A/n: So, this will be the last chapter for a week, since I'm going to a camp off the grid and electronics aren't allowed. I'll try to keep updating once I get back, but it'll be a while. So, here's the chapter I'll leave you with!

PoV: Dex

"Where are we?" Nico asked as we arrived at Rimeshire.

"Rimeshire. My home." I replied quietly, looking around to see if anyone was there.

"You live here? This place is huge!"

" Welcome to the Lost Cities. Here, my house is small. "

Carefully, we walked towards the house. My dad was probably at Slurps and Burps, my mom was maybe doing something for the Black Swan, and the triplets must've been at Foxfire, since when I opened the door, the house was empty.

Slowly, we made our way through the house. My bedroom door was open, and a few of my partially built gadgets had been broken by my siblings, leaving a mess all over the hall. I sighed before making my way to my parents room. Carefully I pushed the door open and stepped inside, Nico following close behind me. Quickly, I searched through the drawers and desks, looking for a pathfinder.

"What are you looking for?" Nico asked as I opened another drawer.

"A pathfinder. Basically, they look like a stick with a crystal on top."

" You mean like this? " Nico asked, causing me to turn. Sure enough, he held a pathfinder, but it wasn't the right one.

"Well, yeah, but this one's blue. " I explained, taking the pathfinder from him, "That means it leads to the Forbidden Cities."

" So anyone can just go back and fourth between here and where the humans live? "

"Not everyone. Just people in the nobility," I clarified, only to become confused, " That's strange... "

"What?"

" Well, neither of my parents can be in the nobility, since they're considered a 'bad match'. So neither of them should have a blue pathfinder. Unless my mom got one from the Black Swan or something... "

Nico looked at me for a few moments, "You know, I used to think humans had pretty useless rules, but this is almost another level."

" Sophie said something like that before, " I replied as I continued searching, "But, judging people by skin color and beliefs sounds pretty bad too."

" Well, you're not wrong. "

"Besides, the whole 'Matchmaking system' was invented to keep divorces from happening. I know that's a problem in the Forbidden Cities."

" Well, yeah I guess-"

"Found it!" I interrupted as I uncovered a pale yellow pathfinder. "This should take us near the hideout."

" What does the yellow mean?"

"It takes us to the neutral territories. We found a Neverseen base there a while ago, and that's where our friends are now." I grabbed on of my father's capes from a closet and put it on, sticking the blue pathfinder in one of its pockets, "Forkle gave me the yellow pathfinder in case we ever needed to go there again, and I'm the only one in our group with one, so it'd be easier to hide."

" Well it's fortunate that it wasn't one of your other friends. "

"Yeah, I don't know how else we could get there if I hadn't given it to my father to hide." I replied, turning the crystal to the right facet, "Alright, now we need to get out, before my family comes home. They can't know we were here."

" Why not? " Nico asked as we left the room.

"If they learn we came back, the Black Swan will know something's wrong and force us all to come back. But we can't take Fitz back. So then they'll plan a rescue mission, but the Neverseen will win and get what they want. It's what happens every time."

" I guess that makes sense. Though, at least you're always fighting the same people. You can figure out their weaknesses and use them, or something. We demigods have to fight new monster all the time. "

"Well, yeah, we can learn about the enemy, but they're constantly growing and are learning more about us, too. And honestly, I don't know if any of them even have weaknesses. "

Nico shrugged and we made it outside. I held the pathfinder to the light and grabbed Nico's arm again, pulling him into the beam.

We arrived quite a few yards away from the base. I let go of Nico's arm and took in my surroundings. The abandoned base was far away, but I could still see the faint outlines of two people waiting near it. Without thinking, I ran towards them, not waiting for Nico.

As I approached I could see the figures better. Both were girls with blonde hair. One of them had an orange t-shirt on, and the other was wearing a knee length red dress. I hurried towards the second one and wrapped her in a hug. Sophie laughed as she hugged me back.

"Hey Dex!" Sophie spoke softly.

"Hi Sophie!" I replied as I moved away. As I looked up at my cousin's face again, I saw her warm, brown eyes shining with tears. She hugged me again, but this time it was shorter.

"I haven't seen you in so long," She quietly said, her smile growing .

"Well, you were missing for a really long time." I smiled.

" Dex! " I heard someone call from behind Sophie. I looked around her nd saw Biana running towards me.

I laughed as she hugged me, "I saw you about a week ago, though! "

Biana giggled as she pulled away, "I know, but Fitz told me what happened, and I was worried."

I felt my smile fall, "When did Fitz tell you?"

" Fitz told you something, Biana? " Sophie asked, "Is it important?"

Biana shook her head, " I thought it might be, but when I was going to tell you you said that Dex was coming, so I knew it didn't matter anymore. " she turned to look at me again, "And he told me about 4 days ago."

" So right after... " I trailed off, not really wanting to talk about what I'd been doing - or rather not doing - the past few days in front of Sophie.

"Well, well, well, look who's here!" I heard Keefe yell, "If it isn't Dexinator!"

I rolled my eyes as he approached me, "Ah, the great Keefe Sencen has come to visit. Great."

"Of course it's great! After all, it's me you're talking about!" Keefe grinned and dramatically ran a hand through his hair.

Sophie rolled her eyes and Biana giggled. "So, who's all here?" I asked.

" Everyone." Sophie stated, "Us, Annabeth, Leo, Linh, Tam, and Marella. Wylie was here for a bit, but then something happened with Prentice and he left. "

"So, do the others know that Annabeth and Leo aren't elves?"

Sophie shook her head, " At the moment, Annabeth is acting like a Talentless and Leo is claiming to be a pyrokinetic had been hiding in the Forbidden Cities his whole life. "

"He's technically not lying!" Biana objected, receiving another eye roll from Sophie.

"So, do you guys have a plan, or..." I trailed off.

"Actually, Dex," Annabeth spoke up from beside me, drawing everyone's attention to her, "We do. And we'll need you're help. But for now, get comfortable with the place. You may be here for a while. "

The last chapter for 7 days has been completed! Not gonna lie, writing this made me really sad, considering everything I have done and will do to hurt these book characters (I know, I hurt them way more than they deserve, but it's in my nature). I also will miss getting to write during this upcoming week, but it will all be worth it if/when I come back with a bunch of new ideas.

I just wanted to get some stuff out of the way. First of all, than you to everyone who's read this story all the way through! If you're reading this, it means you either like my writing or someone told you to read it (Cheshire_SK)

Secondly, I have now entirely decided how I want this story to end (I was debating one part for a very long time) but I'm still willing to include any scenes suggested to me by any of you. It will not change how the story ends, but I like to include other people's ideas.

Sorry for making you guys wait for a week for the next chapter, but I promise I will try to do a better job of updating when I get back. See you all in a week!