence, Nico started crying. "I'm s-sorry," he hiccuped. "Please don't be mad at me."

I watched tears roll down his face as he tried to hold it in.

This is my fault, I decided.

After a second of hesitation, I reached out and brought him closer into a hug, letting his head lean against my shoulder.

"Oh kid," I said. "I'm not mad at you."

Nico knew that I was telling the truth in that I wasn't mad at him, but he was sharp. He also knew that I was in trouble all because he tried looking for me.

He cried harder, saying, "I'm sorry, Jade, I'm really sorry-"

I didn't mean for Nico to be like this. It felt like guilt was piercing my heart, so I held him tighter and repeated my own words.

"It's okay," I told him as I stroked his hair. "It's okay, Nico."

This was my fault. In the end, I forgot about Nico's circumstances. I was the one who brushed off his trauma and thought too lightly of our relationship. He had clearly thought of me like his sister and I knew this, but I didn't value him as much as he did for me. I made him feel like this.

I looked up at the dark ceiling and closed my eyes.

I'm despicable, I quietly lamented as I recalled Annabeth's pleas and Percy's look of hurt when I brushed past them.

Tartarus had to be wrestled with until the next prophecy came to light. My soul would be down under for however long it took and I intended to only have a select few know about it. Maybe it was an influence of my second life, but I didn't want to burden people with the truth of my actions. I'd rather that Annabeth and Percy not know about my purposes. I thought that the truth was a heavy weight to bear.

I thought it was for the best because deep down, I think I would've preferred ignorance over truth if I weren't in this position.

I reflected on what I knew about this world and my plan. And then I recalled Nico's role in the future though the details were fuzzy past a certain point with the Plot with the Roman camp. All I could remember was that Nico would become aware of the Roman camp before everyone else at Camp Half-Blood.

Maybe, I should be better about being honest.

Letting out a shaky breath, I pulled away from Nico to put some space between us. His sniffling face was smeared with tears, so I grabbed my towel from the water basin to wipe his face.

"I have something to tell you, Nico," I said softly. "It's sort of a long story, so listen carefully, and it's not… it's not a happy one. You might actually hate me for it."

It felt like a long time passed in my quarters as I started from the very beginning. At first, Nico's wide black eyes were curious and confused to hear what I had to say, but at some point, they began to shake. There was something heartbreaking about telling the truth to a young kid who shouldn't have to hear it. As much as I wanted to avoid hurting Nico further, I still needed him to carry the weight because I was starting to realize that everything was out of my control. I couldn't do everything by myself; this was something I understood too late. As a result of my stubbornness, I was selfishly burdening Nico, but he needed to know that I wasn't the kind of person he thought I was. By telling him, I was also risking the chance that he'd turn against me, but it was a risk I was willing to take if this was the right thing to do.

I finished explaining and it was clear that Nico wasn't the least bit bothered about the fact that I was living a second life or that I had knowledge of this world.

He stared at me with disbelieving eyes. "Why would I hate you for that?"

His innocent question felt like a knife twisting in my gut.

Nico, who lost his sister and found me, didn't deserve to have me in his life. It wasn't fair to him and I wished I had done better. I wasn't sure what I could've done, but I just wish our lives weren't like this. It was wrong that I had somewhat 'replaced' his sister. In fact, I wished that he never lost his sister in the first place and I wished that I had done something about it from the very beginning. It was wrong that I took advantage of his love for his sister and used him for my own purposes. It was wrong that I purposely withheld knowledge of his sister's death so that I could have Nico trust me.

"Nico," I said quietly. "If I knew everything, that means I knew your sister was going to die in that quest last winter."

The kid stiffened.

"I knew," my voice caught painfully in my throat. "I'm sorry, Nico. I knew."

"What?" The tone of pure confusion brought my head down. I was ashamed to look at him.

My logical, rational side was screaming to stop talking, to deny everything, to lie, but I couldn't.

I can't keep up this farce anymore, I'm not who Nico thinks I am. He should know before I never see him again.

"I knew your sister was going to die," I choked out.

"N-no, you're lying," he stammered. "You couldn't have known, you're lying!"

I kept silent while his tears kept falling. Nico was sobbing too now, holding my shoulder strap down with one hand and weakly hitting my armor with the other.

"Tell me you're lying, Jade, please tell me you're lying," he cried. "Please-"

I shook my head.

"Why?! You mean you knew what was going to happen to Bianca all along?!"

We stayed like that on the floor, him getting more frustrated by the second and me keeping quiet. I wanted to be able to comfort him, maybe beg for forgiveness, and even hold him, but I just felt dirty and worn out. Dirty from the lying. Worn down to the bone by everything. To be honest, I wasn't even sure I had it in me to properly make amends with Nico. Maybe I was being selfish in hoping that Nico wouldn't forgive me so that I wouldn't have to fix this.

I'm just tired of it all, I thought. I was exhausted in every way possible: emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I only had so much in me to do what I needed to do and I was nearing my limit after pushing so much until now.

With my back against the wall, I felt a faint tremble from the ground. Kronos' Army must have finished their search and probably started regrouping to compare their findings, or lack thereof. Then they'll report to the highest ranking person around, which would be either Alabastor, Kelli, or me.

My arms trembled as I pushed myself up.

Nico had to go. This time, no interruptions.

"Come on." I grabbed Nico, his backpack, and a pack of ambrosia from my stash underneath the bed and then dragged him out of my room. He tried to fight my grip, but my fear of losing him to Kronos gave me strength to hold onto him as we walked through the hallway. A lone monster on patrol crossed paths with us and was quickly cut down before it could even release a sound.

In between one of the walls was an entrance to the Labyrinth that was kept shut behind a heavy marble wall. It could only be opened from the outside and it had to be pulled, but I couldn't do that with just one hand since it required a bit of manpower.

"Help me open this, we're leaving," I said. Despite being angry with me, Nico obeyed and gripped the crevice in the marble door to help me.

It made no sound as the door smoothly curved away from the wall, releasing a hiss of cold air from within. We only managed to crack it open for enough space to slide in sideways. Through the opening, I could see tiny glowing stones lining the dirt floor trailing into the darkness. A faint wind brushed past our faces.

I nudged Nico. "You first."

He glared at me with reddened eyes full of hurt and doubt. "We're not done talking."

I put the little bag of ambrosia in his backpack, slinging it over my shoulder. "No, we're not."

Seeing how I was leaving with him, Nico seemed a little more assured and went in first.

I'm sorry, kid. Send my condolences to Percy, too.

The second he stepped in, I reached out and shoved him forward. Nico fell to the ground unhurt, but bewildered as he raised an arm to block his backpack from hitting his face. It wasn't until Nico realized that the door was closing that he scrambled to his feet and panicked.

"Jade-" He sounded desperate.

I grunted as I struggled to push the marble as hard as I could. Nico started pushing against the opposite side, but I was stronger and it was too late. There was barely a sliver of space left until the door would close.

Nico pounded on the door. "No! Jade, please don't-"

I let out a weak laugh. "Sorry, Nico. Stay alive for me, will you? Or else everything will be for nothing."

The marble door softly scraped shut.

Percy POV

No one spoke as they raced through the Labyrinth. At first, the goal was to avoid monsters because true to Ethan's warning, Jade had alerted Kronos' Army of their presence. A few actually had come close to their trails so they ran to avoid getting caught. They were panting by the time they reached a fork in the tunnels.

"Left!" Rachel yelled.

It was a sharp turn, Percy nearly slammed his shoulder against the dirt wall. Rachel tripped, but Ethan was able to pull her up and they didn't stop running. Rachel steered them away from traps, but there was no particular destination in mind - only to get far away from the cloudy mountain and roar of monsters. Percy also felt like they were running away from the sting of betrayal.

They stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock, like a cut section of a natural cave. The howls of monsters no longer chased them, but Percy didn't feel any safer. It was hard to shake off the memory of Jade's impassive face while she stood surrounded by mist.

"I can't keep running," Rachel gasped, clutching her chest.

Annabeth had been crying the entire time during their escape. Now she collapsed and put her head between her knees. Her sobs echoed in the tunnel. Ethan dropped second and then Percy joined him on the floor, ignoring the way how the son of Nemesis tensed ever so slightly.

"This doesn't make sense," Ethan said with frustration. "None of this makes sense."

Percy grunted in agreement. "You helped us," he said.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah well, like I said, nothing is making sense right now."

Percy regarded him for a second. Ethan Nakamura obviously wasn't actually a bad guy. Though he clearly felt different about which side was the right one to pick, the demigod hadn't hurt any of them so far or given any reason to believe that he'd hurt them. If anything, he seemed a bit shaken up about siding with Kronos because of Jade. Maybe there was a chance for Ethan to do what's good.

Annabeth lifted her head. "What...what did Jade do? Why did she do that?"

The last part of her questions, to Luke, went unsaid.

"He got cursed with some sort of madness," Rachel said quietly. "It looked like a hive of angry wasps attacking his mind."

"No," Annabeth said. "Jade wouldn't do that-"

"Jade said it herself," Ethan pointed out. "She said it was the Madness of Hera."

"But he recognized me," Annabeth insisted. "He said my name."

"So maybe the curse didn't fully take hold," Ethan argued. "You saw his face, he didn't look like he was in his right mind."

"Jade wouldn't do that!" Annabeth snapped. "You don't know Jade like I do-"

"She said it herself and then hypnotized the guy into the Labyrinth to die!" Ethan yelled back. "It could not be more clear that she was trying to get rid of Luke."

Percy's head hurt. It was like hearing two different voices inside his head manifesting. The logical one was Ethan while the emotional one was Annabeth. Ethan was right, it looked like Jade did all of that, but Annabeth's words weighed heavily. Jade wouldn't do that, would she? How was it even possible to inflict a curse as bad as that one? She would never treat Luke that way. She could never.

"Stop," Percy said. "We need to keep moving."

"But where to?" Rachel asked.

The four of them took a moment to think. Percy distractedly took out his flashlight and swept it around the cave, observing their options of tunnels. There were no extra openings except for the one past the stalactites dripping water, creating a thin, slow stream. The light beam traveled across the floor and found something.

Percy froze. A few meters in front of them, his flashlight fixed on a trampled clump of red fabric lying on the ground. It was a Rasta cap, the one Grover always wore.

With shaking hands, Percy carefully walked over and picked up the cap. After everything that happened today, Percy fervently prayed that Grover, Tyson, and Briares were safe. He spied three pairs of footprints on the cavern floor, one large set like Tyson's, a normal set like Briares', and smaller ones, specifically goat hooves, leading off to the left.

Ethan came up behind him. "The other half of your party?"

Percy nodded. "We split a while ago. Briares, Tyson, and Grover went that way and it must've been recent."

"I get that you want to follow them, but what about camp? The Titan Army is about to invade any hour," Ethan said.

Annabeth gathered herself and trudged over with Rachel. "We have to find them," she sniffed. "They're our friends."

Following the short trail of footprints, the four of them went deeper into the cave. The tunnel grew treacherous, sloping at strange angles and slimy with moisture. Half of the time, they slipped and slid on top of the slick rocks instead of walking. Eventually they got to the bottom of a slope and found themselves in a larger cavern with huge stalagmite columns.

An underground river ran through the center of the room where Briares and Tyson sat by the banks, the latter cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving.

Percy nearly fell as they ran over to them. "Tyson!"

Tyson visibly brightened. "Percy! You're here!"

Checking Grover, Percy confirmed that his best friend wasn't dead, thank goodness, but his whole body trembled as if he was freezing to death.

With a quick explanation, Tyson recounted what happened until now. The numerous monsters they had faced, the dangers, and how Grover got excited when they came close to here. He ran directly to this spot and then when they reached this area, he said, "We're close". Then he collapsed, as if overcome by something.

Percy suspected it to be the presence of Pan, just like what happened in New Mexico last winter.

Briares confirmed it by saying, "The Wild is close."

Annabeth splashed icy river water in the satyr's face to wake him up.

Grover sputtered awake, his eyes fluttering open. "Percy? Annabeth? How did you guys-"

"We found you guys," Percy said. "You passed out here because of Pan."

The satyr rubbed his eyes. "I-yeah, I remember. Pan."

At the far end of the tunnel was an entrance to another cave, flanked by towering columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. Percy was sure that they'd have to go through there.

Before doing so, they made quick introductions since Briares, Tyson and Grover had never met Rachel or Ethan. Rachel and Ethan were understandably bewildered by Briares' strange anatomy, but they were polite in greeting him. Tyson told Rachel she was pretty, which made Annabeth's nostrils flare like she was going to blow fire. And then Tyson complimented Ethan's one-eyed look, which made Percy lightly huff in amusement despite the circumstances.

Grover stood up with Annabeth and Percy's help as they waded across the underground river. The current was strong and tall, coming up to their waist, so they had to move carefully or else they'd be swept away. Percy willed himself to stay dry, but he could still feel the cold. He could only imagine how much colder and wet the rest of the group felt.

When they got out of the water and reached the crystal pillars, Percy was pretty sure that everyone could feel the power emanating from the next room. It was a different feeling compared to the presence of gods. Percy's skin tingled with living energy. His weariness fell away and he felt stronger. A scent of trees and flowers on a warm summer day was coming from the cave.

They stepped into the cave and they all were too stunned to talk. The walls glittered with crystals in every hue imaginable, casting soft glows and shards of lights across the floor, walls, and ceiling. Beautiful plants grew in the fragmented light, vines bursting with orange and purple berries crept along the crystals, and a green moss carpeted the cave floor. The ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparkling like faraway stars. At the center of it all stood a Roman-style bed with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it, but they were animals that should've gone extinct. There was a dodo bird, a prehistoric sabertooth tiger, the biggest guinea pig Percy had ever seen, and a wooly mammoth that was picking berries with its trunk.

On the bed lay an old satyr. Percy could see the age and magnificence in Pan's appearance: sky blue eyes, snow white curly hair and pointed beard, and enormous, glossy brown cured horns. Around his neck hung a set of reed pipes.

"Lord Pan!" Grover fell to his knees in front of the bed.

The rest of them followed suit, even Ethan. The son of Nemesis in particular looked absolutely overwhelmed by Pan's presence.

Pan smiled kindly, but it was a sad one. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time for you."

"I...got lost," Grover apologized.

Pan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, as if it promised spring and warmth after a long winter. It filled the cavern with hope. Still, the god looked tired. His whole form shimmered as if he were made of Mist. Percy was scared because Pan appeared...fragile.

"My Lord," Grover began pleading. "You must come back with me, please! The Elders will be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"

Pan placed a hand on Grover's head and affectionately ruffled his curly hair. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."

"Chose?" Grover's voice cracked. "What do you mean?"

Pan's image flickered, momentarily turning to smoke. The animals around them got agitated. Percy held his breath. Then Pan re-formed.

The old god began a forlorn story, of his long slumber that steadily grew dark and more prolonged compared to his wakings which grew shorter. He was nearing the end, Pan told them. The news had been broken two thousand years ago, but the satyrs never believed and though it was full of pure intentions and faith, they only delayed the inevitable. Pan's slow, painful passing was extended since then, but now it must end. Pan's time has passed. The Wild, which was everything Pan stood for, was gone. His realm no longer exists on the surface above. He cannot save what had been lost for some time now. The spirit of the Wild can no longer be carried by a god. It was up to those who inhabited the world.

Pan looked straight at Percy with his clear blue eyes.

"Percy Jackson," the god said. "What you've seen today gives you doubt, but I tell you this: when the time comes, you will understand. Have courage."

He turned to Annabeth. "Daughter of Athena, a role that you did not know of has been taken from you. This is a blessing disguised as a curse. Do not be so hard on yourself."

Pan addressed Tyson and Rachel in a similar fashion with words that foretold a certain future. He would sound very final and said each word like it was his last. Percy really wished this wasn't happening. Then the god called out to Ethan, who flinched like he hadn't expected his turn at all.

"Your fate has been offered a different path, Son of Nemesis. Your mother's promise will surely be fulfilled, though it will be up to you if it will end with honor or disgrace."

Ethan instantly paled. Percy guessed that Ethan knew exactly what Pan was talking about. It must be a significant promise for the normally prickly guy to be affected like this.

Pan spoke to Briares last. "Do not let this pitiful appearance of mine discourage you, One-Hundred Handed One," the god said. "You have yet to guide your descendants."

His words were sorrowful, but Pan seemed at peace with his coming demise. After imparting a final blessing to Grover, Pan closed his eyes and his body dissolved into white mist. The curling smoke filled the room and then entered each person's mouth, a bit more going into Grover than the others. With Pan gone, the room felt very, very empty. The crystals dimmed. The animals all breathed their last. They turned grey and crumbled to dust. The vines withered and the flowers wilted. It was like everything faded away.

Percy was acutely aware of the absence of Pan's warmth. It left a hollow feeling.

How are they supposed to have courage, Percy thought, when there seemed to be no hope.

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