Nothing will ever be the same;; (Triangle & N/G)

[ϟ MOD PIKA ϟ]

Luke looked at Percy and then back down at his dead brother in his arms, before his eyes where drawn to Annabeth again." We have all broken promises..." He said almost to himself before Nick and Annabeth agreed that they needed to get going.He probably would of noticed how distant Percy was to the daughter of Athena, but at the moment he had allot of things going threw his mind and all he could focus on was getting everyone home.

" Everyone has to hold onto me or be in contact with someone who is." Without really thinking about it he took Annabeths hand, making sure he still had a good grip on his brother." But watch Nick, this may hurt man..." After waiting a few moments until Percy and Nick where also ready to go, Luke closed his eyes, then everyone felt like something was pulling them back from around their stomachs and it seemed like everything around them was moving in fast motion. After a few moment they appeared on the porch of the big house.

" Can we get some help out here?!" Luke shouted, though his voice sounded like it was fighting against it because he barely had enough energy left to stand let alone yell." I got to put him down before I drop him..." He said gently before he walked to a porch swing and laid Riley down on it. He looked at the other three, Nick now on his knees, holding his side, Luke had been afraid that would of aggravated his injury more. He went and knelt next to the son of Zeus." Im sorry....It was the only way for us to get home and get you some help...you'll be okay." He said as he sounded a little out of breath, his eyes drooping. He was about to help Annabeth bring Nick into the big house when he finally hit his limit." I can't....so..." He then fell to the floor at their feet, exhausted from taking so many people so far.

[Gail Atrova]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, now, don't squirm so much dear. God's know you're excited to be out of this wrap but you need to calm yourself down or we'll never get it off."

Ugh. Gail hated the infirmary, with all the nurses and weakness that was here. Her being here every other day to get her ankle checked on was a constant (and annoying) reminder of a certain son of Zeus who'd beaten her at a duel and had made her look like a fool in front of several campers. Well, perhaps not like a fool, but Gail hated losing no matter what the event. Losing made one look weak, a disgrace. And from the constant shame her father had pushed on her whenever she wasn't the best was enough to make her strive to be the best no matter what. And now that Nick Hawthorn, had shown her up in the one event she was an absolute master at, she was no longer the best.

Though, after long consideration, she'd decided that it wasn't right to hold such a thing against the son of Zeus. After all, it was through her own fault that she'd lost the duel. Once her ankle was better, she would be able to go back to training double-time and then she would be back to her usual fighting master self. That in itself was enough reassurance to make her mind feel at ease. But despite the nurse's warnings, Gail simply couldn't sit still. This was her last check-up. Once the wrappings were off this final time, she would be free to go and never come back until she was called for.

But it was just as the nurse was getting on the final bandage that a thump could be heard from nearby outside, as though something large had just landed on the porch. "What in the name of Apollo..." the healer murmured before getting up and heading out to see what's wrong. "You stay here. And dont get up." Gail scowled as the healer headed out the door to the great front porch, and that was when she heard the terrified yelp that obviously came from the nurse that had been attending her. But of course as soon as she heard it, Gail ripped off the rest of her wrappings and jumped down from the cot. She only winced minimally when the pressure made her feel just a little uncomfortable, but at the moment her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She clasped the dagger that she always kept on her person, prepared for the worst. But when she opened up the door and came outside, she was met with a sight she most certainly hadn't expected.

There was a young blond man that she'd never seen before collapsed on the porch. Gail only spared a split second looking at him. Her eyes then went to a motionless body resting on the porch swing - it was obviously a dead corpse from all the blood on the poor fellow. She shuddered - that must have been that had made the healer shriek. She could only imagine what horrors that young lad went through before he'd passed, and the thought that another demi-god had died... that did nothing to calm the nerves that had been haunting her for the past few days. Next she saw her sister Annabeth, and to see that she had returned safely with minimum injuries was somewhat of a comfort. With them was, of course, Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon who was known to be a hero to them all, but there was something about him that seemed strange to her. And, of course, that left...

The instant Gail saw Nick kneeling, clutching his side in pain, protective instincts she'd never knew she had (let alone have for him) flared and she sent a glare in the direction of the still petrified healer. "If you're not going to be of any help, go find someone who can," she snapped with her usual commanding voice, and the healer went without question. She'd been in such shock she hadn't even admonished the daughter of Athena from getting up from her bed inside the infirmary.

As soon as the healer had gone, Gail knelt beside Nick, flicking some of her bright blond hair away from her face. She looked around at the party of returning quest heroes, worry in her stormy-gray eyes. "What's happened? How did you get here? What's... what's wrong with Nick? With you all? Are there any other injuries?" While some might have called it rambling, Gail saw it all as important questioning. She demanded answers, looking around at everyone and waiting for them before she allowed herself to take further steps to help.

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

“I’m fine.” Percy said shortly as Annabeth questioned his health.

Percy gave an absentminded nod to Luke. He couldn’t describe how he was exactly feeling in that moment. He had never felt like this before. Normally Percy had a grasp on his feelings even when it came to the confusing ones. He swallowed and sifted through names of emotions but nothing seemed to fit. Percy’s eyes wandered over to Annabeth giving her just a fleeting glance. He helped to support Nick and held onto Luke’s shoulder. Nick was much taller than him so it made the task of keeping the son of Zeus standing quite a challenge.

Percy, feeling half a wake, noticed Luke’s hand slid into Annabeth’s. His pulse raced but Percy said nothing. All he did was tear his eyes away from them and waited for them all to be transported back to camp. Was it at all possible that this entire thing was a dream? No, the Gods didn’t like him enough to allow this to be part of his imagination. Percy closed his eyes bracing himself for the journey. Now. Percy had shadow traveled before and that was pretty damn awesome. Traveling via son of Hermes, not so much. It didn’t help that Percy’s stomach was queasy before hand. Now he had a headache on top of that. He was on the ground next to Nick. He was really hoping the big guy would be okay.

It had been a while since Percy said anything. He wasn’t exactly in the a talkative mood. Remaining unusually quiet, Percy allowed for Luke to attempt taking Nick inside. That was when Luke hit the ground. He rushed over to check to see if he was alive, he was just exhausted from transporting all of them (drats). That was a dark thought. Percy pushed it aside convincing himself he was just joking.

Percy glanced up as Gail, another daughter of Athena, rushed outside. He looked up from Luke and his eyes landed on the body of Riley. “We need a shroud for a son of Hermes.” Boy did that feel like déjà vu. Percy blinked shaking the memory away. He looked back to Gail and heaved a sigh, “No. I’m fine.” Invincible was more like it. He didn’t glance over to Annabeth still afraid to look her in the eye for too long.

“It’s a long story.” Percy replied. “Phobos, he uhh, he used Riley Mitchell to trade souls for Luke. We fought him.” He made eye contact with Gail, “Nick tried to fight Phobos and Phobos used him like a football. I’m sorry Gail.” Percy apologized. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt but he was so worried about Annabeth and then there was the shock of Luke. So many things had gone wrong in such a short amount of time Percy’s mind was still trying to process all of it. As Percy looked over to Annabeth staring at the back of her head Percy realized why he couldn’t place a name to this feeling. It was because there was no feeling. He was numb, completely and utterly numb by a growing betrayal.

WORD COUNT”524

[Nicholai Hawthorn]

Nick knew right away this was not going to be fun. He winced a little as both Annabeth and Percy helped him to his feet, when truth be told all he wanted to do was go to sleep. He was really starting to regret saying he wanted them to go back the ghost boy's way, especially when they began to head back to camp. He felt the tug, and it made him groan out in pain. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt them travel, what almost felt like wind was blowing threw his hair.

When it finally stopped, Nick fell to his knees holding his side. He did what he could not to take Annabeth and Percy with him. He could sense both his friends at his side, and he was pretty sure Luke was a few feet ahead of them. When he looked up, his vision a little blurred he saw the son of Hermes putting his brother on the bench....Riley... Nick then took it upon himself to be the one to tell Sami of her brother, and try and be there for her. She was his friend after all, and he was one of the reasons that her brother never made it home.

"Its...Okay...you did what you had too." He said as Luke had come over to try and apologize. However then before Nicks eyes, Luke's eyes rolled back and closed then he hit the ground of the porch." Its he alright?!" He asked hoarsely before grabbing his side again. That was when he heard Gail's familiar voice, she was snapping at someone...he guessed it was a healer. He always found her bossy traits kind of amusing, well most of the time. He winced inwardly, not from pain really but when Percy told Gail that they where in need of a shroud. That made everything real now didn't it?

Once Percy had explained everything to the other daughter of Athena, Nick picked up his head and gave her a weak smile through all of the blood and grime that covered his face." Эй ангел " He said gently, not really having enough sense at the moment to speak English. Though it was easy to hear in his voice that it was an endearment. Sitting there before him was the girl that he hadn't been able to get out of his thoughts since they had left for the quest, even if he had no idea why. Part of him thought for a moment back there that he wouldn't live to see her again, now that he was...even through the pain he couldn't help but smile.

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth watched Percy for a long moment after he more or less snapped at her. Fine? He honestly thought she was going to believe that? He was an awful liar; well, that and she'd known him for a long time. He sounded mad about something, though about what she couldn’t be sure. Maybe he was just worn out? No, she knew that was false wish. First off, he bore Achille’s Curse, he didn’t exactly just ‘wear out’ like other people did. Second, she’d been around him when he was utterly exhausted and he hadn’t been so short with her even then. She tried to push it all aside, just give him some time after the stress of this quest to settle down, but his tone, just the way he’d been acting, was really nagging at the back of her mind. He had been so cold since whatever happened during the span of time she'd been either blinded by her fear thanks to Phobos or knocked out. She had no idea what had happened during that time, so there really was no telling. Or rather, now that she thought about it, he’d been cold towards her. He… couldn’t be mad at her, could he? No, that wasn’t logical, she hadn’t even done anything to merit it! She’d just give him a bit to get over whatever was bugging him, try to catch him as soon as they got some breathing time and see if he wanted to talk about it.

She was so preoccupied with keeping a hold of Nick and now trying to figure out what was bothering Percy so much that she hardly gave it a second thought when Luke took her hand. She just nodded absently. That is, until they actually left the lighthouse. Even with how much she’d been around Luke growing up, she’d never actually travelled with him via teleportation. It was, she had to admit, both thrilling and disorienting. Though she was rather happy she hadn’t eaten recently. It would have been a lot better, though, if it hadn’t both involved the corpse of a demi-god she was starting to seriously blame herself for the demise of, and also been immediately followed by being nearly pulled to the ground by Nick, who was considerably bigger than her. She only just managed not to fall on her butt painfully. “Hold on, Nick. You’re going to be okay,” she said quietly, hating to see her friend in so much pain.

And then she looked up and her heart dropped another couple of notches. She watched Luke set down the lifeless body of his half-brother. How hard that must be, oh gods. And he already looked sick, and when he spoke… it pained her to hear how much effort it seemed to be taking him just to find his voice. “Luke-…” she started to say something, but found herself cut off unexpectedly by him passing out. She held back a gasp. “Luke!” Straightening up to go to his side, Annabeth was forcefully reminded about the recent new experience of teleporting and had to take a step back to steady herself at the wave of dizziness.

But Percy was already checking on Luke, and judging from his reaction, or lack thereof in some cases, Luke must be alright. Thank the gods, they didn’t need more people dying. And Luke in particular… that seemed like it would be so unfair if just when he got a second chance he lost it. She looked up past Luke and Percy to where Riley lay, biting her lip slightly. None of this was fair really. That poor boy. And Sami, she could hardly imagine how she would take this. Annabeth’s attention was torn from the body when a terrified yelp came from the door. It was a healer, and hot on her heels was Annabeth’s half-sister, Gail. Thankfully, Gail had a way with handling the shell-shocked healer, though her sudden barrage of questions was, although to be expected, not the most pleasant. She flinched at Percy’s words. For a moment, all she could think about was that day he had said the exact same words two years ago, under very different yet surprisingly similar circumstances. It seemed another war, hopefully not of the same proportions, might be on the horizon.

Snapping back to present time, she nodded slightly at to Percy's explanation. Thankfully he’d done a fine just summing it all up. Or at least the really nasty parts. “Luke helped us get back. But I think it took too much out of him…” She glanced at Luke. “They’re the only ones with injuries.” She herself had a throbbing headache, but since she didn’t even know she’d hit her head at all, she simply chalked it up as a likely side-effect from the teleporting. “We need to get them to the infirmary immediately though, especially Nick. Can you help?” She walked over to where Percy was, near Luke, and gave him as much as she could muster in the way of a smile, though it was more sad than anything. She was grateful he was okay though; despite knowing he was invulnerable and everything, she still always worried for him. The look on his face, though… something was definitely wrong. And she had the worst feeling it wasn’t about everything they’d just had to explain to Gail. It was horribly unsettling. Feeling some mix between awkward and helpless and even a little guilty that she couldn’t help him more, she looked away. And her eyes fell on Riley. Well, there was a mood-lifter. “We should take Riley inside too. At least for now. It’s only right…”

Word Count: 1005

[Gail Atrova]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gail listened to everything that everyone said with special care, taking note of absolutely every word that came out of everyone's mouths. Especially Nick's, though why his voice stood out amongst the others she really had no idea. The news that came from Percy and Annabeth, on the other hand, was frightening enough to momentarily divert her attention from the struggling son of Zeus. She'd done her research on Greek mythology as soon as she'd discovered that she was a daughter of Athena, and she was no stranger to the myth of the god named Phobos - the god of fear. He had something to do with this?

And the unfortunate perished boy - a son of Hermes. Gail sighed, taken aback not only by the irony of it but a sad grief tinging her voice. Gail had never been one who was well-fitted to death. Seeing it wasn't exactly something she enjoyed, and seeing this boy's pale, lifeless face, knowing what he must have gone through to die in such a manner... she shuddered. But what was sadder still was that Phobos had used this boy just to bring back... this Luke Castellan back to life. Gail had only arrived at camp just after the great battle between Kronos and the demi-gods, so she'd only heard stories about Luke and the treachury he had made against Camp Half-Blood. Her eyes roved over him for a second (he didn't look much like a traitor to her) before she turned her attention back on Annabeth, Percy, and Nick.

But just as she was about to reply to their statements. the blubbering healer returned, this time with another young woman who seemed to be just as nervous as her companion. Gail sighed - this time in impatience. "We need a shroud for a son of Hermes. Get it quickly. And someone carry the body inside where it won't decay." At the horrified look on the healer's face, she snorted. "Then get someone else to do it, if you're too frightened to. The boy needs to be paids his respects, for the gods' sake." The healers nodded and scurried off, and Gail then turned to her half-sister, the son of Zeus, and Percy.

Instantly her expression softened as she knelt down next to Nick (she was going to ask him later about the foreign language he'd uttered - she knew he was Russian, but honestly had no idea how to speak it). Annabeth said that he would need help getting inside - so she would provide that help. She didn't even think twice about it. She looked between Annabeth and Percy, instantly sensing that something wasn't right between the two. She had no idea what had happened, and quite honestly it was none of her business. So she chose not to pry.

"You'll need to get looked at, both of you," Gail pointed out. "It doesn't matter if you were injured or not - I think it would ease everyone's minds if you just let yourselves be checked on." Including myself, she added silently, but didn't say it out loud. This was sort of a surreal experience for the daughter of Athena - she knew of quests but had never actually been around for one before. And now she was witnessing it at probably one of its worst stages. The return. Because even though some of them may not have sustained physical injuries, she knew there would be emotional, mental ones that may or may not be able to be healed in the future.

Gingerly, Gail put her arm underneath Nick's, in order to try and help him on his feet. She was a tiny thing compared to the giant Russian, but no matter what she was determined she could manage. The smile on his face brought a small, gentle one to her face as well. "I need to help you inside, but I don't think I can pull you there all by myself. Can you... can you stand? You can lean on me all you want, but I don't think I can get you to your feet. As soon as your inside, we'll get you to a cot, I swear." There was concern in her stormy gray eyes as she observed him, trying not to think about how much pain he was in at the moment.

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Percy hardly reacted when Annabeth tried to smile at him. He flashed a quick half-hearted grin and turned to look at Nick again. He sincerely hoped that Nick would be okay, and—as much as he was bitter with Luke at the moment—that Luke would make it through. Percy’s eyes surveyed the body of Riley Mitchell. He swallowed hard as he made a silent vow to stop Phobos. Even if he had to fight him alone. That seemed like a better prospect then sending anyone else into battle. Nobody else at Camp was invincible like him. He could forge some strong armor that would keep his back from being exposed to enemy weapons.

“I’ll take him.” Percy said coming out of his thoughts. He mindlessly walked over to Riley’s body. The kid was just as tall as him and it made Percy wonder if he would be able to carry the boy inside. Licking his lips and bending down Percy braced himself. Carefully Percy slid his arms under the body of Riley and he lifted with his legs. The kid was lighter than Percy thought he would be. Before a crowd could gather at the Big House Percy moved off into the house after Gail. He didn’t need to be looked at or rather he didn’t want to be looked at. Percy would be content making sure Luke and Nick were okay and then heading back to good old Cabin number 3.

Percy forced a half smile to his lips and looked over to Nick, “Next time let me be the football. You may be bigger than me, but I think I can take a hit better.” His laugh was hollow. Percy walked over to a bed once they were inside and set Riley’s body down gently on top of it. Taking a sheet he drew it over the dead body. He realized that this guy had a sister here, who was going to have to bare that news to her? Percy thought back to Nico and Bianca. Nico had gotten so upset and blamed Percy for his sister’s death. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be in that position again.

“Someone has to tell Riley’s sister.” He muttered looking from Gail to Nick. Percy still acted like Annabeth wasn’t there. It was cruel, he had to admit but it was all he could do at the moment. “Umm, I’m gonna step outside. I’m fine, honestly. Invincible remember?” He gave Gail a small wink and patted Nick on the leg and turned from the crowd. He exhaled as he glanced to Luke, still unconscious.

Percy left the Big House and flopped down on the steps outside. A few people had gathered but he glared at them. “Get out of here, show’s over. Go back to your training.” They rolled their eyes and ventured off. Everything was a mess. Percy didn’t know where to begin, he didn’t know what to do. “Dad, I could really use some help right now.” He prayed burying his face in his hands.

WORD COUNT”507

[Nicholai Hawthorn]

Nick always knew he had a pretty high pain threshold but right now he was pretty sure he was seeing spots. He could feel a few of his ribs where even out of place under his hand but he forced himself to focus on what was going on around him instead of the horrible pain in his side. He could tell that everyone was worrying about him, truth was he hated it. He was usually a strong, and protective son of Zeus. Just now he was kneeling in front of the big house with everyone worrying about him while they should be paying attention to Luke and....Riley. He looked at Gail as she asked him if he could stand, he could see the worry in her eyes so he tried his best to keep on the small smile that he had been able to muster." Yeah. I think I could lend you a hand with that pixie.." He said in a hoarse but teasing voice. It took him a moment but he started to will his feet to stand, wincing a little as Gail took a hold of his arm since he had been holding it so close to his chest.

As they headed for the door with him trying to lean as little as possible on Gail's small frame, he looked behind him at Annabeth and Percy." Guys, please get che-cked out. For me?" He asked before Gail helped lead him into the infirmary and to a cot. Once he was on the small cot he laid back and closed his eyes, his jaw clenched in pain. At Percy's words he let out a small chuckle, fallowed by a wince." Yeah, you probably could. But only because of your strange bathing habits." The Russian joked. However when he heard Percys voice again, it defiantly didn't put him in any kind of a joking mood.

He forced himself to sit up a little, looking at his (as far as godly parents go) cousin." I'll tell her. She is my friend. I should be the one to tell her, you guys...you guys just make sure he gets a proper funeral alright?" Once this was said he laid back down again, he vaguely registered Percy patting his leg as he left. It wasn't to long before a healer walked in and looked at the barely conscious Nick and Gail by his side.

I need to get his shirt off...to look at his sides. Will you help? It will probably cause him pain.. She asked as she made her way towards the son of Zeus, lifting him up a bit and silently apologizing as he hissed in pain while she started to pull his shirt over his head, showing a well defined chest that was severely black and purple with areas under his ribs looking misshapen.

[Annabeth Chase]

As odd as it was for her to admit, Annabeth was glad that Gail was taking charge now. Now that they were back and no longer staring death in the bright glowing red eyes, she realized just how worn out she was, both physically and mentally. The idea of waiting long enough to be looked at by one of the healers as Gail seemed to think was necessary even sounded like too much. If she could just grab some Advil for her head and go back to her cabin and get some shut-eye, she’d be reasonably happy, or at least, as happy as she could be after everything that had happened. She’d be a lot happier if everyone was alive and well… and if Percy wasn’t acting funny.

She watched Gail help Nick and Percy carry in Riley, leaving her awkwardly with the unconscious Luke. She ran through several options in her head in a matter of seconds before deciding on the best plan of attack. It took a little bit, but finally she managed to get Luke on her back, pulling his arms over her shoulders in the hopes that she could keep his feet from dragging. Figures this was the one time the fact that he was a fair bit taller than her was actually an issue. She made it into the infirmary with just enough energy left to carefully lay Luke on an empty bed and drop onto the chair sitting next to it. That walk had seemed a lot longer than normal; then again, carrying Luke as well as the weighty responsibility for this mess that she had placed on herself likely contributed to that greatly.

Annabeth found herself watching Percy, wishing he’d at least look at her. She only half registered what everyone was saying. When Percy left, however, she paused for a moment before getting up as well to follow. Then she remembered Gail and Nick’s words and looked over her shoulder at them. “I’ll be back to get check on, I promise. Just a minute.” She had to talk to Percy. She walked outside just in time to see Percy scaring off some other campers with his super friendly attitude. There was definitely something wrong with him. And then asked for help from his dad, something she had a feeling she wasn’t supposed to hear, but she felt a pang of sympathy for him. “Percy?” She walked over and sat next to him, though gave him a little space. “I may not be Poseidon, but maybe I can help some? What’s on your mind?” she asked, her voice rich with worry.

Word Count: 458