Nico's hands were shaking as he took the book, his stomach burned so bad he didn't know what was going to come up if he puked from stress right now. Last time he'd had this thing Percy had nearly killed them all again, which wasn't strictly his fault. Anybody could have gotten the chapter over Annabeth in this circle, but he was still being a naïve child on some level thinking it wouldn't come around again. Just like Bianca wanted, and the more he tried to let go of his anger about her the less he knew how to feel. How was it every time he got this stupid book it was worse than the last-

A warm brush against his shoulder chased away the cold dread. He didn't think much of it as he exhaled in relief to see the blurry words finally come into focus. He read the new, strange as usual chapter title with a hysterical sounding laugh of relief. Bianca hadn't been killed by a pig, he still had a little more time...and no escape plan in sight...

It was Thalia who went ghastly pale and leaned back in her seat. Percy had called her out right after this incident. They would know, and the teasing would never end.

"Question," Jason asked politely, "does the pig snowboard on two feet or all fours?"

"No, the real question is, is Percy better or worse than the swine?" Alex snickered.

"I've never been snowboarding," Magnus said, it was always something he heard snooty rich people talking about like the snow in Boston wasn't good enough for them. "Is a pig the judge we should be using skill level, or Percy?"

"Can't be to much worse than a skateboard?" But Percy sounded no more convinced this was something he shouldn't be concerned about as he looked from the book to Thalia with one of those uneasy feelings again. Whatever her problems with Apollo's bus seemed to have been a one time thing, but she'd been under a near constant state of distress same as him between Annabeth, Luke, and him. Gods he wished he could do anything to give her a break.

Nico was still licking his lips and hesitating to start, Will was making some joke about Miss Piggy nobody seemed to get but was keeping attention. Percy asked as quietly as he could to her, "want to take a break?" Wondering if she'd said no last time because he'd put her on the spot.

"No," she said again, but she breathed just a smidge easier as she grinned at him again for the offer. "Just, just want to get through this." Percy took every jab about his genius-dumbass with a smile. Percy had never said another word about her fear, he'd even gone out of his way to help her avoid it later, but she didn't have the same hope about the others. 

Jason would laugh himself stupid when she told him the truth and claim there was no way possible they were related when he heard this. Magnus, for as much as he looked like his cousin, would tell her that made no sense given her parentage. Alex's nose might fall off she'd start laughing so hard. And oh Gods, Will and Nico were going to go tell everybody at Camp, she'd never be able to show her face there again. She didn't really know Rachel that well, but the mortal Oracle would probably think it just as weird a demigod even had a flaw.

Jason was threatening to wrap the book in bacon though if they didn't all get on with it. Nico looked no more pleased than her to turn to the words, so hopefully he'd read quickly and just get it over with.

... Tall pine trees loomed over the valley,

"Did seeing those make you homesick?" Percy smirked at Thalia.

"Do you want a fish shoved up your nose?" She asked back pleasantly.

... Annabeth was only alive until the solstice, and something about a sacrifice.

"Do multiple motivations help get you there faster?" Magnus asked uneasily. He'd settle for some woodland magic from Grover or Apollo breaking the laws of dimension again to get there already.

"Unified goal," Thalia nodded.

... "Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."

"How old is coffee?" Rachel asked in surprise. "I'm just imagining her calling our version that we drown in sugar and creamer weak."

"I have no idea," Thalia admitted, "15th century or something? She drank it black." The Hunters still offered a moment of silence to her and all their fallen sisters every full moon over a steaming hot cup.

Percy would swear his ear twitched over something. Zoe speaking in her gruff way again, even something they could all agree on, coffee was good. It was just so different from the way she'd spoken in his dream. That must be why Thalia's words rung strangely in his head.

...Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store.

Percy arched a curious brow about that for reasons unknown to him. Something about her had been clicking in the back of his mind like an annoying pen, and Nico making strange tongue tied faces every time she was didn't help at all to figure out why he still swore he vaguely recognized them. They'd yet had a chance to continue their peculiar conversation from the train where apparently she found subways popping up.

There was no obvious link except Bianca was who Thalia would soon be, but he hoped she shared with them what other line he was trying to draw.

... Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming, but she did.

Nico tried not to let himself puzzle at that. He felt like he never knew his sister well enough to understand anything about her. Did the uncomfortableness come from Percy, and she already hated males? Was it Thalia, and Zoe's dislike of her rubbed off already? She hadn't much to do on this quest so far except help them escape the helicopter. It's not like he had any way of guessing if she was missing him at all.

...we found out a few things; there wasn't enough snow for skiing,

"So the pig is going to have to work for it, got it," Alex snorted.

the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar,

"The highlight of the town I'm sure," Jason said with a cheerful smile for this small town economy.

and there was no way in or out of town unless you had a car.

Percy was rubbing his forehead in exhaustion, but he knew he'd never get any decent sleep so long as Annabeth was in danger. "This is one of those towns I can't imagine growing up in, it's so isolated and creepy."

"New York Pride Cap aside, I am with Percy," Thalia sighed. She felt like a serial killer or a monster could make that town vanish in five minutes.

...The clerk looked so lonely, I bought a rubber rat.

Which caused multiple laughs around Percy who grinned indulgently.

"I hope your mother never gives you pocket change, you'd go broke walking around Central Park," Rachel chuckled.

"No, no, we encourage this behavior," Alex nodded. "I will make all the rubber rats you like Percy!"

"If I wake up with a rat in my bed tomorrow Alex, you'll find it in your nightmares," Percy promised.

... I had a feeling Thalia was still upset about last night.

"Look at Percy getting a gold star," Thalia gave him a friendly enough smile now and he grinned back in relief. He hoped her good mood with him again didn't stem from him getting turned into a pig.

... I wasn't sure what to say, her being a Hunter. "Nice rat," she said at last.

"Now there's a compliment you just don't get to hear very often," Magnus chuckled.

I set it on the railing. Maybe it would attract more business for them.

"Pretty sure that's the opposite of how that works," Will told him in concern. "Is it a New York staple to see rats and want to go there?"

"It was a very cute rubber rat," Percy said with a straight face. "Great attention to detail."

"How do you like being a Hunter?" I asked...

The question felt strange coming off of Nico's lips. He'd never gotten the chance to ask her that. He hesitated reading the next sentence because his mind was floundering if he'd get a different answer than she'd give Percy. Which was the lie and truth?

..."I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Artemis gone.

Jason ruffled uneasily as Nico swallowed. That didn't feel like a great answer to him either, watching Thalia nod in agreement. Diana was a just goddess and cared about her followers, but Bianca hadn't known her long enough to be more than told this, let along grasp it herself. Something in him struggled with her blind faith, and yet sympathized with it.

... long after I was dead, Bianca would still look twelve years old.

Thalia had wrestled with this aspect, her salvation and disconnection. Annabeth would forever age past her, happy with Percy while she'd gotten her own family in the Hunters. Now Jason would too. She did not regret her choice, she knew if she'd even been told Jason were still out there before Artemis had accepted her vow she would have gone through with it and taken her place to heart that day on the Solstice. She would not be the child of the prophecy.

But what if she'd known the moment she fell out of the tree? Any time she was on the run? Would she have been able to make the same choice as Bianca and hope Jason would still be fine without her, the potential child of the Prophecy himself just to save herself from that choice? It was a question that had no answer, but she longed more every passage to speak to a Hunter sister she'd never properly gotten to know. Bianca was truly a girl who could have understood so much of her life like no other.

"Nico doesn't understand," she said like she wanted assurance.

Nico somehow went even more flummoxed at that. Should he want Percy to be angry on his behalf again, or defend Bianca's choice too like he was trying to come to terms with now. He was starting to get such a splitting headache the words were blurring right off the page.

"Nico?" A soft, gentle voice said right beside him. It wasn't Bianca's, but it had the same soothing way about it he hadn't heard in a very long time now. He wasn't even sure if some of those memories were fake or real. "Did you want a break?"

Will watched in concern as Nico dragged his eyes to look at him. Will wished he could just say Nico could read this to himself, but that wouldn't be fair to Percy, this was his memory, they were just visiting. This was so personal to both of them. If he could just get a spare moment where everybody broke off he could ask if Nico and Percy wanted to read this part by themselves, Will would find a way to make that happen.

Nico very much wanted to say yes. He wanted another fruitless search about this place to try and get out again. He wanted to bury this book six feet deep before he had to hear what had happened to his sister in explicit detail, but he wanted to stop sitting around waiting on tenterhooks for that pain to drop more.

Then the pity would come, and maybe Percy would try to talk to him. Percy honestly didn't know if Annabeth was alive right now, it would be the most grounded conversation they'd ever have.

"No," Nico answered quickly, trying to clear his throat and not show how tired of this he was.

Nico still didn't seem to notice how the darkness got a little more depth around him every time he said his sisters name, a black hole slowly but steadily opening in the wall.

..."Camp takes in a lot of young kids. They did for Annabeth."

Nico's scoff was painful to his own ears. Now even Percy was drawing lines between him and Annabeth, as if he could ever be anything like that golden girl.

...She's lucky to have a friend like you." "Lot of good it did her."

Nico couldn't stop himself glancing up at Percy, a cautious hopeful feeling they could talk about this too. Their guilt. It wouldn't erase it, but Percy had been carrying that on him this whole time and understand Nico's own grief he hadn't been there in the one moment where it mattered most.

Percy was looking right through him, as usual, even while holding the book. Nico was even quite proud of himself now looking back that hadn't been bothering him yet, always fidgeting with his pen and watching Thalia while only glancing at the book. The purple spine. Not him. He tried to take comfort in that, surely if Bianca's death was coming any time soon Percy would have some lingering memory to keep an eye on him?

... I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine.

Nico's laugh was a little more harsh than he'd mean it to be, and the joke was only funny to him. Was he fine? Objectively not, roaming the world and contemplating going into Tartarus to find a goal in life. The fact that she'd factored this at all though was a kindness he hadn't expected. Better than just not caring at all.

It was a strange thing to laugh at to anyone else, who as usual just seemed to think Nico odd.

Except Will, who was probably growing to nosy levels of curiosity wanting to ask. Crap, he needed a medical text book to keep him distracted, he was starting to become a little obsessed wondering at every single reaction of his.

...She laughed. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good guy."

"Seconded," Rachel laughed, and he tried to kill her when they first met.

"Eh," Thalia smirked, "you're not the worst boy I've met." Her smirk grew as she put an eerie, Zoe like accent on use of the word boy.

"Why thank you," he told them both with a surprised smile, he wasn't used to getting so many compliments. "I hope I hold to that standard."

... A lot easier to hang out with than Zoe Nightshade, anyway.

Nico let out a spluttered noise that might have been a laugh if he'd stop trying to smother it. Oh the irony, Percy couldn't stand him, but his sister was okay!

Percy watched him now, in concern what that noise was, while Will bit his lip to hide a smile. He didn't add that to his list of times he'd heard Nico laugh though, it held to much self deprecation in it.

... "Where did you go to school before Westover?"

Nico decided he'd rather eat this book page by page than keep reading, his hands were now visibly trembling in frustration of how she was about to answer that. The false memories, the cloudy haze of feelings that had lingered in shadowed faces he couldn't remember but knew were there. Nightmares that had started that first night at camp and chased him to this day. He knew his mothers face now, her voice, but his dreams kept forgetting.

"Sorry Nico," Percy's voice still stunned him through the heart, but it was more of a jolt than a whole band number when he looked around.

"You were curious," he said, trying his hardest to keep the defensiveness out of his voice. "If Bianca's okay answering, so am I."

Will was waiting for it now and felt the icy chill blast through the room, as everybody else shivered and looked at Percy but he still saw Nico's shadow flutter. Percy, Bianca, Will tugged nervously on his ear and started to get a concrete theory about Nico he was beginning to suspect the guy himself had never confronted.

... "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."

"It always does," Magnus agreed with a wince. It scared him how the mundane of shuffling around town looking for something to sustain him all blurred together, he'd go days without remembering his mothers voice before it was punched into his ear by any innocent person on the street saying the randomest things.

... We traveled a lot, and stayed in this hotel for a few weeks.

Nico's voice quivered, just a slight pitch up and down that could pass as him catching his breath. It only confirmed something Will had guessed at when Percy traveled through Vegas, and his plans to burn down that place only solidified.

... back through D.C., and we started going to Westover." It was a strange story.

"Understatement," Rachel promised, but her tone was all open curiosity to hear more. She'd been following Chiron around near constantly while at Camp asking him to start transcribing all stories of who passed through. She was whittling him down bribe by bribe on upgrades via Dare Enterprise. Those new saddle bags should arrive by the time they got back and she was sure he'd say yes this time.

...need to know what it's like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."

She'd never said that to him. She'd go on and on about what things he should and shouldn't be watching, eating, which kids at school he should talk to. He'd never asked her to do all that, all she would have had to do was say she wanted some space!

"Breathe Nico," a quiet voice said beside him.

He did out of shock, the breath shuddering out of him as his ears popped. He'd almost forgotten where he was. He'd been so lost he'd been convinced for a moment his sister was back and actually explaining herself to him. A rush of gratitude had him smile at Will for just a moment before just as quickly looking away. He wished he were alone for this, but his presence didn't feel intruding. He was just used to being alone.

... I had a Cyclops for a baby brother. I could relate to Bianca.

Percy had been ashamed of Tyson until he lost him. Nico really hoped it hadn't taken his sister her last breath to decide she should still want something to do with him.

"Not like that Nico," Percy's voice made him jump. He looked around in surprise what he'd done to get his full attention, and felt his stomach plummet to see the apology on his lips. He didn't want to imagine the look that had been on his face to earn that again.

"I know," Nico brushed off. "All siblings are different, whatever." Percy hadn't abandoned Tyson at camp when he could have. Maybe that was finally it, she was ashamed of him. She'd always called his game dumb and lame. 'Look at me now Bianca, all grown up,' he mentally scoffed for her.

..."on the pavilion, something about the General."

"I'm with Alex on this very important point," Thalia snorted. "You have no filter. Who admits to ease dropping?"

"Worth it if she answers?" Percy said without thinking.

"If I ever catch you ease dropping on me I'll pin your feet to the floor," she promised.

"Seconded," Alex needlessly added, but her name had been invoked in the conversation, which was enough of an excuse for her.

... I could almost ignore the outraged look Bianca was giving me.

That caused some mild spluttering laughter from them to Percy's chagrin, especially when Rachel asked, "still enjoy talking to her now?"

"I'll get back to you on that," Percy said without much regret.

..."Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"Are they special acorns from a sacred grove watered with the tears of unicorns?" Magnus asked in a resigned tone.

"You say that like it's not going to be done by a satyr," Thalia shrugged in answer. "Even half-bloods can't fully wrap their minds around how woodland magic works."

Jason always looked just as confused as Magnus whenever they were mentioned, and Thalia deeply wondered at that. Where exactly had he been where monsters and gods didn't phase him but the good creatures that assisted their camp didn't strike his past?

... a gust of spring had gotten lost in the middle of winter. A warning.

"Is the God of pigs going to show up and give you a ride next?" Alex asked eagerly. This sounded like some serious mojo going on, and the warning hadn't been mentioned as good or bad.

... "We have to get out of here."

Percy didn't need to ask, his hands were already in motion to grab Grover before his mind caught up with his body and his best friend wasn't at his feet.

Thalia was smiling and gave him a friendly nudge. "At least that lack of thinking comes in handy when we need it."

"Here to help," he chuckled.

...made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeletons appeared.

"I'm curious what they plan to do with you if they'd killed you," Alex admitted. "They don't feed you to a pig to hide the evidence do they?"

"I didn't stop to ask," Percy told, and he was holding to that now by refusing to let himself wonder what the hell Alex meant by that.

... it would be cool to shoot a gun, but that changed when they pointed theirs at me.

For the first time in these horrible about to die situations, Percy took a moment to thank whoever cared to listen to his prayer his mother wasn't here. She wouldn't have been any happier about monsters nearly killing him every other chapter, but there was something so, modern about a gun being pointed at him. A childhood fear he'd never experienced but had seen plenty of stories about. A weapon he'd always thought of in the hands of cops and mortals first instead of zombies, that now made his mothers troubled blue eyes come clearly to mind.

...they didn't flinch at Aegis. Their yellow eyes bored right into me.

"That was terrifying," Will whispered, and it wasn't a joke. He meant every word. Any creature that didn't flinch from that made him wish for an endless amount of Greek fire.

...Bianca was having trouble, Grover kept swooning against her.

"If I wasn't so worried about him I'd smack him myself," Percy groaned his best friend wouldn't stop the gawking now.

...Two more appeared behind us. We were surrounded.

Jason let out a string of swears that didn't need translation. "They're intelligent!"

"Percy makes good plans and we don't call him intelligent," Thalia sighed.

"Can we mock me after we're done almost dying?" Percy asked without any hope.

Which Rachel aptly delivered. "That's never."

... He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone.

Nico felt Percy's eyes on him again. The intensity, the way the water moved around them again as he tried to connect a dot.

He just didn't care right now as he wondered again about his sister. Had she understood what they said and been freaked out? It took a bit of practice to understand perfectly, but if she'd gotten even an inkling of an idea she was the only one, what could he even hope for anymore? That she was freaked out at these crazy powers and anything associated with them, like him? That she'd used it to try and help save Percy?

... "The gift. The gift from the Wild."

"A wild, pig?" Alex asked in confusion. It really was nice to see everyone as confused about this as Percy for once, even Thalia who still wasn't really sure how Pan had come to the conclusion he had sending that beast.

...He was in no shape to walk, much less fight.

"Goaty-back ride," Will said with a straight face. "Leave no man behind."

"I don't intend to," Percy agreed confidently, something he and Zoe actually had in common.

... "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover." "Agreed," said Zoe.

Percy and Thalia fist bumped. Percy was even about to make the ardent comment to tell her to thank Zoe for him for a moment before his stomach curdled. The silver circlet on his friends head so like Zoe's held his tongue. It didn't seem likely when Thalia had joined Zoe had just casually stepped down from her position, so it might be a sore subject.

"The Wild!" Grover moaned.

"Better than moaning about food again," Magnus said in concern how often this poor guy was left on the verge of passing out.

...I remembered the way Luke had betrayed her. And I charged.

"Well those zombies are dead," Jason said casually.

"I'd almost feel bad for them if they weren't hell bent on killing you guys," Alex nodded with a still curious pucker to her lips. "Do they have souls? Like how sentient are these killing machines? Should I feel bad?"

"No," Thalia answered darkly before Nico could impulsively answer. The level threat in her voice against the skeletons made their worry go up another notch, that they hadn't even seen the beginning of how bad these murderous attempts would go.

The first skeleton fired... I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging.

Nico choked on his words by the end, still shamefully etching that into his mind with the usual rise and fall of awe and then disgust at himself. He knew he didn't have a chance and he still couldn't help panting over every single thing Percy did like a child.

"That was seriously badass Percy," Will told him in the same kind of adoration. "Please tell me you saved that bullet and carved your name into it, there's space in your cabin to frame it."

"I will not be doing autographs at this time," Percy said with one of those cheeky grins that made the whole campfire burn bright white with laughter and reach to the stars. Nico usually backed away as fast as possible from the crowds reverence of him, convinced someone would spot his otherness in his false chuckle, but he couldn't do that in here.

"Well at the very least promise to have this in your next reenactment," Will insisted.

"What reenactment?" Percy asked, his confidence clearly slipping. "Please tell me you're joking about those Will!"

Thalia swiftly cut in as the snickers subsided, "if Chiron hears of any of you even thinking of bringing a gun to camp to try he'll pin a tail on all of you."

"Not a real gun," Will looked offended at the assumption while Nico harshly cleared his throat to try and keep going. At least the blush had left his face.

... Then I swung Riptide through his waist and cut him in half.

"Gruesome," Jason said complimentary. He didn't even know if he had any sword fighting capabilities, but he really wanted to test that theory on a mock battle with Percy to find out.

...I thought I was doing alright until they shot me in the back. "Percy!" Thalia screamed.

Thalia's heart still skipped a beat. She still heard the cry ripped from her throat as every emotion fractured through her to fast. Her guilt, she'd wanted him gone, but not like this. She hadn't been fast enough. Her horror, there would be so much blood, she'd have to find a way to wrap his body in a shroud fast. Her pleading words to Annabeth all as useless as the next to try and explain what had happened and maybe Annabeth would cry all night on her shoulder this time, or blame her-

...My coat was bulletproof. Thalia charged the second skeleton.

She'd been in motion before she'd even realized that was him sitting up, not even dazed as he spat out snow and looked on in surprise at that goofy brown duster. Only vengeance had been in her heart to fell this one threat, do this one thing and dismantle that skeleton every bone at a time for daring to make her think the worst, lose another friend again. By the time she'd realized he didn't have a scratch on him she was to busy trying to calm her racing heart he wasn't a new skeleton warrior himself as they were being chased up a hill by a pig, and he'd in turn saved her own life. It's just how they were.

...Grover held his hands out to the trees like he wanted to hug them.

"Wouldn't be the first time, but even an Aphrodite kid wouldn't stop in the middle of a fight to flirt," Rachel shook her head in unease where this was going.

...The skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

Percy shivered slightly at the look that had been on her face. Just for a brief moment as her reflexes went in for a killing blow. Something in the grim set of her mouth that made a hazy vision of a dark throne room try blossoming to mind.

Alex's eyes instantly gleamed with want, even Magnus and Jason looked equally impressed as they were confused.

"Where do I get one of those?" Alex demanded.

"Why did you not lead with those?" Jason asked.

Thalia kept her hunting knife sheathed and her smile flippant as she laughed off, "it would ruin our brand to start with the short range weapon," while Percy was once again looking as close to seasick as he could get studying Nico. He had the book so close to his face it looked like he was trying to implant the words into his nose.

"How did you do that?" Zoe asked.

Their confusion overruled their interest though as they realized Zoe, and maybe even Thalia didn't know how Bianca had done that. Which certainly made that, strange. Even by these books standards.

... the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road.

"Well that's one way to keep attention off a skeleton for a moment," Magnus muttered.

... Its back was bristled, its eyes wild and angry.

"I would be too if I walked in on this mess in my backyard," Jason frowned.

"Excuse me while I faint for a moment," Magnus shuddered head to toe. His mom had told him about wild pigs and how vicious they were. The normal ones.

... they were smashed to pieces, thigh bones twirling everywhere.

"I always wanted to sing the bone song, I bet these guys would make great background noise," Will said while still batting his eyes at the abrupt change.

...Grover yelled, "Don't kill it.'" The boar pawed the ground ready to charge.

"I think the boar agrees," Alex mock whispered.

..."That's the Erymanthian Boar, I don't think we can kill it."

"Zoe still keeping up with the positive note," Nico sighed.

..."Yeah, I feel blessed!" I said. "Scatter!"

"Why is this par for the course of every gift I get?" Percy demanded. "Every single thing a god has given me has nearly killed me!"

"Ares's backpack, the wind thermos, now this guy," Jason agreed as he ticked off on his fingers, and for once Percy didn't even roll his eyes as he gestured at him in thanks for proving his point. "Everything except from Neptune, and I'm kind of withholding judgment on the fountain to see if he wants anything from you."

"Thanks," Percy sighed, almost wishing somebody had argued with him.

"Tyson was a gift from your dad too, kind of," Will reminded, "and he never tried to kill you."

"Okay, with the major exception from my dad," Percy reluctantly amended.

..."It wants to kill us!" Thalia said. "Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"

"My favorite thing is Grover being offended at you guys," Alex admitted.

"Then we will never disappoint at least you," Thalia sighed.

"How is that a blessing?" It seemed a fair question to me, but the pig was offended and charged her.

"The boar clearly doesn't agree with you," Nico told Alex with a very put off scowl. Percy felt bad for the guy, it couldn't be fun for him to sit over there and hear in detail all the times his sister had almost died while he'd barely been able to help her, let alone keep his promise on her being safe.

...It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME sign.

"I bet it cost their whole town budget to fix that," Rachel said with one of those strange looks in her eyes that meant a charity drive was going to be formed soon. Percy found the look endearing for the split second he noticed, but he was to amped up to even think to ask.

... I hoped Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.

"They probably are against bears," Nico offered, he'd wound up in one to many insurance offices for his liking to know small towns usually went big on wild animals that were often mistaken for monsters anyways.

"Probably not against you guys though, so lets lead it away from town," Rachel unhelpfully reminded.

... Thalia and I won the prize for bad luck.

"Typical," they said together in the exact same tone.

...  Maybe Aegis looked too much like a relative. The boar charged us.

"Would Grover eat an animal that tried to kill you? I'm thinking bacon and ham sandwiches the rest of the trip," Alex said with pretty high confidence they were going to use this things weight against it and trick this boar.

"I doubt it," Percy shrugged, while beside him Thalia was slowly but steadily turning the color of that snow. Percy shifted uneasily towards her in fear that thing had nearly killed her, he very much doubted her dad would bless the same miracle twice, or that the pine trees would miraculously try to save her.

... we dodged in and out of trees while the boar plowed through them.

"Eh," Alex looked like she vaguely approved of their plan at least.

"He hasn't used The Phrase yet," Magnus said with mild hope, "hopefully this is the extent of defeating the monster for once."

"It worked on Echidna," she agreed halfheartedly.

... an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I had a crazy idea.

"Yes!" Alex cheered, clearly the only one excited.

"Nope, there it is," Magnus face palmed.

"I was starting to get worried you were going to stay on the bunny course," Rachel laughed. Gods forbid they got away from this to easily.

Percy gave a sarcastic laugh for them while Thalia was taking painful sounding breaths, he'd swear he could hear her lungs pop as she went deathly still, like the more words that poured out of Nico's mouth were sucking the life out of her.

... Below dropped into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet.

"Oh crap!" Jason yelped, though only Thalia had noticed he'd gone weirdly quiet this last page.

Her eyes were glassy, she looked very much like she actually wanted to never see the light of day again her lip was trembling so much, as if on the verge of screaming at them or just in general.

Nico couldn't believe what he was seeing for a moment, looking from the book back to her with the same confounded expression as if somebody had told him to sing on the spot. Thalia, daughter of Zeus, looked scared. He didn't know if he was supposed to keep going, if his assumption had been wrong and Bianca had somehow died at the bottom of this gorge.

Percy got up with a resilient look on his face, pen in his less dominant hand but still for all the world looking ready to stab someone to take the book away for whatever it was doing to her.

"Don't," she gasped what could have been her last breath, but she wouldn't chicken out of this. The veritable list of reasons why she should sprawled out before her; Jason would know how pathetic she was, she'd never hear the end of the laughing, but dammit she was doing this for Percy and Nico. They were stuck here and she wasn't going to pretend she alone shouldn't have to bear her worst moments.

Percy wavered but ultimately sat back down beside her. The room was the kind of deathly quiet that never proceeded anything good as they all found themselves holding their breath to find out what horrors awaited at the bottom.

...She looked down and swallowed. I swear she was turning green.

Thalia had her boots planted very firmly on the ground in here, her blue eyes were a fog of the room as she tried to convince her heart not to pound out of her chest, not to let that feeling take over her now. The sense of nothingness beneath, that she'd fall forever as the world spun sickeningly around her making everything seem wrong side up so she didn't know which way was down.

Luke wasn't here to grab her hand and ground her to that tree they'd climbed up in a panic to escape some evil mole looking creatures. The first time she'd ever been so high up and saw how thinly they were connected to the world by only a hop away from the earth.

Percy slung his arm over her shoulder. The pressure and weight of him again like he was about to push her over that cliff so they could slide to safety was an annoying reminder, but her flinch wasn't for him. It was seeing this room settle again, and be grateful it was Poseidon who had kidnapped them. Her father would probably dangle her over Olympus laughing until she got over it if he heard this.

The white noise in her ears faded somewhat as her friend stayed close beside her and Nico finished pausing for breath before finishing.

... The boar was charging straight toward us. Plan B.

"Gods forbid you ever get to plan C," Magnus said. Most of Percy's crazy ideas worked on the first try, mass chaos might ensue if he even got close to D.

"You're assuming he ever makes plans," Alex corrected.

... landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOF! Thalia and I skidded to a stop.

"So, did the pig win the race?" Will asked lightly.

"Nobody ever said what the prize was," Nico shrugged as he looked away from the last page. His sister hadn't been squashed under that boar, everybody was alive, he could spare a smile. "Shouldn't the fun they had be the prize?"

Will's whole body glowed when he laughed like that. "That's camp lesson 101, you sound like head councilor material."

Nico rolled his eyes and turned back away, but nobody could miss his little smirk.

Thalia was still rubbing her chest and watching them suspiciously to finish the rest of this disaster. Glad it was all fun and games to them, for now. She alone knew the next catastrophic thing to happen on this quest, and it wasn't her senseless fear.

... It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere either.

"Your concern is touching," Rachel told him sincerely. "I'm sure Grover will be thrilled."

Percy didn't answer as he kept his eyes on Thalia, his mouth twitching as he studied his friend.

I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."

Nico snapped his mouth shut like he'd said a dirty word and looked around with a wild apology. "Sorry! I didn't mean to say, I should have, sorry!" He'd been the one to tell her she didn't have to reveal personal stuff and here he was, blurting it out.

Thalia kept her eyes on the ceiling and said in an eerie resemblance to Artemis's smooth, candid way of speaking, "I made the decision I don't care who knows."

"The bus!" Alex realized. "Oh honey," she said it with a strange maternal accent Magnus could never have imagined coming from her, but seemed to suite her.

"I commend you for dealing with that like you have been," Magnus agreed, he knew he never acted so calm whenever a wolf was even mentioned.

Jason was still watching her like he was waiting for her to deny it. Percy had that same stupid look on his face like he had at the time, the adrenaline coming down, his mouth spewing words while he brushed off their nearest death experience with that wild smile.

She brushed her hands violently through her hair like she still expected to feel pine needles tickling down her neck, her skin felt on needles waiting for the surprise to wear off and the laughter to kick in. It didn't dislodge Percy's arm, and he didn't pull away. "Can we move on?" She demanded.

... "If you tell anyone, I swear—"

"Sorry," Percy said with his own uneasy look around. "I, um-"

"Trust me, you didn't ask your dad to do, this to you," she gestured at all of him. His past being reveled through a book, his impulsive mouth. The entire group looking at the pair of them waiting for a fight to start. "Can't be mad at you for this Perce."

Percy stared at her with those eerie green eyes and seemed to realize something she hadn't meant to spoil, his arm did slide away as he swallowed. She'd been with the Hunters for some time after these events. She was older, not as angry, more at peace with her own life.

He turned back to the book, and she silently cursed. The one time she hadn't threatened to beat him to a pulp, and this is what it got her.

... the daughter of Zeus, Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?"

"I don't see what that has to do with it," Jason said candidly. "Are Ceres's children not supposed to be afraid of venomous snakes just because those are sacred to her? Are Pluto's children not suppose to fear being buried alive because he masters the riches in the earth?"

"It's ironic," Percy insisted, but also relented, "but it's not like I didn't squeal for my life when that shark nudged up to me my first time in the ocean, still scared the piss out of me."

"Fear's aren't rational, no matter who your parents are," Rachel agreed with a shrug.

Thalia was tempted to take her boots off and make sure somebody hadn't swapped her feet around she felt so wrong footed. She'd known her best friend in here wouldn't dwell on it, but the other's not even hinting at a chuckle made one escape past her lips. Maybe she'd been spending to much time around her Hunters, expecting the worst from all these boys.

Her eyes lingered on Jason as she bit her lip with guilt. That was one excuse she could cross of delaying telling him. She was looking forward to the next book least of all, hearing Percy's first hand account of what he found in that golden sarcophagus. Maybe she could try talking the others into reading one of those other books to try and get a hint of Jason's backstory after all.

... We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

"Didn't even consider putting the poor animal out of its misery?" Alex asked in what she clearly thought was an impression of Grover. "Just going to sit and watch it suffer?"

"It was going to come out," Percy promised, "and Grover summoned the thing! If he was going to want it dead, he'd say so."

"A blessing of the Wild," now Grover looked agitated.

"There it is!" Alex cackled. "Everybody on the same page now!"

"Guess the wow factor wears off when he's not half-passed out and it nearly kills them all," Magnus agreed.

...She looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree.

"It was the perfect look on you," Percy said innocently, "you could dress up every year for Halloween like that and everybody would get the joke! A few ornaments, a star on your head you could light up yourself- ouch!"

Sparks were still flying from her finger as she raised it threateningly again. Percy had the good sense to shut his mouth though.

... our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"No," Will admitted. "Why does he?"

"The pig's bragging about it?" Percy answered blankly.

"He knows every myth associated with animals," Thalia said only a smidge more confidently.

"Fun," I said. "Like, pig cowboys."

"Oink, oink," Magnus snickered.

"We're going to get through the whole farm if this book keeps up," Alex agreed proudly.

...Grover didn't seem to hear me. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back.

"Now you know he's in a bad mood," Will winced, "I've never heard him ignoring you."

"He gets pretty focused," Percy agreed, a forlorn smile showing he wasn't hurt in the slightest. Grover had come on this quest to find some sort of sign for a blessing of the Wild, and Percy got the hint much faster this time that's what his best friend must have felt.

... The apple floated right above the boar's nose, and he went nuts straining to get it.

Magnus raised his hand with a blank face. "What possible other uses does that spell have? How often do you need to levitate fruit for this to be a thing? Is it just an apple? Can he levitate anything like that?"

"None of us have grown hooves yet," Percy reminded. "I will gladly introduce you when we get out of here so you can ask him yourself."

... "What presence?" She stared at me like I was an idiot.

"Missing Annabeth slightly less yet?" Thalia snorted.

Okay, so Percy had gotten it a few minutes earlier than last time, but he was still proud of himself enough he just gave her a light shove.

...Just for a moment, as the boar arrived, I felt the presence of Pan."

"Chapter's over," Nico said, his voice so tense it almost didn't sound like English for a second. Then he did trail off into mutters of another language only Thalia clued into was Italian. She watched Will ignorantly reach for the book with his own little surprised stare with a lump in her throat as her eyes flinched from Percy and back to the only child of Hades.

To warn him would tip off her friend, but to say nothing would leave the poor kid blindsided. He knew his sister hadn't come back, but she felt obligated not to make him think it wasn't near.

There was just no way possible Nico could hide that reaction from Percy, he wouldn't not notice.

To say nothing to Nico felt like the easy way out, her hands wouldn't be free of blame when she could have done something.

The weight of her roll in here settled on her back as she told Will to wait a moment before he could start, trying to gauge the pressure this prison could take. Who was her greater priority?

Her best friend who couldn't know, or the kid who had lost to much?

PJOPJOPJO

You guys have no idea how much I'm looking forward to this chapter in the upcoming show. Like, all evidence to the contrary, and the rest of it is terrible and only chugs along to this exact spot and gets dropped, I will be front and center watching these scenes play out with bated breath because it is everything I love. Percy and Bianca's talk, Thalia screaming Percy's name in fear if she just witnessed him die, Bianca's badass Hades power getting their first hint, snowboarding on Aegis, the pig going poooof into the snow, Thalia covered in pine needles while Percy smiles like a dope and promises he won't tell her secret, Percy understanding Thalia's every move, these two being such a damn good team! I will have every detail and background Easter egg of this etched into my memory and replay it so many times (part two) the show will have no choice but to continue if I'm the last one standing.

Which I doubt, but is not the point right now.