This was certainly hard to write. Halfway through, I realized that what I'd originally planned for this chapter didn't make much sense, so for some time I didn't know what do with it. The style isn't really quite the same as that of the previous chapters, and I'm kind of unsure what to make of it. Hope you enjoy this, though!

Disclaimer: the characters/places/canon events all belong to Rick Riordan.

Thalia stared at Annabeth, mouth slightly agape, mind frozen.

"He... What?"

Annabeth's lip trembled. She stood face to face with Thalia, every bit as tall as her now. Gone was the little girl who fell asleep in Thalia's lap and asked Thalia to braid her hair on her birthday. Here she stood, grown up and deep-eyed and sad. Thalia was still stunned.

"You heard me. H-he... He left us. He joined Kronos. We'll... Have to fight him now. H-he..."

Annabeth was blinking furiously as she searched for the right words. Thalia was agape. Annabeth wasn't supposed to stutter like this, lost for words. She was supposed to be witty and brave and able to play with words like other kids played toys. With a twinge, Thalia realized that, then again, was supposed to be seven and brash and brave, all dimples and adorably straggly blonde hair. She was never supposed to be as tall Thalia, and certainly wasn't supposed to have that look in her eyes that made Thalia's chest constrict.

Yet all that mattered was that what she was saying could not be true. It just couldn't be. She was lying, or else this whole surreal world was just another dream that Thalia would wake up from and find herself on the run again, at home.

"It's true, Thalia," Annabeth said gently, in that solid, real, grown up voice. Thalia wanted to tear it away. Annabeth's eyes were dark and sad, as if each word cost her pain. Thalia could see that she was telling the truth. "He wasn't there when you woke up, was he? And... You've seen the Hermes cabin. He isn't there."

A block of lead dropped into the pit of Thalia's stomach, though she did not feel it yet, could not feel anything at the moment as Annabeth took her hand and squeezed it. A silent confirmation.

And it was enough.

Hellhounds.

They chased Thalia, deep into the forest into the gathering gloom of approaching evening. Her heart pounded as the footsteps of her companions thudded alongside her like a furious heartbeat. She turned and slashed at one of the beasts.

A flash of silver. A howl.

"Nice one, Thalia!" Luke yelled, raising his sword and slashing a great arc through the monsters. Annabeth yelled wordlessly and stabbed a monster in the gut with her knife. Together, they slashed and hacked until the beasts dissolved into dust and were blown away on the wind.

Night fell as they made camp beneath a tall oak tree. The sky dissolved into a blanketing sea of stars, upon which the moon sailed, regal and silver. Annabeth was asleep within seconds. Thalia curled up against the trunk of the tree, her eyes still open.

Luke's hand slipped into hers as he leaned toward her. The smell of him filled her senses - the smell of trees, the smell of running, the scent of home. His face was close to hers now, his eyes pools of sapphire. Thalia's breath caught as his lips lowered to hers -

- then his teeth were elongating into fangs, silver and gleaming and deadly in the starlight. His face was liquid, rippling and shifting until it was coated in hideous, matted dark fur. His eyes were feral, deadly, inhuman and filled with bloodlust. Fractured silver flashed through Thalia's vision as the hellhound that was her friend lunged toward her -

Thalia woke up, a choked sob still ringing, ripping through her silent throat.

When Thalia had agreed to go with Percy and Annabeth on their expedition to the military academy to search for the possible demigods, she had just wanted to get away. Truth be told, she could not stand Camp Half Blood. It was supposed to be a haven, a safe place. Yet all she saw were simply distorted ghosts of what she had been expecting all those years ago. She could not bear to look at those campers training as though everything was fine. She could not bear to sit alone at the Zeus table as the other campers chatted with siblings, surrounded by family - all the families she had ever been in were broken, shattered into cutting silver.

As if she needed any reminders.

So when Annabeth had told her about her expedition, she had gladly agreed.

She should have known that the gods would never be so kind. She should have known that she would never be able to escape the silver. Never truly. The Greeks were the inventors of tragedy, after all. She should have know that they would never leave her alone.

The manticore was growling hungrily. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

Thalia's vision cleared to see it lunging at her and Percy. A yell sliced through the air.

"No!" Annabeth was screaming, and she charged at the beast. Vaguely, Thalia heard Artemis yelling, the manticore growling, and the figure of Annabeth leaping onto the monster's back like a trapeze artist. She drove her knife into his mane, yelling defiantly. The monster howled, turning in circles with Annabeth desperately hanging on.

The hunters were yelling. Thalia could see them raising their silver bows, see the silver arrows fly through the air like shattered silver rain, straight at the manticore. The beast bellowed in pain and reared backward. Thalia staggered to her feet and leveled her spear.

It happened in slow motion.

Before Thalia could do anything, the monster, with Annabeth still on its back, leaped over the cliff. For a moment, as if seemed to Thalia, they hung there, like a terrifying trapeze artist, before plummeting down into the darkness.

Thalia screamed. She heard Percy yelling too, but before they could react, the sound of gunfire blasted through the air. The mortal helicopter soared above them, raining bullets down into the snow. The Hunters scattered, but the girl who was Artemis just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she said, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into a flock of ravens which scattered into the night.

They stood there for a moment, breathing heavily. Thalia looked around at Percy and saw him staring, still open mouthed at the place where Annabeth and the monster had vanished. Her own stomach felt tight and hot and churning unpleasantly. Her legs trembled as she fought not to be sick.

How much more could she stand to lose?

The hunters advanced on them. Their leader stepped forward and stopped short when she saw Thalia. With a wash of fury, Thalia recognized her - the same silver circlet, the same pretentious distaste, the same arrogant posture. This time, however, it was not the same. This time, it was a hundred times worse than the last time, because that girl had been -

No. This cold frigid girl had never been right. There was so much she did not understand.

"You," the girl said.

Thalia glared into the girl's smug smile and cold laughing eyes, and wondered about what would happen if she raised her spear and drove it through this frigid creature. Just to see her fall, to prove to her that she wasn't as invincible as she thought she was.

Because it was her. Her again. Just when her chance had come, she had appeared to Thalia once more.

"Zoe Nightshade."

Perfect timing, as usual.

The hellhounds were back, along with the silver and the fractured moonlight and the swaying leaves of the night where she had naively dreamed that all hope was possible, that fate just couldn't be so cruel to anyone, much least the daughter of Zeus. Years had elapsed since she had first kissed the boy that would one day be the air she breathed, yet it seemed to just have taken place a minute ago.

She could not offer any resistance as the monster tackled her to the ground and bared its teeth at her, silver fangs dripping. Other hounds were approaching. A scream that sounded like Annabeth

pierced the air and straight into Thalia's heart. She looked up to see the seven-year-old girl thrown away from her into the growling pack, eyes wide with terror and confusion.

She blamed the gods as she awoke, tangled in sheets and gasping for breath. She was shaking uncontrollably all over, her heart fluttering like a trapped bird. She choked and clenched her fists, determined not to make a sound as the world blurred around the edges.

When Chiron asked for campers to volunteer themselves for the quest, Thalia's reaction was instinctive.

"I'll go."

Of course.

As Thalia stomped back to her own car, she sat down on the plush, luxurious seats Apollo had provided and tried to ignore the exhaustion that settled once she calmed down a little. She should have stayed with Percy. She should have stayed and let the annoying boy drive her up the wall. That way, at least, she would not have these urges to just fall over sideways and just relax into the blissful sleep her body so demanded.

Sleep. What a beautiful, terrible idea. Along with sleep, came dreams. Demigod dreams were never just dreams. Other never had been, never was, and never will be. They foretold things, or else showed what was happening miles away, or else told you things that the gods or other darker forces deemed it necessary that they should know. Thalia forced herself to think that her dreams meant nothing. They could be the result of the days' stress and panic and disbelief. The mortals experienced these often enough. Thalia had died, been turned into a tree for six years and woken up to find the world spinning in a whole new different plane. Surely these were the cause of the twilight moments where the world twisted in darkness and jagged silver and fear like no other consumed Thalia.

The thought of it sent an icy chill down her stomach. Whatever the reason for the visions, Thalia was terrified. She did not want to open her eyes to find herself leaning against that the cursed tree; did not want to see those devilishly beautiful eyes staring at her the way she always imagined in those longing-filled fantasies that pervaded her thoughts in weaker moments.

Thalia plastered her eyes firmly open. She clenched her fists, digging her nails painfully into her palm. She did not want to sleep. She could not sleep. One accidental dip into unconsciousness and the broken silver and the fangs and the tremor that shook in the aftermath would be back. Her eyes were heavy and itching with tiredness. She propped herself up, deliberately making herself as uncomfortable as possible.

Her body was aching. Her mind spun dully. Even her fists did not have the strength to clench anymore.

She was curled up against the roots of the oak tree. The constellations glittered above - Pegasus galloping across the skies into a brighter place, Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, conducting the armies of the heavens. The moon sailed from behind, all whole and bright and silver glimmer. Moonshadows danced across the earthy ground. She could feel the pull of the sky. It called to her, gravitating her toward it with all it's vast, mysterious beauty. If Thalia only reached out her hand, she would be able to touch the sky, embrace the stars. Come, companion. Come to us. You will be happy.

She did not need to, however. From just beside her was unfurling the brightest star she had ever seen. Pegasus, Arcturus and even Sirius were nothing compared to this gem, this treasure that presented itself to her in a heaven of comforting gangly limbs and the scent of home. I don't need you, she told the stars. My companion is here.

Luke Castellan smiled playfully at her, hand sliding into hers. The dimple beside his lip endearingly revealed. Thalia fluttered her eyes mockingly back at him. Her skin tingled. Her breath caught. Luke leaned toward her.

This time when it happened, she was thrown backward so that the back of her head hit the ground and her face was twisted toward the sky. Through the flash of silver fangs and screams and broken things and terror, Thalia gazed, for a split second, into the light of the full moon, bright and round and unbroken. The sight of it filled her with cold strength. When the hellhound next lunged, she found herself scrambling for the ground and backing away, yelling. The hound growled, but when it next struck, Thalia was gone.

Thalia woke with a gasp, waiting for the initial tremors to die down. Yet none came. This time, it was not terror and the sensation broken glass the filled her. It was the thick blue of disappointment.

Silver flashed in the periphery of Thalia's vision, along with the shouts and screams of the battle around her. She was briefly aware that Percy had retreated to the corner, beneath the towering funnel cloud was the sky and holy Zeus was Percy holding up the sky - Percy -

Artemis was darting around Atlas, their yells and clashes of weapons mingling together -

And Luke's eyes were blue - blue - as blue as Thalia's blue, as blue as Thalia's sky. They were not silver, not gold, not any of the terrifying celestial hues that pervaded Thalia's nightmares. Yet the thing was that they might as well be, because the blue eyes were less like their past counterparts than anything Thalia had thought possible.

A scream of rage, of denial and hatred left her. Lightning crackled down, encasing them in a web of energy. How dare he? How could he still look like that? How could he still look upon her with those terrible demented blue eyes - still without any trace of hatred? He was a demon. He was the hellhound of her dreams - a mutilated monster, an ugly, unrecognizable thing full of hate. How dared he still take on that same form that only angels took, how dared he still look at her with those same eyes, fight with the very techniques - ?

Thalia raised her shield in defiance and pressed him back with it. She did not want to look at him. Not now. Not ever, ever again.

"Yield!" She screamed. "You never could beat me, Luke." And she knew in her heart that it was true. How could he beat her when they had trained so long together just memories ago? How could he beat her when it was she who had taught him those very moves he was using? He was nothing without her; nothing, nothing, nothing -

He was baring his teeth, his face twisting into a terrible, ugly thing. Thalia caught a glimpse of the truth beneath the same features that held so much, a glimpse of the hound that was beneath -

"We'll see, my old friend," he sneered.

The word was the spark that ignited Thalia's fury.

"Friend?" she yelled. "Friend?" She was demented, deranged. Her throat was raw as the scream scraped itself out. Something seemed to sear straight through her body and she slammed her shield into the boy that she had knew so well. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia thrust her spear point straight to his throat.

For a moment, there was silence, silence except her fire in her ears and the hummingbird pounding of her heart.

"Well?" Luke asked. Just for a fraction of a second, Thalia could hear the fear in his voice. He never could beat her, she thought with a wash of furious pleasure. She would finish him. She would destroy him like he had destroyed so much -

The spell broke as Annabeth was scrambling toward her, finally free from her bonds.

"Don't kill him!" she yelled.

Just for a heartbeat, a memory sparked to life. Warm sunshine. Grass. A laugh that rang through the air. Triumphant childish battles and golden hair, and the look of real fear in Annabeth's eyes as she watched her two best friends apparently trying to kill each other.

"Don't kill him!"

"I wasn't going to. It's just training. Thanks for the suggestion, though!"

It went through Thalia like a silver knife.

"He's a traitor," Thalia spat. "A traitor!"

"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful."

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered at her. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"

Just for a moment he caught her with his words. Her father. If she returned to Olympus with Luke, Zeus would be proud... proud. Then the anger returned with full force. He was mocking her. How dare he talk about her father? How dare he stand there before her, talking about things as though it was yesterday that they had insulted their fathers and joked about how to make them as disappointed as they could.

As Luke made a desperate grab for her spear. Thalia kicked him away without thinking.

She looked up just to see his body fall. For a split second his arms spun, his eyes full of terror -

- And Thalia's scream never left her, as he slipped over the cliff and tumbled out of sight.

As Thalia looked into the beautiful face of the goddess Artemis, something cold and hard seemed to surge up her chest, steeling her, strengthening her. A sort of calm straightened her back, and she gazed, unflinchingly at Artemis, at her father Zeus, and at all the other gods watching in silence. Gone was the scared, heartbroken girl. In her place was a powerful, independent warrior.

Briefly Thalia wondered if this was the magic of the goddess. Perhaps it was. Or perhaps it was just the terrifying way her feelings were numbing, her body and mind cooling beyond recognition.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Percy biting his lip, staring over at Annabeth, eyes filled with unspoken words and desperation. He thought Annabeth would be the one, feared that Annabeth would leave him and all he had to say. Something tugged painfully in Thalia's heart. With a crystalline stab, the image of another boy with the same eyes, the same fear, the same love swam to the forefront of her vision. Thalia swallowed hard, as though this might help to push the feelings down to suffocate them before they suffocated her.

Though not even this hurt anymore.

She felt numb. Numb and old and watching herself from afar, feeling her movements as though from another body.

The stars called to her again. And the moon - the beautiful circle of ice that tugged at her soul and skin and pulsing heart. She could feel the tingle of their voices calling down to her, right to the tips of her fingertips.

Thalia could feel it coming, could feel Artemis' gaze slowly turning to her, soft and inevitable as the ocean.

She thought of Luke laughing at his own dirty jokes as Annabeth watched bemusedly.

Luke's hands winding shyly around hers.

"Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

She felt Annabeth squeeze her hand, just like the seven-year-old from ages ago would.

She remembered Luke's playful smile. You can't join the hunters. You'll miss me too much.

Luke kissing her.

Luke's broken body and his mirthless eyes as Thalia kicked him off the side of the cliff.

"I will," Thalia said, keeping her face smooth, her breathing even, her heart impassive.

She did not even blink.

This time, Thalia was alone as she leaned against the tree, feeling the night close in around. The bark dug, hard and painful into her back, and the cold night air stung her cheek. Nevertheless, she stayed in her position as though frozen, as though foolishly unable to break the moment. She wasn't supposed to be alone. Her new family the Hunters was supposed to be with her - and she could feel them nearby, moving around her, yet she could not see them. To any observer, she was quite alone.

She should raise her head, she thought. She should look upon the stars, gaze into the moon once again. It was her connection to something she had had a long time ago, something she could not quite remember but left electricity tingling at the tips of her fingers as she stretched out in the dark, and a strange yet pleasant warmth at the pit of her stomach every time she tried to think back. Yet a prickle in her heart warned her against it. If she looked up, she would see... something terrible.

What is it? she asked the Hunters. What is it the sky?

Nothing, they answered. It is nothing, sister. You are with us now.

It's just the moon up there, isn't it? Isn't Artemis the moon goddess?

No. But not even Artemis cannot rule directly over this particular moon.

Bewildered, Thalia raised her head.

She opened her mouth and screamed - and screamed and screamed and screamed, a terrible, drawn-out sound quite outside everything she had ever -

Because something terrible had happened.

Something that couldn't happen -

Artemis was the goddess of the moon. She couldn't let this happen -

There it was, hanging in the sky, the fractured, jagged-edged moon that sneered back at Thalia as she stared. The silver seemed to be burning into her very eyes, hard and unforgiving, tinged with a sort of blue she thought she recognized. The edges looked sharp enough to cut out diamonds and hearts, and who knew what else. The soft sheen, the beauty, the - the warmth was all gone.

Thalia woken with a gasp. It was just a dream. It was all just a dream. It was all -

Yet it wasn't. She could feel it in her chest. Even as she looked up at the present moon that glittered plainly in the sky above, it was as though she was looking upon something totally different. Gone was that warmth she had remembered in the dream. Gone was the flight of her own adventure and tingle and everything of her past. The new feelings that came washed over her, obliterating everything else - new friendship and new leaders and new love. It filled her slowly as she lay gazing into the moon, slowly sinking in, waiting for her to reach out and take it as her own.

The sky was devoid of stars, clear of firecrackers. There were no hellhounds, even, just the suffocatingly peaceful air and quiet. The unseen stars shifted, gears pushing the world along the ever-moving length of time.

It was better that way, she thought. She could look into the heavens and feel joy once more. She could run through woods and hunt monsters with her brilliant new friends and belong once more. No longer would she have to feel as though a piece of herself was missing all the while. She could be whole again.

She could see the full moon shine again.

So Thalia closed her heart to the door of yesterday and let this new ray of moonlight light her way into a new dawn.

There it is! Drafted and written and rewritten and headached over and this chapter is finally done! *happy dance*It wasn't exactly supposed to turn out like this, truth be told, and I'm not sure whether I really like it or not. Please review and tell me what you think of it.