PROLOGUE

Coincidence

The world had suffered during the time of the second demigod war. With everything thrown out of order by the rise of Gaea, forces were able to take advantage of the unprotected planet. Unknown to each other, two groups of heroes rose to combat the separate stirring evils. Even the threats themselves did not know that each other existed. They were two parts of a fractured world, a world spilt apart by different forces, and destined to remain apart. But though both pieces were preserved, saved, and restored, a threat on each piece remained, hidden, waiting like a snake to strike. One could not do much damage, but it held the power of knowledge, the knowledge only an ancient being such as this could possess, and this knowledge could bring about the destruction of the universe. This knowledge, this understanding, this truth; it was so crushing that no mere mortal mind could handle it. It was by chance that this ancient truth came to be discovered by another, more terrible being. Completely by chance that this terrible, powerful, revengeful being came into possession of one of the most important objects in the universe. A complete accident that this came to happen at the time when Earth was so vulnerable. Completely by chance, and yet, it seemed too perfect a coincidence to be brought about by the whims of fate. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a coincidence after all.

CHAPTER 1

Aftermath

The darkness. The hopelessness. The thousands of curses that slowly killed him while he was powerless to stop them. The realization that he couldn't fight everything, he couldn't even hope to come close to matching the power of everyone. The crushing fear that he was powerless and insignificant as he watched the immortal devour gods and monsters without so much as a thought. Fearing that this would be the end, after everything they had been through, he would die here in this wasteland by the hand of the Lord of the Pit himself. Feeling the imminence of death as he had never felt it before.

Percy woke up with a violent start, sweat running down his forehead even as he shivered. The memories faded in and out, gradually getting hazier until he could control himself enough to get up and splash some water on his face. Water helped, as it always did for the son of Poseidon.

He collapsed back on his bed in exhaustion, his momentary adrenaline having left him. But he could not sleep now, not with the promise of more nightmares to come. He exhaled quietly and lay there, trying not to think too much about the dreams. Frustrated, he reached for his wrinkled and singed camp T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Grabbing Riptide out of his pocket, he groggily made his way to the newly re-built sparring area. The moon hung in the sky like a spotlight, throwing the decimated and half rebuilt camp into an eerie relief. He gave a momentary glance to the mostly rebuilt row of cabins, packed with campers, before setting out across the charred grass.

SWOOSH. THWACK. CRASH. The dummies fell to pieces behind his aggressive sword. With every swing he pretended he was killing a monster. This always helped him, he felt in control here.

For the past few weeks, whenever he had a nightmare, he hacked at dummies until there was nothing left to swing at, and the sun was rising. He was often left with dark circles, but many other campers had the same. What really bothered people was his mellowness and quietness, which he had begun to slip into during the rebuilding. He was often lost in his own world, just trying to keep everything from coming out. The feeling of control, like he was doing something instead of just building cabins or helping Chiron, was the only thing that drove him.

Gradually he felt his mind take over, changing his surroundings so that he saw a monster instead of a mannequin. Tonight though, it started to feel a little too real for Percy. Suddenly, without even realizing it, he was picturing himself back at the battle, waching the fights around him as campers bravely lost their lives to the creatures.

His sword slashed and whirled, and in his mind's eye he saw the faces of those who had died, saw the monster kill them, and then he wasn't just hacking and slashing at pretend monsters, he was fighting to save those he lost.

And that's how a weary and nightmare stricken Annabeth, who was seeking refuge in the training center, came to find Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, surrounded by destroyed dummies, crying and tearing at his hair. She raced over to him in a panic and touched his shoulder.

"Percy! Percy what happened?" She called his name with increasing worry until he looked up at her with reddened eyes.

"It's all my fault," he whispered quietly. Her eyes filled with tears as she shakily tried to comfort him, asking what had happened to lead him to this state. He tried to explain, but it was all a mess. He was a mess and she was a mess and this had been going on for far too long, and they were only teenager. How could they expect to deal with the aftermath of going through hell and back?

She stayed with him until dawn, until their pent up exhaustion resulted in a sleep that was too deep for dreams. They stayed together, limbs tangled and sound asleep, until Chiron discovered them while inspecting the property during the early hours of the morning.

As he surveyed the damage he realized they had been keeping secrets from him and everyone else. They had been fighting a silent battle against their memories, with only each other for company. He thought back to how they had been acting after the battle, and he admired the way Percy and Annabeth had appeared strong and unaffected while around others.

Then he glanced at them again, and shook his head. No child should have to endure what they did, he thought. They are so young, and yet they have fought the battles of gods.

With a weary sigh he left, with the intention of waking them when they had rested enough. He thought it was definitely time to intervene, they both needed a break.

A phone call to Percy mom and Annabeth's dad later, he glanced outside to see the first campers emerging from the cabins toward the Big House. The sun was up, and the camp was awake. He had already closed off the training area, to give the weary demigods some privacy, but he decided to check on them again in case they had woken up. He took a step towards the door, when a crash sounded from the attic.

He stiffened and turned, before racing upstairs as fast as his centaur legs could carry him. There was some sort of commotion going on behind the stacks of boxes and artifacts that had accumulated over time. In haste he pushed aside an old mirror and moved enough boxes to make his way clumsily closer to the sound. It was like something was alive, scraping and moving around just out of his eyesight. He reached a part of the attic where the layer of dust on the boxes indicated that they had not been touched in a long, long time. Thinking quickly, he tried to deduce what the noise could be, mentally going through the possibilities. It occurred to him suddenly that the thing he was approaching might be dangerous, so with a quick grab he thrust a battered sword out of a nearby box and held it in front of him cautiously. He was close now, so close. The thing was making a racket, scraping and scrabbling at the boxes that surrounded it. He could see the back wall now, something that had not been gazed upon long before he was camp director. With a final push he shoved the box in front of him out of the way, and with a thumping heart and drawn sword, he faced the noise.

It was…a box? He was immediately intrigued by it, and whatever it contained. Letting the sword fall, he knelt down and dusted off the box. It was discolored and stained, but it was beautiful. Made of solid gold, it was about six inches by six inches, and four inches tall. There was writing all over it, but it was so ancient even he couldn't read it. The scraping sound was coming from inside, but he couldn't figure out how to open it. Then he saw a small hidden latch under the brim, and with a soft click he flicked it open.

With bated breath he slowly opened the now silent box, revealing a stunning velvet interior. In the center sat a gem about the size of child's fist. It was glowing and pulsating a pure red that was richer even then the velvet that surrounded it. While others would be captivated, he stiffened, the entrancing glow of the gem enticed him to reach out and touch it, to hold it. But he snapped the box shut in astonishment and fear of its powers.

It is too soon, this shouldn't be happening now. This shouldn't be happening at all. He thought angrily.

The words of a prophecy suddenly came to him. It was an ancient prophecy, one so old even the gods did not know where it came from. Some even considered it the greatest prophecy of all, because it did not predict who would benefit and who would lose, and no one knew when it would come to light, or what events it predicted.

The stones reunited,

The earth overwhelmed,

The ancient ones hunger reborn

The war to end all wars,

By powers without score.

The gods cast down,

Fate itself unbound.

Barriers broken,

Friends betrayed,

The battle for infinity will rage.

Chiron knew though, and with a solemn grip on the gilded box, he picked his way carefully through the hastily thrown boxes and relics, down the stairs, and out to the main room. As he was deciding where to put the box, a young camper burst through the door. It was the boy Chiron had chosen to check on the sleeping demigods and warn him if they woke up. In between breaths he said, "Chiron! Its Percy and Annabeth, they're awake!"

All his emotions from before came back in a rush, and in a haste he dropped the box onto the table and hurried out to find them, to spare them any embarrassment and attention from other campers. He trotted past Nico, who tried to stop him, but Chiron shooed him off; making sure Annabeth and Percy were okay was his first priority right now.

Nico huffed and strode into the Big House. He was looking for Will, who although normally wasn't up this early had said he had an important job to do that morning. It was well past the time he said he would meet Nico, so as a last resort he checked the interior of the Big House just in case he was in there.

He was greeted by the sight of the glittering golden box, left in a haste by Chiron. Fueled by pure curiosity, and with the knowledge that what he was doing was idiotic, he walked over to it and examined it. Suddenly something within the box made a noise, and he jumped back.

With tense nerves, he reached out to touch it, sliding his hand over the engraved surface. He could sense a presence within it, which was most unusual, and he felt compelled to open it and see what it was.

After minimal difficulty opening the latch, he flipped the top open to reveal the source of the noise. It was a beautiful shining gem that glittered pure, soft amber. Taken aback for a moment at the brilliance of the object, he reached out to touch it, when he heard it.

Voices, like the whispers of ghosts that he could sometimes hear, filled his head. It sounded like the stone contained innumerable spirits, all compelling him to reach out and touch it. Suddenly he heard a voice become clearer than all the others, a voice that made him choke back tears. Bianca, he thought silently, as her voice distanced itself from the others.

Bring me back, the voice whispered to him as his hands started to shake. Nico you can bring me back, and we can be together again, she said. The words cut deep into his heart, and it took all his willpower to stop himself from reaching out the last few centimeters and touching the gem. Then he thought to himself over all the other voices, why was he hesitating? All he had to do was reach out a little more and he could bring back Bianca.

Not once did it occur to him how he would bring Bianca back, or why the voices knew exactly how to get to him, all reason seemed to have left him in his fixation. But the moment he resigned himself to their murmurs, the screen door crashed behind him. His hand twitched forward, but a loud shout jolted himself out of his trance.

"NICO! NO!" It was Chiron, with an exhausted looking Percy and Annabeth in tow. He leapt forward and knocked Nico off his feet. As he fell in an awkward sprawl to the floor, Chiron snapped the lid on the box shut.

"Nico, what were you thinking? Don't you know not to go poking around with stuff like this?" he said angrily, as Nico struggled to get up. He felt as if he had been woken up from a long sleep; tired and fuzzy. "I-I'm sorry,' he stuttered out, turning red under Percy and Annabeth's bewildered stares.

"I was just looking for-"he stopped himself and turned even redder, "Will," he finished quietly. Chiron grimaced and extended a hand in Nico's direction. "I'm sorry Nico, it's been a long morning," he grimaced while pulling Nico to his feet. "Just promise me you will never go near this box again." He said sternly, his pointed glare dissolving into an expression of tiredness.

"Go, I'll talk to you later," he sighed. "You'll find Will at the stables, I passed him earlier." Nico walked out with a nod, unanswered questions swirling through his head. With a quick look back, he set off determinedly for the stables.

A/N

so here it is, the new first chapter. hopefully it gives you some new insight on Nico, Percy, and Annabeth. thanks for all the support, and expect chapter 2 very soon.