Percy woke Jason and I early in the morning, which really wasn't the best of ideas.

I'm not a morning person - if I wake up early in the morning, I'm really snappy and rude. Most people would back away from me when I'm like that - the only people who are brave enough to stand up to me in that kind've situation were Jason, Percy...and Reyna.

I sat up quickly, which hurt like HELL. I must've broken something because my ribcage felt like it was being slowly dissolved by acid. Normally I heal fast, but apparently not this time. So, I sat up and I was welcomed by the strong scent of venison meat.

"Where did you get that?" I asked Percy, who was carving the meat.

"Reyna and the others brought it with them," he answered shortly. "This is packed full of energy, and right now we're gonna need every bit of it, if we're gonna get to the South Summit."

He carved a piece off and handed it over to me. "Eat up, pal."

I took the meat and bit into the tough meat. I haven't tried venison before, but MAN I could have it every day now - it was so strong in the protein and it tasted like the food of the gods. I was half way through eating it all until I remembered to breathe.

Jason was sipping the now cold coffee we had between us. He grimaced at the cold taste but didn't say anything. "We'll head out in ten minutes. I'll stand outside and keep watch." With that note, he stepped outside.

I was left inside the snow cave with Percy. I didn't mean to, but I watched him get his stuff ready and I noticed that he didn't move his left arm much. Every time he moved it slightly, he would grimace like he was on the verge of yelping. He kept it inside his jacket pocket mostly.

"You alright?" I asked, worrying about him. "You're not moving your arm that much."

He looked at me and his left arm. "When I grabbed hold of Aaron, uh...his weight was too much for arm to bare - it tore my humerus; which is the main muscle in the arm. Also, it may have fractured the bone underneath as well but I can't tell for certain. The pain is annoying, but I can manage that easily."

I respected him for telling me the truth, though it must've been hard for him because he raised the subject of Aaron. It must be killing him to remember the Bailey guy slipping from his grasp; he hates it when his friends die. "I'm sorry about Aaron."

Percy nodded, his face a portrate of pain. "I gonna have to go to Birmingham after this - just so I can tell his girlfriend and family. Just can't believe Aaz is gone."

"Aaz?" I frowned.

Percy chuckled softly. "His nickname," he answered.

"Oh."

Jason poked his head through the snow cave entrance. "We should get going."

Percy and I nodded. We grabbed our gear and headed out. 

Percy struggled getting his backpack onto his back - he couldn't lift his left arm enough, because every time he did he winced. So I helped him out; I carefully placed his left arm through the straps and then placed it on his back. He looked at me gratefully.

It sure did feel weird here on Everest. Normally, my Underworld senses wouldn't help me on mountains but it felt different here. My senses went off the charts because this mountain was so routed into the earth that I could feel the Undeworld all around me. Strange.

We came up to the bottom of what climbers call the Balcony - a roped off ledge leading all the way to the top of the Hillary Step. As I gazed up, I am reminded of how high the mountain is - over twenty nine thousand feet, jeez! 

We stopped and caught our breath for a moment. In that space of time, I quickly looked into my bag an saw that all of my equipment was there still. I felt the weight of my flask and knew that it was empty. My throat felt dry and raw; I desperately needed a drink but didn't know what to do.

Then I saw Percy filling his flask with snow, and I wondered what he was doing. I asked him in question and he said that when you fill a flask with snow and stuff it under your clothes the snow will eventually melt from your body heat. I did the same as he did and stuffed it under my clothes. We kept going after that.

Percy, I thought, was literally driven to get up this thing. I knew he said that he couldn't make it to the main Summit, but I knew him well enough to know that he could actually do it if he wanted. By then, we were coming to the main point of the Balcony. Jason and Percy were constantly looking at it and squinted as if they couldn't see through the glare and glow that the mountain casted.

My bag weighed me down. I finally stopped and sat down. Jason noticed this and turned back, his feet stomping up the snow as he walked towards me. He stood right in front of me and frowned in concern.

"You alright Nico?" he asked, patting my arm. He knew that I sometimes don't like being touched by others, but with my friends I make an exception.

I nodded. "There's too much in my bag, that's all."

Jason nodded, but he didn't leave. Instead, he went behind me and unzipped my bag.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled. 

"Looking at what you got that's weighing you down so much," Jason said, ruffling through my bag.

Percy came over, wondering what the hold up was. "What's he carrying?" He came over and removed the straps of my bagpack off. He started emptying the contents out and stopped when he saw a few of the objects.

On the ground before us lay several flags of the states of America - New York, Los Angeles, and Virginia. Next were the flags of Cananda - British Columbia and Vancouver. And the last flag was the Union Jack of Britain. But the biggest flag was the combined colours of Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter - the golden eagle set against the purple background on one half of the flag and the bronze Omega against the fiery orange on the other half.

But the thing that caught Percy's attention was the small rectangualr photo of Reyna - she was smiling in the photo, her hair was braided down her shoulder. Her eyes sparkled playfully for the first time in months. It was the one photo I kept with me at all times. She gave it to me before I went up the mountain, so she could give me luck. 

But that wasn't the actual truth as to why she gave it to me...

Percy and Jason looked at me in a confused expression. "Why have you got a picture of Reyna in your bag?" Jason demanded.

The look he and Percy were giving me made me answer with my head looking at the ground. "She gave it to me for luck."

"Why?" Percy said, kneeling on one leg to look at me. He looked less stern and glared at me with his wolf stare expression. 

I shook my head, not wanting to answer. "Don't ask."

"I'm asking," the son of Poseidon said. He made no attempt to leave me alone. "What - are you going out or something?"

"He can't be going out with Reyna," Jason said, also coming up next to me. "He's gay - last I heard he was going out with Will Solace from Camp H. How can he be going out with Reyna?"

"Please don't..." I begged. They had to stop - they were that close to bringing the truth out of me.

Percy looked at me and he could see the look on my face. His eyes widened as the truth dawned on him. He was smarter than people thought he was, because all he had to do was look at a person's expression and tell what they're thinking. I guess it was just his nature - he could read a person like a book.

"You two ARE going out," he muttered. "How long?"

I closed my eyes shut as I was forced to answer. "Since I broke up with Will in January. She was supportive of me - two days later she came to me and started kissing me. I...um...I didn't stop her and we just...uh..."

I couldn't even finish my sentence, but the guys got the gist of it. They leaned back and just stared at me in shock.

Percy finally nodded. Then he asked the question I never thought he would ask. "Are you and her okay with each other?"

I thought for a moment - ever since I started dating Reyna in Camp Jupiter, she had been more brighter and happier. For me, I definetly felt happy and relaxed. I nodded.

Percy actually smiled at my answer. "That's enough for me then."

I was shocked at first, but then smiled. 

Jason also smiled. "Finally, Reyna has found someone who loves her back. Good on you Nico. Keep making her happy."

I nodded.

Percy then looked at the flags at my feet. "Are those for the Summit?"

"I thought that we might as well put our flags at the summit just to let people know we've done the impossible. I got the New York flag for you in case you could -"

"I can't, Nico," Percy said softly. "I wish I could but Zeus gave me strict instructions not to go higher than twenty nine thousand feet - otherwise I'll be in trouble."

"Yeah but if you did go past that and reach the summit..." I knew he'd say he couldn't do it. Zeus wasn't even joking from what Percy and Jason said. The sea doesn't belong in the sky, everyone knew that. I was pretty sure he would change his mind, but now it seemed like he was telling the truth - he couldn't do it.

I passed him the New York flag. "Just think about it."

He looked thoughtfully at his home city's flag emblem. He then looked at the Union Jack flag, the red and white crosses against the dark navy blue. He reached out and took it - he was obviously thinking about Aaron, who was the only British guy in our group. 

"Do it for Aaron," I said. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try. Even though Zeus told him not to, I knew that it was Percy's choice at the end of the day.

He looked at me and I could see that his eyes were moist, as if he were gonna cry again. He cried once already on this quest - when he knew he and Annabeth we're gonna have a boy. And he knew Aaron pretty well at Base Camp. Losing him was too much for him - once he made a friend, he keeps them close.

Finally, he nodded. "For Aaron. Summit, here we come." And with that he turned around and clipped himself on the ropes leading up to the top of the Hillary Step.

I got up. First we find the Master Bolt on the South Summit, then after that it's time for climbing the actual Summit.