Hey guys! Hahah some if you were panicking about that being the last chapter, but as I've said, far from over! >:D

Enjoy this one!

"Percy. Percy, you have to come." I groaned, rolling over to where Nico was-had been!- lying, snuggling into the warm comforter. It had been another week since Nico and I... Well. Yeah. We'd taken to sleeping in the same room ever since another close miss had been avoided, with Eris. "Umph...Nico...come back..." I heard him sigh, but sit on the bed, and put my head in his lap. "Percy...come on, wakey wakey!"

Grumbling, I cracked an eyelid, squinting up at him sleepily. "What...? B-but I'm t-tired..." Nico put a hand over my mouth to stifle the yawn. "I'm serious, Jackson. Get up." He shook my shoulder a while more before I gave up. "Awright, awright. I'm up. What is it?"

The dark shadow over Nico's face woke me up completely.

"Eros."

I stumbled into the living room half an hour later, the familiar weight of Riptide in my pocket and Nico following close behind. Just as promised, Eros, now sandy haired and icy blue eyed, was lounging on a chair, fiddling with a quoit hoop. The moment he saw us, a lazy grin crept across his face and he waved casually. "Hey, Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo. How's life?" I glared. He wasn't here to make small talk and we all knew it.

"Whaddya want?" The smile slipped off his face and he sat up straighter. "I need you to help me. Eris is growing stronger by the minute. While you two have been here cuddling, (congratulations, by the way), Eris has been out there gathering power. Lately, her attacks have been growing stronger and now Camp Half-Blood is almost completely under her control. Only a few remain free, including your friends. I'm trying to help them, but she's much too powerful.

I need you to go and find the demigods out there that aren't in camp yet. They mustn't be allowed into camp. If not..." Eros paused meaningfully, before handing me a scroll. It was short, about half a normal sheet of paper, and seemed a little old.

"The coordinates of new demigods are on there, they'll appear one at a time. I need you to find them, explain, and then bring them back here and train them. Hurry, there's little time remaining. Also, here."

Eros stood, dusting off his jeans, and his image flickered for a second, pain crossing his handsome features before he steadied. Tossing me a thin box, he smiled. "A copy of Chiron's video explanation."

"You may or may not be more susceptible to Eris out there. Watch out for each other. Good day." Before I could say anything, he disappeared, and Nico relaxed, letting out a breath. "Well, now what?"

"I don't think we have a choice. Guess we have to do what he says." Nico's face tightened.

That afternoon, we ran about, packing and readying the place. The lake gestured invitingly from the window, but I didn't look up. There wasn't time.

~le next morning~

I glanced around the place one last time. It was magnificent, huge towers seeming to rise up from the castle-like house on the cliff.

For a second I was tempted to sprint back in and yell, "Screw Eros!", but I knew I couldn't. I had a duty, to my friends at camp, to the lost, hunted demigods out there, and I couldn't just abandon them.

Nico's pale fingers slipped into mine, and I turned to look at him. His face was soft, and he smiled at me, kissing me gently. "We owe it to them, Percy."

I smiled reluctantly, cupping his face with my hand and kissing him again, deeper.

"Okay, first stop is...Canada? Ottawa, 45° 24′ 0″ N, 75° 40′ 0″ W." I nodded grimly, strolling down to the beach. "I'll ask my dad to send hippocam-" Nico shook his head and gestured to the shore. A moderate-sized boat was bobbing in the gentle waves. I smiled and shouldered my bag, hurrying down the black glass shingles until I reached the side of the smooth black boat. It's sail flapped in the wind, bright sky blue. Grinning, I hopped over the side, feeling the sense of absolute control and power flow over me. Gripping Nico's arm, I hauled him aboard. Immediately, the boat rocked, and began cutting through the waves towards the horizon. Glancing again at the coordinates, I felt the location imprint into the water under the boat, and it bobbed in acknowledgement, before turning sharply.

I looked over the side at the shadow filled water as it lightened. More blue began to shine through the black, and my spirits lifted-

Only to be brought crashing down as the boat stopped abruptly, throwing me forward. Desperately grabbing onto the railing, I steadied myself and glanced back at Nico, whose eyes were darkening. "I knew it. She won't let us go. She never planned to." I could see the defeated look cross his face. Gritting my teeth, I edged towards Nico as shadows rose all around the boat, threatening to tip it over.

No. I wasn't leaving Nico. I would never. I had to do this. For all the lost, misguided demigods out there, for Hazel, and most of all for Nico.

Breathing heavily through my nose, I gripped the waters under the boat, forcing the shadows out of them. For a second, the boat steadied, before continuing its erratic rocking. I was vaguely aware of the dark blood streaming out my nose, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. With a guttural scream, I stabbed at the shadows around the boat, but more rose to take their place. It was hopeless. The shadows whispered, stabbing at my brain, turning it inside out as the shadows closed over the boat. Stumbling, I fell as the boat tipped one way and then the other. The shadows weren't just attacking me, they were taking over my head. I felt a surge of hopelessness, despair and hatred wash over me as I smacked into the railing and slipped-

A slim hand slipped into my rigid, sweaty one, and I looked up to see Nico standing over me, hauling me back up. Nodding softly to me, he closed his eyes, and I could feel the shadows wavering, no longer in my head.

Head cleared, I growled and thrust out my free hand, willing the waves to listen to me. Energy seemed to flow into me, as Nico fought off the shadows. With a rough gesture, the waves surged up and through the shadows. For a moment, the shadows draped over me and I felt rather than heard the scream of frustration echoing through it.

Then we were through, and the sunlight shone, dissipating the shadows. Small fluffy white clouds dotted the large, bright blue sky and I grinned at Nico, pulling him closer as he leaned his head into the crook of my neck.

"So. We made it." Smiling softly, he wrapped his arms around me. "Yup. Let's hope we make it through the rest of it." The boat shuddered under our feet and spun, throwing us onto the deck, laughing, before shooting off, sending spray flying behind us.

We lay on the deck for a while, as the boat navigated the seas. I could feel everything extra vividly, the sun on our faces, the occasional shower of seawater, Nico's body curving into mine, his vanilla scent drifting across. The boat felt like solid power under my splayed fingertips, and we sailed through the waves like a knife.

Canada, here we come.

BONUS YAY YAY YAY YAY

"Percy!" I rolled over, the stiff boards below me poking me awake. "Nico...?" I blinked, glancing up sleepily. The star-dotted sky above was fading slightly, but I was convinced it was still night.

It was weird. Nico always woke me, never the other way around, despite the fact that I woke pretty early usually.

But taking a closer look, I noticed the large purple bags under his eyes had grown darker. His eyes themselves were red-rimmed, and he coughed, emitting a rough, raw sound. "Percy!" His arms flailed wildly, and with a start, I noticed he was still asleep.

Nightmares.

I knelt blearily next to his sleeping bag, cradling him close. Cold wind circulated the deck of the ship, and he shivered. Making a decision, I yanked open hi sleeping bag and placed the opening of his next to the opening of mine, before crawling back in and wrapping my arms around him. Sniffling, he buried his face in my chest and quietened. I grinned sleepily and pulled him close, silently protecting him, against anything and everything.

A/N: Hey guys!

I'm freaking swamped with homework, so updates will DEFINITELY be slower, I'm sorry but I'm a human being too, so deal.

Sorry if that was rude. I'm not feeling great today.

KK BAI

~N