Hi, I thought I'd write a sequel to The Meaning of Death. :) Enjoy. This might be...a disappointment to some, but I hope not. This one was awfully hard to write.

There may have a few spoilers to House of Hades, but I don't think that's a problem for most people XD.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA OR HEROES OF OLYMPUS :)

Frank never liked being reminded of fire - even if Leo HAD made him a fireproof pouch.

He especially didn't like looking at the spot where his old home had burned down a few months ago. The tall trees seemed to cave in towards him, as if they were trying to say You humans step on our plants so we'll start the Swiss Domino effect on you! But Frank shouldn't have applied. He wasn't human...No, he was the bastard son of the war god - Mars. He never wanted to be the son of Mars, but as they say you can't choose your parents.

But there probably wasn't any point in throwing a fit, and/or sobbing his eyes out, since the gods would just laugh at him later. What was the point of even having a dad if he wasn't even around to visit? For most of his life, his father had meant nothing to him...Until now...

And about his relatives on his mom's side? They were probably just as bad.

Grandma Zhang was odd, always bugging Frank with Chinese idioms and myths. And even though she scolded and chastised him endlessly, he could never figure out what happened to her, though he suspected she had died a few days after the fire, or maybe she burned down with it - he didn't really want to know.

But now here he was, looking for a sign of any life - especially one old lady related to Frank that might still be alive.

"You, the great Fai Zhang, might save the world and you're worrying about what happened to me?!" His grandmother would scoff if she was still alive.

Frank smiled at the notion, almost forgetting what he had come here for. Well there's gotta be nothing worse than having your Chinese-loving grandmother at your throat. He joked to himself. Maybe even facing more of those monsters would be better than seeing her again!

Maybe he was relieving stress with these jokes, or maybe he just needed to have fun for once. Whatever it was, Frank did feel more relaxed than before...Not. Even though he didn't believe in that kind of stuff, maybe his grandmother's ghost could curse him...That thought gave him the chills. He didn't need TWO great weaknesses! Gods, one was a big enough burden.

The wind pounded his cheeks as he started his circle around the forest for the nth time. It was starting to get dark, he noted. It would be bad if he got lost. So he started to trudge back towards civilization, trying to take his time getting there. Even though it wasn't snowing, the trees were big enough to trip on - plus he had to worry about getting so wrapped up in thought that he fell off a bridge.

That would undoubtedly be really bad.

But how could he not be worried about...well...certain things?

The first problem was a norm for him - Fire. He obviously didn't want to die too early. Maybe when he was in his nineties he would build a nice fire with his piece of wood by accident, but hopefully not soon. You all know Frank's worries about that. I don't need to go through it.

But the biggest problem to the seven of the prophecy was this: After Nico Di Angelo had traveled to Venice, his hometown. He had been attacked and almost eaten by cyclopi until two suspicious beings came to the rescue. Nico said they had claimed to be "personifications of countries" and "the legacies of Mars".

This was getting pretty fishy.

They had treated him to pasta and then chatted with him for an afternoon or two and Nico came back a changed man. He later said the younger one reminded him of his mother. He said death was no match for home and the hypnotic sound of lullabies sung in Italian.

Frank knew he didn't want to run into any of these beings - especially the "personifications" of his home. What if the personifications themselves turned evil and then used citizens from their country to do evil? That thought chilled Frank to the bone...What if...

He felt himself falling...off the suspension bridge. He should've paid more attention to where he was going. He probably wouldn't die but...

Frank immediately turned into a Steller's Jay before he could fall. How that bird had come to mind was unknown to him.

"You're going to fall if you keep thinking so deeply." A soft voice told him.

Frank, even though he was now fully aware of the danger he had just managed to escape, had trouble pinpointing where the voice came from at first - but then he noticed the man standing nonchalantly on the other side of the bridge.

The first thing Frank noticed was that the man seemed to pull at Frank's thoughts like a magnet - and not the souvenir kind you put on your fridge either. The second thought was...well...This guy was holding a polar bear. It wasn't the gigantic kind that could tear you apart if it wanted to - but it was still a polar bear. Frank decided it was best not to be in bird form and changed back.

"Down, Kumazawa." The man talked to the bear as if it were a dog. "You're scaring him."

The bear, Kumazawa, immediately whimpered.

"I'm not scared of your polar bear." Frank said. "I-I..."

"So then you're scared of me, eh?" The man adjusted his glasses, his eyes glowing violet under its shine. "That's interesting."

Frank drew his bow warily. This stranger was creeping him out. How many myths told of monsters with glowing eyes and pet polar bears? Zilcho.

But then he recalled Nico's tale of the strange beings he had encountered - the personifications of countries. Nico had lectured us on their dangerous magnetism. He trusted the ones he had met, since they were cowards and demigods themselves (Frank didn't think that was a very god argument), but he wasn't sure about the others - or if there even were more. Frank didn't know, but this could be one of them. "Are you...?"

"Yes, I am." The man responded, as if reading Frank's thoughts.

Frank waited, but the stranger didn't seem to have anything else to say.

The silence was only muddled by the sound of the wind.

"W-Which country?"

"Canada."

The man's serene face made Frank want to cry so badly. He had no idea why, but the man seemed to have that strange affect on him. He felt as if centuries of wisdom had been thrown upon him with no avail. He'd probably never be the same again - disturbed and insane from the encounter...But...Not in a bad way - if that was even possible.

Then he realized why: Like Iris, the crazy goddess who served green tea filled with weat-germ and threw ding-dongs at monsters, this man had the same smile as his mother. That plus the feeling of home was too much for Frank.

He knew he should be strong for the quest, that he was the whole reason everyone was still alive - or so Mars and Juno said - but...

Frank's breath left like a fire without oxygen.

Okay...That ending was lame. I'm sorry for making Frank seem weak there...but c'mon! All heroes have their weaknesses!

And about Canada...-nervous laugh-. I like to think about him as a country with a creepy psychopath exterior from all the hate he gets - but is actually a very friendly person. Again, I twisted his personality DX Sorry. And yes, Kumajiro was a little strange...I originally planned that Frank and Matthew would drink hot chocolate together, but that got cut out...Maybe...I don't know. Tell me what you think :)

As for the scenery, I have never been to the Lynn Canyon Park (or whatever it's called). Nor have I been to BC in the Fall. My friend Ami helped me with that, since she lives in BC. Thank you! )

Next chapter coming up!