December 17th, 2009.

It's been four months since Lee's death, and I've stopped talking to a lot of people, but his siblings often talk to me, out of respect for him, I listen and talk with them. No one tries to get close to me, everyone knows about what I did in the war against Kronos, they're afraid of me again, even the new half-bloods are scared to talk to me, people whisper about a child of Ares that killed over fifty demi-gods and half an army of monsters, they call her the Red Demon, as you can guess that would be me.

I often catch people looking at me, I don't glare at people anymore, nor do I tell them to stop looking at me, I just don't really care about that anymore. It was early afternoon when we got some new campers, four months ago there was only twenty or so campers left after the war, but Percy made the gods promise not to ignore their children anymore. Annabeth went with a few others to find Percy Jackson, he's Annabeth's boyfriend he disappeared four days ago, not sure what happened, I don't do much these days, from time to time I'll train, but that's pretty much it.

I went over to Thalia's tree, I've grown to like this spot, maybe it's because no one bugs me here. You could say I like this spot because of Peleus, he used to growl at me, but soon he let me sit by him and sometimes I rest here. I walked up to Peleus and petted his snout, "No trouble today either?" I asked and sat by his arm, he blew smoke out of his snout like that was a stupid question to ask, I chuckled and looked at the big house.

As I was sitting here thinking about the past, a boy who had curly hair was walking with Will from the Apollo cabin, there were at the bottom of the hill looking up at me, the boy said something to Will and then Will nodded, now they were making their way to me.

I remained seated by Peleus, he opened his eye to check who was coming, since he's a dragon, he can sense other demi-gods when they're near, and he doesn't mind that they come close, but most campers don't chance it. "Hey Will." I said as they walked towards me, "Hey, uh this is Leo Valdez, he wanted to meet you." They stopped six feet away from me.

I stared at the one named Leo, "You wanted to meet with me? Has anyone said anything to you about me?" I asked. Leo shook his head, I smirked, "Well, you're going to find out sooner or later, my name is Katrina Young, the 'Red Demon' most of the others say that nick name behind my back."

Leo tilted his head and looked at Will, "Red Demon?"

Will laughed nervously, "During the last war, she killed half of Kronos's army by herself, and then she took Kronos out by herself. But it wasn't only monsters she killed…" Will faltered and glanced at me, "Go on, everyone already knows at this point."

He gulped, "Kronos's army was a mixture of monsters and half-bloods. She was covered in blood when she was finished with Kronos." Leo stared at me in admiration, I burst out laughing which scared Will, "No one has…" I kept laughing and wiped my eyes, "No one has ever looked at me like that after hearing what I did. You're strange."

Leo smiled sheepishly and offered me his hand, "Nice to meet you Red Demon."

I shook his hand and smiled, "Nice to meet you Lee- I cleared my throat, "Leo, sorry, welcome to camp half-blood." Leo's smiled faded and he looked at Will, "Well we should get going, tours not over yet, see ya Katrina."

I nodded, "See ya later." Once they were gone I sighed and rested my head on Peleus's arm, oh my god…Why does their names have to be so similar to each other? I stayed by Peleus and fell asleep, no one ever bugs me, but when someone does approach me, Peleus wakes me up, or when I have to be reminded to eat, Peleus is there to do it. As I was sleeping, I was with Lee, the first time I saw him he had a guitar on his back and tried to go with Chiron to meet Annabeth, Luke, and me. They were talking and then Chiron turned and began to walk out. Lee called after Chiron, but he forgot his guitar was actually still plugged into an amp, and then the cord pulled him back when he couldn't go any further, the guitar strap on the bottom of the guitar slipped off and the guitar fell on the ground, 'Oh I'm so sorry baby!' those words made me laugh and that's how we noticed each other.

I pushed my long red hair out of the way, oh Lee, the stuff we did together was fun. But instead of always having fun, we trained for most of our lives. I lifted my head, it was getting dark, and I guess it's time for dinner. Peleus poked my cheek with his snout, like he was saying time to eat too.

"Thanks..." I muttered and was about to get up, but Peleus lifted his talon and carefully rubbed my cheek, "What are you doing?" I laughed, when he pulled his talon away he showed me what he was doing, at tip of his talon was my tears, "Again...? I'm sorry Peleus, thank you for always being there for me..."

I wiped the tears away and went to the Apollo cabin, I don't go in I just hang around sometimes Will asks me if I want to go in, but I can't. It hurts, it's only been four months after all. Anyway as I was nearing the Apollo cabin I passed by the Hephaestus cabin I glanced inside and saw Leo, he was staring at his hand with a sad expression, and a second later there was a small ball of fire on his palm.

My mouth dropped and I kept staring the fire danced across his hand, it looked like he was controlling the fire. But soon he started to sweat. He gasped for air and the fire went out, he has the ability of fire. Just like the Cyclopes.

Leo turned and noticed me, his eyes wide, there was some fear and sadness in his eyes. "K-Katrina!?" He exclaimed, I should've kept going. I nodded, "It's time to eat, aren't you hungry?" I asked.

"Did you...Did you see what happened just now?" His voice was shaky, I thought about it for a second, and then I shook my head, "See what? I just got here." I told him. "You should get going."

Leo slowly walked past me, "Y-you aren't going to eat?"

I smiled, "You're strange Leo Valdez. No one pays me much attention, but yeah I'll eat, later though."

He rubbed the back his head and blushed, "Okay...See ya later."

Oh boy.

After Leo left I decided to just go back to my room, at first I didn't think much about it, but on my twelfth birthday Lee gave me his first guitar pick, not something every girl wants, but to him it was special he said that his mother gave him that before she passed away. On that day I started to think about Lee more. There was a hole in the middle of the pick, I grabbed a piece of string and put it through the hole and tied it around my neck, just enough so I can take it off if I need too.

I smiled and held the pick against my chest, "I'll see you later..."

Once I got to the pavilion I got my food and ate with my siblings, after that I went back to my cabin and went to sleep. These days I don't do any activities, I just don't really do anything anymore, without Lee I have nothing to do with this camp, which leaves me with one question, why am I still here?

I had another dream of Lee, this memory was when I first found out I was a child of Ares. Lee and I were standing in front of the Ares cabin, I remember just standing there feeling annoyed and mad that I was his child. Lee stood next to me and said, 'You know it kind of makes sense…I mean you sometimes get mad at the littlest things, and that explains your strength…But we all know Ares isn't exactly…The brightest god. Although the resemblance is there, well except the buff arms and legs, but when you glare at people. I see a little bit of Clarisse.' Lee said.

I think I was thinking that I didn't want to prove him right, because usually he was right. One thing that I didn't like about him, but I still accepted it, although it's annoying to be wrong sometimes. I looked at Lee, 'I'm nothing like her! Never ever say that again!'

After that the dream vanished and I was in bed staring at the ceiling, I'm alone again, I wish I can stay in those dreams with Lee…I hate that he's gone…Doing nothing won't do me any good…We didn't exactly build anything together, there's really nothing I want to protect too. I looked at my dresser, on the side was my Katana, Kronos…I want to release him from this blade and kill him all over again.

About ten minutes after I woke up, the camp alarm went off and everyone got out of the cabins and in the middle was a bronze dragon with someone on the back, "It's cool! Don't shoot!" It was interesting to see it, but it doesn't really have anything to do with me.

I walked away and went to Thalia's tree, my favorite spot in the camp…It used to be the arena, but…That's where Lee and I were the most, we trained together a lot, too many memories there. It's funny how a name like the 'Red Demon' can make so many people stay away from you for so long. My last talk with Lee was us talking about having a family together, but that thought will never become a reality.

What can I do now that he's gone? Before I started too really like Lee, all I did was train, but he was always by my side. I wonder if I should visit my step dad…Or maybe I shouldn't, since I haven't even thought of him for two or three years now. But maybe he'll tell me about my mom, because I've kind of forgot what she was like…

I need to get away from camp for a while, I don't want to forget Lee, but staying here is just too painful.

I went to the big house and looked for Chiron, I found him in his office, "Katrina, what can I help you with?" He asked kindly, I sighed, "I want to go to my step dads place for a few months, I need time away from camp, away from the monsters, away from being alone all the time." I said.

Chiron smiled gently, "I see…Can I say one thing before I answer?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yes."

He opened his mouth to speak, but then he reconsidered and said, "Lee was an outstanding Demi-god, and so are you, what I want to say is, even though they're afraid of you, they need you. The camp still looks up to you, when they see you so sad and weak…They lose confidence in themselves, because if the best demi-god of all time doesn't believe in herself, how can they believe in themselves?"

… … …

"Katrina…?" Chiron said with concern, I stared at him with a blank expression, "I…DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" I screamed, "Lee was everything to me! But he's gone, without him I have no confidence. The only one I cared about was him! I stayed here in camp because of him! How can I stay here if he's not here!? How can they look up to me when I never paid them any attention!?"

Chiron sighed sadly and he came over to me and wrapped his arms around me, "You have to learn to let it out…The campers know you never paid them any attention, but they still looked up to you because you were always confident in your strength and intelligence, they knew with you here, they didn't have to worry about dying the next day, Katrina my dear, I give you permission to leave camp, look for that confidence, because the camp still needs you."

I feel like crying, but I'm not going to cry, I'm going to visit my mother's grave...I've never actually did that...What a horrible daughter I am, right? I nodded to Chiron, "I'll be back in a couple weeks...Maybe longer, I'll let you know." I said and walked out of his office. Just how much was I keeping in? And for how long? Hearing him tell me that the campers look up to me regardless of what I did, makes me feel confused, why do they look up to me? I mean I never talked to them, I never encouraged them to do better, and I never told them I care about them...So why...Do they idolize me?

I went back to my cabin to pack and to call my step dad, some of us carry cellphones, I never used to, but Lee convinced me to get one, so I did. Why didn't I get rid of it as soon as he died? Because it's useful…Not just because that's the only way I can see him now.

The phone rang three times before someone picked up, "Hello?" My step dad said, his voice sounds exactly the same as last time, "Hey…" I said shyly. I'm not sure what happened, but he stopped talking, or actually I think he dropped his phone, because when he talked again he sounded flustered, "Katrina? Is that you?" He asked.

"Yes…It is, I'm sorry I haven't got back to you when we first met, at the time I was going through a lot…I was wondering if you could come and get me? I need a break from here, and if there's anything you want to know about me I'll tell you." I told him. I couldn't remember his name, because it was three years ago when I first met him, plus I only heard his name once. He was quiet for a long time, which made me feel like this might have been a mistake, "If you're too busy, then its okay, maybe some other-

"No! I mean…After all these years you finally called, I'm just…Shocked, or more like I was worried that you might have…" His voice faltered, "But is everything really okay? That boy you asked for when we first arrived there said that, that's the best possible place for you to be, for you to be calling means something happened right?" He asked with worry.

"Yes…" I don't want to tell him over the phone, "I'll tell you when you get here, talking on the phone this long is bad, I'll explain later…" I said. Before I hung up, he asked, "You're in the same place as last time right?"

"Yes I am, I have to go now. I'll see you later." I told him and hung up.

Seven hours later, I was making my way to Thalia's tree, on my way there I saw Annabeth, I thought she would have left long time ago to look for Percy, ever since I killed Luke, she's ignored me. The look she gave me when I actually did kill him, almost made me want to kill her too. I glanced at her and I saw the same look I had when I lost Lee. Maybe if I talk to her, I'll say something that I haven't thought of yet. Something that might help us both move forward, I walked over to Annabeth. I kind of thought she would have saw me right away, but she was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice me.

I took a deep breath, "Annabeth…?"

Her grey eyes met mine for the first time in months, she frowned, but didn't say anything. I don't mind that she ignores me, since she and I are in the same boat right now. "I thought Percy was your first priority?" I asked, even after all these years I'm not afraid to say what needs to be said. She glared at me, "What do you want?" She growled, to be honest, I thought she would never talk to me like that, I mean even she knows just because I haven't been training, I can still beat anyone in this camp. "I want to talk to you about Luke…" I said.

Annabeth turned and tried to walk away, but I grabbed her shoulder, "You know that he deserved it, everyone knows that. But I'll admit that I…Shouldn't have killed him in cold blood." Her eyes started to turn red, "If your sword can trap a titan's soul with just a touch, THEN WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM!?" Annabeth snapped at me. Hearing her yell at me because of that, makes me mad, shouldn't she be thinking about Percy? Shouldn't he be on her mind all the time? Especially since he's missing? "At that time when I had the Katana that can trap a titan's soul I didn't know it could actually do that…But I still would've done it, Luke's actions killed too many people, he had to die, it was either by my hand or yours…"

Annabeth's eyes were bloodshot, "He was being controlled by Kronos, it wasn't his fault!"

"Yes it was! Luke could've resisted against him, or he could've just ran away! But he didn't! He stayed loyal to that bastard who killed Lee, and all of your friends!" I shouted. "Annabeth…Why do you see Luke as someone who is innocent? I mean did you not see or feel everything that he's done to you? For your sake I let him have a quick death. If you want to change my mind about him, tell me something that he did that made you want to save him, tell me something that can confirm he wasn't the main reason why Lee died."

She looked heartbroken, like if I said one more thing she'll breakdown, she smiled even though she was crying, "It's because of him I'm alive, he found me in an alley scared and alone...I would've died if he didn't find me, and when he did, he made sure to make me feel safe...He told me to just let everything out, whatever I was feeling, just let it out...Which I did and now I don't keep anything in, and two years ago, before the battle of the labyrinth, he came to my house in San Francisco, he said that he wanted to run away with me, just the two of us, like old times..." She laughed, "If I did, then Lee would be alive and Luke would be too...But I didn't, so you're right, just like always. He's EVIL, and everything he's done isn't something that can just be pushed aside I know that. But for years I looked up to him and loved him..."

She looked up to him and loved him...Sounds familiar doesn't it? How can I put this behind us and remain friends? "Annabeth, in the end I did what I had to do because it was the right thing to do, and if I had saved Luke, what do you think would happen? He would obviously be imprisoned by the gods because of the things he did before Kronos completely took him over, and when he was not under Kronos's spell, he still betrayed you, and let's not forget that he did almost killed me too...But...I understand where you're coming from, when you were seven and I was eight, we both found people that we looked up to because they made us feel comfortable, and they made us feel happy. Of course back then I was always cold towards everyone, but even so, I found someone who made me start to trust people, something I couldn't do because I was constantly betrayed. Annabeth, although Luke did so many horrible things, I think he was a good person…So let's put this behind us, I don't want you to hate me, I'm sorry for what I did." There it is, I finally apologized for something that was meant to be done.

Annabeth laughed and whipped her tears away, "That's something I wanted…But at the same time, I didn't expect to hear that from you. Like all children of Ares, they're too proud to apologize or own up to their mistakes. But you're different…" Annabeth smiled, like she finally sees me as friend. "We haven't talked a lot ever since we came here, did we? Thalia's death, I kind of blamed you for that one too…Which I'm sorry for, but you did say it was basically your fault she died."

I nodded, "Yes I did, and it was true, she died trying to protect me. But she didn't know I didn't need to be protected." I said.

Now that I think about how she died, to me it's kind of funny…I mean I'm pretty much immortal now, not completely invincible though. Back then I didn't know I could use the blessing of Ares, and I didn't really know I activated it either, but I was somehow aware of it, when I think about it, I now realize that at some point during the fight with all those monsters, I was aware I couldn't die. If Thalia didn't try to save me, I wonder what today would be like.

Annabeth and I walked towards Thalia's tree, and we talked more about Thalia and Luke, the both us knew that Luke liked Thalia, talking about the past with Annabeth made me feel a little better, after we kind of put everything behind us, I haven't thought about Lee.

After we reached half-blood hill, Annabeth noticed I was carrying a duffle bag, "What's up with that?" She asked, her voice was back to normal, she didn't sound mad at me anymore, I gave her a small smile, "I'm going to my step dads for a few months…I need a break from here." I told her.

"What!? Why?" Annabeth exclaimed.

I looked up to the sky, "Because I need to take my mind off camp, this place is where it all started for me, it's the place where I met Lee, where I made so many memories with him…Where I fell in love with him." As I stared into the twilight sky, I slowly realized that I'm no different than I was in the past, only trusting a few individuals. First my mother…Than Tai Wong, the day care substitute, biggest mistake in my life…And then Thalia, which didn't last long to be honest, and the one I trusted the longest, Lee Fletcher.

"But this is the only safe place for us Demi-gods, if you go out there, they're for sure going to keep coming after you, are you sure you want to get your step dad involved? I mean he's mortal." Annabeth warned me, I simply nodded, "Let them come at me, it's not like they'll be able to actually hurt me, or even touch me. I'm going to tell him everything, he deserves it, since he agreed to let me stay at his place." I started down the hill and about fifty feet past the trees I could see him.

"Well looks like you're determined…I guess this is goodbye for now, huh?" Annabeth looked a bit sad.

"I'll be back, take care." I said and waved to Annabeth.

Annabeth nodded, "Come back safe, we still need you here."

I did trail off on how I made Katrina, which made me lazy and start doing what everything said I was doing. So I decided to go back to how I used to write, this one is probably my longest chapter, maybe. I hope you all like this. Oh yeah I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone who really enjoys my Katrina series.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all have an awesome day!

Rilurz~