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

█▓▒­░⡷⠂ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀɴᴇꜱꜱ⠐⢾░▒▓█

 They were so close to their destination. In a few minutes, Nico and the others would enter Pandora's Mansion to try to obtain the Pendant of Hope. Personally? Nico had his suspicions. How had Celestial known about the pendant in the first place? If she was the enemy, was it possible there was an ambush of some sort she had pre-planned. He sighed, gazing out into the distant sky as the clouds loomed above them.

His emotions on her were... mixed. On one hand, he despised her with all his heart. She had betrayed them, after all. Left them all to die. On the other...

He couldn't forget the sweet girl who had brought pastries to the little orphans in Italy. She had donated money to the old woman and spoke kindly with the little children.

"Can you come back soon?" One of the little girls, Audrey, had asked Celestial. Celestial, her hair then brown, gently smiled at the raven haired girl.

"Soon," She whispered, giving a promising smile to the young little girl. If Audrey had seen what she had became, what would she think of it? Did Celestial even remember those moments, or had it all been an act?

"Hey, Nico? Are you there?" He blinked, and turned to see Hazel, his half sister, trying to get his attention. She had been calling his name for the past few minutes, had he hadn't even noticed. He blinked sheepishly and nodded.

"Uh, yeah. What's up?" He asked, stuffing his hands in his pocket. Recently, he had been more out of tune with himself. His mind wandered off more than usual. He lost track of time. It was like his ADHD was stronger, more annoying than before. He caught himself staring at Celestial. Again. Biting his tongue in annoyance, he turned back to Hazel.

"I-I've been feeling this... aura. It isn't normal, though. More like... of fear. Hatred. Kind of like when we went against the Wraiths, except it's more vivid," She confessed, looking at him for guidance. He had just noticed it now.

It felt like some sort of cloud of sickness and fear had swept upon the area around them, hatred and despair radiating off it. His stomach churned. Dark magic was being at use.

"I don't know what it is. We should probably tell Annabeth- there's a good chance there are monsters," He warned her and she nodded. He turned to see Celestial unnoticeably listening to their conversation, her brow furrowing. A flash of emotions flew in her eyes before she put on her poker face, masking everything.

He hated her poker face. He was so used to being quiet and nobody looking at him, it gave him the time to slowly observe them and their emotions. She seemed to let them all in at once before masking it all. He couldn't tell what she was planning. And he hated it. It didn't help that she also acted differently as well. She acted more playful than she should have been. To teasing for a prisoner that had no power over them. He didn't trust it at all. He heard Leo's voice ring over and he turned around.

"We're here! Pack your bags for the spooky haunted house!" He could practically hear the son of Hephaestus grinning over the loudspeaker, which made a flash of irritation shine over him. Was getting more crabby, or were people getting more annoying? He stood up and started walking, his eyes diverting towards Celestial.

His eyes caught hers for a moment, and for a pure second, they started at each other, a mixture of emotions tumbling through him. Her messy chopped up white hair swayed delicately in the breeze. How did she get it that color? He shook his head, angrily clearing his thoughts and clenching his fists. She blinked and turned away, resting her head on the railing of the balcony to break eye contact.

Typical. He walked towards his cabin and retrieved the few things that he might need for his trip, mindlessly shuffling through his backpack.

Dagger, water, flashlight, granola... his head was up in the clouds as he continued packing. What would they face in the mansion? Was it still filled with some of the monsters Pandora had released thousands of years ago? The cloud of darkness started to surround his mind. He bit his lip, feeling his temples. Hazel was right. There was something that was darker than most areas. Something...

He shrugged it off. There were monsters everywhere. What was the worst they could do? He slid on his backpack and excited his bedspace, letting out his usual sigh. Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?

Sorry for the short random chapter! Next few ones are super long and juicy!! >w<