The Ghosts of Millennia

Bianca the Bathroom Hog

"That's going to be dangerous," Lou warned.

"When is anything not dangerous for us?" Thalia asked.

Nico led them to an old, rickety staircase marked "Do Not Enter." Thalia picked the lock easily, and the door swung open. "Are you ready to climb down fifty flights of stairs?" Nico asked them.

"Fuck my life," Thalia groaned.

Twenty minutes later, they reached the door marked "basement." Thalia reached to pick the lock again, but, when her fingers touched the doorknob, she spasmed like she'd been electrocuted and crumbled to the ground, a grin on her face.

Lou gasped. "Thalia?!"

Nico cursed. "It's no use. I should've realized they'd protect it."

Lou examined her body. "She's still alive, just comatose."

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't ready to lose another friend. "Stay with her. I'll go in."

Lou shook her head. "No way. It's too dangerous."

"We can't lose another child of Hecate," Nico snapped. "The Artifacts are right through that door, I can feel it. And how long do we have before Athena and Mars pick a side? I know you were talking to Rachel."

"Hours," Lou whispered. "Bellona already chose Hecate. Athena's best friend Nike chose Hades."

"Exactly," Nico said. "We need you, you're the only one who can tell us what's going on on Olympus. I can do this."

Lou grabbed him and wrapped him in a hug. "You'll have to kill all the Lotus Eaters. It'll destroy the spell and save Thalia and everyone else trapped in the hotel."

"Okay." Nico pulled away and faced the doorknob. His shadow grabbed the shadow of the doorknob and twisted it, and the door swung open. "Wish me luck."

The basement was made of white walls and white tile, like a science laboratory in a community college. Hot, muggy, pink fog floated around the room, making Nico's eyes heavy. Without Hestia's blessing, he'd be on the ground like Thalia, never to wake again.

Even with the fog, his senses were on overdrive. The Artifacts were so close. If only he could--

"What do we have here? " a voice whispered in his mind. "An intruder? "

"Show yourself!"

The voice laughed. "As you wish, Nico di Angelo." A silhouette in a gas mask appeared before him. Nico drew his sword. He stepped towards the silhouette, ready to strike when the pink fog forced its way up his nose. Nico coughed, trying to get whatever it was out of his lungs, but it was no use. His head shot up like Thalia's, and he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head.

____________________RON____________________

Malfoy ushered the rest of them away from the Bloody Baron in silence. "What now?" Malfoy asked her.

"We go to Loch Arthur," Annabeth replied. "You've been a huge help, Draco, thank you."

Malfoy looked at the ground. "Will-- will that count for something? That I'm helping, will, erm, will my parents be... I dunno, safe?"

Annabeth touched his arm in a comforting sort of way. "Malfoy, it takes a lot to get thrown in the Fields of Punishment. They paid for their crimes already; the only one who's going to suffer eternally is Riddle himself." Malfoy didn't seem to believe her. "I'll tell you what--when our quest is over, I'll ask Hazel to find out, as a thank you for helping us."