| The Rising Moon: The Awakening of a Demi-Goddess |

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 Nico watched as Celeste's eyes fluttered open, her breathing shallow and slow. She slowly opened her glazed eyes, gazing at everyone like she didn't know where she was. It took a few moments to realize where she was, and a flash of emotions crossed across her face. First horror, then confusion, then a tint of happiness, before she masked it all up with a scowl.

"Where- oh. Hello," she said sourly, trying to cross her arms. She looked down to see her hands in handcuffs, the metal completely engulfing her hand (like the one Elsa has, I wasn't able to find the description for it, but their connected to each other like normal handcuffs).

"Handcuffs? Really? What is this made out- ooh, adamantine? Smart move. Didn't know it could block magical abilities," She complemented, looking at the handcuffs with interest.

Jason thrust a spear in front of her face. "What are you and the Wraiths planning? You're working for Eris, aren't you?" He asked, sourness in his voice. She smirked at him and used her handcuffs to lower the spear.

"Threatening me won't work, if you want answers," She said casually, blowing out a silver bang from her face. Piper stood up, and nodded to the others. She made her way to Celeste, getting ready to use her charmspeak.

"Tell us all of your plans," Piper said soothingly, which inclined Nico to say theirs out loud. Over the years, she had enhanced her powers so that it was nearly irresistible. Celeste gave a coy smile.

"Charmspeak doesn't work on me, child of Aphrodite," She said, crossing one leg over the other. Piper realized and scowled, backing off. Percy stepped up, giving her a withering glare.

"Why do you act like you have more power? We could kill you right now," He said ominously. Percy was the type to goof off and have sympathy, so he was obviously bluffing. Celeste clicked her tongue.

"But could you?" The room was silent for a few moments, and she gave a sweet smile. It made Nico feel sick. She had given him that smile before she...

"Exactly," She said confidently, staring at them each one by one. Hazel spoke up.

"What do you think we'll do to you, then?" She asked, probably hoping Celeste would slip up a method that they could use. The white haired irl pondered a moment before speaking up.

"You wouldn't return me to Camp Half Blood, because that would be a waste of your time; I'm assuming if you all have common sense you wouldn't leave me in the middle of nowhere, or alone on the Argo IV while you're on you little 'quest'." She said uninterested. Annabeth frowned.

"What do you mean quest?" She asked, baffled. Celeste raised an eyebrow, as if she was trying to trick her.

"Pandora's Mansion? The place where you were going to retrieve the Pendant of Hope?" She asked, as if trying to jog their memory. They all stared at her blankly, wondering what she was talking about. Her mind clicked and she realized that she had just told them where they had to go.

"I- forget I said that!" She exclaimed, wincing at the fact that she had just led them to an answer they were looking for.

Annabeth opened her laptop and searched up 'Pandora's House'. Her eyes widened and she turned to Leo, whispering something in his ear. He nodded and went to the engine room, probably going to start the ship. He heard Celeste silently curse, and she mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"Listen, Celeste-" He started, but she cut him off. "It's Celestial now," She corrected, her eyes drawn to something else. He looked down and saw she was staring at the small scratch he had earned when someone nicked him with an arrow. A flash of emotions flew across her face before she cleared her throat and looked away.

The ship started to hover, and Celestial used her legs to keep her balance. Nico could see that she had never gotten over her air sickness, and her face turned pale.

He had also noticed a lot of new things about her. Obviously, her hair was now fully white and in a choppy haircut, but she had also been paler and thinner. He couldn't tell if it was from eating less or just part of her agility.

She clicked her tongue and her eyes brightened in realization, as if something good had happened. She grinned, and whispered something he could barely make out.

"Step 7, complete," she whispered.