Mark found himself in the middle of a forest where he had his sword drawn. It was complete darkness, so he quickly lit a torch and walked through until eventually he stumbled across a cave in the middle of the forest. Sword in hand, he inched into the cave.

"Demigod," a voice said. "Come to me..." the voice was drawn out like a hiss from a snake. Using the light from his torch, he got closer until he came across a young man sitting on a black throne. At first, he thought it was Hades, but Hades never showed himself as a young adult. There also wasn't enough obsidian and his helm of darkness also did not appear on the armrest. When the individual came into the light, Mark stumbled. Standing before him with deep, empty eyes was his best friend, Sean McLoughlin. "Surprised? I thought, no, I have control of this demigod." Mark couldn't talk, the deep emptiness standing in front of him Mark could only utter out one word.

"Chaos." Mark gripped his sword.

"I'm glad you recognize me in this state," Chaos said. "I can't stay in control of the son of Hades for long. I need someone strong enough to hold my energy," he continued. "Someone like you, all you have to do is bring Hades' other son and the son of Athena," he kept going. "Then I can give you everything you dreamed about. You can continue to live a normal life and your other half will disappear." Mark hesitated. Every inch of him wanted to move in and kill Chaos, but he didn't want to hurt his friend.

"I.." Mark started.

"Think about it? I'll see you soon."

The dream faded into darkness and Mark bolted awake, the sun shining in his face. Chaos had taken control of Sean and wanted him in his place. Which meant that Mark only had two options: either surrender and give Chaos what he wanted, or die fighting. For Mark, he picked the latter. Mark climbed out of bed and got dressed. It was the day that they were going on their quest and Mark did not want to leave anything behind. He finished packing his bag and walked to the border of the camp where his fellow campers were standing by and waiting for him.

"Hey Mark." Sam said and walked over to him. "You alright? You look like crap." Mark rubbed his eyes, still tired from his dream.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired." Mark answered.

"Well, It's a new day and we're going on this quest together." Sam answered.

"But do you have any idea what the first line of the prophecy said?" Mark asked.

"Three shall head west to the gloved land." Colby recited. "The gloved land could mean Michigan. After all, that place is shaped like a glove." Mark narrowed his eyes at Colby. Typical for an Athenian kid to know what the prophecy said. He wouldn't be surprised if Colby knew everything about how it would turn out. Mark glanced at Sam, whose face was full of determination, like he'd been ready to fix the mess he made. The trio had already finished eating and joined the hundred eyed creature who drove them to the nearest bus stop. Mark, Sam, and Colby climbed in the van as the creature drove out of the boundaries of the camp. Mark stared out at the wilderness, deep in thought. His brain had been going through everything he'd seen in his dream. Chaos had been possessing Sean and Mark couldn't figure out how long it had been since they left Camp half-blood together at twenty. From the way it looked, Chaos was weak and losing strength. Mark hoped it was because Sean was fighting him. The only handicap — he couldn't figure out why Chaos wanted him to take over the world. Betraying his friends and bringing them to Chaos was the only way to prove his allegiance. But it also made little sense for Chaos to steal the golden fleece. What could he plan to do with it?

"Mark?" Sam asked, forcing Mark to turn to his friend. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Mark said nonchalantly.

"Really?" Colby narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, I'm positive," Mark responded. "And the next person who asks me if I'm okay, I'm going to punch someone." They went silent after that, and the rest of the route was awkward. They arrived at the bus stop, allowing for the trio to climb out. They walked over to the sign and waited for the bus to pull up.

"Where do we start?" Sam asked. Colby pulled out a map and unfolded it. He placed it on the bench as the three of them looked over it. Mark and Sam saw the direct route to get to Michigan.

"There," Colby said. "We'll start here and head south toward Michigan." Sam suggested they started walking. However, Mark thought otherwise and stated that they needed to take the bus. Before the trio could argue yet again, a bus pulled in front of them and the doors opened, revealing a middle-aged man with blue overalls.