Chapter 20: (No chapter name this time, guys. Why? Because I couldn't think of anything that seemed to fit when I finished this...and, honestly, I didn't really feel like waiting until an idea hit me...)

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.

I can't really remember what happened after the fight. Everything moved in a blur and seemed distant. I know some of the adults found us. The next thing I knew, I was in the Big House and wrapped up in a blanket. Someone kept asking me questions, Chiron I think, but I just stared at the floor, not processing his words. A cup of nectar was handed to me at some point. I drank the liquid mechanically, not registering what it was meant for or even its taste that I used to love.

Eventually, I got moved to the infirmary. I didn't understand it at first. I wasn't hurt badly. Maybe I had lost my senses and couldn't function well enough anymore. It certainly felt like that. I think Brooke and Alex were there, too, but everything still moved in a daze for me. People came and went, some asking questions, others just checking on me. A few voices actually managed to penetrate the walls my mind had thrown up- Julius's, Annabeth's, Rachel's (surprisingly), even Caleb's- but I hardly talked back. I think I apologized to Annabeth. I might've mumbled a few things to Caleb, but I couldn't remember. Hours passed in that place that I couldn't account for. After two days, I was allowed to leave the infirmary and go back to the mix-blood cabin.

I walked around the camp like a zombie for another two days, still living in shock. Finally, my mind managed to drift back to reality, but that was almost as bad as being in loopy land. Now I could actually take in what was going on. Everyone in camp, no matter what age, cabin, or experience level seemed to be moving like they were at a funeral. The camp was mostly quiet constantly. It was like the joy and will to do anything had been drained from everybody. It wasn't the happy camp that I'd left, even if that happy camp had been full of kids who hated me. It wasn't right. The looks I got were some of the worst. They weren't filled with anger or hatred or fear anymore, at least not most of the time anyway. Now they were full of sorrow and grief, and most looks I personally got were full of pity. Everyone who talked to me spoke in low voices, like I was some little china dish that would crack if they spoke too loudly. Their words that were meant for comfort only brought back the memories of the fight on the hill and made things worse. I had nightmares that constantly repeated the battle in my head. After three days of dealing with the camp, I couldn't take it anymore.

I started slipping away from my training sessions more often, but the adults never said anything about it. I spent most of my free time away from the other campers. After a few days of slipping away between training, I just gave up trying to get back into the camp. I left after breakfast most days as everybody headed down to their classes. Without armor and alone, I would walk right into the woods. I usually ended up in that clearing where Brooke and I had fought the scorpion. Sometimes I drilled myself on my swordplay, fighting against imaginary enemies. Other times, I would find a target in the field and practice throwing my discus at it from different distances and angles and worked on throwing while jumping, running, or crawling. Usually, I just sat on the rock pile in the middle of the field and lost myself in my thoughts.

That was pretty much how I spent the last month of camp. Sometimes I'd carry on a full conversation with some of the mix-bloods at dinner, in the cabin, or at the few campfires I went to. Every now and then, I'd see Brooke or Alex wandering aimlessly through the camp, but they usually stayed in the cabin or went off hiding somewhere. We didn't talk much with each other.

On the last full day of camp, I found myself sitting on the rock pile in the clearing, alone. A light breeze blew through the trees and played with my hair. Wildflowers had sprouted in the field, and the marks of the old battle here had faded a little more. I could hear nymphs playing in the forest just beyond my sight. The sky was lit up with a rainbow of colors as the sun set. Part of me knew that it was time to go back. Otherwise, I could end up as dinner for whatever creatures were in the woods this time. Another part of me wanted to stay here forever. It was so peaceful and pretty. It was nothing like the battle-filled world I'd just experienced. It was nothing like the cruel mortal world I would have to face if I chose to go home. It was like paradise.

"Hey, Krys," someone greeted quietly.

I glanced down and found Caleb standing at the bottom of the rocks in front of me.

"Hey," I sighed. I looked back up and stared at the setting sun.

"You know," Caleb started after a minute, "you should come in before it gets dark. It's not a good idea to spend the night in these woods. Well, that is unless you want to be on the forest's dessert menu tonight."

"Why the dessert menu?" I decided to just play along and act happy. After all, he was just trying to be nice.

"Because all of the sweet things go on the dessert menu." He smiled at me, and with a real smile, too. Then the smile disappeared, his face turned the color of a tomato, and he dropped his eyes. I actually had to suppress a small grin on that one.

"Is this your version of trying to make me happy?"

"Uh, that depends. Is it working?"

I shrugged at him "Maybe."

He smiled a little again. "Then maybe it is."

I rolled my eyes and looked back to the sky.

"You really should come down," Caleb continued, his voice losing the little hints of happiness it'd had just moments ago. "The last summer fire is tonight. Everybody's getting their beads. I think you might really like this one." I sighed and closed my eyes. "At least come down just to hang out. Please, Krys."

I looked down at him. His brown eyes were big and pleaded with me. Giving in, I started sliding down the rocks.

"You got it?" Caleb asked, holding his arms up to help me.

"Yeah, I think so," I answered, glancing at him.

Of course, my foot slipped right then and I lost my grip. Squeaking, I fell forward, right into Caleb. He caught me, letting out a surprised yelp, and wrapped his arms around me. Caleb stumbled and my arms locked around his neck. Balancing himself out, Caleb looked at me and grinned.

"Yeah, you've definitely got it," he teased.

I opened my mouth to say something, but froze up when I looked into his chocolate-brown eyes. It felt like an eternity before I managed to break eye contact and pulled away from him quickly.

"Let's go," I said shortly, gluing my eyes to the ground and walking away from him. I heard him let out a faint sigh before he started following me.

Caleb and I took our seats in the amphitheater just as kids were starting to be called up to get their beads. The firelight hid their faces, so I couldn't tell what their reactions to the bead were. Finally, they started calling up the mix-bloods. I found myself actually getting excited about what would be on the bead this summer. Brooke came back to our area with the bead first. I was about to ask her if I could see it, but the look on her face stole my voice. She was completely stunned, and tears were rolling down her face for the first time since we'd come back. One by one, the mix-bloods came back with a bead, each with an expression similar to Brooke's.

My name was announced last. I walked up to the fire where the beads were being handed out. I took mine and a new leather necklace. As I walked back to my seat, I finally understood why this little bead was affecting my friends so much. Etched into the black bead was a gray owl in midflight carrying a green trident in its talons.

"This bead," someone started explaining, "serves two purposes. The first, it is meant to commemorate the quest undertaken by Brooke Jackson, granddaughter to Lord Poseidon and Lady Athena, and her team to save our sister camp. Well done, campers. The second purpose, and perhaps the more important one, is for our own remembrance. It is meant to make certain that none here will ever forget the sacrifice made by Nick Jackson to stop the servant, to keep it from entering our camp and killing an Aphrodite child, and to protect his fellow quest members."

A low, hollow-sounding clapping rose from the campers. Even though I couldn't really see them, I knew people were crying, including the entire mix-blood cabin. It was like the realization of what Nick had done, and of what had happened to him, was finally hitting everyone.

Walking back to the cabin, I found that the camp had been lit with countless torches, like some kind of ritual or ceremony. Kids all around me were crying now, nobody bothering to keep their sobs quiet. My mind flashed back to the last dream I'd had in California, the one of my camp brightly lit and mourning. In that instant, I knew it was all over. I was certain the quest was done this time. It didn't make a difference though, finally being free of that burden. Nothing could ever make a difference in how that quest had ended.

Morning came quickly. The camp ate its last breakfast together before everyone left to start cleaning up the cabins and packing.

I worked quietly in the mix-blood cabin. I pulled the few clothes I had left out of the trunk: four tee-shirts, three pairs of jeans, a couple of pairs of socks. They all got tossed sloppily into the suitcase Mom had sent me. I tossed my hairbrush, bathroom stuff, and dream journal on top of the clothes. The pile barely even filled two-thirds of the suitcase now. I stacked my armor and Nick's invisibility hat in the trunk and locked it. Finished with my packing, I sat on top of the trunk and watched the others pack up.

Slowly, everyone left the cabin with backpacks and suitcases. I glanced at Brooke and Alex's beds. The sheets were still a mess and they hadn't packed up yet. I actually hadn't seen them since breakfast. I guess it didn't matter if they packed or not. I'd heard rumors that they were staying longer anyway.

My eyes fell on Nick's bed. The bed looked as good as when we'd first set off on our quest. A pair of sneakers sat on top of his trunk, along with a handheld game system. Pictures were still tacked to the wall beside the bed. I wondered if all of it would be left, or if the cleaning harpies would just toss it into the lava pit.

I shook my head. I didn't need to think like that. I couldn't, or the thoughts would drive me insane. Then another thought came to me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Nick's leather necklace. I stared at it for a moment before tightening my hand around it. I opened my suitcase and ripped a piece of paper out of the journal. I quickly wrote down everything that Nick had said to me on that hill and folded the paper in half. I walked to Brooke's bed and laid the note on it. I looked at the necklace one last time before laying it on top of the paper. On impulse, I threw open my trunk and pulled out the invisibility hat. I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the cabin.

I started walking for the hill, no exactly sure how I was going to get home. It was almost four, and most of the campers that were going home had left at this point. Maybe I'd get lucky and somebody with a cellphone would be on the hill.

Halfway across camp, Rachel started walking with me. I raised my eyebrow in curiosity, but didn't say anything.

"How are you?" she asked after a few minutes.

Well, I thought, one of my friends was just kidnapped and is probably dead. His sister and cousin probably hate me. Oh, and I feel like a complete failure.

"Fine," I said, shrugging at her. She sighed and rolled her eyes as a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"You know, you really shouldn't lie to the Oracle. It just doesn't work well."

"Well then, all powerful one, you should know exactly how I'm feeling."

"I think I can guess pretty well at it. But I didn't come here to guess at your feelings. The last line of the prophecy, do you understand it?"

I wanted so badly to just snap at her, but she'd caught me off guard. As easily as I'd accepted the end of the quest, I still didn't really understand it. We were supposed to fail because the servant would make another hit, but it hadn't killed an Aphrodite child.

"I'm guessing by your silence that you don't really get it," Rachel said.

"Of course I don't get it!" I shouted, stopping at the bottom of the hill. "We were supposed to fail. The servant was supposed to make a kill."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! 'Fail as the servant strikes once more.' That's fairly self-explanatory."

"Apparently not. Prophecies often have double meanings, or at least turn out differently than expected. This is a perfect example." She turned away from me and started walking up the hill. I moved after her, interested in what she was saying. "Everyone thought that you'd all fail when an Aphrodite child was killed, but that's not necessarily true. For one, there is more than just death that can amount to a failure. Two, the line said the servant would 'strike', but it never said kill. Strike could simply mean attack in this sense, which is what happened."

"What about the failing part?"

"Ah, yes, that part. Try looking at the prophecy through Brooke's eyes. Failing to her could possibly mean letting down her family and friends somehow, as I'm sure you can guess by her protectiveness. In her eyes, and her view is all that matters as this was her quest, when Nick was taken by the servant, she had failed to protect him. The whole prophecy all comes down one simple meaning without riddles: Brooke and her quest members shall go to California; they will fight the monsters in our western camp; the half-bloods will win like they did in the last war; and you will fail to protect your friend from an attack by the servant. It's that simple."

I wanted to argue so badly. It couldn't just be that simple. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Rachel was right. I didn't like it, but it fit so perfectly.

"So what now?" I asked, still trudging up the hill. "That's it? Nick's just gone?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well, that's what it basically boils down to. And given how everybody's acting, it's like they're already counting him among the dead. Then again, he may as well be dead at this point."

"Don't say that."

"Why not?"

"There is so much you don't understand, Krystol. There are so many more moments left to be played out, so much more you have to endure. I can't tell you much, but I can tell you not to give up."

"Don't give up on what? It's been at least a month since Nick was taken. He can't possibly be alive still, not if he's with that monster."

Rachel stopped at the top of the hill and stared out over the valley of Camp Half-Blood.

"Would you look for him?" she asked me suddenly.

"What?"

"Nick. If there was a chance that he was still alive, would you look for him?"

"Of course I would! But-."

Rachel held up her hand. "No buts, Krystol. I know you'd look for him, and that you still hope for him to be alive, right?"

"Yes."

Rachel nodded approvingly. She closed her eyes and started to sway. "You seek the child of wisdom and the seas, do you not?"

"Um…uh…I…y-yeah."

Rachel's eyes opened, but they were now a strange, glowing green color.

"You seek the boy?" she said in a raspy voice. I gulped and nodded. She swayed again and strange, green fog poured from her mouth.

"Owl of the sea, whom you seek
Found only by one, the shy and meek
To end the child's chosen plight
Seek the child of fire and light."

Rachel's eyes faded back to normal and she swayed on her feet. I grabbed her arm to help steady her.

She looked at me and asked, "What did I just say?"

I repeated the words back to her, not exactly sure of what had just happened. Rachel was quiet and still for a while as she thought the words over.

"So, is that supposed to be a prophecy or something?" I asked timidly.

"I honestly don't know," Rachel said. "My prophecies are usually ominous, hard to decipher, and generally creepy. This one isn't like that."

"Uh, are you sure about that? That seemed pretty hard to figure out to me, and definitely creepy."

"No, this one's different. It seems more like flat out directions for you."

"To do what exactly?"

"Ugh, Krystol, think. I asked you…okay, the Oracle asked you if you were looking for the 'child of wisdom and the seas'. Since we know where Brooke is, that can only mean Nick, and you said yes. Therefore, you basically told the Oracle that you were looking for Nick. So, the Oracle gave you, um, let's just say directions to find him."

"I didn't ask for that!"

"Uh, you basically did. Hey, do you need a ride home?"

"Don't change the subject on me! Take it back! I don't want this prophecy! I just want to forget this summer."

"It's too late, Krystol. It's your prophecy now. Now, back to that ride question…"

I wanted to keep screaming. This wasn't fair. I hadn't asked for this. Besides, knowing my luck, I'd just make things worse. I mean, don't get wrong or anything, I wanted to believe Nick was alive. I would've given anything to change what had happened. But it was impossible. Nick couldn't have survived as a prisoner to the servant. Too many monsters wanted him dead for him to be alive in their hands. But I could tell I wouldn't get anywhere fighting with Rachel. Finally, I dropped my eyes and nodded 'yes' to the ride.

Rachel pulled out a cell phone and called somebody. Twenty minutes later, a sleek limousine rolled down the road and stopped at the base of the hill. My jaw probably would've fallen straight through the ground and all the way to China if it hadn't been attached to me. Rachel smiled and led me to the limo.

Rachel's limo dropped me off in front of my apartment building.

"I'll be seeing you around, Krystol," Rachel smiled at me.

"Wait, I still don't get the prophecy. Help me with it," I pleaded.

"I'm sure you're fully capable of dealing with this one on your own."

"But I don't understand it. Who's the light or fire kid? How do they mean anything in this mess?"

Rachel chuckled at me little. "You'll do fine, Krystol. If it's been spoken, it's bound to happen."

"When?"

"I'm sure you'll know when. Oh, this is for you." Rachel handed me a folded piece of paper. "For memory's sake. You'll be fine. Just watch out for monsters, okay?"

"But-."

"You'll be fine. I promise you that. And I'll be watching, too. I might actually be able to help you, and I'm interested to see how this will turn out." She smiled at me one more time before rolling up her window. The limo swung into traffic and took off down the street.

Sighing, I shoved the paper into my pocket and walked into the apartment building. Of course, the elevator was broken again, so I had to climb the six flights of stairs up to my apartment. Once I got to my door, I froze. What would it be like now, between Mom and I? How had she handled my going to camp? How would she react when I told her about this last summer? I sighed and threw all of the thoughts out of my head. I'd just deal with things one at a time.

I walked in to find the apartment spotless. My head dropped at the thought of how bad Mom might have taken the news. See, among a few other things, my mom cleans when she's worried. Given how clean the place was, I was thinking my mom had been on the verge of having a panic attack at some point. I closed the door behind me and moved farther into the living room.

My mom rushed into the room from the kitchen with a broom in her hands.

"What, did you plan on sweeping any intruders to death?" I asked.

My mom dropped the broom and practically flew across the room. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I felt tears falling down my cheek as I hugged her back, never wanting to let go.

I spent an hour or so with my mom. She made my favorite dinner and whipped up her peanut butter-chocolate shakes that I loved. Even if it was the drink of the gods, I had to admit that the nectar was nowhere near as good as my mom's shakes. After dinner, Mom tried to get me to talk about camp. I wasn't ready for that yet. If I brought up camp, I'd have to bring up the quest. There were so many things on that trip that would haunt me for months, maybe years. And I couldn't talk about what had happened to Nick. I wouldn't be able to handle dealing with that. Instead, I acted like I was really tired. Mom looked skeptical, but she let me go to my room anyway.

I sat in my room, staring at the walls and everything else for another hour. I rooted through the school supplies Mom had laid on my bed for the coming school year. Finally, I decide that I really was tired. I changed into my pajamas and moved for my bed. Then I remembered the paper Rachel had given me. I dug it out of my pocket and unfolded it, only to be met with hopelessness. Rachel had copied down the prophecy she'd given me, in Greek nonetheless. I looked at the bottom of the paper and saw a drawing of what looked like a sun, except, instead of being surrounded by squiggly sunbeams, it was ringed with flames. I shook my head. It would take a miracle for that prophecy to come true. I crumpled the paper up and tossed it into my little trashcan. Turning off the light, I climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up to my chin.

My dream vision cleared itself and brought a long, dark hallway into view. Low-burning torches barely lit the hallway. I felt myself moving forward and I turned at the end of the hall into another that matched it perfectly. My dream self kept walking, turning every now and then into new hallways. In no time, I was absolutely lost. I couldn't figure out where the weird maze was, or if it was part of a history dream. Once in a while, I would walk past monsters, but they apparently couldn't sense my dream form. Eventually, I came into a chamber. It was completely empty, which only emphasized its enormous size. The chamber had to have been at least a fifty foot square. A faint clinking noise echoed in the chamber. I glanced over to a corner and found that the chamber wasn't completely empty. A small form was pressed into the corner. My dream self moved toward the form. The closer I got, the more details I could pick out. It looked human. Yes, it was definitely a human. Shackles were attached to their ankles and chained to the wall. They looked young, like a child. They had light hair and pale skin. Their clothes, though torn and nothing more than rags, looked modern. My dream self lowered itself so that I became level with the person. The child looked like a boy, even though their hair was a little long. Suddenly, the child flinched. I felt myself reach out for the kid. I almost touched him just as he jerked his head up.

I sat bolt upright in my bed, gasping for air. Sweat was pouring down my face and I was shivering. I was in too much shock to do anything though. Even though I had only caught a glimpse of the boy's face, I knew exactly who it was. I could never forget those green eyes.

"Nick," I gasped.

Alright, that's the end, guys. This was the last chapter in a very long story that drove me nuts at times. I really hope you liked this story. Thanks to everyone who made it here. Thanks for the reviews and always reading this for me. I had fun with this. Now, if anyone is curious, I am planning on a sequel (is it a bit obvious?). I really hope everyone who made it this far keeps reading my stuff. If not, well, at least you got this far. So, that's about it. Thanks again, and if anyone wants to, please review. See ya next time around.