I'm back! Sorry I was gone so long, I meant to publish something during the summer, but the plot bunnies were in hiding, unfortunately. For those who are looking forward to a sequel to 'Run Away', I'm definitely going to write one when HTTYD 2 comes out.

I narrowed my eyes as my quarry put on a burst of speed, leaping over a fence and disappearing into a tall hedge. I notched an arrow and followed, pushing through the snow-covered hedge with little difficulty.

What I saw in the clearing beyond surprised me. The golden deer had paused, but I wasn't interested in shooting my Lady's sacred animal. Instead, I aimed at the boy standing casually nearby, glancing nervously at the truck sized hellhound which seemed quite interested in the deer.

The boy raised a celestial bronze sword, turning to face me. He was about 15, with messy black hair and startled sea-green eyes. "Percy?" I asked, pushing back my parka's hood and un-notching my arrow. He relaxed, lowering his sword.

"Thalia! What are you doing here?" As if it weren't obvious. Then again, Percy always was a kelp-head.

"Following the golden deer. It's the sacred animal of Artemis." (Duh.) "I figured it was some sort of sign. And um..." I nodded nervously at the hellhound. "You want to tell me what that's doing here?"

"That's my pet-Mrs. O'Leary, no!" I raised an eyebrow at his answer. Who named their pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary? Then again, this was Percy. He ate blue food and talked to horses. Having a hellhound for a pet shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

I watched the golden deer playing with the oddly friendly hellhound for a minute or two, then frowned as a thought came to me. "Percy... This can't be a coincidence. You and me ending up in the same place at the same time?"

Percy nodded. "Some god is messing with us."

"Probably," I replied.

"Good to see you, though." Percy smiled.

I sent a grudging smile back at him. "Yeah. We get out of this in one piece, I'll buy you a cheeseburger. How's Annabeth?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but just then a cloud passed over the sun, and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight. The golden deer shimmered and disappeared.

I drew my bow as Percy raised his sword. We stood back to back, waiting. A patch of darkness passed over the clearing, and I tensed. Then a boy tumbled out as if thrown. He landed in a heap at our feet. He stood up, mumbling, "Ow," and dusted off his aviator's jacket.

I looked him over critically, scowling. The last thing I needed was another boy. He was pale, with messy black hair falling in front of his dark eyes in silky strands. He was skinny, as if he didn't eat regularly, which sort of alarmed me, and the dark bags under his eyes were enough to convince me he didn't sleep much, either.

"Nico?" Percy exclaimed. My eyes widened. This boy couldn't be Nico di Angelo, could it? Last time I'd seen Nico, his hair was shorter, and he wasn't so pale. He'd looked like a healthy, happy, annoying ten year old boy, which he had been. That had been... Two years ago. I couldn't believe how much he'd changed. He'd be twelve now, I guess. I waited for him to say something stupid, like, 'Cool! Do it again!' but he only scowled. He seemed so... Gloomy. Depressed. And he really was skinny. When was the last time he'd eaten?

"Bianca's little brother? I asked incredulously. Nico scowled, and I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He'd obviously taken his sister's death harder than I thought.

"Why'd you bring me here? One minute I'm in a New Orleans graveyard. The next minute-is this New York? What in Hades's name am I doing in New York?" His voice was deeper than I remembered, and he sounded rather grumpy, but Percy acted like he was used to it.

I frowned at him. Nico looked like he'd been living on the streets, something I had done for years before making my way to camp. I felt bad for him. "We didn't bring you here," Percy said. "We were-we were brought together. All three of us." Percy could be smart when he wanted to, I admitted to myself.

"What are you talking about?" Nico demanded. That was more like the Nico I remembered, asking stupid questions. I wondered what exactly had happened to him. It took a lot to change a person as much as Nico had changed in only two years.

"The children of the Big Three," Percy said. "Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."

I took a sharp breath, having just had a very scary thought. "The prophesy. You don't think Kronos..." I didn't need to finish my sentence. Percy's brow furrowed, and I glanced nervously at my cousins. Then the ground rumbled, and Nico drew a black sword I'd never seen before. Percy's hellhound jumped back, barking madly, just before the ground opened up beneath us and we fell into the darkness.