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

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Holy Hera.

The building was large, and Nico estimated it was 22,000 square feet. The lights were so bright- a large chandelier  in the middle, as well as multiple arch windows on the sides of the wall, illuminated by lanterns radiating a ginger hue. 

There were so.

many.

people.

It was loud, many masked people chatting about, gossiping and complementing (or what seemed like complementing) each others outfits. He glanced at Celestial, whose eyes were filled with panic. Is she scared of the crowds? She had always been calm and collected, so it struck him odd that she was pressured because of how many people there were. To his surprise, she clung to his arm, her breaths shallow as the noise filled her ears.

"Names?" A receptionist in front of them asked calmly. He seemed to be younger than everyone else at the party; it was possible that the organizers appointed him the job because he was too young for their sophisticated event. 

We're supposed to give our names? Celestial never told us that! Did the others get kicked out? Annabeth had instructed them to spread out in the line; make themselves seem less suspicious. He bit his lip, and cleared his throat.

"I'm- uh- Harry Potter- and this is erm, Hermione Granger!" That had to be the worst false name he had ever created. Seriously? Harry Potter? If this guy reads, we're totally screwed! Even Celestial snapped out of her panicked mode for a few moments to shoot him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look, which made him give her a sheepish grin. The receptionist narrowed his eyes at the two of them for a moment before nodding and moving the stanchions so they could walk ahead. Nico let out an unnoticeable sigh of relief, and with Celestial still clutching his arm, he walked into the ballroom.

There were so many different colors- red, green, blue, yellow, purple, magenta, white, you name it. He turned to Celestial, the distress still painted across her face. A flash of uneasiness entered his mind. Is she alright? Even though she ate the bread, she looks awfully sick. Maybe she can leave the party now that I'm in.. but the idea seemed cruel to him.

"Is everyone online?" Leo's voice buzzed through the earpiece. Nico flinched, then quickly recovered before anyone saw his sudden change.

"Yep," (Annabeth)

"Right here," (Jason)

"Mhm," (Piper)

"Online!" (Hazel)

"Yeah," (Frank)

"They have blue cupcakes! How are they the enemy?" (Percy)

"Focus on the task at hand Percy-" (Annabeth)

"Blue cupcakes?! WHERE?!" (Leo)

"Leo- you're not even with us-" (Piper)

"My ears are ringing! Could you guys tone it down?" (Nico)

"Sorry Death Breath!" (Leo)

"Don't call me-" (Nico)

"Anyways, I need you all to plant the devices in specific locations- got it?" (Leo)

"Percy, where did you say the blue cupcakes were again-" (Frank)

"If you have something personal to say, say it on the private line!" (Annabeth)

"Save me some cupcakes! I'll privately talk to you all one by one so Nico doesn't summon any zombies to eat out my brains when I'm sleeping," (Leo)

Nico silently cursed at the son of Hephaestus and turned to Celestial, who was quivering. A few people were worriedly glancing at her, confused at her distressed emotions.