Rachel POV

I sat quietly in the hallway outside the operating. Tyler paced back and forth for what seemed like forever.

"She's okay, right?" He asked me. "I mean, she has to be..."

"Dude, if you calmed down, she probably will be better," the male French kid said. Arthur I thought his name was. I held back a smile as Tyler looked at him with confusion.

"He's got a point," Alice said, adding to Tyler's confusion. She looked at Arthur, "this kid really needs to know how to not worry." Arthur smiled.

"Yeah, and maybe if he doesn't, we could go into the room and inject him with stuff to make him sleep. Man, it would be so much easier that way." Alice, Penelope and I laughed while Tyler just looked back and forth between us, not knowing what our conversation was.

"This is a fun way to talk behind someone's back," Penelope said.

"Got that right!" Alice agreed while laughing. Tyler looked at me.

"Are they laughing at me?" He asked. I held back my smile, but nodded. Tyler sighed and threw his hands up in the air.

"Hey Rachel?" Alice asked. "Do you think Tyler has something for Clover?" I laughed.

"Of course I do!"

"Even I can see that," Arthur said while chuckling. "Just ask these two how rare it is." Penelope and Alice nodded.

"Arthur is usually the one who doesn't catch anything. Tyler's affection is totally obvious!" Penelope laughed. I ended up laughing as well. Tyler scowled at the group, as if taking guesses on what they were talking about.

"I wonder what their kids would look like..." Penelope wondered aloud.

"Are we seriously going to talk about this now? I mean, she is in surgery almost dieing," Alice said, but I could see her mind working too.

"Eww, you guys are disgusting," I teased, running my fingers through my red hair.

"Oh, don't worry. This is actually pretty normal. We've decided what Arthur's kids are going to look like, Alice's, even mine. It's just a friend thing we do," Penelope explained. Tyler gave me a pleading look, as if asking:

Could you please tell me what they are saying?

I just shrugged at him in return.

"Is this just me, or is this really normal?" I asked while looking around. Everyone else looked around as well.

"You do have a point," Arthur agreed. Since I made the comment, Tyler acually answered.

"I guess you're right, Rachel. Except for the fact that Clover is dying from Greek fire instead of some brain tumor. And that there is a Roman army after us. And that Gaea is waking." As Tyler talked on, his voice got edgier and more frustrated. "And we hardly have anyone here to help to take down the army, plus Gaea. We don't know if the seven are even alive-"

"Tyler," I interrupted. "We know." I glared at him, daring him to continue. He sighed angrily and continue to pace.

After a few minutes of silence (and way too much pacing), one of the scouts came running around the corner.

"Rachel," she said urgently. "We've spotted a statue."

"Statue?" I asked while getting to my feet.

"Yes." The girl looked slightly on edge, but comfortable as well. "Nico and a roman girl are on Half-Blood hill with a giant gold statue."

------

Octavian drummed his fingers on the table, studying the camp and his battle plans.

Bu bump

Bu bump

Bu bu-

"Sir!" A roman soldier intruded, charging into the tent. "Our border patrol has found Reyna with a gold statue and is accompanied by a goth kid." Octavian's hand faltered, his first two fingers an inch above the table.

"Statue?" He questioned. The anxiety in his voice was pretty obvious.

"Yes, sir." Octavian took a deep breath. He lowered all of his fingers softly into the table. His shoulders were stiff as he asked,

"Is Reyna in custody?" The roman soldier shifted feet.

"Is she supposed to be, sir?" Octavian stood up straight and began to stalk toward him.

"She broke the rules of Rome. She abandoned us to help a graecus. And you don't think she should be in our custody?" Octavian's voice was dangerously edgy. He rested his hand on his dagger. The soldier swallowed nervously.

"N-no sir," he stuttered.

"Then lock her up!" Octavian shouted, pointing out the door. The soldier didn't say another word. He dashed out of the tent without looking back. Octavian turned away from the door and scowled.

"Idiots," he muttered. He looked back at the blueprints on the table. Then, a chilling feeling ran down his back. The hair on the back if his neck stood up. He closed his eyes and focused. A soft voice, but also very demanding, seemed to whisper in his mind.

They will be after the statue... Protect it at all costs...

"My lady?" he asked aloud. "How are we supposed to find the Greek's camp?"

Ahh... Yes... Another troubling problem...

"But my lady-"

My boy... I will have my wishes... And you will get yours... It is a fair deal...

"Yes ma'am," Octavian stated.

And kill the Belona girl... She has no use to you anyway...

"Reyna, my lady?"

Yes... Reyna...

"As you wish, ma'am."

As soon as Octavian finished his sentence, the voice was gone. He opened his eyes, then pulled his dagger out if its sheath. It glinted in the bits of sunlight dribbling through the cracks in the tent. He looked over at the table and took a deep breath. Octavian walked over to the tabletop and pulled something out of the drawer. He placed it square on the map, then raised his dagger. In one swift movement, Octavian stabbed the picture. The knife blade cut through the girl's nose then up through her forehead.

Octavian shoved his knife into its original holding place on his belt. The teddy bears all looked like dead animals attached to his hips, and the knife didn't help the appearance. He strut out of the tent, brushing the photo off the table. It fluttered to the floor and landed softly.

He was satisfied.

------

Rachel POV

"Tyler, Penelope and Arthur, you stay here. Wait until Clover is out of surgery before you come to help," I ordered. "Alice, you and I-" I jabbed my thumb at me and her. "-are going to check this out."

Just then, Will poked his head out. His face was one of amazement and of disbelief.

"Guys, I think you will want to hear this." I looked at Tyler. He nodded and I turned to Alice.

"Lets go." She looked at Will, as if wanting to go inside, but she followed me down the hall.

"Good luck guys," Alice called.

"You too!" Penelope cheerfully shouted in return. Tyler gave them a confused look, but shrugged it off. The group went inside while Alice and I made our way outside.

"-just materialized there," the scout was saying. "We theorize that Nico shadow traveled the girl and the statue."

"Man, that kid must have a lot of strength," Alice said. The scout looked confused, so I translated.

"Oh," the girl said. "You've got a point. Not many people can shadow travel, much less take a forty foot tall statue with them."

"Wait, forty feet tall?" Alice asked. I translated and the girl nodded.

"Yeah, it is really tall. It also looks like Athena. A few of the athena kids here recognized it."

"What is it then?" I asked.

"They say it's the Athena Parthenos. It was lost for thousands of years and it was what started most of the contentions between the Greeks and the Romans."

"Ohh... I remember that story..." Alice realized.

"You know it?" I asked. She nodded.

"An Athena kid told me the story. I'm a daughter of Demeter, but I have a lot of connections with the Athena kids at our camp. They were so obsessed to find it. It was unbelieveable." The scout girl was looking back and forth at Alice and I, trying to fill in what Alice was saying.

"Alice has heard of it," I translated. The scout nodded.

"It is kind of a popular story. Anyway, many of the Athena kids think that the statute could mend the rift between the two groups. We're ready to try, if it's okay with you." She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Do it." The girl nodded then rushed off calling orders to some hunters.

Yes, the hunters. They decided to come join us again once they had counseled with Artemis (go figure).

"Who are those girls over there?" Alice asked, pointing to the girls in silver.

"Oh, those are the Hunters of Artemis. Don't they come to your camp?" She shook her head.

"No, I don't think so."

"Huh. Odd. I'll have to talk to Thalia about it." I looked over at the tree line and spotted Travis and Connor Stoll running toward us.

"Rachel!" Travis called. "The Romans are almost ready to take the statue!" When they reached us, Conner handed both Alice and me binoculars.

"You're going to need these," he said. Alice was looking at him funny, but I couldn't tell what the look was for.

"T-thanks." Alice stuttered while blushing. Connor looked at me for a translation.

"She says thanks," I said. I looked at Alice with confusion. She waved her hand, as if to say:

Forget it.

"Thanks you two." I smiled at them. "We'll be back later." They both nodded. I looked at Alice and held up the binoculars. "Ready?" I asked her. She nodded. I wave goodbye as Alice and I dashed into the woods.

--------

"She started muttering to herself," Will said, closing the door behind them. "I thought you guys should hear it." Tyler looked over at Clover, who was laying in a bed wrapped in a few bandages. A blue cloth covered her stomach, hiding the surgery work. On a few rolly tables, surgery tools were sitting on white clothes. A few of the other Apollo kids were cleaning them while trying to keep their distance from Will and the group.

"What has she been saying?" Arthur asked, taking a few cautious steps forward.

"I don't think I can explain," Will said. "Just listen to her." The group nodded. Tyler walked over to Clover's right bedside and pulled up a chair. He sat down and leaned on his knees. He stared at the floor, and the others knew he was blaming himself.

Clover moaned and shifted in her bed. A couple of the machines started to scream. Will rushed over to one if the monitors and began to twist dials.

"We can't have her wake," he said. "If she does, she will be in intense pain." He looked up and called, "Greg, pass me that injection!" One of the Apollo kids tossed a needle to Will. Will caught it and injected the chemical into Clover's arm. She stopped moaning and her body relaxed. Her breathing slowly returned to normal. The machines stopped blaring. Will wiped his forehead.

"Man, I didn't know she was this strong. If we put any more chemicals or medicine into her body, she'll die."

"What do you mean? She keeps waking up?" Arthur asked. Will nodded.

"All through the surgery, we continuously had to give her shots."

"That's a lot of medicine," Penelope said with amazement.

"Yeah, it is. It should have killed her four shots ago."

"Four?" Tyler questioned while studying Clover's face. "That is crazy insane. Why does she keep waking up anyway?"

Will shrugged. "It may be because of the Greek fire."

"You haven't taken it out of her yet?!" Tyler demanded.

"We have," Will said, raising his hands. "Don't worry. Although, there are remnants of it that we couldn't get. If should empty out of her system naturally. If not, and it gets serious, we can take care of it."

"You'd better..." Tyler muttered angrily. Will stared at him, then looked at Penelope and Arthur.

"He has something for her," Penelope explained. Tyler glanced over, but couldn't understand what Penelope had said.

"Yeah... I've suspected so," Will said. He looked over at Tyler and smirked. "No, I'm positive, actually." Penelope tried to hold back her smile.

"Run..." Tyler shot his head up and looked at Clover. "Run... Get out..." She muttered.

"Guys," Tyler gestured them over. "She's talking." The other three in the group hurried over.

"No... Stop..." Clover shifted in her bed. Monitors went off. One showed her heart rate increasing. Another whined that her breathing was too rapid. The other Apollo kids rushed around the room, checking monitors and writing down information.

"Leo... Gone... Camp..." Tyler couldn't watch her suffer anymore.

"Clover!" He shouted over the noise. "Wake up!"

"No!" Will protested, but it was too late.

Clover's eyes snapped open. Her irises were completely grey. It was a thunderstorm grey. A striking grey. Almost a deadly grey. Penelope, Arthur, and Will all took a step back, their faces filled with shock and fear. After a minute, her eyes seemed to crack. Like a piece of ice splitting down the middle and breaking in half. She took a raspy breath and coughed a few times. Tyler put a hand on her arm. Clover jumped and jerked her head to face him.

"Clover... It's okay." Tyler gave her a small smile. Her eyes softened. Clover returned the smile, then, her eyes teared up and she started to cry. Tyler stood and wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder. Penelope rubbed Clover's back for comfort.

"What happened?" Tyler asked softly into her ear. Clover shook her head.

"No... I-I can't..." She trembled softly.

"Yes, you can," he insisted. "Clover, something or someone is torturing you. Your eyes tell the whole story." Clover shook her head once more.

"I-I told you... I can't... I-It's something n-no one else c-can know..."

"Who told you that?" Arthur asked cautiously. She shook her head again, resisting the urge to tell. Clover continued to cry as Tyler held her. The others in the room felt slightly out of place until Clover winced. She put her hand over the blue cloth, that covered the surgery, and closed her eyes. Her face contorted in pain. Tyler was about to ask what was wrong, but Will interrupted him.

"Quickly," he said. "Set her down." Tyler lowered Clover into the bed once more and brushed her hair out of her face. Clover tried to give him a smile, but the pain seemed to stab her and she groaned. Will stood in the left side if the bed, checking her pulse.

"She should be alright for a few more minutes. The medicine is wearing off."

"But how is that possible? Isn't it supposed to last a long time?" Arthur asked, pulling up a chair next to Tyler's.

"The Greek fire is eating it, I told you," Will said, sounding exasperated.

"So, she will feel the intense pain you mentioned?" Penelope asked. Will sighed and nodded.

"Sadly, she will." He looked at Tyler then added quickly, "but we will try our best to stop the pain."

"How long will the pain last?" Arthur asked. Will looked down at Clover. She was starting to sweat and she had her fists tightly closed. Her teeth were clenched while her eyes were squeezed tight. He sighed.

"We don't know."

"Is there anything you don't know?" Tyler sarcastically asked. Will face him a sour look.

"In fact, yes. We don't know if the Greek fire is still in her bloodstream. We don't know if it is curable. We don't know if her body will shut down." Will looked Tyler straight in the eyes. "We don't know if she will live through this."

"But you said you could cure her!" Tyler argued, taking an angry step toward him.

"Ah, I didn't say that," Will said while raising his pointer finger. "I said that she might have a chance. A chance."

"Are you going to give up?!" Tyler shouted. "Do you realize how much she has done to save us? Clover has done more for the camp than maybe Percy Jackson!" That comment brought deadly silence to the room. Tyler glared at Will, daring him to argue. When he didn't, Tyler continued. "Clover knows things you wouldn't believe yourself, so I wouldn't just let someone like her just die!" He sneered at Will once more before turning away and storming out the door.

Slam!

Everyone was silent. The only noise in the room was one of the machines steady beep.

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

"Will..." Clover croaked. "Can we talk alone...?"

-------------------------

Alright guys! It is starting to get intese!!

I want to ask you, what do you think is going to happen? If you have a prediction,

PLEASE PUT IT IN THE COMMENTS!!!

And what to you ship? Cleo or Cyler? I am so excited for this... Trust me, I am going insane over this book.

Also, I want to mention that it is getting close to the end, so... yeah. I'm sorry, but there's not going to be any more Clover series. Sowy.

You don't like the end?

TOO BAD.

Anyway, I love you guys so much! Thank you for reading this book!

PLEASE VOTE!!!!

Cookies for all!!!

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