"That's not surprising," Nika said dryly. "I get the feeling you'll never get along with him, or even forgive him. Which is good. You need that iron in your spine."

"He ignored me for most of the last twenty-three years," Dawn pointed out. "He even waited two whole weeks to claim me." She shook her head. "You're just not supposed to do that."

"Hey, like I said, nothing wrong with that," Nika said with a shrug.

Dawn turned to glance at Seth.

"What about you?" she asked. "Any issues with your dad?"

"I still haven't met him," Seth said with a shrug. "He claimed me after three days in camp, and then ignored me, like all his other kids. We don't really get any good powers like you guys. Basically all we can do is sneak in and out of places and steal things."

"I suppose it could be worse," Dawn said. "I know there are demigods out there who haven't been found or claimed. I'd rather know why I was different than to stay in the dark."

"Yeah, I guess," Seth said with a shrug. "Although I probably would never have noticed. Might have made my financial life easier, if I was so inclined."

"Don't say that," Dawn said. "My dad is the god of truth, and as much as I hate to admit it, I don't like hearing about people I know breaking the law."

"I haven't done anything!" Seth immediately said. "I just said that it might have happened. Might have. In an alternate reality or something."

"Good," Dawn said, grinning teasingly. "Keep it that way. Or at least don't let me hear about it."

Seth laughed quietly. "Yes, ma'am."

Dawn couldn't help but grin. Somehow, it was easy to be comfortable around him.

"Whoa," Seth said, grabbing onto Nika's arm as she half-slid down a little hill. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Nika righted herself and continued moving, focusing on just walking now. And it was only going to get worse.

Dawn stayed next to Nika, ready to snag her wrist if it happened again. There was no way she was going to let her friend make a break for it, not when she could still try to prevent it.

Nika continued walking, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked. She shivered a few times as they got farther and farther into Tartarus, closer to the gate.

Dawn kept an eye on her, just in case. Every so often she would glance over to make sure Nika was alright. It wasn't too much further, but anything could happen. She was just grateful they hadn't run into the Cerberus yet.

At one point Nika had to stop for a minute, closing her eyes and shivering.

"You okay?" Seth had one hand on Nika's arm to help steady her and keep her from bolting.

"Yeah," Nika said. "Just need a second."

"Take your time," Dawn replied. She glanced around again, slightly paranoid. She had been underground for a little too long, she was starting to get jumpy again. She needed to feel the sun on her skin.

"Okay," Nika said, starting to walk again.

They'd gotten all the way almost back to the Gate when a loud growl from behind them made Nika turn, frowning. Cerberus stood behind them, growling loudly. She sighed.

"Well shit."

Dawn jumped a bit when she heard the growling and turned around.

"I think I like my aunt's hunting dogs better," she said. One of her hands slowly droped to where her lyre was strapped to her hip. "Well, that's what I brought this for. I'm not tone-deaf anymore."

Nika started humming, then moved to singing when Cerberus didn't calm down. The three heads remained focused on her as she continued singing an almost lullaby like song, slowly swaying in time with the music. One of the heads gave a half-hearted growl.

Dawn started to accompany Nika with her lyre, not bothering to turn it into a guitar or anything. She didn't need to. The tune was simple enough that her lyre had enough notes in its range.

Nika waited until Cerberus had fallen asleep again before she started backing away. Every step got harder, until Seth was half-dragging her backwards, away from the giant three-headed dog, and she finally turned around to stumble up the steep slope towards the gate.

Dawn grabbed Nika's wrist with her free hand, her other hand still plucking out soft notes on her lyre. She could see the way out, could practically feel the sun on her skin, but they still had a little ways to go.

Nika dragged herself forward, panting like she'd just run a three-mile race with a Hydra on her heels by the time they got to the Gate. Seth kept one arm very firmly clamped around her to keep her there.