Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that I keep falling off the edge of this planet! School's out in 3 weeks so you can expect more updates! Here's the next one.

Nico's POV

"Breakfast?" I asked her. Thalia's eyebrows were furrowed and it looked like she was concentrating really hard on something, "What's wrong?"

She looked up at me, "There's something really wrong here."

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

She took a long pause before answering.

"I 'killed' the Minotaur only a few days back. And though I know that monsters often comeback, the Minotaur is a fairly large monster. It shouldn't have come back so quickly, there's definitely something wrong here. Someone must be letting them out."

"Well it's not Hades." I said defensively.

"I never said it was Hades, dumbass." She snapped. Then she muttered under her breath, "You are so goddamn touchy all the time. You always were."

"Excuse me?" I snarled, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Thalia glared back at me, "Look. I talk about one thing that's remotely connected to your father and you automatically assume that I'm trying to blame him for something!"

How could she say that?

"My father has been at the mercy of yours!" I shot back, "He was forced into the Underworld, he was hated by the other gods, he got blamed for all the wars, he even got blamed for stealing you father's lightning bolt! I think I have good reason to be, as you put it, a little touchy!"

Thalia looked like she was ready to rip me to shreds just by glaring at me.

"Uh, guys?" a new voice interrupted us. Both of us snapped our heads toward the interruption. It was that asshole, Alex.

"What?" we both growled at the same time.

"Do you want breakfast?" he asked, looking at Thalia.

"Yeah Alex." She said sweetly, "I would LOVE to have breakfast with someone like YOU. Someone who is CALM and NICE and PEACEFUL. Let's GO."

She caught a hold of his arm and dragged him away leaving me glowering at their path.

Thalia's POV

I sat at the table waiting for Alex to bring back some coffee and bagels. When he arrived he asked, "What happened?"

I blew some hair out of my face, "Nico. Son of Hades. You know how it is."

Alex rolled his eyes, "I totally agree. I'm a son of Demeter remember? Hades' kids hate us."

"Well they apparently hate children of Zeus too." I grumbled, digging into my bagel, adding copious amounts of cream cheese.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I chowed down when Alex finally spoke up.

"Oh yeah, where did you guys go? And what happened? You look like you've been through battle or something…but then again, arguing with a son of Hades is like being through a war." He asked.

I looked up, suddenly feeling guilty, "Oh yeah…sorry about that. We got called into a meeting early and you were sleeping so we didn't want to wake you up…" I trailed off.

"Oh." He said awkwardly.

"Uh yeah, sorry." I squirmed uncomfortably.

Another pause.

Then I said, "Well as for the battle part, the Minotaur reformed so we sorta had to send it back to Tartarus. You know, demigod duties and stuff."

"The Minotaur!" his eyes nearly popped out, "What the heck? Didn't you kill it a few days ago!"

"Yeah…that's what I'm worried about. Are monsters reforming? Because this needs to reported to the gods." I mused.

"No." he said sharply.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

He looked away, "Look…I mean the gods are great but I don't think this that big of an issue. We can probably take care of it ourselves. I mean, we're here in California, right?"

I was a bit confused, "We're in California…so…?"

"So we can enter the Underworld and check out what's happening ourselves." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I thought about what he said. He did have a point, if it turned out to be nothing, just a freak case of the Minotaur reforming then it wouldn't be worth bothering the gods. Besides, half the gods on Olympus hated me and though my father and I had a positive relationship, we didn't communicate more than once or twice a year.

"What will Nico say? He won't let us do it." I said.

"Why should we tell him?" Alex replied, "And what do you mean 'he won't let us'? Do you honestly need his approval?"

"Of course not!" I said hotly, "I'm just saying…the Underworld is his turf. It's better that we don't just waltz in."

"Wow Thalia. I didn't know you were still hung up on him." Alex said.

I was starting to get annoyed, "I'm not hung up on anything. There are rules, you know. You can't just go into the Underworld!"

"Percy Jackson did it."

"Percy was on a quest. We don't even have an oracle!" I shot back.

"Rachel." He said quietly.

"What?"

"Rachel can't give us a quest. She's the ex-oracle." I said. Remember? She went through puberty and decided to turn into a little bit-...not nice person.

"She still retains her powers." He said, "They're just dormant. If she tried hard enough, she could give us a quest, we could into the Underworld, and we could figure out what's happening in the Underworld."

I sat there, still. Maybe he did have a point? I mean, as a demigod, it's my duty to look into any situation which threatens the mortal world. But this seemed really risky. A quest? I haven't been on one in years…

"Well you don't have to decide now." Alex interrupted my thoughts, "It was just a suggestion. Besides, we're going to be here in California for a few more days so you can decide later."

"Yeah I guess…but wait, Rachel isn't even here? So it's not like we could have gone either way." Phew, that's a relief. It was nice to know that I had that reason to back me up.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you guys were out! While you were gone, Mr. Dare called me. Rachel's flying here to California!" he said happily.

I think a piece of my soul just died.

Nico's POV

I stormed up to my hotel room. Who the hell did Alex think he was? And what about Thalia? I am not touchy or angsty! I angrily blew a piece of hair out of my face. I'm so sick and tired of Alex and Thalia and Alex and Thalia, together! I can't wait for this stupid trip to be over so I can go back to New York.

I flung open my room door and immediately went to the bathroom to wash my face. I ripped my tie out and tossed my jacket into a corner. Then I noticed some makeup products in my bathroom. Um, what the hades? I sure as hell didn't use sephora…

I slammed open the bathroom door and

"Nico!" a familiar voice called out. All I saw was a flash of ginger and suddenly I was engulfed in a hug.

"Rachel?"

ooh and the plot thickens. what are Alex's real motives? While nico and thalia get closer together? Or will rachel's presence pull them apart? leave your predictions in the reviews! btw: SCHOOL'S OUT IN 3 WEEKS. EXPECT MORE UPDATES :D

review!