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

█▓▒­░⡷⠂ᴛᴜʀʙᴜʟᴇɴᴄᴇ...?⠐⢾░▒▓█

 Nico had never seen anyone predicting when they would pass out. Until now. Just after a few minutes, the choppy white haired girl had awakened, blinking rapidly. She felt her hand to her forehead, only for it to be bonked by the adamantine handcuffs. She turned to see the others, who where staring at her intensely.

"What?" She said, raising an eyebrow. If it was a normal dream, nobody would have been worried at all. But all demi-gods never had normal dreams- instead they'd have wacky visions and whatnot. Jason spoke up.

"You were-"

"FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!" She yelled, which made them all shrink back. Gods, what is wrong with her? The bitterness in his heart ached as he remembered what she had done to him. Leo glared at him, for some reason.

"Geeze, Nico, keep your Ex under control," He muttered. The moment the words came out of his mouth he immediately regretted them. Hazel let out a gasp as Annabeth and Piper swiftly turned to him, rage in their actions. Nico saw the corners of his eyes turn red. To her surprise, Celestial muttered something in a language he didn't understand.

"Goden, Leo, je bent nog steeds vervelend," (Gods Leo, you're still annoying,) She said sourly. Percy looked at her, surprised.

"What language-"

"オランダの。私の多言語脳は、怒るとじっとしていられません。" (Dutch. My multilingual brain can't stay put if I'm angry.)

She blew away a wisp of her silver hair out of her face and rolled her eyes at some of the interested faces. Piper and Annabeth were still berating Leo, and Jason was eyeing Celestial as if she had some sort of hidden powers up her sleeve. Nico didn't know what to think of this. He had just remembered that she was multilingual, his memories floating to the night they were in Italy.

Gods, I- his stomach churned when he thought of what happened before they shadow traveled away. Annabeth tapped her foot on the floor, making him perk up.

"Alright guys, we're getting off track. We all know where we're going, right?" Annabeth confirmed. Nico blinked. He hadn't really been paying attention to what they were talking about, due to Celestial's constant nursery rhyme songs. 'Songs' weren't the exact word he would use, actually. More like screaming to an unpredictable rhythm.

Almost everybody gave a satisfied nod, and she clapped her hands.

"Let's get the Pendant of Hope!"

Nico had to Frank later what this Pendant thingy was since he wasn't really paying attention.

"You know the story of Pandora's Box? Well, it was opened in Pandora's Mansion, and some of the suffering, violence, and greed got trapped in the mansion, but Pandora was able to not only let out hope, but also keep a sliver of it in a pendant. The one we're looking for," Frank summarized. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"You're basically telling me we're traveling to a haunted halloween house to get some sparkle magic necklace?" He asked bluntly. Leo stuck his head into their conversation.

"Yep! Get ready for the time of your life, Death Breath!" He cheered, which made Frank glare at him.

Before Nico could retaliate, the ship let out a groan as it lurched to the side. Panicked voices were heard as people gripped the railings for dear life.

"Leo! What's happening?!" Hazel yelled, grasping the floor to center herself. Leo tried to make his way to the engine room, but miserably failed.

"I don't know! There seems to be a malfunction or a breach in the system!" He yelled back, his brow hair ruffled and messy as the ship became more and more violent with each passing moment. Nico himself was clinging to the railing, trying to get a grip so he wouldn't fall over. His eyes widened.

Celestial was standing in the middle of the boat, calmly swaying herself to the movements. Although her movements were smooth, her teeth were gritted and her face was tense, as if she was deep in thought.

He almost thought he had imagined it, but he defiantly saw it. Her lips moved, her mouth whispering something that he couldn't make out. Once the words had left her mouth, the ship started to slowly row back to it's original flight pattern, the others rising up from their safety locations. His stomach churned.

She had defiantly cast a spell. But was that even possible? If she was under the impression of adamantine, wasn't her magic blocked?

That's what she claimed, at least. Did anyone else notice? He turned to look at Annabeth, the brains of the squad, who was completely baffled by this quick double change. Leo whistled.

"That was... crazy." There was a bit of suspicion laced in his voice, as if he knew more than what he was letting on. His gaze landed on Celestial, and Nico's eyes slightly widened. He saw her cast the spell. It wasn't his secret to keep, then.

He waited for Leo to speak up, to report to the others about it.

Nothing. Leo didn't even glance back at Celestial. He was too busy with Annabeth dragging him down to the engine room to find out what could have caused the problem.

A wave of nausea rolled over Nico. Should I tell them what he had witnessed? Leo didn't say anything... but maybe he will later? He clenched his fists, speculating a way to do the right thing without feeling so wrong. He turned to the beautiful choppy white haired girl who had caused him so many problems.

Her eyes looked far away, as if she was speculating, her head in the clouds but her gravity centered. The moment he started to gaze at her, she jumped, and swiftly locked eyes with him before whipping around away from his point of view. He let out a huff and turned around. What is she hiding?